Senate approves deployment of Nigerian troops to Benin Republic
At Tuesday’s plenary, the Senate approved a request by President Bola Tinubu seeking authorisation to deploy Nigerian troops to Benin Republic to help protect democratic institutions following an attempted military takeover in the neighbouring West African country.
The request, which was read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, followed an urgent appeal from Benin Republic’s President, Patrice Talon, for exceptional air support from Nigeria.
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Although the request had only just reached the Senate, Nigerian Air Force personnel had already been deployed to assist Benin in quelling the coup attempt. The intervention was believed to have succeeded, and the alleged leader of the coup, Tigri Pascal, has been declared wanted.
A few minutes after the letter was referred to the Committee of the Whole, senators approved the deployment through voice vote.
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Aviation minister summoned over airfare hike
The Senate on Tuesday summoned the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, alongside the heads of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), over the sudden and steep increase in domestic flight ticket prices.
The minister and agency heads are expected to appear before lawmakers in a closed-door session on a date to be announced.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Buhari Abdulfatai, the senator for Oyo North and chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation.
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Lawmskers seek exemption from Tinubu’s police withdrawal directive
The Senate on Wednesday appealed to President Tinubu to exempt its members from the presidential directive ordering the withdrawal of police personnel attached to VIPs, referencing security concerns.
The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the plenary, made the appeal after Abdul Ningi, the Kebbi Central senator complained that his only police orderly had been withdrawn.
Mr Jibrin said the Senate leadership met the previous day to deliberate on the issue and resolved to appeal to the president to exempt lawmakers from the directive and restore officers already withdrawn.
He expressed confidence that the president would consider the request, describing Mr Tinubu as a listening leader.
Ambassadorial nominee fails to identify Ekiti senator
There was mild drama at the meeting of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday when an ambassadorial nominee from Ekiti State, Emmanuel Adeyemi, failed to identify one of the three senators representing his state.
Mr Adeyemi, a deputy director in the Office of the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a PhD holder from universities in Hong Kong and France, appeared before the committee for screening alongside several other nominees.
While attempting to pay tribute to Ekiti senators, a common tradition during screenings, he mentioned only Opeyemi Bamidele and Yemi Adaramodu.
When pressed to name the third senator, Mr Adeyemi appeared confused until a member of his delegation whispered the name of Cyril Fasuyi.
The development angered committee members, who separately expressed displeasure over the nominee’s conduct.
Tinubu seeks Senate approval for 2026–2028 MTEF
At Thursday’s plenary, the deputy senate president read a communication from President Tinubu requesting Senate approval for the 2026–2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
The proposal projects federal government revenue of ₦34.33 trillion in 2026 and serves as the foundation for the preparation of the annual national budget.
The letter disclosed that the framework had been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on 3 December.
The MTEF proposes an oil benchmark price of $64 per barrel, an exchange rate of ₦1,512 to the dollar, and oil production of 2.6 million barrels per day, although a lower benchmark of 1.8 million barrels per day will be adopted for budgeting.
Senate panel screens Mahmood, Ugwuanyi, Ikpeazu, Fani-Kayode, Omokri, others
The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Thursday screened several nominees for career and non-career ambassadorial appointments.
Those screened include a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu; a former governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; and a former governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, as ambassadorial nominees.
Other notable nominees who appeared before the committee were former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode; a former presidential spokesperson, Reno Omokri; former sole administrator of Rivers State, Ibok-Ete Ibas; former deputy governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro; Florence Ajimobi, widow of the late governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi; former Ekiti State First Lady, Angela Adebayo; former Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazzau and a former Akwa-Ibom Senator, Ita Enang.
The nominees appeared in batches before the lawmakers at the Senate Wing of the National Assembly, Abuja. Despite the prominence of the nominees and controversies surrounding some of them, none was subjected to questioning. Each nominee introduced themselves briefly before being asked to “take a bow and go.”
However, proceedings briefly turned tense when Ali Ndume and Adams Oshiomhole engaged in a heated exchange over Mr Omokri’s suitability for the appointment.
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