The Federal Government on Wednesday charged former Minister of Aviation, Senator Stella Oduah, in court over an alleged N5bn fraud said to have taken place in 2014.

Oduah, who served as aviation minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan from 2011 to 2014, appeared before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama on five counts, including conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretences.

She was brought before the court by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

In one of the charges, Oduah was alleged to have fraudulently secured N2.4bn through Broad Waters Resources from the Federal Ministry of Aviation, falsely claiming the money was for technical supervision.

The alleged offence is reported to have taken place in January 2014.

Additional charges claim she also obtained N1.6bn and another N839m through false pretences, in violation of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act.

Oduah was arraigned alongside another defendant, Gloria Odita.

Both defendants entered not-guilty pleas to all the charges.

Oduah was represented by Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), while Wale Balogun (SAN) appeared for Odita.

Justice Hamza Muazu granted Oduah bail based on self-recognisance but ordered her to submit her passport to the court.

He further ruled that she cannot travel outside the country without the court’s authorization.

This is the second attempt by the Federal Government to prosecute Oduah on this issue, as a previous case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the Federal High Court in Abuja was discontinued.

The Federal Government has announced that it will not introduce any new capital projects in the 2026 budget. Instead, it has directed Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to carry over 70 per cent of their 2025 capital allocations into the 2026 fiscal year.

This directive is contained in the 2026 Abridged Budget Call Circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and sent to ministers, service chiefs, heads of agencies, and senior government officials in Abuja.

According to the circular, the plan aims to prioritize the completion of ongoing projects while tackling fiscal constraints caused by low revenue performance.

It emphasized that the 2026 budget will exclude provisions for fresh capital projects, noting that annual budget submissions must strictly follow established guidelines, and officials in charge of preparing budgets must comply.

The circular further noted that MDAs must exhaust their already approved 2025 budget allocations before requesting approval for any new ventures.

It stressed that carrying over uncompleted projects will ensure attention is directed to key priorities aligned with the administration’s development agenda.

According to the circular, “MDAs are to upload 70 per cent of their 2025 FGN Budget to continue in FY2026. All such rollover and uploads must be in line with the immediate needs of the country as well as government’s development priorities that aligns with the policy direction of the new administration, which hinges on National Security, the Economy, Education, Health, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Power & Energy, as well as social safety nets, women & youth empowerment. We are constrained by revenue challenges.”

It added that a new funding model has been adopted, capping 2026 capital budget ceilings at 70 per cent of the 2025 allocations. Only 30 per cent of capital funds will be released in 2025, while the remaining 70 per cent will form the basis for next year’s capital spending. The circular warned that MDAs must avoid project duplication and should work within their 2025 overhead ceilings despite rising inflation.

“MDAs are required to work within and not exceed their 2025 overhead ceilings (Executive Proposal) for the purpose of preparing their 2026 overhead budget submissions. While we note the impact of inflation on overhead costs, we are, however, constrained by revenue challenges in providing significantly more for overheads. We will, however, sustain the effort to achieve full release of the overhead budget,” the circular explained.

It also instructed that budget proposals must align with the policy direction captured in the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Senator Abubakar Bagudu stated that the MTEF approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last week outlines key assumptions for the 2026 fiscal year, including revenue expectations, production targets, and strategies to boost grassroots economic activities.

He said the government will prioritize areas that promote productivity amid global funding constraints.

Bagudu referenced the Renewed Hope Agenda, Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Plan, Ward Development Plan, National Development Plan, and other programmes as core drivers of the economic direction. He added that all spending will undergo strict scrutiny to ensure efficiency and value for money.

The circular reaffirmed the government’s resolve to improve budgeting standards, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation for better outcomes.

It further directed MDAs to submit their proposals through the GIFMIS Budget Preparation Subsystem, while government-owned enterprises must use the Budget Information Management and Monitoring System. All submissions are to be completed by Tuesday, December 9, 2025.

“Personnel costs have already been computed using data from IPPIS and earlier submissions,” the circular added, noting that each ministry will be informed about its 2026 personnel cost limit.

Fiscal governance expert Eze Onyekpere, speaking in an earlier report by The Guardian, warned that running multiple budgets at the same time leads to mismanaged funds, abandoned projects, and poor value for public spending.

He recommended that the unexecuted portion of the 2025 capital budget should serve as the basis for the 2026 plan to put the budget cycle back on track.

He said, “Assuming the fiscal space for capital projects is N20 trillion and the unimplemented part of 2025 is N12 trillion, MDAs should only be asked to prepare N8 trillion new projects to complete the N20 trillion.”

Onyekpere argued that drafting new project lists is unnecessary when many existing projects remain incomplete but are still important.

The Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), the umbrella body for all mineral title holders in the country, has rejected the proposal by the Northern Governors’ Forum and elders calling for a suspension of mining activities in Northern Nigeria as a solution to the region’s worsening insecurity.

In a detailed statement addressed to the President, the Federal Executive Council, and the National Assembly, the Association said it “wishes to lend its voice” to the discussion, stressing that while it recognizes the dire security situation and prays for a permanent solution, “it is imperative to critically scrutinize these recommendations in the face of antecedents and in the nation’s economic interest.”

Addressing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, members of the Federal Executive Council, and the National Assembly, the Association described itself as a responsible body of patriotic corporate and individual citizens, presenting its position for objective consideration.

According to the group, insecurity is “a national malaise that cuts across all sectors,” adding that criminal activities in rural areas especially agrarian and mining corridors are largely due to the remote locations of farms and mine sites, which are far from secured metropolitan areas.

The Association insisted that “a nexus has not been established between legal mining and terrorism, banditry and kidnapping,” explaining that it is disorderly illegal mining, carried out without licences or government regulation, that fuels money laundering and insecurity. “A clear distinction must be made between legal and illegal mining,” it argued, calling the stigmatization of legal mining “a misnomer.”

It emphasized that all its members are mineral title holders engaged in legal, responsible and environmentally friendly mining operations. The group noted that legitimate miners work with security agencies, implement statutory Community Development Projects, and supply raw materials to local industries and export markets.

The Association cautioned that lumping legal miners with illegal operators and placing a blanket ban on mining in the North would be “most unjust”, adding that such action “would create mass unemployment, aggravate the existing multi-dimensional poverty and increase insecurity.”

The Association referenced past government actions, recalling that banning mining in Nigeria has not produced positive results. It noted that after the 2019 ban on mining in Zamfara State, “the waves of banditry, kidnappings, terrorism and illegal mining have been escalating… and spread widely to neighboring states.”

It further warned that legitimate miners are usually the victims of such bans, as they are denied access to their minefields by security operatives, while “illegal miners turned bandits and terrorists would be feeding fat” on mineral resources under the support of local and foreign sponsors. This situation, it added, is worsened by inadequate government logistics and personnel to enforce compliance.

The Association added that unrestricted access to minerals in banned locations empowers criminals who exchange minerals for arms and ammunition. It also warned that banning mining would cause huge investment losses and damage Nigeria’s credibility as an investment destination.

It noted that the call for suspension comes at a time when the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Henry Oladele Alake, is promoting major reforms, attracting investment, and implementing a 7-Point Agenda to grow the sector. The Association described the governors’ proposal as “unfortunate” and “highly unpatriotic.”

The group also questioned the call for auditing and revalidation of existing mineral titles, stating that such a process “is not legally or procedurally tenable.”

It instead urged Northern Governors to use portions of their security votes or make special budgetary allocations to strengthen the Mining Marshal outfit and improve logistics and manpower to combat illegal mining which they described as “a precursor to criminality.”

On constitutional grounds, the Association said the call for revalidation of mining licenses is akin to agitation for resource control and fundamentally contradicts the constitution, which places mineral management under the Exclusive Legislative List.

In its final statement, the Miners Association reiterated its position, declaring: “We hereby reject the call for the banning of mining activities in any part of the country” and appealed to President Tinubu, the Federal Executive Council, and the National Assembly to “outrightly reject this call, as the negatives of such action overwhelmingly outweigh the positives.”