₦airaland Forum

A Japanese man spent 10 years saving to buy a Ferrari, only for it to go up in flames just an hour after it was delivered

IMF Warns Nigeria Against Reckless Spending As Tinubu Budgets N6.1Billion For Foreign Trips In 2025

This development comes amid concerns about government expenditure under the Tinubu-led administration.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Nigeria must prioritise discipline in government spending.

Davide Furceri, Division Chief in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF, stated this during the 2025 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.

Furceri noted that Nigeria has made past fiscal adjustments but stressed the importance of continued discipline in government expenditure, TheCable reports.

"Nigeria managed to do a very difficult reform that was important in delivering fiscal savings,” he said.

“We understand that many countries, including Nigeria, face pressing spending needs. But spending must be done wisely, which means stronger prioritization and greater efficiency in resource allocation,” Furceri added.

This development comes amid concerns about government expenditure under the Tinubu-led administration.

The Nigerian government has been criticised for excessive spending on international travel.

Previously, a review of Nigeria's 2025 approved budget by SaharaReporters revealed that President Bola Tinubu planned to spend N6.1 billion on international travel in 2025. The budget also includes N873 million for local travel, bringing the total to N7 billion for the year.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kashim Shettima is set to spend N1.314 billion on international travel and an additional N417.488 million on local travel in the same year.

This comes amid growing concerns over the cost of the presidency’s travels, especially in light of Nigeria's economic challenges and limited revenue.

Previously, SaharaReporters reviewed data from the Open Treasury Portal showing that the Tinubu-led presidency spent N36.3 billion on international travel in 2024. According to the State House expenditure breakdown, N12.2 billion was allocated to "international travel and transport (training)," while N24.19 billion went to "international travel and transport (other)."

Local travel expenses were also significant, with N15.8 billion allocated for "local travel and transport (training)" and N31.2 billion for "local travel and transport (other)." According to the Open Treasury Portal, the combined expenditure for local and international travel amounted to N83 billion.

Amid criticisms of the presidency’s travel expenses, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, defended the trips.

During a recent live broadcast on Channels TV, Tuggar asserted that President Tinubu should undertake even more international travels.

He emphasised the positive outcomes of these trips, noting their benefits to Nigeria's economy. He cited a visit to Brazil, during which President Tinubu reportedly secured $2 million in investments aimed at developing the livestock sector and addressing issues such as the herders-farmers crisis.

"Other countries are chasing after these investments, but President Tinubu was able to secure them for Nigeria," he remarked.

Ambassador Tuggar further argued that the benefits outweigh the costs.

"I would rather say we are not travelling enough; we should do more. Nigeria has the money. How much does travelling cost compared to the benefits?" he said.

If You Know This Guy, You Are A Legend

Fact about ladies who dress like this?

Fact about this fan? 😂

The apex body of Igbo lawyers in Nigeria, Otu Oka-Iwu, has criticised the composition of the recently constituted Presidential Committee on the 2025 National Population and Housing Census, accusing the Federal Government of marginalising the South-East and South-South regions.

In a statement issued on Monday, the group expressed “utter disappointment, deep concern, and unreserved condemnation” over what it described as the deliberate exclusion of the two geopolitical zones from the critical national assignment.

According to the statement signed by the President of Otu Oka-Iwu, Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, and the Secretary, Chief Ben Ihesiulo, out of the seven members appointed to the census committee, five are from the South-West, while the remaining two are from the North Central and North-West.

The group noted that no representative was drawn from either the South-East or the South-South.

“This is not just an omission; this is a clear and calculated act of marginalisation,” the group said. “It reinforces the entrenched and widening pattern of exclusion and systemic discrimination against the Igbo people and our neighbours in the South-South region.”

The lawyers stressed that a national census is more than a statistical exercise, describing it as a deeply political and economic process with long-term implications for resource allocation, political representation, and national development.

“It defines who counts, and who is counted,” they said.

They warned that the exclusion of the South-East and South-South amounted to a rejection of the constitutional principles of federal character, equity, inclusion, and justice.

“We cannot, and will not, be spectators in our own country,” the group declared.

Otu Oka-Iwu called for the immediate reconstitution of the Presidential Census Committee to reflect Nigeria’s true federal character and ensure the inclusion of competent representatives from the South-East and South-South.

The group also issued a stern warning that failure to address the perceived injustice could lead to widespread resistance.

“We will not hesitate to mobilise our people across Igbo land and the South-South to resist and reject any enumeration or census process carried out under such a flawed and exclusionary framework,” they stated.

The group urged traditional rulers, political leaders, civil society organisations, religious bodies, and the international community to intervene and demand a reversal of what it described as a “grievous error.”

“The unity of Nigeria cannot be built on selective inclusion and calculated injustice. There can be no peace where there is no justice,” it added.

Kano Hisbah demolishes “healing water” site

The Kano Hisbah Board has demolished the “healing water site” located in Hotoron Arewa in the Kano metropolis.

Recall that the site had attracted thousands of residents and visitors from the neighbouring states, who came seeking divine or spiritual healings.

The Director General of the board, Abba Sufi, confirmed the demolition of the place to the PUNCH Online in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

“The place was demolished on Monday, April 21 after we discovered that some disgruntled elements are using the place to mislead desperate patients seeking treatment,” Sufi said.

He maintained that the board would not allow some ‘undesirable elements to mislead people in the name of getting treatment for whatever ailments’.

Sufi warned Kano residents and those coming from other places to disregard what is being said about the sanctity of the place, describing it as a scam.

He added that the place had been demolished.

What is this building used for?

KingAzubuike:
Obi cubana is richer than femi ote$ and adenuga combined

Kehinde and Taiwo Ogundipe: Twins Who Share One Wife

In 1978, a magazine called Drum published a story about twins Kehinde and Taiwo Ogundipe. They were married to the same woman, who already had a baby with them.

One of the twins explained their decision, saying: "We wanted to show the world that just like one man can have many wives, twins can share things to show we're one.

God made us to be together in everything we do.

#Myafrik

I was totally displeased with Enugu airport runway repairs — Keyamo

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), has voiced his strong disapproval of the rehabilitation work carried out on the runway of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, describing it as substandard and unsafe.


In a statement posted on his official X handle on Saturday, Keyamo announced that the federal government decided to shut down the airport’s runway for two weeks starting April 22, 2025, to address critical safety concerns.

“Dear compatriots, we have been compelled to take this decision to close the runway of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for two weeks starting from April 22nd, 2025, in order to carry out major repair works on it, he stated.

The minister noted that although the airport underwent a significant year-long rehabilitation in 2019, the core issue of waterlogging was never effectively resolved. According to him, this oversight has led to persistent cracks and potholes on the runway, which now threaten the safety of passengers.

“Unfortunately, when we came to the office, we discovered that the waterlogged part of the runway was not properly constructed to take care of the problem, leading to constant cracks and potholes on the runway. These obviously put the lives of the travelling public at great risk,” he said.

Keyamo, who visited the site personally, said he was totally displeased with the contractor’s work.

“I personally visited the airport some months after assuming office and expressed my total displeasure with the work done by the contractor,” he revealed.

Keyamo said that despite ongoing palliative repairs, the condition of the runway has worsened to the point where the cracks have turned into “craters,” prompting the urgent closure.

“We have been carrying out constant palliative works on it, but the problem has not abated, and the cracks on the runway are becoming craters,” he added.

While apologising to the public for the inconvenience, Keyamo assured that flight operations would be rerouted to neighbouring airports during the repair period.

“We sincerely apologise to Nigerians over this development as the airport is our major international gateway in the Southeastern part of Nigeria.


“In the meantime, scheduled flight operations to Enugu will be diverted to other neighbouring airports. We are going to work tirelessly to meet the timeline in order to mitigate the inconvenience this closure will cause the travelling public,” he said.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) announced the temporary closure in a statement issued by its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah.

If you remember this picture, you are almost an ancestor.....they made us fear this picture back in those days when we were innocent souls.......... Share you experience if you ever had similar experience

We4all:
You can be rich and still act like a low class. His friends are 'low class money miss road men'.

Veteran Nigerian rapper Eedris Abdulkareem’s protest track, “Tell Your Papa,” has recorded a remarkable milestone despite being banned by the National Broadcasting Commission.

The song, which criticises President Bola Tinubu’s administration, has gathered the attention of several Nigerians and has been making waves on social media.

According to the statistics on YouTube, ‘Tell Your Papa’ has 22,754 views on YouTube with 1,200 likes and the video numbers have since skyrocketed to 82,138 views and 2,600 likes, on YouTube too, indicating a surge in popularity amid the controversy.

On Spotify, the song has also reached a notable milestone with over 30,116 streams, indicating that Nigerians are still streaming the song despite the ban.

The NBC sparked criticism after it banned “Tell Your Papa” from airplay on April 10.

The commission cited a breach of broadcasting code, but, Eedris Abdulkareem responded by condemning the government for suppressing dissent and constructive criticism.

He likened the ban to the censorship of his iconic hit “Jaga Jaga” in 2004, accusing the current administration of being “insensitive and vindictive”.

Abdulkareem took to Instagram to express his views on the ban, stating, “It’s obvious that in Nigeria, truth and constructive criticism is always deemed a big crime by the government.”

The ban was also faulted by the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, which predicted that the ban would be counterproductive and make people want to stream it more.

Similarly, in a statement on Sunday, Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka also condemned the NBC over the ban, describing it as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.

In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, on Sunday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.

He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is a member, should also go under the hammer.”

The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.

Soyinka urged the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”


Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.

“The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.

Some fans have also reacted to the ban on the song.

A fan on YouTube, Sheggzyunited, wrote, “Naija government, this is 2025, for goodness sake. There is no single lie in the song.”

Asa Anthony also wrote, “They were too quick to ban it because the message was well passed. We mount on streaming platforms and social media.”

A user on Instagram, directorjoelmatt, said, “Our government don’t like the truth.”

I and other tenants have been paying 1.3M as R£nt for the past three years to the caretaker of our house.

The landlord visited us recently without the idea of the caretaker, and we decided to plead with him to reduce the house rent to 1M

Atanda, you won't believe that the landlord was sh0cked to hear that we are paying 1.3M

He claims that what the caretaker sends to him is 500k each, and that is what he told him to collect from us.

Well, he said we shouldn't worry that he will handle the situation and our next rent will be 500k

What i want to know now is that
Can i take up a case of Fr(a)ud up with the caretaker so that he will R£fund me my balance of 800k for 3 years, which is 2.4M??

US court orders FBI, anti-drug agency to release investigation dossiers on Tinubu

The judge, Beryl Howell, made the order on Tuesday, saying that protecting the information from public disclosure is “neither logical nor plausible.”


The United States District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered top US law enforcement agencies to release confidential information generated on President Bola Tinubu during a “purported federal investigation in the 1990s.”

The judge, Beryl Howell, made the order on Tuesday, saying that protecting the information from public disclosure is “neither logical nor plausible.”

An American, Aaron Greenspan, had filed a suit in June 2023 under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) against the Executive Office for US Attorneys, Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

In his complaint, Mr Greenspan accused the law enforcement agencies of violating the FOIA by failing to release within the statutory time “documents relating to purported federal investigations into” President Tinubu and one Abiodun Agbele.

Between 2022 and 2023, Mr Greenspan filed 12 FOIA requests with six different US government agencies and components seeking information about a joint investigation conducted by the FBI, IRS, DEA, and the US Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Indiana and Northern District of Illinois.

According to Mr Greenspan, the records being requested involved charging decisions on the activities, including money laundering, of a Chicago heroin ring that operated in the early 1990s.

In each FOIA request, the American sought criminal investigative records about four named individuals “allegedly associated with the drug ring: Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lee Andrew Edwards, Mueez Abegboyega Akande, and Abiodun Agbele.”

After the requests, all five US agencies issued “Glomar responses”, refusing to confirm or deny whether the requested records exist.

Mr Greenspan contested those responses at the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy (“OIP”). The OIP, however, affirmed the agencies’ refusal to confirm or deny the existence of the requested records.

The American then filed a lawsuit on 12 June 2023, naming the FBI, DEA, IRS, EOUSA, and Department of State as defendants and challenging each agency’s response to the separate FOIA requests.

Court documents show that the CIA was later added as a defendant in the First Amended Complaint, along with a challenge to that agency’s glomar response to the plaintiff’s FOIA request.

On 20 October 2023, Mr Greenspan filed an emergency motion seeking a hearing to compel the US agencies to immediately produce records responsive to his FOIA requests. He cited the Nigerian Supreme Court’s plan to begin hearing arguments in three days’ time in a litigation contesting Mr Tinubu’s 2023 election as the President of Nigeria.

Three days later, on 23 October 2023, Mr Greenspan’s emergency motion was denied for failing to “satisfy any of the requirements for emergency injunctive relief.”

Also on that same day, President Tinubu moved to intervene in the case, citing his privacy interests in his “confidential tax records” and “documents from federal law enforcement agencies that fall within the Privacy Act or exceptions to FOIA and should not be disclosed.”

In 1993, Mr Tinubu was said to have forfeited $460,000 to the American government after authorities linked the funds to proceeds of narcotics trafficking.

The issue of Mr Tinubu’s forfeiture of the funds featured prominently at the Presidential Election Petition Court when his opponents, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, challenged the president’s eligibility to contest Nigeria’s presidency. But the election court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed the suits, affirming Mr Tinubu’s election.

However, on Tuesday, Judge Howell ruled partly in favour of Mr Greenspan in the US case.


The judge noted that the ‘Glomar’ responses asserted by the FBI and DEA are “improper and must be lifted.” He said the FBI and DEA failed to show that they properly invoked FOIA.

Mr Howell said since it was acknowledged that Mr Tinubu was a subject of an investigation involving both the FBI and DEA, “the claim that the Glomar responses were necessary to protect this information from public disclosure is at this point neither logical nor plausible.”

‘Why the FOIA request should be granted’
Explaining his judgement further, Mr Howell establish that a FOIA requester may challenge the propriety of an agency’s Glomar response in two ways: first, by “challeng[ing] the agency’s assertion that confirming or denying the existence of any records would result in a cognisable harm under a FOIA exemption,” and, second, showing that the agency “has ‘officially acknowledged otherwise exempt information through prior disclosure,” meaning that the agency “has ‘waived its right to claim an exemption with respect to that information.”

In this case, the judge said Mr Greenspan asserts both types of challenges to defendants’ Glomar responses: “The plaintiffs’ argument that (1) DEA has officially confirmed investigations of Agbele’s involvement in the drug trafficking ring, (2) the FBI and DEA have both officially confirmed investigations of Tinubu relating to the drug trafficking ring, (3) any privacy interests implicated by the FOIA requests to the FBI and DEA for records about Tinubu are overcome by the public interest in release of such information, and (4) the CIA has officially acknowledged records responsive to plaintiff’s FOIA request about Tinubu.”

Meanwhile, the CIA has the judgement entitled in its favour in this case. The judge ruled that Mr Greenspan has failed to show that the “CIA has ever officially acknowledged the existence or nonexistence of records responsive to his FOIA request. therefore, the CIA’s Glomar response must be sustained.”

Tinubu and Agbele’s records cleared for release
Five of Mr Greenspan’s FOIA requests are still at issue in the parties’ pending cross-motions for summary judgement.

During the hearing, the plaintiff agreed to narrow the issues for summary judgement briefing to defendants’ Glomar responses, redactions, and withholdings as to Mr Tinubu and Mr Agbele only.

This is why in its judgement, the judge ordered that the remaining parties, apart from CIA, to file jointly, by 2 May, a report on the status of any outstanding issues in this case, as described in the accompanying order.

How drug ring member was busted and link to Tinubu
Part of the documents submitted by Mr Greenspan to court to back his FOIA case was a verified complaint and accompanying affidavit, filed in the Northern District of Illinois by the DOJ on 26 July 1993.

The documents sought the civil forfeiture of Mr Tinubu’s funds held by First Heritage Bank allegedly connected to the drug trafficking investigation.

The affidavit by Department of Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Special Agent Kevin Moss, who was involved in the investigation, detailed the drug trafficking activities of Mr Agbele which provided the ground for seeking the forfeiture of Mr Tinubu’s funds. It also shared insights into how Mr Agbele was arrested while selling white heroin to a person not known to him to be an undercover agent.

It stated that upon arrival in the United States, “Agbele identified Akande (who has also been linked to Mr Tinubu) as his uncle and stated that Akande provided him (Agbele) an apartment in Hammond, Indiana,” citing “investigating agents of DEA” as the source of this information.

Furthermore, he said according to DEA investigators, Mr Agbele sold white heroin to another individual on numerous occasions.

With the assistance of “Source A”, DEA called Mr Agbele to purchase a small amount of white heroin,” which resulted in a transaction where “Agbele sold one ounce of white heroin to a law enforcement officer working in an undercover capacity.”

Subsequent to this sale, “Agbele was arrested and agreed to cooperate” with the investigation.

The affidavit also states that further investigation by DEA disclosed a lease application completed by Mr Agbele.

Mr Moss’s affidavit confirmed that both the FBI and DEA investigated Mr Tinubu in the wider probe into the drug trafficking activities of Mr Agbele and other members of his ring.

It confirmed that “there is probable cause to believe that funds in certain bank accounts controlled by Bola Tinubu were involved in financial transactions” in violation of US laws “and represent proceeds of drug trafficking.”

It stated that seeking to target Mr Tinubu’s funds arose from “investigation of money laundering of the proceeds of a heroin distribution organisation in the Chicago area.” The clues relied on were said to include “information provided by Special Agents of the IRS, DEA, (and) FBI.”

Tinubu Government Faults Christian Clerics Who Testified Before US Congress On 'Religious Persecution' In Nigeria

The clergymen had spoken during a hearing on religious persecution in Nigeria, painting a dire picture of Christian communities allegedly facing unchecked violence.


The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government has criticised a social media post by the United States Embassy in Abuja and testimonies by two Nigerian religious leaders before a U.S. Congressional hearing, describing them as “inaccurate” and “misrepresentative” of the country’s security efforts and religious freedom landscape.

In a statement released on Friday and signed by Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government expressed “serious concerns” over the Embassy’s publication and testimonies provided by Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Rev. Fr. Remigius Ihyula.

The clergymen had spoken during a hearing on religious persecution in Nigeria, painting a dire picture of Christian communities allegedly facing unchecked violence.

The statement read, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs observes with concern a recent social media publication by the United States Embassy, Abuja, regarding the security situation in Nigeria and the testimonies provided by Bishop Wilfred Anagbe and Rev. Fr. Remigius Ihyula, on the unfortunate alleged threats that have arisen as a result of their testimonies at the U.S. Congressional Hearing on Religious Persecution in Nigeria."

While affirming the constitutional right of the religious leaders to express their views, the Ministry emphasised that their testimonies amounted to a misrepresentation of the complex realities of Nigeria’s security challenges.

“Though their testimonies misrepresent facts and oversimplify a deeply complex national challenge, the religious leaders are entitled to their opinions, freedom of expression, and association as enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution,” the Ministry stated.

The government also pushed back against claims that it had allowed religious violence to escalate unchecked, calling such accusations “both inaccurate and unfair.”

According to the Ministry, “The government has consistently taken decisive actions, including deploying security forces to areas affected by communal violence, engaging in peace-building efforts between farmers and herders, strengthening intelligence operations to track down criminal elements, and implementing policies to address root causes, including land use reforms and economic development initiatives.”

“It is important to state that, while challenges remain, it is incorrect to suggest that the Nigerian government has been inactive or indifferent,” the statement continued.

“The reality is that Nigeria is fighting multiple security threats, including banditry, terrorism, and organised crime, all of which affect different communities irrespective of religion.”

In a firm rebuttal of any suggestion of religious bias or persecution, the government rejected the narrative presented during the U.S. Congressional hearing, particularly the characterisation of the violence as an “Islamist extermination” of Christians.

“The government will continue to prioritise the protection of the lives and property of its citizens regardless of faith or ethnicity while strengthening national and international cooperation in the fight against insecurity,” the Ministry said.

“We therefore call for responsible reporting that reflects the full complexity of the challenges at hand and promotes constructive dialogue rather than polarisation.”