Compilations of top 10 key latest updates that you need to know this Saturday morning, 20th December, 2025
We will show terrorists, sponsors no mercy – Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu has vowed that his administration will show no mercy to terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and their sponsors.
He also declared a renewed offensive against violent crime as part of a sweeping reset of the country’s security architecture.
Tinubu made the pledge while presenting the N58.18tn 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on Friday.
Hours earlier, the Federal Executive Council approved the budget framework at an emergency meeting presided over for the first time by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Nigerians want impact, not figures, Natasha speaks on Tinubu’s ₦58.18trn budget
The senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has urged President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the proposed ₦58.18trn 2026 Appropriation Bill delivers a measurable and positive impact on the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
Reacting to Tinubu’s budget presentation at the joint sitting of the National Assembly on Friday, the senator described the session as significant but cautioned against an overemphasis on headline figures at the expense of outcomes.
Akpoti-Uduaghan also warned that fiscal size alone cannot resolve the country’s deep-seated development challenges.
“Of all the lengthy speeches, one line by Mr President struck me deeply.It’s not the size of the budget but the quantum of impact felt by Nigerians,” she said.
The lawmaker noted that while the projected ₦58.18trn spending plan reflects the scale of Nigeria’s economic ambitions and structural problems, citizens are far more concerned with how government spending translates into tangible improvements in their daily lives.
Oyo approves conversion of 654 officers across cadres
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has approved the conversion of 654 officers across various cadres in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of the state.
In a statement on Friday, issued by the state Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, made available to the journalists in Ibadan, the Chairman, Civil Service Commission, Kamoru Aderibigbe, stated that the beneficiaries are officers in sub-officer cadres, ranging from junior to senior levels.
He added that the affected officers had enhanced their qualifications by acquiring relevant and approved courses from recognised tertiary institutions.
“The approval would not only lead to improved remuneration for the affected officers, but will also provide them with the opportunity of attaining the peak of their careers within the civil service,” Aderibigbe said.
He urged the beneficiaries to regard the gesture by Governor ‘Seyi Makinde as a special privilege and to reciprocate it with increased dedication, diligence, and commitment to service.
Pastor Chris Okafor: Drama unfolds in another Nigerian showbiz saga
The Nigerian social media sphere is ablaze with a fresh show biz saga.
Actress Doris Ogala has taken to the internet to accuse Lagos based Pastor Chris Okafor of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministry of reneging on a marriage promise.
She says the cleric, with whom she began a relationship in 2017, asked her to leave her ex husband with the assurance that they would marry.
After nine years, Okafor proposed to another woman, leaving Ogala “shattered.”
Ogala launched a public campaign, granting interviews and posting videos to share her story and seek sympathy.
The pastor, perceived as a “ladies’ man,” went ahead and married his partner Pearl, prompting mixed reactions.
Ogala’s legal team, Synergy Law Partners, issued a demand letter dated 16 December, seeking N1 billion in damages for breach of promise.
The letter cites introductions to the pastor’s family, public appearances, WhatsApp chats, banking records (including a N45 million transfer) and other evidence as proof of a legitimate expectation of marriage.
According to the lawyers, the public announcement of Okafor’s engagement caused Ogala emotional distress, reputational harm and intense online harassment, including the unauthorized circulation of private photos.
The pastor has been given 21 days to settle before a court suit is filed.
As of now, Pastor Chris Okafor and his legal representatives have not commented publicly.
Security is Tinubu’s priority in N58.18trn 2026 budget
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu yesterday presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill of the sum of ¦ 58.18 trillion to the joint session of the National Assembly.
Christened, “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”, Tinubu said the budget was a culmination of two and a half years of “painful but necessary” reforms aimed at steering Nigeria towards macroeconomic stability, job-rich growth, and inclusive prosperity.
The budget, is 3.87 per cent of the estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with targeted revenue of N34.33trillion to fund the projected aggregate expenditure of N58.18 trillion.
While presenting the budget, Tinubu assured members of the National Assembly that multiple budget implementations will end on the 31st of March 2026 when all contracts executed in the 2025 budgets must have been completed and contractors paid.
The President, in his address to the National Assembly, described the 2026 Appropriation Bill as “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”, stressing that the proposal seeks to lock in recent macroeconomic gains, restore investor confidence and translate recovery into jobs and improved living standards for Nigerians.
After leaving office, Buhari family’s calendar was filled with funerals — Aisha
The final days of President Muhammadu Buhari, after his eight-year reign, were traumatic for the family due to the former president’s serious health challenges.
Buhari was in his eighties when he completed his two terms.
In the book From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Dr. Charles Omole, former First Lady Dr. Aisha Buhari recounts:
“The final days were difficult. ICU for some days, then the ward, then the slide.
The last three days were the worst.”The book quotes Aisha’s account:
“After leaving office, in his final year before passing, phone calls increased and transatlantic trips became more frequent.
The family’s calendar was filled with funerals and flights.
He had gone to the UK, as he often did, to repair a tooth and enjoy the summer air.
She stayed behind in Abuja, mourning a nephew, then returned to London before going back to Nigeria when an uncle died.
”Her account of his illness and death is tender, granular, and unflinching.
He had been a soldier in the bush for 30 months, mostly in the South-South, soaked by rain in uniforms that dried on his body.
Decades later, she believes, the cold had lodged in his lungs and bones—exacerbated by office air-conditioning.
My visit to Kanu not driven by political ambition – Otti
Gov. Alex Otti of Abia has said that his visit to the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in Sokoto Correctional Centre was not driven by political ambition.
Otti spoke on Friday, when the leadership of the Abia Diaspora Commission and the medical team of the Abia Global Medical Mission 2025 visited him at the Government House, Umuahia.
He was reacting to a video circulating on social media, where a certain man was criticising his visit to Kanu.
The governor defended his visit to the IPOB leader, saying that the trip was driven by the need for dialogue and peace.
He said that the video represented differing opinions, which formed part of the democratic system, arguing that disagreement did not automatically make one position right.
Otti also said that he had no intention of contesting any election after completing his tenure as governor.
He said, “One of the issues he raised in the video was my ambition after serving as governor.
PDP will not fail – Party factions assure Nigerians after meeting with INEC
The two warring factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said the party remained on course and would not disappoint Nigerians.
The party’s National Chairman, Tanimu Turaki, made the statements in a separate interview with journalists shortly after the factions met with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.
The embattled National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, also spoke to reporters in a separate interview following the meeting.
“We want to assure Nigerians and indeed our party members that we are on course.“We shall continue to remain on course by the special grace of God,” Turaki said.
Turaki acknowledged that the meeting was held at the invitation of INEC to resolve the lingering leadership crisis within the party.
He said that while his led National Working Committee (NWC) attended the meeting, they discovered that some former PDP members who had previously been expelled were also invited.
APC NEC: Shettima, Akpabio, Abbas rally APC behind Tinubu
Ahead of the 2027 election, the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on Friday rallied support for President Bola Tinubu.
The APC party leaders who gave their support at the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting, at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, called for unity, disciplined expansion and closer legislative, executive coordination ahead of the 2027 general elections.
They said the future and strength of the party revolved around institutional memory, political coalition-building, coherent lawmaking and avoidance of internal fragmentation as the ruling party prepares for a decisive electoral cycle.
Senator Shettima paid a glowing tribute to Tinubu’s political evolution, crediting him with sustaining Nigeria’s opposition structures well before the 2013 merger that birthed the APC.
“You’re so intentional about everything, hence why God gave you an international wife” – Iyabo Ojo praises son-in-law Juma Jux following his Lagos concert
Nollywood actress Iyabo Ojo has penned a sweet note to her son-in-law, Juma Jux, following his recent concert in Lagos.
She expressed how proud and blessed she is to have him.
Iyabo said the success of the show was evidence of the hard work he has put in his craft and work
The mother of two stated that he is intentional about everything, which she loves about him. According to him, he is an intentional son, husband, father, brother, and artist.
She noted how he loves so purely and hard, hence why God blessed him with an intentional and loving wife, who aligns with him.
“My darling son @juma_jux, I can not be prouder than I am. I’m so blessed and proud of you! You gave your all, and the success of the show was evidence of the hard work you put into your craft and work.
You’re so intentional about everything, and I love you for that – an intentional son, husband, father, brother, and artist.
You love so purely and hard!Mom did a great job (to her!), and that’s why God gave you an intentional, loving wife, @its.priscy, who aligns with you.
She’s not just your wife but bone of your bones and flesh of your flesh.
May you both grow old with @rakeem_mk and his future siblings, and may we, your parents, live long to keep seeing both of you break boundaries and do great and mighty things.Love you 3!”.
