The Council of State on Thursday approved the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy for 175 persons across various categories.

The decision followed a presentation by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s recommendations based on the report of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, at Thursday’s Council of State meeting held at the State House, Abuja.

Although the full names of the beneficiaries are yet to be published, our correspondent gathered that pardons were granted to one of Nigeria’s founding fathers, Herbert Macaulay and former FCT minister in the Babangida regime, Maj-Gen. Mamman Vatsa (retd).

Members of the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four are also beneficiaries.

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“Herbert Macaulay and Vatsa are among the two major ones on that list,” a source who attended the meeting told our correspondent.

Macaulay, often called the “father of Nigerian nationalism,” was twice convicted by the colonial authorities in Lagos.

In 1913, while in private practice as a surveyor, he was tried for misappropriating funds from an estate he administered and sentenced to prison; historians have long debated the fairness of that prosecution.

In 1928, after his Lagos Daily News published incendiary claims during the Eleko (Oba of Lagos) agitation, he was convicted of sedition in the so-called “Gunpowder Plot” case and jailed for six months with hard labour.

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Vatsa, a poet, former FCT minister and member of the Supreme Military Council, was executed by firing squad on March 5, 1986, after a secret military tribunal convicted him of treason over an alleged coup against then military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, his childhood friend.

The case has remained controversial for decades, with periodic calls for a posthumous pardon.

Out of the 175 beneficiaries, 82 inmates were granted a full presidential pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

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Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state explained, “82 of the inmates were granted full pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

“The decision underscores the President’s commitment to justice and correctional reform.”

The meeting, chaired by President Tinubu, also ratified key appointments, including Dr. Aminu Yusuf from Niger State as Chairman of the National Population Commission and Tonge Bularafa as Federal Commissioner representing Yobe State in the Commission. Both appointments received unanimous approval.

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.

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.

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

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.

“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.

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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.

“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.

“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.

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday explained that his choice of Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission was based on his apolitical stance, integrity and impeccable record of service.

“President Tinubu told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi, North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical,” a statement by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, quoted him as saying.

The President spoke at the State House, Abuja, during the meeting of the National Council of State, which unanimously endorsed the nomination of Amupitan to succeed Professor Mahmood Yakubu, whose decade-long tenure as INEC Chairman ended on Tuesday.

Tinubu told council members that Amupitan, a professor of law from Kogi State, North-Central Nigeria, is the first person from the state to be nominated for the top electoral job.

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Council members, including serving and former leaders, backed the nomination, describing the professor as a man of proven integrity.

Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, said Amupitan’s track record “reflects a deep commitment to justice, knowledge, and national service.”

Following the council’s approval, the President is expected to transmit Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening and confirmation in line with constitutional provisions.

Aged 58, Amupitan hails from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

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A professor of law at the University of Jos, Plateau State, he is currently the institution’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) and also serves as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.

He obtained his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in law from the University of Jos, after earlier studies at the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.

Called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988, Amupitan has built an extensive academic and administrative career spanning over three decades.

He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2014 and has written extensively on company law, corporate governance, and evidence law.

His published works include Corporate Governance: Models and Principles (2008), Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008), Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria (2013), and Principles of Company Law (2013).

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Beyond academia, Amupitan has served on several boards, including Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, and the Council of Legal Education.

He was also a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja, between 1996 and 2004.

The Kogi-born scholar, described by colleagues as “a jurist of quiet influence,” is married with four children.

When confirmed by the Senate, Amupitan will become Nigeria’s 15th INEC chairman.