President Bola Tinubu is set to present the 2025 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, December 17.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio made the announcement during Thursday’s plenary session.

The budget presentation will take place in the House of Representatives chamber.

This follows the submission of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for 2025-2027 to both the Senate and the House last Tuesday.

Akpabio also instructed the Senate Committees on Finance, National Planning, and Economic Affairs to review the MTEF/FSP documents and submit their reports within one week.

The MTEF/FSP outlines key economic assumptions, including a $75 oil price benchmark, daily oil production of 2.06 million barrels, an exchange rate of N1,400 to $1, and a projected GDP growth rate of 6.4%.

The Labour Party (LP) has faced another setback as a member of its caucus in the House of Representatives, Mr. Ajang Iliya, representing the Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency of Plateau State, has defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

This defection follows closely on the heels of the departure of five LP lawmakers to the APC just days ago.

The Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, made the announcement during Thursday’s plenary session, after reading a letter from Iliya.

In his letter, the lawmaker cited the ongoing crisis within the Labour Party and expressed his desire to align with the APC’s national development agenda, led by President Bola Tinubu.

The political landscape is shifting as politicians, especially from opposition parties, begin defecting in preparation for the 2027 elections, raising questions about the future of these opposition parties and the stability of Nigeria’s democracy.

Recent defections have intensified, with 51 lawmakers at the federal and state levels crossing from the Labour Party, New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to join either the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In the past week alone, four members of the Labour Party in the House of Representatives joined the APC, including Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Constituency) and Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna), while others, such as Senator Francis Ezenwa Onyewuchi from Imo East, switched parties citing internal crises within the Labour Party.

This wave of defections also extends to the NNPP, where key figures such as the former national chairman, Professor Ahmed Rufa’i Alkali, and several gubernatorial candidates joined the APC.

The defections from NNPP were fueled by disputes between the party’s leadership, particularly between presidential candidate Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and party founder Dr. Boniface Aniebonam.

Despite Section 68 of Nigeria’s Constitution, which mandates that lawmakers who defect without a valid reason vacate their seats, opposition parties have raised concerns about the defections, accusing the lawmakers of betraying their mandates.

The Labour Party, in particular, has rejected the defections, asserting that the party has resolved its internal issues.

In contrast, some experts believe the defections are part of a broader political strategy to realign ahead of 2027.

Wale Okunniyi of the National Consultative Front (NCFront) emphasized the need for opposition parties to consolidate forces to challenge the ruling APC.

He stressed that current defections are part of the larger political maneuvering for the next general election.

APGA’s founding chairman, Chekwas Okorie, predicted more defections and realignment in the coming year, stressing that such movements will eventually lead to new political coalitions.

As the 2027 elections approach, the fate of the opposition remains uncertain, but realignments are expected to continue as party loyalties shift.

The Kano State High Court, under Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu, has postponed the bribery and corruption case against former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, his wife Prof. Hafsat Ganduje, and six others, to January 13, 2025.

The court will address all outstanding preliminary objections at that time.

During Wednesday’s proceedings, the judge urged all lawyers to maintain professionalism and avoid using “street language” in their arguments, whether in civil or criminal cases.

The remark followed a disagreement in which M.N. Duru (SAN), representing the 3rd defendant, Abubakar Bawuro, objected to prosecution counsel Adeola Adedipe’s (SAN) statement suggesting that the defense was intentionally delaying the case.

Duru called on Adedipe to be more careful with his language, as a respected member of the legal profession. Sanusi Musa (SAN), representing the 5th defendant, Jibrilla Muhammad, supported Duru’s request.

Justice Aliyu reminded all counsel of their duty to uphold justice and professionalism. Adedipe later apologized for his comments and requested a brief adjournment.

He also filed an application to withdraw a counter-affidavit dated October 18, 2024.

The case, brought by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC), involves serious allegations of corruption, bribery, and the misappropriation of billions of naira in public funds.

The accused include Ganduje, his wife, their son Umar Abdullahi Ganduje (Abba), and several companies.

The House of Representatives has passed for a second reading a bill aimed at amending the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, to introduce mandatory counselling and training for individuals convicted of corruption-related offenses.

The bill, sponsored by Hon. Kayode Akiolu, representing Lagos Island II Federal Constituency, seeks to amend Section 67 of the Act by adding three new provisions.

These provisions mandate that judges and magistrates, in addition to sentencing convicts to imprisonment or fines, will require them to undergo a specified period of counselling and training.

Explaining the bill, Hon. Akiolu noted that the mandatory training and counselling would be developed and delivered by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria.

The program, which would last for at least four weeks, aims to address the psychological factors behind corrupt behavior.

Akiolu likened the effort to treating kleptomania, an impulse control disorder, by helping convicts reform and potentially become advocates against corruption.

The bill also proposes that convicts may be asked to cover the cost of their counselling and training, ensuring that there is no additional financial burden on the government.

Akiolu argued that this initiative would align with the criminal justice system’s rehabilitative goals, focusing on reforming offenders rather than just punishing them.

He urged his colleagues to support the bill, emphasizing that it would significantly strengthen Nigeria’s ongoing fight against corruption.

“This bill will foster a culture of accountability and help reduce corrupt tendencies,” he stated.