Author: Naija Daily News

By Deborah Nnamdi Senate President Godswill Akpabio has appealed to Bola Tinubu to reconsider his directive ordering the withdrawal of police operatives from Very Important Persons (VIPs), citing concerns over the safety of federal lawmakers. President Tinubu had, on November 23, ordered the redeployment of police officers attached to VIPs to bolster efforts against rising security challenges nationwide. Under the directive, VIPs requiring armed protection are to seek personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) instead of the police. Speaking on Friday during a joint sitting of the National Assembly shortly after the President presented the 2026…

By Deborah Nnamdi President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented a N58.1 trillion budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year to a joint session of the National Assembly, outlining a spending plan focused on security, infrastructure, and economic consolidation. The proposal sets capital expenditure at N26.08 trillion, while recurrent (non-debt) expenditure stands at N15.25 trillion. Tinubu pegged the crude oil benchmark at $64.85 per barrel, with projected oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day and an exchange rate assumption of N1,400 to the US dollar. According to the President, total revenue for 2026 is estimated at N34.33 trillion, while total…

Afrobeats megastar David ‘Davido’ Adeleke will perform at the opening concert of the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 in Rabat, Morocco, on Saturday. The announcement was made on Thursday by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in an official statement unveiling the lineup for the opening ceremony concert. According to CAF, Davido will share the stage with global hip-hop star French Montana, Moroccan singer Douaa Lahyaoui, French-Moroccan hitmaker Lartiste, and rising artist Says’z. CAF said the selection of artists reflects the tournament’s celebration of African culture, music, and its growing global influence. The opening concert is scheduled…

Key justice and human rights stakeholders on Thursday opposed a Senate proposal seeking to prescribe the death penalty for kidnapping under a proposed amendment to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, warning that capital punishment would neither deter crime nor strengthen national security. The opposition was voiced at a one-day public hearing organised by the Senate Joint Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, National Security and Intelligence, and Interior. The Bill seeks to classify kidnapping, hostage-taking, and related offences as acts of terrorism and to impose the death penalty without an option of fine or alternative sentence. Raising…

The Ebonyi State Police Command has been thrown into mourning following the sudden death of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ogbon-Inu Taiwo Popoola, who was in charge of the State Intelligence Department. Popoola reportedly collapsed on Tuesday morning during a management meeting at the command headquarters in Abakaliki. Witnesses said the senior officer developed breathing difficulties and began gasping for air before he was rushed to the Police Medical Centre within the premises. Despite prompt medical attention, he was later confirmed dead by doctors. Preliminary medical findings indicated that his death was caused by cardiac arrest linked to hypertensive heart…

File Photo : Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adepoju The Rivers State Police Command has rescued a kidnapped woman and neutralized two suspected kidnappers during an operation carried out by operatives of the Anti-Cultism Unit (ACU), Emohua Annex. The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Iringe-Koko. She said the victim, a female resident of Omademe Community, was abducted on Friday, December 5, 2025, along Ozuaha Road in Emohua Local Government Area. According to the statement, the victim’s brother reported the incident to the…

By Deborah Nnamdi Suspected fighters of the Boko Haram terror group have abducted the Vice Chairman of Biu Local Government Area in Borno State and two newly elected councillors along the Kamuya–Buni/Yadi axis linking parts of Borno and Yobe states. The victims, identified as Alhaji Saidu and councillors representing Zarawuyaku and Miringa wards, were elected during last Saturday’s local government elections. They were reportedly kidnapped on Wednesday while travelling from Biu, the council headquarters, to Maiduguri along the 130-kilometre Damaturu–Biu road. Confirming the incident on Thursday in Maiduguri, a security operative disclosed that the abduction occurred amid rising insecurity on…

A former Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, has criticized the removal of fuel subsidy, saying the policy has failed to deliver the promised economic relief and has instead deepened poverty, hunger, inflation, and insecurity across the country. President Bola Tinubu had announced the end of the fuel subsidy regime during his inauguration in May 2023, declaring that “subsidy is gone.” The President has repeatedly defended the decision, insisting it was necessary to avert economic collapse and that the funds saved have been distributed to states. However, Dalung, speaking on Channel Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, argued that the manner in…

By Deborah Nnamdi Four members of the House of Representatives from Rivers State have defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC. The defections occurred about one week after Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara joined the ruling party, signalling a major political realignment in the state. The lawmakers who changed party affiliation are Manuchim Umezuruike, representing Port Harcourt I Federal Constituency; Boniface Emerengwa of Ikwerre/Emuoha Federal Constituency; Awake-Inombek Abiante of Andoni/Opobo Federal Constituency; and Boma Goodhead, who represents Asari-Toru Federal Constituency. The development is expected to further reshape the political landscape in Rivers State, with…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on Friday, December 19, 2025. A formal communication from the Presidency is expected to be read on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday to notify lawmakers and National Assembly staff of the President’s appearance. The development follows a letter dated December 17, 2025, signed by Adm. Essien Eyo Essien, Secretary of Human Resources and Staff Development, on behalf of the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana. Copies of the letter were circulated to the Deputy Clerk…