Vice President Kashim Shettima, has said that President Bola Tinubu is having good and clean hearts for the growth of Northern Nigeria, as against a series of insinuations that the President is working to cripple the region.

Shettima made the remark on Wednesday while receiving a Federal Government high powered delegation, led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila on a condolence visit to him over the death of his mother-in-law.

The VP who said that the President is never working against the North, reminded that to show serious concerns with what is happening in the region, Tinubu appointed the two Ministers of Defence from the North, Chief of Defence Staff from the North, Chairman Police Service Commission is from the North so anybody who begins to lay out lies that the President is against the North, tell him he is lying.

He said, “At an appropriate time we will lay out facts that the President is not against the North as being championed by some disgruntled elements, who always want to cause disaffection between government and the citizens.”

In the same vein, the Vice President explained that, Tinubu has good intentions for the Nation, urging Nigerians to rally round him because for him to be able to achieve the desired goals of making the country great.

“This is not a game of apportioning blame but a game of making Nigeria work, and if Nigeria works, Africa works. We have moved beyond Politics, we are now in the act of governance, we must be seen doing what will help us all.”

Speaking on political party differences and how Kano State Government stood by him as he lost his Mother-in-law, Shettima hinted that the actions of the government showed that what binds us together is much greater than what divides us.”

He noted that, “PDP, NNPP, APC we are all one family, and Nigeria is greater than all of us, Political Party affiliation should not be a yardstick to show disaffection and create means of destruction for the wellbeing of the people.

“I remember, many of those who are in NNPP are founding members of APC and so also PDP, this clearly tells you that we are one big family who only believes in one party or the other, so we must work together to make Nigeria great, and together we will make it.”

Meanwhile, Tinubu on Monday lamented that the insecurity in the North-West region was affecting other parts of the country.

Also on Monday, a former Senator who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 8th National Assembly, Shehu Sani, said the recent visits by some prominent northern politicians to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura, Katsina State, were all plots to unseat Tinubu in 2027.

The Senate is set to resume the plenary on Thursday as opposed to its early proposed July 2 resumption.

The Senate had on Tuesday, June 11, adjourned the plenary to resume on Tuesday, July 2.

The announcement of the early resumption is coming amidst the rumours that the Senate is set to approve the purchase of the presidential jet, which is said to be contained in the Supplementary budget.

Speaking on the resumption on Wednesday, the Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, said, “It’s our statutory resumption from the Sallah break. Senate has the constitutional power to regulate its sessions, and we believe that we could gain one more legislative day to deal with national and constitutional issues, hence the bringing forward from the initial July 2.

“We hope to deal with issues concerning our further oversight on the Appropriations and clear further the hanging issues of constitutional and electoral concerns, and clear outstanding bills and motions, expectedly before our annual recess, later in the year.”

On Tuesday, the Senate President, GodsWill Akpabio, stated that the Red Chamber had not approved the purchase of new presidential jets for President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

He further described such a report as ‘malicious.’

He said, “I want to dispel the rumour that you are hearing that the Senate President said he would buy a new plane for the President and his Vice, irrespective of the fact that Nigerians are hungry or whatever.

“I never said that. I was actually in Zanzibar, Tanzania. It is the handiwork of propagandists and fifth columnists who never see anything good in what we are doing.”

The Speaker of Edo House of Assembly, Mr Blessing Agbebaku has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on substance abuse and illicit drugs trafficking in Nigeria.

The speaker, made the call in Benin while addressing a rally organised by Smile Africa International Youth Initiative, an NGO, to mark the 2024 International Day against Drug Abuse.

“I am sad and concerned about the drug abuse pandemic the country is grappling with; and we should be passionate about the health of our youths,” he said.

The participants of the rally were at the Edo State House of Assembly to mark the day usually celebrated on June 26 every year.

Agbebaku who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Mrs Maria Oligbi-Edeko, said a state of emergency was the only solution towards tackling the menace.

Agbebaku said that drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking were the bane of criminality in the state and nation at large.

The speaker described drug traffickers as the worst criminals that should not be tolerated in any community that wants to make progress.

He explained that hard drugs presents multifaceted challenges that touch the lives of millions of people, adding that the impact of drug abuse is far-reaching and complex.

Agbebaku listed some of the problems associated with drug abuse to include individual struggling with substance use disorders and struggle with consequences of drug trafficking and crimes.

“If you have been following the house activities, you would know that the house has passed several resolutions on the need to prevent drug abuse and trafficking.

“Today, we are sad that drug is destroying communities in the country and everyone is pretending not to see it.

“Drugs are now being sold freely in certain locations in the state and yet not much is being done to check the menace,’’ he said.

The speaker suggested that the federal government should declare a state of emergency to effectively deal with the situation.

Agbebaku assured that the house would join to carry out sustained enlightenment campaigns against drug abuse and illicit trafficking.

“Taking to drugs is a journey of no return; rehabilitation does not often solve the problem, so we need to speak out to prevent our children from the menace,’’ he said.

Earlier, the Executive Director of Smiles Africa International Youth Development Initiative, Mr Purpose Iserhienrhien, said they were at the assembly complex in support of the fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking in the state.

Iserhienrhien said that the day afforded them the opportunity to call for collective action to combat the scourge of drug abuse and illicit trafficking.

“The impacts of drugs extend beyond individual users to the entire societies; it threatens the health, safety and prosperity of our population,” he said.

The speaker called on the state government to invest in prevention programmes to address the challenges posed by drug abuse.