President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, recently proposed the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state of the U.S., suggesting that the move could benefit both nations.

In a post shared on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump claimed that many Canadians are open to the idea.

Trump argued that Canadians would stand to gain significantly from joining the U.S., particularly in terms of saving on taxes and receiving military protection.

He stated, “Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State.

They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has floated the idea of merging the two countries.

Back in November, he linked the proposal to his concerns about the ongoing issues of fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration, which he believes could be addressed by merging the nations.

In a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the U.S. President-elect suggested that such a merger could help resolve these pressing issues.

Trump’s suggestion that Canada could join the U.S. has sparked mixed reactions.

Supporters of the idea argue that it could bring financial stability and greater security to both nations.

However, critics point out the complexities and challenges that such a merger would entail, including political, cultural, and legal hurdles.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed on Wednesday that its website had been hacked, urging the public to disregard any information published on the platform until the issue is resolved.

“This is to inform the public that the NBS Website has been hacked and we are working to recover it. Please disregard any message or report posted until the website is fully restored. Thank you,” the agency announced on X.

The hack occurred less than 24 hours after the NBS released a report revealing that Nigerians paid N2.23 trillion as ransom between May 2023 and April 2024.

The report also disclosed 51.89 million crime incidents nationwide during the same period, with the North-West recording the highest cases and the South-East the least.

The agency assured Nigerians that efforts are underway to secure and restore the website.

In his 2025 Appropriation Bill presented to the joint session of the 10th National Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu set a target of N1,500 to the dollar.

The target marks a reduction of around N200 from the current exchange rate, which hovers around N1,700 to a dollar.

The move is a step toward improving the country’s economic performance and addressing the ongoing challenges of inflation and exchange rate instability.

The budget projections are ambitious, with the government aiming to reduce inflation significantly from its current rate of 34.6% to 15% in the coming year.

In addition to the exchange rate improvement, the budget also sets a target for crude oil production, with the base assumption set at 2.06 million barrels per day.

The president outlined several key strategies to achieve these targets.

These include reducing the importation of petroleum products and increasing exports of refined petroleum products.

There is also a focus on boosting agricultural production, to achieve a bumper harvest, driven by improved security measures that will reduce reliance on food imports.

In his speech, Tinubu emphasized the need to increase foreign exchange inflows, which will be facilitated by greater foreign portfolio investments.

He also mentioned the government’s efforts to boost crude oil output and exports, alongside a substantial reduction in upstream oil and gas production costs.

These measures are expected to contribute significantly to the overall economic stability the government is aiming for in 2025.