News
Revealed! Reps Leader’s N2 billion Constituency projects, lopsided allocation trigger anger at budget defence
The 2025 joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Refional Development on Tuesday at budget defence exposed how the House of Representatives Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvere has allocated to himself projects worth over N2 billion.
Prof Ihonvbere who represents Owan West/East Federal Constituency of Edo State, reportedly cornered the larger chunk of the entire budgetary envelope of N24 billion capital projects for 2025.
The revelation was given by the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh who appeared with his State counterpart, Uba Maigari.
Immediately the revelation began to generate anger among Senators and members of the House of Representatives, especially when it was noticed that there were lopsided allocation of projects with 70% domiciled in Edo State, the panel broke into closed door session to shut out journalists.
CAPITAL POST reports that during the presentation of the 2024 budget performance by the Minister, some lawmakers were uncomfortable, thereby raising curiosity of journalists. At that point, it was discovered that some lawmakers claimed to have been shortchanged as they were no releases for some of their own Constituency projects in 2024 by the Executive arm of government.
Lawmakers raised concerns over non adherence to federal character principles and lopsided nature of the budget which they said favoured Edo State over other states that were supposed to have benefitted from the projects.
Earlier after the Minister’s presentation of the 2024 budget performance of his ministry, a member representing Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency of Imo State
questioned the minister on why 70 per cent of the projects for 2024 were located in Edo State, suggesting unequalled distribution.
Nwogu said, “Mr minister, tell us why most of these 2024 budgets (projects) are situated in Edo State?”
The lawmaker expressed disappointment that other States within the defunct Niger Delta Development Commission were excluded while bulk of the projects went to Edo State.
In similar vein, Hon. Chinedu Ogar, also asked the minister to explain to the committee on why 70 percent of the 2025 proposed projects of the ministry are also located in Edo State, and vowed to reject the proposal.
As tempers began to rise, the House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Regional Development, Eugene Okechukwu, immediately attempted to calm nerves, and urged his colleagues to reserve their questions for a closed session.
Okechukwu said, “We have to be mindful at this point that we have the press men here among us. What we should do now is to go into an executive session, then we ask the press men to leave.”
Journalists were subsequently asked to leave while the committee dissolved into an executive session to interface with the minister on the matter.
Earlier, the minister in his presentation said the sum of N2 billion in the Ministry’s proposed budget for 2025 was reserved as zonal intervention (constituency) projects for the Leader of the House of Representatives, Prof Julius Ihonvbere.
The minister told the committee that the ministry’s total budget proposal for 2025 was N28.9 billion comprising N24 billion for capital projects; N2.7 billion for personnel cost and N1.6 billion for recurrent.
He, however said of the amount, a total sum of N2 billion was reserved as a zonal intervention projects for the Leader of the House of Representatives, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, who hails from Edo State.
The minister lamented that the amount earmarked for the Ministry of Regional Development to address the development needs of the five regional development commissions is inadequate.
He appealed to the joint committee to increase the budget of the ministry to enable it to address the development issues of the regions through the commissions.
The minister lamented that due to inadequate budgetary allocation, the ministry had been facing the challenges of litany of abandoned and uncompleted projects; delay in project completion and poor performance.
We are nearing the endgame leading to an attack on Iran’s nuclear program – or to serious new nuclear negotiations.
US President Donald Trump against backdrop of Iranian missile (illustration).(photo credit: Canva/DavorLovincic, Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker)
It’s been several weeks since US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran giving it two months to arrive with him to a nuclear deal or it would likely face military force.
No one knows exactly how Trump will calculate the deadline: two months from when the letter was sent, two months from when the Islamic Republic received the letter, two months from when it responded, or two months from when talks may start.
But after Trump’s deadline, European countries Germany, France, and England (the E-3), set June as a deadline for Tehran to reach a nuclear deal lest it face global sanctions being snapped back on it according to a provision of the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with the West.
So whether his deadline is early May or closer to early June like the E-3, we are down to one to two months for a new Iran nuclear deal or for some significant interim progress sufficient to extend the deadline.
Why is Iran facing increased pressure on its nuclear program?
The increased tensions are not just based on Trump’s deadline threat.
In recent days, including again on Sunday, Trump threatened Tehran more explicitly with being attacked, including, “bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”
His latest threat was also unusually ambiguous in that some interpreted it not merely as giving Israel a green light to strike the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, but potentially having the US participate as well.
In a different atmosphere this might be seen as a bluff, but Trump has put forth a large and sustained series of airstrikes against the Houthis of Yemen now for multiple weeks.
This, and the fact that Trump ordered the targeted assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the former Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force chief, in 2020, makes the threat of US participation on some level suddenly real.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei not turning the other cheek
Meanwhile, Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not turning the other cheek.
He and his lieutenants have said unmistakably that if their nuclear program is struck by anyone, even if it is “just” by Israel, that they will retaliate by attacking every single US base in the region.
They then went out of their way to broaden that definition to even include bases the US shares with other countries, such as the UK Diego Garcia Base in the Indian Ocean and American bases even in countries like Turkey.
This would be in addition to the more obvious US troops in Middle Eastern countries like Syria, and in addition to attacking Israel and Gulf countries like the Saudis, all of whom Khamenei has ordered attacked in the past.
Iran is signaling in public that it will make no new concessions beyond what it was willing to make to the Biden administration and that it will not negotiate under pressure, but the fact is that it is saying it will consider indirect negotiations at a time that Trump is threatening it will bombing and instituting a host of tougher sanctions.
Khamenei knew that Biden would try to hold Netanyahu back from attacking Iran’s nuclear program as he did on April 19, 2024 and October 26, 2024.
However, he also knows that either Trump will definitely give Netanyahu the green light to attack at some point if there is no deal, or is deeply worried that Trump would approve such a dramatic game-changing strike.
Not only that, but with Iran’s five S-300 air defense systems all destroyed by Israel in 2024, it knows that the Israeli air force’s capability to destroy or deeply harm and delay the nuclear program has moved from a difficult challenge to being close to a certainty.
Also, Khamenei has seen that Israel was able to shoot down most of its hundreds of ballistic missiles on two separate occasions. Does Khamenei really think his threats of a ballistic missile response will block Israel or the US or both from acting?
All of this makes negotiations much more likely.
Real negotiations between US, Iran will have to begin next month
In terms of when Khamenei must start negotiations and by when he would need to agree to a sufficient enough interim deal to gain a further reprieve, this is harder to say.
Probably real negotiations need to start in around the next month.
Reaching an interim deal could drag out longer, until September, given that the global sanctions snapback does not expire until October and that Trump’s deadline was somewhat arbitrary.
But there is no question that we are either nearing the end game leading to an attack on Iran’s nuclear program or to serious new nuclear negotiations which will kick the can down the road a few months, but not much farther than that.
The clock is ticking.
The Honourable Minister of Defence, H.E. Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle extends heartfelt congratulations to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the occasion of his 73rd birthday. The Minister commended the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in the realm of national security, which has been bolstered by the unwavering dedication of the Nigerian Military.
Dr. Matawalle acknowledged the President’s exceptional leadership and decisive actions that have significantly enhanced the safety and security of Nigerians across the nation in a remarkably short period. He stated, “President Tinubu has taken bold and transformative steps that are already yielding positive results in our collective pursuit of peace and safety.”
The Minister emphasized that history will undoubtedly recognize President Tinubu for his courageous and intentional efforts to reset and reposition the country across various sectors for a brighter future. The positive outcomes of these initiatives are becoming increasingly evident.
“On this special occasion of his birthday,” Dr. Matawalle continued, “I, on behalf of my family, the Ministry of Defence, and all Nigerians, wish the President long life, good health, and the fortitude to continue making the courageous decisions necessary for our nation’s development during this pivotal time.”
Your transformative policies strengthens our faith in Nigeria. Mr President, I salute your excellence.
Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo has arrived the ancient city of Kano on a condolence visit over the gruesome killing of 16 hunters on Thursday 27th March, 2025.
The governor was received by his counterpart inKano, Abba Yusugu o Monday afternoon.
Earlier, Governor Okpebholo visited the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau whomis also an indegene of Kano, disclosing that 14 suspects have been arrested in connection with the killing.
According to him, those arrested have been moved to Abuja for further interrogation.
Okpebholo was received in Kano by Governor Abba Yusuf and some of his cabinet members.
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