As part of efforts to support the rulling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Lagos businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Samuel Mawuyon Ajose has hit the ground running by donating logistics materials to the 57 LGA chairmen of the APC in Lagos State to ease the exercise that started recently.

The presentation was made shortly after a brief meeting with the 57 LGA chairmen at the prestigious Cathedral Church Primary School on Broad Street, Lagos Island.

Items presented to the chairmen included 57 HP desktop printers, 57 Lenovo Laptops, 57 Generators, 57 MTN wifi with subscription for 6 months, 57 Electric standing fans, 57 surge protector extension leads, 57 HP mouse and banner for public awareness for the registration.

The presentation came along with the donation of the sum of N200,000 to each LGA chairman for the mobilisation of those who will do the job for six months.

Speaking at the gathering, Ajose said that he did this because of the great job President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government is recording both at the federal and state levels, who he said will do more when he is reelected in 2027.

He stated that the secret of continuity is to win elections and that to win elections, the APC must record massive votes, saying that this can only be achieved, when members of the public have access to vote and that the means of voting is the PVC.

He added that this was why they wanted the people to get their PVCs and the reasons they were supporting the party with logistics and manpower.

Speaking further, he stated that people who have PVCs through the support of APC will be willing and happy to vote for the party and that this was why they were not just calling on members of the public to enroll in the exercise, but provide them with the means to ease the process at all cost.

Ajose said that he wanted to recruit more members for the APC, and that “we want the exercise to go to the grassroots, reach the common man and make a positive change in our society,” he said.

The 49-year-old philanthropist and an indigene of Badagry, Lagos State and CEO of Samuel Ajose Foundation, told newsmen that the awareness campaign and support is part of planning ahead for the victory of President Bola Tinubu in 2027 and that his victory can only come with massive and bulk votes so that he will continue the great job he started ranging from the Lagos-Calabar expressway, the approved seaport in Badagry and other big infrastructure and gigantic amenities across the nation.

He now appealed to members of the public across the 57 LGAs to go out in large number to utilise the opportunity by enrolling for their PVCs, which he said will also be useful to them in other areas apart from exercising their franchise.

Commenting on the exercise, the Chairman of the APC in Lagos State, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, who was ably represented by his Deputy, Hon. Moshood Mayegun, applauded Ajose for his love for the party, courage, sportsmanship and  dedication to the party and members of the public, saying, “truly, you are a member of our great party and your actions today have shown the undiluted love you have for the party and members of the public and you have written your name in gold in the hearts of the party members.”

Mayegun said that the party is so grateful with the materials and that it will be a smooth exercise in collaboration with what the INEC has provided and that it is a pathway to victory for the party in the coming polls.

In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Conference of 57 LGA Chairmen in Lagos State, Hon. Mayegun Dalley Adeokun and his Deputy, Hon. Rasheed Shobaloju, who spoke on behalf of others, thanked Ajose for the donations and promised that the materials will be used judiciously and that they will deliver on the mandate given to them.

The duo said his singular action would also strengthen the administrative capacity and competence of the 57 LGA party secretariat.

Records have it that Mr. Ajose, a notable philanthropist, contributed to the victory of the 15 APC chairmanship candidates from Badagry division as he gave them N10 million each. He also empowered 250 female traders in Badagry with N200, 000 each for growing their businesses, and he also donated another 18 million naira to support the capital base of the 57 LGA corporative society yesterday.

INEC began the continuous voters registration exercise on Friday, August 15.

BudgIT, a prominent civic-tech organisation promoting transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s public finance, has raised serious concerns over the refusal of the Federal Ministry of Finance, via the Budget Office, to publish Quarterly Budget Implementation Reports (BIR), describing its action as a violation of statute, established practice and a clear erosion of the hard-won dissemination and transparency reforms of previous administrations.

It is settled law, per the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 in Part V, Budgetary Execution and Achievement of Targets, section 30 that: “The Minister of Finance shall cause the report (on the Implementation of the Annual Budget) prepared pursuant to subsection (1) of this section to be published in the mass and electronic media and on the Ministry of Finance website, not later than 30 days after the end of each quarter.” Furthermore, the previous administration, in its two terms, published a minimum of 3 BIRs per fiscal year. With nearly 4 BIRs pending from Q2, 2024, to Q2, 2025, the current administration has not published a single BIR in nearly one fiscal year.

Budget Implementation Reports are not only a requirement of the law and established practice, they are an indication of a government’s willingness to be transparent and to provide evidence of its spending.

The proof of this spending is crucial to assess the quality of implementation of its budget and, more broadly, the quality of the delivery of public goods and services. Public sector accounting principles emphasise the need to publish and disseminate financial information as a matter of professional practice and to secure the engagement of the public, a significant stakeholder in public financial management.

It is troubling that the current administration has ignored the law and refused to publish a key public document. It would have been preferred that the current administration build on the foundation of previous governments and, in addition to regular implementation reports, publish and disseminate the Federal Cash Plan Disbursement Schedule, per section 26 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. This poor state of affairs is all the more compelling, considering the current administration has just concluded spending on the 2024 Appropriation (though it is unclear if the 2024 Supplementary.

Appropriation is still being implemented). Regrettably, the Ministry of Finance and Budget Office of the Federation have withheld crucial information that the private sector is meant to use for planning, information that Civil Society and the Academia are meant to use for their advocacy and analysis and information that will show the international community that Nigeria operates according to accepted norms and conventions of international public finance.

Perhaps more worrying is the fact that this disposition towards providing public information does not end with Quarterly BIRs but extends to the government’s own public platforms, namely OpenTreasury.gov, which used to be the go-to source of information on daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly spending of the federal government. While the platform was not perfect (several government Ministries, Departments and Agencies’ spending data was absent, links were broken, and the data was often not machine-readable), it was largely comprehensive and a demonstration of transparency and the willingness of the government to be held accountable. The government has not updated the platform with new information since January 2025.

Commenting, BudgIT’s Group Head of Research and Policy Advisory, Vahyala Kwaga, contends that the unwillingness of this administration to publish what was once a matter of routine is discouraging.

“The ability of a government to hold itself accountable to its laws is not only to be expected of a democracy such as ours but is an indication of adherence to the rule of law. The non-publishing of crucial information by the Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation should not be augmented by ‘pronouncements’ by the Minister/Director General in the media. It should be done by publishing financial information according to existing laws. Citizens and the general public have a right to know and a right to be informed,” he said.

To this end, BudgIT calls on the Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation, and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to uphold the principles of transparency, legal compliance, and accountability in the management of public funds. We also urge citizens, civil society organisations, the private sector, academia/research, and the international community to collectively seek the urgent publication of the expenditure performance underpinning the federal government’s 2024 budget. We all have a right to know.

The book-A Journey of Change by Mr. Kayode Adeagbo, the CEO of TMS UK Property Limited was presented to the public yesterday at Laterna Books store in Lagos.

Adeagbo said the book, which was 20 years in his dream, was a compilation of his earthly journey of over 60 years and a worthy testament and tribute to his love of books and reading.

Going down memory lane, the author said: “I believe so much in books-reading transformed my life. Many people do not understand the spiritual angle of reading books.”

In his welcome address, the author stated:

“This book is more than just pages and words—it is my story, my experiences and the lessons I have gathered along the way. Like many of us, my journey has not been a straight path. I’ve faced challenges, setbacks and moments of uncertainty. But through it all, I discovered resilience, faith and the power of making bold decisions. One of the biggest parts of my story is my property journey—how I started with little, made mistakes, learned, and eventually built a path that created both freedom and opportunities.”

He added that the book is not just about property, though—it is about transformation. “It is about how change, no matter how difficult, can open doors to growth, to new beginnings and to success that once seemed out of reach. My hope is that as you read the book, you don’t just see my journey—you see reflections of your own. That you find encouragement to take steps forward, to embrace change and to build the future you truly desire.”

On the inspiration behind the book, Adeagbo said mentoring people was one of the key reasons why he wrote and published the book.

“Impacting people is more important than personal success. I am impacting people. Those doing well today should impact other people to also do well. I have a lot of people l mentor. People in Nigeria could be part of my mentoring program. Many didn’t buy into my mentoring program initially but many are now interested.”

He said the book, which was four months in the making would have a revised edition by 2026 to capture some of the missing links in his life’s journey not adequately reflected in the current edition. According to him, two more books are coming in the very near future.

The author said the coming of technology has also impacted positively on reading of books.

“Technology has helped me in reading books. I read more now on property because l have a lot of people l mentor in that line of business.”

Adeagbo added that relocating from Nigeria to the United Kingdom to focus on his real estate business was a journey that created a path of success and prosperity unlike his early upbringing.

“My journey to Lagos in my early days was to live my father’s dream of going to school to become a politician, unlike my dad who was a farmer. We also generated great value from our mum in our family setting.”

With his success story as a realtor in the bag, Adeagbo confessed that his relationship with God kept him away from the wrong path of creating wealth.

“The scriptures guided my path. My faith in God guided me on my journey. The God factor is key and if you join it with others, success is guaranteed.”

To him, the other success factors include networking, collaboration and leveraging on technology.

“The world we live in rotates. It is not static. Many years ago, hardwork was the most important factor. Then the smart work ethic came-and it came with technology. In essence, the sum total of my journey was the power of making bold decisions.”

To corroborate the story of Kayode Adeagbo, his close friend of over five years, Mr. Dotun Oloyede, CEO, Rolad Properties Limited, said the author, fondly called Papa K by close friends, believes strongly in the concept of tenacity and resilience.

“Adeagbo’s commitment is to see others grow. His methodology resolves around hardwork, educating himself and gaining additional knowledge.”

In the same vein, Mr. Olusanya Adetifa, the CEO of Shanhad Integrated Services Limited described the author as an all-rounder.

“He teaches people about foundation, vision and resilience, which started from his early days in life. He had the determination not to disappoint his parents. He wants to teach. He is very intentional to pass on knowledge to others.”

Adetifa said parents have a big role in redressing the problem and challenge of declining reading culture in Nigeria, even in the current age of social media.