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Opposition Warns Tinubu’s ₦58.18tn Budget Will Worsen Debt, Hardship
Major opposition parties have raised strong objections to President Bola Tinubu’s proposed ₦58.18 trillion 2026 budget.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
They warned that the spending plan could deepen Nigeria’s debt crisis and increase the hardship already faced by citizens.
The criticism followed the presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly.
President Tinubu described the proposal as the “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity,” while assuring lawmakers that the economy was showing signs of recovery and that the government would enforce fiscal discipline.
However, opposition figures say the budget figures tell a different story. According to them, the proposal relies heavily on borrowing and allocates huge sums to debt servicing, without clear evidence that previous loans have improved living standards.
They argued that inflation remains high, insecurity persists across many parts of the country, and ordinary Nigerians are yet to feel relief despite rising annual budgets.
Speaking on the matter, the National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Rufus Ayenugba, said his party was alarmed by the size of funds set aside for debt servicing and fresh borrowing.
He described his party’s “major worry is the money being earmarked to service debt and the humongous loan this current administration keeps borrowing.”
Ayenugba questioned the purpose of the loans, noting that Nigerians were still struggling to survive. He said citizens were becoming increasingly agitated because the loans had not translated into better living conditions.
He also raised concerns over repeated large allocations to security, arguing that such spending had become routine without meaningful improvement on the ground.
According to him, security votes were often shielded from scrutiny, yet insecurity continued to spread.
Ayenugba stressed that the real issue was no longer the size of the budget but how effectively it was implemented. He said Nigerians were more interested in whether public spending improved economic life and restored confidence in governance.
He warned that continuous borrowing, protests, and worsening hardship were damaging the country’s image and placing the economy under severe strain.
On his part, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, said borrowing had become inevitable because of budget deficits. However, he cautioned that debt servicing was now consuming funds that should go into development.
Ifoh noted that a significant portion of national revenue was being used to service debts, leaving limited resources for infrastructure, healthcare, education, and job creation.
He also spoke about ongoing tax reforms by the government, urging authorities to ensure that new revenue measures did not further burden low-income earners. According to him, economic reforms should protect the most vulnerable Nigerians.
Ifoh described corruption as a persistent challenge to budget implementation. He pointed to recent controversies involving regulatory agencies as evidence that funds were often mismanaged.
He warned that budgetary allocations must be used strictly for their intended purposes and not diverted for personal gain.
While acknowledging that defence and security traditionally receive large allocations, he said the real concern was accountability. He argued that the focus should be on proper utilisation rather than the size of the allocation.
The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr Yunusa Tanko, took a more critical stance. He said the borrowing pattern of the current administration had not justified even the spending under the outgoing 2025 budget.
Tanko pointed out that the request to extend the 2025 budget suggested that funds were not properly utilised. He accused the government of weak accountability and described the situation as fiscal recklessness.
He also criticised the National Assembly, accusing lawmakers of failing in their oversight responsibilities. According to him, budgets were being passed without effective monitoring of implementation.
In a separate reaction, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rejected the proposal outright. The party described it as a “Budget of consolidated renewed sufferings,” arguing that it prioritised the comfort of the political elite over the welfare of citizens.
In a statement, the PDP said claims of economic growth had not reflected in the daily lives of Nigerians. It maintained that poverty, hunger, and insecurity continued to rise despite government assurances.
The party also raised concerns about the extension of previous budgets, warning that running multiple budgets at the same time undermined fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability.
Amid the growing criticism, the senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, urged the President to focus on impact rather than figures. She said Nigerians were more concerned about jobs, infrastructure, healthcare, and education than headline budget numbers.
She stressed that public scrutiny was essential and warned that budgets should not remain impressive documents without real benefits for citizens.
As deliberations move to the National Assembly, opposition parties insist that the success of the ₦58.18 trillion budget will be judged by its ability to reduce hardship, control debt, and rebuild trust in how public resources are managed.
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The Oyo State Police Command has announced an operational success recorded following an intelligence-led operation.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
Acting on credible intelligence, operatives of the Command intercepted a truck conveying materials suspected to be explosive devices during a stop-and-search operation in Saki, Oyo State. The truck and the suspected materials were promptly secured and are currently in police custody.
Upon receiving a briefing on the development, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, CP Femi Haruna, immediately ordered a comprehensive investigation into the matter.
Consequently, specialised personnel of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit and the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Unit were deployed to safely secure the items for safekeeping and forensic examination. Detailed forensic analysis has since commenced, alongside a thorough and robust investigation to determine the exact nature of the items and their intended use.
The truck driver has been taken into custody and is cooperating fully with investigators as efforts continue to unravel all the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Commissioner of Police commended the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, for his unwavering support, strategic leadership, and continued provision of operational guidance that enhance proactive, intelligence-driven policing across the country.
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One person has died and another sustained injuries following an assault by suspected armed bandits in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
According to sources, the attack took place on January 24 around 4:00 p.m. along the Amoke–Odugbo road in Ukpogo Village, Edikwu Ward.
The victims, identified as Mr Joseph Okoh and Miss Aneh Sunday, both from Ogodumo, Adoka in Otukpo LGA, were reportedly riding a motorcycle when the assailants struck.
“They were rushed to the Comprehensive Health Centre, Ugbokpo, where Mr Okoh was confirmed dead while receiving treatment. Miss Sunday is currently admitted and responding to treatment,” the source stated.
Nigerian troops were quickly deployed to the area, and a search operation in the surrounding bushes is ongoing to apprehend the attackers.
“The Criminal Investigation Department has commenced an investigation into the incident,” the source added.
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Art & Commercial students don’t fail JAMB because they’re dull. They fail because they’re taught like Science students. Science students calculate — JAMB rewards that. Art students explain — JAMB doesn’t. So you read hard, attend lessons, yet your score disappoints you. This online class fixes that. No theory overload. No confusion. Just real JAMB questions, clear breakdowns, and winning strategies. 📌 JAMB is not hard — you were just taught the wrong way.Click The Link To Reach Us Now 👉 https://wa.me/2349063958940
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has scrapped special concessions and registration procedures previously granted to candidates with albinism for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, citing abuse of the privilege to perpetrate examination malpractice.....TAP TO CONTINUE READING
The Board also warned faith-based tertiary institutions to clearly declare their religious status at the point of admission, saying it is deceptive to present as secular and later impose religious rules on students.
As reported by Vanguard, these decisions were taken on Saturday at a meeting between JAMB management, led by its Registrar, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, and Commissioners for Education from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, held in Ikeja, Lagos.
Oloyede said the meeting was convened to review and assess previous admission exercises.
He noted that despite safeguards introduced by the Board, some individuals remained determined to circumvent the system.
“We have stopped some concessions we gave albino candidates. This is because some are using artificial intelligence to manipulate the registration process to look like they are albinos because of the consideration we gave them.
“Last year alone, over 7,000 claimed to be albinos. We have stopped special registration procedures for albinos,” he said.
Addressing complaints from candidates admitted into some private institutions over compulsory religious instruction, Oloyede urged faith-based schools to be transparent.
“Faith-based institutions should declare from the onset what they are, so that whoever applies there will know what he is going to meet there. But some don’t do that. They will pretend to be secular, but once students are admitted, trouble will begin over religious instruction and injunctions.
“If you are a faith-based institution, say so. The law allows you to set up faith-based schools,” he said.
On last year’s UTME, where the highest-scoring candidate was later found to be a 300-level university student, the JAMB registrar said investigations showed that some undergraduates sit for the examination to change courses or assist others to secure admission.
“Students who are already in school but want to change courses and are applying again must declare and disclose their status.
“We have found that some candidates already in school are writing the examination for other candidates. Last year, the candidate who scored the highest was found to be a 300-level student in the university.
“Henceforth, any candidate found engaging in such an act, and who fails to disclose that he is already in school but wants to change course, will be disqualified and will also lose his current admission,” he said.
On admission criteria, Oloyede explained that federal government-owned institutions allocate 45 per cent on merit, 20 per cent on catchment area, 20 per cent to educationally disadvantaged states, while the remaining slots are allocated to other considerations.
“Each owner or state has the right to decide what its admission criteria will be. But for states, we encourage them to allocate at least 10 per cent to merit, regardless of where the candidates come from.
“This is to diversify the student population and admit eggheads from different communities,” he said.
He criticised some states for establishing new universities despite not fully utilising their admission quotas in existing federal institutions.
On underage candidates, Oloyede said 16 years remained the minimum admission age, noting that an attestation process was in place for exceptional cases.
“Last year, about 42,000 claimed to be underage. After evaluation, only 78 met the criteria and were admitted. We are not saying there are no talented candidates, but the figure looks outlandish,” he said.
The issue of how to engage underage candidates during a gap year divided opinions at the meeting, but a majority voted for JAMB to continue its special assessment process.
The meeting also observed that parental pressure on children to complete their education too quickly was a major contributor to the problem.
On efforts to curb examination malpractice, Oloyede said JAMB had stopped the movement of computers between Computer-Based Test centres.
“A computer registered in a particular centre will remain there and is not transferable to another centre. Some people borrow computers to get accredited and later move them around,” he said.
He dismissed claims that candidates were posted to towns they did not choose, saying personal data used for registration were drawn directly from the National Identification Number submitted by candidates.
Providing an update on the 2025 UTME, Oloyede said 974,855 candidates had so far been admitted out of about 1.95 million who sat for the examination.
He added that over N2.4 billion had been disbursed to institutions that consistently complied with JAMB’s rules over the past 10 years, and that the meeting agreed that schools producing the best candidates should be compensated.
On accreditation of CBT centres, Oloyede said the process involved teams comprising university vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts in each state.
He warned state governments against agreements with private promoters who might use centres to facilitate malpractice.
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Art & Commercial students don’t fail JAMB because they’re dull. They fail because they’re taught like Science students. Science students calculate — JAMB rewards that. Art students explain — JAMB doesn’t. So you read hard, attend lessons, yet your score disappoints you. This online class fixes that. No theory overload. No confusion. Just real JAMB questions, clear breakdowns, and winning strategies. 📌 JAMB is not hard — you were just taught the wrong way.Click The Link To Reach Us Now 👉 https://wa.me/2349063958940
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