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FCT’s 2025 budget of N1.783 trillion passes second reading in Senate
The Federal Capital Territory 2025 budget of N1.783 trillion passed through first and secondary reading in the Senate on Wednesday.
The budget, which was presented by the Senate Leader, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele sought for the legislative debate to enable appropriation of the amount proposed, given that the Senate serves as the State House of Assembly with powers to legislate for the FCT.
The lawmaker said the figure covered capital and recurrent expenditure proposals with details of sectoral allocation.
Bamidele laid the FCT budget proposal for first reading after which the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio called for the second reading against the observation raised by Senator Abdul Ningi representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, citing relevant provisions.
Ningi observed that copies of the FCT budget have just been distributed against the provision that Senators must have prior notice of the bill which copies must have been distributed early enough for their study before bringing the proposal for legislative debate.
He, however, was overruled by the Senate President for “urgency of time”.
Speaking on the proposal, Senator Adamu Aliero representing Kebbi Central Senatorial District drew the attention of the Red Chamber to the fact that the influx of people posed a serious challenge to the infrastructure.
“He said the original master plan of the FCT was supposed to be 750,000 people, but unfortunately every citizen has the right to live and work in the FCT and nobody can oppose their living in the FCT,” he said.
Abdul Ningi representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District praised the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike for the massive infrastructural development in FCT.
On a lighter note, he said: “Mr Senate President, our party, PDP is a development driven party and you can see that Nyesom Wike who is a PDP man is doing well in terms of infrastructure.
“Remember that you were a product of PDP and since APC took over, development has slowed down.”
Having supported the proposal, Ningi urged Senators to support the bill to enable the continued development of FCT.
Other speakers on the budget supported the proposed and commended the Minister for his commitment to the development of the Federal Capital Territory.
In his remark, Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed his belief that the approval of the budget will strengthen the effort of the Minister and passed it for second reading after a voice vote.
The proposal was referred to the Senate Committee on FCT to revert in a week’s time.
In a strategic move to strengthen its corporate governance, Sage Grey Finance Limited has appointed Akinsanya as its new Independent Non-Executive Director.
The appointment reflects the company’s commitment to robust leadership as it expands its footprint in lending, investments, and fund management within Nigeria’s financial sector.
Source: BusinessDay.ng
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, has said Nigeria is the second country in the world with the highest number of people living without access to electricity.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, Aliyu explained that only India has more people without power supply than Nigeria.
He however stressed that the current administration has put in place a structured plan to address what he called electricity poverty.
“I recently came across a post by The Economist which showed that only India has more people without electricity access than Nigeria. But unlike many other countries, Nigeria now has a well-structured plan to address this challenge,” he said.
Aliyu noted that the REA does not operate on the national grid but focuses on off-grid and underserved communities.
“If you have a problem with your Disco, that’s not within our mandate. Our focus is on communities without access to electricity,” he clarified.
Highlighting the agency’s ongoing projects, the REA boss pointed to the Distributed Access to Renewable Energy Scale (DARES) initiative, describing it as the largest public renewable energy project in the world.
According to him, the $750 million programme aims to deliver electricity to 17.5 million Nigerians who currently live without power.
Youths of Igboukwu community in Aguata Local Government Area have rescued a man who was chained and detained in a room by his father, who had falsely claimed he had travelled abroad.
A video of the rescue of the young man, whose name was given as Chogbo but who is popularly known among his friends in the community as Agudo, has been circulating on social media.
The man was rescued by the community youths after they suspected that he had been confined in a room in his father’s house, while the father allegedly told everyone that his son had travelled abroad.
Meanwhile, police have confirmed the incident, promising to launch an investigation into the matter and to ensure that anyone found culpable is duly punished.
A press statement by the state police command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, stated that the victim has been rescued and is currently receiving care.
He said: “The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Ikioye Orutugu has directed police operatives to immediately investigate a disturbing report circulating in the media regarding a young man identified as Chogbo (popularly known as Agudo) from Igboukwu.
“The man was allegedly kept in chains for five years by his father with claims that he had travelled abroad.
“Preliminary inquiries are ongoing to establish the facts, safeguard the victim’s well-being, and the Command assures that where culpability is established, those responsible will be held accountable in accordance with the law.
“CP Orutugu commended the youths of the community for the proactive role they played in uncovering the incident, describing their action as a clear example of community partnership in policing.
“The Command commends the youths of the community for the proactive role they played in uncovering the incident, describing their action as a clear example of community partnership in policing.
“The victim has been rescued and is receiving necessary care, and further development shall be communicated to the public,” Ikenga stated.
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