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Senate Gives FG Ultimatum To Submit Budget Performance Report

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The Senate on Thursday directed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, Accountant-General of the Federation, Samsudeen Ogunjimi and Director-General of Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, to submit a comprehensive performance report on the 2024 budget within two weeks.

Analysts have expressed concerns that the move could delay President Bola Tinubu’s presentation of the 2026 fiscal proposal to the National Assembly.

The upper chamber, through its Committee on Finance, warned that the report must also capture projections for the capital component of the 2025 budget before consideration of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) for 2026–2029 can proceed.

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The order came from the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East), after a one-and-a-half-hour closed-door meeting with the three top officials.

READ ALSO:FG, Nigerian Army Intensify Forces To Combat Proliferation Of small Arms, Light Weapons

The MTEF/FSP is a critical fiscal planning document that provides the foundation for Nigeria’s annual budget.

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It outlines the Federal Government’s macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, spending priorities, and debt management strategies over three years.

Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the document must be approved by the National Assembly before the President can present the next budget.

But Musa insisted the Senate’s consideration of the MTEF/FSP for 2026–2029 would only follow after the submission of the requested documents on October 23.

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The expectations we are having are for the ministry to, as a matter of urgency, bring the MTEF for 2026 to 2029. The minister has briefed us, and we have collectively agreed that we are making progress, but we need to make more progress,” Musa told journalists after the session.

“We have heard from the Accountant-General and the Director-General of Budget on where we are with the budgets — the payments so far released, warrants signed, as well as the 2025 authority to incur expenditure for agencies to be able to execute their capital projects.

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“We have all agreed that we want documented evidence of the performance of 2024 and our expectations for the 2025 budget before we start talking about the MTEF for 2026. The Honourable Minister of Finance has agreed to oblige us with that progress report, and we will reconvene on October 23,” he added.

Before the meeting went behind closed doors, committee members were confronted with conflicting accounts of budget performance from the Federal Government’s economic team.

READ ALSO:FG Gives Mining Firms Deadline For Community Agreements

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While Finance Minister Wale Edun claimed the implementation of the capital components of the 2024 and 2025 budgets was recording “high performance,” the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, painted a more sobering picture.

According to Yakubu, the assumptions underpinning both fiscal years’ budgets were largely unmet due to global and domestic shocks.

We have indeed had a turbulent year — one in which most of the assumptions underpinning the 2024 and 2025 budgets turned out differently from projections. Oil revenue, assumed at $75 per barrel, fell short by between $10 and $15 due to global price fluctuations.

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“Inflation also rose beyond projections, affecting borrowing costs and debt service performance, which significantly exceeded targets. Furthermore, the unforeseen fiscal implications of the Petroleum Industry Act (2022) have compounded our challenges.

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“Under the Act, 30 per cent of gross oil revenue and 30 per cent of oil and gas profits are retained for upstream operations, while the Federal Government also bears the NNPC’s operating costs.

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“This has reduced the Federation Account allocation by nearly 70 per cent of what used to accrue. In addition, crude oil output has been lower than projected in the MTEF approved by the National Assembly,” he said.

The Senate’s insistence on a detailed performance evaluation comes amid rising fiscal pressures, declining oil revenue, and increasing debt service costs — all of which could complicate the formulation of the 2026–2029 economic framework.

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JUST IN: Tinubu Decorates New Service Chiefs

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President Bola Tinubu on Thursday decorated the new service chiefs with their respective ranks at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The ceremony, which began shortly after 2pm saw the President perform the decoration alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima and the spouses of the decorated officers, each dressed in their respective service uniforms.

Those decorated were General Olufemi Oluyede as the Chief of Defence Staff; Lieutenant-General Wahidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff; Air Marshal Kennedy Aneke as Chief of Air Staff; and Vice Admiral Idi Abbas and Chief of Naval Staff.

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The Senate had, on Wednesday, confirmed the four nominees after a two-hour closed-door screening session where they were grilled on strategies to strengthen national security and improve coordination among the armed forces.

Tinubu had earlier written the red chamber, seeking an expedited confirmation process “to ensure continuity in the nation’s security leadership.”

READ ALSO:Reps Approve Tinubu’s $2.35bn External Loan Request

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It was observed that the ceremony was attended by senior government officials, lawmakers family members of the service chiefs and top officers from the various arms of the military.

The President, Vice President and the officers’ spouses took turns pinning the new ranks on each of the decorated chiefs.

The decoration came barely one week after the Presidency announced a sweeping reshuffle in the military hierarchy.

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In the statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, it said the shake-up was part of efforts to inject new direction into the nation’s defence architecture.

READ ALSO:Tinubu Under Fire Over Presidential Pardon For Drug Offenders

The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General E. A. P. Undiendeye, retained his position.

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Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, later told our correspondent that the changes were not connected to recent rumours of a coup plot, saying, “The President acted within his authority as Commander-in-Chief. Service chiefs can be hired and fired by the President.”

On Monday, Tinubu had met privately with the new service chiefs at the Villa.

They arrived in a black Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van escorted by a green Toyota Land Cruiser, and the session lasted about 40 minutes.

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READ ALSO:FULL LIST: 175 Beneficiaries Of Tinubu’s Pardons

Presidency sources said the President charged them to take decisive action against insurgents and bandits, particularly in the North.

Last Friday’s reshuffle followed an October 19 report alleging that some officers were plotting to overthrow the government — a claim later dismissed by the Defence Headquarters as “false and mischievous.”

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The Director of Defence Information, Brigadier-General Tukur Gusau, said the alleged arrests linked to a coup were “issues of indiscipline” within the ranks, describing the report as “intended to cause unnecessary tension and distrust among the populace.”

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JUST IN: Eurozone Growth Beats Expectations In Third Quarter

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The eurozone economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter of 2025, official data showed Thursday.

The EU’s data agency said the 20-country single currency area recorded growth of 0.2 per cent over the July-September period from the previous quarter.

READ ALSO:Atiku Slams Tinubu Over U-turn On Pardon For Convicts

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The figure was higher than the 0.1 per cent forecast by analysts for Bloomberg and FactSet.

More details later…

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PHOTOS: Police Inspector, Others Die In Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Multiple-truck Crash

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At least four persons were feared dead while several others sustained injuries in a multiple-vehicle crash involving five articulated trucks on Kara Bridge, inward Mowe, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Thursday.

A police inspector attached to the Lagos State Police Command was said to be among the victims.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, who confirmed the incident on Thursday during a visit to the scene, said emergency response teams worked through the early hours to rescue victims and clear the wreckage.

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“We have a case of multiple accidents at the border between Ogun and Lagos State. Five vehicles were involved, all articulated vehicles. Precisely, three people have been rescued from the scene of the accident.

READ ALSO:Ten Feared, Others Injured In Oyo Road Accident

As early as 5 a.m., we have been on it, and we have other agencies here assisting us. We have LASTMA, the Road Safety Corps, and other security agencies,” Ishola said.

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He explained that preliminary investigations showed the crash was caused by a trailer that suffered brake failure.

At the beginning, we have a trailer that failed to brake, and it is important that everybody in charge of their vehicle ensures proper maintenance,” he stated.

The commissioner also confirmed the death of one of his officers who was part of the police advance team deployed to the scene.

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“It’s very unfortunate that we lost one of our police inspectors who came with our advance team to salvage the situation,” he said.

Ishola cautioned motorists, particularly drivers of articulated vehicles, against reckless driving, which he described as a leading cause of fatal crashes on highways.

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We want road users, especially those driving articulated vehicles, to stop this kind of recklessness. If they are not reckless in their driving habit, we won’t have this kind of accident,” he warned.

Rescue operations involving the police, Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, and other agencies were still ongoing as of press time, while efforts to remove the damaged vehicles and restore traffic flow continued.

 

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