Author: Opalim Lifted

China has released Jin Mingri, pastor and founder of Zion Church, from prison after nearly nine months. Mingri’s case was raised by US President Donald Trump during his state visit to China in May. Trump said he discussed the pastor’s imprisonment with Chinese President Xi Jinping and asked him to reconsider the case. The US president also sought clemency for Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned Hong Kong democracy activist. “I think he’s giving very serious consideration to the pastor,” Trump said on his way back from Beijing, referring to Mingri, but added that Lai’s case would be more difficult. ChinaAid, a…

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has renewed his call for President Bola Tinubu to resign, citing the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) claim that Nigeria failed to include about ₦8.83 trillion in public spending in its 2025 budget. The renewed demand follows comments by Christian Ebeke, the IMF’s resident representative in Nigeria, who said the unrecorded expenditure amounts to about two per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). According to the IMF, the omission makes Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appear smaller than its actual borrowing requirements. In a statement issued on Sunday, Obi described…

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s claim that Nigeria excluded public spending equivalent to two percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) from recent national budgets. In a statement on Saturday, Atiku said that with Nigeria’s economy estimated at about ₦441.5 trillion, the two percent gap represents roughly ₦8.8 trillion spent outside the official budget process. His comments followed remarks by Christian Ebeke, the IMF’s resident representative in Nigeria, who said the discrepancy makes…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Nigeria failed to report public spending equivalent to about 2 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in recent official budgets, creating a gap between the country’s reported fiscal deficit and its actual financing needs. Speaking at a meeting with business executives in Lagos, the IMF’s resident representative in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, said the discrepancy makes Nigeria’s fiscal deficit appear smaller than the government’s true borrowing requirements. According to Ebeke, some capital expenditure was excluded from budget documents and implementation reports, with part of the unreported spending linked to major government projects executed…

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has postponed the Computer-Based Test (CBT) for applicants to its Nigeria-Russia Scholarship Programme, which was scheduled to hold on Monday, July 6, 2026. In a public notice issued on Sunday, the commission said the postponement was due to unforeseen circumstances beyond its control. It apologised to affected applicants for the inconvenience. The NDDC assured candidates that a new date for the examination would be announced in due course and urged all applicants to regularly monitor their email addresses and the commission’s official communication channels for updates. The commission also thanked applicants for their patience,…

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NiHSA) has warned that flooding across parts of Nigeria could persist until September. Umar Mohammed, director-general of the agency, said the flooding is anticipated based on NiHSA’s forecasts and warned that the situation could worsen between August and September if urgent action is not taken. Speaking through Emmanuel Tuna, head of NiHSA’s Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing Department, in an interview with Sunday Vanguard, Mohammed said the agency had issued early warnings before the floods. “This is something we foresaw. We saw it coming,” Mohammed said. “As we speak now, with the flooding…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the National Assembly to disclose all records relating to the approval of more than ₦1.3 billion allocated to the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC)/Presidential Economic Advisory Council in the 2026 Appropriation Act. In a Freedom of Information (FoI) request dated July 4, 2026, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas to release certified copies of all documents linked to the allocation of ₦1,302,978,784 to the council. SERAP also called on the National Assembly…

World Cup favourites France were made to sweat to book their quarter-final place but Kylian Mbappe’s second-half penalty proved enough to help them past a resolute Paraguay in Philadelphia. Paraguay limited the two-time winners to very few chances until substitute Desire Doue was fouled inside the box by Brighton’s Diego Gomez and referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointed to the spot after a video assistant referee (VAR) intervention. Mbappe took the penalty and sent Orlando Gill the wrong way to ensure France’s progress, as he drew level with Argentina great Lionel Messi on seven goals in the tournament’s Golden Boot race. The…

US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering granting clemency to music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs as part of a new round of potential presidential pardons. According to CBS News, Trump is expected to pardon several people convicted of emissions and clean-air-related offences. The report also said the president is reviewing clemency requests involving Combs and other high-profile individuals before making a final decision. Trump is reportedly due to meet with advisers to discuss the recommendations before announcing any pardons. Among those also seeking clemency is Prakazrel “Pras” Michel of the hip-hop group The Fugees. The Grammy Award-winning rapper is serving…

Jim Obazee, a prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says late President Muhammadu Buhari and Boss Mustapha, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), should have been prosecuted over the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of $6.23 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Obazee testified before Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Friday in the ongoing trial of Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the CBN. Obazee was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in July 2023 as a special investigator to probe the activities of the apex bank and related…