The National Assembly, on Thursday passed, the N54.99 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill.

The bill was passed separately by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

A breakdown of the budget showed N3.645trillion for statutory transfers, N14.317trillion for debt servicing, N13.64trillion for recurrent expenditure and N23.963trillion capital expenditure (development fund), with fiscal deficit put at N13.08trn.

The Deficit-to-Gross domestic product (GDP) Ratio was put at 1.52%.

Last Week, President Bola Tinubu increased the 2025 fiscal year budget from an initial N49.7trillion to N54.2trillion, seeking approval from the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Abubakar Bichi, while presenting the bill for consideration, stated that the committee met with the Presidential Economic Planning team to further discuss revenue projections and expenditure for the 2025 Appropriation Bill.

According to him, the 2025 Appropriation Bill was presented late, compared to that of 2024.

He urged the executive to present subsequent budgets to the National Assembly not later than three months before the next financial year, to maintain the January to December budget cycle.

Google Maps has changed the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America for people using the app in the US.

Explaining the name change, Google said it was making the change as part of “a longstanding practice” of following name changes when updated by official government sources.

It said the Gulf, which is bordered by the US, Cuba and Mexico – would not be changed for people using the app in Mexico, and users elsewhere in the world will see the label: “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)”.

It comes after President Donald Trump ordered the body of water to be renamed in US government documents after he returned to office last month.

Apple has followed suit, also changing the name to the Gulf of America in its map app for users in the US. Bloomberg reported that the change would be rolled out globally at a later date.

Mexico has decried the move, arguing that the US had no legal right to change the Gulf’s name.

The change was made by Google on Monday after the Geographic Names Information System, a US government database run by the Interior Department, listed an update to the Gulf’s name.

The listing reads: “The Gulf of America, formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico, with an average depth 5300 ft is a major body of water bordered and nearly landlocked by North America with the Gulf’s eastern, northern, and northwestern shores in the U.S. and its southwestern and southern shores in Mexico.”

It said the change was made in accordance with Trump’s executive order to “restore names that honor American Greatness”.

Following the signing of the order, President Trump proclaimed February 9 as “Gulf of America Day”.

“I call upon public officials and all the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities,” a White House statement said.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum had asked Google to reconsider its decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico.

She argued the US could not legally change the Gulf’s name because the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dictates that an individual country’s sovereign territory only extends up to 12 nautical miles out from the coastline.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press, a global media organisation, said that it would not change the name of the Gulf of Mexico in its style guide – which is used by most US media outlets.

Because of the style guide decision, the White House said it was barring an AP reporter from covering an executive order signing in the Oval Office.

“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism,” AP’s Executive Editor Julie Pace said in a statement. “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment.”

Trump’s executive order, signed on 20 January, also ordered North America’s tallest mountain – Denali – be called Mount McKinley, which was its name previously.

That change is not yet reflected on Google Maps, though the AP has adopted the mountain’s old name in its style guide.

Google has also made changes to its default events in calendars, removing references for several holidays and cultural events including Pride and Black History Month, which used to appear automatically. The issue has gained online attention this week, but Google said it made the change last year.

The tech company said in a statement that “maintaining hundreds of moments manually and consistently globally wasn’t scalable or sustainable”.

“So in mid-2024 we returned to showing only public holidays and national observances from timeanddate.com globally, while allowing users to manually add other important moments,” the company said.

Eminent Nigerians and Global Leaders on sunday evening, remembered banking icon Herbert Wigwe in an evening of tributes and celebration of his life and legacy. It was the first anniversary of his passing in a helicopter accident in Southern California on February 9, 2024. He died along with his wife, Doreen, son Chizi and friend, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.

The four-hour memorial service, held at the ballroom of the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, also featured prayers, musical performances and ministration by Lagos preacher, Pastor Itua Ighodalo. There was also a keynote lecture by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Ms Mia Mottley. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in a tribute, described Wigwe as a quintessential banker and business leader who made immense contributions to the growth of Nigeria’s banking industry.

Recalling his numerous engagements, travels and works with Wigwe, Chief Obasanjo noted that the late banker had taken Access Bank as a small lender in 2002 to a global business empire. Obasanjo’s tributes were read by Bolaji Agbede, the acting Group Chief Executive of Access Holdings, the parent company of the bank and other subsidiaries.

President Bola Tinubu said Wigwe’s pioneering legacy in business and finance is a testament to the uncanny ability of Nigerians to overcome obstacles and excel in their chosen fields.

The President, who was represented by Finance Minister Olawale Edun, commended Wigwe for founding a university which is poised to make enormous contributions to higher education in Africa. President Emmanuel Macron of France described the late Wigwe as a master of the art of business diplomacy – a relatively new field that seeks to adapt the skills and mindset of the government diplomat to the needs of the firm he leads.

Macron noted that as President of French-Nigeria Business Council (FNBC), Wigwe had used the platform to promote bilateral relations between the two countries. President Macrons’s statement was read by a senior diplomat at the French Embassy in Abuja. In a keynote lecture delivered extempore, Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados regretted the loss of important correspondent banking relationships (CBRs) during the 2009 financial crisis by banks across the Caribbean and noted that her country has risen to the challenge.

A correspondent banking relationship (CBR) is a bilateral arrangement between banks, often involving a reciprocal cross-border relationship in multiple countries. The arrangement involves one bank (the correspondent – for example a major international bank) providing a deposit account or other liability accounts, and related services, to another bank (the respondent – for example a bank located and doing business in the Caribbean, or Nigeria or any other country).

The Prime Minister announced that Access Bank would soon commence banking business in Barbados once the necessary regulatory approvals have been concluded.

The Prime Minister recalled her fond memories of Herbert Wigwe as a consummate international business icon and recollected that King Jaja of Opobo was exiled to her country by the British colonialists in the 17th century for refusing to implement a nefarious British tax policy and obstructing the colonialists’ commercial and political expansion. Ms Mottley was particularly excited that Opobo is a community in the present day Rivers State, Wigwe’s home state; and she tagged on that to create a pun. ‘’Tochi’’, she called out to Wige’s daughter, now the eldest child, who was also seated in the front row with the rest of the family, “you will soon come to Barbados; but not as an exile’’.

The audience laughed. Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwon-Olu gave an impassioned and heartfelt tribute, describing Wigwe as ‘’larger than life person, who was a builder of people; ideas and fortune’’.

Sanwon-Olu described Wigwe as brave and courageous.

His words: “Where others hesitated, Herbert moved. Lagos has felt his absence. Across the state, his legacies abound’’.

He mentioned a few of such legacies as the renovated National Arts Theatre; Access Bank Lagos Marathon and the triumph over Covid-19.

One of the high points of the evening was Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede’s emotional tributes in which he said that his partnership and friendship with Wigwe endured for so long due to the trust they had in each other. ‘’I was never, for once, afraid that Herbert was in the room, closing deals, when I was not there; and vice versa’’, he said, eliciting a prolonged applause. He announced that despite malicious publications in the social media, he would never abandon Herbert Wigwe’s children.

“Tochi; Hannah; David; Okachi, you are mine; just as my children were your dad’s children when he was here with us’’, Aig-Imoukhuede said, to the applause of the audience, some of whom were already tearing up.

“They’re irreplaceable’’, he said, referring to the departed.

“Herbert is irreplaceable as a friend; he is irreplaceable as a partner’’.

Two of Chizi’s friends, Rasheed Sarumi and Tunde Ogundare, also gave emotional tributes to him; while Linda Petinrin and Queenette Allagoa remembered the late Chizoba Wigwe in emotional tributes. Ambassador Idaere Gogo-Ogan (Herbert’s longstanding friend); Roosevelt Ogbonna (CEO of Access bank Plc); Uche Wigwe (Herbert’s cousin and trustee of Wigwe University) and David Wigwe (Herbert’s son) also gave stirring homage in what was clearly an evening of mixed emotions and celebrations of beautiful lives lost.

Other dignitaries at the event were Chairman of THISDAY Arise Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN and chairman of Access Bank Plc; Emir Kano, Mohammed Sanusi II; Prof Benedict Oramah, President of Afrexim Bank; Former CEO of GTBank, Fola Adeola; Ben Akabueze, former DG of Budget Office of the Federation; executives and staff of Access Bank Group.

During a dinner after the memorial service, Prince Ogbaigbena formally presented THISDAY Lifetime Achievement Award for Herbert Wigwe to Tochi Wigwe.