News

BREAKING: Sanwo-Olu signs N873.5bn budget

Published

7 years ago

June 3, 2019

Eric

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, signed the Lagos State 2019 Appropriation Bill into law.

Sanwo-Olu signed the budget which amounts to N873,532,460,725. The budget has recurrent expenses of N393, 841, 387 (45 per cent) Capital expenses of N479, 691, 775 (55 per cent).

The budget proposal of N852bn was submitted to the State House of Assembly on February 5, 2019 by former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode but it was increased by N21bn by the lawmakers.

Ambode had been threatened with impeachment for delaying the submission of the budget proposal.

After submission, the House deliberated on it and finally passed it on April 30, 2019.

Ambode had presented a total budget of N852.3bn to the house, explaining that there was a reduction in the projected revenue of the state, which affected the implementation of the 2018 budget estimates.

The budget presented by Ambode had ₦389.6bn as recurrent expenditure, while capital expenditure was put at ₦462.8bn, which represented a capital/recurrent ratio of 54:46.

Ambode further said the projected total revenue for 2019 is ₦775.2bn, of which ₦606.3bn is expected to be generated internally and ₦168.9bn is expected from federal transfers, while a total of ₦77.1bn will be sourced through deficit financing within the medium-term expenditure framework.

News

Otunba of Lagos Adekunle Ojora is Dead

Published

1 day ago

January 28, 2026

Eric

A former Chairman of the Board of AGIP Nigeria Limited and Otunba of Lagos, Adekunle Ojora, is dead. He was aged 93.

The popular business tycoon reportedly died on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

Details soon…

News

Diezani Appears in London Court, Denies Bribery Allegations

Published

2 days ago

January 28, 2026

Eric

Former Nigerian petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke on Tuesday denied multiple bribery charges as her trial opened at Southwark Crown Court in London, where prosecutors accused her of living a “life of luxury” funded by illicit payments.

British prosecutors told the court that Alison-Madueke, 65, accepted bribes between 2011 and 2015 while serving as Nigeria’s minister of petroleum resources under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the prosecution, individuals seeking “lucrative oil and gas contracts” with Nigeria’s state-owned oil company provided her with “significant financial and other advantages” in exchange for influence.

“She should not have accepted benefits from those doing extremely lucrative business with government-owned entities,” the prosecutor said.

Alison-Madueke is accused of receiving financial and other inducements from individuals linked to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups, which secured contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries.

The court heard that the alleged benefits included £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, private jet flights, refurbishment work and staff costs at London properties, as well as school fees for her son and luxury items from stores such as Harrods and Louis Vuitton.

Alison-Madueke, who also served as president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries from 2014 to 2015, has been linked to several legal cases globally, including in the United States.

In Nigeria, courts seized properties belonging to her and valued at several million dollars in 2017.

Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission still has pending cases against the former minister.

She has been on bail since her arrest in London in October 2015 and formally charged in 2023. She has consistently denied all allegations.

The UK National Crime Agency said at the time it suspected she had “abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.”

Two others, Doye Agama, her brother, and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also standing trial on related bribery charges.

Trial Judge, Justine Thornton said she hoped the trial would conclude by April 24.

News

Tinubu Stumbles, Falls During Welcome Reception in Turkey

Published

2 days ago

January 27, 2026

Eric

The incident occurred as he walked alongside Turkish President Recep Erdogan.

Tinubu appeared to have missed his step but was quickly assisted by officials, helping him regain his balance.

Tinubu had arrived at the Turkish presidential palace with a black limousine car.

Immediately after Tinubu alighted from the car, the military band played Nigeria’s national anthem, which was followed by the Turkish national anthem.

After the band’s rendition, there was a moment when the Turkish president used his hands to adjust Tinubu’s body to properly face the band.

Tinubu had departed Abuja for the state visit to Turkey on Monday, to strengthen the “existing cordial relations between the two countries and exploring further areas of cooperation in security, education, social development, innovation, and aviation”, according to a statement by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga.