Headline

FG To Spend N3.3bn On Obasanjo, Jonathan, Others

Published

3 years ago

December 31, 2022

The Federal Government will spend a total of N3.3bn on former heads of the government and its ministries, departments and agencies in 2023.

Severance benefits to retired heads of government agencies and parastatals will cost the country N1bn, while the entitlements of former presidents/heads of state and vice-presidents/Chief of General Staff was allocated N2.3bn.

The beneficiaries will include former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan; ex-military Heads of State, Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Yakubu Gowon; former Vice-Presidents Atiku Abubakar and Namadi Sambo, among others.

This is contained in the 2023 Appropriation Bill passed by the National Assembly, with the total estimates raised from the proposed N20,507,942,180,704 to N21,827,188,747,391, a difference of N1,319,246,566,687.

The 2023 budget is the eighth and the last to be presented by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); and the last to be passed by the 9th National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government proposed a total of N470bn for revitalisation of tertiary institutions and upgrade of university lecturers’ salaries.

However, the National Assembly has passed only the N300bn budgeted for the institutions’ revitalisation, leaving out the N170bn proposed for upward salary review for university lecturers.

President Muhammadu Buhari in his address to a joint session of the National Assembly while laying the budget on December 7, 2022, announced a N470bn intervention fund to end the protracted crisis between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

In the budget, the Nigerian Postal Service also got N10bn for restructuring and recapitalisation, while the sum of N1.92bn was allocated to ‘special intervention fund for construction of storage facility in Benin to house repatriated artefacts.’

Under statutory transfers, the National Assembly and its affiliated bodies will spend a total of N194,839,144,401, while the National Judicial Council, which manages the judicial arm of the Federal Government, has been allocated 165,000,000,000.

Though the sum of N169bn was proposed for the federal bi-cameral legislature in the original bill, while the judiciary had a proposed budget of N150bn, N30bn more than it was allocated in 2022.

Headline

Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

Published

11 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Russian army Monday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, moving deeper into Ukrainian territory as peace efforts stall.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and central Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized the settlement of Zaporizke in the region, which Russian troops recently advanced into for the first time in the three-and-a-half-year offensive.

Kyiv denies that Russian troops have gained a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub.

After another push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia last week ruled out any immediate meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The central region of Dnipropetrovsk has previously been largely spared from fighting that has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, until Russia said its forces broke through in July.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

Ukraine said Russia had launched over 100 drones Monday, killing a 37-year old civilian driver and wounding two people in the northeastern Sumy region.

Moscow said Kyiv had launched about two dozen drones targeting western Russia

Headline

US Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi

Published

11 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

A United States comedian, Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, has been shot dead in Southaven, Mississippi.

The 52-year-old Carroll, widely known as the Knockout King of Comedy, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

The Southaven Police Department confirmed the incident in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

“Southaven officers located one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

“The officers and medical personnel provided life saving techniques but the individual succumbed to his injuries,” the statement partly read.

The victim was later identified as Carroll, a Baltimore native.

Police said one suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

“One male is in custody and has been charged with the murder of Reginald Carroll.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Carroll.

“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding,” the department added.

The police further assured that there was no ongoing threat to residents, describing the case as “an isolated shooting.”

Carroll, who built his career in stand-up comedy, gained national recognition touring with Katt Williams and headlining his own showcase, Knockout Kings of Comedy.

He also featured in the 2000 edition of Showtime at the Apollo, appeared on the UPN sitcom The Parkers alongside Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn, and starred in the 2022 television film Rent & Go.

In 2023, he produced the stand-up special Knockout Kings of Comedy.

The Southaven Police Department disclosed that an investigation into his death is ongoing.

Headline

US Defends New Social Media Vetting For Nigerian Visa Applicants

Published

11 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria on Monday reaffirmed that the safety and security of the United States remain the cornerstone of its visa application and decision-making process.

The US said this following its directive last week that mandates Nigerians to disclose all social media usernames and handles used over the past five years as part of the visa application process.

US Mission said Nigerian visa applicants must provide a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form, and warned that omitting the information could lead to visa denials.

Reacting to the development, the Federal Government said US citizens intending to visit Nigeria will be subjected to the same measures.

“The best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures,” spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said last Monday.

However, in a statement released Monday on X, the US Mission said prospective visa applicants undergo careful vetting to maintain a safe and welcoming environment in the US.

It said, “The safety and security of the United States is at the heart of every #USVisa application and decision process.

“That’s why prospective applicants undergo careful screening to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all.”

The Mission added, “These measures help protect American citizens and communities while supporting secure and responsible travel.”