Five things to know to start your Tuesday

FG wants to increase the housing budget to N500bn

The Federal Government wants to work with National Assembly leaders to raise its yearly housing budget to at least N500 billion, beginning with the 2025 budget.

Housing and Urban Development Minister Ahmed Dangiwa shared this news with reporters on Monday during the first Meet the Press, a weekly event organized by the Presidential Digital Strategy and Communications team.

Dangiwa explained that the current N50bn yearly housing budget is “grossly inadequate” compared to the N5.5tn needed each year to solve housing shortages.

“This would allow us to expand housing projects to cover the remaining 18 states and increase the unit count per state from 250 to at least 500,” he said.

Biden pledged $4bn to World Bank’s IDA that focuses on poor nations

President Biden has promised $4 billion to help the World Bank’s unit that provides cheap loans and grants to the world’s poorest countries. This pledge comes at a time when the future of such funding is unclear due to President-elect Trump’s upcoming administration.

Biden made this three-year commitment while meeting with other G20 leaders in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, according to a senior official who spoke anonymously about the private meeting.

The money would support the International Development Association, which needs its funds topped up every few years. However, Congress must approve this American contribution, and that’s unlikely to happen before Trump becomes president in January.

During his first term, Trump and his team preferred to handle this kind of lending differently, like when they created the International Development Finance Corp. Still, under Trump’s first administration, the US did agree to give about $3 billion to refill the IDA fund in 2019.

Read Also:Nigeria’s oil output underwhelms ambitious 2025 budget

NCAA says passenger delays will attract $170, N10,000 fines

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority plans to crack down on airlines that delay passengers’ baggage, announcing fines of $170 for foreign airlines and N10,000 for local airlines as an initial penalty.

In October, the NCAA announced in Abuja that passengers could get compensation up to $1,000 for lost luggage on domestic flights and $1,288 Special Drawing Rights for international flights.

During a Monday roadshow at Lagos airport to inform holiday travelers of their rights, Michael Achimugu, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, promised that the NCAA would fully enforce these penalties against any airline that breaks the rules.

Trump picks Sean Duffy as transportation secretary

President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that he’s choosing former Wisconsin Representative and Fox Business News host Sean Duffy as transportation secretary.

If approved, Duffy would manage aviation, automotive, rail, transit and other transportation policies at the department. The role comes with a $110 billion budget and oversight of funding from the Biden administration’s 2021 $1 trillion infrastructure law and EV charging stations.

“I’m eager to help you usher in a new golden age of transportation,” Duffy wrote on social media.

Trump says he’ll reverse Biden’s vehicle emissions rules. He plans to start undoing Biden’s strict emissions regulations as soon as he takes office. These rules currently require a 50% reduction in tailpipe emissions from 2026 levels by 2032 and encourage automakers to make more electric vehicles.

Hong Kong handed lengthy jail sentences to pro-democracy activists

A Hong Kong court has sentenced 45 democracy supporters to prison terms of up to 10 years, following a major national security trial that has weakened the city’s democracy movement and drawn international criticism. The case began in 2021 when authorities arrested 47 pro-democracy activists and accused them of plotting against the government under a new security law from Beijing. They could have faced life in prison.

Benny Tai, who used to teach law and was named as someone who organized the activists, received a 10-year prison sentence. This is the longest sentence given under the 2020 national security law so far. Several Western countries have spoken out against the trial, with the United States calling it politically motivated and arguing that the activists should be freed since they were taking part in legal and peaceful political activities.

The governments of China and Hong Kong defend their actions, saying they needed the national security laws to bring back order after large democracy protests in 2019. They insist the activists have been treated fairly under local laws.