News
Niger State Governor Umaru Bago presents 1.5 trillion naira as 2025 budget

Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, has presented an appropriation bill exceeding N1.5 trillion for the year 2025 to the State Assembly.
The Governor unveiled the budget titled “Budget of Hope for Sustainability and Food Security” at the State Assembly complex in Minna.
The governor said, “Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, you will recall that last year, I presented a budget proposal of 613 billion naira and a supplementary budget of N191,603,304,622.00 billion naira, totalling N805,598,186,519.45 billion naira, which the house graciously approved.
As of November 2024, the budget performance was 68.88%, amounting to N554,914,730,777.21 billion naira of the entire budget.“In 2024, the state witnessed tremendous improvement in increasing our internally generated revenue (IGR).
Between January and September, it grew from N18,073,583,079.90 billion in 2023 to N30,041,847,295.83 billion, representing a 39.84% increase.
“To bridge the infrastructural gap in the state, we made significant investments in road infrastructure. To this end, we are currently constructing 1,030 km of roads, including 556km of roads across the 25 LGAs in the state.
“Mr. Speaker, we recruited over 1000 health workers, flagged off the construction and equipping of 100 Level 2 PHCs; renovated the IBB Specialist Hospital, procured state-of-the-art equipment and enrolled over 104,000 beneficiaries with health insurance to ensure people’s affordability to health care services.
“We are repositioning the educational landscape to be accessible to the people. To this end, we established the Abdulkadir Kure University (AKUM) in Minna.
We supported the students with Scholarships and bursaries totalling N450,000,000.00, awarded to 8,418 beneficiaries.
The state government also secured a 1 million US dollar scholarship for the study of medicine abroad by the children of the less privileged; and we started a process which will see us renovate and construct about 600 secondary schools in the state.
“Mr. Speaker, to improve public transportation and ensure the safety of our roads and waterways. Thus, we procured 200 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses. We have constructed 5No 56-seater engine boats for Kokoli, Gbara Tako, Guzan, Malale and Old Awuru Communities in Agwara, Edati, Mokwa and Borgu Local Government Areas.
In addition, 10 No. 20-seater wooden boats with 75 horsepower engines and provided a water ambulance and two rescue boats through a partnership with NIWA, upgraded the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Airport and signed a strategic partnership with an Airline for weekly commercial flights in and out of minna.
“Mr. Speaker and Honorable Members, building on the successes of 2024, the proposed 2025 budget aims to solidify rapid socio-economic development of the State and to strengthen the already laid foundation to achieve the New Niger Agenda.
The 2025 Budget, tagged “Budget of Hope for Sustainability and Food Security,” reflects our deliberate focus on addressing state development challenges and economic opportunities.
“This budget will focus on the key economic sectors: Security of lives and properties, Agriculture and Food Security, Health, Education, Water and Sanitation, Infrastructure Development, Social Security, and Environmental Sustainability.
“The 2025 budget preparation followed a participatory, people-centred approach through Citizen Engagement (Town Hall Meetings).
This process, which we hold in high esteem, prioritises citizen involvement, ensuring transparency, accountability, and inclusivity.”
News
Tinubu commiserates with Ododo over father’s death

President Bola Tinubu has expressed deep condolences to Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo, following the death of his father, Alhaji Momohsani Ododo, on Monday, August 18, 2025.
In a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday, the President extended his sympathies to the Ododo family, their friends, and the people of Kogi State during this period of grief.
In his message, Tinubu said, “My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved, acknowledging the profound loss felt by the Ododo family and the broader Kogi community.”
Alhaji Momohsani, who passed away at 83 after the 2pm Muslim prayers, was described by the President as a revered community leader whose legacy lives on through the achievements of his children.
Tinubu urged Ododo, his family, and the entire Ododo clan to take solace in their patriarch’s life of service to God and the moral and religious values that guided him.
He prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the departed and God’s comfort for the bereaved family, friends, and associates.
Crime
Owo Bombing: Court Approves Protection for Witnesses

……As court sets September 10 for bail ruling.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has approved protection measures for witnesses expected to testify in the trial of five suspects linked to the June 5, 2022 bombing at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.
The ruling followed an ex parte application by the prosecution, led by Calistus Eze, under the Terrorism Prevention Act 2022.
The accused—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar—face a nine-count terrorism charge related to their alleged ties to the East African terrorist group Al-Shabab. The attack resulted in over 40 deaths.
Prosecutor Eze emphasized the severity of the charges in support of witness protection. The defendants’ counsel, Abdullahi Muhammad, raised no objections.
Separately, Abdullahi Muhammad filed bail applications for the suspects, which the prosecution opposed. Eze argued that due to the suspects’ suspected foreign terrorist links, there was a high risk they might abscond if granted bail. He also cited concerns about potential threats to the six witnesses and doubts over the reliability of any sureties.
The prosecutor informed the court that the Department of State Services (DSS) has approved visitation rights for the suspects’ families while in custody.
During the hearing, Eze also notified the court of the Attorney General’s appointment of Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ayodeji Adedipe as the new lead prosecutor. The case file transfer is ongoing.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until September 10 for a ruling on the bail application.
News
President Tinubu earning N1.5m monthly, Ministers N1m – RMAF
You cannot pay a minister less than N1m per month since 2008 and expect him to put in his best without necessarily being involved in some other things.

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has hinted at plans to review the salaries of political office holders in Nigeria, describing current earnings as inadequate, unrealistic, and outdated in the face of rising responsibilities and economic challenges.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, disclosed that President Bola Tinubu presently earns N1.5m monthly, while ministers receive less than N1m — figures that have remained unchanged since 2008.
“You are paying the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria N1.5m a month, with a population of over 200 million people. Everybody believes that it is a joke,” Shehu said.
He added, “You cannot pay a minister less than N1m per month since 2008 and expect him to put in his best without necessarily being involved in some other things. You pay either a CBN governor or the DG ten times more than you pay the President.
That is just not right. Or you pay him [the head of an agency] twenty times higher than the Attorney-General of the Federation. That is absolutely not right.”
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