Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima will spend N10.13 billion on meals and travels, according to the details of the 2024 budget proposal. The N27.5trn budget proposal is being scrutinized by the National Assembly. The budget has a total aggregate revenue projection of N18.32 trillion and a deficit of N9.18 trillion (3.88 per cent of GDP). The fiscal document proposes capital expenditure of N8.7trn and recurrent, N18.51trn. Travels According to the budget proposal, Tinubu will spend N638.5m on local trips and N6.9 billion on foreign trips, totaling N7.6 billion. Shettima’s travels will gulp N1.8 billion out of…

The Minister of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani has opened up on the reason for the poor communication network in the country. The minister said that it will cost about $2bn to lay fibre optics cables across Nigeria. Tijani stated this during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Tuesday. He also said that advanced technology, the Fifth-Generation (5G) network, exists in Nigeria. He, however, said the infrastructure that supports the advanced technology is not everywhere in the country. Speaking further, the minister revealed that vandalism is to be blamed for the drop calls and poor telecommunication…

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has issued warrants for the arrest of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, and 17 other officials for failing to appear before the committee. The decision followed the adoption of a motion by Representative Fred Agbedi (PDP-Bayelsa) during the committee’s hearing on Tuesday. Agbedi argued that the arrest warrants were necessary due to the non-compliance of the invitees. He proposed that the CEOs be brought before the committee by the Inspector General of Police, following due diligence by the Speaker, Rep Tajudeen…

Declan Rice’s last-gasp header snatched victory for Arsenal in a seven-goal thriller at Luton to move them five points clear at the top of the Premier League. It was the conclusion to a compelling encounter in which the hosts twice fought back and threatened to win when Elijah Adebayo and Ross Barkley scored in an eight-minute period after the break, with Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya culpable for both goals. However, the Hatters were denied a valuable point when Rice met Martin Odegaard’s cross in the seventh minute of stoppage time, 23 seconds after the six official minutes added on had…

Hwang Hee-chan scored a first-half winner as Wolves edged past relegation-threatened Burnley at Molineux. The Clarets had come into the game on the back of Saturday’s morale-boosting 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United, but were unable to back up that impressive showing and were left to rue a costly defensive error. On a chilly evening in the Midlands, the contest failed to spark into life until the 38th minute when stand-in goalkeeper Daniel Bentley made a fine double save to deny Jay Rodriguez then Josh Brownhill’s follow-up at full stretch. Having been in a position to lead, the visitors then conceded…

Gov Peter Mbah of Enugu State, has presented a budget of ₦521.6billion for 2024 to the State House of Assembly for approval. He said that the budget was made up of ₦107.2billion recurrent expenditure and ₦414.3billion capital expenditure. He gave the breakdown of the recurrent expenditure to include opening balance of ₦11billion, Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) ₦252billion, statutory revenue ₦60billion, excess crude and others ₦16billion and Value Added Tax (VAT) ₦44billion. The governor said that 33% of the budget would go into education sector, adding that the government had started the construction of 260 ultra-modern smart schools in all the…

The Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed a fine of N40 million on Mike Ozekhome, a human rights activist and constitutional lawyer, for filing a ‘frivolous motion’ before the court in respect of the Imo State governorship tussle decided in 2019. In a ruling by Justice Tijani Abubakar, he ordered the Senior lawyer to personally pay the N40m fine to the four respondents he dragged before the court. Abubakar held in the ruling that the request was strange, frivolous, baseless, unwarranted, vexatious and irritating. He further held that the motion was a calculated design to demonise the Supreme Court. Ozekhome, a…

The Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development, has inked a significant bilateral air service agreement with the State of Kuwait. The historic accord was formalized during the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, reflecting a commitment to fostering international cooperation in the realm of aviation. The signing ceremony took place, on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, at the Hilton Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, symbolizing the collaborative spirit between the two nations. The agreement is said to mark a pivotal moment in the diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Kuwait, opening avenues for enhanced connectivity and…

The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has ruled in favour of Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Igboho. The court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday ordered the Government of Benin Republic to pay 20 million CFA to Igboho. According to the court, the sum was compensation for violating Igboho’s fundamental rights and unlawful detention. The court gave the order in a unanimous judgement delivered by Justices Gberi-Bé Ouattara, Sengu M. Koroma and Ricardo Claúdio Monteiro Goncalves, in the matter, marked: ECW/CCJ/APP/15/22, Chief Sunday Adeyemo vs. Republic of Benin. According to the…

Victor Osimhen has officially been crowned as the Italian Footballers’ Association (AIC) Footballer of the Year after a marvellous season in front of goal for Napoli.  The AIC awards, which began in 1968, include several notable accolades, including the team of the year, coach of the year, club of the year and goal of the season. After leading the line in the Partenopei’s first title-winning season in 33 years, Osimhen and his teammates were recognised across various categories on Monday evening. The most prestigious award of the night and the last to be handed out is the Player of the Year,…

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has announced bidding for its Falcon 900B aircraft. NAF made the announcement in a flyer shared on its X page, calling on interested persons to submit their bids. According to the flier, the aircraft was put up for sale following the approval of the Federal Government. The flier read in part, “The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the sale of Falcon 900B aircraft owned by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF). “In compliance with provisions of the public procurement Act 2007, the NAF hereby invites all interested parties to submit bids for purchase of the…

The alleged treason case filed by the Federal Government against a former Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore was stalled on Tuesday at the Federal High Court, Abuja due to the absence of the judge. Sowore is standing trial before Justice Emeka Nwite on allegations of treasonable felony. The federal government had accused Sowore of treason following his call for a protest tagged #RevolutionNow, on Aug. 5, 2019. Sowore was in court on Tuesday but the matter could not go on. His counsel, Mr. Marshall Abubakar told NAN that the court registrar had informed him that the…