The Bayelsa State Government has approved special allowances for public servants and workers in tertiary institutions, a development expected to raise its monthly salary expenditure by approximately ₦3 billion from October 2026.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Under the arrangement, more than ₦900 million will be spent monthly on allowances for workers in tertiary institutions, while an additional ₦2 billion will cover special allowances for other categories of public servants.

The disclosure was made on Friday, October 30, during the state government’s transparency briefing on its revenue and expenditure for August and September 2026.

Presenting the financial report, the Technical Adviser on Treasury, Accounts and Revenue to Governor Douye Diri, Timipre Seipolu, said the allowances were approved to improve workers’ welfare and recognise the demands of various professional groups.

He explained that payments would begin in October, adding that the government had also undertaken to settle outstanding arrears dating back to January 2026.

“The state has approved special allowances for tertiary institutions, and the payment is commencing from October, even though the government has also committed to paying the arrears from January 2026,” Seipolu said.

According to him, the additional allowances for other public servants would increase the state’s monthly salary expenditure by about ₦2 billion, bringing the combined increase from the two arrangements to approximately ₦3 billion.

“That alone will increase our monthly salary by about ₦2 billion. So, these two components alone will increase the state’s monthly salary bill by about ₦3 billion, commencing from October 2026,” he stated.

Seipolu further disclosed that approximately 65,411 workers were covered by the state’s salary payment arrangements.

He noted that different professional groups operate under separate salary structures and allowance systems, listing doctors, nurses, investigators, civil servants, university employees and fire service personnel among those covered.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, dismissed reports claiming that some major government projects had been abandoned or stalled.

She maintained that the nine-storey State Secretariat building, the rehabilitation of the Light Floor project and the Lagos Road project were progressing as scheduled.

Koku-Obiyai said she had inspected the Lagos Road project alongside the Commissioner for Works and confirmed that construction had reached an advanced stage.

She urged residents to disregard unverified reports, insisting that the state government was meeting its financial obligations to contractors to ensure the timely completion of ongoing infrastructure projects.

Reality TV star and former Big Brother Naija housemate, Tacha Akide, has addressed the controversy surrounding a tattoo she once had, which many people believed was the face of Afrobeats singer Davido.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The entrepreneur clarified that the tattoo was never an image of Davido but rather the face of a child, explaining that the misunderstanding stemmed from misinformation.

Speaking during an appearance on the Thanks For Coming Podcast, Tacha said she eventually covered the tattoo because she believes people grow, change and move on from certain things.

She added that correcting the public’s perception would have made little difference because many people had already accepted the false impression as the truth.

She said: “The tattoo wasn’t Davido’s face, it was a kid’s face, but people thought it was Davido, and I covered it because people grow. It was misinformation. Even if I cleared the air, people would still run with it. I covered it because people grow.”

In a related development, Tacha recently advised the organisers of the Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) reality show to consider taking a break from the programme and developing fresh ideas to attract viewers.

She argued that the show needed a new approach to remain relevant, noting that social media had significantly changed the way Nigerians consume entertainment.

According to Akide, BBNaija gained popularity at a time when social media did not wield the level of influence it commands today.

She maintained that online platforms have become major sources of entertainment, making it necessary for television programmes to adopt new strategies to sustain audience interest.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has declared that the commission has no preferred candidate or political party ahead of the 2027 general elections.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Amupitan gave the assurance on Friday in Abuja while receiving a pre-election fact-finding mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by former Sierra Leonean Vice-President Victor Foh.

Speaking during the meeting, the INEC chairman said the commission remained committed to conducting credible elections without favouring any political party or candidate.

“INEC under my watch has no candidate and no political party.

“Our sole allegiance is to the rule of law, the sovereign will of the Nigerian electorate, and the democratic progress of our nation,” he said.

Amupitan disclosed that the commission was conducting readiness assessment visits across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones as part of preparations for the elections.

He said the 2027 polls would take place across 8,809 registration areas in the country’s 774 local government areas.

According to him, Nigeria’s registered voter population has surpassed 103 million, while INEC has completed nine of the 14 major statutory activities outlined in its revised election timetable.

The commission has also concluded three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and completed the nationwide display of the preliminary voters’ register.

Amupitan explained that INEC would deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for fingerprint and facial verification of voters, alongside its electronic result management systems.

He added that the commission had introduced the eEC8A electronic verification platform to complement the transmission and verification of election results through the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

The INEC chairman further said the commission was collaborating with security agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security to ensure adequate protection during the elections.

Speaking on behalf of the ECOWAS delegation, Foh said the visit was part of the regional body’s efforts to assess the preparedness of member states ahead of their general elections.

He explained that the mission, which included the Head of ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division, Serigne Ka, would assess the readiness of electoral stakeholders and identify areas where the regional organisation could provide support.

Foh added that the exercise was in line with Article 31 of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and Article 53 of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework.