- The Federal Ministry postponed the National Council meeting in Osun due to political unrest from the local government elections
- The decision was communicated in an internal memo, with a new date to be announced later
- The postponement came after the PDP’s overwhelming victory in Osun’s local elections
The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation has announced the postponement of the National Council for Art, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy meeting, initially scheduled to take place in Osun State from February 25 to 27, 2025.
The decision follows rising political tensions in the state, triggered by the ongoing local government elections.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, conveyed the postponement through an internal memo titled ‘Urgent Action Against Hosting of National Council for Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy from 24-27 February 2025, in Osun State’.
The memo, directed to State Commissioners, Directors of MDAs, and key stakeholders, cited the current political unrest in Osun State as the primary reason for the delay.
“With reference to the above, I wish to bring to your notice the current tense situation in Osun State stemmed from political unrest and uproar in view of the ongoing local government elections,” the memo read.
The memo further informed the recipients that the meeting would be rescheduled to a later date, which would be communicated in due course.
It concluded by expressing regret for any inconvenience caused by the change in plans: "Any inconvenience(s) caused is highly regretted, please."
In light of this, the Ministry urged all stakeholders to circulate the updated information to relevant parties to ensure widespread awareness of the change.
The postponement coincides with significant political developments in Osun State, where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured a sweeping victory in the local government elections on Saturday, February 22.
The PDP won all 30 chairmanship and 332 councillorship seats across the state's local councils, as confirmed by the Chairman of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, Hashim Abioye, at a press briefing in Osogbo.
Governor Ademola Adeleke subsequently inaugurated the newly elected local government officials on Sunday, urging them to focus on delivering good governance while warning against attempts to forcibly occupy council secretariats.
FG to allocate N6.5trn for personnel costs in 2025 due to new minimum wage
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that the Federal Government disclosed that its expenditure on personnel costs would rise by at least 60 per cent in 2025, following the implementation of the newly approved national minimum wage and consequential salary adjustments for federal civil servants.
According to the newly released Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF), the government’s personnel costs would increase by N2.46 trillion, bringing the total personnel budget to approximately N6.56 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year.
