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Tag: accountability

  • Contemptous rulers and docile people

    Contemptous rulers and docile people

    By

    UGO ONUOHA

    LATE last year, precisely on December 28, a presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, wrote across his social media platforms that Nigeria’s president, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had departed to Europe as part of his end-of-year pleasure and winding down activities. The statement was not explicit that he would be on vacation. He hates the word ‘vacation’ because it might require him to transfer power to vice president Kashim Shettima, who is an orphan in the administration. The statement was as vague as they come, including the announcement that Tinubu would travel from ‘Europe’ to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates [UAE] in January to attend the annual Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week [ADSW 2026] Summit.

    Onanuga’s statement was careful to emphasize that Tinubu’s planned attendance of ADSW 2026 was to honour an invitation that was apparently graciously extended to him by the president of UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

    https://my.nigeriananchor.com/waec-to-introduce-cbt-for-wassce-official/

    But there are issues surrounding the processes leading to the nebulous year-end activities and the detour from ‘Europe’ to UAE for a one-week stay. But the issues are not new, and they are not out of tune with the proclivities of Tinubu from his years as governor of Lagos State between 1999-2007.

    https://my.nigeriananchor.com/apm-withdraws-appeal-challenging-tinubus-victory-at-supreme-court/

    The statement announcing Tinubu’s itinerary, which will be a blatant abuse of the use of that word ‘itinerary’, was deliberately vague, dismissive, and designed to demonstrate how much the presidency, the president himself, and his enablers hold Nigerians in utter contempt.

    As president, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is this country’s number one public figure. The statement said that he was departing for ‘Europe’ on December 28. The last time we checked, Europe was not a country, even if anyone is minded to stretch the concept of the European Union [EU].

    If Tinubu planned in the course of his usual junckets abroad to visit more than one country on the continent of Europe, decency and accountability required that Nigerians whom he is supposed to be serving should be apprised of his movements. But no, not for Tinubu, and certainly not for his collaborators. He treats a majority of Nigerians as though they do not exist and do not matter.

    An elderly man in a blue suit walks alone down an empty, rundown city street, head slightly bowed, with shuttered buildings and scattered debris stretching into the distance under a gray, overcast sky.
    Alone in the silence of an empty street, power fades and only the weight of the journey remains.

    To this presidency, Nigerians are veritable ‘mumus’ who do not know the difference between a continent and the countries therein. And even if they know the difference, they have been so pauperised and castrated by the rulers’ policies and programmes to ask questions and to demand answers.

    Tinubu’s indifference to, and contempt for, Nigerians has been evident for close to one generation. He was not different while he was the governor of Lagos State. He could pretend for all he cares, but he’s not a democrat. Contrary opinion counts for nothing in his politics. The receipts are in the public domain.

    His braggadacio, not withstanding, Tinubu exhibits the traits of an insecure person. Here’s a man who craves adulation and public office but despises accountability to the people. Not many Nigerians imagined that after the years of the locusts that marked the presidency of the former head of state, the late Muhammadu Buhari, that Nigerians would yet be saddled with another man who regards the presidency as a trophy, and not a call to service that imposes a duty of care on the occupant. One of the Obamas [either Barack or Mitchell] once said that the presidency of the United States does not change its occupant. It reveals the person. That profound assertion was prior to the emergence of Donald Trump as America’s president. Trump 2.0 is unravelling.

    The presidency of Nigeria revealed the person of Buhari – as incompetent, low on energy, clueless, sectarian, myopic, divisive, and a man with little or no redeeming feature. Buhari came, he saw, and he was overwhelmed and conquered. Some of us were surprised only by the magnitude of his spectacular failure.

    Tinubu was an open book ever before he ascended to the presidency. There was not much waiting to be revealed about him. He said that becoming Nigeria’s president was his lifelong ambition. Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, he commanded his henchmen and supporters to “grab, snatch, and run” with ballot boxes and ostensibly the result sheets. His supporters dutifully went beyond the brief. They disrupted balloting in places suspected to be the stronghold of opposition political parties. On election day, they attacked and bloodied voters whom they feared would vote for candidates other than Tinubu. State security agencies played their own part in an alleged industrial scale electoral heist.

    https://my.nigeriananchor.com/overseas-scholarships-ptdf-shortlists-5000-applicants-for-2023-2024-awards/

    Earlier, during the stomping, Tinubu had declared that it was his turn to be coronated as president in his fraud- tainted and entitlement-laddened claim of “emi lo kan”.

    Like Buhari, but from a different prism, the Nigerian presidency is also unmasking Tinubu – that he’s at best a pseudo-democrat if not a dictator, he’s  unprepared for the job in spite of claims to the contrary, he may not really be in the best of health, he prefers to operate as a sole administrator or an emperor, he’s epicurean, he listens only to himself, he detests accountability, he delights in adulation and praise-singing, faces of citizens contorted by pains do not move him to sympathy and empathy, that he can only work with people from a section of his Yoruba nation, among other parochial considerations.

    The other concerning aspects of his current end of year trip to ‘Europe’ has to do the Abu Dhabi leg this January. For the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit, the presidency would rather treat it like the mystery of Tinubu’s travel to ‘Europe’ where nothing definite was disclosed. Not the country or countries he was travelling to; not the specific purposes of the visit beyond the claim of end-of-year activities; not how long he would be in ‘Europe’, or any other things for that matter.

    Except for the cruise and the opportunity to ‘flex’ as we are wont to say on Nigerian streets, no serious president of any serious country, especially a country like ours which is in the lower rungs of the global development index should ever elect to waste one whole week in a foreign land for this kind of summit. In any case, we are not persuaded that the president is currently equipped with the necessary alertness, mental capacity, and requisite attention span to absorb the technical details and jargon of such a summit. We have seen the president at events at home and abroad, and his struggles to remain alert and follow conversations have been, to put it mildly, very embarrassing.

    Furthermore, it was difficult to imagine that Nigeria’s president departed for ‘Europe’ hours after the US president, Donald Trump, ordered the American military to bomb alleged terrorists enclave in parts of Sokoto state in the north west region of our country. Tinubu behaves in a troubling manner. His behaviour can be likened to the case of “onye ulo ya na-agba oku ona achu oke,” or a home owner who is busy chasing rats while his home was being consumed by an inferno.

    In a little over two years of this regime, one issue has dogged its leadership – persistent allegations of forgery. Somehow, a sentence on forgery and sundry shenanigans is deemed incomplete until the name of the president of Africa’s most populous country or the ruling APC is featured in it.

    If any name is controversial, some people would be minded to use the name of the president to illustrate the unsavoury subject. If a certificate is suspected to be from the ‘Oluwole’ area of Lagos, instinctively, some Nigerians would allow their minds to wander to the same suspect. Why not, given that Tinubu and his team created their own bishops ahead of the 2023 election. By the way, ‘Oluwole’ is a byword for anything and everything fraudulent in our country.

    When unknown persons suspected to be from the bureaucracy, the presidency and the national assembly [NASS] forged the 2024 budget with the insertion of strange items worth billions of Naira, it was difficult to exculpate the lead figure and the usual suspect. The same thing is currently playing out with the alleged forgery of the new and controversial tax laws, which came into effect on January 1.

    The abduction of Maduro

    It was bound to happen – the abduction of the president of Venezuela, Nicholas Maduro, by the president of the United States, Donald Trump. It did happen last weekend. The pretext was drug trafficking by Maduro, but the quest was to seize the over 300 billion barrels of crude oil in the belly of Venezuela.

    Trump framed the exercise as a ‘capture’, but it was not. It was a case of the abduction or kidnapping of another country’s head of state. Trump violated the US constitution and ignored international laws. He has said that he would run Venezuela for some time. This is curious coming from a man who bankrupted casinos as a private businessman. What Trump has succeeded in doing is turning the world’s order upside down. And made it less safe. The sovereignty of nations is now a myth and the United Nations a caricature. Might is now right. It will be a matter of time before China seized Taiwan, and Putin escalated his hunger for an imperial Russia to straddle Europe.

    UGO ONUOHA, A Veteran Journalist, was the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Champion Newspapers Limited

  • From Secrecy to Openness: Why 2025 Actually Meant Something for NNPCL

    From Secrecy to Openness: Why 2025 Actually Meant Something for NNPCL

    For most Nigerians, the old NNPC was a black box.

    Money went in. Crude came out. Losses were explained away. Profits, when they appeared, were never quite clear. And no one outside the building really knew what was going on inside.

    That history matters, because it explains why 2025 felt different.

    Not because everything suddenly worked, Nigerian oil has never worked that way, but because, for the first time in a long while, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) behaved less like a government department hiding behind silence and more like a business willing to show its workings.

    Production Finally Stopped Being a Mystery

    For years, the headline around oil production was always the same: theft, sabotage, decline. This year, that script changed.

    By December, NNPCL’s exploration arm, NEPL, recorded peak daily production of about 355,000 barrels per day, a level not seen in decades. More importantly, national output settled into a steady 1.6–1.7 million barrels per day range.

    That stability mattered more than the record itself. Nigeria has spent years missing OPEC targets and explaining why. In 2025, the explanations gave way, at least partly, to results.

    Was everything independently verified down to the last barrel? No. But the consistency of the data, month after month, was a noticeable improvement over the erratic, often contradictory figures of the past.

    The Profit Headline: and What Sat Behind It

    NNPCL’s announcement of ₦5.4 trillion in profit naturally raised eyebrows. Critics were quick to point out that a weaker naira made the numbers look bigger than they might otherwise have been.

    That criticism isn’t wrong. But it’s also not the whole story.

    What made this different from previous years was not just the profit figure, but the detail that came with it: revenues north of ₦45 trillion, clearer cost breakdowns, and open acknowledgment of FX exposure and legacy subsidy distortions.

    For an institution long known for saying as little as possible, saying this much was progress. Transparency doesn’t mean everyone agrees with your numbers, it means people can finally argue about them.

    Gas: Less Noise, More Substance

    While attention stayed fixed on petrol prices, NNPCL quietly made some of its most important moves in gas.

    The AKK pipeline crossed the River Niger. The long-delayed OB3 pipeline finally linked eastern gas to western and northern markets. And in a subtle but significant shift, NNPCL opened up third-party access to NLNG feedstock, easing its grip on export routes.

    These weren’t flashy announcements. But they signaled something new: a willingness to loosen control and let infrastructure work for the wider market, not just the company.

    In a system built on discretion and gatekeeping, that kind of openness is reform.

    Refining: Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud

    If there was one moment that captured NNPCL’s changing posture, it was the refinery conversation.

    After years, and trillions of naira poured into Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna Refineries with little to show for it, the company stopped pretending that sentiment could replace economics. Instead of promising yet another “near completion,” management admitted the obvious: some of these assets may simply not be worth reviving.

    The decision to review them honestly, even if that means converting some into storage or blending hubs, didn’t deliver fuel independence. What it delivered was something rarer: honesty.

    Did Any of This Matter to Regular Nigerians?

    Early in the year, it didn’t feel like it.

    Petrol prices surged, hitting ₦1,200 per litre and beyond in some areas after full deregulation. For months, it looked like the pain had no upside.

    Then, slowly, things eased.

    As crude production stabilized and the Dangote Refinery ramped up, supply pressures softened. By December, prices in major cities dropped into the ₦850–₦950 range, with differences driven more by transport costs than scarcity.

    Fuel wasn’t cheap, but it stopped being unpredictable. And in Nigeria’s fragile economy, predictability is relief.

    Why 2025 Actually Matters

    NNPCL didn’t transform Nigeria’s oil sector in one year. What it did was more basic and more important.

    It spoke more openly.
    It published more data.
    It made choices that could be questioned, and questioned publicly.

    For a company once defined by silence, that alone is a shift.

    The real test is still ahead. Transparency has to deepen. Audits must stay credible. And none of this can disappear when politics heats up or oil prices fall.

    But for the first time in a long time, NNPCL ended a year not asking Nigerians to trust it
    but giving them something to examine.

    And that’s how institutions stop being myths and start becoming accountable.

  • Imo Poll: Labour Party Demands Voiding Votes In Violence-Affected Polling Units

    Athan Achonu, the Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate in Imo State, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel votes from polling units affected by violence.

    Speaking after casting his vote in Umunumo hamlet, Ehime Mbano Local Government Area, Achonu emphasized the need for transparency in conducting elections, stating that canceling affected units is the only viable solution.

    Expressing concern over reported violence, he decried the assault on party agents and characterized the situation as a departure from democratic norms, vowing to resist such disruptions for the sake of upholding true democracy and ensuring good governance.

    “There is no other alternative than to cancel it so that every person will come there and watch it conducted.

    “They beat up so many of our agents. We are sad, we are going to upload some of their pictures. This is crazy, this is what our democracy has come to.

    “But we are resisting. Can’t you see the people here? They will not allow it. I hope it is the same thing going on everywhere so that we can have proper democracy and bring in good governance,” he stated.

  • NNPCL Working With NEITI, Others To Reconcile NEITI’s 2021 Report

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will continue to collaborate with the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and all relevant stakeholders in the Reconciliation Committee set up by President Bola Tinubu to investigate, review and reconcile the financial records on alleged indebtedness to the Federation by both NNPC Limited and Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC.

    A statement signed by Chief Corporate Communications Officer NNPC Limited, Olufemi O. Soneye, on Monday night in Abuja, said, this comes on the heels of calls by a non-governmental organisation for a probe of several monies allegedly owed to the Federation by the national oil company.

    NNPC Ltd states that the claims by the NGO were baseless, considering the fact that NEITI itself had dismissed many of the allegations in the said 2021 report, following a series of engagements with NNPC Ltd.

    NNPC Ltd had severally explained that at the outset of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, it was made to sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) imported into the country at one third of its value, a development that gave rise to an average of N400bn monthly subsidy bill, which subsequently put a strain on its revenues and finances.

    NNPC Ltd further stated “that subsidy bill accumulated to N3.736 trillion as of May 31st 2023.”

    The oil company said that the non-payment of NNPCL’s share of upstream joint venture gas supplied to the government-owned plants had led to the accumulation of indebtedness of N174.07 billion by the Federation.

    “Similarly, the receivables due from the federation to NNPC Exploration & Production Limited (NEPL) as of 31st May 2023 amount to $712million (equivalent to N309.07 billion at N434.08/US$1) for revenues not remitted to NEPL but paid into the Federation account.

    “While the Federation owed NNPCL the sum of N 4.207 trillion as net indebtedness, the Company was only indebted to the Federation in the sum of N2.852 trillion, made up mainly of outstanding Good and Valuable Consideration (GVC) in respect of government upstream divestments, royalties and Petroleum Profit taxes (PPT).

    “We would like to also use this opportunity to clarify that over the years, our relationship with NEITI has been very cordial, as seen in August 2020 when we became an EITI supporting company in 2020, joining a group of over 65 extractives companies, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), commodity traders, financial institutions and industry partners committed to observing the EITI’s supporting company expectations.

    “Indeed, aside being a signatory to several EITI’s global ethics and standards, NNPC Ltd had on the sidelines of the United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) in Washington DC, in September this year, signed up to the United Nations Global Compact on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, thereby becoming the first state-owned oil company to join the global initiative,” it said. 

    The state oil company averred that it’s book remains open as it remain committed to delivering value to Nigerians with integrity and as espoused in our principles of Transparency, Accountability and Performance Excellence (TAPE), the bulwark of the Mele Kyari leadership of the company.

  • Job Racketeering: ICPC begins investigation of bribery allegation against Reps C’ttee

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced investigation into bribery allegations against the House of Representatives Committee on job racketeering and gross mismanagement in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
    Azuka Ogugua, spokesperson for ICPC, said this in a statement at the weekend in Abuja.
    Ogugua said that the ICPC received petitions from an online medium, Premium Times Nigeria; and Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, Chairman of the ad hoc committee, to investigate bribery allegations against the probe panel.

    The online medium published a story alleging that some members of the committee requested vice chancellors and heads of tertiary institutions to pay certain amounts to an account as bribes.

    The story also claimed that the account was dedicated for the purpose of giving a soft landing to any institutions’ that would pay the bribe money into it during the investigation.

    Members of the committee were also said to have engaged in extortion from heads of MDAs, including those of academic institutions.

    On Thursday, Gagdi had had said the committee wrote to ICPC to investigate the allegations of bribery and extortion against the members of the committee.

    The chairman said that the committee had written to ICPC to investigate the account number allegedly released to heads of tertiary institutions for payment of the bribe.

    “I have already written to the ICPC to investigate the account number that was published by an online medium the owner of that account, whether there is any transaction by vice chancellors and rectors of polytechnic in the country.”

    Gagdi threatened that the committee would take legal action against the online medium over the publication, which aim, he said, was to “blackmail and discredit” the committee. 

  • Anti-corruption groups demand transparency in investigation of Kano PCACC Chairman

    A coalition of prominent civil society groups dedicated to combating corruption and promoting transparency and accountability is closely monitoring the alleged investigation of Barrister Muhyi Rimingado, Chairman of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (Kano State PCACC), by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

    The statement, jointly signed by Olanrewaju Suraju of HEDA, Anwalu Musa Rafsanjani of CISLAC, David Ugolor of ANEEJ, Ibrahim M. Zikrullahi of CHRICED, and Muhammed Attah of PRADIN, underscores the coalition’s commitment to tracking developments in this case as they unfold.

    The coalition expresses concern that this probe follows the PCACC’s inquiry into alleged financial misconduct during the previous administration led by Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who currently serves as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The coalition stands in support of Chairman Muhyi Rimingado, believing that he will emerge unscathed from the investigation.

    In their official statement, the coalition commends the EFCC and CCB for their efforts to uphold transparency and accountability. They call upon these agencies to conduct their duties with unwavering professionalism and integrity, free from political interference.

    The statement emphasizes the importance of an impartial and thorough inquiry into recent developments surrounding the investigation of the Kano State Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman. The credibility and reputation of the Kano State PCACC depend on demonstrating transparency and fairness in its internal processes. All parties involved are urged to collaborate closely and adhere strictly to established legal procedures.

    The anti-corruption groups further call on the Kano State Anti-Corruption Commission, the EFCC, and the CCB to foster a spirit of collaboration in their individual anti-corruption pursuits. Timely cooperation between these agencies is crucial to addressing historical and current allegations of corruption promptly and diligently.

    By working together, these organizations can significantly contribute to a governance framework in Kano State characterized by transparency and accountability. For these groups, the commitment to eradicating corruption goes beyond mere rhetoric; it represents a shared conviction that eliminating corruption is fundamental to sustainable development, social justice, and the overall well-being of society.

    The coalition remains optimistic that the involved agencies will uphold the highest standards of professionalism and make substantial contributions to the realization of a corruption-free Kano State while holding former public office holders in the state accountable for their actions before the Kano State Anti-Corruption Commission.

  • Reps frown at N81.2bn spent by Green Wall Agency to plant trees

    *Expresses displeasure over conflicting financial reports by CBN, OAGF

    The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the utilisation of ecological funds released to the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) has uncovered N81.2 billion allegedly spent to plant 21m trees in 11 states.

    The investigation is from 2015 till date. Hon.  Isma’ila Dabo, the Chairman of the Committee in Abuja, decried the persistent of environmental challenges in spite of funds put into the programme.

    He said the funds put by the Federal Government and international partners necessitated the investigation.

    He said the committee would embark on, on-the-spot assessment tour to all the projects executed under this scheme to ascertain the claims.

    He said the committee was not out to scandalise any individual or organisation but only to ensure that public funds were utilised for the purpose they were given.

    “We will not shy away from pointing fingers where necessary, not out of personal animosity but simply in the national interest of our nation.”

    The 11 states where the trees are planted are: Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.

    The committee expressed displeasure over conflicting financial reports submitted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) to the committee.

    Piqued by the inability of the agency to substantiate most of the tree planting projects carried out so far, the committee said 80 per cent of trees planted by the agency did not survive.

    Meanwhile, the documents submitted by the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein showed that the total sum of N19.378 billion was released from the derivation and Ecology Accounts to the agency from Feb 2019 to date.

    Responding to questions from the committee, NAGGW Managing Director, Dr Yusuf Bukar, said the Great Green Wall Act was signed by Mr. President in 2015.

    He said it enabled the agency to implement the Nigerian component of the programme as an initiative of the African Union being implemented in 11 African countries.

    This according to him, is to address the problem of land degradation, desertification, drought, climate change and livelihood of affected communities.

    He saud the agency planted 1 million trees in Borno, Yobe and other states, adding that N2.4 billion was released in the first phase and N7.3 billion released in the second phase.

    He added that the fund accruing into the agency’s account included 15 per cent of the ecological fund for the Great Green Wall, contribution of fund from the natural resources development fund and gifts.

    Others include loans and grants in aid from national bilateral, multilateral organisations and donors, international and development agencies as well as individuals.

    He said that the agency often got funds from donor agencies; however, he did not provide relevant documents on the amount received so far.

  • HEDA writes NNPCL, seeks clarity on $3bn naira stabilisation loan 

    The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has initiated a formal information request to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL). 

    According to Chairman of HEDA Resource Centre, Olanrewaju Suraju, the request pertains to the recent acquisition of a $3 billion emergency crude oil repayment loan.

    HEDA Resource Centre is a preeminent non-profit organization devoted to championing transparency, accountability, and robust governance in Nigeria,

    He said, “This action is aligned with the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, 2011, underscoring HEDA’s unwavering dedication to ensuring judicious resource utilization and safeguarding the nation’s interests.”

    The obtained loan, secured from the African Export-Import Bank (AFRIEXIM), is intended to fortify the Naira and reinforce the foreign exchange market. Concurrently, HEDA acknowledges the potential merits of this endeavor while simultaneously expressing apprehensions about its possible implications for Nigeria’s economy, natural resources, and future prospects.

    Furthermore, the civil society group is keen to understand the specific oil grades or categories being utilized for the negotiation of the loan; the exchange rate to dollar being employed in the terms of the agreement for the crude oil repayment loan; and providing the quantity of oil that is being sold or used as collateral for this particular transaction.

    Manifesting its vigilant oversight role in managing public resources, HEDA through its Freedom of Information has presented a series of pertinent inquiries to NNPC, designed to elucidate the ramifications of the $3 billion crude oil repayment loan. The organization’s overarching objective is to acquire a comprehensive comprehension of the motivation behind the deal and its plausible effects on Nigeria’s economic landscape.

    “As champions of accountability, we firmly believe that these inquiries will serve to illuminate the rationale underpinning the recent loan agreement, along with its potential ramifications for our nation’s economic well-being and overall prosperity,” 

  • Economic Reforms: BudgiT tasks Tinubu on transparency, accountability

    BudgiT, a civic tech organization, is advocating for the implementation of a transparency and accountability plan to ensure the fulfillment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitments.

    This call follows President Tinubu’s national broadcast on July 31, 2023, addressing the prevailing economic challenges in the country.

    During his speech, President Tinubu unveiled various measures to address the economic crisis.

    Notably, he announced a budget allocation of N75 billion from July 2023 to March 2024 to support 75 promising manufacturing enterprises with N1 billion credit each.

    These credits would carry a 9 percent interest rate for long-term loans spanning up to 60 months and 12 months for working capital.

    BudgiT, in a statement signed by its Communications Associate, Nancy Odimegwu, emphasized the importance of transparent execution.

    The organization highlighted President Tinubu’s commitment to stabilize staple food prices by releasing 200,000 metric tonnes of grains and 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer and inputs to farmers.

    Moreover, President Tinubu outlined plans to bolster Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through an N125 billion investment.

    This initiative includes allocating N50 billion as a Conditional Grant to support 1 million nano businesses and dedicating N75 billion to assist 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups.

    Additionally, the introduction of affordable Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-fueled buses, backed by an N100 billion investment, and collaboration with labour unions to establish a new national minimum wage were outlined in the plan.

    While acknowledging the substantial effort to navigate the intricacies of the economic crisis arising from fuel subsidy removal, BudgiT stressed that the successful execution of these commitments hinges on transparent planning and robust accountability mechanisms.