Compilations of top 10 key important updates that you need to know this Tuesday morning, 3rd February, 2026
Big money, small impact: Govs face fire over N9tn FAAC windfall
Despite receiving an estimated N9tn in Federation Account Allocation Committee inflows in 2025, state governors are facing mounting criticism from labour unions, civil society groups and opposition parties over what many describe as a widening gap between soaring revenues and limited improvements in citizens’ welfare.
FAAC allocations to states surged by over N2tn in one year, according to an analysis of Federation Account disbursement data published by the National Bureau of Statistics and collated by The PUNCH, highlighting the scale of the revenue windfall that flowed to subnational governments in 2025 amid higher federation inflows.
The sharp rise has triggered criticism from organised labour and opposition political parties, with the Nigeria Labour Congress warning that higher allocations have failed to deliver meaningful improvements in citizens’ welfare due to weak governance, misplaced priorities, and corruption at the state level.
Civil society organisations have also faulted state governments, accusing them of mismanaging the inflows and failing to translate increased revenues into visible development outcomes, while calling for stronger accountability and oversight.
FG moves to share electricity subsidy costs with states
The Federal Government has moved to end the practice of carrying electricity subsidy costs alone, announcing a framework that will spread the burden across federal, state, and local governments from 2026.
The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a training and sensitisation workshop for ministries, departments, and agencies on the 2026 post-budget preparation process using the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System Budget Preparation Sub-System.
Yakubu said President Bola Tinubu had directed that electricity subsidy costs be made explicit, tracked, and fairly shared across tiers of government, warning that the current approach creates hidden liabilities and recurring crises in the power market.
“If we want a stable power sector, we must pay for the choices we make,” he said.
“When tariffs are held below cost, a gap is created.
That gap is a subsidy. And a subsidy is a bill.”
Father seeks justice over son’s mysterious death inside Lagos hotel
A grieving father, Henry Airenekhuemen, has demanded justice over the death of his son, Mattias, who reportedly drowned in a swimming pool at Signatious Hotel in the Ajao Estate area of Lagos State.
Airenekhuemen, who spoke to PUNCH Metro on Monday, said his deceased son had attended a pool party at the hotel on Saturday evening to sell tickets to earn some money.
He, however, said he received a call from one of his son’s elder brothers that Mattias had been rushed to Isolo General Hospital and that a family member was urgently needed.
He narrated that on arriving at the hospital, he was shocked to see his son’s lifeless body in the car that brought him to the medical facility.
“I was called by one of my son’s elder brothers, who told me that Mattias had been rushed to the Isolo General Hospital and that a family member was needed.
When I got to the hospital, I saw my son’s lifeless body in the back seat of the car that brought him.
No other country sees daily killings like Nigeria – Kukah
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Reverend Matthew Kukah, has expressed concern over the daily killings in Nigeria, describing the situation as unparalleled globally.
Speaking in Yola, Adamawa State, at the launch of a book on Governor Ahmadu Fintiri titled ‘The Man They Could Not Stop’, authored by his former Director General of Media and Communication, Solomon Kumangar, Kukah said the country is divided along religious lines, a situation he said is exacerbated by Western media narratives.
“What is happening in Nigeria cannot happen in Sudan, Cameroon, Niger, Ghana, or any other country in the world,” Kukah said.
“There is no other country in the world that 10 people are killed on Monday, 50 on Tuesday, 100 on Wednesday, and the killings go on every week.
How can such a country move forward?”
He added,
“Only in Nigeria do people die as Christians and Muslims.
The Western media is fuelling the killings along religious lines — 20 Christians killed, 30 Muslims killed.”
FG commences accreditation for appointment of new Perm Secs
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on Tuesday announced the commencement of the accreditation exercise for the selection of five new Federal Permanent Secretaries.
According to a statement released by the Director of Press at the OHCSF, Eno Olotu, the exercise followed the approval of President Bola Tinubu.
Olotu noted that the process is designed to fill existing and impending vacancies for candidates originating from Adamawa, Bayelsa, Enugu, Kano, and Ogun.
2027: Zamfara APC, PDP crises open door for smaller parties
As the 2027 general elections draw nearer, prominent politicians in Zamfara State are preparing to contest for the governorship position to secure the most exalted seat in the state.
More than 10 people from various political parties are currently vying for the governorship position in the state.
However, unlike in the previous years where the success or failure of a candidate was determined by the popularity of a political party he or she belonged to
The 2027 general élections will be much different in the state, considering the fact that both the APC and PDP are facing major setbacks that could jeopardise their chances of winning the elections.
There are strong indications that both the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the opposition All Progressives Congress in the state might not win the 2027 governorship election due to a number of factors affecting them as a result of intraparty crises.
Nobody can predict the political party that has the capacity to win the governorship election in the state in 2027, going by the internal and external crises affecting all the parties.
However, political analysts are of the view that the next governor could be from one of the smallest parties that has no national recognition.
According to the analysts, the incumbent governor of the state, Dauda Lawal, whose party, the PDP, is currently battling an internal crisis, might be forced to dump the party and join another in a bid to actualise his second term bid.
He might decide to join the APC as widely speculated, but this is a political suicide, according to analysis, because the party is filled to capacity in Zamfara, and also facing serious challenges due to intraparty squabbles.
PDP fixes national convention for March 28 in Abuja
The Abdulrahman Mohammed-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has fixed March 28 and March 29 for the party’s national convention in Abuja.
The party made this known in a communique issued at the end of the 105th meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC) on Monday night.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the communique was read by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Haruna Mohammed, at the end of the meeting, held at the official residence of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in Abuja.
In the communique, signed by Mohammed and the National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, the party also slated ward and local government congresses for February and State congresses for March.
It said that the party’s NEC had directed the NCC, in collaboration with the National Organising Secretary and relevant organs of the party, to issue detailed guidelines, notices and modalities for the conduct of the congresses.
Dollar to Naira exchange rate today, February 3, 2026
The Nigerian Naira maintained a stable trajectory against the United States Dollar during the Tuesday morning trading session, February 3, 2026.
Following a resilient performance at the start of the week, the local currency continues to trade within a consolidated range as market participants react to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) latest macroeconomic indicators.
In the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), the Naira opened the trading day at approximately 1,391.00 per dollar.
By mid-morning, the rate experienced minor fluctuations, with the dollar trading at 1,400.54.
Petrol, cooking gas prices fall year-on-year in December — NBS
Petrol and cooking gas prices declined year-on-year in December 2025, signalling a broader easing of household energy costs, according to separate reports released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Data from the bureau showed that both Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly used for cooking, and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol, recorded notable price reductions compared with December 2024, alongside modest month-on-month declines.
The NBS noted that while the downward trend was evident across most states and geopolitical zones, prices still varied significantly by location.
State of education: Nigeria paying heavy price for underfunding sector – Prof. Osinbajo
Former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has lamented the current state of education in Nigeria, saying that the country is “paying a heavy price” due to the neglect of its schools, which he described as “broken” and “underfunded.
”This is just as he emphasised the vital role foundational education plays in shaping future leaders.
Osinbanjo, who spoke on the theme:
“Building generational strength for educational institutions in Nigeria,” was the guest lecturer at the 94th Founders Day celebration of Igbobi College, Lagos on Monday.
Reflecting on his own experiences, Osinbajo shared,
“The discipline of waking up at 5:30am and the ‘lights out’ rules in secondary school, that actually built great leaders.”
“The habits that sustain adults are formed in school, not improvised later in life.”
