Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has presented a ₦605.5 billion budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly. The budget, themed “Rural Development, Livelihood Support and Sustained Growth,” represents a 10 per cent increase over the 2025 appropriation and prioritises rural transformation and economic stability. Governor Alia said the proposal was designed to address years of underinvestment in rural communities, which he described as the backbone of food production and cultural heritage in the state. A breakdown of the estimates shows that ₦281.09 billion, representing 46.4 per cent of the budget, is allocated to recurrent…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
The United States government has announced a partial suspension of visa issuance to Nigerian citizens, with the policy scheduled to take effect from January 1, 2026. The decision was communicated in an official statement issued by the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, which explained that the measure is in line with a new presidential proclamation aimed at strengthening U.S. national security and border control. According to the statement, the suspension will begin at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on the effective date and will affect several visa categories. These include B1/B2 visitor visas for business and tourism, student and exchange visas…
The Presidency has weighed in on the controversy surrounding alleged discrepancies in the newly enacted tax reform laws scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026. The clarification comes amid calls by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, and several civil society organisations for the suspension of the implementation of the laws. A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulsamad Dasuki, had recently raised concerns over what he described as discrepancies between the tax laws passed by the National Assembly and the versions later gazetted and…
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, on Monday inaugurated the Governing Council of the Edo State College of Nursing Sciences, Benin City. The newly constituted council is chaired by Ikenria Johnbull, with Sedenu Igienelumeh, Idubor Imuetinyan, Adesua Iseghohi, Muhammed Abdullah, Monica Igbadumhe, and Paul Nobore serving as members. In his remarks, the governor charged the council members to reposition the institution for academic excellence in line with his administration’s development agenda, particularly in the education and health sectors. Okpebholo congratulated the appointees, describing their selection as well-deserved and a reflection of the confidence reposed in their capacity to deliver results. “Let…
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, on Monday, presented a ₦1.43 trillion Appropriation Bill for the 2026 fiscal year to the Imo State House of Assembly. The proposed budget represents a 78 per cent increase over the 2025 budget of ₦807 billion and is titled “Budget of Economic Breakthrough.” Presenting the budget, Uzodimma said it comprises 83.4 per cent capital expenditure and 16.6 per cent recurrent expenditure, reflecting his administration’s focus on infrastructure-driven economic growth. He explained that the proposed recurrent expenditure of about ₦238.499 billion would cover personnel costs, overheads, and statutory subventions, while capital expenditure was projected at slightly…
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has launched a dedicated nationwide hotline for Nigerians to report any MRS Oil Nigeria Plc filling stations selling Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) above the approved pump price of ₦739 per litre. The refinery said the move is aimed at promoting transparency, affordability, and consumer protection in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market. In a statement, Dangote Refinery announced that the hotline — 0800 123 5264 — is now active nationwide, allowing consumers to promptly report price violations across more than 2,000 MRS filling stations. The initiative follows the refinery’s recent commencement of nationwide PMS sales at ₦739 per litre,…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 39-year-old female drug kingpin and recovered 23.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in her children’s room in Surulere, Lagos. The arrest followed months of intelligence tracking after NDLEA operatives dismantled a cocaine trafficking syndicate in May 2024 across Lagos and Ogun states. According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, the suspect was a key member of the cartel that attempted to smuggle cocaine to Ghana. Earlier operations led to the arrest of a couple with 57.5kg of cocaine. Babafemi said the latest seizure, estimated at over ₦5 billion in street value, was…
President Bola Tinubu has warned state governors that he would issue an executive order to enforce direct financial allocations to local governments if they fail to comply with the Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to Nigeria’s third tier of government. The president issued the warning on Friday while addressing the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja. “The Supreme Court has capped it for you again, saying give them their money directly,” Tinubu said, adding that he would act if governors continue to delay implementation. ALSO READ FG pragmatically…
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has forecast predominantly sunny and hazy weather conditions across the country from Sunday to Tuesday. In its three-day weather outlook released on Saturday in Abuja, NiMet predicted sunny skies over the northern region throughout the period, with hazy atmospheric conditions expected across the North-Central states. According to the agency, parts of the South-South will experience weather disturbances, with localised morning thunderstorms and light rainfall forecast for areas of Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta states on Sunday. Later in the day, isolated thunderstorms are expected over Rivers, Delta, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa states. For Monday,…
Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has accused the Federal Government of presiding over the alleged fabrication of laws following the presentation of the 2026 national budget, warning that the development poses a grave threat to constitutional governance and public trust. In a statement titled “Migrating from Padded Budgets to Forged Laws,” posted on his X handle on Saturday, Obi alleged that documents passed by the National Assembly were materially altered before being published and enforced by the executive arm of government. President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National…