General
NIA: $202m Missing, Not $44m—Reps
By Dipo Olowookere
The committee investigating the alleged missing $44 million at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has revealed the actual amount not accounted for is $202 million.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Safety and National Intelligence, Mr Aminu Sani-Jaji, told newsmen on Sunday that the latest discovery was made while the panel was carrying out its duties.
According to him, information was extracted from former DG of the agency, Mr Ayo Oke; the National Security Adviser, Mr Babagana Monguno; and the acting DG, Mr Rufai-Abubakar.
He said under the leadership of Mr Oke, the NIA collected a total of $289 million as intervention funds during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The lawmaker explained that $43 million was part of the money the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) uncovered in Ikoyi in April 2017, while $44 million was moved from the vault of the agency to another location.
However, Mr Sani-Jaji said the committee was unable to get any useful information on the balance of $202 million from the officials, who made appearances before it.
“We had a meeting too with the NSA. We later discovered from our meeting since last week that the $44 million is not missing. For that one, I can tell you they moved the money from one place to another. We are still investigating.
“If we get 60 to 70 percent of what we are supposed to get, then we can tell you. But, for now, I will tell you categorically that the money isn’t missing. They only moved it from the agency to another place, pending when all these issues surrounding the agency would be resolved.
“If you remember, this $44 million is part of the $289 million approved for the then DG, Ayo Oke. You know that in April last year, there was the issue of $43 million found in Ikoyi. He tried to say that the $44 million and the $43 million are part of the $289 million.
“But for us, we are still working to see where the remaining $202 million was placed. We only know about the $43 million recovered in Ikoyi and the $44 million recovered from their vault.
“In the course of our investigation, we will come up with where the $289 million really is, not the $43 million and not the $44 million but the entire amount.
“Yes, for me it is ($202 million) still missing. The money in question is $289 million, and all what the former DG is trying to say is that the $43 million and the $44 million are part of the $289 million.
“If you subtract $43 million and $44 million, where is the balance? That is why we are where we are today, and that is also why we have to intensify the investigation.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development has expressed its readiness to support 150,000 young Nigerians with N110 billion.
The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Lanre Issa-Onilu, disclosed this on Thursday in Kano at the launch of the five nationwide enlightenment campaigns on government policies, national values and identities, security awareness and disaster preparedness.
He said over 600,000 students have so far benefited from the N59 million disbursed under the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) scheme.
The director general, who was represented by Mr Williams Dogo, Director, Legal Services of the agency, said that NELFUND was available to all qualified Nigerians in public tertiary institutions, noting that the sensitisation programme, with the theme Nationwide Sensitisation on Five Thematic Areas, was designed to deepen citizens’ knowledge of government initiatives.
The NOA boss explained that the campaign would highlight the presidential directive on flood mitigation, which provided for the release of N3 billion to each state in 2024 for drainage clearance and relocation of vulnerable communities.
He said that 700 schools had been renovated nationwide as an intervention to improve learning facilities in rural areas, stating that more than 15,000 new security personnel had been deployed nationwide to address diverse security challenges.
“It is our intention to carry out security awareness campaigns reaching no fewer than three million Nigerians in each state through media engagements, advocacy visits to traditional and religious leaders, rallies at markets and motor parks, as well as town hall meetings,” he said.
On national values, he said that reorientation campaign would focus on patriotism, unity and campaigns against extreme graduation practices that contradict cultural norms, adding that the campaign would also familiarise Nigerians with the current national anthem, which was changed by President Bola Tinubu.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigerians will have to cough out more money to obtain their international passports because the Nigeria Immigration Service has increased the fees.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Public Relations Officer of the agency, ACI AS Akinlabi, it was disclosed that the new fees would take effect from Monday, September 1, 2025.
It was disclosed that the 32-page passport with a validity of five years will now to for N100,000 and the 64-page 10-year passport is now N200,000.
The immigration explained that the upward review of the prices was “to uphold the quality and integrity of the Nigerian passport.”
“The review which only affect passport application fees made in Nigeria,” it stressed, adding that, “Nigerian passport application fees made by Nigerians in the Diaspora remain unchanged at $150 for 32-page with 5-year validity and $230 for 64-page with 10-year validity.”
“The service reiterates its commitment to balancing quality service delivery with the need to ensure Passport services are accessible to all Nigerians,” the statement concluded.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday returned to Nigeria after travelling to Japan and Brazil for official functions.
He landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja in the early hours of today almost two weeks after he left the country through same route.
He was received by senior government officials, including the Minister of the FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu; the Governor of Kaduna State, Mr Uba Sani; the Governor of Imo State, Mr Hope Uzodinma; and the Deputy Senate President, Mr Barau Jibrin; among others.
Before heading to Japan for the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama from August 20 to 22, the President, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, he had a stopover in Dubai.
Mr Tinubu precisely travelled out of Nigeria on Thursday, August 14, 2024, for the two-nation trip to Japan and Brazil.
After leaving Japan, he zoomed to Brazil to woo investors and held talks with the Brazilian leader, Mr Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
He was able to convince the country’s petroleum firm, Petrobras, to return to Nigeria after it left a few years ago. He also helped to enable a direct flight from Brazil to Nigeria.
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