It took the conviction of Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, for me to conclude that the most significant thing that would happen to the United States of America is for Donald Trump to return to the White House.

When Hunter Biden was found guilty of lying about drug use while buying a gun, his father issued a statement saying he was disappointed at the outcome of the trial but that he still had confidence in the jury system. What kind of nonsense statement is that?

When Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records, he did what every sensible and responsible man would do. He attacked the prosecutors, judge, jury, and the city where the trial took place. He said if he had the power, he would have moved the trial to a city where he could get a fair trial and not New York City littered with sinners, Trump haters, and socialists.

I am already preparing for Trump’s second coming.

I have checked how many people a train from Chicago to Los Angeles can transport in one trip. It turns out that it will take 1000 people at once. I checked the Boston to Los Angeles route, too. I’m figuring out how long it will take Donald Trump to deport 14 million illegal immigrants in America back to Latin America.

Because I am compassionate, I thought about collateral damages. I calculated how many people real Americans would harass, attack, and kill in the process.

I used the figures of how many people died during the partition of India in 1947. I know it won’t be anything like that. But I didn’t want to use a conservative estimate on possible deaths and displacements. In India, over one million people died, and 10 – 20 million people were displaced.

Even though I do not expect a number like that, I am sure the United States can live with casualties of that magnitude. After all, during the US Civil War, over 620,000 died out of a population of about 32 million. With a population of 333 million today, the US can afford to lose 6 million people, which is today’s equivalent of the Civil War casualty. We can have another 30 million displaced without any problem.

The most important thing is that the collateral damages would be worth it. I saw empty houses that would open up in Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and other cities all over America. Home prices will drop, and our fellow MAGA, who now works at Wal-Mart, will have houses to buy. There would be ten million job openings. Companies will offer a minimum wage of $50 an hour to toilet cleaners, and school teachers will make six figures in Alabama.

For those worried about where replacement workers will come from, with abortion banned across America, saving 626,000 babies each year, real blue-blood American children would be born all over the country. I see the end of people from despicable countries coming to America to give birth so that their children would become US citizens.

For those nincompoops who still oppose the return of Donald Trump, let me remind you of one divine part that you have not considered.

Like Jesus Christ, Donald Trump left his father’s paradise in New York, where he shepherded his father’s business to greatness to come down to our level and serve us mere humans. You know how Jesus fed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish; in 1975, Trump’s father gave him a loan of $60.7 million (about $600 million in today’s dollars). He turned that meager amount into the billions of dollars we now see at Trump universities, airlines, vodka, steaks, magazines, casinos, resorts, and hotels from New York to New Jersey, Florida, Scotland, and Moscow.

Like Jesus, Trump decided to put his life on the line to defeat the deep state and all its tributaries, including the original military-industrial complex, the woke gang, and the sneaky BLM. America must not miss this opportunity to reconcile with their founding fathers and the original saliva of their mouths, the living text of their constitution, and the patented pleasant smell of their farts.

As one of those wretched of this earth poisoning the blue blood of America, I have looked at this matter of Donald J. Trump critically. From all that I learned from the shithole country where I was born, I can say without any equivocation that Donald Trump is the man that America needs at this time.

Please don’t come for my head yet. I will explain in a moment.

You see, some people live in America, but they do not see America. They can correctly spell America but not see the letter k in it. The so-called decline of America has been nothing but the inability of its citizens to embrace the true American essence, which Trump epitomizes.

American essence is not just a perpetual performance of an experiment on the sustainability of the “government of the people for the people and by the people.” It is, more importantly, a constant renewal of the bold and brave DNA that inspired the founders of the United States to cross seven seas and seven rivers to arrive at God’s own country built on the shining mountain.

Who else embodies this divine invocation other than Donald Trump? Who else exhumes that childlike naivety that drives great explorers of yore? Who else spews the bombastic confidence of the dragon slayers who chart new paths along dreaded frontiers full of vicious natives? Who else massages his own ego in the worship of a thirsty Id? How else do you make a great leader? Where else in Western civilization can you find a leader willing to turn some of his people into expendable for the good of all?

To renew the American hope, you need to enslave some Americans to do the kind of work that enslaved Africans did for 400 years. There is just no other way. Don’t listen to what liberals and socialists say.

Our forefathers were right. When it is time for a dog to die, placing heaps of feces on its path will not stop it from proceeding at maximum speed to where a car will knock it down.

I am ready to welcome Donald J. Trump back to the White House on January 20, 2025. I will be a CNN analyst that day, helping Americans understand what Trump’s 2nd term in office will look like. I will tell them the kind of things liberals and socialists told Germans in the 1930s. These were things Germans did not listen to and later regretted.

After several false starts, America is finally getting it right. Things that killed other great empires before America are not finally going to kill her. Thanks to Trump. Only Trump is going to stop what was written from being fulfilled.

Please correct me if I am right.

Ogoo Okonkwo teaches Post-Colonial African History, Afrodiasporan Literature, and African Folktales at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He is also the host of the Dr. Damages Show. His books include “This American Life Sef” and “Children of a Retired God,” among others. His upcoming book is called “Why I’m Disappointed in Jesus.”

Only politicians and their supporters numbed by greed and insensitivity to human suffering, and (there are many in Africa), did not anticipate the “Youth Revolt” of 25 June 2024 in Kenya.

But this appears to be the beginning of a renewed “people power” revolution against bad governance, even though the death of more than 20 Kenyans was avoidable and unnecessary before President William Ruto could withdraw his government’s anti-people Finance Bill 2024 after the June 25 mayhem.

He was probably riding on the crest of 15 minutes of fame from his recent well-choreographed validation-seeking photo-opportunity visits to Washington DC and Asia.

The controversial bill was passed by 195 out of 304 members of Parliament and was then waiting for a presidential accent. But Kenyans, especially the youths said they have had enough.

Widespread protests were unleashed on the country under the slogans #RejectFinanceBill2024 and “Seven Days of Rage.”

A week earlier, the government in a typically condescending official response, had announced the scrapping of some of the many tax increases under the bill. A proposed 16% value-added tax on bread and taxes on motor vehicles, vegetable oil and mobile money transfers, were among the taxes axed, but angry Kenyans were unimpressed.

When demonstrators poured on the streets, the government responded by deploying military personnel to reinforce the overwhelmed police force.

In scenes reminiscent of the 6 January 2021 invasion of the American Congress by defeated President Donald Trump’s supporters, aggrieved Kenyans on Tuesday 25 June, marched on their country’s Parliament in Nairobi and set part of the building alight.

The ceremonial mace of the parliament was stolen, while the Nairobi City Hall, the Office of the Governor of Nairobi, was also set on fire.

Kenya was in a forced shut-down, but despite disruptions to the Internet, the protesters still mobilised in their thousands against the Ruto government bill.

Some of the protesters hurled stones at security forces, who responded by firing tear-gas and live bullets resulting in the deaths and dozens of the wounded. Former American President Barak Obama’s half-sister Auma Obama was among those tear-gassed.

Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga urged the government to “immediately stop the violence its agencies are meting out on citizens.”

President Ruto’s former boss-turned-political opponent, ex-President Uhuru Kenyatta, has also called for restraint.

The Embassies and High Commissions of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States in Kenay, said in a joint statement that they “are especially shocked by the scenes witnessed outside the Kenyan Parliament.”

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres, through his spokesman Stephane Dujarric called on the police and security forces to “exercise restraint.”. At the same time, the African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat appealed to “national stakeholders to engage in constructive dialogue to address the contentious issues that led to the protests in the supreme interest of Kenya.”

Incidentally, there has been no report of any official reactions by regional organisations -Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), and the East African Community (EAC) to the Kenyan crisis.

In his initial response t, President Ruto said the security of families and property was his utmost priority. He said events marked a “critical turning point” in how the government responded, “to grave threats to our national security.”

According to him, Kenya was “infiltrated and hijacked by a group of organised criminals.”

“Today’s attack on Kenya’s constitutional order has resulted in the loss of lives… destruction of property and desecration of institutions and emblems of our sovereignty,” he said, adding that the government has mobilised all resources at the nation’s disposal to ensure that a situation of this nature will not recur again, at whatever cost.”

However, after reality dawned on the embattled President Ruto, he announced the withdrawal of the controversial Finance Bill 2024.

Like in many developing countries including in Africa, the Ruto government’s miscalculation is in trying to please external partners at the expense of their country and the well-being of their people.

But beyond greed, selfishness, incompetence, lack of vision and lust for political power, or a combination of these vices, is there any reason African leaders would be adamant in sheepishly following externally driven economic policies destined to failure?

Despite the well-documented and evidenced experiences that prescriptions by the two Bretton Woods Institutions - the World Bank and the IMF - have hardly lifted any countries from poverty, why are African leaders such as President Ruto, who should know better still falling victims?

More than half a century ago, Walter Rodney in his 1972 book "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa," argued that “centuries of slavery, exploitation and imperialism by Europeans led to the poor state of African political and economic development.”

He said the “colonial and imperial powers did not merely enrich their empires but reversed economic and social development in Africa.”

Rodney, therefore, concluded that a combination of power politics and economic exploitation of Africa by Europeans was responsible for the situation in the late 20th century, (and by extension today.)

If that was not enough, William Easterly, a former Economist with the World Bank in The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good" 2001 documented the pitfalls of international Development, foreign aid, and Western intervention, including by the World Bank and the IMF.

The findings build upon themes and topics, which the author explored in another 2001 book - "The Elusive Quest for Growth."

And what about the “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, a semi-autobiographical book by American economist and essayist John Perkins, first published in 2004 or the 1998 warning by Robert J. Barro a professor of economics at Harvard University and a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution?

Citing IMF’s interventions in Brazil, Mexico, Russia and the role of the United States, 98_1207_imf_bw.pdf (harvard.edu), Professor Barro in an Op-Ed entitled  The IMF Doesn’t Put Out Fires, It Starts Them, posits that “With help from the U.S., the fund encourages bad economic policy by rewarding failure with showers of money.”

He concluded: “Countries such as Brazil and Russia, would have had the appropriate incentives to implement good policies. instead of knowing that the IMF or the U.S. would respond to bad policies with showers of money.”

The tragedy of Africa is that it ignores/neglects or kills its heroes but goes to bed with any foreign.

When the World Bank and the IMF hoisted the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) on hapless so-called developing and least developed nations - many of which are in Africa – Nigeria’s late Professor Adebayo Adedeji and fellow pan-Africanist thinkers developed the African Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programme (AAF-SAP, 1989) followed by the African Charter for Popular Participation (ACPP, 1990), as legendary blueprints for the continent's home-grown development and governance paradigms.

Mentioned in a 2006 publication as one of the world's 50 influential thinkers on development, Adedeji after setting up the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) advanced his integration campaign to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa where he served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary for 16 years (1975-91).

His dynamism under the UNECA platform also resulted in the creation of two more Regional Economic Communities (RECs) - the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in 1981 and 1983, respectively. He will also be remembered for his other ground-breaking initiatives, such as the Lagos Plan of Action (1980), and the Final Act of Lagos (1980).

These timeless economic documents are as relevant today as they were decades ago. Why are African leaders groping in darkness, and hiding their Biblical lamps under the bushel?

Ejime is an Author, Global Affairs Analyst, and Consultant on Peace & Security and Governance Communications

This week has been particularly raw in Africa. The continent continues to face severe economic challenges, spending more on debt servicing than on health and education. But nothing evoked more emotions than the horror of policemen shooting at rioters on the streets of Nairobi as they protested against what they considered a most draconian fiscal legislation in the country. Over two dozen Kenyans were killed after the protesters entered parliament, smashing windows and doors and setting part of the buildings on fire. They have been protesting against a piece of legislation known as the Finance Bill 2024, recently passed by parliament and set to be signed into law by President William Ruto. The enactment essentially imposed higher taxes on practically every item in the country, from bread to tire to TV to motor cars. In Kenya, a finance bill is usually presented to parliament before the beginning of the financial year that runs from July to June, detailing government’s fiscal agenda. For the 2024/2025 bill, the government planned to raise $2.7 billion in additional taxes to reduce budget deficit and state borrowing.

But Kenyans would have none of it. Protests erupted nationwide culminating in Tuesday’s total shutdown which quickly turned violent as police fired rubber bullets and live rounds. Initially, the government responded tepidly by scrapping the 16% VAT on bread along with taxes on motor vehicles, vegetable oil and mobile money transfers, but when it became apparent that the violence would not abate, President Ruto addressed the nation Tuesday night, describing the riots as threats to ‘’national security’’. He said the rioters were criminals and vowed a massive crack down. ‘’It is not in order to, or even conceivable, that criminals pretending to be peaceful protesters can reign terror against people, their elected representatives and institutions established under our constitution, and expect to go scot-free’’, the president said. But early the following day, President Ruto, made a sudden climb down. Surrounded by the same lawmakers who passed the bill, he announced that he would no longer sign it and that legislation would be withdrawn. He promised to consult with a cross section of Kenyans on the way forward. By end of the week, Kenyans were getting set to go on a one-million-person march to continue the protests, not only against the bill, but also against endemic corruption in government. At dawn Friday, policemen and soldiers had taken over the streets, firing tear gas at the people who were now shouting ‘’Ruto must go’’. There were stalemates and tension in the country. This is a recipe for disaster. Most violent revolutions in history were instigated by hunger.

Like most of the continent, Kenya is gripped by severe debt burden. Yet it is the continent’s fastest-growing economy. Its domestic and foreign debts stand at a staggering $80 billion, about 75% of GDP, according to a recent UN report. Kenya faces a spectre of a default, and it in a desperate bid to avoid this that the government proposed those draconian tax hikes. As I watched the rioters on TV, I recalled the SAP riots of 1989; the series of June 12 riots in 1993, 1994 and 1995 and the 2020 anti-police brutality riots in Nigeria. My mind also went to our own dire situations in Nigeria. Every year, Nigeria spends all of its revenues in servicing a total public debt of N121.67 debt (over $800 billion at today’s exchange rate); and this is the reason the country borrows to run the government, pay salaries and fund social services. In addition, rising inflation and unbearable cost of living crisis have rendered ordinary people poorer by over 35%. Food, medicines and basic necessities have become unaffordable to majority of the citizens, rendering a lot of our people hungry while children are facing severe malnutrition, especially in the northern region. We are sitting on a keg of gun poweder!

What irks Nigerians more is that in spite of the untold hardship and sufferings in the land, the political class continues to live in utmost lavishness and ostentations. The federal government had last year spent billions to purchase vehicles for the president and his wife; and renovate the vice president and the president’s official residences in Lagos and Abuja. Currently, there are plans to buy a brand-new plane for the president. Meantime, presidential travels, usually made up of bloated delegations, continue to sap the treasury of scarce of foreign exchange, while corruption goes on unabated within the bureaucracy. In the state capitals, the governors are living in unbelievable opulence at the expense of the public. The insensitivity of these people are simply jarring.

 Nigerians are keenly watching as Kenya boils. Public anger is rising in Africa’s most populous nation, but so far, it is not boiling over. Over Christmas, the federal government and states like Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Rivers and Lagos as well as companies like Dangote Industries Limited spent billions to buy and distribute food items to citizens. ‘’Through our massive food distribution programme across the nation, I was able to appreciate the scale of hunger and poverty in the country’’, said Anthony Chiejina, DIL’s chief branding & communications officer to this writer recently. But for how long will these palliatives assuage the simmering furore across the land? As boxing legend, Mike Tyson, put it, ‘’everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face’’.

A new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revealed that Nigeria and some other developing countries lack digital infrastructure for the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. 

This is despite the fact that Nigeria recently unveiled its AI strategy and also launched its first Multilingual Large Language Model (LLM) in April.  

IMF disclosed this in its new ‘AI Preparedness Index’ where it tracks 174 economies based on their digital infrastructure, human capital, labour policies, innovation, integration, and regulation. According to the report, most developing economies are lagging in the area of digital infrastructure for AI and are the least prepared for the technology. 

The interactive map for the Index shows that most African countries, except Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa, have little preparedness and are marked yellow, while the countries with substantial preparedness are marked in blue.  

Global inequality 

While noting that wealthier economies tend to be better equipped for AI adoption than low-income countries, the IMF said AI may further worsen the inequality that already exists in the world.  

“Under most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers can work to prevent. To this end, the dashboard is a response to significant interest from our stakeholders in accessing the index.  

“It is a resource for policymakers, researchers, and the public to better assess the AI preparedness and, importantly, to identify the actions and design the policies needed to help ensure that the rapid gains of AI can benefit all,” the IMF said in the report. 

Highlighting the benefits of AI for economies, the IMF said AI could complement worker skills, enhance productivity and expand opportunities.  

“In advanced economies, for example, some 30% of jobs could benefit from AI integration. Workers who can harness the technology may see pay gains or greater productivity—while those who can’t, may fall behind. 

“Younger workers may find it easier to exploit opportunities, while older workers could struggle to adapt,” it added.  

Policy directions 

To be better prepared for AI, the IMF said the policy priority for emerging markets and developing economies should be to lay a strong foundation by investing in digital infrastructure and digital training for workers. 

It added that policymakers in advanced economies should expand social safety nets, invest in training workers, and prioritize AI innovation and integration.  

According to the IMF, countries globally would need to coordinate with one another to strengthen regulation to protect people from potential risks and abuses and build trust in AI.   

What you should know 

As part of its AI preparation initiatives, the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, recently organized a 4-day co-creation with over 120 ArtificiaI Intelligence experts. 

The workshop culminated in the country’s National AI Strategy. At the end of the workshop, the Communications Minister, Dr. Bosun Tijani, announced the launch of Nigeria’s first Multilingual Large Language Model (LLM). 

According to him, the AI tool was launched through a partnership between a Nigerian AI company, Awarritech, a global tech company, DataDotOrg, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the National Centre for AI and Robotics (NCAIR).   

[Nairametrics]

President Bola Tinubu has forwarded letters of request to the Senate seeking the confirmation of certain individuals for fresh appointments.

The President, in one of his letters, read during plenary on Thursday, urged the Senate to consider and confirm the nomination of Dr Olatunji Bello for appointment as the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Vice Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

President Tinubu also forwarded the names of three nominees for consideration and confirmation for appointment as chairman, secretary, and member of the Police Service Commission (PSC), respectively.

The nominees are the Retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Hashim Argungu (chairman), Chief Onyema Uche (Secretary), and Retired DIG Taiwo Lakanu (member) of the PSC, respectively.

The letters were read on the floor during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Bello’s nomination was thereafter referred to the Senate Committee for Trade and Investment, while that of Argungu, Uche and Lankano was referred to the Senate Committee on Police Affairs for further legislative work.

The committees are to report back to the Senate in one week.

[NaijaNews]

The Guinness World Records (GWR) has recognized Nigerian woman Chidinma Modupe Okafor as the new holder of the record for the longest crocheting marathon.

According to the British reference book, Chidinma broke the previous record of 34 hours and 7 minutes set by Alessandra Hayden of the United States in 2021 by crocheting a white dinner gown constantly for an astounding 72 hours.

Chidinma had to crochet continuously for the entire marathon in order to record the longest crocheting marathon.

She would start working on the next ball of yarn as soon as she had finished the previous one. Her extraordinary passion and endurance were exhibited by her unwavering effort.

Speaking on her accomplishment, Chidinma said she wanted to draw attention to the patience and expertise needed to master the craft of crocheting.

“I aim to showcase the artistry and perseverance involved in this craft and promote awareness about crocheting and its benefits,” she said.

Chidinma also shared insights into her rigorous preparation for the marathon attempt, which included extensive training and mental conditioning.

“My preparation for the record attempt involved rigorous training and mental conditioning. It also required physical endurance and strategizing to maintain a consistent pace while minimizing fatigue,” she explained.

“Additionally, logistics such as arranging for sufficient yarn with support staff were crucial for the uninterrupted progress of the attempt.”

Chidinma is one of several Nigerians who’ve broken a world record following Hilda’s famous cook-a-thon, including Helen Williams (longest wig and widest wig), Ewa Cole (longest marathon singing Christmas songs), Clara Chizoba Kronborg (longest interviewing marathon), and Tonye Solomon (most steps climbed on a ladder while balancing a football on the head).

[OpinionNigeria]

There was a heated debate at the House of Representatives on Thursday over the request by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to extend the implementation period for the capital component of the N21.83trillion 2023 budget and those of the N2.17trillion 2023 supplementary budgets to December 2024.

Daily Trust reports that the letter to that effect was read by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen after which the executive bills requesting the extension were introduced.

However, when the Leader of the House, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, moved for the second reading of the bills, the House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, raised concerns over the request for extension of the two budgets.

Chinda, while voicing opposition against the request, said it will be morally wrong for the country to running three to four budgets concurrently.

He said the 2024 budget is currently being implemented and the executive is still requesting for extension of the 2023 main budget and supplementary budget at the same time.

He said rather than extension, important projects in the supplementary budget should be moved to the main budget.

Former leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa in his contribution also supported the position of the Minority Leader, saying it will be morally wrong to have three budgets running at the same.

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen while intervening, appealed to members to support the extension of the budget implementation, saying most of the items on the supplementary budget were security related issues.

Despite his pleas, majority of the lawmakers appeared not comfortable with the request for extension of the budgets as they kept on shouting “No!”No!”

Following the development, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen asked that the House go into an executive session for members to iron out issues before resuming consideration of the bills.

The House is currently in an executive session.

[DailyTrust]

Brazil legend, Ronaldo Nazario says he has quit watching football, insisting the round-leather game is boring and is not worth his time.

The former Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan star said this after Brazil’s disappointing 0-0 draw against Costa Rica to open their Copa America campaign.

Despite Dorival Junior’s side staggering 19 shots throughout the game, they could only manage a measly four on target as they never got into any kind of flow or rhythm.

Brazil sits in second place in their group which is led by Colombia following their 2-1 win over Paraguay.

Brazil will next be in action on Saturday against Paraguay but their legend seems to have seen it all.

Ronaldo had earlier claimed he is unlikely to be supporting the Brazil squad at the Copa America because he finds it ‘too boring.’

“I think I love tennis more now than football. I cannot watch football matches. I think it’s too boring,” ‘R9’ said at the Mouratoglou Annual Charity Gala.

“I can stay for 5 hours watching tennis.”

The next tennis tournament is the Wembley Open which comes up on July 1st.

[DailyPost]

Rivers state governor, Siminialayi Fubara has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has failed the state.

The governor said that Rivers was currently relying on a mass movement based on truth and consistency instead of party politics.

The governor spoke while receiving a delegation from the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, led by Senator Orji Uzo Kalu, at Government House in Port Harcourt.

He said the state would no longer be held back by party affiliation, but would instead stand firm on its own soil to defend democracy.

 Fubara said: “In our state today we are no longer doing party. We are doing a movement, so you don’t blame me if I don’t go to the side of the party too much.

“The party has failed us here, so what we are doing here is to stand with our two legs on the soil of Rivers State, so that we can defend democracy.”

An endless political war between Fubara and his estranged benefactor, Nyesom Wike, who is the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has enveloped Rivers.

The crisis escalated following the collapse of the peace deal President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, brokered for the warring parties.

The governor was reportedly disappointed at the silence of his party on the crisis.

[TheNation]

The Senate has extended the life cycle of the 2023 supplementary budget from June 30 to December 31, 2024.

The Red Chamber on Thursday suspended all its rules and gave an expeditious passage to a bill seeking the extension in less than 20 minutes.

Earlier before the passage of the bill, the lawmakers went into a closed-door session for two hours.

In December 2023, both Chambers of the National Assembly extended the implementation period for the capital component of the budget from December 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024, along with the N2.17 trillion 2023 supplementary budget passed in November 2023.

Earlier in March, following requests made by President Bola Tinubu, both the Senate and the House of Representatives extended the implementation period for the budgetary appropriations from March 31, 2024, to June 30, 2024.

With just four days remaining until the June 30, 2024, deadline for the affected 2023 budgetary appropriations, the two chambers cut short their recess to hold separate sessions for Thursday (today) to consider further extensions ahead of their previously set resumption date of July 2, 2024.

[Punch]