There were times in Nigeria when the President would present a budget to the national Assembly and they would seriously debate it.
I recall that during Bukola Saraki’s era, the Senate spent four good days debating the 2016 budget at first reading. It was rigorous, thorough, and engaging.
The senators at the time were not exceptional nor were they corruption-free. However, they showed a bit of serious effort in the discharge of their legislative duties. Nigerians could see genuine opposition!
Now, all we have are a bunch of stomach-infrastructure hustlers, who think and act solely according to the dictates of their groaning stomachs.
This explains why Tinubu presented a budget to them yesterday and all they could do was sing “On Your Mandate” and bow to the Emperor.
They would spend the next few days padding the so-called budget with fictitious figures. No issues outlining, meticulous study, or exhaustive debate!✍️
NORTH WEST DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION: A Region’s Future on Hold!
By Salihu Tanko Yakasai.
A few weeks ago, the South West Development Commission, working with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, announced an MoU to link all six states of the region by rail. The project will rely on statutory allocations, contributions from state governments and private-sector funding. The plan is now being prepared for presidential approval, and it’s hard to imagine it won’t sail through quickly.
That announcement, which could reshape the South West when fully implemented, made me turn to my own region and ask what progress the North West Development Commission has made since its establishment earlier this year. What I found was worrying.
Of all the six geopolitical-zone commissions, the North West is the only one without a functioning management structure. The Managing Director remains the sole appointee. There are no Executive Directors, no departmental heads, and not even temporary support staff to run basic operations. A board has been appointed, yes, but we all know the board’s role is oversight. The real work happens within management, and that management does not exist.
Funding is another major problem. Like the other newly created commissions (South West, South South, South East, and North Central Development Commissions) the NWDC has not received its statutory allocation (Eventhough it occasionally receives supports from here and there). It raises a basic question: why establish new institutions only to deny them the resources required to function? How is the NWDC expected to deliver on its mandate without the financial capacity to act?
To make matters worse, internal tension between the Board Chairman and the Managing Director is already slowing down the commission. There have been reports of the chairman inserting himself into the day-to-day running of the agency, which is clearly the responsibility of the MD. Routine decisions, such as choosing a temporary secretariat on Murtala Mohammed Way—a strategic and secure location near Bompai Police Command—have become contentious. Approvals for submissions from the MD have also faced delays. These issues are troubling for an institution that has not even begun full operations.
Yet, despite all this, the NWDC has drafted proposals across its core mandates: infrastructure, security, agriculture, human capital development, health and others. These ideas will never move beyond paper unless the foundational problems are solved.
For the commission to take off, the region needs decisive intervention. The management structure must be completed immediately, with Executive Directors and departmental heads appointed without further delay. The Federal Government should also release the statutory funds meant for the NWDC so it can establish a functional secretariat, hire staff, and begin implementing its proposals. And just as important, the roles of the Board and the MD need to be respected: the chairman provides oversight, while the Managing Director runs day-to-day operations in line with the Act that created the commission.
Just as crucial is the need for mediation among the leadership to resolve the ongoing friction that has already slowed progress. A small behind-the-scenes intervention by North West governors and other respected regional leaders could reset the relationship between the chairman and the MD. The commission should also adopt a transparent, public-facing approach by publishing short-term, mid-term and long-term action plans, in order to build trust and allow citizens to track progress.
This is why the North West must act decisively. Our governors, federal legislators, senior political leaders and other stakeholders need to step in quietly and fix these issues before the commission becomes another dormant institution. Other regions are already demonstrating what their commissions can achieve. The North West cant afford to fall behind because of avoidable internal dysfunction!
HOW TO IDENTIFY THEM AND THEIR HYPOCRISIES👇🙄
1. They want to have Christian Governors in Nasarawa, Kwara, Kogi, Kaduna, and Gombe, but they don't want to see a Muslim governor in Benue, Plateau, and Taraba📌
They believe there are indigenous Christians in Bauchi, Kaduna, Gombe, Kogi, and Nasarawa, but they don't believe there are indigenous Muslims in Benue, Plateau, and Taraba📌
They want to have hundreds of churches in federal universities where Muslims dominate, like Kashere, BUK, KASU, UDUS, and ABU, but they don't want to have a single mosque in Uni Jos, Benue (Mkar), Taraba, and Kwararrafa University📌
They want to lecture in all those universities, but they don't want any Muslim to lecture in any of their universities, including in the Muslim areas📌
They want to impose rulers in Muslim states, but they don't want to see any Muslim Emir in any of their states📌
They want to get Admission in ABU Zaria But They don't want to give Admission to Muslims in UniJos📌
Please don't follow Paul, Follow the true teaching of Jesus Jesus, as he said:
Mark 12:31:
"Love your neighbor as yourself.
God knows why He has brought us together as Muslims and Christians in Nigeria. Let us be tolerant of one another and coexist peacefully. No matter how many Muslims you kill, they will not be finished, and the same applies to Christians.
God knows why he created Heaven and Hell, each most get their food from either of the two, so rest your minds 💯
@ShelongGabriel You people are mad honestly do you even read what was written on the paper ? Because of your low IQ and low mentality you allow one lunatic and bigot brainwashed with fake content. Your hatred for islam no be small ooo but that how you will die insha Allah
@osazenoo The president is the of commander of all arm forces. Therefore it is only the president and chief of army staff that can command an army officer not a governor or minister
#TheseAreYourLeaders Episode VI.
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
Former Governor of Kebbi State (2015–2023), Senator (2009‑2015), currently serving as Nigeria’s Minister of Budget and National Planning (appointed 2023).
Bagudu is named in multiple publicly available U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) documents as an associate and a bagman of Sani Abacha and his sons in a conspiracy to embezzle, misappropriate and launder hundreds of millions of dollars of public funds from Nigeria.
In one scheme the DOJ complaint alleges the government of Nigeria was caused to purchase Nigerian government bonds at vastly inflated prices from a company controlled by Bagudu and Mohammed Abacha, generating an illegal windfall of more than US $282 million for Bagudu and Mohammed Abacha.
In addition, Bagudu is alleged to have participated in extortion of “more than US $11 million” from a French company and its Nigerian affiliate in connection with payments on government contracts. The DOJ further states that Bagudu and others laundered the proceeds through U.S. financial institutions and high‑risk offshore trusts.
A 2020 repatriation agreement mentioned that the U.S. was seeking to enforce forfeiture of “over US $177 million” in additional laundered funds held in trusts naming Bagudu and his relatives as beneficiaries. A 2020 investigation by TheCable reports that Bagudu agreed, via settlement, to return about US $155 million worth of assets in a deal with the Nigerian federal government.
During his governorship in Kebbi State, Bagudu was alleged to have used state contracts and infrastructure projects to favour associates and companies linked to him or his family, raising concerns about conflicts of interest and transparency (implied in the CISLAC and other reports). The linkage to the Abacha looting allegations and offshore financial structures also raises questions about the integrity of his financial dealings both prior to and during his time in office.
His current ministerial role places him in charge of national planning and budget allocation. The joke of it all.
These are your leaders.
Highest number of Scammers: Southern Nigeria
Highest number of Prostitutes: Southern Nigeria
Highest number of Drug dealers: Southern Nigeria
Highest number of Ritual Killers: Southern Nigeria
Highest number of Human traffickers: Southern Nigeria
Highest number of terrorists: Southern Nigeria
But any small thing they will shout the north and Sharia are the problem? Crazy bigots.
@bamiroken@Abubakar_YZ The level of how low your mentality is how can someone go to the church where he is fully aware that they are of Christian fate and shout allahu akbar or otherwise does it even make sense to you. You people are mad honestly.