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Some loyal members of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Oyo State to Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso have denied involvement in a group that recently declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election.

The members, in a joint statement made available to journalists, described as mischievous a report claiming that some individuals purportedly representing the Southwest Kwankwasiyya faction had joined the JDS Movement and declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Sharafadeen Alli and other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.

They said the Oyo State Kwankwasiyya Movement had never aligned with the APC or any of its candidates and would not do so.

The statement reads: ‘The individuals claiming to represent our group acted entirely on their own volition without the knowledge, consent, or authority of the party and the movement in Oyo State.

‘Let it be stated in the strongest possible terms: that we are collapsing the NNPP and the Kwankwasiyya Movement in Oyo State into the OK Movement and the Kwankwaso National Mobilization (KNM).

‘This is our collective decision, and it is irreversible. We shall not be distracted by the antics of political jobbers who are desperately seeking relevance by auctioning the mandate of the people to the highest bidder.

‘We call on all our members, supporters, and the good people of Oyo State to disregard any information saying we have shifted our support to President Tinubu. We continue to stand firm with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya Movement.’

The loyalists said they had deliberately withheld their mandate and endorsement due to the possibility of an impending alliance involving political parties across Nigeria in support of their principal.

The Federal Government has inaugurated a 10-member independent investigative committee, headed by retired Deputy Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Jonathan Kure, to investigate the reported deaths of 37 persons in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, inaugurated the committee in Abuja on Tuesday, following reports that 37 persons arrested on suspicion of illegal mining died while in the custody of the NSCDC Niger State Command.

The committee has two weeks to complete its assignment and submit its report to the Minister.

Tunji-Ojo said the committee was constituted in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive for a comprehensive, transparent and unhindered investigation into the incident.

He said the government’s immediate priority was to establish the facts surrounding the deaths and ensure that anyone found culpable would be held accountable.

The Minister said: ‘No life should be lost in the custody of the State. This is not who we are. This is not what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, stands for.

‘This administration was elected on the promise that every Nigerian life matters, and that security must be provided with humanity, professionalism and respect for human rights.’

Tunji-Ojo disclosed that he had ordered the immediate suspension of the Niger State Commandant of the NSCDC, as well as all officers who were on duty covering arrest, investigation, legal, station and guard duties between 15 and 17 September 2026.

He said the affected officers would remain suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

According to him, the committee is expected to establish the identities of the deceased; investigate and document the circumstances surrounding their arrest and detention; and determine, through appropriate medical and forensic examination, the cause and manner of death.

The committee is also expected to determine whether negligence, misconduct, complicity or any breach of duty occurred and recommend appropriate disciplinary action, compensation where applicable, as well as measures to prevent a recurrence.

Members of the committee are Kure, chairman; Prof Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, former Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, secretary; retired AIG Hosea Hassan Karma; Prof Olayinka Buhari, Professor of Histopathology and former Chief Medical Director, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; a representative of the Minna Emirate Council; a representative of the Niger State Government; Alhaji Liman Sulaiman, National Secretary, Miners Association of Nigeria; lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Deji Adeyanju; Mrs Zainab Suleiman Okino of Blueprint Newspapers; and Dr George Agbakahi, public affairs analyst.

The Minister authorised the committee to co-opt relevant experts, access facilities and request memoranda from members of the public in the course of its assignment.

He also directed the NSCDC leadership and relevant officers to cooperate fully with the investigation, stressing that all records and material evidence connected with the incident must be preserved and made available to the committee.

Tunji-Ojo warned against any attempt to destroy or conceal evidence, intimidate witnesses or obstruct the investigation, saying such actions would be treated as a serious offence.

He assured Nigerians that the government was committed to uncovering the truth, adding that no officer, regardless of position, would be shielded if found culpable.

‘To Nigerians, I say this: We owe you the truth. This committee will give you the truth. No officer, no matter how highly placed, will be shielded if found culpable,’ he said.

He also appealed to the families of the deceased to remain calm and patient, assuring them that the government would not abandon them.

Speaking after his inauguration, the committee chairman, Kure, described the assignment as a call to national service rather than an appointment.

He said members of the committee were committed to protecting their integrity and would approach the investigation without bias or sentiment.

‘This is a privilege and we do not see it as an appointment but a call to national service. Some of us have had the opportunity to serve this nation for 35 years and even in retirement, we are always willing to answer this type of call,’ Kure said.

He disclosed that when the minister approached him to lead the committee, he accepted on the condition that his integrity would not be compromised.

‘When the Minister called me, I said, Hon Minister, on one condition – you know who I am. And he said that was precisely why he was calling me, and I believe it is so with all members of this committee,’ he said.

Kure assured Nigerians that the committee would conduct the investigation with open minds and would not be influenced by sentiments or media reports.

‘We shall ensure justice by going to the field with open minds. We want to give this assurance to Nigerians. We are not swayed by sentiments or media hypes that might have been given.

‘We will come back with our report and our integrity intact. We must give hope to this country,’ he said.

Cassava remains the backbone of food security and agribusiness across Nigeria. From our daily garri, fufu, and lafun to commercial starch and animal feed, the market demand never drops.

Yet, many local growers struggle when harvest season arrives. They invest in expensive bundles of improved stems, spend money on weeding, and still dig out thin, waterlogged roots that rot before reaching the market.

Cassava roots do not thrive in hard, suffocating earth. If the ground is too tight or traps water during heavy downpours, the tubers will choke, stay stunted, or simply decay underground.

In this article, Tribune Online examines the essential soil preparation steps Nigerian farmers must take to maximise cassava farming yield Nigeria and turn dry, stubborn farmland into a high-yielding goldmine.

Choose the right farmland

The journey to an abundant harvest begins with site selection. Cassava tolerates harsh environments, but it performs best in deep, well-drained sandy-loam or loamy soil.

Avoid heavy clay soils that become sticky mud during rainy months and bake into concrete blocks during dry spells. Clay holds excess standing water around developing roots, cutting off oxygen and triggering fungal root rot.

According to agricultural advisories published by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), selecting gently sloping or flat terrain prevents severe gully erosion while making land clearing and mechanisation much easier for the grower.

Clear and destump the plot

Once you have secured suitable farmland, you must clear the top vegetation properly. Clear bushes, shrubs, and dense grasses down to soil level without stripping away precious topsoil.

Do not burn plant debris across the entire field. Heavy burning destroys beneficial soil microbes, wipes out earthworms, and evaporates volatile nutrients like nitrogen and carbon.

Remove hard tree stumps and underground woody roots thoroughly. Stumps left behind damage tractor discs during tillage, crowd out cassava roots, and harbor fungal spores that attack tender stem cuttings.

Deep plough to break compacted layers

After clearing, break up the ground through deep ploughing. You should aim to loosen the soil to a depth of at least twenty to thirty centimeters.

Years of foot traffic, heavy rain impact, and natural settling create a hard underground crust known as a hardpan. When young cassava roots encounter this dense layer, their outward expansion halts, resulting in twisted, pencil-thin tubers.

Ploughing shatters this underground barrier, letting root tubers penetrate freely into the earth to draw moisture during dry spells while developing thick, marketable bulking.

Harrow for optimal soil texture

Ploughing leaves behind massive dirt clods that leave dangerous air pockets around newly buried cassava stems. Harrowing breaks these giant chunks down into a fine, crumbly bed.

This crumbly texture ensures that the planted stem cuttings remain firmly tucked into moist soil. Good soil-to-stem contact accelerates bud sprouting, which reduces the rate of stem rot and limits gaps in your planting density.

Harrowing also exposes latent weed seeds, dormant pests, and beetle larvae to the direct midday heat, killing them off naturally before your crop begins to establish.

Enrich farmland with organic matter

Healthy cassava yields depend heavily on balanced organic nutrients rather than an immediate rush to synthetic chemical fertilizers. Incorporating well-cured cow dung, poultry droppings, or compost directly into the soil before making ridges pays off immensely.

Organic manure enhances soil structure, retains moisture during dry spells, and delivers slow-releasing potassium, which is the primary nutrient responsible for tuber bulking.

Mix the organic matter evenly into the harrowed field so that developing roots encounter rich nutrients as soon as they shoot downward.

Make high ridges or mounds

Planting cassava flat on unprepared ground is one of the quickest ways to lose a harvest to sudden floods. Making raised beds, ridges, or large mounds elevates your crop above standing surface water.

Construct your ridges roughly thirty to forty centimeters high, spaced one meter apart from crest to crest. This height provides adequate space for tubers to expand horizontally and vertically without fighting soil resistance.

Ridging also streamlines pest management, makes weeding faster, and slashes labor costs during harvest, allowing farm hands to lift whole clusters cleanly without snapping the tubers.

Test and correct soil acidity

Cassava tolerates mildly acidic soils, but extreme acidity locks away essential plant nutrients such as phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium.

If your farmland has been exhausted by continuous monocropping or excessive chemical use, apply agricultural lime or wood ash across the field at least three weeks before ridging.

Liming sweetens the ground, balances the soil pH to the optimal range of 5.5 to 6.5, and activates soil microorganisms that break down natural fertilizer into forms your cassava roots can easily absorb.

By taking these preliminary steps seriously before planting, you set your farm up for a bountiful harvest. Healthy cassava farming starts deep below the surface, and investing in good soil preparation today guarantees heavy, rot-free tubers when harvest day arrives.