TOP STORIES Tinubu signs N28.78tn 2024 budget into law.
President Bola Amhed Tinubu on Monday signed the 2024 Budget of N28.78 trillion into law at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
President Bola Tinubu
Tinubu, who arrived his office from the airport at exactly 2pm, headed straight for the brief budget signing ceremony, surrounded by senior government officials.
Present at the signing ceremony we’re: the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Tajudeen Abbas; and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola.
Others were: the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Atiku Bagudu; the National Security Advised, Nuhu Ribadu; the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila; and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, among others.
The signed 2024 budget is N1.2 trillion higher than the budget the President proposed to a joint session of the National Assembly on November 29, 2023.
However, on Friday, December 29, 2023, the Senate increased the 2024 budget by N1.2 trillion, from the initial sum of N27.5 trillion to N28.7 trillion.
According to the report submitted by the Appropriation Committee led by Senator Solomon Adeola, aggregate expenditure was pegged at N28,777,404.073.861; statutory transfers at N1,742,786,788,150; recurrent expenditure at N8,768.5330,852; capital expenditure at N9,995,143,298,028 and GDP at 3.88 per cent.
I Know Nigerians Are Frustrated, Questions My Renewed Hope Agenda – Tinubu.
President Bola Tinubu has said that he is aware that some Nigerians have been questioning his Renewed Hope Agenda considering the hardship and hunger in the land. The President disclosed this on Monday in his New Year’s Day broadcast.
President Bola Tinubu
He said, “I am well aware that for some time now the conversations and debates have centred on the rising cost of living, high inflation which is now above 28% and the unacceptable high under-employment rate.
“From the boardrooms at Broad Street in Lagos to the main streets of Kano and Nembe Creeks in Bayelsa, I hear the groans of Nigerians who work hard every day to provide for themselves and their families.
“I am not oblivious to the expressed and sometimes unexpressed frustrations of my fellow citizens. I know for a fact that some of our compatriots are even asking if this is how our administration wants to renew their hope.
“Dear Compatriots, take this from me: the time may be rough and tough, however, our spirit must remain unbowed because tough times never last.
“We are made for this period, never to flinch, never to falter. The socio-economic challenges of today should energize and rekindle our love and faith in the promise of Nigeria.
“Our current circumstances should make us resolve to work better for the good of our beloved nation. Our situation should make us resolve that this New Year 2024, each and every one of us will commit to be better citizens.”
Passport Application Automation Begins Jan 8- Interior Minister.
He added that Nigerians will be able to apply and complete their passport application process online without human contact.
Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
The Nigerian Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has announced that the passport application automation process will begin operation on January 8, 2024.
He added that Nigerians will be able to apply and complete their passport application process online without human contact.
Tunji-Ojo, who was speaking during the inspection of facilities of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), alongside the Comptroller General (CG) of the Service, Wura-Ola Adepoju, made this disclosure on Monday, Jan. 1, in Abuja.
The Minister said that the ministry has commenced the training process that will lead to the live launching of the automation.
He said, “We are good to go live. We are starting the training and on January 8, the solution will be live and direct for Nigerians to have a good feel, a sweet experience based on the Renewed Hope of Mr President.
“We have been able to reduce human contact in passport acquisition to the minimum.”
He also added that the initiative will improve the security architecture of the country, prompting a quick detection of fake passport applications and reducing bottlenecks.
Tunji-Ojo emphasized the government’s commitment to eliminating the use of fake documents in passport applications. He announced the deployment of document verification officers in every local government area to thoroughly scrutinize passport applications nationwide.
Recall that in Nov. 2023, the Minister announced that the federal government is working to ensure a fully automated system of passport application in the country. At that time, the minister said the automated application system was “99% done”
No need for married women travelling to Abuja for Change of Name- Tinubu’s Minister.
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has instructed officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) not to ask people, especially married women to come to the headquarters in Abuja just to effect a change of name on their passport.
Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
The minister who described the act as “Stupid practice”, spoke at a recent dinner with members of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ABAT Media Centre and some social media influencers in Abuja.
Tunji-Ojo said there is nowhere in the world where women are subjected to such inhuman practice on account of marriage.
He queried whether immigration personnel in Abuja have more than one heads as opposed to those in the various passport offices across the federation.
“There is one stupid thing I have seen and it is that a woman gets married, changes her name and then she has to come to Abuja all the way from say Kaura Namoda or Enugu just to come and effect a change of name in her passport. It is absurd.
“I can’t just figure it that you want to change just your name and you have to be in Abuja. I have asked the immigration people, is it that immigration people in Abuja have more than one head than those in the states?” He asked.
According to the Minister, passport issue remains the least of his worries, adding that he wants more secure borders for the country.
He said as from March, the new passport reforms he is putting in place would ensure contactless biometrics enrolment in order to allow Nigerians do their enrolments from their comfort zones. “With the new reforms, you don’t need to travel to Abuja to change your data. Everything will be online.
“From March, once you have ever enrolled for passport and you are coming to renew, please don’t come to my office, stay in your house and do it. We have contactless biometrics and this can be done in five minutes. We don’t need to keep taking your biometrics every five years. Who does that in the world?
“This is what #RenewedHope is about. It is about positively disrupting the process. By the grace of God, the issue of passports is the least of our worries”, the minister stated.
Announcing plans for a forum to unveil the agenda of the ministry for 2024, the minister harped on the need for knowledge transfer and training of officers on passport issues.
While urging Nigerians to keep faith with the Tinubu administration, Tunji-Ojo said the president has led the country aright and that as a minister, he would continue to give his all to Nigeria and Nigerians.
“Any day I think I don’t have the zeal again, I will do what honest men do and go because Nigeria as a country does not deserve 99.9 percent. It deserves 100 percent from us. That is what public service demands”.
Demolition Of POWA Shopping Complex In Good Fate – Says Police HQ.
The Nigeria Police Force says it has been inundated with enquiries concerning the planned demolition of the Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) Shopping Complex, Ikeja, Lagos.
It has become imperative to properly establish that the complex, a property of the Nigeria Police Officer’s Wives Association, which is officially allocated to wives of Police Officers and their relatives, has been scheduled for demolition to enable the Force commence immediate construction of a modern shopping complex on the same land.
The decision to demolish and reconstruct is predicated on the fact that professional opinion indicate that the structure as it is constitutes a looming environmental hazard, as the site is prone to flood, and may be susceptible to sudden collapse, hence the need for immediate landscaping and reconstruction. The planned demolition and reconstruction will be in phases and is in good faith for the betterment of all concerned.
The Force spokesman, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi in a statement on Saturday made available to The SUPREME, disclosed that, “all necessary legal requirements have been duly met. The current occupants of the complex have been given more-than-enough notice of the demolition to enable their evacuation from the facility in good time, necessary steps have been taken to temporarily accommodate them within the same complex while the reconstruction lasts.”
Adejobi added that, the relevant Lagos State Government agency, according to its expert advice, has been approached, required help sought, and necessary approvals for demolition obtained.
While the demolition will proceed as planned, Nigerians are hereby urged to disregard frivolous claims, unsubstantiated protests, and media blackmail alleging wrongdoing and illegality on the part of the Force or the POWA. The Police and its affiliates, like the POWA, will always be committed to better welfare and standard of living for its personnel and their families.
Lagos Has No Hand in Demolition of POWA Complex.
Lagos State Government has nothing to do with the demolition at Computer Village in Ikeja. The structure is owned by the Police
Officers Wives Association (POWA), which ordered its demolition.
Those circulating the fake news that Lagos State Government is demolishing Computer Village are opportunistic ethnic chauvinists who will always relish in vacuous propaganda that can fuel their fiendish mission; they will always fail in dividing Lagosians.
Gbenga Omotoso
HC, Information &Strategy.
PDP Describes President Tinubu’s New Year Speech As Deceptive.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sharply criticized President Bola Tinubu’s New Year address, calling it a “harvest of deceit, false claims, and empty promises.”
This reaction follows Tinubu’s speech where he acknowledged the frustration of Nigerians due to recent economic decisions, including fuel subsidy removal and Naira devaluation.
In his address, President Tinubu admitted to the challenges faced by Nigerians and defended his administration’s decisions as necessary to prevent a fiscal crisis. He highlighted the removal of the decades-long fuel subsidy as a key measure.
Reacting to the speech, the PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, described Tinubu’s address as uninspiring and failing to tackle critical national issues.
The party pointed out the President’s neglect of issues like insecurity, economic hardship, high inflation, and unemployment.
The PDP accused Tinubu’s administration of implementing policies that worsen the nation’s socio-economic situation.
The PDP further criticized President Tinubu for claiming that his actions were in the country’s best interest, alleging mismanagement of resources and a lack of concrete economic policies.
They accused the administration of prioritizing luxury and unnecessary foreign trips over national welfare. The statement urged President Tinubu to provide a detailed account of national earnings, including those from the removal of the fuel subsidy, amid allegations of misappropriation.
The PDP also called on the National Assembly to exercise its oversight role more effectively to hold the executive accountable.
Police Arrest 32-year-old Man With Gun In Lagos
A 32-year-old man, Abubakar Yahaya Ibrahim, has been arrested for illegal possession of firearms in Lagos State.
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