By Dipo Olowookere

The Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, has left the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mr Fubara, who was restored as Governor of the oil-rich state in September 2025, announced his defection to the APC at a stakeholders meeting at the government house in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

In March 2025, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on Rivers State, suspending Mr Fubara and lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months due to political unrest in the South-South state.

It was gathered that on Monday night, the governor visited Mr Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja for a meeting.

His defection from the PDP comes a few days after 16 members of the Rivers Assembly formally joined the APC due to crisis in the PDP.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to deploy Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin in support of efforts to restore peace and stability following Sunday’s coup attempt.

The Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio, announced this on Tuesday during plenary after lawmakers considered the request in the Committee of the Whole in line with section 5, Part 11 of the Constitution.

The upper chamber of the National Assembly unanimously voted in favour of the deployment, giving legislative backing for the regional security intervention.

Mr Akpabio described the decision as a step in the right direction, noting that instability in any neighboring state poses a threat to the entire region.

“An injury to one is an injury to all,” the lawmaker said, underscoring that it is Nigeria’s responsibility to support its Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) partner.

He said the Senate’s consent letter will be transmitted to President Tinubu immediately.

Earlier, President Tinubu had written to the Senate, seeking their approval for the deployment of troops to the Benin Republic. He said that Nigeria has a historical responsibility to support Benin under the existing Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) security frameworks.

According to the President, the crisis demands “urgent external intervention” to help restore stability and prevent further breakdown of order.

Benin Republic’s attempted coup occurred on Sunday, when some military personnel who called themselves the Military Committee for Refoundation (CMR) took to national television to announce that they had met and concluded that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.

However, the country’s military thwarted the effort and regained control, with aerial support from Nigeria, as per requested.

“The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure,” sources close to Talon said. “It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”

Following the development, ECOWAS said it will deploy a standby force to the area.

“After consultation among members of the Mediation and Security Council at the level of Heads of State and Government, the Chair of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government has ordered the deployment of elements of the ECOWAS Standby Force to the Republic of Benin with immediate effect,” the regional bloc said.

“The Regional Force shall be made up of troops from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Sierra Leone, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, and the Republic of Ghana.

“The Force shall support the Government and the Republican Army of Benin to preserve constitutional order and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Benin”.

Earlier today, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) refuted reports that 11 of its personnel are currently being held by the Burkinabe military regime in Bobo-Dioulasso, southwest Burkina Faso.

It was reported that the Nigerian military officials were captured after their aircraft conducted an emergency landing, alleged to be violating airspace belonging to the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

AES, made up of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, said in a joint statement that the aircraft carrying the 11 military personnel did not have permission to fly over Burkina Faso.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to carry over 70 per cent of their 2025 capital allocations into the 2026 fiscal year.

The directive was contained in the 2026 Abridged Budget Call Circular issued by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and circulated to ministers, service chiefs, and heads of agencies.

The circular said the government had adopted a new framework that caps all 2026 capital budget ceilings at 70 per cent of 2025 project allocations.

Only 30 per cent of this year’s capital budget will be released in 2025, while the remaining 70 per cent forms the foundation of next year’s capital spending.

The notice laid out strict guidelines for preparing next year’s spending plan, including a ban on introducing new capital projects, noting that the administration prioritises completing ongoing projects amid weak revenues and rising fiscal pressures.

It said MDAs must “upload 70 per cent of their 2025 FGN Budget to continue in FY2026” and ensure that all rollover items align with the administration’s priorities—national security, economic growth, education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, power, energy, and social safety nets.

The ministry said the policy is meant to prevent duplication, strengthen continuity and ensure that uncompleted projects are not abandoned, warning MDAs against attempting to exceed their 2025 overhead ceilings in their 2026 submissions, despite inflationary pressures.

“We are constrained by revenue challenges,” the circular said. “While we note the impact of inflation, proposals that exceed approved ceilings will be adjusted downward.”

The directive said the 2026 budget must reflect the strategies in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (2026–2028), the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Plan, the Ward Development Plan and the National Development Plan, as well as the Accelerated Stabilisation and Actualisation Plan.

MDAs must submit their budgets through the GIFMIS Budget Preparation Subsystem, while government-owned enterprises will submit via the Budget Information Management and Monitoring System. All submissions must be completed by Tuesday, December 9, 2025.

Statutory transfers are projected to drop from N3.64tn in 2025 to N3.15 trillion in 2026, while recurrent non-debt expenditure is estimated at N15.26 trillion.

Debt service obligations are set to rise sharply from N13.94 trillion this year to N15.52 trillion in 2026.

Aggregate capital expenditure is projected at N22.37 trillion, down from N26.19 trillion in 2025. Capital allocations for MDAs fall from N12.39 trillion to N8.67 trillion, while project-tied loans will shrink from N3.36 trillion to N2.05 trillion.

The deficit widens significantly to N20.12 trillion in 2026, from N14.10 trillion in the current year.

Personnel costs have already been computed using data from IPPIS and earlier submissions, the circular noted. Each ministry will be informed of its personnel cost ceiling for 2026.

The financial projections accompanying the circular show a more constrained revenue outlook for 2026.

Total funds available to the Federal Government, including GOEs, are projected at N54.46 trillion, down slightly from N54.99 trillion in 2025.