Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms, saying the removal of fuel subsidy and other measures have increased the state’s monthly allocation from the Federation Account from about ₦4.5 billion to approximately ₦16 billion.

Governor Sule made this known in Lafia while receiving members of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors National Media Tour, led by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

The team, made up of presidential media aides and more than 50 senior journalists, is touring North-Central states to inspect federal and state government projects and assess the impact of government policies on development.

According to Sule, the increase in federal allocations has provided Nasarawa State with greater financial capacity to execute major infrastructure and development projects.

He explained that before the reforms, the state received between ₦3.8 billion and ₦4.5 billion monthly from the Federation Account, limiting the government’s ability to undertake major capital projects.

The governor said the situation changed significantly following the economic reforms introduced by President Tinubu.

“Today, we are beginning to see the benefits because the resources available to us have increased tremendously,” Sule said.

He acknowledged that the removal of fuel subsidy and other reforms initially created economic difficulties for Nigerians, but praised President Tinubu for having the political courage to take what he described as difficult but necessary decisions.

Sule said the President “took the bullet” on behalf of the states and local governments by implementing reforms that ultimately freed up additional resources for the three tiers of government.

He also stressed the importance of effective communication in helping citizens understand government policies, particularly when such policies create short-term difficulties but are intended to strengthen the economy in the long run.

The governor said the increased revenue had enabled his administration to undertake major projects in road infrastructure, industrialisation, education, healthcare and water supply across Nasarawa State.

He further assured the visiting media team that his administration remained committed to transparency in the use of public funds.

Sule, who said he came from the private sector, explained that his administration publicly announces the cost of government contracts to enable citizens to monitor expenditure and assess the value being delivered.

Media Team Inspects Projects

During its tour of Nasarawa State, the Renewed Hope Ambassadors National Media Team inspected several completed projects executed by the state and federal governments.

Among the projects inspected was the multi-billion-naira Nasarawa State Secretariat, which houses the Ministries of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Justice.

The team also inspected the 1-megawatt solar farm powering the state secretariat along Shendam Road.

Other projects visited included the completed 16-kilometre Makurdi bypass in Lafia, which connects Nasarawa and Benue states; the Wing Commander Abdullahi Ibrahim Vocational and Skills Acquisition Centre; the Shinge Waterstorm Channel; and the completed Kilema Bridge along the Lafia-Doma Road.

Governor Sule described the media tour as an important opportunity for Nigerians to see government projects directly rather than relying solely on official statements.

He said the visit would allow members of the public to assess the extent to which the Renewed Hope Agenda is translating into tangible development at the grassroots.

The governor expressed optimism that continued implementation of the Federal Government’s economic reforms would further improve the financial position of states and enable them to undertake more transformative projects.

Onanuga Defends Tinubu’s Economic Reforms

Speaking during the visit, Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, commended President Tinubu for implementing reforms that he said successive administrations had recognised as necessary but failed to undertake.

Onanuga recalled that President Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy immediately after assuming office in 2023 and subsequently introduced the floating of the naira and ended the system of multiple official exchange rates.

He acknowledged that the reforms initially contributed to inflation and widespread hardship but argued that the measures were necessary to free up government resources.

Onanuga also commended Governor Sule for supporting the reforms at the time they were introduced.

He recalled that Sule had publicly defended the President’s decision, saying Tinubu had effectively taken responsibility for difficult economic decisions that would ultimately benefit the states and local governments.

According to Onanuga, the reforms have released additional resources to state governments that can now be deployed to infrastructure and other development projects.

“What the President did was to free up resources that the state governors have been longing for to develop their states,” Onanuga said.

Also speaking during the inspection of the Makurdi bypass, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Public Enlightenment, AbulAziz AbdulAziz, said the scale of infrastructure development witnessed in Nasarawa and Benue states was evidence, in his view, that the Renewed Hope Agenda was producing results.

The Renewed Hope Ambassadors National Media Tour is aimed at showcasing government projects and providing the public with first-hand information on the implementation and impact of government policies across different parts of the country.

The Benue State Police Command has arrested five Pakistani nationals and recovered thirty-five mobile phones in separate intelligence-led operations in Otukpo and Ugbokolo areas of the state.

The arrests were disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday, August 7, 2026, by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Orchia Peter Aondongu.

According to the statement, operatives acting on credible intelligence arrested three Pakistanis at Adoka Motor Park, Otukpo Local Government Area, on August 4, 2026.

The suspects were identified as Younas Mohammad, 36; Ahmad Nunil, 38; and Aslam Muhammad, 46. They were intercepted while attempting to board a vehicle to Adoka village.

During preliminary questioning, the suspects claimed they were in Otukpo to market cosmetics and mobile gadgets, none of which were found in their possession.

“This made their explanation, activities and movements within the area suspicious, requiring more clarification,” the PPRO stated.

In a separate operation on August 5, 2026, two other Pakistanis, Juma Sharif, 30, and Muhammed Sharif, 25, were arrested at a local hotel in Ugbokolo following another credible intelligence.

The two claimed to be dealers in Android phones. A search of their belongings led to the recovery of eleven Tecno Camon 50 Pro mobile phones.

Further investigation and operational follow-up resulted in the recovery of an additional twenty-three Tecno Camon 50 Pro phones and one Infinix Hot 60 phone, bringing the total number of recovered mobile phones to thirty-five.

The five suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Makurdi, where discreet and comprehensive investigations are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding their presence, activities and movements within the state.

The Command said it strongly suspects that the possession of the mobile phones may be a decoy for clandestine activities in rural areas of the state, noting that the suspects “hardly speak or understand English.”

The Commissioner of Police, Benue State Command, CP Cletus C. N. Nwadiogbu, commended the officers involved in the operations and members of the public whose timely information contributed to the arrests.

He reassured residents that the operations form part of the Command’s proactive, intelligence-led policing strategy aimed at identifying potential security threats, preventing criminal activities and safeguarding lives and property across the state.

CP Nwadiogbu further urged residents to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious persons, movements or activities to the Police.

“The Command will continue to work with relevant stakeholders and members of the public to maintain peace and security across Benue State. The public will be updated as the investigation progresses,” the statement added.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has dismissed the interim report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), alleging that its findings have raise more questions than answers.

HURIWA, National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement, on Friday, argued that the report appeared to focus largely on alleged offences committed by one individual while failing to establish how a purportedly non-existent government agency operated within official circles for an extended period.

The organisation therefore opposed the prosecution of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, ICPC’ sole accused for forging documents, falsely presenting himself as Director-General of the PFIPC, creating additional agencies, opening bank accounts with forged instruments and exploiting weaknesses in government institutions.

HURIWA insisted that the alleged activities of Adeyemi could not, on their own, explain how the PFIPC acquired the appearance of an official government institution.

In HURIWA’s view, the central issue was not merely who allegedly forged documents, but how such documents were accepted and acted upon by government institutions.

It asked how a non-existent agency could acquire official legitimacy, who admitted its operators into government circles, who authorised meetings and engagements with public institutions and why elementary verification procedures failed to detect the alleged fraud.

The group also questioned how the PFIPC found its way into the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation running into billions of naira if it did not legally exist.

“The questions confronting Nigeria are neither difficult nor complicated,” HURIWA said.

It said there is a need to establish who processed documents linked to the agency, who ignored red flags and who enabled it to operate without challenge.

The organisation expressed concern that the ICPC’s interim findings could give the impression that the scandal was essentially the work of a lone individual.

It argued that such a conclusion would be difficult to reconcile with the scale and duration of the alleged activities, particularly given the involvement of multiple Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“HURIWA refuses to accept the proposition that one private citizen, acting entirely alone, successfully penetrated multiple Ministries, Departments and Agencies, operated for an extended period, secured official interactions and allegedly built an elaborate structure involving forged instruments without significant failures or possible complicity within the public service,” Onwubiko stated.

The association noted that the ICPC itself had identified weaknesses in inter-agency coordination, verification mechanisms and internal controls, arguing that such weaknesses required further investigation.

It said Nigerians deserved to know whether the failures were merely administrative lapses or whether some officials deliberately facilitated the activities of the alleged fake agency.

HURIWA was particularly critical of any recommendation for administrative sanctions against public officers whose negligence may have enabled the operation.