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FG Has Released 50% Constituency Allowance to Lawmakers – SGF

Published

7 years ago

December 19, 2018

Eric

The caucuses of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in the Senate and House of Representatives held separate closed sessions on Tuesday to appraise the presentation of the 2019 budget by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday (today).

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, attended the APC meeting at the House, which lasted one hour.

Majority Leader of the House, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, declined to speak on the details of the meeting.

Mustapha, who spoke to journalists after the meeting, also refused to disclose what happened at the meeting.

The SGF, however, said part of the allocation appropriated for the National Assembly in the 2018 national budget had been released.

“I can assure you that for their (lawmakers) constituency projects, at least 50 per cent has been released,” he said.

When he was asked why he attended the meeting, the SGF said, “I have come to attend a caucus meeting with members of the House of Representatives of the APC.”

Asked whether the meeting was about the strike by workers at the National Assembly, he said, “No, no, it has nothing to do with the strike. We just discussed party matters.”

When pressed further whether it was about budget presentation, he said, “No, it is not.”

Responding to a question querying the timing of the meeting, he said it was about the 2019 general elections.

“We are preparing for elections; we have to dialogue, strategise and plan for the elections. Very soon, they are going on recess and so, we have to plan on what they will do during the recess in terms of deepening democracy and preparing our party for the elections,” Mustapha said.

Asked if he was worried by the defections of APC members in the National Assembly, Mustapha said, “There hasn’t been any defection; the major ones happened and we have got out of that. We are just on the path of growth now. We have received so many members (too).”

Meanwhile, members of the PDP in the Senate have also resolved to accord Buhari a warm reception during the presentation of the 2019 national budget on Wednesday (today).

Some of the senators, who spoke with one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, said they had agreed to receive Buhari without condition.

One of them from the South-East said, “We met briefly to appraise the senate position on the President’s visit and the general consensus is that we should put aside any issue we may have against the President and receive him warmly.”

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Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

12 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

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Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

17 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.

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DSS Nabs Man over Assassination Attempt on Peter Obi

Published

19 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has detained a man in connection with the recent attack and alleged assassination threats targeting Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

According to AIT, the shooting incident took place on February 24, 2026, in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering attended by Obi and several figures from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The meeting was hosted by former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun. Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the venue, causing panic and forcing attendees to disperse for safety.

According to security sources, shortly after the attack, an individual identified as Udeme Monday Stephen allegedly took to social media claiming responsibility and issuing additional threats against Obi, warning of further violence.

Intelligence officials reportedly initiated swift investigations, employing digital tracing and forensic tools that led to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect in Rivers State. He is said to be a teacher at a private secondary school in the Eliozu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

The suspect remains in DSS custody and is expected to face prosecution. The agency reiterated its commitment to responding to credible threats and safeguarding lives and national interests without bias.