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Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Thursday, said in a video played in court that the destruction witnessed during the #ENDSARS protest in October 2020 could not have been a result of his broadcasts on Biafra Radio.
Kanu stated this during his interrogation by the Department of State Service (DSS) on July 17, 2021, and the video evidence was played before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The video recording of the session where the DSS investigators, including the witness identified as BBB, interrogated Kanu and obtained a written statement from him, was played in court.
BBB identified Kanu in the video as well as two of his lawyers who were with him during the session, including Alloy Ejimakor.
He, however, admitted making broadcasts in respect of the #ENDSARS protest and other broadcasts on Biafra Radio.
He said the protest that took place in Lagos during the protest was outside the Biafran territory and that the mayhem witnessed during the period could not have been a result of his broadcast.
Kanu confirmed being the founder and leader of IPOB and the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
Kanu said he was not directly involved in the day-to-day running of both organisations (IPOB and ESN), which he said were managed by their states’ coordinators.
During the interaction session, Kanu sought and was granted permission to ease himself.
He went into the restroom, returned a moment later, and the interview session continued.
Kanu said he did not have authority over his members, adding that if he had had authority over them, he would not have subscribed to the referendum.
He said he would have just pronounced Biafra into existence.
In the video, Kanu denied that IPOB was responsible for the violent attacks in some parts of the South East and the killings witnessed.
He said that IPOB was a peaceful and non-violent movement.
Kanu, who said he facilitated the establishment of ESN, explained that the organisation was necessitated by the killings of the people of the South East.
“If you look at what was happening in our land, that was what gave rise to ESN.
“If our people cannot go to the farm, and people are killed in their land, do you sit down and do nothing?
“People can no longer go to the farm; people can no longer carry out their economic activities,” he said.
Kanu faulted the invasion of his house by armed soldiers, which he said accounted for why he left the country for fear of being killed.
He argued that the invasion was unnecessary and also faulted the manner he was arrested in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, BBB, who was the 2nd prosecution witness (PW-2), while being led in evidence by the Federal Government’s lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, narrated how Radio Biafra broadcasts by Kanu led to the killing of eminent Nigerians, including security officers.
The witness said Kanu’s broadcasts led to the killing of a former Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Gulak.
BBB said he was part of the DSS team that investigated the complaint made against Kanu by the then Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami.
He said the defendant’s broadcast also led to the killing of a retired judge, Justice Stanley Nnaji and an intending military couple; Sergeant Audu Lucas and Private Glory Matthew.
The witness said Kanu, in one of his broadcasts, ordered his followers to enforce a sit-at-home in all South Eastern states, and in the process, many people who went out of their houses on that day were killed.
He said the investigation revealed that Sergeant Lucas and Private Matthew were not only killed by those who were enforcing Kanu’s sit-at-home order, but they were also beheaded.
The witness said investigation also revealed that before killing Gulak, those enforcing the sit-at-home directive by Kanu blamed him (Gulak) for coming out on a day their leader asked people not to go out of their homes.
He added that, from their investigation, they found that Kanu founded IPOB and ESN, which is the armed wing of IPOB, and that he was the leader of both groups.
“We were also able to establish that he (Kanu) founded Radio Biafra, through which he made inciting comments like the killing of police officers and burning of property,” the witness said.
He added that they also found that Radio Biafra was not registered in Nigeria and that, owing to Kanu’s broadcast, police stations in Cele and Ilasa (both in Lagos) were burnt by his followers.
Not few stakeholders in Kaduna State have continued to voice out their concerns over the alleged uneven disbursement of the $350m World Bank loan secured by the immediate past administration of the state under the leadership of ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
Said to be most hit by the alleged injustice occasioned by the uneven disbursement of the loan are 12 local government areas in the state.
These council areas have been identified to be left in the lurch, years after the much-touted Urban Renewal Road projects initiated by the immediate past administration of ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai took off.
Arewa PUNCH investigations revealed that despite the continued repayment of the $350 million World Bank loan secured under El-Rufai’s government, not a single kilometre of road has been said to have been completed in the affected LGAs, some of which are among the poorest in the state.
Field investigations and corroborated testimonies from community leaders and government insiders point to widespread neglect in areas such as Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Ikara, Jaba, Kagarko, Kajuru, Kauru, Kudan, Makarfi, Sanga, Soba, and Zangon Kataf.
Arewa PUNCH sources further alleged that the projects in these LGAs either never took off beyond the flag-off stage or were outrightly abandoned shortly after the groundbreaking ceremonies.
Unimpressed by the outcome of the situation, several civil society groups and opposition lawmakers in the state have raised concerns over the opaque manner in which the loan was managed, especially in relation to equitable distribution of infrastructure.
Comrade Phelimon Andrew, a transparency advocate based in Zango-Kataf, called for a legislative audit of the Urban Renewal Programme.
“We can’t keep taking loans for political PR. The communities have the right to know where every dollar went,” he said.
Our correspondent reports that although the World Bank facility was secured to fund El-Rufai’s flagship Urban Renewal Programme, said to be an ambitious infrastructural plan meant to modernise urban and rural Kaduna State, however, the execution has remained lopsided.
The residents, while expressing their frustrations over the current state of the abandoned Urban Renewal Road Projects, lamented that the initiative now lies in various stages of disrepair, disrupting livelihood and daily commuting.
“This road was supposed to be completed under El-Rufai’s administration years ago,” said Musa Yakubu, an okada rider in Sabo Tasha, “Now, it’s just a dust trap in the dry season and a muddy mess during the rains,” Yakubu bemoaned, adding, “we spend more money fixing our vehicles than making profit.”
Gimbiya Musa, a shop owner near the uncompleted stretch of road around Television Garage to Sabo Tasha bridge, also lamented the significant drop in patronage.
“Ever since the road was dug up and abandoned, customers now avoid this area. Business has dropped by more than 50 per cent. We were excited at first, but now, it feels like they just forgot us.”
Residents of Kauru, too, have voiced out their concerns. “We see abandoned construction equipment every day, rusting by the roadside. It’s a constant reminder of a broken promise,” said Ezekiel Haruna, a community leader.
“Children now play on half-graded roads, and people have started throwing waste into open drains that were meant to relieve stormwater,” observed another resident in Zitti Village in the Zango Kataf Local Government Area.
For many, the unfinished roadworks have become a symbol of neglect. “El-Rufai gave us hope that Kaduna would be transformed,” said Fatima Bello, a school teacher, “But what we were left with were potholes, traffic jams, and dust storms,” she pointed out.
“This present administration of Uba Sani must probe the previous administration of Nasir el-Rufai to tell Kaduna State citizens the truth about what happened to the $350 million World Bank loan that it secured,” Garba Habibu from Birning Gwari declared.
A top government source in one of the ministries directly involved in projects, but who does not want his name in print for fear of a possible attack or sanction alleged that while the Kaduna North reportedly benefitted from nearly 76 per cent of the projects, residents in the South and Central senatorial zones were left with incomplete and deteriorating roadways.
Similarly, a youth leader in Kaura, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, also queried what he termed as the injustice in the uneven disbursement of the loan.
“This is not just about bad governance. It is about injustice. How can we be paying back a loan and have nothing to show for it?”
He pointed out that among the most glaring cases is the Yarbwan-Kafanchan road, among others, which were initially designed as a signature project to boost connectivity into Southern Kaduna and which construction began with much fanfare but has since been stalled, “leaving commuters stranded during rainy seasons and sight of local businesses bearing the brunt of a failed promise.”
In Birnin Gwari, an area plagued by banditry and poor infrastructure, residents informed Arewa PUNCH that the road projects would have significantly eased movement and enhanced security if completed.
Another senior source within the Kaduna Government House, who equally spoke under the condition of anonymity, confirmed that “no single project initiated by the El-Rufai administration reached completion stage” in the listed LGAs.
“Some areas didn’t even have the contractors mobilised. All the attention were on projects that had media visibility within the Kaduna metropolis,” the official disclosed.
Meanwhile, community leaders from the neglected LGAs are calling for immediate government intervention, warning that continued neglect may fuel further social discontent.
Efforts by our correspondent to get a response from the current administration of Governor Uba Sani were unsuccessful as calls and messages to key officials in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure were not returned as at press time.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied taking a final decision on the leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Specifically, INEC denied recognizing any specific persons as the National Chairman and National Secretary of the Labour Party (LP).
It also said it is yet to reach a final decision on the National Secretary position of the PDP.
The electoral body added that it is yet to reach a decision regarding the disputes within the Labour Party.
The position of INEC was made known in a statement released on Thursday by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, following the emergence of a report that the electoral body has reinstated Julius Abure and Umar Farouk Ibrahim as the National Chairman and National Secretary of the Labour Party (LP) respectively based on information from its website.
It also claimed INEC has recognized Samuel Anyanwu as the National Secretary of the PDP.
However, Oyekanmi refuted media reports suggesting it had acknowledged specific individuals as the National officers of the two affected parties.
The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to some media reports claiming that the Commission has recognised certain persons as the National Chairman and National Secretary of the Labour Party (LP). The reports also inferred that the Commission has restored a particular individual as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), referring to the listings on the Commission’s official website.
“However, the reports are false and misleading. The Commission has not made any decision in respect of either the LP or PDP.
“The names of the National Officers of the LP had previously been uploaded to our website following a court order, not related in any way to the latest judgement of the Supreme Court. In the same manner, the name of the National Secretary of the PDP on the same website was neither deleted nor reinstated.
“As a law abiding institution, the Commission is carefully studying the judgement of the Supreme Court on the Labour Party and will communicate its decision to the public in due course.”
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has strongly criticised the governors of Anambra and Enugu states, Chukwuma Soludo and Peter Mbah, for organising elaborate receptions for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu while the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, remains in detention.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA described the ceremonies as “politically motivated” and “insensitive”, particularly in light of what the group referred to as the unjust arrest and prolonged detention of Kanu by the federal government.
President Tinubu recently visited both Enugu and Anambra states, commissioning projects and participating in state-organised events marked by pomp and pageantry.
His latest stop was in Anambra, where he was received at the Chinua Achebe International Airport, Umueri, by Governor Soludo and other dignitaries.
HURIWA, a pro-democracy and civil rights group, criticised the governors for failing to use the opportunity of the president’s visit to raise critical issues affecting the South-East region, especially the continued detention and trial of Nnamdi Kanu on treason and terrorism charges.
“We are not against the president visiting any part of the country,” HURIWA said.
“However, it is disturbing that governors from the South-East would organise extravagant state-funded events without addressing the insecurity and marginalisation that have plagued the region.”
The group accused Soludo and Mbah of ignoring the widespread calls for Kanu’s release, including from political and traditional leaders across the region, and of instead focusing on personal political gain.
“Chukwuma Soludo even claimed that releasing Nnamdi Kanu would not reduce insecurity in the South-East. This level of indifference is not only misguided but also betrays the trust of the people they were elected to serve,” the statement added.
HURIWA further alleged that while governors from other regions prioritise their regional interests in negotiations with the federal government, their South-East counterparts have shown little commitment to addressing the region’s developmental challenges or advocating for equitable representation in national appointments and infrastructure projects.
The group called on Southeast leaders to realign their priorities and focus on protecting the rights and interests of the Igbo people, rather than staging public events that appear to endorse the continued marginalisation and persecution of their constituents.
President Tinubu is expected to commission several projects during his Anambra visit, part of what the state government describes as a showcase of “legacy achievements” under the Soludo administration.
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has disclosed intentions to give away nearly all of his $200bn wealth, leaving only one per cent for himself, as he shuts down the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Microsoft co-founder stated on Thursday in a post on his personal blog, Gates Notes, that the foundation, which is considered to be among the most significant charitable organisations globally, will close its doors by December 31, 2045.
“People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them.
“There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people,” he said.
He added, “That is why I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned. I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world. And on December 31, 2045, the foundation will close its doors permanently.”
In a chart shared in the blog post, Gates revealed that he plans to give away 99 per cent of his wealth by 2045, leaving just one per cent, or about $1.6bn, for himself and his family.
Founded in 2000 with his now ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, the foundation has spent over $100bn on global health, education, and poverty alleviation, helping to fund vaccine development, medical research, and emergency aid around the world.
He also notes a shift from the original plan.
“This is a change from our original plans. When Melinda and I started the Gates Foundation in 2000, we included a clause in the foundation’s very first charter: The organisation would sunset several decades after our deaths. A few years ago, I began to rethink that approach.
“More recently, with the input from our board, I now believe we can achieve the foundation’s goals on a shorter timeline, especially if we double down on key investments and provide more certainty to our partners,” he stated.
Daily Mail reports that the remaining one per cent of his fortune may ultimately go to his three adult children: Phoebe, Rory and Jennifer.
Outlining the foundation’s achievements, he said, “I am deeply proud of what we have accomplished in our first 25 years.
“We were central to the creation of Gavi and the Global Fund, both of which transformed the way the world procures and delivers lifesaving tools like vaccines and anti-retrovirals. Together, these two groups have saved more than 80 million lives so far. Along with Rotary International, we have been a key partner in reviving the effort to eradicate polio.
“We supported the creation of a new vaccine for rotavirus that has helped reduce the number of children who die from diarrhea each year by 75 percent. Every step of the way, we brought together other foundations, non-profits, governments, multilateral agencies, and the private sector as partners to solve big problems—as we will continue to do for the next twenty years.”
Despite decades of impact, the Gates Foundation has drawn criticism from some who say Gates holds too much sway over global health funding decisions.
But, in an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, he remains unapologetic, saying, like any private citizen, he can choose how to spend the money he earns
“I think 20 years is the right balance between giving as much as we can to make progress on these things and giving people a lot of notice that now this money will be gone,” he said.
Peter Obi: How Can You Solve B'Haram Issues When You Can’t Solve Crisis In Labour Party – Akpabio
AFOLABI
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has advised the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi to resolve the internal issues in his party before commenting on national issues.
He questioned how it is possible to resolve the crisis of Boko Haram and other national issues while the crisis in the LP remain unsolved.
Akpabio stated this while responding to Obi’s recent comments that the “labour of our heroes past is all in vain.”
Obi, in his tribute on Wednesday during the Memorial Lecture and Day of Tribute for Edwin Clark in Abuja expressed concern about the current state of Nigeria, stating that the sacrifices of past leaders such as General Gowon and former President Jonathan were in vain.
However, speaking on Thursday, during the Valedictory Session in honor of the late politician, Akpabio asserted that while social media can be a tool for communication, it is largely unregulated and often used to sow division.
He urged Obi and other presidential aspirants to first resolve their party issues before focusing on the national stage.
He said, “If you cannot resolve the crisis in your Labour Party, how can you solve the crisis of Boko Haram or other major national issues? I urge those aspiring to lead Nigeria to first address the issues within their own parties.”
He also took the opportunity to highlight his achievements as a former governor, saying, “I can proudly speak about the dualized thoroughfares in my city, the international hospitals, and the digitalized governor’s offices. I also initiated free and compulsory education and worked towards religious unity by sponsoring over 5,800 Muslims and over 12,000 to 15,000 Christians on pilgrimages to Rome and Jerusalem.”
The Ogun State government has renamed the newly refurbished MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, as MKO Abiola Sports Complex following the addition of new facilities in the structure ahead of the 22nd National Sports Festival (NSF).
The stadium previously had only a football pitch and an athletics track, but it now boasts a 50-metre Olympic-size swimming pool, basketball, tennis, and handball courts, a new digital scoreboard, a tartan track, as well as a hybrid football turf.
Explaining the decision to add new structures to the complex, Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, said that hosting the NSF has helped to revive many of the state’s sporting facilities, driving the sporting ecosystem and boosting the GDP of the Gateway State.
“Before the NSF, we planned to rename the MKO Abiola Stadium to MKO Abiola Sports Complex because the edifice now has what it takes to be considered a sporting complex. The stadium now boast an Olympic-size swimming pool, a tartan track, a digital scoreboard and floodlights, tennis, basketball, and handball courts, with a VVIP seat that can accommodate 150 guests at a time. We have spent a lot to put our facilities in good shape, and we believe that beyond the NSF, we want to ensure that we build a sporting ecosystem that can improve our GDP in the state.”
Governor Abiodun highlighted the positive impact of the NSF, noting that the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) has chosen Ogun State to host the 2025 U-18 and U-20 African Championships in July, after initially awarding it to Algeria.
“This is what we envisioned when we decided to bid for the NSF, and now, the results have started coming on board. We look forward to such events soon so that Ogun State can become part of the global sporting ecosystem,” he said.
He added that bidding for and hosting the NSF was an intentional venture by the government aimed at improving infrastructure and creating a sports economy for the state.
“Ogun’s business circle will experience a bumper harvest during the event, with major hotels fully booked and petty traders making brisk businesses,” he said.
[Guardian]
The rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Dr Danjuma Ismaila, has raised the alarm that the institution’s poor wage profile is triggering talent loss in the institution.
The Rector, who disclosed this during the oversight visit of the College by the chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Tajudeen Abisodun, said the institution’s wage is critically low and demotivating for personnel.
He, however, said poor wages were responsible for the continued exit of trained professionals to other agencies offering better remuneration packages in the sector.
The Rector further seized the opportunity to appreciate the generous commitment shown by Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation, and other predecessor administrations in the success story of the institution.
He appealed for the continued kind assistance of the committee in ensuring the improvement of budgetary allocations and funding for the college.
On his part, the chairman of the Committee, Hon. Abisodun, also bemoaned the poor wage profile of NCAT staff.
This, he attributes, as a major reason for the prevalent attrition and poaching of her trained personnel by sister agencies and the industry sector with higher salary remunerations.
He assured of his committee’s commitment to supporting the college in addressing its major challenges.
While commending the Rector, he also assured that his committee would carefully study the detailed presentation made by the Rector to ascertain city areas of interventions.
The Committee members were impressed with the facilities and infrastructure in the college. The Chairman further assures of the committee’s regular interface with the Rector to meet necessary needs of the college.
[Leadership]
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has stated that the Nigerian government is working closely with the Finnish authorities to extradite Simon Ekpa for prosecution over offences allegedly committed against the country’s national security and sovereignty.
The AGF disclosed this on Thursday during the quarterly stakeholders and citizens’ engagement programme organised by the Ministry of Justice at its headquarters in Abuja.
He assured stakeholders that Ekpa’s case would not be abandoned, emphasising that, upon his extradition to Nigeria, the state would pursue the matter diligently.
“Simon Ekpa’s offence is a cross-border offence. If he committed an offence there and committed another one here, we cannot request his release to us until they have dealt with him. After that, we can request his extradition,” he said.
Fagbemi reiterated: “Simon Ekpa committed offences both there and here.”
The AGF further stressed that one of the Ministry’s critical mandates is to foster collaboration and cooperation with the international community to ensure that criminals find no safe haven.
He highlighted successes in extraditions, citing the cases of Hassan Bun Hussein Abolore Lawal and Okechukwu Josiah Odunna, extradited to the United States in January and March 2025, respectively.
Additionally, he mentioned the extradition of Benjamin Nnanyereugo, also known as Killaboi, from Qatar to Nigeria in April 2025 to face murder charges for the killing of Augusta, his girlfriend.
On terrorism, Fagbemi revealed that the Ministry successfully conducted 237 terrorism cases between December 9 and 13, 2024, leading to the prosecution and conviction of 226 suspects.
He announced the establishment of a Joint Case Team on cybercrime to foster inter-agency collaboration, improve investigations, and ensure effective prosecutions in line with global best practices.
The AGF highlighted notable progress in asset recovery and management, including the gazetting of the Proceeds of Crime Regulations, 2024, which standardises automated asset forfeiture management.
He said a National Database on Asset Recovery and Management was also developed to ensure transparency.
He reported that Nigeria executed an Asset Sharing Agreement with the United States on January 10, 2025, resulting in the repatriation of $52,882,018.95. Of this, $50 million will fund the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) Project, aimed at providing electricity access to 17.5 million Nigerians, while the remaining $2.88 million will support counter-terrorism capacity building.
The minister noted that discussions are ongoing with jurisdictions such as the United States, the Bailiwick of Jersey, and France to repatriate additional funds.
The AGF further disclosed that the Ministry is reviewing the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act to better protect vulnerable groups, adding that proposed reforms include enhanced victim protections, revised penalties, and a Victims’ Support Fund.
He stated that the Ministry secured six convictions for sexual and gender-based violence, including the conviction of Peter Nwachukwu, husband of late gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu.
To address child-sensitive justice, the AGF highlighted the review of the Borstal Institutions and Remand Centre Act, 2004, and the development of the Children and Youth Correctional Institutions Bill, 2004.
He said the reforms aim to rehabilitate and reintegrate children involved in terrorist activities in line with international child rights standards.
He also emphasised the importance of collaborating with civil society, traditional institutions, and other stakeholders to uphold restorative justice approaches that prioritise the welfare of women, children, and vulnerable persons.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday confirmed that Nigeria has fully repaid the $3.4 billion COVID-19 financial support it got under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).
But despite the confirmation, the government is still indebted to the multilateral organisation to the tune of about $30m, which is the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) charges, Daily Trust can report.
The $30m equivalent of N48.2bn would be paid annually over a period of four years as charges on the loan. This would amount to over N190bn.
The SDRs are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the IMF which represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged.
There have been mixed reactions over the claim of the full repayment of the IMF loan which the presidency has widely celebrated.
Senior Special Assistant to the President, Otega Ogra had posted a widely circulated post on X (formerly Twitter) account sharing the good news of Nigeria’s exit from the IMF debtors’ list.
He said this was a signal of “Discipline, reform and strategic reset by the Tinubu-Shettima administration in restructuring our finances to enable us to be better placed for a prosperous future.”
Daily Trust reports that the announcement was coming amidst criticism of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration over the rising domestic and external debts.
Nigeria’s total domestic and external debts amount to over N144.67 trillion as of December 2024, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
IMF clears the air
In a statement yesterday on behalf of the IMF’s Resident Representative for Nigeria, Mr. Christian Ebeke cleared the air on the repayment of the RFI loan facility, which was disbursed in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, the global economy was almost shut down resulting in sharp fall in oil prices, slowdown of the economic activities and drastic drop in revenues to the government.
Having cleared the principal amount, the federal government is now expected to pay the interests and charges on the loan estimated to be about N200bn.
IMF said, “As of April 30, 2025, Nigeria has fully repaid the financial support of about US$3.4 billion it requested and received in April 2020 from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Rapid Financing Instrument to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices.”
It however explained that Nigeria would continue to make annual payments of approximately $30 million in SDR-related charges over the next few years.
These charges, it stated, accrued from the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings and its cumulative SDR allocation.
The statement added, “Nigeria is expected to honor some additional payments in the form of Special Drawing Rights charges of about US$30 million annually.
“In line with the IMF’s Articles of Agreements, these charges, levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated at the beginning of each week, apply to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million) (US$4.3 billion) and its cumulative SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million) (US$5.5 billion) The net payment of the charges stops when Nigeria’s SDR holdings reach the cumulative allocation amount.”
Debt burden persists despite IMF’s loan repayment
As stated earlier, Nigeria’s public debt of N144 trillion as of December 2024 remains a source of concerns for stakeholders and observers.
This amount has been projected to grow significantly before the end of the year following the 2025 budget deficit of N13 trillion.
With the sharp drop in oil prices in recent times, there are indications that the federal government would borrow more to bridge the deficit.
Already, the federal government is indebted to many multilateral organisations like the IMF, World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB), among others.
Last year, Nigeria spent $4.66bn on external debt servicing, a significant increase from $3.5bn in 2023 with the multilateral creditors accounting for the largest portion at $2.62bn or 56 per cent of the total.
In addition, Nigeria has continued to take fresh loans from the World Bank with over $8bn secured from the organisation alone.
‘Not yet Uhuru’
With the amount of loan facilities yet to be repaid and with more facilities in the offing especially with the World Bank, economic analysts say it is not yet Uhuru for the government.
They particularly cautioned against being carried away by the loan repayment with the IMF and stressed the need to double down especially on foreign loans to ensure debt and fiscal sustainability.
‘Nothing has changed’
Emeritus Professor of Economics, Ndubisi Nwokoma believes nothing has really changed as there were other loan facilities still hanging on the neck of the federal government.
He said, “That has not changed the big picture, the big picture is still not a good or desired position.
Government is still borrowing, we are indebted to many multilateral institutions, we are indebted to AfDB, World Bank, we are taking bilateral loans, so it doesn’t significantly change our debt profile and with the drop in the price of oil, it makes it more difficult for government to stay without borrowing, even though it has been made easier by the removal of fuel subsidy and the harmonisation of the foreign exchange market.
“This had made it easier for the government in terms of public finance and not to be under serious pressure, if there were still fuel subsidy the fall in price of fuel would have been a very big blow on public finance because basically we are talking about public finance, government has much money to play around with, so the triple down effect on the economy is not very strong, but in terms of fiscal sustainability for government, it’s an improvement.
“So nothing has changed on the part of the common man or the economy or inability to get the economy out of the woods but public finance, fiscal sustainability is being assisted with those earlier policies that took place in 2023 but drop in price of crude may make us go back to our borrowing ways, so not much has really changed.”
‘FG deserves commendation’
An economist at the African School of Economics in Abuja, Dr. Oluseye Ajuwon commended the government for clearing the IMF loan.
He stated that there is no nation that exists without borrowing. However, Nigeria must borrow “responsibly.”
“There is no nation that can do without borrowing, not even a developed country not to talk of a struggling economy like ours. However, we need to borrow responsibly.
“Borrowing responsibly simply means borrowing money for a project that will be able to repay the loan by itself, and spending the loan judiciously.”
‘We need to double down’
Dr. Muda Yusuf, Director/CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE) said the repayment of the IMF loan signaled the commitment of the government to reduce its debt burden.
“However, I think we need to continue to double down on the reduction of our debts because given the current debt level and particularly given the current level of our debt service commitment and the amount of resources we are committing to debt service, I think it will help our fiscal sustainability, our debt sustainability if we work towards reducing the totality of our debt exposure especially external debt because from all indications, external debts are much more difficult to manage and service than domestic debts,” he stated.
According to him, the focus must be on doubling down both domestic and external debt.
“So the payment of these components of debt is a welcome development, it will in some sense reduce the burden of outstanding debts and we need to do a lot more of that and going forward, as much as possible we should reduce our exposures, especially to foreign debts.
“And utilisation of debts is also important, debts must be committed to projects that would enhance the productivity in the economy and that should be our priority and that is speaking largely to our infrastructure stock.
“We should prioritise infrastructure investment in our debt exposure, which is extremely important. I am also hoping that our fiscal consolidation objectives will also improve and will also be better achieved with the current tax reform.
“We expect that the revenue administration would be much more efficient without necessarily putting additional burden on the citizens or businesses. If we are able to do that, then the pressure to incur more debt would reduce. We need to ensure that the cost of domestic debts is as low as it can be as well.”
[DailyTrust]
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A witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday that no funds from the Kogi State Government were traced to the American International School, Abuja (AISA), in respect of school fees payment for former Governor Yahaya Bello’s children.
Bello is facing a 19-count charge bordering on money laundering, fraud, and the misappropriation of public funds amounting to N80.2bn.
Testifying before Justice Emeka Nwite, the witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, an internal auditor at AISA, stated during cross-examination by Bello’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, that there were no records indicating any wire transfers from the Kogi State Government or its local government areas into the school’s account.
He further confirmed that Yahaya Bello’s name did not appear on the list of parents who made payments or in any of the transaction records examined.
Earlier in the proceedings, Justice Nwite dismissed an objection raised by the EFCC regarding the admissibility of a previous judgment delivered by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
The ruling had favoured the Bello family in a dispute over $1.6m paid to the school.
Justice Nwite held that the EFCC’s objection was premature and deemed the judgment relevant and admissible under Sections 102 and 104 of the Evidence Act, marking it as Exhibit 19.
The EFCC, through its counsel Kemi Pinhero, had argued that the defence could not tender such a document before the prosecution had closed its case.
However, Daudu countered that the admissibility of documents is governed by their relevance, not by the stage at which they are presented. The court agreed, ruling that the prosecution’s objection was speculative and that the relevance of the document could not be ignored.
Further into the cross-examination, Ojehomon confirmed that Yahaya Bello’s name did not appear in any correspondence or authorisation letters regarding the payment of $760,910 to AISA. He disclosed that the school had a contractual agreement with Bello’s brother, Ali Bello, concerning the tuition and advance payments for future enrollment of younger children.
The payments in question, totaling $1,606,763.68, were made in two parts: one covering current tuition and another serving as an advance to secure admission slots for younger children starting in August 2022. Ojehomon confirmed that AISA later refunded $760,910.84 to the EFCC.
The FCT High Court judgment admitted as evidence emphasised that AISA was not under any court order to refund the money and that the payments were made based on a contractual agreement with the Bello family. The court ruled that the school could not legally transfer any portion of the fees to a third party, including the EFCC, without a valid court order.
Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter to May 9, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
Amid ongoing defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Shehu Sani has warned that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could secure a landslide victory in the 2027 elections unless Nigeria’s opposition parties unite in a coalition.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Sani—who represented Kaduna Central in the 9th Senate—argued that internal divisions are weakening the opposition and making it impossible to challenge the ruling party effectively.
“There is no way you can evict a ruling party without a coalition,” he said.
“Only through unity can opposition parties set aside narrow interests for the greater good of democracy.”
Sani pointed out that despite public calls for collaboration, key opposition parties remain uninterested.
“The SDP, PDP, Labour Party, and NNPP have all distanced themselves from coalition talks. If they head into the election disjointed, APC will likely win by a landslide.”
He added that the opposition’s failure to form an alliance in 2023 contributed to Tinubu’s victory and warned that history may repeat itself.
According to Sani, Nigeria’s political landscape lacks strong ideological boundaries, making party-switching easy and frequent.
“Parties are just platforms to pursue personal ambitions. Their manifestos are almost identical, and names are the only things that differentiate them.”
Sani dismissed the notion that Tinubu is responsible for protecting opposition parties from implosion.
“It is not Asiwaju’s job to keep opposition parties intact. They must do the hard work of resolving internal issues and retaining their members.”
The former senator also predicted more defections to the APC in the coming months, citing unresolved leadership crises in the PDP.
“You can’t function in a party with two national secretaries or factions fighting over primaries. It creates uncertainty for governors, senators, and other aspirants who won’t know which side to align with,” he said.
He concluded that unless the opposition gets its act together, Nigeria may drift into a de facto one-party state—not by law, but by default.
[DailyPost]
Grammy nominee and multiple awards winner, David Adeleke aka Davido has explained that he didn’t imagine he was going to become a global star at the the initial stage of his career.
Davido made this known in a recent chat with Apple Music during the promotion of his fifth album entitled ‘5ive.’
“Never imagined it here. Forget it. I’ll be lying to you. Never imagined it. So when things were just happening over time, we were just taking in the strides like, “Damn, this is getting lit.” We sold out 1,000. We sold out 2,000. Damn, we sold out 30, 40… Yeah, so it’s never really… I feel like every successful person that attains a great level of success can’t explain the feeling. You know what I’m saying?” he said.
Intensifying on the feeling, the father of four said, “I think just generally in life when good things are happening so quick, you don’t realize. I actually remember the first time I was sitting in front of my laptop opening Logic and sitting down like, “Damn, I want to make it. I actually want to be a musician. This is what I want to do,” he began.
Continuing, he said, “Watching MTV Cribs, watching people go on tour. I was a big YouTuber. I used to watch YouTube a lot. I used to watch vlogs. Tour vlogs, so it’s like Soulja Boy vlogs, just people about just being popular and being a star. I used to watch all that stuff, so I saw it transition into reality for me. Do you understand?
“From the beginning, from showing my friends the culture, showing my friends like, “Come listen to this Nigerian music.” And then, actually falling in love with the genre, falling in love with music, knowing that my family’s not going to accept this, but I’ll still do it anyway, not knowing that I’ll be one of the ones to pioneer it.”
[TheNation]
At least N20.03bn was spent on the maintenance and operations of the Presidential Air Fleet from July 2023 to December 2024, The PUNCH reports.
This was as the new presidential jet purchased last year has been flown to South Africa for refurbishment and upgrades.
Findings by our correspondents from GovSpend, a civic tech platform that tracks and analyses the Federal Government’s spending, revealed that for 2024, the payouts amounted to N14.15bn, representing 71 per cent of the allocations for the fleet in the 2024 fiscal year.
Most disbursements were labelled ‘Forex Transit Funds,’ usually funds allocated for foreign exchange requirements to facilitate international transactions and engagements.
For the Presidential Air Fleet, such funds cover expenses related to operations abroad, including fuel purchases, maintenance or services in foreign currencies.
“When aircraft on the fleet are abroad, payments are often made in U.S. dollars or another foreign currency to ensure we have uninterrupted operations,” a government official explained.
In July 2023, N1.52bn was disbursed in two tranches of N846m and N675m for ‘Presidential air fleet forex transit funds.’
The following month, N3.1bn was disbursed in three tranches of N388m, N2bn, and N713m for the same item. In November of that year, N1.26bn was released to the Presidential Air Fleet naira transit account.
The first overhead for 2024 was in March, when N1.27bn was disbursed twice, amounting to N2.54bn. The transit account received N6.35bn in April, N4.97bn in May and N210m in July.
In August, N5.60bn was released in six separate disbursements, the highest frequency that year. The monies were paid into the Presidential Air Fleet naira transit account, including a N168m transfer made on September 11 and 19. From December 7 to 24, 2025, N469.72m was released in eight tranches.
In April, the transit account received N5.08bn; this came around the same time the President was on a two-nation tour to the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.
Although Tinubu arrived in the Netherlands in a state-owned Gulfstream AeroSpace 550 Jet, the aircraft could not proceed to Saudi Arabia due to unspecified technical problems. He reportedly continued his journey on a chartered private plane.
At the time, the President’s Boeing 737 business jet was undergoing maintenance. It was later replaced with an Airbus A330 purchased for $100m in August through the service-wide votes.
The nearly 15-year-old plane, an ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (MSN 1053), is “spacious and furnished with state-of-the-art avionics, customised interior and communications system,” Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said, adding “it will save Nigeria huge maintenance and fuel costs, running into millions of dollars yearly.”
However, The PUNCH observes that since February 2025, the President has been using a San Marino-registered BBJ (REG: T7-NAS).
Sources who spoke to one of our correspondents confirmed that the primary aircraft had been flown to South Africa to change its livery to reflect the office of the President.
“The last I heard is that they took it abroad, I think to South Africa, to change the body design. You know it doesn’t have the green white green,” one source said, asking to remain anonymous.
“It’s not only the body paint. I learned they are doing some refurbishment on it,” a second official stated.
The new Airbus A330 is just one of several aircraft currently on the Presidential Air Fleet, arguably one of Africa’s largest, with around 11 aircraft of various makes and models.
Until August, it comprised the 19-year-old B737-700 (BBJ) and a 13-year-old Gulfstream Aerospace G550. The BBJ was acquired during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo at $43m, but became a money guzzler as it aged.
The presidential fixed-wing fleet includes a Gulfstream G500, two Falcon 7Xs, a Hawker 4000, and a Challenger 605. Three of the seven fixed wings are reportedly unserviceable.
The rotor-wing fleet includes two Agusta 139s and two Agusta 101s, all operated by the Nigerian Air Force but supervised by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Since 2017, budgetary allocations for the PAF have shown a growing trend, with one exception in 2020. The allocation for the fleet increased from N4.37bn in 2017 to N20.52bn in 2024, showing a 370 per cent rise in running costs. In 2022, maintenance expenses for each aircraft ranged from $1.5m to $4.5m annually.
In 2018, the fleet’s budget rose significantly by 66.13 per cent to N7.26bn, driven by a substantial increase in capital project allocations while maintaining similar levels for recurrent costs. This upward trajectory continued into 2019, slightly increasing the total allocation to N7.30bn.
The exception came in 2020, when the budget dropped by nearly 7 per cent to N6.79bn, primarily due to decreased overhead costs, a reflection of the global economic impacts of lockdowns and disruptions in operations.
By 2021, however, the budget surged dramatically to N12.55bn—a record increase of 84.83 per cent from the previous year. The 2022, 2023 and 2024 appropriation acts earmarked N12.48bn, N13.07bn and N20.52bn respectively.
On his way to the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Samoa, a foreign object damaged the cockpit windscreen of Vice President Kashim Shettima’s Gulf Stream aircraft during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York.
According to Lee Aerospace, manufacturers of Gulfstream jet windshields, these thick, multilayered structures comprise varying layers of glass and transparent acrylic, built to withstand collisions with a 2 kg object.
However, damage to the windshield must have affected its inner layers. While specific prices for replacement can vary based on supplier, labour rates and regional costs, estimates suggest that a single windshield replacement for a G550 can range from $50,000 to $70,000 for part and labour costs.
In an interview with our correspondent, the General Secretary of the Aviation Round Table, Olumide Ohunayo, blamed the meteoric rise in the allocations for the PAF on the age of some of the fleet’s aircraft, the declining value of the naira, and the Nigerian Air Force’s “commercial use” of aircraft.
Ohunayo explained, “The cost will definitely increase over the years because, for one, this issue of the naira against the dollar. As the naira keeps falling to the dollar, we will see a rise in cost because most of the costs of training crew and engineers and replacing aircraft parts are all in dollars.
“Also, some of these aircraft are not new. The older the aircraft, the higher the cost of maintenance and operation. Lastly, during these past years, terrorism and insecurity have increased in Nigeria, which has also affected the cost of insuring the aircraft.”
The Executive Chairman of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, argued that the administration’s spending habits were contrary to Nigerians’ expectations of frugality.
“What we are getting from this administration is the opposite of our expectations. We thought we would have an administration that would be frugal in spending and very meticulous at implementing its budget. But what we are getting is an administration that has fallen in love with profligacy, that doesn’t see anything wrong in living big in a poverty-stricken nation.
Adeniran further said, “It is a reenactment of the Shagari administration, whereby they bought the biggest Mercedes Benz and made themselves as comfortable as possible without considering how much the masses are suffering.
“So when you look at a Vice President saying he’s not travelling [to Samoa] again because there was a splinter on the windscreen of his private aircraft. Why should that be the case?
“First and foremost, we need to be represented at such an international meeting, where we should be well represented by the first two citizens of this country. He abandoned that, which means we would have lost certain representation that we deserve at that forum. Two, money will have been spent on advance parties that went ahead of the Vice President. But he abandoned the journey altogether.”
The CEO of Centurion Security Limited, John Ojikutu, justified the figure considering all related expenses.
“That’s not a big deal. If they are going to go and repair, particularly for C-checks, it’s always around that range. They will fly it abroad, but fuel, catering, and hotel bills are also involved; pilots will fly it back, and the figure likely includes far more than the direct cost of repairing the aircraft,” Ojikutu explained.
Meanwhile, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, argued that the new Airbus 330 aircraft and the costs of maintaining the air fleet are not for the President’s comfort but in the interest of Nigerians.
“It’s not President Tinubu’s plane; it belongs to the people of Nigeria, it is our property…the President did not buy a new jet; what he has is a refurbished jet – it has been used by somebody else before he got it, but it is a much newer model than the one President Buhari used.
“The one President Buhari used was bought by President Obasanjo some 20 years ago. There was a time when the President went to Saudi Arabia, and the plane developed some problems. The President had to leave the Netherlands with a chartered jet.
“Nigerians should try to prioritise the safety of the President. I’m not sure anybody wishes our President to go and crash in the air. We want his safety so that he can hand it over to whoever wants to take over from him,” Onanuga said.
The presidential aide said he discussed with the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, on the faulty plane (Boeing 737 jet), and he said the maintenance costs were excessive because of the age of the aircraft, hence the need for another plane.
[Punch]