The United States, US, House of Representatives on Thursday passed a budget bill to cut government taxes and government spendings.

The bill was passed despite opposition from Democrats and Republican hard-liners.

BBC reports that the spending plan is key in President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda and he has called it a “big, beautiful bill”.

The bill was passed after 216-214 vote by lawmakers.

Reacting, Trump congratulated lawmakers for the p[assage of the bill.

Posting on social media, Trump wrote: “Congratulations to the House on the passage of a Bill that sets the stage for one of the Greatest and Most Important Signings in the History of our Country.”

However, the House bill has much deeper spending cuts than the version passed by the US Senate, and the two versions must now be merged into one bill for him to sign into law.

The House passed the budget bill mostly along party lines, with all Democrats voting against, along with two Republicans – Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana.

The Presidency on Thursday, took steps to close the gaps in bringing federal policies closer to grassroots communities across Nigeria, with the inauguration of a National Community Engagement Framework Drafting Committee.

After the ceremony held at the State House, Abuja, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North‑West), Abdullahi Yakasai, said the framework will embody the spirit of partnership and collective action.

Yakasai said, “The framework drafting committee we are launching today embodies the spirit of partnership and collective action, ensuring that progress is shared responsibility.

“Our nation is at an important juncture where every decision must prioritise the wellbeing of our citizens.

“First, you will dialogue and have a meaningful conversation and action. It will present a new chapter in our nation’s history that is built on the principles of inclusivity and equity.”

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement North‑Central, Mrs Abiodun Essiet, said the framework would serve as a blueprint for action to ensure that no citizen feels excluded from national decision‑making.

“Today is not just a ceremony; it is a call to serve, to innovate, and to rise to the occasion,” she told committee members and invited dignitaries.

“This framework reflects our collective commitment to make sure no voice is left unheard, no community left behind, and every citizen feels seen, valued, and empowered.”

Essiet urged members drawn from government, civil society, and the private sector to act as “bridges between policy and people,” stressing that their task goes beyond representation to inspiring trust and driving impact.

Under the directive of President Bola Tinubu, the committee will draft guidelines for collaborative governance, inclusive decision‑making, and citizen empowerment, she explained.

Once completed, the framework is expected to formalise channels for regular dialogue between federal agencies and local communities, with the aim of improving service delivery and boosting public confidence in government programmes.

Its first assignments include mapping existing community engagement efforts, identifying gaps, and proposing clear metrics for measuring impact.

Essiet further said the committee would work “with courage, commitment, and clarity of purpose” to deliver results swiftly.

“Nigeria is counting on us. Let us rise to the call,” she concluded.

The State House Permanent Secretary, Temitope Fashedemi, emphasised the importance of the committee’s successful assignment and its impact on communities nationwide.

Represented by the Director, Information and Communication Technology, Lukman Kilani, Fashedemi assured the committee of support to ensure a successful assignment that will positively impact the communities across the country.

A consultant on the project, the CEO at Environmental Harmony Limited, Mrs Kitan Oluwagbuyi, apprised committee members of the task ahead.

Oluwagbuyi said the committee has six weeks to draft the framework.

She explained that the framework is meant to “Provide a structured approach to stakeholder identification, mapping, and engagement.

“Create tools and templates for participatory governance at all levels. Strengthen feedback mechanisms to improve policy implementation and service delivery.

“Enhance government accountability and transparency in community-driven development programmes.”

According to Oluwagbuyi, the opening fortnight will be devoted to stock‑taking.

During this period the framework drafting committee is expected to present a detailed status report, distilling lessons from earlier outreach programmes, while other committee members will lay out their engagement strategies, successes and persistent bottlenecks.

By the third and fourth weeks, external consultants will have drafted the first version of the National Stakeholders’ Engagement Framework and circulated it for line‑by‑line scrutiny by all members.

The final stretch, covering weeks five and six, will see the committee fold comments into a clean text, vote to adopt the document and forward it to the Federal Government for approval and nationwide implementation.

The stakeholders received goodwill messages from the President of the Community Development Practitioners of Nigeria, Prof. Bello Shittu; Professor of Public Policy, Governance and Core Government Functionality at the University of Abuja, Prof. Abdulhamid Ozohu-Suleiman and the Sarkin Bwari, Auwal Musa Ijakolo II.

The quiet community of Amasiri of Afikpo in Ebonyi State came alive on Thursday following a military incursion.

Military personnel in large numbers had invaded the community due to a crisis that emanated from a tussle for ancestral land.

Ekwutosblog learnt that Amasiri and neighbouring Edda community have been at parallel ends over ownership of an ancestral land.

The bad blood between the communities had led to Edda unleashing several unprovoked attacks on the people of Amasiri.

Confirming this to Ekwutosblog , activist lawyer, Maduabuchi Idam, lamented that the military incursion could spark an unprovoked massacre within the communities.

Speaking on the matter, Idam said Amasiri was bleeding and on fire.

He urged the Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede and the Commander Nkwegu Military Cantonment to quickly withdraw the military presence in Amasiri and her environs to save her people from unwarranted possible carnage.

In a message titled: “A cry for urgent help, Amasiri on fire,” the activist lawyer also called on Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State to resolve the age-long crisis between the neighbouring communities.

According to Idam: “With teary eyes and a heavy heart I am crying out this morning as a concerned indigene of Amasiri, Afikpo in Ebonyi State to alert Nigerians of a despicable, teleguided military incursion in my community Amasiri, Afikpo, Ebonyi State which has occasioned a siege in the hitherto one of the most peaceful community in Nigeria today.

“Following an attempt by her neighbouring community called Edda to grab her ancestral land after unleashing several unprovoked attacks on the people of Amasiri, the said neighbouring community who have their indigenes in political positions have now used their connection to invite the military to illegally and unlawfully lay siege on Amasiri community.

“I cry out to Nigerians to intervene on our behalf and speak against the military presence in my community this morning which is a contrived bait to provoke a massacre on the defenceless peaceful people of Amasiri, simply to subdue them for her her Edda neighbours in order to achieve their age-long desire of grabbing the ancestral land of Amasiri people which has been a subject of interest to her Edda neighbours for decades.

“I’m saddened that despite several calls on the governor of Ebonyi State, Gov. Francis Ogbonnia Nwifuru, to intervene and broker peace between the two neighbouring communities (Amasiri and Edda) he has maintained a deafening silence over the matter notwithstanding the barrage of reports of loss of lives and properties and press conferences calling on him for attention to peacefully resolve the matter so as to save the lives of innocent indigenes.

“As a concerned indigene, I seek the attention of Nigerians to join me and urge the Chief of Army Staff and the Commander Nkwegu Military Cantonment to quickly withdraw the military presence in Amasiri and her environs in order to save her people from unwarranted possible carnage.

“In the same vein, Nigerians should direct the governor of Ebonyi State to step in and broker peace among these two communities as Amasiri people are willing to accept every peaceful approach that will bring a lasting solution to the matter to avoid an irreparable mishap against Amasiri people who are vulnerable and defenceless. The governor of Ebonyi State should quickly intervene. Amasiri is bleeding.”