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Mr. President, This Is Not a Dilapidated Nigeria: An Open Rebuke of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Extravagant Governance
Mr. President, This Is Not a Dilapidated Nigeria: An Open Rebuke of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Extravagant Governance.
By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared in 2023 that he inherited a “dilapidated Nigeria” from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, many Nigerians expected an urgent shift toward austerity, fiscal discipline, and a governance style that reflects the dire economic realities facing the nation; but what we have seen under Tinubu’s government is not the leadership of a man burdened with fixing a broken country. Instead, it is the portrait of extravagant ruling elites drowning the nation in reckless spending while millions of citizens are crushed under inflation, joblessness, insecurity, and despair.
It is for this reason that Emir of Kano and former CBN Governor Mohammed Sanusi II bluntly told Tinubu: “You do not claim to have inherited a dilapidated economy and then proceed to spend like a drunken sailor.” His words sting with truth and today, Nigerians demand a response beyond media propaganda and deflection.
Extravagant Spending Amid National Hardship
How can President Tinubu justify allocating ₦21 billion to renovate the Vice President’s residence in Abuja and an international conference center built for ₦240 million in 1991 renovated for ₦39 billion, when public universities are struggling to buy basic laboratory equipment and students sleep on floors? If the country is truly dilapidated, why should National Assembly members be gifted ₦70 billion worth of SUVs at ₦160 million each, in the same year citizens are taxed to death for basic services?
Even more appalling is the ₦5 billion budgeted for vehicles for the office of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu (an office that does not exist in the Nigerian Constitution). Is this not fraud with a fancy name?
Then comes the presidential fleet, which received an allocation of ₦5 billion in 2024, while another ₦5 billion was budgeted for a luxury presidential yacht. Let that sink in: a yacht in a nation where nearly 133 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty (according to the National Bureau of Statistics, 2022).
Corruption and Nepotism Masked as Governance
How can we take Tinubu’s reform agenda seriously when he awarded a ₦15 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to Gilbert Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and close ally of the President? Let us remember: Chagoury was once deported under former President Obasanjo for economic sabotage. Today, he’s back in favor; not by merit, but by political convenience.
What about the ₦5 billion allocated to the Presidential Tax Reform Committee headed by Taiwo Oyedele? To date, Nigerians have seen no report, no reform outcomes, just photo-ops, and hollow press statements.
And if things are so bad, why appoint the largest cabinet in Nigerian history (48 ministers) when the Oronsaye Report has already recommended the downsizing and merging overlapping ministries and agencies? What happened to that cost-saving reform?
The Subsidy Scam
Tinubu told Nigerians that he removed fuel subsidies to free up funds for development, but where is the money? How much has been saved and how has it been spent? Till now, there’s no transparent accounting.
On the contrary, after removing the subsidy, pump prices skyrocketed from ₦185/liter to over ₦900/liter in many states. Electricity tariffs followed suit. While Nigerians were told to “tighten their belts,” the government loosened theirs with gold-plated policies and unchecked looting.
Governance Without Empathy
Under Tinubu’s watch, education has become a privilege, not a right. Public university lecturers are owed a backlog of salaries from previous ASUU strikes. Students are being priced out of classrooms by inflated fees. And health? Only the wealthy can afford decent hospitals, while public health institutions resemble war zones.
Food prices have doubled. A 50kg bag of rice now costs over ₦75,000. Tomatoes, which used to be ₦300 per basket, now go for ₦10,000 in some markets. Yet, the President and his vice continue globe-trotting at taxpayers’ expense.
According to BudgIT’s 2024 report, the Tinubu government allocated ₦90 billion for Hajj pilgrimage. Is Nigeria now a theocracy? Should religion be more important than education, health, infrastructure, and human capital?
Meanwhile, each Senator reportedly earns ₦21 million monthly, and House of Reps members pocket ₦13.5 million. These increments were passed under Tinubu’s administration without a whisper of concern for the 133 million poor Nigerians.
The Deceptive “Renewed Hope”
Tinubu’s campaign slogan, “Renewed Hope,” has fast become “Renewed Hopelessness.” Nigerians have seen no signs of a turnaround. Instead, what they see is a system where:
Nepotism thrives: critical appointments are handed to cronies, not technocrats.
Security remains elusive: from Zamfara to Plateau, Benue to Borno, killings are rampant.
Inflation is unchecked: currently at 33.69% (May 2025), according to the NBS.
The naira is weak: trading at over ₦1,500/$1 in the parallel market.
Unemployment continues to soar: youth unemployment stands at 53.4%, the highest in West Africa.
IF THESE AREN’T SIGNS OF FAILURE, WHAT ARE?
Words from the Wise
The late Chinua Achebe once warned, “THE TROUBLE with NIGERIA is SIMPLY and SQUARELY a FAILURE of LEADERSHIP. ” That rings louder now than ever. Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka described our leadership as a “CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE MASQUERADING as GOVERNANCE.”
Even elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark recently declared: “This GOVERNMENT is not BEING SINCERE with NIGERIANS. You don’t REMOVE SUBSIDY and then begin to LIVE a LIFESTYLE of KINGS and EMPERORS.”
In the words of Prof. Pat Utomi: “LEADERSHIP is not about ACQUIRING luxury cars and private jets. It’s about making LIVES BETTER for the AVERAGE CITIZEN.”
Yet, what we see under President Tinubu is the institutionalization of greed. Leaders are getting richer, while citizens can barely survive.
Final Word
Mr. President, the claim that you inherited a “dilapidated economy” is not enough. What matters is what you’ve done with the economy since May 29, 2023. Sadly, the answer is clear: the cost of governance has exploded, the suffering of the people has intensified and trust in public institutions has eroded further.
We demand answers:
Where are the subsidy savings?
Why the jumbo budget for luxuries?
Why ignore the Oronsaye Report?
Why increase electricity tariffs without improved service?y
Why are critical sectors neglected while SUVs are bought in bulk?
Nigerians are watching. The world is watching. This trend must be arrested; urgently. It is time for accountability, not propaganda. If this administration is truly committed to rescuing Nigeria, then start acting like you inherited a failing state and not a treasure chest for elite consumption.
Enough of deception. Enough of waste.
Written by George Omagbemi Sylvester Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
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Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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