Abu Umar 

Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has on Tuesday vowed that his administration will not tolerate any breach of peace, political thuggery or disruption of stability ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Governor Mohammed stated this while addressing members of the State Executive Council in Bauchi.

He said his administration’s collaboration with security agencies has restored peace, allowing citizens to farm, go to school and live freely, and warned that such peace must not be compromised for politics.

“As we approach the election cycle, our security apparatus must remain hyper-vigilant. We will tolerate no breach of peace, no political thuggery and no disruption to the stability of our dear state,” he declared.

The Governor said the government will continue to support security agencies with accommodation, vehicles and logistics to maintain impartiality and effectiveness.

He also warned against last-minute abuse of due process as political temperature rises, insisting that adherence to public procurement laws and financial regulations must be watertight.

“We will leave behind an administration defined by transparency, not last-minute lapses in due process,” he said.

The Governor directed that no bureaucratic delays or lackadaisical attitudes should be entertained, stressing that time is of the essence to solidify his Bauchi Project agenda.

Our Reporter 

BudgIT has raised the alarm over the low budget implementation by state governments, revealing that despite pocketing a whopping ₦11.38 trillion from FAAC in 2025, they had spent a paltry 24.4 per cent of their combined ₦35.22 trillion 2026 budgets by the end of June.

The Country Director of BudgIT, Vahyala Kwaga, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the launch of the 11th edition of the organisation’s State of States Report, titled ‘From Allocation to Impact: Rethinking State Spending Priorities’.

Kwaga said the figures represent an increase of over 232 per cent from the ₦3.43 trillion they received in 2022. 

He said the figures showed that state governments had received significantly more money in recent years, particularly following the removal of the petrol subsidy, which increased the revenue shared among the federal, state and local governments.

According to Kwaga, an analysis of 34 states showed that their combined revenue rose from about ₦4.99 trillion in 2022 to ₦15.53 trillion in 2025, while their share of money from the Federation Account increased from ₦3.43 trillion to ₦11.38 trillion within the same period.

Despite the increase in revenue, Kwaga expressed concern over the gap between budgetary allocations and actual expenditure, noting that although the 34 states had collectively budgeted ₦35.22 trillion for 2026, only ₦8.60 trillion had been spent by the end of June, leaving a large part of their planned spending yet to be carried out. 

Kwaga said the figures raised questions about how state governments were using the additional money available to them and whether the increased revenue was leading to better roads, schools, hospitals, jobs and other basic services for residents.

“State governments now have access to resources at a scale that should create greater opportunities to address longstanding development deficits. 

“But what have these additional resources meant for the people of our states? How much of this increased fiscal capacity is finding its way into better public services, stronger infrastructure and improved human development?” Kwaga queried 

Speaking further, the BudgIT Country Director explained that the organisation had revised its methodology for assessing state fiscal performance to place greater emphasis on the quality of public spending and its impact on development, rather than relying largely on conventional indicators such as revenue growth, expenditure and debt sustainability.

He noted that the previous assessment framework examined states’ ability to meet operating expenses through Internally Generated Revenue, annual IGR growth, debt sustainability, debt servicing, personnel costs and the balance between capital and recurrent expenditure.

According to him, while those indicators provided useful information about the financial health of states, they were insufficient to determine whether government spending was producing tangible benefits for citizens, including better schools, functional healthcare facilities, improved livelihoods and essential services.

Kwaga said the revised methodology would pay closer attention to investments in critical sectors, including health, education, agriculture, water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as actual expenditure and the implementation of budgeted projects.

“This year, we are introducing a substantially revised methodology that expands the scope of our assessment beyond conventional measures of revenue growth, expenditure and debt sustainability. We are placing greater emphasis on the quality and developmental orientation of public spending, including how states allocate resources to critical sectors and whether those investments are translating into actual implementation. 

“This tells us that the conversation cannot end with how much money states receive or how much they budget. We must also examine how effectively they deploy the resources available to them, what they prioritise and whether their spending is delivering the outcomes that citizens need.

“This  is  precisely  why  our  revised  methodology  places  greater  emphasis  on  the  quality  and developmental orientation of public spending. We are looking more deliberately at state investments in critical sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and water, sanitation and hygiene. We are also examining  actual  expenditure  and  the  implementation  of  budgeted  projects,  because  what  is appropriated on paper must ultimately translate into something tangible.” He said

The Country Director further urged Nigerians, civil society organisations, journalists and policymakers to use the report’s findings to strengthen public scrutiny of state finances, assess the performance of elected officials and demand greater accountability in the management of public resources.

He said the 11th edition represented an important shift in subnational fiscal accountability, stressing that the report should serve not merely as a ranking of states but as an opportunity for governments to identify areas of progress, address shortcomings and learn from one another.

Our Reporter 

The Senate on Tuesday rejected suggestion that the Federal Government should  revive the Nigeria Airways as a national carrier. 

The rejection followed deliberation on a motion titled “Enforcing the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) sponsored by 

Sen. Monguno, Mohammed Tahir (Borno North) at plenary.

Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North) had moved as an additional prayer to the motion, the need to complete the Federal Government to have a befitting national carrier by reviving the defunct Nigeria Airways. 

Senator Sunday Karim (Kogi West) seconded his prayer but when the presiding officer, Senator Godswill Akpabio put the prayer to voice voting, the thunderous shout of ‘Nay’ rented the the hallowed chamber. 

However, the three prayers sought by the sponsor of the motion were unanimously carried by senators present at plenary.

The Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development to negotiate with the Chinese government how to facilitate direct flights from Nigeria to China  by airlines operating in the country.

The Senate also urged the Ministry to renegotiate the commercia terms and operational schedules of the existing Nigeria-China Bilateral Air Service Agreement,BASA.

The Red Chamber as well urged the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to initiate diplomatic talks with Chin. regarding business visa facilitation for Nigerian traders and reciprocal slot allocations to China Airports; and

Sponsor of the motion, Sen. Monguno, had earlier noted  that the Administration of late former President Muhmmadu Buhari, Nigeria-China signed a Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) to establish direct commercial air link and govern flight frequencies;

He also noted that the volume of trade between Nigeria and China reached $18 billion in the first half of 2025 (a 35% increase year-on-year building on a total of $28 billion recorded in 2026;

“Aware that BASA instrument is intended to establish direct scheduled Nigeria China flight that would transform Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja from mere origin/ destination points in to the primary gateway linking west and Central Africa to East Asia;

“Also aware that the population of Nigerians in China is more than 1000,000 people, while that of China in Nigeria is more than 5,000,000 and this has generated the interest of China in Nigeria because it is Africa’s most populous nation and largest economy, offering massive markets on African continent;

“Further aware that the benefits of enforcing such Bilateral agreement will reduce drastically travel time and increase supply chain velocity, retention of Foreign Exchange (capital flight reduction), aeronautical revenues for Nigerian gateways, increase commercial SME Growth and Non-oil export expansion, accelerated perishable exports among other benefits;

“Appreciates that the utilization of BASA between Nigeria-China will actualize the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Ahmed Bola in facilitating the ease of doing business in Nigeria, enhance, Bilateral and diplomatic relationship create massive employment both direct and indirect jobs and, open up export opportunity;

“Acknowledges that what is urgently required to enforce such a fantastic Air Agreement lies across Executive Policy instrument from the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Customs Service; and

“Notes that enforcing the BASA instrument between Nigeria China, the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the NCAA hold direct regulatory levers by enforcing strict BASA Reciprocity, rationalize sixth- freedom competition, Bilateral code-share mandates, temporary Airport fee waivers, direct Naira settlement window using the existing Bilateral currency Swap framework, by-passing US dollar, among other enforcing mechanism,” the motion further read.

Upon granting of all the prayers sought for in the motion, the Senate mandated  the Committees on Aviation and Foreign Affairs to ensure compliance and report to the Senate with 4 weeks.