Author: Opalim Lifted

The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to raise $2.347 billion from the international capital arket to part-finance Nigeria’s 2025 budget deficit and refinance maturing Eurobonds. The approval came after the House considered and adopted a report by the Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management, chaired by Hon. Abubakar Hassan Nalaraba, during Wednesday’s plenary session presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas. According to the report, the external borrowing will include $1.23 billion to fund the 2025 budget deficit and $1.12 billion to refinance Nigeria’s Eurobond maturing in November 2025. The borrowing component represents about N1.84 trillion…

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the removal of convicted kidnappers, drug traffickers, human traffickers, fraudsters, and illegal arms dealers from the federal government’s prerogative of mercy list. Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga announced the move in a statement on Wednesday, saying it followed consultations with the Council of State and growing public concern over some names earlier approved for pardon. “Certain persons convicted of serious crimes such as kidnapping, drug-related offences, human trafficking, fraud, and unlawful possession of firearms were deleted from the list,” Onanuga said. “Others had their sentences commuted after review.” The presidency said the decision was driven by…

A prominent Plateau cleric and regional leader of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), Evangelist Ezekiel Dachomo, has provoked nationwide debate after a viral video in which he said no ransom should be paid if he is ever kidnapped. In the footage Dachomo tells followers he has accepted the danger of speaking out against violence in northern Nigeria. He says his death would “raise war” and help liberate Christians, adding: “We are showing them mercy, we are showing them love, but they did not see it. I do not know where I will be next, but for me I…

A man in an electric wheelchair died on Tuesday after being hit by a car driven by Inter Milan goalkeeper Josep Martinez in the province of Como, Italy police said. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning, with police stating that the wheelchair appeared to have veered into the path of the vehicle. Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident. “The car driven by Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez hit a man who was in an electric wheelchair travelling on a cycle path alongside a road in the province of Como,” Italian police told Reuters. “Martinez stopped his car…

At least 21 states in Nigeria depend on allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for over 70 per cent of their total revenue, according to a new report by the BudgIT Foundation. The report also revealed that 29 states rely on FAAC for at least 50 per cent of their total revenue. Titled “A Decade of Subnational Fiscal Analysis: Growth, Decline and Middling Performance”, the State of States 2024 report was presented on Tuesday in Abuja by BudgIT’s Group Head of Research and Policy Advisory, Vahyala Kwaga. The report put the gross FAAC receipts for 35 states in…

The Federal Government has begun reviewing 170 applications from foreign nationals seeking Nigerian citizenship, warning that only individuals of “strong character and impeccable integrity” will qualify. Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this in Abuja after chairing a meeting of the Citizenship Advisory Committee, which vets all applications before forwarding recommendations to President Bola Tinubu for final approval. He stressed that the privilege of belonging to Africa’s most populous nation would not be granted lightly. “Anyone who holds the citizenship of our great country must be a person of strong character and impeccable integrity, reflecting the true values of Nigeria,”…

The House of Representatives has raised alarm over rising security threats to the National Assembly, including intelligence reports of a terrorist plan to bomb the legislative complex. Chairman of the House Committee on Internal Security, Hon. Garba Ibrahim Muhammad, disclosed this on Tuesday during a public hearing on a bill seeking to establish the Legislative Security Directorate at the National Assembly in Abuja. The bill, titled A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment and Functions of the Legislative Security Directorate in the National Assembly (HB 1632), aims to create a specialised internal security body to safeguard lawmakers,…

A much-changed Brentford cruised into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup for the fourth time in six seasons after ending Grimsby Town’s memorable run in emphatic style. The League Two hosts caused one of the biggest shocks in EFL Cup history when they knocked out Manchester United two months ago. Despite making nine changes, Brentford showed their Premier League class and turned on the style to score five. Having also knocked out Premier League rivals Bournemouth and Aston Villa in the competition, they are just two rounds from a first major cup final. “The attacking play was outstanding,” said Brentford…

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation have called on media professionals to uphold children’s rights and dignity in their reporting. Speaking in Ibadan during a two-day training on ethical journalism and child rights reporting, Chief of the UNICEF Lagos Field Office, Celine Lafoucriere, said every story involving a child must be handled with sensitivity and respect. Delivering her keynote address titled “Why Ethical Reporting of Children Matters in Nigeria,” Lafoucriere emphasised that children are not miniature adults but individuals still developing emotionally, mentally, and socially. “Ethical journalism builds trust,” she said.…

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, has launched Grokipedia, a new online encyclopedia designed to compete with Wikipedia, which the billionaire has long accused of political bias. The site, branded version 0.1, went live on Monday with more than 885,000 articles — far fewer than Wikipedia’s seven million English-language entries, but already drawing global attention. Musk promised an upgraded version 1.0 would be “10X better,” declaring that Grokipedia already surpasses its established rival. “The goal of Grok and Grokipedia.com is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” Musk wrote on X, pledging to avoid ideological slant. Originally…