Been searching for National Anthem related stuff. And found this:
Competition Announcement for a National Anthem for Nigeria, published in FEDERAL NIGERIA Magazine, January 1959 edition
Closing: March 31, 1959. Prize: $280
Open to Nigerians & Non-Nigerians home & abroad.
🧵🧵

So, looks like there were 4 Competitions in all, in 1959, the year preceding Independence:

National Flag - Open to Nigerians only
National Anthem (lyrics) - Nigerians & Foreigners
National Anthem (music) - Nigerians & Foreigners
Independence Stamps

All with prizes attached.

A #thread of departing Ambassadors talking about Nigerian Food (and Pepper!!!).

Let’s start with France’s Emmanuelle Blatmann (2024):

“I will be very honest with you and blunt, I will not miss the pepper soup because it’s too peppery. You people tried to kill me several times. I will be eating all sorts of things with my eyes red and crying, I have smoke coming out of my ears. I am exaggerating but honestly, why do you put so much pepper? In the North, it’s better but in the South West, my God! But I like the jollof rice, I like the moimoi and the puff-puff.”

punchng.com/i-like-nigeria… Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury (Finland) (2018):

“Nigerian food in general is spicier than food in Finland, but I do really enjoy suya, jollof rice, and pepper soup. My family has even ventured into things like giant snails and goat’s head (laughs).”

punchng.com/i-really-enjoy…

Gather around, folks.

Would like to share excerpts from this recent speech ON INFRASTRUCTURE from Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, delivered at a Dinner in Lagos a few days ago.

He opened it guns blazing. Hit the ground firing.

This is a thread, so, stay with me. But lest you think the speech was primarily about gbajue presidential candidates, it wasn’t.

It was instead about the power of infrastructure, why the @MBuhari Administration focused obsessively on it, and how heartwarming it is that @officialABAT is equally prioritizing it.

I want to tell the story of how this State House / Presidential Villa logo came to be. You may have seen it on some publicity materials (State House Press Briefing banner from prev admin, etc) from the State House.

It’s a thread. Sometime in Feb 2016, shortly after I was appointed by PMB, I thought, everyone knows what the White House looks like, why isn’t there a similar visual equivalent - a symbol - for the Aso Rock Villa, seat of the Nigerian Presidency since 1991.

Some History:
In 1999 Obasanjo created a "Ministry for Cooperation and Integration in Africa."
Didn't last very long.
OBJ also created the Ministry of Environment, in 1999.
In 2011, GEJ created "Communication Technology" and "Trade and Investment" ("Industry" added in 2013) PMB created the new Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in 2019
—Added "Digital Economy" to "Communications" also in 2019
—Added "Innovation" to "Science and Technology" in 2021
—Added "Aerospace" to "Aviation" in 2023

Taiwo Oyedele an excellent candidate to lead this Tax work. Was Vice Chair of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee(NTPIC) set up to implement the 2017 National Tax Policy(NTP) for Nigeria. It was that work that led to introduction of the Finance Acts 2019—2022
#Thread

https://twitter.com/HMKemiAdeosun/status/1004778247861751808

The then Minister of Finance, @HMKemiAdeosun set up, Aug 2016, a National Tax Policy Review Committee (NTPRC), chaired by Prof Abiola Sanni. NTPRC produced a revised National Tax Policy for Nigeria (FEC approval Feb 2017) updating the original Tax Policy first developed in 2012.

I have to say that the thing that strikes me the most about the "corridors of power" in Nigeria is the sheer impermanence, the volatility, of it all. The fact that nobody is above falling out of power/favor, and nobody beyond rehabilitation, redemption. I spend a lot of time thinking about this.

Student Loan Bill signed into law by PBAT today provides for estab of a "Nigerian Education Loan Fund" that'll be "domiciled with, managed & administered by @cenbank through the money deposit banks in Nigeria." Earlier version envisaged a "Nigerian Education Bank", now discarded.

https://twitter.com/toluogunlesi/status/1668343033409187845

@cenbank Some useful background: Decree 50 of June 1993 by President IBB (later an Act) established a Nigerian Education Bank (EDUBANK), to replace the old Student Loans Board.
EDUBANK did take-off at the time, appears to have operated till late 90s/early 2000s, and then became defunct.

On his penultimate day in office (May 28, 2023), PMB signed the Finance Bill, 2023 into law.
The annual Finance Bills are among most important legacies of the Buhari Administration, allowing the amendment of multiple fiscal legislations, in support of annual Appropriation Acts. Highlights of the Finance Act, 2023, include:

Legal backing for new sharing formula for stamp duty revenues:
15% to Federal Government and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja
50% to State Governments
35% to LGAs

A #thread

Been doing a little digging.

Turns out the very FIRST piece I wrote, for my Punch column, after PMB became President, and before I joined Govt (written and emailed to editor on May 31, 2015, EXACTLY 8 years ago today, and published June 1, 2015) was titled: 2/

It was a long argument revisiting ‘2012’, and saying that the conditions had changed somewhat to justify the removal of the subsidy, that PMB should remove it, but that the new government also needed to put in place a couple of things, as part of the subsidy removal package…

During the @MBuhari Administration, a total of 1,006 Foreign Nationals have become Nigerian Citizens by Naturalization or Registration. A modest number, but still the largest of any Nigerian Administration, according to the Minister of Interior, @raufaregbesola. "The bane of the smooth pathway to Nigerian citizenship however is the constitutional requirement of continuous residency in Nigeria for 15 years. This is a huge disincentive, considering that in the United States and most European countries, it is five years."—HM @raufaregbesola

Lots of misconceptions about Sea Ports in Nigeria.

Sea Ports in Nigeria can only exist in States on the Atlantic coastline, i.e. Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River.

Outside of these, only RIVER Ports exist.

There are no 'inland' Sea Ports.

1/ 2/

By reason of the limitations of geography, there are no Sea Ports OR possibilities of Sea Ports in the SE, NC, NW and NE.

Only the SW and SS have those possibilities. (Even in the SW, only 3 Coastal States).

The others have to make do with River Ports and Inland Dry Ports.

Still on Transition Matters - Governors Forum held valedictory meeting today in Abuja. Gov Tambuwal of Sokoto, who (as Deputy Chair) succeeded Gov Fayemi in Oct 2022, presided over his last meeting as Chair. There will be an election in the weeks ahead for a new Chair, 2023–2025. Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Traditions:

1. NGF Chair chosen by election or consensus among the 36 Governors

2. Chair since 2004 has always been a second term Governor.

3. NGF Chair elected from ruling party.

4. Chairmanship rotated between North and South.

FEC just ended. #FECbrief ongoing. HM @ProfIsaPantami announces approval of two @NgComCommission Memos, for provision of free broadband to 20 Nigerian airports across 6 geopolitical zones, 43 higher institutions (18 approved earlier), and 6 market/SME hubs. For @FMWHNIG: FEC Approval for Dualization of Akure—Ado Ekiti Road, in two sections (Ondo section and Ekiti section), completion period of 24 & 30 months.

(Recall that the Road is in the latest batch of those to be financed by @nnpclimited under #ExecOrder7)
#FECBrief

1/ Lots of opinions on Afe Babalola’s £10m donation to @KingsCollegeLon. Unfortunately no one seems to be reading press release in full: powerful point here, that without KCL’s “distance learning”, there’d be no “Afe Babalola” today. Now he’s expanding that opportunity to others. 2/ So lots of knee-jerk reactions that simply assume that £10m is being handed over to a UK institution to do as they please. No. Much of that money - and value - is coming back to Nigeria and Africa. You just need to read the statement to better understand/appreciate it:

Was searching for something online, and came across this Executive Order signed by @kfayemi as Governor of Ekiti, on May 12, 2020, capping "Right of Way" charges for laying broadband cables and telco infra in Ekiti at N145 per meter, in line with a NEC resolution (Image 3). So @followKWSG did even better than recommended -Gov @RealAARahman approved a RoW charge of N1 per meter, far less than the NEC resolution of N145 per meter.
See next tweet for what @GovKaduna did - they went even a step further (the Kwara Statement actually acknowledges this).

Gen Oladipo Diya died today. As Military Administrator of Ogun State (his home State) almost 40 years, he tried to bring some sanity to the over-the-top Owambeism of his people. Among other moves he passed a law to stop Ogun people from organizing funeral parties on public roads. There’s a reason why Owambe is a Yoruba word, folks. Shalla to my Ogun people for carrying the banner high.

PS. But partying’s not all we are known for in Ogun State. We’ve also produced every Southern Yoruba person who’s ever ruled Nigeria or been Number 2.

RIP Oladipo Diya.

Name of Labour Party Candidate for Surulere 1 Constituency (LAHA) in final INEC list is different from name of Candidate who was campaigning until the election.
It's honestly confusing. Were they deliberately fronting a 'celebrity' to attract votes for a less popular candidate? Anyone who knows what's going on there should kindly explain, thanks

However things go in Adamawa (and I'm rooting for a Binani win!), a woman is going to be Governor or Deputy Governor of the State. A historic first for the NE.

NB: NC and NW have already elected female Deputy Governors - Pauline Tallen (Plateau) and Hadiza Balarabe (Kaduna). Adamawa has already given us Binta Masi Garba:

—the only female Senator elected from Northern Nigeria in the 8th Senate (2015)

—1st female State Chairperson of a major political party in Nigeria

—1st Representative to represent two different States in NASS (Kaduna & Adamawa)

JUST IN: President @MBuhari has signed 16 Constitution Amendment Bills into Law. By this signing, State Houses of Assembly & Judiciaries now have constitutionally-guaranteed financial independence, while Railways have moved from Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List. Another landmark change: By virtue of the Presidential Assent, Nigerian States can NOW generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the national grid. Wasn't allowed pre-amendment.

This is genuine, realistic Restructuring — through the Constitution.