Tinubu asks lawmakers to approve a N100.5bn refund to Yobe for its airport and sends bills on drug law and accident probes
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday asked the National Assembly to approve a N100.5bn promissory note to reimburse Yobe State for building the Damaturu cargo airport (Punch, ThisDay). ThisDay said both chambers began consideration and that Senate President Godswill Akpabio gave a Senate committee one month to report. Punch said the president sent three bills and named two: an overhaul of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and wider investigative powers for the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau. The Sun's headline said he seeks repeal of the Indian Hemp Act. Punch later reported that aviation experts criticised the refund plan over the airport's economic viability.
A promissory note is a debt the Federal Government must pay later, so approving it commits public money to an airport whose use some experts question. The bills would change how drugs and accident investigations are handled.
You are not asked to do anything, but the cost of such notes is borne by taxpayers over time. The details of the bills are not yet public in the reports seen.
Supporters say states that built infrastructure at their own cost deserve repayment, and that updated drug and safety laws are overdue.
Critics say the refund favours one project without proof that it earns its keep, and ask whether it sets a precedent for other states.
Two documents decide this: the Yobe government's costing of the airport and the committee's report in about a month. Until the third bill is public, DailyDrop will not judge it.
DailyDrop Nigeria edition No. 11 · Morning · THU., OCT. 15, 2026