General
Low Budget Allocation Affecting our Performance—Aregbesola
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Ministry of Interior in Nigeria headed by former Governor of Osun State, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, has appealed to the National Assembly to increase its budget allocations to enable it to carry out its mandate creditably.
Mr Aregbesola, during an oversight visit to his office in Abuja by the House of Representatives Committee on Interior, said if this issue can be addressed, the coordination of paramilitary agencies under the ministry would be effective, leading to a more organised Nigeria with good security architecture.
“This is a very big ministry with a very small headquarters. We are working very hard with the resources at our disposal to ensure that we are able to fulfil those mandates that have been given to us.
“Recent events in Nigeria have heightened the need for improved funding of internal security,” the Minister, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, disclosed.
“For some years now, the ministry has had to work to deliver and coordinate the activities of her agencies with a really very low budget line. The result of that is that the coordination has not been as effective as it should be.
“However, there have been recent improvements and we will look forward to working with you and with your cooperation and guidance, to be able to have more resources to execute our mandate,” he said.
According to the Minister, in the 2020 fiscal year, the Ministry of Interior has been able to achieve about 95.69 per cent budget performance.
“For the year ended 2019, we had a capital appropriation of N721 million only for which performance was 100 per cent. The overhead was N350.8 million and the expenditure performance for that was also 100 per cent.
“On personnel, we had N2.96 billion for which performance was 99.7 per cent.
“Overall, the ministry of interior (headquarters) had a 99.75 per cent budget performance for the year ended 2019.
“For 2020, the capital appropriation for the headquarters of the ministry up till September 30, 2020, was N2.61 billion and expenditure performance so far has been 94.26 per cent.
“Also, N607.8 million was for overhead, with an expenditure performance of 90.14 per cent. For personnel, we had N915.3 million and we have 99.94 per cent performance on that.
“So far, for 2020, we have achieved 95.69 per cent performance,” the Minister told the visiting lawmakers.
He explained the inability of the ministry to conclude recruitment into the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) as well as the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), saying the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the exercise recently.
Mr Aregbesola, however, said that the ministry has concluded plans with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to conduct a Computer Based Test for candidates who have been shortlisted.
Earlier, Chairman of the committee, Mr Nasiru Sani Zango-Daura, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Emmanuel Ukpon-Udo Effiong, said the oversight visit was necessary as the nation prepares for the 2021 budget.
He said; “In preparation for the 2021 budget exercise, the House Committee on Interior resolved to embark on an oversight tour of all the ministries and agencies under its legislative and oversight jurisdiction to ascertain the level of implementation of their 2019 and 2020 appropriation.
“Following the receipt of your 2019 and 2020 budget performance reports, we communicated our intention for an oversight visit in order to have an on-the-spot assessment of the said implementations.
“The House Committee on Interior is here on a fact-finding and not a fault-finding mission”.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
