Author: Julius Alagbe

Reps Demand Remittance of N30b NSIPA Recovered Funds to TSA The House of Representatives has called for the remittance of over N30 billion recovered from the presidential inquiry into the financial infractions on National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) fund to the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The resolution was arrived at, following a motion of urgent national importance moved by Rep. Saidu Abdullahi (APC-Bida/Gbako/Katcha) in Abuja on Tuesday. Abdullahi said that the ongoing delay in the disbursement of the recovered funds had deepened poverty by disrupting President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda regarding poverty alleviation. He expressed worries that credible…

Japan’s Letter to UN Chief Full of Hypocritical Lies-Chinese Spokesperson Japan’s letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is full of erroneous views and hypocritical lies, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday. In the letter, the Japanese side claims to adhere to the so-called “consistent position” on the Taiwan question, but it has remained evasive on what exactly this “consistent position” is and has yet to give China a direct answer. Lin said at a regular news briefing. China firmly opposes Japan’s moves to challenge the post-war international order and its attempts to resurrect militarism, Lin said. Lin…

Contractors Demand N760bn Payment From Finance Ministry The All Indigenous Contractors Association of Nigeria (AICAN) has urged the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, to honour his promise to release N760 billion as the first tranche of payment owed to local contractors. AICAN President, Mr Jackson Nwosu, made the call during a protest in Abuja on Tuesday. He spoke through the association’s Secretary-General, Mr Babatunde Oyeniyi. Oyeniyi said the minister gave the assurance during several meetings held after the association suspended its Nov. 6 protest following the intervention of the Senate spokesperson, Sen. Adeyemi Adaramodu. Nwosu said the minister had…

Tinubu Nominates Christopher Musa New Defence Minister ‎ ‎President Bola Tinubu has nominated retired Gen. Christopher Musa as the new Minister of Defence. A letter conveying the nomination was sent to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday for confirmation. ‎Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, announced the development in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja. The retired general’s nomination follows Monday’s resignation of Defence Minister Badaru Abubakar on health grounds, a decision promptly accepted by President Bola Tinubu. ‎Musa, 58, served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until his retirement in October. He previously won the Colin Powell Award…

Peter Mbah of Presents ₦1.62trn Appropriation Bill for 2026 Fiscal Year Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State on Tuesday presented an appropriation bill of ₦1.62 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly for consideration and passage. Presenting the budget tagged “Budget of Renewed Momentum” in Enugu, Mbah said the figure represented 66.5 per cent higher than the 2025 budget. He said that the budget was expected to sustain the momentum his administration had achieved in the last two years, which he maintained had been impactful. Giving a breakdown of the budget estimate, Mbah said that…

PDP will Overcome its Challenges A former National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagum, has assured that the party will surmount its current challenges. Damagum gave the assurance during a formal handover to the new National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in Abuja on Tuesday. According to him, in spite of the current challenges, the future of PDP remains bright, insisting that the party will recover from its crisis that had made it to lose some governors to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). “We are a party to beat; that is why they are trying to…

Nigeria’s Debt to Drop Around 36% of GDP in 2025 –Moody’s Nigeria’s debt is projected to hover around 36% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025, Moody’s Ratings said at the end of completing a review. The National Bureau of Statistics reported this week that the country’s total public debt has surpassed N152 trillion as of the second quarter of 2025. Debt to GDP remains below the Debt Office target and fiscal responsibility benchmark, according to analysts. But the spate of borrowing has continue to increase despite rising revenue from crude oil receipt, supported by increase production volume…

Tough Nov. for Naira: CBN Steps Up FX Interventions by 348% The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) FX injections into the currency market increased by 348% to about $637 million in November as the naira came under pressure. The Apex Bank interventions in the forex market spiked as foreign portfolio investors rotated out from the Nigerian market amidst Nigeria’s new capital gains tax policy. While FX outflows increased, the market was faced with a dollar shortage. Without the CBN, the naira would have automatically crossed N1500-N1600 range given a significant FX outflow from the markets. The authority injected $636.60 million…

NUPRC Opens Oil Blocks Licensing Portal, Targets $10 Billion The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced the official commencement of the Nigeria 2025 Licensing Round, marking another major step in the Federal Government’s drive to enhance the sector. Mr Gbenga Komolafe, the Commission Chief Executive, NUPRC, on Monday unveiled the dedicated bid portal: br2025.nuprc.gov.ng during a press briefing at the commission’s Headquarters in Abuja. Unveiling the portal, Komolafe said the development was in the bid to expand investment, strengthen transparency, and deepen exploration in the upstream sector. The CCE recalled that recent licensing initiatives, particularly the 2022 Mini-Bid…

Cloud Accelerator Programme: MTN Gives 20 Startups N100mn MTN Nigeria has unveiled to investors solutions by 20 early-stage startups, who are the first cohort of its 12 weeks Cloud Accelerators programme in Lagos. The unveiling was the highlight of the MTN Cloud Accelerator Demo Day and Investors Mixer held on Monday. Ms. Linda Saint-Nwafor, the Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to boosting Africa’s digital economy through locally anchored infrastructure, mentorship and N100m funding for the startups. She disclosed that about 8000 early stage startups applied for the first cohort of the MTN Cloud Accelerator…