Author: Our Reporter
The Senate on Tuesday passed a N68.32 trillion naira budget for 2026, boosting President Bola Tinubu’s original N58.47 trillion proposal by N9.85 trillion. NewsQuest reports that the move is to accelerate infrastructure and economic recovery. The spending plan allocates N4.80 trillion to statutory transfers, 15.81 trillion to debt service, 15.43 trillion to recurrent non-debt expenditures, and 32.29 trillion to capital projects through the development fund. The budget runs through December 31, 2026, with lawmakers emphasizing urgent needs in roads, power, and other sectors amid sluggish growth—though specifics on projects and new revenue sources remain under wraps. In a related development,…
Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday inaugurated the Office of the Vice President-Generation Unlimited (OVP-GenU) Secretariat, a new hub designed to propel a UNICEF-led initiative connecting 20 million Nigerian youths to education, skills training, and jobs by 2030. Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity Stanley Nkwocha in a statement said the Generation Unlimited (GenU) programme, a public-private-youth partnership, aims to tackle youth unemployment by aligning skills with industry needs. The statement said Shettima—represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia at the launch of the event, said the secretariat…
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is poised to team up with Finland on smart-city technology and clean energy as it grapples with rapid urban growth. Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike signaled the administration’s interest Tuesday during a meeting with Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria Sanna Selin. Minister Wike, identified infrastructure and agriculture as prime areas for collaboration, welcoming Helsinki’s know-how in green tech and digital services. “As a city, we are willing to cooperate with sister cities of other countries to see how we can partner in terms of infrastructure and agriculture,” Wike said. “You have already said here that…
The Senate on Tuesday approved President Bola Tinubu’s request for $6 billion in fresh external borrowing, a move to shore up budget shortfalls and fund infrastructure upgrades amid persistent fiscal strains. The approval, delivered hours after President Tinubu’s formal letter reached Senate President Godswill Akpabio, covers two facilities: $5 billion from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to finance the 2025 budget deficit and service existing debts, and $1 billion from UK Export Finance via Citibank in London for rehabilitating the Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island Port. Senator Aliyu Wamakko (APC-Sokoto North), chairman of the Senate Committee on Local…
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday requested Nigerian Senate approval for $6 billion in fresh foreign loans from the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, aiming to bolster budget execution and refinance costlier debts. Senate President Godswill Akpabio read two separate letters from President Tinubu during plenary session. The larger request targets up to $5 billion from First Abu Dhabi Bank, to be disbursed in tranches. Proceeds would fund priority infrastructure, support federal budget implementation and refinance pricier domestic and external borrowings, while covering urgent financial needs. President Tinubu also sought permission to issue naira-denominated federal-government securities as collateral, alongside…
The Maritime Administration and Safety Agency projected N724 billion in gross revenue for 2026, detailing spending on operations, infrastructure, and security during a budget defense at the National Assembly. The ambitious target, defended Tuesday before the House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, covers recurrent costs, capital projects, maritime security, seafarer training, and port upgrades. Committee chair Khadija Abba Ibrahim demanded realistic assumptions and strict performance metrics, warning agencies to own their projections or face scrutiny. “Opacity and weak performance will no longer be tolerated,” Ms. Ibrahim said. Lawmakers tied approvals to tangible results in safety, capacity building, and…
Nigeria’s Peoples Wellbeing Association plans to file suit in an Abuja high court to stop the renewal of lucrative pipeline surveillance contracts, which it says are unfairly concentrated among a handful of operators. The legal challenge, announced Tuesday, aims to force a more equitable split of the contracts across oil-producing states in the Niger Delta, arguing that the current setup undermines efficiency, transparency and regional stability. “This exclusionary arrangement threatens peace and national security,” said Aliyu Sadiq, head of the group’s legal unit, in a statement. Pipeline surveillance has become a multimillion-dollar business since the Niger Delta amnesty program launched…
The Federal Government is targeting 7% annual gross domestic product growth to combat poverty and surpass its 3% population growth rate, Finance Minister and coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun said Monday. Nigeria also needs about $14 billion in yearly infrastructure investment to close a persistent funding gap, Edun told official at Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in Lagos. He outlined a shift from economic stabilization to growth, emphasizing private capital over public financing and innovative tools instead of traditional debt. “We are moving from stabilisation to growth, from reliance on public financing to private capital mobilisation, and from traditional…
Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged Nigeria’s media to forge closer ties with the government, wielding their platforms for rigorous scrutiny and constructive dialogue to fortify democratic institutions. Speaking at the launch of broadcaster Babajide Kolade-Otitoju’s memoir, My Life and Journalists Hangout, and celebration of the TVC News director’s 60th birthday, Shettima argued that societal strength hinges on challenging ideas, not just generating them. “A society is diminished not by lack of ideas, but by the absence of men and women willing to question those ideas, test them against reason, and ask the difficult questions that shield a people from…
The Federal Government unveiled a major report on Monday to harness digital payments and identity systems to help small businesses tap into the vast opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACfTA) a market valued at $3.5 trillion. The report, titled “Cross-Border Digital Payments and Identity in Nigeria under the AfCFTA,” was launched by Ibrahim Hassan-Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, at an event hosted by the Office of the Vice President in partnership with ODI Global’s Supporting Investment and Trade in Africa programme. “This research is both timely and strategic,” Hassan-Hadejia said, crediting coordination from…