Federal Government has directed state governments to begin sharing the cost of electricity subsidy alongside the Federal Government.

It was gathered that payments for the subsidy will now be funded through the Power Assistance Consumers Fund (PCAF), a government-backed pool created to subsidise electricity bills for low-income and vulnerable consumers.

The fund is designed to replace blanket subsidies with targeted support, improve affordability amid rising tariffs and stabilise the power sector.

More than 18 states are already operating electricity regulatory agencies, while others are preparing to do so. The states include Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Gombe and Jigawa.

The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Tanimu Yakubu, disclosed this in Abuja at the opening of the 2026 Post-Budget Preparation workshop on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).

Speaking in an address read on his behalf by the Director of Expenditure Social, Mr. Yusuf Muhammed, Yakubu said states that enjoy the political benefits of electricity subsidy must also contribute to covering the financial gap created by the policy.

“Mr. President has directed that we operationalise a clearer framework to share the cost of electricity across the federation, so the burden is not treated as an open-ended fiscal residual — I mean federal residual,” he said.

“If you want a stable power sector, we must pay for the choices we make. When tariffs are held low, a gap is created. That gap is a subsidy, and a subsidy is a bill.”

He added: “In 2026, we will stop pretending that this bill can be left to the Federal Government alone, especially where the policy choice or the political benefit is shared across tiers of government.”

According to him, the President has ordered the activation of the electricity sector’s legal framework to ensure subsidy burden-sharing is practical and transparent.

“This means subsidy costs must be explicit, tracked and funded, so they do not return as arrears, liquidity crises or hidden liabilities in the market,” Yakubu said.

“It also means that if any tier of government chooses affordability intervention, the responsibility must be clear, agreed and enforceable. This is not punishment. It is an alignment.”

He further warned MDAs to make subsidy-related costs visible in their planning.

“The implication is simple: make subsidy-related costs visible in your planning and submissions. Do not push liabilities into the market as arrears or unfunded commitments,” he said.

Yakubu also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has directed a review of Nigeria’s Fiscal Responsibility Framework to make fiscal rules more dynamic and enforceable.

“Fiscal rules are not a slogan; they are the guardrails of government,” he said.

“Without guardrails, spending becomes impulsive, debt becomes casual, and the budget becomes a statement of intent rather than a tool of delivery.”

He added that capital projects in 2026 must be delivery-ready and properly financed.

“A long list of projects is not a development strategy. It is often a map of disappointment. What citizens feel is delivery, completed roads, reliable power, functional schools and working hospitals,” Yakubu said.

Reacting to the development, the Director of Media and Communications of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Mr. Yunusa Abdullahi, said: “We are reviewing the context and content of the information. We will not be making further comments on it.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has unveiled plans to ban children under 16 from social media platforms, mandating robust age verification systems as part of a sweeping legislative package to curb toxic online content.

Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sánchez declared platforms must erect “real barriers that work” beyond mere checkboxes, shielding minors from the “digital Wild West” where they navigate unprotected.

The proposal, set for approval by Spain’s Council of Ministers next week, amends a draft bill in parliament and holds social media executives legally accountable for illegal content like disinformation, hate speech and child pornography.

The measures introduce tools to track harmful material spread, while criminalising algorithm manipulation that amplifies such content for profit.

“Spreading hate must come at a legal, economic and ethical cost platforms can no longer ignore,” Sánchez emphasised, vowing governments would stop turning a blind eye.

Spain joins Europe’s hardening stance on youth online access, mirroring Denmark’s under-15 ban plans from last fall, France’s push for restrictions by September, and Portugal’s new bill requiring parental consent for under-16s.

The moves signal a continental shift to “regain control” of digital spaces amid rising concerns over youth vulnerability.

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday, said that it will deport no fewer than 79 convicted Nigerians listed on its ‘worst-of-the-worst’ criminal list.

President Trump

According to the DHS website, 79 Nigerians were convicted of offences bordering on fraud, drug peddling, assault, manslaughter and robbery, among others.

An accompanying note showed that the convicts were arrested as part of the United States’ crackdown on criminal immigrants.

The note read, “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is highlighting the worst of the worst criminal aliens arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, the hardworking men and women of DHS and ICE are fulfilling President Trump’s promise and carrying out mass deportations, starting with the worst of the worst, including the illegal aliens you see here.”

The list showed that the convicted Nigerians include Boluwaji Akingunsoye, Ejike Asiegbunam, Emmanuel Mayegun Adeola, Bamidele Bolatiwa, Ifeanyi Nwaozomudoh, Aderemi Akefe, Solomon Wilfred, Chibundu Anuebunwa, Joshua Ineh, Usman Momoh, Oluwole Odunowo, Bolarinwa Salau, and Oriyomi Aloba.

Others are Oludayo Adeagbo, Olaniyi Akintuyi, Talatu Dada, Olatunde Oladinni, Jelili Qudus, Abayomi Daramola, Toluwani Adebakin, Olamide Jolayemi, Isaiah Okere, Benji Macaulay and Joseph Ogbara.

Also listed are Olusegun Martins, Kingsley Ariegwe, Olugbenga Abass, Oyewole Balogun, Adeyinka Ademokunla, Christian Ogunghide, Christopher Ojuma, Olamide Adedipe, Patrick Onogwu, Olajide Olateru-Olagbegi, and Omotayo Akinto.

Others include Kenneth Unanka, Jeremiah Ehis, Oluwafemi Orimolade, Ayibatonyе Bienzigha, Uche Diuno, Akinwale Adaramaja, Boluwatife Afolabi, Chinonso Ochie, Olayinka A. Jones, Theophilus Anwana, Aishatu Umaru, and Henry Idiagbonya.

Further names on the list are Okechukwu Okoronkwo, Daro Kosin, Sakiru Ambali, Kamaludeen Giwa, Cyril Odogwu, Ifeanyi Echigeme, Kingsley Ibhadore, Suraj Tairu, Peter Equere, Dasola Abdulraheem, Adewale Aladekoba, and Akeem Adeleke.

Also included are Bernard Ogie Oretekor, Abiemwense Obanor, Olufemi Olufisayo Olutiola, Chukwuemeka Okorie, Abimbola Esan, Elizabeth Miller, Chima Orji, Adetunji Olofinlade, Abdul Akinsanya, Elizabeth Adeshewo, Dennis Ofuoma, and Boluwaji Akingunsoye.

Others are Quazeem Adeyinka, Ifeanyi Okoro, Oluwaseun Kassim, Olumide Bankole Morakinyo, Abraham Ola Osoko, Oluchi Jennifer and Chibuzo Nwaonu.

Trump’s administration has continued to crackdown on criminal and illegal immigrants across the US with many Nigerians in the country affected by the policy.