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Senate Says FG Idle, Bemoans Abandoned Projects

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The Senate has returned a damning indictment on the Presidency which it accused of underperformance and policy somersaults as well as failure to use national budgets to impact positively on Nigerians.

The upper legislative house also took a swipe on the Presidency over the over planning and implementation of national budgets which has resulted in many abandoned projects.

David Mark, Senate President  criticised the Federal Government for abandoning projects and maintaining inconsistent economic policies, which he said are not in the best interest of the nation

He spoke during the debate of a motion sponsored by Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi (ACN, Ekiti North and 46 others calling for a review of the national planning and budgeting process.

Mark said: “Over the years, our budgets have not brought growth, have not improved the employment rate and have not brought dividends of democracy to Nigerians, as fast as expected. There is basically a problem with the envelope system, and that must change.

“Our committees would take full responsibility if they’re unable to effect changes in the next budget because if things are alright on paper and practically on ground things are not alright, we need to review the way we go about things.

“Some people have failed in their responsibilities; while others who have become powerful have hijacked other people’s work. If you go through the National Planning Commission Act, the objectives and functions of the commission, the system has not worked because those operating it are simply resistant to changes. They don’t want to change the system because changing it means they’ll lose the authority they’ve arrogated to themselves.”

Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba slammed the executive for allegedly side-lining the legislature in budget planning and process. He said this has made it possible for the government to grossly under-develop the country.

“Those who see the budget proposal presented to the National Assembly as a scripture, to which no amendment can be allowed, should now know that they’re in error. If the ultimate responsibility for budget planning and the appropriation power resides with the National Assembly, it is only logical that the legislature should be part of the process that leads to that annual budgetary process,” the Senate leader said.

“But now, there is a disconnect between the body that has the ultimate responsibility for appropriation and the body that does the planning. That is why we’re in a situation where national plans that should deliver development, employment are rather delivering uncompleted projects, unemployment and poverty,” he added.

Ndoma-Egba, who condemned the envelope system of budgeting, said: “I’ve tried to rationalise the logic behind the envelope system and I must confess that the more I think about it, the more confused I get. It’s like building a house and putting the rafters around April and you’re hurrying to roof before the rain sets in.

“The Ministry of Finance brings an envelope that tells you that out of the four rooms in the house, the envelope can only deliver the roofing of one room so that if you roof one roof, the rain comes to destroy the other three rooms. The next year, you’re back to square one where you’ve a house without the roof. The envelope system has no meaning and we must take a second look at it.”

“This is an opportunity for us to look at the ratio between recurrent and capital expenditures. It’s the capital expenditure that delivers development. In a situation where over 70 percent of our national budget is dedicated to the recurrent expenditure, we can only deliver poverty, not development. The time has come for us to take a surgical view of our planning and budgeting process”.

Deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) described the powers given to the finance minister over budget as too excessive, saying “we’ve never had the opportunity to listen to ministers of National Planning on budget matters. We’ve always been overwhelmed by the powers of finance ministers over the years. The finance minister cannot continue to plan and execute budget. The planning should be done by the National Planning Minister. We need to have a budget office of the National Assembly to analyse national budgets.”

Senator Bernabas Gemade (PDP, Benue) chairman of the Senate Committee on National Planning, bemoaned what he called lack of national infrastructural plan, Senator Adamu Gumba (PDP, Bauchi) suggested that the budget office of the federation be moved to the National Planning Commission to ensure budget discipline. He said arbitrary budget process must stop.


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Toll Collection on Lagos-Calabar Highway Begins December

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Senator David Umahi, the Minister of Works, has announced that a section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be tolled starting in December.

Umahi disclosed this during an interview for a forthcoming State House documentary marking the second anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He said: “By December, we will toll Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway. We project a 10-year return on investment.

“The road has solar-powered lighting and CCTV infrastructure, and offers carbon credit advantages.

“It is more than a road; it is an economic corridor and a catalyst for regional growth.”

According to the minister, 30 kilometres of Section 1 have already been completed, with an additional 10 kilometres in Section 2 nearing delivery. Both segments feature six-lane concrete-paved carriageways, designed to meet modern standards for safety and durability.

Umahi further revealed that construction had commenced on Sections 3 and 3B of the highway, spanning a total of 65 kilometres, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom.

He described the positive response from local communities as a clear indication of the project’s wide-reaching socioeconomic benefits.

“Just days ago, we flagged off Sections 3 and 3B—65 kilometres in total, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom. The host communities’ excitement speaks to these projects’ transformative impact,” he said.

Umahi also highlighted the administration’s renewed focus on the Sokoto-Badagry superhighway, which he noted was part of a broader vision dating back to colonial-era trade plans.

“The Trans-Saharan trade route dates back to colonial-era planning. President Tinubu is now bringing these long-abandoned visions to life,” the minister explained.


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Kaspersky Uncovers Dero Crypto Miner Spreading via Exposed Container Environments

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Kaspersky Security Services experts have identified a sophisticated cyberattack campaign targeting containerized environments to deploy a miner for the Dero cryptocurrency.

The attackers abuse exposed Docker APIs — parts of Docker, an open-source container development platform. In 2025, there are a significant number of Docker API default ports that are insecurely published, accounting for almost 500 occurrences worldwide on average each month.

In the discovered campaign, cybercriminals inject two types of malwares into the compromised systems: one is the miner itself and the other is a propagation malware that can spread the campaign to other insecure container networks.

Kaspersky experts discovered this malicious campaign as part of a compromise assessment project. According to expert estimates, any organisation that operates containerized infrastructure — while exposing Docker APIs without robust security controls — can be a potential target. These may include technology companies, software development firms, hosting providers, cloud service providers and more enterprises.

According to Shodan, in 2025, there are 485 published Docker API default ports¹ worldwide each month on average. This figure illustrates the campaign’s potential attack surface by tallying the “entry points” — or insecurely exposed ports that attackers might target.

Once attackers identify an insecurely published Docker API, they either compromise existing containers or create new malicious ones based on a legitimate standard Ubuntu image. They then inject two malware types into the compromised containers: “nginx” and “cloud”.

The latter is a Dero cryptocurrency miner, while “nginx” is a malicious software that maintains persistence, ensures execution of the miner and scans for other exposed environments. This malware allows attackers to operate without traditional Command-and-Control (C2) servers; instead, each infected container independently scans the Internet and can spread the miner to new targets.

“The campaign has the potential for exponential growth of infections, with each compromised container acting as a new source of attack, if security measures are not immediately put in place in the potentially targeted networks,” explains Amged Wageh, an incident response and a compromise assessment expert at Kaspersky Security Services.

“Сontainers are foundational to software development, deployment, and scalability. Their widespread use across cloud-native environments, DevOps, and microservices architectures makes them an attractive target for cyber attackers. This growing reliance demands organisations adopt a 360-degree approach to security — combining robust security solutions with proactive threat hunting and regular compromise assessments”.

The attackers embedded the names “nginx” and “cloud” directly in the binary — an inflexible executable file composed of instructions and data for the processor, not for humans. This is a classic masquerading tactic that lets the payload pose as a legitimate tool, trying to deceive both analysts and automated defenses.


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Manager, Others Arraigned for Allegedly Hacking into Premium Trust Bank’s Server

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Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, charged five defendants before a Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly hacking into the server of Premium Trust Bank.

Manager, Others Arraigned for Allegedly Hacking into Premium Trust Bank’s Server

The defendants are listed as the bank’s e-payment service manager, Matthew Adeniyi; Kehinde Odeyemi, a nursing mother; Samson Latshin, Bolaji Omotosho and Sunday Okunnola.

They were charged before Justice Alexander Owoeye, on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, cybercrime and unlawful access to the bank’s database.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Mrs. Zeenat Atiku, prosecutor, alleged that they committed the offence between April and May this year, in collaboration with three others, now at large.

Those still at large are Isa Ismaila, Victor Joshua, also known as ‘Oracle’ as well as one other, simply identified as Humble.

According to the charge, the first defendant unlawfully disclosed sensitive credentials, including the bank’s server IP and domain details, to these parties.

She said this enabled an unauthorised access to the bank’s database and the consequent data breach allegedly resulted in financial gains of $10,000.

The prosecutor also alleged that the defendants attempted to intercept the bank’s network and procured a Hewlett-Packard ProBook 440 G9 laptop (serial No. SN#5CD2473N6G) configured to bypass the bank’s security systems.

The anti-graft agency said the alleged offences contravened the provisions of sections 12(1)(b), 27, 28(1)(b)(c) and 28(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024).

Following their pleas, the prosecutor, requested for a trial date and sought an order to remand the defendants in custody.

Meanwhile, the court declined an oral bail by the defence counsel and directed that a formal bail application be filed.

He adjourned the case until June 30, for trial and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Nigerian correctional centre, pending bail.

The court, however, added that the defence may apply for an earlier trial date, upon filing their bail applications.

 


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