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Opinion: 2020: The Year That Was-Reuben Abati

Published

5 years ago

December 29, 2020

Editor

By Reuben Aba

My favourite end-of-the-year quote, which I have shared with many others, is the following passage from Chapter 3 of the inimitable Chinua Achebe’s Things Falls Apart, a novel of monumental, evergreen relevance, translated into over 50 languages, a product of pure genius, a milestone in world literature. Achebe wrote:

“…The year that Okonkwo took eight hundred seed yams from Nwakibie was the worst year in living memory. Nothing happened at its proper time; it was either too early or too late. It seemed as if the world had gone mad. The first rains were late and when they came, lasted only a brief moment … The drought continued for eight market weeks and the yams were killed. The year had gone mad. When the rains finally returned, they fell as it had never fallen before. Trees were uprooted and deep gorges appeared everywhere.

That year, the harvest was sad, like a funeral and many farmers wept as they dug up the miserable and rotting yams. One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself. Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. It always surprised him when he thought about it later that he did not sink under the load of despair. He knew he was a fierce fighter, but that year had been enough to break the heart of a lion. Since I survived that year,” he always said, “I shall survive anything.”

Chinua Acbebe, the master story-teller wrote Things Fall Apart in 1957. He was just 27. Today, his words ring true. His narrative summarizes what we have been through in the year 2020. Writers are prophets. They see ahead. They map the trajectory of human experience even before it happens. The year 2020, better known as the year that was, indeed went mad. In terms of harvest, there was very little to talk about. Not yams sprouting from farmlands, but the negation of everything by a pathogen known as COVID-19 which left our world in dire straits. The last time the world witnessed a similar tragedy was in 1918-1920. That was the Spanish Flu. It lasted for two years and left a devastating imprint. We are sadly back to that past 100 years later. Across the world, from Europe to Antarctica, over one million people have died. Over 81 million persons have been infected. Many more will die, as the virus mutates and demonstrates a capacity equivalent to evil in extreme proportions. Indeed as the sage wrote, If we survive this, “we shall survive anything”. The year 2020 is the perfect “annus horribilis.” It is not a year “on which we shall look back with undiluted pleasure”.

It was the year that everything failed. Marriages collapsed. Businesses failed. The world’s demand and supply chain was disrupted. Man was humbled and humanity tried to catch up with an existential accident. The limits of science was tested. The idea of community was redefined, as human beings were forced to stay in their own natural enclaves, and avoid each other. This was the spectacular year when even grandparents were advised to stay away from their own children. Hospitals were overstretched. The entire world became an isolation centre. The words: physical distancing, social distancing, masks, hygiene, guidelines, protocols, task force, leadership, yes, leadership, and responsibility became the most famous words of the year.

The cemetery is a public place. It became even more popular in the year 2020. It was indeed an unusual year of paradoxes. Hi-Tech owners and investors made big money, so did Big-Pharmaceutical companies and so did the undertakers and funeral homes who made a fortune from the harvest of deaths. In our country, Nigeria, there was another kind of harvest, which added to the people’s misery and pain. Kidnappings. Banditry. The failure of the Naira. The collapse of the oil and gas sector. The madness of the people who in the face of COVID-19 chose to be skeptical, saved ironically by the fact that the disease was not as terrible as it was in other continents. The economy of course failed also. Nigeria slipped into a second recession in five years. Many lost their jobs. It was a sad year in all sectors, more or less. And it was the year when Nigerian youths rebelled against police brutality and bad governance.

We lament but we must also look at the other side of the picture: What lessons have we learnt and how can those lessons help us in the years to come? As the year 2020 ends, we are looking forward to a New Year. And somehow, everyone thinks that in 2021 COVID-19 will disappear. But not quite. The year 2021 looks very much like the year of the Vaccine and the politics of vaccination. Getting the people to take the vaccine is likely to be a big challenge. Going forward, I recall a few lessons that we may have learnt.

Number One: Could anyone have ever imagined that we would give up some of our usual habits as human beings? All of a sudden the year 2020, showed us that if we do not shake hands, hug each other, exchange intimate social affections, we would not die. I do not, as the year ends, remember the last time I hugged anyone or shook hands with a friend. A handshake was once a symbol and expression of brotherhood. The year of the virus made that impossible as we all had to mask up, and observe physical and social distancing. Here we are at the end of the year and so much has changed in terms of how we relate to other people. Someone was telling me the other day that we are now in the Harmattan season, or put more correctly, the flu season. But you try and sneeze at this time. Or cough. Every sneeze or cough is considered a sign of Corona Virus. I know persons who go about with a can of aerosol spray in their bags. You sneeze. You get sprayed for constituting yourself into a threat to public health. A lady that I know, will spray Aerosol on you from head to toe and tell you: “ma ko bami jare!” Before the year 2020, it was normal to sneeze and cough. People will tell you: “God bless you.” Now, that has become a crime. Nobody asks God to bless you. They look at you with what Nigerians call “corner-eye”.

Number Two: Nigerians love parties. But in the year 2020, it became a crime also to attend parties, wear aso ebi, and party all day long. I have bags of traditional party attires, agbada and all sorts, but this year, I have not opened any of those bags. There was no need going everywhere. We were told to keep safe and stay at home. Can anyone ever imagine that a year would pass like that without all the communal parties? Some people defied the protocols, year 2020 was not like any other year. But some of us obeyed the government. It was quite clear at some point that even persons who followed the directive that everyone should #take-responsibility were not spared by the virus. The high and mighty died. The most talented in our community died. COVID-19 was so egalitarian, it did not respect anybody or national boundaries.

Number Three: One of my teachers, many years ago, in a 400 level course titled “Theatre and Mankind” told us that man considers himself the most wondrous being on earth and regards himself as Master of the Universe, but repeatedly, man realizes that he is really not as important as he projects himself to be. Again and again, nature humbles him. The environment reminds him that he is not a Master but a gnat. The more this happens, the more man struggles to master the Cosmos and it is in that eternal struggle that we find the substance of epistemology and wisdom, and human drama. This is the story of our lives, and it was played out, poignantly, in the year 2020. In that year, that now ends, we were confronted with the uncertainty and the vulnerability of our lives. We are now at a point where scientists are saying they have found a vaccine. The drama of 2020 was that of man’s conflict with a pathogen, and as we were taught, this is just the beginning of another end. Man’s place in creation is that of Sisyphus and Atlas. If anyone believes that our struggle is over, he or she misses the point.

Number Four: It was a year we were told to stay away from one another and that taught us a lesson about how interconnected and interdependent we all are in a real sense. And of course the freedoms that we often take for granted became more precious than we ever considered. We were asked to stay at home, lock down, and avoid others. Even students could not go to school. We were required to bear responsibility for the health and well-being of others. It was a big issue that we all needed each other to survive, and if you were infected, you were told not to risk the possibility of infecting the other person. That was a big lesson in human solidarity. But it was tough. In times of pain and despair, the natural instinct is for people to reach out to each other, stick together as family, and seek help. In the year 2020, we were told to change the way we have always lived so we could remain alive. In Africa and Nigeria, the people took that for granted, but now that there is a second wave, we can only hope that the people will learn and not submit to conspiracy theories or the thinking that Corona virus is a big man’s disease which it is not.

Number Five: And still on how connected we are as human beings and how Corona Virus advances the struggle for equality, it became clear in the year 2020, that health is wealth, and that a failed healthcare system such as exists in many African countries would affect everyone. The African rich class had this habit of running abroad each time they fell ill; headache, ear-ache, indigestion, diarrhoea, even malaria. But in 2020, that became a suicidal option. Our leaders were taught the lesson that they have a responsibility to develop and strengthen the health systems in their own countries. For reasons not yet fully analysed, the African continent did not experience a corona virus blow out. This was the surprising miracle of the year considering the behaviour of the people, the misconduct of African governments and the reign of superstition from Tanzania to Burundi, Ghana and Nigeria.

Number Six: The free market system flourished ironically and China, where the virus sprouted from became the biggest economic beneficiary. Vaccine nationalism flourished counterpoised by vaccine hesitancy, two instructive phrases of the moment. We are confronted, in the face of the Virus, with the urgent need for new global narratives.

Number Seven: Leadership. The year 2020 showed that leadership matters. We saw through the year, good and bad leaders in terms of how they managed the COVID-19 challenge. Good leaders help society. Bad leaders punish and frustrate the people.

Number Eight: Our world of work has changed forever. Before the disaster that was 2020 happened, we all enjoyed the thrill of the daily commute to and from our work places. Even when we spent hours on traffic-congested roads, we loved it. In 2020, we were told to stay at home and work from home. And just like that: the world of work changed forever, with analysts telling us that human beings tend to be more productive when they work in isolation, from home. Tech companies have gained a lot. Stock markets have appreciated. Corona Virus may have robbed us of aspects of our lives, but it has also shown us new possibilities. What does tomorrow hold, then?

I have no idea. I am not too sure anyone can answer that question. What we know is that human beings are capable of new discoveries in the face of pain, suffering and tragedy. And so it has been with the year 2020. So, what do we hold on to? Hope, I guess, the oxygen of human existence.

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Tinubu’s 2026 Budget Bad Omen for Nigerians – PDP

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The 2026 Appropriation Bill presented by President Bola Tinubu before a joint session of the National Assembly has been rated below par, and described as a bad omen for Nigerians, by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Tanimu Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said on Friday that President Bola Tinubu’s 2026 budget would add to the sufferings of Nigeria rather than giving them any renewed hope or consolidation of economic reforms.

The party noted that there would be no renewed hope in an environment where hunger, insecurity and other forms of deprivation were the lot of Nigerians.

It cited the 2025 World Bank Poverty & Equity Brief, which placed more than 30.9% of Nigerians below the international extreme poverty line.

“This shows that there is growth without prosperity for our citizens, meaning that despite GDP growth, poverty remains endemic”, the National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, stated on Friday soon after Tinubu presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill of N58.18trillion to a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives in Abuja.

Ememobong noted: “The budget, which is themed ‘Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity’, claims that the economy is stabilising and promises shared prosperity.

“In response, we see it rather as a budget of consolidated renewed sufferings, because what Nigerians have witnessed since the birth of this administration is nothing but unmitigated hardship on the people, while the governing class relishes in affluence.

“Nigerians have suffered greatly from many economic woes under this administration.

“President Tinubu cited a 3.98% GDP growth rate as evidence of economic stabilisation under his administration.

“However, it is well established that economic growth alone does not and cannot guarantee improved living standards for citizens.

“According to the 2025 World Bank Poverty & Equity Brief, more than 30.9% of Nigerians live below the international extreme poverty line. This shows that there is growth without prosperity for our citizens, meaning that despite GDP growth, poverty remains endemic.

“This clearly indicates that whatever economic gains exist are not reaching the majority of Nigerians.”

The PDP rejected the President’s figures on economic progress, saying rather that Nigeria has been on rever gear.

“The President stated that the economy under his watch grew by 3.98% without stating the sectors that stimulated the growth or identifying those who benefitted from it. This figure reflects the economic decline the nation has suffered under the leadership of the APC-led Federal government when compared to the growth rate of 6.87% recorded in 2013(same period under the last PDP administration), which was driven largely by non-oil sectors such as agriculture and trade.

“Today, the President celebrates a 3.98% growth rate, whereas a reality check reveals excruciating hunger, a high cost of living, and other indices of economic hardship, which Nigerians are currently facing.

“While we acknowledge the security allocation in the 2026 budget, we must remind the government and Nigerians that allocation alone is insufficient.”

The party added, “We therefore, demand effective and transparent execution to ensure that security funding translates into tangible improvements -modern equipment, adequate ammunition, improved intelligence capabilities, and better welfare for security personnel who are currently engaged in different theatres of armed conflict, where criminal non-state actors are alleged to possess superior arms compared to our security forces.

“Overall, we are deeply concerned about the unapologetic admission by the President that the execution of the 2024 capital budget had been extended to December 2025, while the 2025 budget is still in force.

“This confirms the long-standing rumours of the concurrent operation of multiple budgets.

“This cannot be described as best practice, as every budget has a defined period of operation and no two budgets should operate concurrently. The operation of different budgets at the same time undermines fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability. These multiple budgetary regimes show yet another unprecedented negative feat by this APC Bola Tinubu-led administration.

“We hereby call for increased transparency and accountability in the administration of the finances of our country, as these have been conspicuously absent so far under this administration.

“Financial accountability and transparency are critical to public trust-building and effective public administration.”

The budget with the theme, “Budget of consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”, is N3.19trillion higher than the N54.99trillion approved for 2025.

The key aggregates of the budget are expected revenue of N34.33trillion; debt servicing of N15.52trillion; recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure of N15.25trillion; capital expenditure of N26.08trillion; a deficit of N23.85trillion representing 4.28% of GDP.

In addition, the budget will be benchmarked at $64.85 per barrel of crude oil, daily oil production of 1.8million barrels and a dollar/naira exchange.

Below is the full presentation of Tinubu’s 2026 Budget:

FULL SPEECH BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE 2026 NATIONAL BUDGET

“Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”

Distinguished Senate President,
Rt. Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members of the House of Representatives,
Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly,
Fellow Nigerians,,

1. I am here today to fulfil an essential constitutional obligation by presenting the 2026 Appropriation Bill to this esteemed Joint Session of the National Assembly for your consideration.

2. This budget represents a defining moment in our national journey of reform and transformation. Over the last two and a half years, my government has methodically confronted long‑standing structural weaknesses, stabilised our economy, rebuilt confidence, and laid a durable foundation for the construction of a more resilient, inclusive, and dynamic Nigeria.

3. Though necessary, the reforms have not been painless. Families and businesses have faced pressure; established systems have been disrupted; and budget execution has been tested. I acknowledge these difficulties plainly. Yet, I am here, today, to assure Nigerians that their sacrifices are not in vain. The path of reform is seldom smooth, but it is the surest route to lasting stability and shared prosperity.

4. Today, I present a Budget that consolidates our gains, strengthens our resilience, and takes this country from out of the dark tunnel of hopelessness, from survival to growth.

5. The 2026 Budget is themed: “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”. It reflects our determination to lock in macroeconomic stability, deepen competitiveness, and ensure that growth translates into decent jobs, rising incomes, and a better quality of life across for every Nigerian.

6. Mr. Chairman, Leaders of the National Assembly, while the global outlook continues to improve, this Budget aims to further strengthen our Nigerian economy to benefit all our citizens.

7. I am encouraged that our reform efforts are already yielding measurable results:
1) Our economy grew by 3.98 per cent in Q3 2025, up from 3.86 per cent in Q3 2024.

2) Inflation has moderated for eight consecutive months, with headline inflation declining to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, from 24.23 per cent in March 2025. With stabilising food and energy prices, tighter monetary conditions, and improving supply responses, we expect the deflationary trend to persist over the 2026 horizon, barring major supply shocks.

3) Oil production has improved, supported by enhanced security, technology deployment, and sector reforms.

4) Non‑oil revenues have expanded significantly through better tax administration.

5) Investor confidence is returning, reflected in capital inflows, renewed project financing, and stronger private‑sector participation.

6) Our external reserves rose to a 7‑year high of about US47 billion dollars as of last month, providing over 10 months of import cover and a more substantial buffer against shocks.

8. These outcomes are not accidental or lucky. They are the consequence of our difficult policy choices. Our next objective is to deepen our gains in pursuit of enduring and inclusive prosperity.

9. Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Members, our 2025 budget implementation faced the realities of transition and competing execution demands. As of Q3 2025, we recorded:
• 18.6 trillion naira in revenue — representing 61% of our target; and
• 24.66 trillion naira in expenditure — representing 60% of our target.

10. Following the extension of the 2024 capital budget execution to December 2025, a total of 2.23 trillion naira was released for the implementation of 2024 capital projects as of June 2025.

11. While fiscal challenges persisted, the government met its key obligations. However, only 3.10 trillion naira — about 17.7% of the 2025 capital budget — was released as of Q3, reflecting the emphasis on completing priority 2024 capital projects during the transition period.

12. Let me be clear: 2026 will be a year of stronger discipline in budget execution. I have issued directives to the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Honourable Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, the Accountant‑General of the Federation, and the Director‑General of the Budget Office of the Federation to ensure that the 2026 Budget is implemented strictly in line with the appropriated details and timelines.

13. We expect improved revenue performance through the new National Tax Acts and the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas sector — reforms designed not merely to raise revenue, but to drive transparency, efficiency, fairness, and long‑term value in our fiscal architecture.

14. I have also provided clear and direct guidance regarding Government‑Owned Enterprises. Heads of all agencies have been directed to meet their assigned revenue targets. To support this, we will deploy end‑to‑end digitisation of revenue mobilisation — standardised e‑collections, interoperable payment rails, automated reconciliation, data‑driven risk profiling, and real‑time performance dashboards — so leakages are sealed, compliance is verifiable, and remittances are prompt. These targets will form core components of performance evaluations and institutional scorecards. Nigeria can no longer afford leakages, inefficiencies, or underperformance in strategic agencies. Every institution must play its part.

15. Mr Chairman and fellow Nigerians, the 2026 Budget is guided by four clear objectives:
1) Consolidate macroeconomic stability;
2) Improve the business and investment environment;
3) Promote job‑rich growth and reduce poverty; and
4) Strengthen human capital development while protecting the vulnerable.

16. In short: we will spend with purpose, manage debt with discipline, and pursue broad-based, sustainable growth.

17. Distinguished Members, the 2026 Federal Budget is anchored on realism, prudence, and growth.

18. The key aggregates are as follows:
1) Expected total revenue is 34.33 trillion naira.
2) Projected total expenditure is 58.18 trillion naira, including 15.52 trillion naira for debt servicing.
3) Recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure is 15.25 trillion naira.
4) Capital expenditure will be 26.08 trillion.
5) The Budget deficit is expected to be 23.85 trillion naira, representing 4.28% of GDP.

19. These numbers are not mere accounting lines. They are a statement of national priorities. We remain firmly committed to fiscal sustainability, debt transparency, and value‑for‑money spending.

20. The 2026–2028 Medium‑Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper sets the parameters for this Budget. Our projections are based on:
1) a conservative crude oil benchmark of US64.85 dollars per barrel;
2) crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day; and
3) an average exchange rate of 1,400 naira to the US Dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.

21. We will continue to reduce waste, strengthen controls, and ensure that every naira borrowed or spent delivers measurable public value.

22. Our allocations reflect the Renewed Hope Agenda and the practical needs of Nigerians. Key sectoral provisions include:
1) Defence and security: 5.41 trillion naira
2) Infrastructure: 3.56 trillion naira
3) Education: 3.52 trillion naira
4) Health: 2.48 trillion naira

23. These priorities are interlinked. Without security, investment will not thrive. Without educated and healthy citizens, productivity will not rise. Without infrastructure, jobs and enterprises will not scale. This Budget is, therefore, designed to provide a single, coherent programme of national renewal.

A. National Security and Peacebuilding
24. National Security remains the foundation of development. The 2026 Budget strengthens support for:
• modernisation of the Armed Forces;
• intelligence‑driven policing and joint operations;
• border security and technology‑enabled surveillance; and
• community‑based peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

25. We will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes — because security spending must deliver results. To secure our country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our armed forces and other security agencies and boosting the effectiveness of our fighting forces with cutting-edge equipment and other hardware.

26. We will usher in a new era of criminal justice. We will show no mercy to those who commit or support acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes.

27. Our administration is resetting the national security architecture and establishing a new national counterterrorism doctrine — a holistic redesign anchored on unified command, intelligence gathering, community stability, and counter – insurgency. This new doctrine will fundamentally change how we confront terrorism and other violent crimes.

28. Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists.

29. Bandits, militias, armed gangs, armed robbers, violent cults, forest-based armed groups and foreign-linked mercenaries will all be targeted. We will go after all those who perpetrate violence for political or sectarian ends, along with those who finance and facilitate their evil schemes.

B. Human Capital Development: Education and Health
30. No nation can grow beyond the quality of its people. The 2026 Budget strengthens investments in education, skills, healthcare, and social protection.

31. In education, we are expanding access to higher education through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. Over seven hundred and eighty eight thousand students have been supported, in partnership with two hundred and twenty nine tertiary institutions nationwide.

32. In healthcare, I am pleased to highlight that investment in healthcare is 6 per cent of the total budget size, net of liabilities.

33. We also appreciate the support of international partners. Recent high‑level engagements with the Government of the United States have opened the door to over 500 million United States dollars for health interventions across Nigeria. We welcome this partnership and assure Nigerians that these resources will be deployed transparently and effectively.

C. Infrastructure and Economic Productivity
34. Across the nation, projects of all shapes and sizes are moving from vision to reality. These include transport and energy infrastructure, port modernisation, agricultural reforms, and strategic investments to unlock private capital.

35. We will take decisive steps to strengthen agricultural markets. Food security shall remain a national priority. The 2026 Budget focuses on input financing and mechanisation; irrigation and climate‑resilient agriculture; storage and processing; and agro‑value chains.

36. These measures will reduce post‑harvest losses, improve incomes for small holders, deepen agro‑industrialisation, and build a more resilient, diversified economy.
37. In 2026, the Bank of Agriculture plans to plant confidence back into our soil; mechanising through seven regional hubs, protecting harvests with fair prices and substantial reserves, providing affordable finance to millions of small holders and growing export value. Under the plan, Nigerian farmers will cultivate one million hectares, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and prove that prosperity can rise through better use of our God given land.

D. Procurement
38. Starting in November last year, the government has embarked upon a comprehensive framework of procurement reforms. These reforms have enhanced efficiency and generated significant cost savings for the government, resulting in resulting in reduced processing times for Government contracts and better enforcement procedures directed against erring contractors and government officials.

39. Our Nigeria First Policy has been established to encourage self-sufficiency and sustainable growth within Nigeria by promoting domestic products and businesses. By mandating that all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) consider Nigerian-made goods and local companies as their primary option, the policy aims to support local industries, create job opportunities, and reduce dependency on imported items. This bold new approach is expected to enhance the competitiveness of Nigerian enterprises, foster innovation, and ultimately contribute to the country’s overall economic development.

40. Distinguished Members and fellow Nigerians, the most significant budget is not the one we announce. It is the one we deliver.

41. Therefore, 2026 will be guided by three practical commitments:
1) Better revenue mobilisation through efficiency, transparency, and compliance.
2) Better spending by prioritising projects that can be completed, measured, and felt by citizens.
3) Better accountability through strengthening of procurement discipline, monitoring, and reporting.

42. We will build trust by matching our words with results, and our allocations with outcomes.

43. Distinguished Members of the National Assembly, fellow Nigerians, the 2026 Budget is not a budget of promises; it is a Budget of consolidation, renewed resilience and shared prosperity. It builds on the reforms of the past two and a half years, addresses emerging challenges, and sets a clear path towards a more secure, more competitive, more equitable, and more hopeful Nigeria.

44. I commend the people of this country for their understanding and resilience. My administration remains committed to easing the burdens of the transition to a more stable and prosperous nation. We promise to make sure that the benefits of reform reach households and communities across the Federation.

45. In united purpose between the Executive and the Legislature; and with the resilience of the Nigerian people, we will deliver the full promise of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

46. It is, therefore, with great pleasure that I lay before this distinguished Joint Session of the National Assembly; the 2026 Appropriation Bill of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, titled: “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”. I seek your partnership in charting the nation’s fiscal course for the coming year.

47. May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

48. Thank you.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President, Commander-in-Chief of The Armed Forces,
Federal Republic of Nigeria

Headline

Insecurity: Akpabio Begs Tinubu to Reinstate Police Orderlies for NASS Members

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2025

Eric

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to reconsider the directive withdrawing police orderlies from members of the National Assembly, citing safety concerns.

Akpabio made the appeal during the presentation of the 2026 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly, by President Tinubu, warning that some lawmakers fear they might be unable to return home safely following the withdrawal.

His said: “As we direct the security agencies to withdraw policemen from critical areas, some of the National Assembly said I should let you know they may not be able to go home today.

“On that note, we plead with Mr. President for a review of the decision.”

President Tinubu, on November 23, ordered the withdrawal of police officers attached to Very Important Persons (VIPs), directing that they be redeployed to core policing duties across the country.

According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Tinubu issued the directive after a security meeting with Service Chiefs and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) following heightened security issues in the country.

Under the order, VIPs requiring security are to seek protection from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, as the Federal government seeks to boost police presence in communities, particularly in remote areas grappling with insecurity.

Tinubu later reaffirmed the directive on December 10, moments before presiding over the Federal Executive Council, expressing frustration over delays in implementation.

He instructed the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to work with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, and the Civil Defence Corps to immediately replace withdrawn escorts to avoid exposing individuals to danger.

“I honestly believe in what I said…It should be effected. If you have any problem because of the nature of your assignment, contact the IGP and get my clearance,” Tinubu said.

“The minister of interior should liaise IG and the Civil Defence structure to replace those police officers who are on special security duties.

“So that you don’t leave people exposed,” he said.

Headline

Defence Gulps Lion Share As Tinubu Presents N58.47trn 2026 Budget to NASS

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has presented a budget of N58.47 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year to a joint session of the National Assembly, with capital recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure standing at N15.25 trillion.

Tinubu presented the budget on Friday, pegging the capital expenditure at N26.08 trillion and putting the crude oil benchmark at US$64.85 per barrel.

He said the expected total revenue is N34.33 trillion, projected total expenditure: N58.18 trillion, including N15.52 trillion for debt servicing. The budget is N23.85 trillion, representing 4.28% of GDP.

The budget was anchored on a crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the US Dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.

In terms of sectoral allocation, defence and security took the lion’s share with N 5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure at N3.56 trillion.