Yet-to-be-identified gunmen, on Wednesday, killed the Director of Finance to the Ogun State governor’s office, Mr. Taiwo Oyekanmi.

According to Daily Post, the accountant was waylaid and shot dead on the popular Kuto Bridge in Abeokuta, less than three kilometres from a bank where he had withdrawn a lump sum of money for government use.

The unknown amount was also taken away by the gunmen.

Sources from the government office hinted that Oyekanmi was gruesomely killed a few days after he celebrated his birthday.

The sources further stated that Oyekanmi was rushed to the state hospital, in Ijaye area of Abeokuta, where he breathed his last.

It was further gathered that the news of his demise has been broken to his family and the Secretary to the State government (SSG), Tokunbo Talabi, as at the time of filing this report, was with the family of the deceased paying his condolence.

When contacted, Spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident but insisted that nobody died at the scene.

But when the commissioner of police, Abiodun Alamutu, was called, he confirmed the incident and also admitted that Oyekanmi was killed.

The police boss said, “This afternoon, the accountant, the Director of Finance with the driver and one other person left for Fidelity Bank to make some withdrawal.

“They went with a homemade bullion van. They were supposed to have a police escort, but for certain reasons, the person was permitted to travel to attend to some issues.

“Consequently, he was not part of the movement today. According to the story, after making the withdrawal, and on their way back to the office, they were accosted.

“A vehicle blocked them on top of the bridge, five occupants of the vehicle came down, shot at the director and from their vehicle brought out a sledge hammer to force the receptacle where the money was kept open and they left with the money.

“The director that was shot was thereafter taken to Ijaye hospital where he eventually gave up the ghost.

“For our investigation, I have directed the area commander to get to the bank and request for the CCTV footage which will give us insight into the vehicle in question and possibility of identifying the culprits if they ever tried to step out of the vehicle or maybe they just maintained their position in the vehicle.

“I have reached out to Lagos and everywhere in the command to block all the exits out of the state, while we are trying to identify them because they said they were five and they were hooded.”

Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, says the nation’s security architecture will be overhauled on his watch.

Speaking on Wednesday while presenting the N27 trillion budget estimate before the joint sitting of the senate and house of representatives, Tinubu said the federal government will re-organise Nigeria’s entire internal security architecture.

Highlighting key issues in the appropriation bill, Tinubu said the budget seeks to achieve “job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability”, better investment environment, and access to social security.

“Defence and internal security are accorded top priority,” the president said.

“The internal security architecture will be overhauled to enhance law enforcement capabilities and safeguard lives, property and investments across the country.

“Human capital is the most critical resource for national development. Accordingly, the budget prioritises human development with particular attention to children, the foundation of our nation.”

Tinubu said his government is committed to “improving the lot” of Nigerians and delivering on his campaign promises.

He said the 2024 budget has the potential to boost performance, promote the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, enhance security and public safety, and improve the general living conditions of our people.

“I am confident that these budgetary allocations and directives will set Nigeria on a transformative path towards a sustainable and resilient energy future, fostering economic growth, job creation, and environmental preservation,” he said.

The president added that despite global headwinds, the Nigerian economy has proven resilient, maintaining modest but positive growth over the past twelve months.

In June, Tinubu appointed new security chiefs after he retired those who served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Last week, Christopher Musa, chief of defence staff (CDS), while speaking at a security debate organised by the house of representatives, said Boko Haram suspects plan operations and move funds from behind bars.

The defence chief alleged that some prison warders help high-profile inmates to move funds through their bank accounts.

On escalating insecurity in the south-east geopolitical zone, the general said Simon Ekpa, factional leader of the proscribed Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB), is a menace to Nigeria, noting that his “utterances” and actions have caused significant harm to the country.

Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday said his administration is targeting a 3.76 percent economic growth in the 2024 fiscal year.

This was as he spotlighted national security, local job creation and poverty reduction as the top priorities of the 2024 Appropriation Bill which he called the ‘Budget of Renewed Hope.’

“A critical focus of this budget and the medium-term expenditure framework is Nigeria’s commitment to a greener future…We expect the economy to grow by a minimum of 3.76 per cent, above the forecasted world average. Inflation is expected to moderate to 21.4 per cent in 2024,” Tinubu said when he presented the 2024 budget proposal to a joint session of the 10th National Assembly in Abuja, his first since assuming office exactly six months ago.

Addressing the NASS, Tinubu promised to overhaul the nation’s internal security architecture to enhance law enforcement capabilities to safeguard lives, property and investments nationwide.

He said the proposed budget prioritises human capital development, with particular attention given to children because human capital remains the most critical resource for national development.

Therefore, “To improve the effectiveness of our budget performance, the government will focus on ensuring value for money, greater transparency, and accountability.

“In this regard, we will work more closely with development partners and the private sector,” he explained.

“To address long-standing issues in the education sector, a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education will be implemented, including the Student Loan Scheme scheduled to become operational by January 2024,” Tinubu added.

On the economy, Tinubu argued that a stable macroeconomic environment is crucial in his administration’s quest to catalyse private investment and accelerate economic growth.

Consequently, he affirmed that his administration shall continue to implement business and investment-friendly measures for sustainable growth.

Giving a breakdown of the 2024 Appropriation Bill, the President said: “Accordingly, an aggregate expenditure of N27.5tn is proposed for the Federal Government in 2024, of which the non-debt recurrent expenditure is N9.92tn while debt service is projected to be N8.25tn and capital expenditure is N8.7tn. Nigeria remains committed to meeting its debt obligations. Projected debt service is 45 per cent of the expected total revenue.

“The budget deficit is projected at N9.18tn in 2024 or 3.88 per cent of GDP. This is lower than the N13.78tn deficit recorded in 2023, which represented 6.11 per cent of GDP. The deficit will be financed by new borrowings totalling N7.83tn, N298.49bn from Privatisation Proceeds, and N1.05tn draw down on multilateral and bilateral loans secured for specific development projects.”