Author: Lawal AbdulSalam Olawale

Popular Yoruba filmmaker and actor, Chief Adedeji Aderemi, popularly known as Olofa Ina is dead.

The 73-year-old actor, in his lifetime, was well known in the contemporary Yoruba theatre industry.

The news of his death was announced by fellow actor, Saidi Balogun, via his Instagram handle (@SaidiBalogun), on Thursday night.

He posted Olofa Ina’s picture with a caption “Goodnight legend Chief Deji Akinremi (Olofa Ina) RIP.

Meanwhile, the cause of his death as of the time of filing this report cannot be ascertained.

In June 2021, during the sexual assault case involving his colleague, Olanrewaju James alias Baba Ijesha, he had said the saga cannot lead to a division among theatre practitioners.

“It can’t cause a division.

The issue here is that the youngsters of today didn’t participate in associations, they met fortune on the ground.

“Those of us who suffered before we could earn a living in the business of theatre won’t want a division in our midst,” he said

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Osun State Government has denied allocating N11 billion as entertainment fund to the offices of the governor and that of the secretary to the government.

Addressing journalists, yesterday, during the 2024 budget analysis at the Ministry of Finance building, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Professor Moruf Adeleke, said only N600 million was earmarked for meals and entertainment for the office of the governor.

added that meals and entertainment for the office of the Secretary to the State Government got about N102 million against the N11billion being spread by mischief makers for the two heads.

“The claim that N11 billion was budgeted for the offices of the governor and that of the SSG, for meals and entertainment is a blatant lie. It is not correct in any way.

“The office of the governor comprises about seven different agencies like office of the Deputy Governor, the office of the Chief of Staff, the Bureau of General Services, Bureaus of Government House and Protocol, Bureau of Parastatals. All these sub-agencies are referred to as the office of the governor. That is the entire conglomerate of the office of the governor that was allocated about N8 billion for total recurrent out of which only N600 million is for meals and entertainment.

“Office of the SSG has a total recurrent of about N3billion, it got about N102million for meals and entertainment. It is that amount that was added to N8 billion to make N11billion that they claimed”, he said.

Meanwhile, Professor Adeleke disclosed that out of the N273.9billion 2024 budget, education sector was allocated N38.9billion making 14.21 percent, infrastructure sector got N57.2billion, which is 20.89 percent and human capital development sector got 39.2billion, which is 14.34 percent of the total budget.

The Commissioner added that N24.2billion was allocated to governance and administration sector, which is 8.85 percent of the total budget, health sector got N23.1 billion, 8.45 percent while the agriculture sector got 1.39 percent, making N3.8billion.

“Overall, salary/wages take N45,817,225,280 (16.73 percent); pension/gratuity takes N36,544,677,720 (13.34 per cent) making N82,361,903,000, (30.07 per cent), other recurrent expenditure includes overhead, which takes N54,020,730,880 (19.72 per cent).”

Osun State Government on Wednesday approved the appointment of six new traditional rulers in the state.

The State government, according to a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, gave the approval on Wednesday, at its first Executive Council meeting, held in Osogbo.

All the appointments take immediate effect.

While congratulating and wishing the newly appointed traditional rulers success and peaceful reign in their respective domains, the statement urged all the subjects in their respective communities to give the newly appointed traditional rulers the best support and cooperation they deserve.

The newly appointed traditional rulers approved by the Council include; Prince Haastrup Adeola Ojo as Aloro of Iloro-Ijesha in Atakunmosa East Local Government; Prince Mark Adeniyi Ajewole as Onise of Ise-Ijesa also in Atakunmosa East Local Government; Prince Adekunle Waheed Babatunde as Elende of Eko Ende in Ifelodun North Local Council Development Area;

Other appointed Obas are Prince Sulaimon Adebayo Olalekan as Olu of Alajue in Ede East Local Council Development Area; Prince Badmos Rafiu Omotoso as Alagbeye of Agbeye in Odo Otin South Local Council Development Area; and Prince Johnson Oyewale Ajiboye as Olola of Ola in Ejigbo West Local Council Development Area of Osun state.

The Council meeting also approved the elevation of 11 more traditional rulers in Osun state to a Part II (Recognised) Status of the Chief Law, Cap 25, Laws of Osun state, 2002.

The newly elevated Obas include Olu Ilu Oba Oyeyemi Town in Egbedore Local Government; Alayetoro of Ayetoro Ijesa, Onikajola of Kajola Bowaje-Ijesa, Olorogoji of Orogoji-Ijesa, in Atakunmosa East Local Government; Onimelu of Ifemelu -Ifewara; Alarunde of Arunde Ifewara; Esemo of Iyemogun ( Atakumosa West Local Government); Olosuntedo of Osuntedo( Ejigbo Local Government); Olu of Araromi-Owu; Olu of Akiriboto-Isale(Ayedaade Local Government; and Onijimo of Ijimo-Ijesha.

The Council however stepped down consideration of the Koka kingship stool, directing investigation and correction of the alleged abnormality and irregularity in the selection process.

Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said that he has noticed many man-made encumbrances regarding change of passport data by Nigerians.

The minister described as a ‘stupid thing’ married women being subjected to the rigours of travelling to the Nigeria Immigration Service NIS headquarters in Abuja just to effect a data change.

The minister said this at a dinner with members of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ABAT Media Centre and some social media influencers in Abuja.

Tunji-Ojo said there is nowhere in the world where women are subjected to such inhuman practice on account of marriage.

“There is one stupid thing I have seen and it is that a woman gets married, changes her name and then she has to come to Abuja all the way from say Kaura Namoda or Enugu just to come and effect a change of name in her passport. It is absurd.

“I can’t just figure it that you want to change just your name and you have to be in Abuja. I have asked the immigration people, is it that immigration people in Abuja have more tha

The United Kingdom through its Home Office has announced the commencement of the implementation of its dependant visa ban which prohibits Nigerian students and other foreigners from bringing family members.

The announcement was made via X by the UK’s Home Office on Monday reiterating that only foreign students in postgraduate research or government-sponsored scholarship could bring their dependants through the study visas.

We are fully committed to seeing a decisive cut in migration. From today, new overseas students will no longer be able to bring family members to the UK. Postgraduate research or government-funded scholarships students will be exempt,” the Home Office said.

Recall that the Home Office under Suella Braverman, in May 2023, instituted the policy to stop Nigerian students, and others studying in the UK from bringing family as dependents except under specific circumstances.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery speaking on the policy explained that it was formulated to check the influx of immigrants to address the housing problems.

With the new policy, the UK will remove the permission for foreign students to switch out of the student route and into work routes before their studies have been completed to prevent misuse of the visa system.

A report by Sky News said, “There will also be a review of the maintenance requirement for students and dependents and a crackdown on ‘unscrupulous’ education agents who make use of inappropriate applications to sell immigration, not education.”

The Home Office, in a statement on the official site, disclosed that the dependant visa ban policy was to reduce migration.

read, “Restrictions to student visa routes came into effect yesterday, as the government continues to slash migration and curb abuse of the immigration system.

International students starting courses this month will no longer be able to bring family members on all but postgraduate research courses and courses with government-funded scholarships. The changes, first announced last May, have also seen people banned from using the student visa as a backdoor route to work in the UK and will see an estimated 140,000 fewer people come to the UK.

“The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that net migration was 672,000 from June 2022 to June 2023. In the year ending September 2023, 152,980 visas were issued to dependants of students, a more than 930% rise from the 14,839 in the year ending September 2019.

“The changes to student dependant rules are part of a wider package of measures to come into force that will drastically bring down the high numbers of migrants coming to the UK to sustainable levels, and crack down on those who take advantage of the flexibility of the UK’s immigration system.”

President Bola Tinubu has suspended Mrs Halima Shehu, the National Coordinator and chief executive of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA).

President Tinubu, according to Channels Television, approved Shehu’s suspension with immediate effect and ordered her replacement.

This comes merely three months after her confirmation for the appointment by the Senate.

Recall that Shehu worked as the National Coordinator of the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, where she used her banking and career expertise to see to the digitalisation of the programme.

The former banker worked at the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, from 2017 to 2022.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday afternoon signed into law the 2024 Appropriation Bill at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Tinubu signed the N28.7tn budget document earlier approved by the National Assembly hours after he arrived in Abuja from Lagos where he spent the past week holidaying.

The budget is N1.2tn higher than the budget he proposed to a joint session of the National Assembly on November 29, 2023.

Then, the President had pegged the budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year at N9.18tn.

He stated, “The N9.18tn deficit is lower than the N13.78tn deficit recorded in 2023 which represents 6.11 per cent of GDP.

he deficit will be financed by new borrowings totalling N7.83tn, N298.49BN from Privatisation Proceeds and N1.05 trillion drawdown on multilateral and bilateral loans secured for specific development projects.”

He also emphasized the need to maintain the January-December implementation cycle saying “Our goal is to ensure that the Appropriation Act comes into effect on January 1, 2024,

On Friday, December 29, 2023, the Senate increased the 2024 budget by N1.2tn, moving the budget from N27.5tn to N28.7tn.

According to the report submitted by the Appropriation Committee led by Senator Solomon Adeola, aggregate expenditure was pegged at N28,777,404.073.861; statutory transfers at N1,742,786,788,150; recurrent expenditure at N8,768.5330,852; capital expenditure at N9,995,143,298,028 and GDP at 3.88 per cent