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Nigeria to Host 11th WAAPAC Conference on Parliamentary Oversight of Public Debt
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…rep to train lawmakers on public debt, borrowing oversight
By Gloria Ikibah
The House of Representatives has disclosed plans to strengthen the capacity of its members on effective oversight of public debt and borrowing.
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Rep. Bamidele Salam, made this known at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
Rep. Salam explained that the training would be held during the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC), scheduled for 8–12 September 2025 at the National Assembly.
According to him, the five-day conference will provide lawmakers with the tools needed to monitor and manage public debt more effectively.
He said: “The event will focus on building the capacity of PACs and Finance Committees for effective oversight of public debt and borrowing; examining debt trends and risks in the region; defining parliamentary roles in debt governance; and developing strategies to ensure debt sustainability.
“This conference provides a robust platform for learning, engagement, and experience-sharing among committees and key stakeholders. It will help advance fiscal responsibility and transparency across the sub-region”.
Rep. Bamidele Salam also confirmed that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, will formally open the 11th Annual Conference and General Assembly of the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC). The Minister of Finance is billed to deliver the keynote address, with several high-level dignitaries expected, including the Chairpersons of WAAPAC and AFROPAC. Goodwill messages will also come from the UNDP Country Director, global development partners, and sister parliamentary organisations.
Salam called on the Nigerian media to give the event wide coverage, describing it as “an opportunity to showcase Nigeria as host of one of the most important parliamentary accountability conferences in Africa.”
The conference, set for 8–12 September 2025 at the National Assembly, is expected to pave the way for stronger legislative oversight and more sustainable debt management practices across West Africa.
A statement from the WAAPAC Secretariat in Accra, Ghana, noted that the association was founded in 2009 after a World Bank Institute seminar organised with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the Parliamentary Centre (PC). Legislatures from Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone participated in that inaugural meeting, resolving to establish a sub-regional body dedicated to strengthening parliamentary accountability through peer learning and knowledge sharing.
This year’s conference, themed “Strengthening Parliamentary Oversight of Public Debt: The Role of Finance and Public Accounts Committees”, is expected to draw over 300 participants. Among them will be lawmakers, auditors, fiscal policy experts, and public finance professionals from across West Africa and beyond.
The General Assembly will also deliberate on WAAPAC’s organisational growth and governance, with proceedings expected to end with the adoption of country-specific action plans to improve parliamentary oversight of public debt in the region.
Delegates will include members of Public Accounts and Finance Committees, parliamentary staff, Auditors-General, and representatives from eSwatini, Kenya, South Africa, and allied parliamentary networks such as AFROPAC and SADCOPAC.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Suspected bandits have kidnapped retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, former Director of Defence Information, and his wife on Matazu Road in Katsina State.
Security sources told PRNigeria that the couple was ambushed on Saturday morning, May 30, 2026, while travelling in a red Peugeot 504 saloon car.
The gunmen intercepted the vehicle and whisked the retired officer and his wife to an unknown location.
The driver escaped with gunshot wounds and is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, a security source said.
The former DDI and his wife were waylaid by armed men on the route. The driver escaped with gunshot injuries and is receiving medical attention,” the source stated.
Security forces have launched search-and-rescue operations and deployed intelligence assets to track the abductors, according to the source. Official confirmation from the military was still pending at press time.
—Rising concern in Katsina—
The abduction comes amid persistent insecurity in parts of Katsina despite ongoing military operations against bandit groups in the North-West.
In recent years, several serving and retired security personnel have been targeted on highways linking Katsina to neighbouring states. PRNigeria reports that criminal groups now see high-profile individuals, including retired military officers, as lucrative targets.
Maj-Gen Abubakar served as Director of Defence Information and was one of the Nigerian military’s most visible spokespersons during the counterinsurgency campaign against Boko Haram.
The incident is expected to renew calls for stronger security along major highways and rural communities in Katsina, where residents continue to face kidnapping and banditry.
Credit :PRNigeria
Abia State Police Command has nabbed two suspects for conspiracy, attempted child theft and possession of hard drugs.
The Command which made this known on Saturday, named the suspects as Nzubechi Chinagorom and Chinonso Chibundu, indigenes of Olokoro, Umuahia South LGA of the Abia State.
In a statement signed by DSP Maureen Chinaka, the Police Public Relations Officer, the Command said its officers apprehended the suspects through actionable intelligence, in collaboration with Olokoro vigilante personnel.
She stated that the suspects went to the residence of one Miss Amarachi Chinyereugo and attempted to forcibly take away her two-week-old baby girl.
DSP Chinaka said that the Nzubechi Chinagorom allegedly stabbed the nursing mother with a kitchen knife during a struggle, causing the baby to fall and hit her head on ground.
The police spokesperson said that the two suspects fled from the scene and ran into a nearby bush on realizing that the nursing mother, Miss Amarachi Chinyereugo cried out for help.
She added that the suspects were later apprehended at a bus stop
where they had reportedly gone to take hard drugs.
“The mother and child were immediately rushed to the hospital, where they received treatment and have since recovered.
“The suspects were apprehended, exhibits were recovered and investigation has been conducted at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID). Suspects will be charged to court on 2/06/2026,” Chinaka said.
Ex-Minister of Labour and Productivity, SellJoel Ikenya, has been declared winner of the governorship primaries conducted by the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Taraba State.
Mr Felix Hyat, the chairman of the election committee, who announced the results in Jalingo on Saturday, said Ikenya scored 34,173, to defeat Mr Dinshiya Usman, who polled 4,853.
Hyat, who described the exercise as free, fair and transparent, commended the state working committee of the party for the peaceful conduct.
Ikenya, in his acceptance speech, pledged to revive Taraba to her days of glory if elected governor in 2027.
“I will transform Taraba; I will change the state from salary base, to an industrialised state.
“My desire is to also revive the state infrastructure and attract more investors to boost the economy,” he said.
The governorship candidate, however, denied the allegations of factional PDP in Taraba.
“There is no factional PDP in Taraba; I don’t know where the other people are coming from.
“PDP in Taraba is one, and we do not have any faction in the state. We are working as one united family to reclaim our mandate from Gov. Agbu Kefas of the All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, the Nyesom Wike led faction of the party had recently declared senator Emmanuel Bwacha as its governorship candidate in Taraba.
NAN
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