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We’ll Dominate Ungoverned Spaces to Keep the Festive Season Safe” — GOC Assures Communities
Stakeholders Laud Security Gains as GOC 3 Division Hosts Meeting Ahead of Harvest and Yuletide Season
Stakeholders across Plateau State and adjoining communities have commended recent security improvements and explored fresh strategies to sustain stability during the upcoming harvest period and Yuletide celebrations.
This came during a one-day stakeholders’ meeting convened on Wednesday, 26 November 2025, by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division and Commander Operation ENDURING PEACE (OPEP), Major General Folusho Oyinlola, at Maxwell Khobe Cantonment, Jos.
The engagement drew participants from frontline LGAs in Plateau, Kaduna, and Bauchi States, including Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Bokkos, Jos North, Mangu, Riyom, Wase, Sanga, and Kafanchan. Government officials, traditional rulers, religious leaders, security agencies, and community-based organisations were also in attendance.
In his opening remarks, Major General Oyinlola described the meeting as a timely effort to reinforce collaborative approaches to security. He noted that previous engagements contributed to a marked reduction in farm destruction, cattle rustling, and other criminal activities threatening peace across the region.
The GOC highlighted the impact of OPEP’s non-kinetic interventions — community dialogues, youth engagement, and peace mediation — which he said have strengthened community policing and enhanced local security networks. He explained that the theme of the meeting, “Strengthening Community Partnership for a Secure Harvest and Yuletide Season,” reflects OPEP’s commitment to developing resilient and inclusive peace structures.
Major General Oyinlola reported that troops had achieved significant successes in recent months, including the neutralisation of armed criminal elements in various parts of the Joint Operations Area. He assured residents that security forces would continue to dominate ungoverned spaces and swiftly counter any attempts to disrupt the festive period.
He urged traditional institutions, youth and women groups, and community leaders to intensify grassroots sensitisation, commending communities for reinforcing local security measures such as neighborhood watches, vigilante groups, and early-warning systems.
Representing Governor Caleb Mutfwang, the Special Adviser on Security and Coordinator of Operation RAINBOW, Brigadier General GG Shippi (rtd), commended the military and sister security agencies for their unwavering commitment to safeguarding lives and property. He reaffirmed the State Government’s resolve to support security operations until lasting peace is restored.
LGA representatives praised the improved security atmosphere while calling for sustained dialogue, reconciliation, and strengthened channels for engaging disputing groups. They also recommended the formation of additional community-based peace committees and the expansion of ongoing intervention efforts.
Stakeholders reiterated that peace remains essential for development and urged both authorities and residents to maintain open communication and prioritise conflict prevention.
Wednesday’s meeting follows a similar pre-farming-season engagement held earlier in the year, which contributed to a relatively peaceful planting period with minimal disruptions. To consolidate these gains, the GOC approved the expanded forum to ensure a secure harvest and harmonious festive season.
The session featured robust discussions, solution-driven exchanges, and renewed commitments to enhancing stability across the Joint Operations Area.
The 3 Division and Operation ENDURING PEACE reaffirmed their resolve to deepen community partnerships as Plateau State and neighbouring regions prepare for the Yuletide season.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has unveiled the final list of Lagos State governorship candidate.
The list is contained in a document released by INEC on Saturday in preparation for the 2027 general elections.
According to the document, the Lagos State deputy governor, Femi Hamzat is listed at the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Also on the list is Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, candidate.
Find attach below document containing the full list.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has omitted former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, from its final list of governorship candidates for Gombe State ahead of the February 6, 2027 election.
Politics Nigeria reports that the commission released a list of 16 cleared candidates for the election, but Pantami’s name was missing despite his earlier inclusion in the provisional list published on August 29.
Among the candidates on the final list are Bala Bello Tinka of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Babayo Ardo Kumo of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
Others include Zubairu Mu’azu Halilu of the Labour Party (LP), Lamela L. Silas of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Ibrahim Jalo Abubakar of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Adamu Mohammed Ma’aji of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Pantami’s exclusion comes amid a series of legal disputes over his emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the state.
The former minister had initially sought the APC governorship ticket but left the party after it settled for Gwamna as its consensus candidate. He subsequently joined the PDP and emerged as the party’s flag bearer through voice affirmation at its governorship primary.
However, a Federal High Court sitting in Gombe nullified his initial emergence on May 26, following a challenge to the primary process.
The court ordered a fresh primary election, which Pantami won on September 29 with 2,054 votes, defeating Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry.
Garry had challenged Pantami’s emergence, arguing that the required primary election was not properly conducted before the former minister was declared the party’s candidate.
Despite winning the court-ordered rerun, Pantami’s eligibility remained in doubt following the Supreme Court’s September 24, 2026 judgment on provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing political party membership registers and candidate eligibility.
The Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of Sections 77(5), 77(6) and 77(7) of the Electoral Act 2026 and upheld INEC’s revised timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 elections.
The provisions bar political parties from fielding candidates whose names were not included in the membership registers submitted to INEC within the stipulated period.
INEC has maintained that parties found to have violated the requirements will not be permitted to participate in the elections through candidates whose nominations breach the law.
Mohammed Haruna, an INEC national commissioner in charge of information and voter education, said the commission would not allow parties to replace candidates affected by the provisions.
Haruna made the clarification during an appearance on Trust TV’s programme on Wednesday evening, explaining that allowing substitutions would enable political parties to benefit from their own violations.
He cited previous disputes involving Zamfara and Plateau states to illustrate the consequences of parties failing to comply with electoral requirements.
“It’s like you committed an offence. And then, you come and benefit from it,” Haruna said.
He added that allowing parties to substitute candidates in such circumstances would amount to permitting them to benefit from an offence they had committed.
Haruna also indicated that the commission expected to make a definite pronouncement on the implications of the Supreme Court judgment by the following Tuesday.
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