“As Chair of the Working Group on Regular Pathways/Trafficking in Persons, your role will include providing strategic leadership and coordination for the activities of the group, facilitating meetings and consultations among members, and supporting PCMM in identifying key issues, gaps, and emerging trends relating to migration and trafficking in persons,” the appointment letter stated.

The organisation outlined several responsibilities for the new chair, including leading the development of policy recommendations, advocacy messages, and position papers; promoting collaboration among civil society organisations, government agencies, development partners, and community actors; and encouraging knowledge-sharing and coordinated responses to migration challenges.

Duru will also be expected to support awareness campaigns on safe, orderly, and regular migration pathways while contributing to efforts aimed at preventing trafficking in persons and protecting survivors.

Other responsibilities include providing periodic updates and reports to PCMM leadership, representing the working group at meetings and advocacy engagements, and upholding the organisation’s values of promoting rights-based and humane responses to mixed migration.

PCMM noted that it expects the working group, under Duru’s leadership, to make significant contributions to the protection of migrants, the promotion of safer migration options, and the fight against human trafficking.

In accepting the appointment, Duru pledged to discharge his responsibilities in line with the vision, values, and objectives of the organisation.

The Platform for Cooperation on Mixed Migration is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on addressing migration challenges through collaboration, policy engagement, and the promotion of rights-based approaches to migration management and protection.

He expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for the opportunity to continue serving in the administration, pledging to bring greater dedication and commitment to his responsibilities.

Abdulaziz also commended leaders and colleagues within the communications team for their support, cooperation and guidance, which he said had contributed significantly to his work.

He further thanked friends, associates and stakeholders in the media sector for their encouragement and contributions to his professional journey.

Describing the confirmation as a fresh challenge, Abdulaziz said the new responsibility would require greater commitment and diligence in service to the nation.

“This is a new challenge that requires greater commitment, dedication and diligence in serving the nation,” he stated.

Opara pointed out the irony in Obi’s position, reminding the public that the former Anambra governor has historically been a significant beneficiary of the legal system.

He stated that “Peter is a product of the Nigerian Judiciary,” referencing how the courts restored Obi’s gubernatorial mandate in 2006 and intervened again in 2007 after political maneuvers threatened his office. According to Opara, Obi should be an ambassador for the judiciary rather than attacking it to pander to criminal elements, warning that “for a man going into a major election, pandering to terrorists is not an advantage.”

The Governor’s aide further emphasized that Obi’s criticism completely undermines the painstakingly transparent legal processes carried out by international and domestic courts. He noted that the judiciary intentionally permitted a live broadcast of Kanu’s final proceedings “precisely to avert careless statements like the one Obi made.”

Opara added that Obi is willing to jeopardize institutional integrity solely to advance a “futile personal ambition,” asserting that the presidential hopeful now owes an open apology to both the Nigerian judiciary and the courts in Finland.

His words, “Even if the judiciary pretends not to have seen Obi’s gaffe, history books will not forget that persons like Obi existed solely to destroy institutions and individuals who made them, just to advance a futile personal ambition. Peter owes both the Nigerian Judiciary and the courts in Finland an open apology.”

It can be recalled that in September 2025, a Finnish district court sentenced Simon Ekpa, Kanu’s protégé to six years in prison for using illegal means, weapons, and explosives to promote the independence of the purported Biafra region.

Shortly thereafter, in November 2025, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment after convicting him on seven terrorism-related charges, ruling that his broadcasts explicitly incited deadly violence against security forces and citizens in the region.Nigerian investment opportunities