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South Korea president declares emergency martial law
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, on Tuesday, declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill.
“To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation.
“With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he added.
The surprise move comes as Yoon’s People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party continue to bicker over next year’s budget bill. Opposition MPs last week approved a significantly downsized budget plan through a parliamentary committee.
The opposition has slashed approximately 4.1 trillion won ($2.8 billion) from Yoon’s proposed 677 trillion won budget plan, cutting the government’s reserve fund and activity budgets for Yoon’s office, the prosecution, police and the state audit agency.
“Our National Assembly has become a haven for criminals, a den of legislative dictatorship that seeks to paralyse the judicial and administrative systems and overturn our liberal democratic order,” Yoon said.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, accused opposition lawmakers of cutting “all key budgets essential to the nation’s core functions, such as combatting drug crimes and maintaining public security… turning the country into a drug haven and a state of public safety chaos.”
The president went on to label the opposition, which holds a majority in the 300-member parliament, as “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime”.
Yoon described the imposition of martial law as “inevitable to guarantee the continuity of a liberal South Korea,” adding that it would not impact the country’s foreign policy.
“I will restore the country to normalcy by getting rid of anti-state forces as soon as possible,” he said, without elaborating further other than the martial law in place.
He described the current situation as South Korea “on the verge of collapse, with the National Assembly acting as a monster intent on bringing down liberal democracy”.
With martial law imposed, all military units in the South, which remains technically at war with the nuclear-armed North, have been ordered to strengthen their emergency alert and readiness postures, Yonhap news agency reported.
The entrance to the National Assembly has been sealed, and MPs have been barred from entering the building, according to Yonhap.
The imposition of emergency martial law comes as Yoon’s approval rating dropped to 19 percent in the latest Gallup poll last week, with many expressing dissatisfaction over his handling of the economy and controversies involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.
President Bola Tinubu has assented to the 2026 Appropriation Bill, which provides for an aggregate expenditure of ₦68.32 trillion.
He also signed the bill extending the implementation period for the 2025 budget from March 31, 2026, to June 30, 2026.
This was announced on Friday in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The ₦68.32 trillion budget for this year earmarks ₦4.799 trillion for statutory transfers and ₦15.8 trillion for debt service.
It allocates ₦15.4 trillion to recurrent expenditure and ₦32.2 trillion to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure.
“With capital expenditure accounting for about 50 per cent, the 2026 budget underscores the administration’s continued commitment to economic stability, national security, infrastructure development, and inclusive growth.
The allocations reflect a strategic balance between statutory obligations, debt servicing, recurrent expenditure, and capital investments critical to driving productivity and improving the quality of life for Nigerians,” the statement read in part.
The President also has assented to the Appropriation (Repeal and Enactment) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which extends the implementation period of the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act from March 31, 2026, to June 30, 2026.
The extension, the statement revealed, would ensure the full and effective utilisation of appropriated funds, particularly for critical infrastructure and development projects that are at advanced stages of implementation across the country.
It will enable ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to consolidate ongoing works, enhance project completion rates, and maximise value for public expenditure. With the 2026 Appropriation Act coming into force on April 1, the Federal Government will commence full implementation in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda,” it added.
Additionally, President Tinubu directed MDAs to ensure disciplined, transparent, and efficient utilisation of allocated resources, with a strong emphasis on value for money and timely project delivery.
He commended the National Assembly for its diligence, cooperation, and patriotism in expeditiously considering and passing the budget.
The President reaffirmed the importance of sustained collaboration between the executive and legislative arms of government in advancing national development objectives.
Tinubu also assured Nigerians of his administration’s resolve to deepen fiscal reforms, enhance revenue generation, and prioritise investments that will stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and strengthen social protection mechanisms.
The budget is also expected to be partly financed through external borrowing, following the approval of a foreign loan plan exceeding $21 billion to bridge the fiscal gap.
₦9.85trn Increase
The 2026 budget represents an increase of ₦9.85 trillion over the initial proposal of ₦58.47 trillion that Tinubu submitted to the National Assembly, and ₦13.33 trillion higher than the 2025 budget.
The President had while presenting the 2025 budget proposal before federal lawmakers in December 2025, pegged the capital expenditure at ₦26.08 trillion and the crude oil benchmark at US$64.85 per barrel.
He disclosed that the expected total revenue was ₦34.33 trillion; ₦15.52 trillion for debt servicing.
The proposal was anchored on a crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the US Dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.
Amid the growing concerns over insecurity across the country, Tinubu said his administration would “invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes—because security spending must deliver security results”.
“We will take decisive steps to strengthen agricultural markets. Food security is national security.
“The 2026 budget prioritises input financing and mechanisation; irrigation and climate‑resilient agriculture; storage and processing; and agro‑value chains,” he told the National Assembly members.
Nigeria’s budgets in recent years have come under fire with experts critcising the poor implementation and release of funds for the execution of important national projects.
But the Tinubu administration said that the 2026 national budget was well-planned to solidify the gains of its reform agenda.
“Our ‘Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity’ is critical. It is a commitment to double down on what is working, to solidify gains, and to ensure that the shared prosperity we speak of becomes a lived reality for more Nigerians, faster,” Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said in a statement.
Popular sports broadcast journalist with Classic FM 97.3, Temisan Okomi, has died.
A journalist with News Central, Olawale Adigun, confirmed his death in a statement shared on X on Friday.
He wrote on X, “The worst way to go into the weekend is hearing about Temisan Okomi’s passing. I’m so gutted and, at the same time, terrified. This man meant so much to me.”
Recall that news of his death has since stirred reactions on X, with colleagues and fans expressing shock and grief.
The late journalist had worked with Lagos Television, HiTV, and other prominent media organizations in Nigeria.
His last post on X was on April 14, 2026, when he wrote, “The Champions League is hard, man.”
Ibrahim Abdulkarim, a political associate of ex-governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has claimed that the former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has agreed to deputize the Obi in the 2027 presidential race.
He spoke during an interview on Trust TV, said the Obidients and the Kwankwassiyya Movements are already aligning towards Obi/Kwankwaso ticket.
Asked if Obi and Kwankwaso had struck a deal, Abdulkarim said “yes, I can categorically tell you that they have agreed”.
We all know that. Both the Obidients and the Kwankwassiyya Movements are aware of the agreement”.
Recall that Kwankwaso recently decamped from the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP to the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
His move stirred suspicion that the two political gladiators may have agreed to run for the 2027 presidency on a single ticket.
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