^{A lawmaker in the 7th National Assembly, Senator Ita Enang, has said that with the “low” amounts allocated to critical sectors of the economy, President Bola Tinubu might not have any substantial projects to justify his reelection in the 2027 electioneering process.}

^{“I have read the budget and have gone through almost all the sectors. It is not reflective and it is incapable of giving Mr President projects to commission which he can be proud of in 2026,” Enang said on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television.}

^{On December 18, 2024, Tinubu presented the 2025 ₦49.7tn budget proposal before a joint session of the National Assembly for approval. The lawmakers are to resume on February 4, 2025, after the ongoing defense of the proposed budget by ministries, departments, and agencies.}

^{Enang, who served as Senior Special Assistant to then-President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters, faulted what he described as low revenue allocation, low revenue generation, and low revenue mobilisation in the 2025 proposed budget.}

^{The chieftain of the president’s party, the ruling All Progressives Congress, said the 2025 Appropriation Bill if passed by the legislature and signed into law by the president without major adjustments, can’t deliver sectoral fulfillment. He said if passed the way it is, it will become a problem for Tinubu’s reelection.}

^{“The way it is, what we are having and defending at the National Assembly, if it is passed like that, it will give them a question to answer in the field of campaigns in 2026, 2027.}

^{“I am saying that because of the minute allocations given to certain projects in certain ministries, they may not have much to show. Given the way some of the projects which they may need to exit or abandon due to low allocation, they may not be able to commission those projects,” he said.}

^{He cited the Calabar-Ikot Ekpene, Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Lokoja-Benin, Abuja-Kaduna, and other highway projects, saying the monies allocated for the projects are not substantial enough to get them completed within the budget cycle or calendar.}

^{“By the end of 2025, Mr president is supposed to go commission those projects but what will he commission (if they are uncompleted)?}

^{“In most areas that we should show during the campaigns, we may not have what to show if we have this level of budgeting. That is why I am saying that Mr president’s team should go sectorally before they pass the budget and identify the presidential priorities,” he said.}

^{Enang said the president and his economic team should be strategic and give priorities to milestone projects in their budgetary allocations, as well as give deadlines and tentative commissioning dates for such projects.}

^{The lawyer urged the president and his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, to take up the budget which is still being worked on in the National Assembly, and “look at each of the ministries and say, ‘Look, this is what we want to deliver in solid minerals, this is what we want to deliver in works, these are two or three things we want to commission in each state, in each region. This is what we want to attain in railway. This is what we want to attain in water resources. This is what we want to report in agriculture. This is the milestone we want to record in education and then work towards that’.”}

^{“If we don’t do this, the president and the APC will be relying on the projects of states and governors to justify what they have done for APC to go for the next election,” the lawyer said.}

^{Last December, the National Assembly extended the implementation of the 2024 N28.7tn Budget by six months, saying it has achieved a 50% performance rate in capital expenditure and 48% in recurrent expenditure.}

^{Nigeria is said to be running multiple appropriation and supplementary budgets concurrently, according to a civic and accountability group BudgIT.}

Details of how six top Yoruba monarchs prevailed upon nonagenarian legal luminary Afe Babalola to drop his criminal defamation suit against human rights activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi have emerged.

It was gathered that the Ooni of Ife, Enitan Ogunwusi, mobilised five other high-class traditional rulers to the Ado-Ekiti residence of Babalola on Sunday night.

The high-powered delegation includes the Ewi of Ado, Oba Rufus Adejugbe Aladesanmi III; Ajero of Ijero, Oba Adewole Joseph Adebayo; the Ogoga of Ikere, Oba Samuel Adejinmi Adu; Alaaye of Efon Alaaye, Oba Dr. Emmanuel Aladejare Agunsoye II; and the Olojudo of Ido Ekiti who doubles as Chairman, Ekiti Council Of Traditional Rulers, Oba Ilori Faboro.

The Ooni of Ife, along with prominent traditional rulers, arrived in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, minutes past 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Earlier in December, the police in Ekiti State arrested Farotimi at his Lagos office and bundled him to Ekiti State for prosecution.

The police arraigned the author for publishing a book, ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’ where he alleged that nonagenarian legal icon Afe Babalola corrupted the judiciary and procured a revised judgment in the Supreme Court.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to all the charges which bordered on criminal defamation levelled against him and was remanded in prison for three weeks before he was granted bail.

Upon their arrival at Babalola’s residence on Sunday night, the Ooni of Ife and the five top monarchs asked the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), to forgive Farotimi and withdraw the criminal defamation suit instituted against him.

Members of the legal team of Babalola handling Farotimi’s criminal case were also present at the meeting, according to a spokesman for the Ooni of Ife, Moses Olafare.

During the closed-door meeting which ended at past midnight, Babalola said he had gotten entreaties from former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Bishop Matthew Kukah and a host of other prominent Nigerians asking that he withdraw the case, but he did not.

However, the Ooni of Ife and the other monarchs persuaded the nonagenarian to withdraw the charges as an elder statesman with vast experience.

“Aare Afe Babalola, you are an elder statesman, you have seen it all, you are one of the iconic voices in this country, a great man per excellence, you are a rare breed who has excelled in everything you have touched in this life, a very God-fearing elder stateman, above all, you are one of the proponents of the Yoruba ethos of Omoluwabi which has been your strongest value that you hold in our country,” the Ooni told Babalola, according to Olafare.

“We’ve all come together as traditional Rulers to discuss with you on this issue and this gentleman Dele Farotimi is your son and you must forgive him and withdraw the criminal charges against him. As a father, you have soft sons and you have tough sons, Dele Farotimi is a tough son of yours. You have indeed made a point that your name can not be messed with.”

When asked to speak, Babalola accepted the request saying he grew up as a child to understand such interventions by the traditional rulers. He declared he had not only forgiven Farotimi but he would also instruct his lawyers to withdraw the criminal charges against him immediately.

“Today is an important day for me, I’m a Yoruba man and I’m very proud to be one. Ewi of Ado has come here to meet me on this matter, former president Obasanjo has intervened, same with Bishop Matthew Kukah and a host of other prominent Nigerians to ask for the exact thing you have come to ask for this evening., my answer to them has been ‘no’ but today my answer is ‘yes’.

“Your coming is unquantifiable in terms of money, who Am I? When the colonialists came here in the 17th century or thereabouts, they found as a fact that Yoruba land was a highly organised society with an advanced system of government with each town headed by an Oba who was regarded as a replica of God on earth. His words were commands.”

‘I Didn’t Win Cases Through Corruption’

Babalola said he has refused government appointments and rejected some so-called rewards because he doesn’t want anything to stain his integrity.

He said, “I was a lawyer who defended the EFCC law, yes I’m corrupt, I was given an oil block. When I looked at the money and saw that it was too much, I rejected it, yes I’m corrupt. I was offered ministerial appointments twice, I rejected it. Yes, I’m corrupt because whatever I am, I don’t want anybody to say I made it through corruption.

“Look at my books, I’m Chairman, Transparency International based in Germany, I have given lectures against corruption with my papers in many universities globally.

“For someone to allege that I have won my cases through corruption, it’s an attempt to defame me. That was why I rejected all appeals earlier made to me. But when I heard that Ooni was coming, I knew I was in a fix today.

“There is nothing I’m going to gain from his (Dele) imprisonment and there’s nothing I want from the so-called damages. I am not in quest of more wealth, I’m rather concerned about managing the one I have already. Dele Farotimi is hereby forgiven. On this occasion, I say ‘yes’.”

On Sunday, The United States suspended visa issuance at its embassy in Colombia, part of a series of harsh measures after Bogota refused military deportation flights, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

“Measures will continue until Colombia meets its obligations to accept the return of its own citizens,” Rubio said in a statement.

The Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Aare Afe Babalola SAN, in the early hours of Monday, agreed to withdraw the cases instituted against activist and lawyer, Dele Farotimi.

Following Babalola’s petition to the police commissioner in Ekiti State that Farotimi defamed him in a book titled ‘Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System’, the police arrested the activist lawyer and arraigned him before two courts in Ekiti.

Consequently, Farotimi stood trial for alleged criminal defamation before an Ekiti State Magistrate Court, Ado Ekiti District and as well for alleged cyber-bullying before the Ado Ekiti Division of Federal High Court.

But Babalola, who spoke at ABUAD after the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other top traditional rulers at the midnight meeting, said, he had agreed to withdraw the criminal case, saying, “I will tell my lawyers to withdraw the case.”

Also in attendance were the Chairman, Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers and the Olojudo of Ido Ekiti, Oba Ayorinde Ilori-Faboro; the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe; the Ajero of Ijero Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adewole: the Ogoga of Ikere Ekiti, Oba Adejimi Adu; the Oloye of Oye Ekiti, Oba Michael Ademolaju; and the Alaaye of Efon Ekiti, Oba Emmanuel Aladejare.

Babalola, who restated the importance of the Yoruba traditional institution and the influence it wielded, said, “The monarchs are here, they have appealed to me over a criminal charge involving somebody who said I was corrupt.”

The senior advocate said that he felt so bad that Farotimi accused him of winning all his cases through corruption; hence, he rejected all earlier appeals to him to take the cases out of court.

He listed those who had appealed to him to take the matter out of court including former President Olusegun Obasanjo; the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah; and the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adejugbe.

He said, “If you go through the pamphlet (Farotimi’s book), you will find that he attacked many judges by names, he attacked Supreme Court judges, and none is bothered, but I am bothered. I am bothered because of where and how I started life, from the farm to where I am.

“There is nothing I am going to gain from his imprisonment. There is nothing I am going to gain from so-called damages. I am not in quest of more wealth, rather how to spend what I have for the benefit of others. The only time I am happy is when I give.

“The request is simple, take away this criminal case in court. When Obasanjo wrote, he came here, I said no. when Kukah phoned and came, I said no, but on this occasion, I say yes. Thank you Kabiyesis. I will speak to my lawyers to withdraw it.”

The Ooni, who spoke on behalf of Yoruba monarchs, had requested Babalola to withdraw the case in court, assuring him that “nobody can tarnish your name. Your name is more than silver and gold and you have stood for your name with the message that nobody can joke with your name.”

Ogunwusi, who acknowledged Babalola’s contributions to the development of Yoruba, Nigeria and the world, said, “We (monarchs) came here to discuss the matter with him and he gave full respect to the obas and agreed.

“We, the obas, can attest to the hard work of Aare Afe Babalola and how he has invested so hard to build his name. The name cannot be tarnished or rubbished by anyone. Aare Afe Babalola has proven to the world that he cherishes his name and the world has heard him clearly.

“Baba, we want to appeal and also use our race to instruct you. Dele Farotimi is your son, you may not know him, we give birth to different children in this world, some are tough, some are soft, some are hard. Why we are here is our ethos as a race.”

The Ooni added, “We are using our race because some of our elders in Yorubaland and even beyond Yorubaland have spoken, but combining forces with the traditional institution, we have heard you, enough, enough and enough. Your name is intact. We have resolved the matter in our own way, we have done the needful.”

Major opposition parties have criticized former President Muhammadu Buhari for urging Nigerians to seek divine intervention to revive the country, instead of admitting the failures of successive All Progressives Congress (APC)-led governments.

Buhari’s remarks, made in Hausa during an APC stakeholders meeting in Katsina on Saturday, have sparked widespread reactions, particularly on social media.

The former President had stated, “Only God who created Nigeria can solve the problems of Nigeria,” encouraging his supporters not to give up on the country.

The National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Ladipo Johnson, in an interview with Punch described Buhari’s comments as a clear reflection of the APC’s inability to address the nation’s pressing issues.

He said, “Well, it’s an admission that the APC government has totally failed Nigerians, and they have led us down to an economic downturn. This statement by the former president shows that even the current administration is confused.

“It also means they have no clue about what they have been doing all this while. It’s like a trial-and-error process. What we need is the right set of leaders. The APC has failed and cannot provide the leadership required to turn the fortunes of this country around.”

The Peoples Democratic Party shared the same sentiment.

In a phone chat with Punch, the Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP, Timothy Osadolor, said Buhari’s remark was also an indictment on President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He said, “First and foremost, I think Nigerians should commend Buhari for being honest about the state of the nation and the reality of today’s government. Buhari, however, failed to mention that he laid the groundwork for this government and its ineptitude. It is a continuation of his past leadership failure.

“Again, it’s a vote of no confidence in President Tinubu, which further reaffirms what we have been saying that the man is just there giving people colourful speeches and doing nothing. It is not a time to criticise Buhari for what he said or why he said it. It is a wake-up call to this government and all Nigerians to salvage this country from going the way of South Sudan.

“This is what happens in countries where leadership fails. So we must not give in to partisanship or nepotism. President Tinubu only consolidated on the ineptitude of Buhari who was just fortunate enough to lead this country.

“Therefore, all men of goodwill must stand up and salvage what remains of this country before things fall apart. Nigeria can only get it right if the leaders are there.”

Similarly, the National Youth Leader of the Labour Party, Prince Kennedy Ahanotu, said he wasn’t surprised by Buhari’s speech because he was one of a few well-meaning Nigerians who knew he had nothing to offer the country.

Ahanotu added that it was high time Nigerians gave the younger generation a chance to correct the ills of the past.

He said, “The truth is that I am not a fan of Buhari and never expected him to do well. So, I am not surprised that he did nothing for eight years. But my point is that we are in a country where, before a new president takes over, there is always a perception that he will do better. Unfortunately, after each successive regime, there will be lamentation that he didn’t do well.

“However, we have options in Nigeria, I keep saying it. Until we include a younger generation of leaders, we cannot enjoy the dividends of democracy that are happening all around the world. So, there is no point lamenting because there is another Sheriff in town.

“But just like all the letters former President Obasanjo wrote to him, Buhari neither heeded nor implemented any of the advice. So, if the ex-president decides again to write Tinubu today, he is also at leisure to listen or not to any of the counsels. This is because successful APC governments don’t listen to people they consider outsiders.

“This is why I said Buhari’s lamentation does not make any sense to me. It’s not something I even want to talk about because it is their system. Don’t forget this current President was among those who protested and fought in NADECO for the government to do the right thing. But today, it’s not safe or healthy to protest in Nigeria.”

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday fixed February 27, 2025, for the arraignment of Gbolahan Obanikoro, the son of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, and four others for alleged N1,356,057,330.43 fraud.

To be arraigned alongside Obanikoro are Adejare Adegbenro, 51; Balmoral International Limited; M.O.B. Integrated Limited; and DDSS International Company Limited.

The police charged them with five counts, bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretenses, false representation, and fraud.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa set the date on Friday after the defendants failed to appear for their scheduled arraignment.

When the case was called, the prosecution counsel, Momoh Bello, informed the court that the matter was scheduled for the arraignment of the defendants.

Following the absence of the defendants, Bello then asked the court for a bench warrant against them, saying that they had all been served.

But counsel for the fourth defendant ( M.O.B. Integrated Limited),  Joshua Abel, opposed the bench warrant prayer.

He told the court that the fourth defendant is a company and that the fourth defendant received service late on Wednesday and he was informed of the case late on Thursday.

Abel also told the court that most of the defendants, who are directors of the firm, were not in the country.

“I have not had the opportunity to go through the case before the directors can be arraigned,” he said.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa then asked the prosecutor for the proof of service and date of service.

He said, “I want proof of service and the date of service. The record of this court shows that service was effected on the third and fourth defendants. It’s less than 48 hours that they have been served; one of them was served yesterday. The first and second defendants are natural persons and there is no proof of service on them.

“The law says personal service. You can go and regularise service on the defendants. There is no proof that the first and second defendants have been served. However, there is proof that the third and fourth defendants have been served. The prosecution is directed to serve the first and second defendants,” the judge ruled and then adjourned till February 27, 2025, for the arraignment of all the defendants.

The Inspector General of Police, through the Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi, Lagos, accused the defendants and others at large of conspiring amongst themselves between May and September 2013 to fraudulently obtain the sum of N1,356,057,330.43 from Access Bank Plc (formerly Diamond Bank).

They were accused of allegedly misrepresenting themselves to the bank’s staff and officers, claiming they were involved in the business of importing cars from Dubai for sale in Nigeria, and that the money was needed to finance the importation of a set of brand-new cars for resale.

The defendants are also being accused of converting, transferring, retaining, or taking possession of the funds, knowing or having reason to know that such funds were proceeds of unlawful activity.

The police further alleged that they unlawfully converted the sum of N1bn belonging to the bank for personal use.

According to the police, the offences committed contravened Section 8(i)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3), 1(i)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offenses Act, No. 14 of 2006, and Section 18(2)(b) and (d) and 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

A former lawmaker of the Nigerian Senate, Shehu Sani has reacted to te ongoing crisis at the Lagos House of Assembly.

Sani while addressing the impeached Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, has called for calm.

Obasa was impeached by lawmakers of the Lagos House of Assembly while he was away in the United States of America.

He was immediately replaced by the deputy Speaker, Mojisola Meranda.

Upon his return, Obasa said his removal was unconstitutional and as such he remains the speaker of the Lagos Assembly.

However, advising Obasa, the former Kaduna lawmaker said this is a time for the embattled Speaker to move on.

Sani in a post on X said, “Hon Obasa should just thank his God, accept his fate and calm down. Its a rare privilege to occupy that seat and serve for that long.

“Not everyone can be that lucky in life.Allow the Honorable lady speaker to do her job; if he is actually good, posterity will vindicate him,” Sani posted.

A nurse, identified as Chiemela Nonye, has accused Chief Superintendent of Police Nkiruka Ugwu, attached to Area ‘M’ Command, Idimu, Lagos, of paying her to bear false witness in a rape case, alleging that the senior police officer is threatening to kill her, if she mentioned her name in an on-going investigation of rape, at the Area ‘D’ Command, Mushin.

However, when CSP Ugwu was contacted, she said “I told her (Nonye ) never to involve my name. She can’t try it. Why would she involve my name? Am I fighting her with Amuche? She should go ahead and do whatever she wants to do. If it is my case she wants, I am ready for her. She cannot try to mention my name.”

On the allegation of locking the mother of the minors shop , with an instruction to touts to kill her if she dared to open the shop, she said, ” I have nothing to say. They can all go ahead with whatever they want to do. I am not a sister to Amuche. God forbid, I am not.”

Nonye was arrested by the Police at the Area D Command, in Mushin, on January 22, 2025 following a petition by one Mr Ekwenyu Uchenna.

The petitioner stated that Nonye bore false witness against him, by claiming she witnessed his defiling of three teenage siblings in April 2024.

Consequently, the petitioner was reportedly arrested and detained for seven days at the Alausa Police Division, from where he was transferred to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID in Abuja, where he spent additional three weeks in detention.

Uchena, told Vanguard that he was moved from the FCID Abuja, to the State Criminal Investigation, SCID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos where a discreet investigation was carried by detectives who said there were no facts to prove he penetrated the minors and was subsequently released. According to him, he was arrested alongside the mother of the three minors, because operatives led by Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP Philomena Ehiokhilen alleged that she connived with him to rape her children.

However, upon his release, he petitioned the Area D Command, Mushin, where nurse Nonye, during interrogation, admitted in a written statement that she was paid an undisclosed amount by the CSP to fabricate the lies against Uchenna and mother of the minors.

In a recorded telephone conversation between nurse Nonye and mother of minors, she was heard begging for forgiveness, claiming that CSP Ugwu has been threatening to kill her if she mention her name.
The recorded telephone conversation went thus: Nurse Nonye : “I don’t know why I agreed to this. As I speak with you, I’m in tears. Please forgive me. I didn’t know why I agreed to frame Uchenna. Please help me apologize to Uche.”

Mother of minor: “We are all human. I know how both of us were. I went to my lawyer’s office and explained everything, telling him it was not you. You were pushed into this. If he wants to speak to you, he can confirm you were pushed out of ignorance. After hearing from you, if they find out you were misled; they will know how to exclude you from the matter. So, leave Uchenna out of this because I have told him you are not the main problem. CSP Ugwu is the real problem. She pushed you into this.”

In a chat with Vanguard, the mother of the three minors, alleged that the CSP Ugwu had threatened her life numerous times and also destroyed her businesses.

She said “CSP Ugwu came to my shop located at Cele-Egbe, last year and seized my goods. She told the touts in the area to kill me if I tried to go near the shop. She said she was the Divisional Police Officer, DPO. Since then, all my goods have been

The South East Youth Stakeholders Forum, a group of representatives of various youth organisations across the South East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to release from incarceration the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

The group which convened an emergency meeting on Saturday, after in-depth discussions on the prevailing issues affecting the South East Region, appealed for Presidential Intervention in the long incarceration of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“We appeal to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the father of the nation and a detribalised Nigerian to direct the Attorney General of the Federation to discontinue the prosecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to pave the way for his release from incarceration. 

“This we believe is a critical step toward resolving the persistent security challenges in the South East. We believe that his release will end the insecurity that has bedeviled the southeast region, foster genuine reconciliation, and reduce tensions within the southeast region,” the group assured.

In a communique by representatives of the five states in the southeast led by the Chairman representing Enugu State, Mazi Ezenwa Onyirimba, the group insisted that Kanu’s release will create a conducive environment for constructive dialogue and engagement with some youths from the southeast who took up arms against the State.

The landing cost of imported Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) has dropped to ₦922.65 per litre, a ₦32.35 reduction from the ₦955 per litre offered at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s loading gantry.

The price shift has reignited interest among marketers in importing petrol, offering a more profitable alternative to Dangote’s refined products, which remain priced higher.

Industry stakeholders noted that while Dangote Refinery previously offered competitive pricing, the decline in imported petrol costs is now an attractive incentive for marketers seeking better margins.

Recent data shows that oil marketers imported 76.84 million litres of petrol within two days, indicating a growing reliance on foreign products despite earlier efforts to encourage local refining.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) had initially advocated a 180-day suspension on fuel imports to give Dangote Refinery a chance to prove its capacity.

However, marketers argue that there was no binding agreement, and they are now focusing on sourcing cheaper alternatives to meet demand and stay competitive.

“The lower cost of imported petrol is often an incentive to dealers and you won’t blame marketers who import the product,” a major marketer told Punch.

As import costs drop, consumers may anticipate potential price adjustments, even as depot prices remain high across major locations, ranging from ₦950 to ₦990 per litre.