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How Tinubu doled out N123billion for COVID-19 in 2023 – Falana

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Femi Falana, foremost social critic and human rights crusader, has urged Nigerians to rise against the current profligacy going on in governments at the national and state governments, by holding officials accountable, to stop them from frittering away the resources of the country while citizens continue to suffer untold hardship.

To underscore how bad the situation has become, Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) informed of how President Bola Tinubu allegedly doled out a whopping N123billion in December last year, for the fight against COVID-19, more than one year after the global affliction, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO), on March 11, 2020, but was declared over by the same world body in May 2023.

But the outspoken lawyer, told an audience at the 2024 edition of the yearly memorial gathering for Beko Ransome-Kuti, the late fearless activist and Falana’s colleague in the civil society advocacy, as captured in a video that has now gone viral on social media that Tinubu shared the whopping amount to the 36 state governors in December outside the statutory Federal Allocation Committee (FAC) revenues that amounted to another N1.7trillion.

Hear him: “In December, this regime of Tinubu, gave our N123billion to governors to fight 2023 to fight COVID-19. Do you know what I’m talking about? Last December, they gave out N123billion to fight COVID-19. Furthermore, and this must be our demand from here – this regime, must – even if we have to go to the streets on this because it is so fundamental – must warehouse the gains of subsidy removal and channel it towards alleviating the poverty of our people.

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“In April last year, what the three tiers of government – Federal Government, state government and the local governments shared was N655billion. When subsidy was removed, since June, according to the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, there’s no month that less than N1trillion was shared. You can quote me on this, in June last year, what they shared was N1.9trillion. People were embarrassed! Where is this money coming from, where did you see this money? They had to save N900billion.

In December last year, you know the governors came to Lagos to celebrate Christmas with Tinubu. That month, what was shared was N1.7trillion. That is apart from the N123billion I just told you. So, if anybody is telling you that Nigerians must sacrifice because there is no money, you know what they telling you is bunkum, bullshit!

“What they should be reminded, is where are the gains of subsidy removal? When we had a situation like this under (Sani) Abacha, as bad as Abacha was, he set up what was known as PTF. The gains of fuel increase then was kept and used to address infrastructural crises in the country. So, this time around, we’re demanding for our rights. Because what they told us is “subsidy is gone!” The gains will be used to address problems of unemployment, of security, of food crisis. But today, the people have been forgotten.”

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Nafiu Gombe: Yes, I have sponsors! *I can’t fight ADC big men alone!

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Nafiu Bala Gombe, the man on whose behalf the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is currently in a prostrate state, has admitted to getting outside help in prosecuting his legal matters against the David Mark camp.

Recall that Mark, former Senate President and Rauf Aregbesola were, last week, derecognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and had their names struck out based on the case filed by Gombe on September 2, 2025.

The commission had relied on the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal, which ordered parties in the case to maintain status quo ante bellum, which it interpreted to mean that it should not deal with either side.

Against the backdrop of the dust the matter had raised across the country, the embattled ADC leadership, had accused the former Deputy Chairman of being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to play the spoiler role to enable President Bola Tinubu have no challenge in the 2027 presidential election.

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Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the Mark camp, had last week, stated this much when he wondered how Gombe, who on his own could not afford an ordinary lawyer, going by his financial status, would now be hiring more than three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to represent him, which would probably run into tens of millions of naira.

Reacting on Tuesday, Gombe admitted getting outside help, but added that such assistance was not coming from government quarters or the APC, but from public-spirited individuals and Nigerians averse to the injustice being meted out to him.

Abimuku Monday, spokesman to Gombe, who spoke during an appearance on Morning Briefs, a breakfast programme on Channels Television, on Tuesday, told his host: “Before now, they were saying these people are big weights and we’re light weights. Now, we’re suddenly being seen as human beings. Earlier, we were seen as nobodies – as boys who don’t have capacity to challenge this in court.

“They say Nafiu Bala does not even have money to pursue his case. You see, that’s how they reduce people by their own estimation. They don’t find out who people. They have forgotten that for you to seek legal actions, there are so many ways to go about it.

“It is either you use your own money or your personal relationship with people. Does it mean that somebody in politics cannot have his own friends or cannot have lawyers as his friend or cannot have other members of the society as his friends.

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“These are not members of the APC. They don’t belong to any party. They’re citizens of this country, who mean well for Nigeria. Nobody is scuttling the coalition. The fact remains that if you have a challenge, people will rally around you knowing it’s a good cause you’re fighting. People will rally around you to give you the necessary support that you need. They even called my principal a small boy.”

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Woman returns N1million discovered in purchased items to owner  

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Serah Luca, a Christian woman, has returned N1 million she unknowingly took along with goods purchased from a trader at Terminus market in Jos, Plateau state capital.

Luca, a petty trader, reportedly said she made the purchase on Friday and only discovered the hidden cash after getting home.

She said her decision to return the money was driven by fear of God and her belief that she could not keep what did not belong to her, especially knowing the hardship that comes with losing money in business.

“I am a petty businesswoman. I know what it means to suffer loss. If I put that kind of money into my business, I believe God would punish me,” Daily Trust quoted her as saying.

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The trader, Abubakar Dola, who deals in polythene bags at Terminus market, expressed surprise at the woman’s honesty, noting that he had no idea where the money went after mistakenly placing it inside the bag she bought.

Dola said he had planned to transfer the cash through a point of sales (POS) operator but became worried when he could not see the polythene bag where the money was kept.

“I mistakenly included it in what she bought. I didn’t realise until days later, and I had already given up hope. For her to return it after three days is remarkable. I pray Allah rewards her and gives us more people like her.”

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Strait of Hormuz: Comply now or you’ll be history – Trump warns Iran

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“The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” were the words with which US President Donald Trump, flashed the redlight signal over what could be the fate of Iran in the coming hours, after a month-old war, which saw leaders of the Islamic nation, all but totally obliterated.

The POTUS, who on Saturday, gave Iran 48 hours to to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic approaches, or comply or risk facing “hell,” later threatened that the US would blow up Iran’s power plants and bridges if Tehran failed to adhere to his warning.

However, in his latest threat on Monday, Trump told reporters that Iran had until Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET (1 am WAT) to make a deal, adding: “We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business – burning, exploding and never to be used again, I mean complete demolition – by 12 o’clock. And it’ll happen over a period of four hours if we want it to. We don’t want that to happen.”

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