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Human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, has faulted the excuses given by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) that caused mass failure of candidates.
Naija News reported that over 300,000 candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), majorly from South East and Lagos State, failed.
According to JAMB’s Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, the failure was caused by a system glitch. He apologized for the errors.
“We appreciate all those who have lent their voices to the strident complaints on the results we released because you all did so out of concern. I appreciate our critics immensely because they could have chosen to be indifferent. I agree with the person who said that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it is indifference; the opposite of art is not ugliness, it is indifference; the opposite of faith is not heresy, it is indifference; and the opposite of life is not death, it is indifference. By not being indifferent to JAMB, we are grateful,” he stated.
Reacting to JAMB’s apology, the Organizing Secretary of Afenifere, Farotimi, stated that if Nigeria were a nation governed by laws, Oloyede and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, would have been fired.
He, however, regretted that Oloyede would not face consequences for the failures.
“In a place governed with vision, inhabited by the rational, and ruled by law, Yakubu would be resident in a prison cell, Oloyede fired, and public hearings would have been scheduled by the government at multiple levels. But this is Nigeria. Nothing will happen. We are different,” he wrote on ? handle.
Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State has sentenced a 27-year-old fashion designer, Haruna Tolani to 12 months imprisonment.
Tolani was sentenced for impersonating and defrauding Callitus Egwuonwu, an investigating officer with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ilorin Zonal Directorate.
The convicted tailor was initially arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on impersonation and cybercrime on January 28, 2025 and pleaded not guilty, but later changed his plea to guilty after overwhelming evidence was presented by counsel to the EFCC, Sesan Ola.
Count one of the charge reads: “That you Haruna Musa Tolani in August, 2024 at Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court with intent to defraud, misrepresented yourself via electronic message sent through unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) to Access Bank Plc.
“With respect to account number 0022643389, property of Mr Callistus Egwuonwu, with which you purchased N20,000 worth of MTN data which resulted into loss to the owner of the account and you thereby commit an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 14(2) of the cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, 2015”
Similarly, count two reads: “That you Haruna Musa Tolani sometime in August, 2024 at Ilorin within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court fraudulently impersonated one Callistus Egwuonwu via electronic message sent through unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) to Access Bank Plc with respect to account number 0022643389, property of Callistus Egwuonwu with intention to purchase MTN data worth 20,000.00 which you did purchase and thereby committed offence contrary to Section 22(2)(b)(ii) of the cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention) Act,2015 and punishable under Section 22(2)(b)(iv) of the same Act.
In his judgment, Justice Awogboro imposed a 12-month custodial sentence on Tolani with an option of a fine of N200,000 .
The court also ordered the forfeiture of a First Bank manager’s cheque of N200,000 in favour of the victim and directed the convict to restitute the sum of N20,000, the amount he fraudulently obtained.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has defended its decision to urgently reschedule the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for 379,997 candidates.
The exam body cited unavoidable clashes with other national examinations and the need to maintain the academic calendar.
The rescheduled exam will start on Friday, May 16, 2025, for 379,997 candidates in five states of the South East and Lagos.
Speaking with THE WHISTLER, the JAMB spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, explained that if the examination were not scheduled at this time, it would conflict with other academic activities.
“If we don’t do it now, it will be in August. The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) are writing their exams. After that, the National Examinations Council (NECO) would start, and then the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB),” Benjamin stated in a response to THE WHISTLER’s enquiry.
THE WHISTLER reported that Nigerians condemned the short notice given to candidates, citing concerns about the candidates’ ability to prepare for the exam adequately.
Some suggested that the exam should have been suspended until after the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to give candidates more time to prepare.
Others expressed concerns about Nigeria’s economic hardship, as some students might have to travel to different locations to take the examination.
The Aguleri community in Anambra State was thrown into shock on Thursday after gunmen ambushed and shot dead a lawyer, Rolex Iloakasia, who also served as the community’s president general.
Iloakasia and his client were attacked by armed assailants on motorcycles shortly after winning their case at High Court II in Ekwulobia.
The attack occurred at Egbebelu village in Orumba North Local Government Area as the victims were leaving the court.
The timing of the attack, after Iloakasia’s court victory, has raised questions about the motives of the assailants.
The Anambra police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in an official statement, saying it involved “the murder of two individuals, one of whom has been identified as a legal practitioner who had earlier secured the bail of an accused person in a pending murder case at High Court II, Ekwulobia.“
Police preliminary investigation disclosed that the victims were “trailed and double-crossed by the assailants.”
The command said that “one of the victims survived the attack and is currently receiving medical treatment at a hospital.”
The statement noted that “The escapee has been debriefed by the Police and has provided crucial information that is aiding ongoing investigations and manhunt operations.
“The bodies of the deceased have been recovered and positively identified by their respective families.”
The statement revealed that a red Toyota Camry vehicle, believed to belong to one of the deceased, was recovered from the scene.
The command plans to deploy “tactical and intelligence teams to track down the perpetrators and ensure justice is served.”
It further pledged to inform the public on developments as the investigation progresses.
Economist and political activist Professor Pat Utomi has reacted to the legal action initiated against him by the Department of State Services (DSS) following his decision to form a shadow government.
Vanguard had earlier reported that on May 5, Utomi launched the ‘Big Tent Coalition Shadow Government’, designed to serve as a credible opposition to President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
According to Utomi, the new body draws its membership from a cross-section of Nigeria’s opposition parties and is tasked with regularly scrutinising government actions, identifying policy failures, and proposing alternative solutions in key areas including the economy, education, healthcare, infrastructure, law and order, and constitutional reform.
In response, the DSS dragged Utomi to court, and accused the candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the 2007 presidential election, of attempting to illegally usurp the executive powers of President Bola Tinubu.
It told the court that Prof. Utomi’s action was capable of destabilising the country as it was intended to create chaos.
In a post shared on his X account on Friday, Utomi dismissed the allegations and said he remains resolute in his commitment to democratic ideals.
“I am heartened by messages of solidarity from across Nigeria on this shadowy business of chasing shadows of shadow cabinets. Reminds me of the Nigeria I used to know. I want to thank all. It’s energizing some want to put together 500 lawyers to defend me against the DSS.
“To worship money and power at the expense of the future all our children will live in, with no care for the peace and progress of those times is condemnable by all of decent conscience. They have a moral obligation to push back on such darkness.
“It’s amazing that we are chasing shadows while our constitution is unraveling aided by those in power. The constitution holds that those who defect from parties they were elected from MUST have their seats declared vacant. If DSS enjoys going to court, it should prosecute such.”
In earlier posts, Utomi, referencing his past involvement in pro-democracy efforts during the Sani Abacha regime, recalled chairing a conference on Nigeria’s democratic future at St. Leo’s in Ikeja, Lagos.
He wrote, “It was put as a question: Is this how democracy dies in Nigeria. The answer is in the affirmative. This is how democracy died in Nigeria. Where citizens cannot organize themselves to ask questions of their agents.
“Under Abacha we brought Nigerians together at St. Leo in Ikeja for a conference on the future of Nigeria. I chaired the planning which came out of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria on the watch of then Fr. Kukah and Ehusani. Now for shadowing democracy hell comes.
“Where am I? Will arrive on June 12 and head to Abiola’s residence. My hands are primed for handcuffs and if the Aquino treatment from Marcos, bullet at the Airport is preferred, I submit willing like a lamb led to slaughter. Death is no big deal. 4 of my friends are in the morgue.
“What is certain is that Tinubu will not escape that same fate. He may have been in London when I faced the assassins under Abacha and been the supplier to Chief Enahoro and NADECO abroad of reports of my position on matters of the struggle but we all ultimately go the way of man.”
Utomi compared his stance to that of global freedom icons like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr., insisting he would continue to fight for democratic accountability.
“To the Spirit of Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jnr, Nelson Mandela and the holy watch of St. Thomas Moore I raise the meaning of being for what is left of my time on this stage,” he wrote.
“I remember the showman of Science, Carl Sagan, as the NASA orbiter turned its camera to earth for the final time. A spec of dust, home to tyrants who have threatened Rivers of Blood; and also to all those we have loved. I am emboldened to chant Freedom now, if we die we die.”
A socio-political group, Abia Concerned Citizens, ACC, has accused the Julius Abure faction of the Labour Party, LP, of playing a script written for it by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to destabilize opposition parties in order to enjoy a free reign
The group specifically accused the factional chairman of playing the role of an “APC mole.”
Director General of the ACC, Rose Ugoh, said this in Abuja, yesterday.
She explained that evidence of Abure’s treachery is contained in virtually every line of a statement by the factional National Secretary, Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, wherein he begged President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the LP crisis.
Ugoh argued that all genuine LP members had accepted the Supreme Court’s judgment and were working towards reconciliation but that Abure and his cohorts were working towards destroying the party by externalizing the conflict.
She said: “What steps did he (Abure) take when Labour Party National Assembly members defected to the APC?
“Is it not this the same Abure who had the audacity to claim the party suspended the best performing governor in Nigeria, the best governor in the history of the South Est?
“Governor Alex Otti has transformed Abia State, leading in key sectors such as energy, security, and education.
“Otti has become a model for good governance in Nigeria, transforming Abia State across the energy sector, economy, industrialization, security, education, and more.
“We Abians can no longer allow these APC agents to continue to denigrate the people’s governor with their unguarded statements.”
She raised concerns about Abure’s declaration that his National Working Committee, NWC, has suspended key figures of the party, including the female Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Senator Ireti Kingibe.
Officers of the Delta State Police Command have nabbed a 49-year-old woman accused of drugging a nursing mother and absconding with her two-month-old baby boy.
The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olufemi Abaniwonda, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Command headquarters in Asaba on Thursday.
He confirmed that the baby had been rescued and reunited with his family.
According to Abaniwonda, the incident occurred on February 16, 2025, when the victim, a 20-year-old mother, embarked on a business trip from Koko to Warri with a woman identified as Mrs. Joy.
"On 7th April 2025 at about 10:00 hours, the DPO of Ekpan Police Station received a complaint that a young mother who travelled with one Mrs. Joy had been drugged with juice laced with sedatives. The suspect then absconded with her two-month-old son while she was unconscious," the police chief stated.
Acting on credible intelligence, the Ekpan Police Division launched an investigation that led to the arrest of the suspect.
Abaniwonda said the woman confessed during interrogation to kidnapping the infant.
"The baby, now five months old, was found in good health and has been handed back to his parents," he added.
The suspect remains in police custody as investigations continue.
New details have emerged about the technical error that affected the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has revealed that the issue was caused by a service provider’s mistake, not by ethnicity or sabotage.
Speaking during an X Spaces session, JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin dismissed claims that the error was aimed at candidates from the Southeast.
“It’s unfortunate. It’s something that we never envisaged,” he said.
Benjamin explained that the technical glitch was the result of a simple but serious mistake by a service provider hired by the board.
“What really happened? Let me just put it this way. Somebody was supposed to upload something, just as you send an email with your laptop and you see a sign that says sent and then you closed the laptop. The person just sent without waiting for it to deliver and then he shut down and left. This person, technically, is not even a staff of the board, but he’s a service provider that the board had hired, paid huge sum of money to do what he was supposed to do. I’m not supposed to go deep because it’s as if one is shifting responsibility,” he explained.
Benjamin stressed that the incident was not deliberate, but simply due to lack of caution.
“It was just carelessness, he didn’t understand the responsibility that was placed on his shoulder. It’s unfortunate that this thing happened and a section of the country was involved. It’s unfortunate that, to some extent, it will begin to cast some aspersion on our area of operation,” he added.
He also rejected claims that the issue reflected poorly on the leadership of JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede.
According to Benjamin, Professor Oloyede is known for being extremely involved in all aspects of the board’s operations.
“Someone of us feel like he’s too involved. He’s somebody that would want to know who even comes in at the gate. He’s involved in every aspect of the board. So the issue of whether incompetence or carelessness is not there. It’s just that no matter how involving you are, no matter how competent you are and no matter how engaging you are, as long as you cannot do the whole thing alone, certainly, somebody somewhere will let you down out of negligence,” he said.
Recall that in the 2025 JAMB UTME released last week Friday, over 1.5 million candidates scored below 200. This represents over 75% of the total number of candidates who sat for the exam. Following a review of the results, it was discovered that a technical error affected approximately 379,997 candidates, who will now have to retake the exam.
The trial of Simon Ekpa, the Biafran separatist leader, has commenced in Finland.
Ekpa was earlier arrested by the Finnish authorities over allegations of inciting violence and promoting terrorism through his social media channels.
He was arrested in November 2024 alongside four other people accused of the same crime.
In a statement issued by Finland’s National Prosecution Authority, Ekpa’s trial commenced after he was charged with suspected incitement with intent to commit terrorism and “participation in the activities of a terrorist group.”
The Finnish prosecutor said Ekoa had committed the listed crimes between 2021 and 2024 in the city of Lahti.
Although the prosecutor in its statement described the accused person as a Finn without giving out his name, YLE, a broadcaster in Finland, identified the defendant as Ekpa.
In addition, the prosecutor said it had dropped the charges against the four others arrested alongside Ekpa.
The Finnish authorities said the charges against the co-accused persons were dropped due to a lack of evidence.
Popular Nollywood actor and Lagos lawmaker, Desmond Elliot, has revealed that his entry into politics was made possible through the influence of former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who introduced him to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Elliot detailed how Oshiomhole facilitated his first meeting with Tinubu in Benin, marking a major turning point in his career trajectory.
“One day, Comrade Oshiomhole told me Asiwaju (Tinubu) was coming to Benin. When he arrived, Adams took me to the table where Tinubu was seated and said, ‘This is my son.’ Tinubu replied, ‘Yeah, he knows me.’ That was how the connection began,” Elliot recalled.
The Surulere Constituency representative at the Lagos State House of Assembly added that Tinubu, impressed by his passion and commitment despite his successful acting career, linked him up with Sunday Dare, then Tinubu’s personal assistant.
“He was surprised that a young actor like me was so interested in politics. For some reason, he liked me from the start,” he said.
Desmond Elliot revealed that his interest in politics dates back to the 1990s, when he began reading about Chief MKO Abiola.
Inspired by Abiola’s legacy, he said the desire to serve in public office began to grow within him.
“Even though I didn’t have much, I always bought newspapers to read about MKO. Something about his story just lit a fire in me,” he said.
He also acknowledged Fouad Oki, a prominent APC figure, for mentoring him during his early political development.
He said: “While I was still acting, I would visit Uncle Fouad in the evenings to discuss politics. That was part of my learning curve. My wife didn’t take it seriously then.”
Elliot shared a memorable visit to Tinubu’s home alongside fellow actors Jide Kosoko, Mike Ezuruonye, and Chinedu ‘Aki’ Ikedieze.
“We went to his house around 7 pm and didn’t leave until after midnight. He was sharing insights and lessons from his time in government. We were amazed,” he said.
The lawmaker also addressed his 2023 election battle with fellow actor Olumide Oworu, who ran under the Labour Party banner.
“I wasn’t angry with Olumide. He’s smart and from Surulere. What hurt was the colleagues who endorsed him without even speaking to me,” he said.
Elliot stressed the importance of continuity in legislative work, citing former Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila as an example of how experience builds capacity.
“You don’t see real change in one term. Gbaja grew in influence with time, and that’s how you build lasting impact,” he noted.
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Inside N26.6trn budgets, many Nigeria’s states swim in debts, leave schools, hospitals underfunded
Admin
In Nigeria, budget season is often a grand affair. Governors, flanked by aides, arrive at the Houses of Assembly to present appropriation bills with lofty titles like “Budget of Renewed Hope” or “Budget of Consolidation.”
But behind the grand speeches and glossy documents lies a quieter reality, one that affects the ordinary citizen like 26-year-old Musa Abdul*, a Basic Science teacher in Yobe State who has not received his N70,000 monthly salary since his employment in 2022.
The rising cost of living, worsened by President Bola Tinubu’s removal of petrol subsidies and the floating of the naira in 2023, adds to the woes of Mr Abdul and countless others across Nigeria.
This is despite PREMIUM TIMES’ calculation showing N26.63 trillion in combined budgets across the 36 states for 2025, to say nothing of the federal government’s N54.99 trillion spending plan for the year.
The 36 states’ budgets— meant to serve grassroots needs better— leapt to N26.63 trillion from N16.15 trillion in 2024, according to ICIR, reflecting a 64 per cent surge in planned spending amid a rapidly shifting economic landscape.
PREMIUM TIMES’ analysis of the states’ N26.63 trillion budgets reveals a troubling pattern of soaring allocations, widespread financial dependency, mounting debt burdens, and low investments in education and health.
Over 20 states rely almost entirely on federal allocations to survive. Some are drowning in debt repayments, and others have slashed spending on schools and hospitals to alarming lows. Some have prioritised capital projects, while others spend more on governance than growth.
This investigation dives deep into how the 36 states plan to spend in 2025, what these choices reveal about governance priorities and how these financial choices will impact lives.
Total Budget Ranking: Who’s spending the most? Are bigger budgets delivering results?
Of the 36 states, Lagos leads as the biggest spender with a total budget of N3.37 trillion, boasting a bigger budget than 10 states combined. The state’s budget is 48.5 per cent higher than its N2.27 trillion budget in 2024.
Niger State surprisingly comes second with a total budget of N1.56 trillion. One of Nigeria’s biggest oil-producing states, Rivers, follows with an allocation of N1.19 trillion. Ogun and Delta states come in fourth and fifth places with budgets of N1.05 trillion and N979.2 billion, respectively.
With some states allocating over a trillion naira in their 2025 budgets, the expectation is better services. But do high-budget states actually provide a better quality of life?
A 2024 report by PREMIUM TIMES on the poor state of the Lagos General Hospital, Odan, the oldest government hospital in the state, indicates that Lagos state consistently underfunds healthcare despite being Nigeria’s richest state, as a significant portion of these funds are never released.
For example, in 2021, the Lagos General Hospital received only about N750 million instead of the N900 billion budgeted initially. In 2022, it got just under N800 million from the approved N1.2 billion. In 2023, the hospital received less than N900 million out of the N1.6 billion allocation. By the middle of 2024, the Lagos State Ministry of Health had received only N46 billion, which is less than a third of the N162 billion budgeted for the entire year.
The poor infrastructure observed at the Lagos General Hospital, failure to release full health sector funds, and a shortage of around 30,000 doctors are clear indications that a large budget does not automatically translate to better service for residents.
Niger State’s N1.56 trillion budget for 2025 is concerning, given its low internally generated revenue (IGR).
The budget relies heavily on external funding sources, including capital development funds (N839.72 billion, 53.9 per cent) and FAAC (N397.35 billion, 25.5 per cent). In comparison, IGR accounts for only 14.2 per cent.
This dependence on loans and grants raises concerns about debt sustainability and budget viability.
The state’s budget execution has faced significant challenges in recent years. In 2023, Niger State achieved only 40.8 per cent of its N478 billion budget. In 2024, revenue performance improved slightly to 57.9 per cent of the N365.77 billion target.
Capital project execution was also affected, with only 34 per cent of the N363.48 billion capital budget spent in 2023 and 27.8 per cent of N619.41 billion in 2024, indicating significant delays or abandoned projects.
Meanwhile, Yobe State, with an allocation of N320.8 billion, sits at the bottom of the ranking chart. It is closely followed by Gombe and Ekiti states with budgets of N369.9 billion (N369,902,500,000) and N375.79 billion (N375,790,077,618.15), respectively.
Dependency: Can your state survive without federal allocation?
An analysis of the 36 states’ budgets indicates that the only financially independent state in Nigeria is Lagos, as 73.4 per cent of its revenues are internally generated.
Sadly, most states depend heavily on the federal allocation for more than 69 per cent of their anticipated revenues. This means that they cannot function independently without federal allocations. If the allocation from the federation account takes a drastic cut due to oil price volatility, these states risk financial collapse.
Nigeria operates a revenue sharing system where revenue generated from the previous month is shared among the three tiers of government by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) using the sharing formula of 52.68 per cent, 26.72 per cent and 20.60 per cent to the federal, state and local governments, respectively.
After Lagos, Ogun and Rivers states are the next most independent, with IGR shares of 41.8 per cent and 32.1 per cent, respectively. Conversely, the top five dependent states with the highest FAAC reliance and lowest IGRs are Ebonyi—95.3 per cent, Niger—94.7 per cent, Bayelsa—93.5 per cent, Yobe—92.8 per cent, and Borno—92.2 per cent.
Interestingly, Bayelsa’s IGR is among the lowest among the oil-rich states. The state remains highly dependent on federation allocations primarily due to its low IGR, weak private sector, limited industrialisation, and heavy reliance on the 13 per cent derivation fund.
So why do some states struggle to generate revenue and rely heavily on federal allocation? A look into the investment climate and ease of doing business ranking of the states with low IGR and very high FAAC dependency offers a clue.
In its 2023 Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) report, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) found that Ebonyi, the state with the highest FAAC dependency and lowest IGR in its 2025 budget based on our finding, emerged 32nd while Niger ranked 25th. Bayelsa, Borno and Yobe ranked 24th, 22nd, and 9th, respectively.
PEBEC arrived at its conclusion using six indicators: infrastructure, transparency and accessibility of information, skills and labour, secure and stable environment, regulatory environment, and economic opportunity.
This means states that depend heavily on Abuja fall short of these key business metrics. Improving these areas could translate to a better independent revenue ratio for these states.
Capital vs. Recurrent: Spending priorities
The capital to recurrent expenditure ratio of a state’s budget is a key indicator of the state’s spending preference, as some states spend more on salaries and administrative costs than on actual development projects.
Our analysis shows that 34 out of 36 states prioritise capital spending while only two states, Ekiti and Osun, spend more on salaries and administration than development projects. More than half of their budgets are earmarked for salaries, maintaining government offices, and running costs. For these states, high recurrent spending means fewer resources for actual development.
Meanwhile, the top aspiring spenders on capital projects are Niger, Enugu, and Imo, as over 85 per of their budgets is allocated to infrastructural development. Lagos State allocated 61.5 per cent of its total budget to capital expenditure.
So why did Osun and Ekiti states prioritise salaries and operational costs over development?
Osun State is grappling with a substantial backlog of unpaid salaries and pensions, amounting to N76 billion, which was inherited from the previous administrations. This significant debt has placed a strain on the state’s finances.
Ekiti State faced a similar issue, with N57 billion in unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pension arrears accumulated from past administrations. The current governor, Biodun Oyebanji, says he has initiated efforts to gradually pay off the inherited debts to alleviate the state’s financial burden.
Tosin Popoola, a broadcaster with over a decade of experience covering politics and Ekiti State, told PREMIUM TIMES that the state’s decision to allocate more funds for recurrent expenditure is not unusual.
He explained that while infrastructural development is essential, paying salaries to civil and public servants who form the bulk of the state’s workforce is more crucial.
“In Ekiti, when all of these are happening (regular payment of salary), there will be less tension in the society. So, it’s better than focusing on roads and other infrastructure,” he said.
State of Indebtedness: Which states are drowning in debt?
All 36 states owe some money, but a state’s debt service-to-budget ratio tells how much of its total budget is consumed by debt servicing.
An analysis of each state’s total debt service expenditure against their budgets shows that Cross River, Ebonyi and Bayelsa have the highest Debt-to-Budget Ratio or debt burden.
However, this does not tell the whole story. High debt service might mean a state has a considerable debt. Still, it could also mean it is repaying aggressively. Low debt service does not necessarily imply low debt; it could mean the state is postponing repayment, servicing only interest, or restructuring debt.
To know which states are most dangerously indebted, compared to their economic strength and ability to pay, we must analyse each state’s debt-to-IGR ratio.
Using the state domestic debt stock data as officially reported by the Debt Management Office as of 30 September 2024 and state IGR data compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for the year 2023, we find that states like Taraba (7.49), Imo (7.38), Adamawa (7.19), and Niger (6.69) show dangerously high debt-to-revenue ratios.
These states could take years to pay off their debts, risking economic stability.
In contrast, states such as Jigawa (0.05), Ondo (0.34), Ebonyi (0.62), and Lagos (1.05) maintain much healthier ratios, showing stronger financial positions and better ability to manage debt.
Economic expert Gospel Obele has sounded the alarm on Nigeria’s fiscal situation. He said state governments must implement reforms to tackle these fiscal deficits and systemic issues that have made their states less commercially viable.
“Over 70 per cent of Nigerian states are not viable, to start with. So, when you think of the fact that states have to take care of their debts and their revenue levels are low, it means that it creates room for more vulnerability, and the states will have to keep depending on external factors to keep their viability alive,” he said.
Key Sector Allocations: What do education, health, and infrastructure investments look like?
Most states allocated larger chunks of their capital expenditure to the infrastructure sector rather than to health and education.
States like Adamawa (71.96 per cent) and Borno (60.68 per cent) dedicated significant capital expenditures to roads, housing, and public works. This emphasis on physical development reflects efforts to boost economic growth and, in some cases, rebuild after years of conflict.
Other states with notable infrastructure allocations include Anambra (44.74 per cent), N271.56 billion, Lagos (36.55 per cent), N1.23 trillion, Jigawa (30.18 per cent), N210.78 billion, and Ogun (26.90 per cent), N283.54 billion.
The state with the lowest percentage allocation to infrastructure is Bauchi (0.20 per cent), with only N930 million allocated.
But do states which invest heavily in infrastructure have high education performance and quality healthcare sectors?
While a state’s decision to allocate a large chunk of its capital expenditure for infrastructural development gives hope of rapid growth, it sometimes results in underfunding the health and education sectors.
For instance, Adamawa State allocated over 70 per cent of its capital expenditures for infrastructural development, while its health and education sectors remain among the least developed in Nigeria.
A 2021 report by UNICEF revealed that only 10 per cent of primary school pupils in Adamawa State possessed foundational literacy skills, while 92 per cent could not solve fundamental math problems. The state’s number of out-of-school children is also high. UNESCO pegged the number at 437,000 in 2022.
The state’s health sector is also underfunded and falls short of the Abuja declaration benchmark of 15 per cent. According to the Centre of Social Justice, an analysis of the state’s health sector budget from 2019 to 2021 reveals a significant gap between approved and actual spending.
In 2019, the UNICEF report said, only 29.21 per cent of the approved N21.17 billion health budget was spent, with N6.18 billion utilised. The situation worsened in 2020, when just 21.28 per cent of the allocated N19.39 billion was actually expended. However, in 2021, budget utilisation improved to 53.1 per cent, with N5.85 billion spent out of the approved N11.01 billion.
A closer look at the health sector expenditure patterns shows a consistent prioritisation of recurrent expenses over capital investments.
Meanwhile, education and healthcare remain underfunded in many states despite Nigeria’s high poverty and low literacy rates.
Two states with the lowest allocations for education are Nasarawa (0.44 per cent) and Benue (0.5 per cent). This raises concerns about investments in schools, teachers, and learning facilities.
The state with the highest percentage allocation to education is Oyo State (24.6 per cent), with N168.3 billion allocated. Northern states like Adamawa, Katsina, and Borno have made relatively strong commitments despite their lower IGRs.
Healthcare funding is also low in many states. Anambra (0.51 per cent), Benue (0.57 per cent), and Nasarawa (1.05 per cent) have allocated minimal resources to the health sector, which could impact access to medical services and public health infrastructure.
A government employee in Benue State who did not wish to be named in this interview for fear of retaliation lamented bitterly about the poor state of education and healthcare in the state. He said many schools lack good buildings, classrooms, toilets, and water facilities, and the healthcare sector is in a more dire condition.
“Everything is neglected. I am not sure a pregnant woman in a village would be given good medical attention when she wants to give birth. The medical staff is not enough. The health facilities are not good enough. The health centres are poor,” he said.
He said the state’s low funding for education and healthcare makes him worry about the future of both sectors.
In a state where hospitals are crumbling and schools are under-resourced, the Benue State government allocated less than 1% of its capital budget to health and education. This is an alarming neglect of its most vital social sectors.
Meanwhile, the state with the highest percentage allocation to health is Borno (14.96 per cent), with N92.10 billion allocated.
Thaddeaus Jolayemi, a programmes officer at BudgIT Foundation, warned that inadequate funding for education and healthcare in many Nigerian states could severely hinder development in these critical sectors.
He also highlighted the role of corruption in undermining state budgets, citing the misallocation of funds to non-priority sectors and off-budget diversions that often escape public scrutiny.
“We have observed that many of these funds are redirected to other sectors and may end up off-budget, leading to corruption,” he said.
READ ALSO: Abujas N1.7 trillion 2025 budget passes second reading at Senate
He said civil society organisations must continue to push for transparency, conduct social audits, and provide independent oversight to hold governments accountable.
States’ budgets in Nigeria continue to grow in size annually, but the actual impact on citizens’ lives remains limited. This is mainly because many states rely heavily on external factors, such as allocations from the federation account, loans, and grants, which can be unpredictable and unreliable. The state of underdevelopment and disrepair from long years of varying degrees of neglect in many states also makes today’s investments, no matter how huge they appear, look like a drop in the ocean.
Budget implementation is severely hindered when these expected funds fail to materialise, leaving citizens to wonder about the effectiveness of budgetary planning and execution. As a result, the people often do not feel the potential benefits of increased budget sizes. This leads to frustrations and protests as seen during the #EndBadGovernnance protests that rocked Nigeria in August 2024.
*The interviewee’s name was changed based on request for anonymity to avoid retaliation from the authorities.
[Premium Times]
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) may expand its student loan programme to include private universities and colleges in the next two to three years, according to the agency’s Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr.
Naija News reports that Sawyerr made this known during a strategic engagement and sensitisation session with heads of institutions and stakeholders in Enugu on Thursday. The campaign also incorporated local dialects to ensure wider understanding and participation in the region.
He stressed the immediate focus remains on supporting students in public institutions due to their urgent needs, with many unable to afford private education or at risk of dropping out entirely.
“We have only been going for one year. We need to really address the public sector first. The students that we see in the public sector don’t even have the option in most cases to go to private sector, and some of them are dropping out. So we want to address that, make sure that we’ve got them covered,” he said.
“And then when we see after a while, I think two, three years maximum, when we see the effect this has had on the generality of youths in Nigeria, we can then do some sort of review to see what it might mean for moving to the private sector segment,” he added.
Addressing some of the challenges NELFUND has faced, Sawyerr pointed out that public perception and technical difficulties have hindered smooth implementation in some areas.
“They just have a normal problem like everybody else has with technology, and then they say, this has been rigged against us. But we’re here. We’re not here to waste our time. We’re here to help the people apply and get institutions to also take part,” he said.
In her remarks, the Special Adviser to the Enugu State Governor on Education Innovation, Dr. Chinyere Onyeisi, highlighted the importance of the loan scheme, urging educational leaders to guide students on how to apply and take advantage of the programme.
“So what the government is doing has an essential role to play in different areas of education. But this NELFUND has to do with the student support system. And it is important for our students in Southeast and Enugu in particular to maximise the opportunity to apply,” she said.
“Because the major takeaway to the teachers, the heads of institutions that are here today is when they go back to their various schools, they are supposed to continue to step down the specialisation programme to make sure that the students understand the procedures, how to apply, and then apply effectively to benefit from this initiative. It’s real. And they are testifying that other states are already benefiting,” Onyeisi added.
[NaijaNews]
The move by the Oyo State House of Assembly to amend the Obaship council law to accommodate additional two royal fathers as permanent chairmen of the state council of traditional rulers to pilot its affairs concurrently with the Alaafin as co-chairmen has been greeted with controversy.
A global network of Nigerians of Oyo extraction, the Oyo Global Forum (OGF) condemned the Council of Obas and Chiefs (Further Amendment) Bill, 2025 before the Oyo Assembly.
A statement by Taiwo Adebayo, its chairman, said the bill sought to strip the Alaafin of Oyo his rightful sole permanent chairmanship of the Council of Obas, and introduce a concurrent arrangement placing the Alaafin, the Olubadan of Ibadan, and the Soun of Ogbomoso as equals.
“This proposal challenges a deeply rooted institution that has, for centuries, symbolised the cultural unity and identity and civilisation of the Yoruba people.
“The Alaafin’s role as Permanent Chairman is not a matter of privilege or politics, but one rooted in historical precedent and traditional seniority.
“This bill, if passed, risks undermining a centuries-long legacy, one that Yoruba people should be proud of and ready to protect and preserve at all times. However, we have witnessed with grave concern a troubling blend of steps to degrade the influence of the Alaafin,” OGF said.
Similarly, the Yoruba Youth Socio-cultural Association (YYSA) through its National chairman of YYSA, Olalekan Hammed on Friday held that the proposed amendment was to degrade the Alaafin of Oyo by the state government.
Hammed explained that both were merely Baale before mid-70s when both of them eventually begun to wear beaded crown through the intervention of the late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi lll who appealed to the then military administrator in the state, David Jemibewon to approve beaded crown for them.
“The effort making by the Oyo State government to ensure that the three Obas are working together in conjunction at the council is an attempt to abase his stool, which is highly a sacrilegious move,” he said.
However, stakeholders from Ibadanland have opposed the legislative move seeking to make the Alaafin of Oyo the permanent chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and chiefs.
The opposition came from the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Ibadan Mogajis, the Ibadan Compounds Peace Initiative (ICPI), Baales, monarchs, and other notable sons and daughters of Ibadanland.
They warned that the proposal could disrupt the longstanding harmony among traditional institutions in the state.
In a joint statement, the president of the Ibadan Mogajis, Asimiyu Ariori, and the ICPI Coordinator, Nurudeen Akinade, emphasised that Ibadan had never played second fiddle in the Yoruba traditional structure and had consistently acted as a protector of the Yoruba nation.
They cited Ibadan’s military resistance against external threats such as the Fulani expansion in the 19th century as evidence of the city’s strategic importance and leadership role in Yorubaland.
The stakeholders urged the House of Assembly to maintain the rotational leadership system to preserve unity and respect among traditional rulers across the state.
“Ibadan has always been saving the Yoruba nation, there was never a time Ibadanland has been second in command to Oyo or any other town in Yorubaland. Ibadan should be made the permanent chairman of Oyo Obas. The fact that we keep quiet doesn’t mean that we are fools.”
Meanwhile, the Council of Elders in Oyo town led by Chief Olaoye paid a solidarity visit to the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin over the proposed amendments to the Council of Obas and Chiefs Law.
The delegation commended the Oyo State House of Assembly for the ongoing efforts to amend the Council of Obas and Chiefs Law, which had been moribund for about 14years.
They welcomed the proposed amendments, particularly the retention of the Alaafin’s position as the Presiding Authority and the plan to expunge the rotational clause in the Chairmanship of the Council.
“We came to appreciate the Oyo State House of Assembly for the ongoing amendments process. The decision to remove the rotational chairmanship clause aligns with historical precedence and this is commendable. For us, this will ensure that the Alaafin as the foremost monarch continues to lead the Council. “
Speaker Ogundoyin appreciated the delegation for their support and solidarity and stressed that the proposed amendments were aimed at strengthening the traditional institution in Oyo State and making it more relevant to the needs of the people.
He assured the delegation that the House would continue to work towards promoting the welfare and interests of the traditional institution and the people of the state.
[Leadership]
Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has lamented reports indicating that some terrorists in Zamfara State fed their dog with twins born in captivity.
DAILY POST reports that a member of the House of Representatives, Aminu Jaji, had on Wednesday said the security crisis in Zamfara degenerated to a point where babies born in captivity were fed to dogs owned by the insurgents.
The lawmaker narrated that a pregnant woman was abducted by the daredevil terrorists but when she gave birth to a set of twins in captivity, the leader of the terrorists group “took the babies and threw them at their dog.
“The dogs ate them up, one after the other”, the lawmaker said.
Reacting, FFK in a statement on his X handle on Friday said “can there be a more callous crime against humanity than this? Can there be a more explicit display of man’s inhumanity to man?
“Can there be a more bestial act of savagery and barbarity? O Lord behold our tears, arise to our nations defence and rid us of this evil”.
According to him, Nigeria”must eliminate these feral psycopaths and send them back to hell. We must rid our land of this godless horde.
“With strength and courage we SHALL prevail. They will NEVER break our spirit! We shall NEVER bend the knee to them”!
[DailyPost]