Category Nigeria News

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has approved the $1. 7 trillion appropriation bill for the 2026 fiscal year, an increase of 63 percent from the $1. 04 trillion budget from 2025.

The governor explained that the proposed budget includes a total of 624.76 billion (37%) for recurrent expenditure and 1.044 trillion for capital expenditure when he presented the Appropriation Bill, which is titled “Budget of Sustainable Legacy” to members of the State House of Assembly in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

The proposed budget’s main components include: Personnel Costs of 167.92 billion, Consolidated Revenue Charges of 65.80 billion, Public Debt Charges of 99.98 billion, Overhead Costs of 290.06 billion, and Capital Expenditure of 1.044 trillion.

Governor Abiodun provided information on funding sources, stating that the Ogun State Internal Revenue Service, 250 billion, and 259.80 billion are anticipated to generate internal revenue (IGR), and 259.88 billion will be generated by MDAs. Capital receipts of $518.90 billion, including internal and external loans and grants, are anticipated, in addition to the anticipated statutory allocation from the Federal Government, which is anticipated to be $5544.81 billion.

The governor stated that while infrastructure will receive the most money, it will be divided between Health, Health, and Health, with a share of 275.40 billion (17%), Housing and Community Development, Housing and Community Development, and Agriculture and Industry, which will be a share of 210.59 billion (13%), and Infrastructure, which will be a share of 225.15 billion (32%).

Social Protection is provided for at 72.82 billion (4 percent), Recreation, Culture, and Religion is provided for at 42.24 billion (3 percent), General Public Service — Executive Organ at 55.65 billion (3 percent), General Public Service — Financial and Fiscal Affairs at 52.30 billion (3 percent), and Personnel Service at 3.86 billion (0.2%), respectively.

Public Order and Safety will get ₦36 billion (2 percent), Economic Affairs, ₦7.45 billion (0.4 percent), Judiciary, ₦15.70 billion (1 percent), Legislature, ₦33.67 billion (2 percent), while Statewide Expenditure accounts for ₦129.68 billion (8 percent).

Governor Abiodun stated that the 2026 budget would concentrate on completing significant ISEYA development projects.

He declared, “We will concentrate on projects with high revenue-generating potential, projects that increase employment generation, projects that are in line with the State Economic Development Plan and Strategy, projects that are in line with the Medium-Term National Development Plan, and projects that are in line with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.”

The governor noted that the state had met its pro-rata expenditure target of 60% and pro-rata revenue performance of 53% as of September 30th, 2025, when it reviewed the implementation of the 2025 Budget of Hope and Prosperity.

He claimed that the 2025 budget was intended to promote equality, combat inequality, and raise overall standards of living.

He added that it was intended to expand opportunities for all, empower citizens in all sectors, and implement specific social interventions to address urgent needs.

Abiodun described the 2026 budget as significant because it was released at a time when key sectors saw renewed investor confidence, improved economic performance, and significant growth.

Daniel Bwala, president’s special adviser to president Bola Tinubu on policy communication, claimed that in response to recent remarks made by US President Donald Trump, Nigeria’s security has increased.

Bwala stated that the country is going through a difficult time in an interview with Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday.

The persistent security issues in Nigeria are the product of two theories. The first is that these events typically occur back-to-back as the election cycle draws near.

However, a much stronger theory is currently being debated: following Donald Trump’s initial outburst, we started seeing repeated security incidents. Some people believe it to be an attempt to justify talk of a potential military intervention in Nigeria, he said.

Read more about US Congress’s demand to the Nigerian government to abolish hisbah commissions and impose sanctions on it

His remarks come in response to President Trump’s decision last month to designate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” accusing the government of facilitating what he called the West African nation’s genocide.

Trump also cautioned the Nigerian government to “fish out” those responsible for the country’s unrest by urging them to act quickly or risk US military intervention.

Since Trump’s order to investigate the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria on October 31 led to the US Congress holding two sessions.

Bwala stated that the Nigerian government is working to end the security crisis by taking into account both the perceptions of the world and the actual experiences of its citizens.

Areas in Nigeria still have to be administered because of their demographic and geographic complexity, he claims.

The size of Nigeria is greater than that of some European nations. The cities are very different in northern Nigeria from the south, which is very different. Cities are close to one another in the south, but “traveling from one city to another feels like visiting a different country,” he said.

President Bola Tinubu sworn in Aminu Yusuf, the new head of the National Population Commission (NPC), along with two other commission commissioners.

Members of the council witnessed the brief ceremony that took place during the opening session of the Federal Executive Council meeting.

Yusuf from Niger State was appointed NPC Chairman on October 22, 2025, while Tonga Betara Bularafa from Yobe State and Nasarawa State Governor Joseph Haruna Kigbu were appointed commissioners.

Senate Appoints Chairman and Commissioners for the National Population Commission

Along with the NPC officials, five permanent secretaries sworn in.

Yusuf was appointed as the head of the National Population Commission (NPC) in October, and the Council of State approved that appointment.

Despite the rumored rescue of some of her coworkers, Walter Emeribe, the husband of Mrs. Chinwe of the Federal Ministry of Defence, claims he has not heard from her.

Emeribe claimed in an interview with Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday that he took her to a park in Festac, Lagos, and stayed there until the bus left for Abuja on November 9, 2025.

Also read: Pastor’s wife and kidnapped as gunmen attack a church in Kogi.

He claimed he had not spoken to his wife in about two months and that he had last spoken to her when the 14-seater bus traveled to Akure, Ondo State.

“I called again around 4 o’clock in the afternoon. She emitted no information to me. It would ring each time I called, but there was no response. I continued until midnight, then. I called every second until midnight, but I didn’t go to sleep.

I called, “So it’s getting to 6 a. m. on Monday,” I said. I became somewhat afraid because I didn’t hear anything. “Emeribe stated, “I became jittery.

He added that after being unable to reach her for several hours, he became agitated, and that the bus company informed him that she and other bus passengers had been abducted in Kabba.

According to what we heard in the news, they were abducted when they arrived in Kabba on the Lokoja Highway. And my wife hasn’t gotten a word from us since then. She is speaking nowhere near me. No one called me, and I have not seen her.

Emeribe said when questioned about the release of some of the victims, “I heard it on the news that two television stations mentioned that they had been released,” and that the six Ministry of Defence directors who were en route to Abuja for a promotion exam had been abducted and had now reunited with their families.

“I was not happy when I had this,” I thought. I had a bad feeling. Why did the association of senior civil servants of the Ministry of Defense release this information, I asked.

“And their president, Mr. Mohammed Shehu, by name, made this statement. So that was not what I wanted. Where is my wife and Mrs. Juliana Onwuzurike’s other woman, if they have released them?

“Six of the people I knew were already released, and that’s when I started to inquire about their release, and where are my wife and the other family as well?”

“So we are told at the end that four people were released, and these four people are nowhere to be seen … and why our wives were not included in those who were released,” we are told.

Government Appeal

Emeribe then requested that the ministry inform him of where his wife was hiding.

Because my wife was assigned to an official assignment, the Ministry of Defense has not yet released these four men, and they have all been released, I am actually asking them to tell me where she is.

So I want them to inform me of my wife’s location. They should tell me whether she is alive or dead. Otherwise, he said, “I don’t know what to do.”

So they should search for my wife whether she is alive or dead, as I said. They haven’t taken any proactive steps in the past.

“So all I want from them is for them to come out and find a way to see my wife wherever she is, along with Mrs. Juliana Onwuzurike, the two of them who are nowhere to be seen. They ought to reach out to the transportation company that transported these women to Abuja, he continued.

On their way to Abuja for a promotional exam to the directorate cadre, Mrs. Chinwe and five other Federal Ministry of Defense staff members were abducted in Kabba, Kogi State.

At Kofar Sauri Community in Katsina, a devastating midnight fire claimed the lives of five family members and destroyed property worth millions of naira.

Before neighbors could intervene, the home was completely consumed by the fire that broke out just before 3 o’clock on Monday, leaving the neighborhood in shock and mourning.

Muhammad Habibu, 35, his wife Fatima Muhammad, and their three children Khadija, female, Abubakar, male, and Aliyu, male, were all burnt to death beyond recognition.

Up until his death, Muhammad Habibu, the husband, worked for the Katsina State Water Board as a temporary employee.

KWARA: 38 Abducted Eruku Worshippers Return Home

Residents claim that the fire was started by a high voltage when the area’s electricity was restored, despite the fact that no one has yet identified the exact cause.

When the victim’s family was utterly asleep, the fire reportedly started in the living room and quickly spread to the entire victim’s home.

One of the victims’ neighbors, Magaji Bala, complained that residents frequently go days without electricity until the community’s high voltage causes havoc whenever it is restored.

“Some regions of the Katsina metropolis have experienced such cases.” A similar incident recently was on the verge of occurring. He urged residents to be cautious with this, he said.

Eyewitnesses claimed that neighbors’ attempts to extinguish the flames failed, decrying the late arrival of Katsina State Fire Service officials.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihir-raji’un, a relative of the victims, was said by a man who was nearby, “To Allah we belong and to Him we shall all return.”

“I didn’t realize it was normal until around 3:30 a.m. when I realized something was wrong.

Around 3:00 a.m., I sensed something, but I wasn’t sure until I received a call around 4:00 a.m. informing me that my brother and his entire family had died in the fire. May Aljannah Firdausi accept their souls.

According to Kasim, “my younger brother from the same father was the head of the household.”

Contrary to what eyewitnesses claimed, the Katsina State Fire Service’s Chief Fire Officer, Rabe Kurmiyal, confirmed when contacted that the fire was finally put out by fire fighters.

Residents urged the authorities to stop these tragedies from happening frequently, which quickly kill people and wreck property.

Hajiya Binta Dangani, the executive secretary of the Katsina State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), thanked the victims’ families, friends, and neighbors for their understanding of the incident and prayed for their entry into Jannatul Firdausi and their pardon.

Dangani, who arrived on the scene moments after the incident, prayed that such tragedies would end.

She urged residents to always turn off electrical appliances before going to bed and use the utmost care when handling fire, as well, as assurance that the government would continue to help the victims’ families.

President Buhari’s policy communication adviser Daniel Bwala has defended his previous demand that Goodluck Jonathan step down in wake of the Chibok schoolgirl abduction.

The Chibok girls’ abduction was Nigeria’s first significant mass school abduction, and it sparked outcry worldwide.

At the time, Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and a prominent opposition figure, had demanded his resignation and had criticized Jonathan for securing every region of the nation.

Many people have re-read his earlier comments about Jonathan because insecurity and school kidnappings are now a problem in Tinubu’s administration.

However, Bwala defended Tinubu in a statement on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, arguing that the call was appropriate given the circumstances at the time.

INCLUDE   Bwala Insists because Tinubu’s government won’t tolerate negotiations with terrorists.

They had no idea of the solution in Jonathan’s day. What made that statement? They denied the kidnapping of the Chibok girls, according to Bwala.

It was a legitimate request from President Tinubu, then Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to demand Jonathan’s resignation. ”

According to Bwala, terrorists used their position of control to occupy some local governments and collect taxes, while under Tinubu, they frequently attack and then flee without establishing control.

The Tinubu-led Federal Government does not want to engage in dialogue with terrorist organizations, according to the presidential adviser.

According to Bwala, any administration can face difficult, sometimes unconventional, choices because of the complexity of Nigeria’s security issues.

There was a time when the federal government was negotiating with terrorists, and former Kaduna governor said both states and the federal government could face negotiations, he said.

Because you have to do everything you can to save people when they are in danger, and you are the only one who can save them, you must do it at that time.

However, President Tinubu brought this zero tolerance on negotiation because it disintegrated into the terrorism financing. You see, you are unconsciously funding terrorism.

Instead of using the ransom money to purchase additional weapons, elements who sponsor them also use the money to pay for additional weapons.