Uncertainty has surrounded the House of Representatives’ plenary scheduled for Tuesday, December 16, 2025, following the Federal Government’s failure to meet its contractual obligations to local contractors who executed projects under the 2024 and 2025 budget cycles.

This comes a week after the Green Chamber held a closed-door session with the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu; the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi; and the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, during which lawmakers criticised the implementation of the capital components of the two budgets.

Over the past two months, local contractors have staged peaceful demonstrations at the National Assembly Complex, demanding payment for completed projects. Despite the House leadership setting up an intervention committee, the stalemate persists.

On December 9, the House resolved that it would not consider the 2026 Appropriation Bill once transmitted by President Bola Tinubu until the Federal Government clears all outstanding debts owed to the contractors. The lawmakers also stepped down consideration of 42 bills slated for first, second, and third readings

Four committee reports on bills proposing agricultural colleges and specialised institutions in Kaduna, Edo, and other states were likewise deferred.

The planned consideration of the constitution review report submitted two weeks earlier was also suspended.

In what appeared to be a last-minute attempt to avert a legislative standoff, Ogunjimi pledged to clear the outstanding payments within 48 hours. However, the deadline elapsed on Friday without contractors receiving any payment—an outcome that could significantly shape Tuesday’s plenary.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, a member representing Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode Federal Constituency of Edo State, Billy Osawaru, expressed disappointment that the pledge was not fulfilled but noted that lawmakers were still expecting action from the executive.

“Promise made has not been met, but we are continuing our engagement with the executive arm,” Osawaru said.

Asked whether the House would make good its threat to halt consideration of the 2026 Appropriation Bill, Osawaru said the situation remained unpredictable.

“I am not sure what the outcome will be since we are still expecting the Accountant-General to act,” he added.

Similarly, Mansur Soro, who represents Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency in Bauchi State, confirmed that contractors were yet to be paid.

“The pledge has not been kept,” Soro stated, adding that, “further engagement between House and executive should be confirmed by the House spokesman or its leadership.”

Efforts to obtain an official position from the House through its spokespersons, Akin Rotimi and Philip Agbese, were unsuccessful, as both lawmakers did not respond to inquiries.

The Federal Government’s delayed payment to local contractors traces back to persistent budget implementation challenges in the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.

A former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has said that President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, APC, have made the African Democratic Congress, ADC’s dream of ascending political power in 2027 come to pass.

He said that Atiku’s formal move to the ADC is a catalyst that will galvanize massive support from Nigerians in a bid to remove Tinubu and his administration from office through the ballot.

According to Eze, who is a chieftain of the APC, Tinubu and his political leaders have made Nigeria a laughing stock before the international community, adding that the time had come for Nigerians to heave a sigh of relief.

“With this timely, bold and audacious move, the game has started and the battle to rescue Nigeria from the shackles of bad democratic governance and clueless government just begun.

“I am very convinced that Atiku will bring to bear his wide connection, political sagacity, leadership acumen and experience to bear on the new party.

“Now that Atiku has finally joined the ADC, and with Amaechi bringing his winning streak as two-time Campaign Director General of the Muhammad Buhari Campaign Organization in 2015 and 2019 Presidential Elections, the coast is now clear for a new Nigeria,” Eze stated.

“Tinubu has made the enthronement of ADC in 2027 come to fruition considering the level of poverty and his unpreparedness to handle the security challenges facing this country head on,” he added.

Eze, who is yet to join the ADC, however, assured that sooner or later, he will join other progressives that are on the verge of rescuing the country.

He appealed to Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, David Mark, Nasir El-Rufai etc, as well as all supporters of Atiku and all those committed to reclaiming and rebuilding Nigeria to work with unity of purpose in a bid to oust Tinubu from office in 2027.

Eze commended former Adamawa State Governor Jibrilla Bindow, Senator Aisha Binani, Senator Abdullazeez Nyako,  Senator Ahmed Barata, Senator Ishaku Abbo, and other Adamawa illustrious sons and daughters who have united under ADC.

He, however, appealed to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi not to be deceived by those advising him to abandon ADC and contest the 2027 Presidential election under the Labour Party or any other political party.

He warned that by so doing, Obi will “be paving way for Tinubu to continue with his maladministration after 2027.”

The President of women in politics forum, Ebere Ifendu, has described as very embarrassing the gale of defections of Nigerian governors into the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Speaking during an interview on Arise Television monitored by DAILY POST on Thursday, Ifendu raised the alarm that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat.

She was reacting to the gale of defections by some state governors from their own political parties into the APC.

DAILY POST reports that the governors of Enugu, Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states have all defected to the ruling party.

Reacting, Ifendu said, “It’s an embarrassing situation if I must be honest with you. In politics, we expect that political parties have different ideologies. It’s either you’re a socialist political party like you find in the Labour Party or you are a conservative political party. There must be an ideology.

“And so when you see these people move from one party to the other, you begin to wonder, is it that political parties in Nigeria are not built with ideology? Because when we vote for a political party, we vote based on those things that we believe that the political party is presenting before us.

“And I think that democracy in Nigeria is threatened because people no longer believe in the people they have voted for.

“Let me also say here that a candidate of a political party is carrying the mandate of the party, and not the person’s personal mandate, and so you get elected based on what your party presented, and then you just dump that party to go to another political party. Are we turning to a one party state in Nigeria?

“If there is no opposition, then there is no democracy. So I think it’s very wrong seeing what is happening in Nigeria today.”

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, says it is completely wrong for Christians to be taken to Sharia courts or forced to follow Sharia rules.

He said this on Wednesday during the opening of the 2025 meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Abuja.

The theme of the meeting was “Collaboration of Inter-Religious Council with Government to Promote Peace in Nigeria.”

The Sultan explained that Sharia is strictly for Muslims, and no Christian should be made to dress, act, or pray like Muslims.

He stressed that Nigeria is a multi-religious country, not a secular one, and that the government supports both Islam and Christianity without adopting either as a state religion.

He also rejected recent calls to scrap Sharia law, saying Nigeria allows all religions to practice freely without interference.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, also spoke at the event. He called for stronger cooperation between NIREC and the Federal Government to help build peace and fight insecurity.

Tajudeen warned that extremist groups are trying to use religion to divide the country, and praised NIREC for promoting unity over the years.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, said Nigeria is facing serious challenges, including insecurity, political tension, and declining trust among citizens. He added that the country is also being misrepresented internationally because of misinformation about its security issues.

Akume assured Nigerians that the Federal Government will continue to protect lives and property.

He urged religious and traditional leaders to work together to encourage peace.

The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh, said Nigeria is at a dangerous point in its history because insecurity threatens national unity.

He noted that religious institutions are highly trusted and can play a major role in building peace.

He called for closer partnership between the government and religious groups to encourage dialogue, unite communities, and promote tolerance.

The Executive Secretary of NIREC, Rev. Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua, also spoke.

He said religious leaders must work more closely with the government to defeat terrorism and banditry.

According to him, every human life matters, and all leaders must join hands to protect the people.

He prayed for wisdom for Nigerian leaders and asked for a change of heart for criminals, hoping they will turn into law-abiding citizens.

He also prayed for Nigerians to adopt positive values.

The Nigeria Immigration Service has announced that its Passport Digital Platform will undergo routine system maintenance, resulting in temporary service disruptions for users.

NIS said the maintenance window will run from 12:00 a.m. on 12 December to 6:00 a.m. on 14 December 2025 (GMT).

This was contained in a public notice shared on the service’s X handle on Friday and signed by its Public Relations Officer, ACI AS Akinlabi.

According to the statement, the exercise is aimed at enhancing system performance and improving overall user experience.

“The Nigeria Immigration Service wishes to inform the general public that it is carrying out routine maintenance on its Passport Digital Platform to enhance system performance and overall user experience.

“During this period, users will experience temporary service interruptions, slow response times, or limited access to selected NIS Passport Services,” the notice read.

The service appealed for public patience, noting that the exercise is essential to maintaining a secure and efficient digital passport ecosystem.

“Our technical teams are working round the clock to ensure full service restoration within the stated timeframe,” it added.

NIS also urged users who require assistance during the maintenance period to contact its support team via email at support@immigration.gov.ng or through its official social media handles.

In a related development, NIS announced on Tuesday the activation of temporary complaint-response channels on social media following the takedown of its support accounts.

The service said the new channels were created to ensure uninterrupted engagement with applicants experiencing difficulties with passport and visa processes.

According to the notice, affected applicants can now channel their complaints through the temporary X handles @InquireAtNaija, @nigimmigration, and @InquireAtNaija_, as well as via Instagram