The senate and house of representatives will hold a joint sitting on Wednesday to mark 25 years of uninterrupted democracy in the country.

Joint sessions of the senate and house of representatives are uncommon, with the exception of the president’s budget presentation.

President Bola Tinubu will inaugurate the national assembly library and give a speech on the status of the country at the joint sitting, according to a statement released by Magaji Tambawal, clerk of the national parliament.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, Governor Abdul Rahman Abdul Rasaq of Kwara and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Governor of Imo Hope Uzodinma, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume are also anticipated at the meeting.

Others are Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to the president; and Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

Gbajabiamila, who served as speaker of the 9th house (2019-2023), will deliver a paper on ‘Reflections on the House’, while David Mark, president of the 6th & 7th senate (2007-2015), will speak on ‘Reflections on the Senate’.

Abdulsalami Abubakar, former head of state, will also deliver a paper on ‘Reflections on the Journey to Democracy’.

Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president, was criticised by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for how the present administration was handling pending reforms and the coup in the Niger Republic.

It was earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu’s implementation of eliminating petroleum product subsidies and floating the naira was criticised by Obasanjo.

Following the Tinubu government’s removal of the gasoline subsidy and floating of the naira, the populace have been complaining about inflation and the growing cost of food products over the past few months.

In a statement provided the media on Sunday, Obasanjo stated that while Tinubu’s ideas were essential, they were carried out incorrectly.

This was confirmed by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi.

The ex-President, according to the statement, spoke in Abuja at the weekend at a colloquium tagged: “Nigeria’s Development: Navigating the Way Out of the Current Economic Crisis and Insecurity.”

“Today, the government has taken three decisions, two of which are necessary but wrongly implemented and have led to the impoverisation of the economy and of Nigerians. These are the removal of subsidy, closing the gap between the black market and official rates of exchange and the third is dealing with a military coup in Niger Republic,” Obasanjo said.

It was the first time he would be openly criticising Tinubu, whom he did not support to become President.

But reacting on Monday,  the APC National Director, Bala Ibrahim, faulted Obasanjo, whom he described as a serial critic.

According to The Punch, Ibrahim said that he feared the former President might be manifesting signs of old age.

He said, “As a Nigerian and someone who respects Obasanjo, I think senility is beginning to come in. Obasanjo is beginning to manifest the symptoms.

“Ever since he lost the bid to have a third term in office, he has consistently attacked every regime that comes after him. He sees himself as the only one who meant well for Nigeria from independence to date. He thinks he is the best and every other leader is bad. And this is not good for a statesman. Nobody has monopoly on knowledge or style of leadership.

“Obasanjo has been consistent in his criticisms of people in leadership positions apart from himself. So, this is not an isolated case. President Bola Tinubu is not the first to be attacked by Obasanjo. Buhari and Jonathan were also victims of his criticisms. He himself did not fare better when he was the leader. In fact, Obasanjo superintended the balkanisation of the Nigerian economy.

“How can he say someone who is trying to put the economy on a better pedestal is not doing the right thing? I am not a spokesman for Tinubu. Even though the party has discussed him to my knowledge, I practically feel Obasanjo has erred as he has always been doing.”

Ajayi Crowther University (ACU) in Oyo state has announced a three-day mourning period in response to the passing of one of its students.

A 200-level Mechanical Engineering student named Akpo Alex was killed by beating last weekend by some of his peers for allegedly stealing a phone.

The expulsion of the pupils was previously notified by the varsity.

However, varsity vice-chancellor Timothy Adebayo revealed on Monday that 20 students had been detained and turned over to the police.

He added that following the preliminary investigations, only 12 of them were detained.

The VC said the institution had taken adequate measures to forestall such incidents.

Adebayo also declared a three-day mourning for the late student.

“The university has declared a three-day mourning to be observed by all students as well as fasting and prayers for management, staff, board of trustees and representative of the church overseeing the school from Wednesday to Sunday,” he said.

Adebayo also said the porter who was supposed to be on duty on the day of the incident has also been detained at the police headquarters in Ibadan.

“The deceased student, Akpo Alex a 200-level Mechanical Engineering student and about 22 years old, was alleged to have stolen a phone and transferred some amount from it to sports betting,” he added.

“But the school has learnt from this incident and has beefed up security and monitoring, while encouraging students to report whatever is happening around them to the vice-chancellor and other management staff.”