1. Two years after the Supreme Court ordered the direct payment of federal allocations to local government councils, implementation of the landmark financial autonomy judgment remains stalled despite N10.48tn being allocated to the third tier of government within the period, findings by The PUNCH have shown.
An analysis of Federation Account Allocation Committee reports, with data from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation collated by The PUNCH on Monday, showed that local government councils received N10.479tn between the July 2024 and June 2026 FAAC meetings.
2. Hopes that political parties could secure more time to conduct their primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections were dashed on Thursday after the Court of Appeal upheld the Independent National Electoral Commission’s, INEC guidelines for the electoral process. The ruling restores INEC’s timetable and effectively closes the door on calls for an extension of the deadline for the conduct of primaries.
3. President Bola Tinubu has approved the extension of the Fourth Legacy Highway by an additional 400 kilometres, increasing the length of the strategic road corridor from about 700 kilometres to approximately 1,100 kilometres, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, announced on Thursday.
The minister also disclosed that the President approved the reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway with reinforced concrete pavement, the completion of the abandoned Ibi Bridge in Taraba State, the construction of the 5.76-kilometre Lau Bridge, and the dualisation of an additional 400 kilometres of the East-West Road.
4. A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, on Thursday, ordered a final and permanent forfeiture of some exotic properties linked to socialite, business woman and oil mogul, Aisha Achimugu, to the Federal Government. Justice Jude Onwugbuzie of the FCT Court, granted the order while giving a judgment on the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, seeking court’s nod for the final forfeiture of the properties.
5. The controversial Director-General of the Presidential Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, Adeniyi Adeyemi, is currently detained at the headquarters of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS. It was gathered that Adeyemi, who was flown to Abuja after he was arrested by members of the police Intelligence Response Team led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police, has been undergoing a series of interrogations.
6. The Independent National Electoral Commission is considering conducting a comprehensive audit of its electoral technology systems and staging a mock presidential election as part of efforts to strengthen preparations for the 2027 general election. INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery, during a courtesy visit to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
7. The Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Thursday, described late Miss Mary Habila, a staff member who died at the minister’s residence in Uburu, Ebonyi State, as “like a daughter” to him. Habila, a nurse with the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences, Uburu, died on June 27, 2026, in a guest house located within the minister’s residence in Umunaga, Uburu.
8. Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has filed a N15bn defamation suit against Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, over allegations that he demanded a 48 per cent kickback from a N27.3bn take-off grant approved for a federal agency. In the suit, Gbajabiamila is seeking N10bn in general damages, N5bn in aggravated damages, N200m as the cost of the action.
9. One of the leading figures in the African Democratic Congress coalition and former All Progressives Congress chieftain, Salihu Lukman, has suspended his membership of the party and the opposition coalition. He accused former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, of orchestrating the hostile treatment and political marginalisation that forced him to quit.
10. The family of Deacon John Olaleye, one of the two teachers killed by terrorists during the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, has appealed to the Federal Government and Governor Seyi Makinde to help recover his remains for a dignified burial. The deceased’s elder brother and widow made the appeal days after the rescue of the 39 pupils and five surviving teachers who spent 56 days in captivity.
