Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajuddeen, says budgets have not met expectations of improved service delivery and development. He stated this on Wednesday in his speech after the presentation of the N27.5 trillion 2024 budget by President Bola Tinubu. Tajudeen said: “Although the government budget is an important tool for economic management and promoting growth and development, it has generally not met the expectations of improved service delivery and development. This has largely been due to challenges relating to budget enactment, budget implementation and budget oversight. “The well-known gaps in the various stages of the budget process underscore…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday presented the 2024 budget to the National Assembly’s joint session. It is President Tinubu’s first full-year budget since he assumed office in May. READ FULL SPEECH HERE “In furtherance of my sacred duties and obligations as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my honour to be here today to present my administration’s 2024 Budget Proposal to this Joint Session of the 10th National Assembly. This moment is especially profound and significant to me because it is my first annual budgetary presentation to the National Assembly. Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of…

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the old N200, N500, N1000 notes should continue to co-exist with the new notes till further notice. The apex court ruled that both old and new notes should continue to remain legal tender until the Federal Government put a process in place for its replacement or redesign after due consultation with relevant stakeholders. The seven-man panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro gave the ruling following an application by the Federal Government seeking asking the court to grant an extension of time for old naira notes to remain in circulation as a legal tender.…

The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, says the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project which aims to link European market is expected to begin in 2024. Under this project, Gas is expected to be transported through the participating countries, including Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco. Mr Ekpo, while receiving a delegation of envoys from the Kingdom of Morocco led by its Ambassador to Nigeria, Moha Ou Ali Tagma on Monday in Abuja, said Nigeria was ready and interested in the project. the delegation visited…

Manchester City produced a superb second-half performance to recover from being from two goals down and beat RB Leipzig to secure top spot in Champions League Group G. After a lacklustre start, the introduction of Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku early in the second half changed everything. Phil Foden set up a goal for Erling Haaland before an adroit finish of his own pulled the game level. After more good work by Foden it was Alvarez that settled the match with three minutes of the game left, as City maintained their perfect record in this year’s competition with a fifth…

Kylian Mbappe fired home a controversial penalty deep into stoppage time as PSG rescued a 1-1 draw and denied Newcastle United a famous win at the Parc des Princes. Luis Enrique’s side were keen to try and avenge the 4-1 drubbing they suffered at St James’ Park earlier in the campaign and made a lightning start with Fabian Ruiz and Mbappe going close. However, The Magpies rode out the initial storm and then silenced the boisterous home support on 24 minutes when Alexander Isak tucked in the rebound after Gianluigi Donnarumma spilled Miguel Almiron’s 20-yard shot. PSG were left frustrated…

Borussia Dortmund reached the last 16 of the Champions League with a win over AC Milan at the San Siro. Marco Reus turned home from the penalty spot to open Dortmund’s account just four minutes after Milan’s Olivier Giroud had an early penalty saved. Super Eagles Winger Samuel Chukwueze levelled the scoring with his first goal for Milan – after a €28m move in the summer transfer window –  before half-time. But 19-year-old Englishman Jamie Bynoe-Gittens restored the German side’s advantage in the second half before Karim Adeyemi scored to seal the win. Dortmund sit three points ahead of Paris…

President Bola Tinubu has urged the Senate to consider and approve his request to obtain a loan of $8,699,168,559 and €100 million as part of the federal government’s 2022 – 2024 external borrowing plan. Tinubu’s letter of request was read in plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday. The president noted that the World Bank and African Development Bank had pledged interest to support the loan with $1 billion and N1.5 billion, respectively. According to the President, the loan will be used for infrastructure, agriculture, health, roads, security and employment. “The project cuts across all sectors, with specific emphasis…

The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, is set to spend more time behind bars as he failed to produce the ₦300 million bail amount specified by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), High Court. The court had earlier granted Emefiele bail on charges related to corrupt practices. Justice Hamza Muazuof the Federal Capital Territory High Court Abuja had initially granted bail to Emefiele in the sum of ₦300 million, along with two sureties in like sum. The bail application was filed by his legal representative, Mathew Burkaa, SAN. This decision comes after the former CBN…

President Bola Tinubu will, on Wednesday, depart Abuja for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to attend the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP28) Climate Summit. In a statement issued on Wednesday by the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, the World Leaders’ Summit will take place on December 1 and 2, 2023, under the theme, “Unite, Act, and Deliver.” Ngelale said President Tinubu will deliver a national statement at the summit, highlighting Nigeria’s stance on various thematic issues, including renewable energy and climate financing. Mindful of the severe impact of climate change on Nigeria, such as desertification, flooding, erosion, drought, and national…

There were scenes of wild celebrations as Rivers Hoopers were crowned champions of the 2023 Nigeria Premier Basketball League on Saturday in Port Harcourt after they defeated Nigeria Customs 77-57 on the last day of the Final Four playoff to end the campaign with an unbeaten record of 13 games. Consequently, the KingsMen picked the ticket as Nigeria’s sole representative at the 2024 Basketball Africa League. Earlier in the day, Gboko City Chiefs defeated Hoops & Read 80-70 to move temporarily on top of the league standings and opened up a three-way battle for the league title, with all of…

Willian scored an injury-time winner from the penalty spot as Wolves were on the wrong end of more video assistant referee controversy in their Premier League defeat at Fulham. Alex Iwobi had opened the scoring in the seventh minute for the hosts, side-footing Antonee Robinson’s cutback through the legs of Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa. Matheus Cunha equalised for the visitors after 22 minutes, heading in Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s cross after the Frenchman skilfully beat Robinson down the right. Willian restored Fulham’s lead with the first penalty of the game just before the hour mark after Nelson Semedo had caught Tom Cairney…