General
Reps Donate March, April Salaries to COVID-19 Efforts
By Adedapo Adesanya
Members of the House of Representatives have donated all their salaries for the month of March and April 2020 to fight the COVID-19 that has so far infected 139 persons in Nigeria.
This information was communicated in a footage shared by Speaker of the lower chamber of the National Assembly, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, via his twitter page, @femigbaja on Tuesday.
“We have in the House of Representatives jointly committed in contributing 100 percent of our salaries for the next two months to the fight of COVID-19 in Nigeria,” Mr Gbajabiamila said.
He said the donation will be used to provide for the welfare of the front-line medical professionals and health workers and other interventions to provide for the well-being of Nigerians through this trying time.
“Accordingly, I have directed the Clerk to the National Assembly to see to it that all members’ salaries are transferred to the National Relief Fund for this month and the next.
“This is independent of ongoing individual efforts by members to alleviate the suffering brought on by this virus and to improve the living conditions of citizens in their various constituencies,” the lawmaker from Lagos said.
Mr Gbajabiamila further said members of the parliamaent have urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make cash grants to the 774 local government areas in the country to alleviate the suffering of the masses.
“The House also calls on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as part of its Policy Measures in Response to the COVID-19 outbreak, to immediately direct cash grants to the seven hundred and seventy-four (774) Local Government Area administrations in the country to provide food and other essentials to at-risk individuals and communities,” he said.
The Speaker implored Nigerians to adhere strictly to the guidelines given by relevant authorities to prevent further spread of the disease, saying Nigeria could not afford to have a large-scale outbreak of the disease.
“This crisis has exposed in the worst possible way the evident weaknesses of our health system. After this is over and moving forward, we must do everything in our power to ensure that we will never again come upon a moment such as this, as ill-equipped as we are now.
“The transmission of this disease at a scale for which our systems are not prepared is our biggest present threat. We alleviate that threat by self-isolating. The bad news of this disease is that everyone is a potential victim, but the good news is that everyone is a potential solution,” he said.
The donation is coming a day after members of the upper chamber of the legislative arm of government announced the decision of its 109 members to contribute 50 percent of their salaries to the efforts to respond to the spread and treatment of coronavirus in the country.
Also, Nigerian government had last week Thursday approved a N10 billion grant to fight the spread of coronavirus in the country while donations have also been made by businessmen, citizens, and other institutions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Rabiu Kwankwaso, disclosed that Mr Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, signed agreements committing himself to serving only one four-year term if elected in 2027.
Mr Kwankwaso explained that the documents comprised a formal agreement involving the political party and a separate personal accord between himself and Mr Obi.
According to Mr Kwankwaso, the deal stipulates that the presidency will return to Northern Nigeria in 2031 upon the completion of an Obi-led administration’s four-year tenure, if elected next year.
“We have agreed to formalise it in writing,” Mr Kwankwaso stated. “We have executed one document for the party and another between the two of us,” he revealed during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today late on Monday.
He reiterated that Mr Obi would honour his pledge and resist pressure to seek a second term, expressing confidence in the former Anambra State governor, noting that his interactions had convinced him that he would respect the agreement.
“I personally believe him, and, based on what I now know about him, I do not believe he will change his mind when the time comes,” he said. “We are all gentlemen.”
Mr Kwankwaso added that he and Mr Obi would continue to collaborate after the proposed administration completes its term.
“The agreement is that after four years, we will continue to work together as a group, as a party, and as friends and brothers,” he said. “After our four-year term, from 2027 to 2031, power returns to the North. That is the consensus.”
The former defence minister did not state that he would be the NDC presidential candidate in 2031; his comments referred broadly to the presidency returning to the North, rather than to his personal political ambitions.
Mr Obi has repeatedly pledged to serve only one term if elected; however, he has yet to publicly confirm the specific details of the documents described by Mr Kwankwaso.
In the 2023 Presidential polls, Mr Obi was the Labour Party presidential candidate while Mr Kwankwaso contested on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Over 1.14 million hectares of degraded land have been restored by the Nigerian government, with more than 1.5 million trees planted across the country in the past year.
This information was revealed by the Minister of Environment, Mr Balarabe Abbas Lawal, at the 2026 Top Management Retreat and National Tree Planting Campaign in Maiduguri, Borno State.
He said these achievements were made through initiatives of the federal government like the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project and the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.
According to him, the restoration of the land and the planting of trees demonstrate a clear national commitment to securing environmental sustainability while advancing economic growth.
The Minister reemphasised that the environment is not an abstract concept, pointing out that “it is the air we breathe, the land that feeds us, the rivers that sustain communities, and the climate that shapes the future.”
He praised Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State for his giant strides in the environment sector in the state, urging other state governors to emulate him by providing sponsorship for their students to the various Federal Colleges of Forestry Resources Management institutions located across the six geo-political zones of the country to encourage and boost Forest education in the country.
He described the decision of Mr Zulum to sponsor 540 indigenes of the state to a forestry college in Maiduguri as commendable.
Mr Lawal also informed the participants of the programme that the Presidential Executive Order on the Prohibition of Exportation of Wood and Allied Products, 2025, is a key policy instrument under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying it protects Nigeria’s forest resources, curbs illegal logging, and encourages tree planting as a national duty.
He pledged the Federal Ministry of Environment’s continued partnership with state governments on afforestation, ecosystem restoration, and other interventions tailored to their needs.
“Nigeria’s environmental future can be secured by protecting natural heritage, strengthening climate resilience, and advancing inclusive and sustainable development for present and future generations,” he declared.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) says it has probed the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, concerning its investigation into the activities of a purported Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC).
The commission stated that it invited Mr Gbajabiamila to help establish how the organisation operated for about two years from within the Federal Secretariat in Abuja, despite not being established by any law or presidential proclamation.
It said Mr Gbajabiamila fielded questions from investigators when he visited its headquarters in Abuja on Monday, but failed to give more details regarding his revelation.
“Mr Gbajabiamila arrived at the Commission in the afternoon and spent some time attending to enquiries from investigators, after which he departed the premises,” said Mr Okor Odey Head, Media and Public Communications of the ICPC, in a statement on Tuesday.
The agency clarified that Mr Gbajabiamila was not arrested, stating that his appearance “was on the invitation of its investigators and consistent with its ongoing efforts to gather all relevant facts in the matter.”
“He was not arrested; he simply willingly honoured an invitation,” the statement added.
“Investigations continue, and further updates will be communicated as appropriate.”
The ICPC statement came a day after Mr Gbajabiamila’s lawyer, Mr Jiti Ogunye, announced on Monday that he had appeared before the commission’s investigators.
Mr Ogunye said Mr Gbajabiamila visited the commission at about 3.00 p.m. on Monday, in full cooperation with the ICPC, acting as directed by President Tinubu.
“My client gave his testimony, responded to questions accordingly, and has returned to his duty post,” Mr Ogunye wrote.
Mr Tinubu ordered the ICPC earlier this month to investigate the fake agency scandal and submit its findings within 30 days.
The federal government disowned the PFIPC as a fraudulent entity allegedly operated by Mr Adeniyi Adeyemi, who is accused of posing as its director-general.
The scandal came to public attention after Mr Adeyemi allegedly claimed that he paid N400 million in bribes to facilitate the establishment and operation of the purported agency, including money paid to an individual he believed was Mr Gbajabiamila. Using official government documents, the organisation allegedly secured office space at the Federal Secretariat, obtained budgetary allocation, opened accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria and employed public servants.
Mr Adeyemi was recently apprehended by the Nigerian Police Force.
