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  • Minister, committee disagree over N36.2b budget appropriation

    Minister, committee disagree over N36.2b budget appropriation

    The Senate Committee on Agriculture has disagreed with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. AkinwumiAdesina over 36.2billion naira budgetary proposal for the ministry in 2014.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Emmanuel Bwacha noted that the N36.2 billion proposed for the ministry in the 2014 budget showed a decline from the 39.9billion proposed in 2013.

    Bwacha, who spoke in Abuja during the budget defence by the minister, explained that the committee was not comfortable with the budgetary appropriation for the sector.

    According to him, the agricultural sector is very vital in feeding the country.

    He said: “We are not comfortable with the budgetary allocation to agriculture. We will try to establish contacts to see how we can rescue the situations.

    “The Agricultural sector is very vital. It is a sector that will bail us out. Our priority is to make sure that this budget is passed into law.”

    Also, Vice Chairman of the Committee, Adegbenga Kaka noted that the entire budget proposed for the ministry would not be enough for farming in two states.

    Kaka said: “The entire budget if we are to use it for farming in two states on road or infrastructures would not be enough let alone for the whole country to rely on it.”

     

     

  • Traders, council disagree over market

    The dust raised by the planned reconstruction of the 29-year-old Ogba Retail Market by the Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos is yet to settle.

    The temporary provision of containers for use by the traders at the Ogba Primary School has not gone down well with the traders led by their Iyaloja, Alhaja Ganiyat Kasunmu.

    The traders hold that the proposed re-development of the existing structures into 21st century mall comprising 500 shops is a misplaced priority on the part of the government which “should focus more on roads and education.”

    The market’s spokesperson, Mrs. Rosalind Adeoba, said: “The plan to re-develop the market blocks into a two-storey building will impoverish us. We all know the story of traders at Tejuosho, Oyingbo and other markets; they have witnessed such re-development by the government and what happened next.”

    She said if the council is allowed to carry out the proposed development without concrete agreement, the shops would not be equitably allocated on its completion. Another trader, Mrs Oyinkansola Adetayo, recalled that it was the same that traders at Caterpillar bus stop were dislodged in the name of Ogba Shopping Arcade, adding: “Today, the old owners are not the ones occupying the mall. Its agreement was signed by four out 3,000 shops owners.”

    However, at a meeting, the council’s chairman, Hon Olumuyiwa Oloro said that he had prepared a mortgage plan for the traders which will allow them to pay in five years with ease.

    Assuring that the market would be built within 18 months, he explained: “The council’s legislature held several meetings and resolved that we should commence from the back and an alternative place should be made not far from the market and 250 containers should be provided for use during construction and all these should be ready before any work could start at the markets; we are working towards the agreements reached and signed by both parties.

    “The fear in some quarters over the issue is laughable. We have no other business here than taking care of the majority of our people. I know at the end of the day, the traders will praise us as usual for being honest servants.”

    Council Manager of the LCDA, Mrs. Grace Olaopin, who echoed Oloro’s views, said: “We expect such from the traders as it always happen whenever issues of development arise. Moreso, those that were against the plan were tenants and not shops owners.”

  • Fayemi, Bamidele disagree on fair polls

    A member of the House of Representatives and governorship aspirant on the platform of the Labour Party (LP)in Ekiti State, Hon Opeyemi Bamidele, has said Governor Kayode Fayemi will not allow free and fair polls in the coming governorship election.

    Bamidele, in a letter to Fayemi, copies of which were given to reporters in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, at the weekend, said the governor lied in his New Year Message by promising “he would do all within his powers to prevent destruction of lives and property”.

    Bamidele said: “I have taken my time to read through your New Year message of January 1st, 2014 in which you, among other things, expressed your concern for security of lives and properties in the state while calling on all stakeholders, the people, the political elite, traditional rulers, to put all efforts to ensure Ekiti State records a free and fair 2014 election that would be a model to other states and a reflection of the honourable people that we are.

    “Your Excellency, put yourself in my shoes, how would I and my constituents believe your professed commitment to protection of properties if I made statutory payments to the Signage Agency under your office to mount 16 billboards as an elected Representative to wish people who elected you and I into office a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year on the 22nd of December 2013 and, in less than 48hrs thereafter, your political appointees had destroyed all of the billboards while you conveniently looked away?

    “Or how can I and the two young widows and three children as well as relatives and kinsmen of late Folusho Ogundare, my supporter who was killed in a most gruesome manner on the street of Emure-Ekiti on November 3rd, 2013 and in respect of which nine members of your Excellency’s second term campaign team are still in police custody, believe your self-acclaimed commitment to protection of lives and other rhetorical claims in your new year message?”, he said.

    But the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Yinka Oyebode, described Bamidele’s allegations as “the outburst of a liar and mischief maker.”

    According to the CPS, the lawmaker was either being “genuinely ignorant or he is deliberately mischievious”, adding that his letter to the Governor was full of lies and “deliberate distortion of issues”.

    Oyebode said: “MOB should be blamed for introducing violence to Ekiti politics. The rising tension in the politics of Ekiti started immediately he joined the race with his penchant for importing thugs from Ondo State to cause mayhem in Ekiti.

    “He remains the greatest threat to the 2014 poll. But the good news is that the 2014 contest is about Ekiti development and not about brigandage, which MOB and his gang represent.”

    Regarding MOB’s comments on borrowings by the state government, the statement said: “It is a well known fact that the state went to the Capital Market to raise a N25 billion bond in 2011, with a well structured repayment plan.

    “About N12billion has been repaid, while the bond money was spent on regenerative projects and massive road construction which has put Ekiti in the league of developed states.

    “The Dr Kayode Fayemi administration has demonstrated enormous transparency and accountability in the sourcing and disbursement of the bond money and the projects are there for all to see and feel.

    “Nothing can be more mischievous than MOB’s take on local government election in the state. For it is a well known fact that the administration had concluded all arrangement for the conduct of council election in the state before the PDP got a court injunction to stop it. The case is still at the appelate court.

    “It is comical for MOB to say that the idea of Social Security for the elderly was taken from him during a programme he hosted in February 2012. The Governor actually launched the Social Security for the elderly citizens in October 2011, after about five months of strategic planning. This is a dishonourable act, to say the least.

    “One can only conclude that MOB is merely cooking up excuses for his imminent failure, as the Ekiti electorate will not support an agent of external invasion.”

     

  • Rivers APC, PDP disagree

    Rivers APC, PDP disagree

    The Rivers chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) disagreed sharply over yesterday’s shooting in Port Harcourt.

    The APC, through its Interim State Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, noted that it was shocked and shattered by the news of the unwarranted shooting of Abe and disruption of the inauguration of the SRM.

    The APC said: “We could not understand why policemen, paid with taxpayers’ money, could turn their guns against the people, including prominent citizens, who are well known to them – thus ruling out the possibility of a mistake in the said shooting.”

    The party condemned what it described as “premeditated murder of our children” and “attempted murder of two prominent and innocent citizens by the police which seem happy to transform into an army of occupation, instead of discharging its constitutional role of safeguarding lives and property. “This is a declaration of war on Rivers State and its people,” it said.

    The party said it was holding Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu responsible for the casualties.

    “We have shouted ourselves hoarse that Mbu is on a mission to cause mayhem and insecurity in Rivers State, but sadly, the powers that brought him to Rivers State for this mission, not only continued to sustain him, but also continued to empower him in his acts of impunity in Rivers State,” the party said, adding:

    “This man (Mbu) had on various occasions abused, insulted and vilified our elected State Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, claiming that he (Mbu) is the Chief Security Officer of Rivers State and not the Governor, as stipulated by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    The opposition party also stated that the Rivers police commissioner had on many occasions given police cover to the members of the GDI while denying the same services to other political groups in the state, including SRM.

    The APC also demanded the immediate release of a former member of the House of Representatives, Ike Chinwo, who was arrested by the police after yesterday’s mayhem.

    The Rivers PDP described as laughable, the allegations levelled against some leaders of the party, especially the Supervising Minister of Education Nyesom Wike.

    The PDP, through Pastor Jerry Needam, the Special Adviser, Media to the Chairman, Chief Felix Obuah, alleged that the Save Rivers Movement (SRM) did not obtain police permit, before yesterday’s rally, which it said made the police to stop the members.

    The PDP said: “In November 2013, when Governor Rotimi Amaechi led irate youths to destroy the gate to the Port Harcourt International Airport, he directed all his loyalists to henceforth physical confront the police in Rivers State.

    “Senator Magnus Abe, Tony Okocha and others today (yesterday) confronted the police, as earlier directed by their master, Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    “It is most shameful and disgraceful that a serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Abe) would reduce to the level of confronting the Nigeria Police and turned a law breaker.

    “The actions of Magnus Abe and Tony Okocha today (yesterday), underscore Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s level of lawlessness and rascality.”

    The PDP also described as “unfounded,” the shooting Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), the killing of 5 children, as stated by the APC in Rivers state and taking the senator out of Port Harcourt yesterday evening in a private jet as laughable.

    The ruling party said: “We challenge Governor Rotimi Amaechi, APC and their co-travellers to show us a bullet wound on Senator Magnus Abe.

    “Their claim that Senator Magnus Abe was shot and wounded, as shown in pictures being circulated, and being flown out for better treatment, are all untrue and completely false.

    “Their aim therefore, is to continue to further paint false impression that Senator Magnus Abe was shot and wounded by the police, to justify their call for the removal of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu.”

    The PDP in Rivers also stated that Wike and the PDP in the state had no hands in the APC and SRM’s alleged “concocted” lies, which it said were aimed at deceiving the Rivers people and other Nigerians.

  • Regulator, operators disagree over new licencees

    Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) service providers have warned the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) against licensing new operators in the country, arguing that the new operators will also face the constraints existing operators face that has made good quality services a nightmare for them.

    The NCC said it will license seven InfraCos this year under its open broadband access model. The licensed InfraCos will operate in the six geopolitical zones of the country while one will operate in Lagos. Federal Government also plans to provide subsidy to the InfraCos from tax payers’ fund.

    Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON),Gbenga Adebayo, decried the harsh operating environment for incumbent operators occasioned by high energy cost, multiple taxation/regulation, forceful shut down of base transmission stations (BTS) by official of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and other challenges, insisting that if those obstacles are not dealth with, the new licencees will also be constrained to do business.

    He said the membership of his group which started with 35 has declined to less than 12 over the past over one decade, arguing that if more investors are licensed to operate, since they will not be operating from the moon, they will inevitably go the way of their predecessors.

    But the NCC disagreed with the operators. Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Eugene Juwah disagreed with the operators.

    A visibly angry Juwah said he could not be seated as a regulator and allow the operators to make comments that will send wrong signals to both local and international investors. According to him, while it is true that there are challenges with power, operators have developed a way round it by procuring power generating sets.

    He said the worrisome issue of service quality essentially has to do with business models of some of the operators.

    He said: “People should not get sarcastic about the survivability of new licencees. We should not discourage people. It is a defeatists’ attitude and as a regulator, I will speak against it.”

    The opportunity for the two bodies was provided by the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigerian (ATCON’s) Telecoms Executives & Regulator’s Forum 2013 orgainsed in Lagos towards the end of last year.

  • Kukah, Bakare disagree on Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan

    Kukah, Bakare disagree on Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan

    The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, and the Convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare, yesterday disagreed on the open letter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Though the Catholic Bishop said he had not read the whole letter, he did not see any serious message it conveyed.

    Rev. Kukah, who spoke at a memorial service in the first year remembrance of the late Kaduna State Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, said there are procedures for removing a President from office.

    According to him, apart from a coup, another way to acquire political power is through an election.

    Rev. Kukah said his interest was not in Jonathan, because even if he remained in power for 20 years, he would leave office one day.

    He said: “I am sure some of you have read Obasanjo’s letter. I was one of the first people to get the letter, but not from Obasanjo. I read page one and the conclusion. I have not read the rest. You hear politicians tell you about the threat of doom and bloodshed.

    “When food is almost ready, very bitter political enemies who have not been talking will begin to talk, because food is almost ready. So far, there is corruption, the erosion of integrity, the corrosion that passes authority in Nigeria. We have not even come close to what politics is. We have bandits and all kinds of people who want only the key.

    “We must continue to pray for Nigeria because we are rescinding and have forgotten what our overall objective should be.

    “(Former South African President Nelson) Mandela is dead and Nigeria had better adjust itself very quickly to take its rightful position.

    “There are rules to every game. You want to be President; there is a date. You don’t want somebody to be President; there is a process. Short of a coup, there is no other way of accessing power, except through an election.

    “For me, what lies before us is not about President Goodluck Jonathan, because even if he stays for 20, he will go one day. But really, we should wake up.

    “The idea is that somebody moved from this party to that party or going and coming from Abuja. All of us who are fooling ourselves will soon be left stranded when the matter is settled. ”

    Pastor Bakare urged President Jonathan to respond to the allegations Obasanjo raised in his letter before the end of this year.

    Bakare spoke in Ogba, Ikeja, during a church service at his Latter Rain Assembly.

    The lawyer-turned pastor noted that though Obasanjo may lack credibility, the allegations are weighty and should not be ignored.

    “President Jonathan should respond to the letter. He should not wait until January to do so; he should respond now. We may discredit the messenger but we cannot discredit the message.”

  • Amaechi, Wike disagree on Rivers PDP

    The Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, said he and other stakeholders of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will compel the leadership of the ruling party to expel Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    He declared that the mere mention of Amaechi’s name was a taboo, stressing that the governor’s stay in the PDP in Rivers state was likely to affect the members in the general elections and alleged that Rivers people no longer wanted him.

    Wike, who is the grand patron of a socio-political organisation, the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), also raised the alarm that Amaechi was planning to eliminate him and other leaders of the PDP and GDI, who were opposed to his style of governance.

    The Supervising Minister of Education stated that the dissolution of the 23 local government areas of Rivers state and imposition of caretaker committees by the governor would be resisted.

    Wike spoke yesterday at the secretariat of Omuma LG council in Eberi, amid tight security, during the thanksgiving and inauguration of the GDI in the local government’s 10 wards.

    Access to Omuma council headquarters was refused by council Chairman, John Anucha, with the main road from Etche to Imo and Abia States, where the council secretariat is located, barricaded by policemen, about a kilometre to the venue of the rally.

    Wike flew a chopper belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), marked 5N BAF and painted white, with yellow and red stripes. The helicopter dropped him, went back and later returned to pick the supervising minister of education.

    Amaechi, however, stated that the GDI members broke into the Omuma council secretariat, with the aid of policemen and soldiers, while the council chairman was pushed out of the place. He described Wike as ignorant and that he (governor) had no record of violence.

    The Rivers governor, who spoke through the Chief of Staff, Chief Tony Okocha, described the move by Wike and others to expel him from the PDP as very unfortunate.

    “He (Wike) should be able to define what revolution is. Revolution could be ideological. When the governor talked about revolution, he was not talking about carrying arms.”

    On the move to resist the imposition of caretaker committees in Rivers LGAs, Amaechi said: “He (Wike) is talking from the point of view of ignorance. That is the minister’s level of understanding. I believe he should be conversant with what the law says about the power of the governor to dissolve local government council,” Okocha said.

    While commenting on Wike’s allegation of plan by Amaechi to eliminate him and some opposition politicians, he said: “Governor Amaechi and his supporters are Christians and have no such tendency. We do not have any record of violence.”

    The Rivers governor was in May recommended by the Obuah-led PDP to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party for suspension, for alleged anti-party activities. He has been on suspension since then.

    The minister of state for education also stated that by holding the GDI’s rally at Omuma council; headquarters, the people showed commitment to a just cause, ability to stand and resist lawlessness and impunity.

    He stressed that he heard the chairman of Omuma council on radio, calling on the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, to help Omuma people, that GDI members had taken over the secretariat, which he described as laughable.

    The education minister said: “In fact, you will hear it very soon. We will compel PDP (to expel Rivers governor). Amaechi’s stay in PDP in Rivers State is likely to affect us in general elections, because the Rivers people no longer want Amaechi. The mere mention of Amaechi’s name is a taboo.

  • Jonathan, Oritsejafor disagree on compensation for Boko Haram victims

    Jonathan, Oritsejafor disagree on compensation for Boko Haram victims

    President Goodluck Jonathan and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday disagreed on compensation for victims of Boko Haram attacks in the North.

    While the CAN President urged the Federal Government to immediately set up a compensation committee for victims, Jonathan insisted that his administration would not pay compensation but would only assist victims of the Islamic sect’s onslaughts.

    The president, who spoke during the 26th Jubilee Word Festival of Pastor Oritsejafor’s Word of Life Bible Church in Warri, Delta State, did not explain how the assistance would be offered but promised that a committee would be set up to work out the modality for the proposed assistance.

    Pastor Oritsejafor said it was necessary for the federal government to compensate victims of the crisis to enable them pick back the pieces of their lives.

    Jonathan, who clarified his earlier statement of no compensation Boko Haram victims, remarked that the term ‘compensation’ is “too vague”, adding that he did not want to deceive the victims.

    On efforts to restore sanity in that part of the country, Jonathan said the state of emergency declared in some states of the north has recorded significant progress.

    He assured that the Federal Government would continue to do its best to flush out the insurgents and restore sanity and commended the military for being proactive in the war against terrorism.

    The president assured Nigerians that the country is on the right path to development in spite of its present challenges, adding that there are evidences of the improvements.

    Specifically, he said the Transformation Agenda in on course and urged urging Nigerians to continue support his policies and programmes for the betterment of the country.

    He said Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has seen a leap by about seven percent, adding that the growth has been confirmed by several international rating agencies.

    On power, President Jonathan assured that the country would witness stable electricity supply with the recent privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and its subsidiaries.

    Earlier, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, President Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), commended President Jonathan for honouring his invitation, and being the first Nigerian President to embark on Holy Pilgrimage to Israel and signing a bilateral agreement with Israel.

    He commended the National Assembly for extending the curfew in the three Northern states, adding that President Jonathan’s decision was the right direction to lasting peace in the area.

    Pastor Oritsejafor also appealed to President Jonathan to look into the current faceoff between the Federal Government and ASUU, noting that his personal involvement can bring the strike to an end.

    He commended President Jonathan’s effort in the agric, power, rail and other sectors, noting that his efforts were worthy of commendation.

    On the National Conference, Pastor Oritsejafor said dialogue was essential in building peace, adding that he believed that the national dialogue will work.

    The service was attended by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, his counterparts from Cross Rivers and Plateau states, Liyel Imoke and Jonah Jang respectively as well as representatives of Bayelsa and Benue governors, traditional rulers and other eminent Nigerians.

  • Senate, Minister disagree over appointment of CAC board

    Senate, Minister disagree over appointment of CAC board

    The Senate and the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, yesterday disagreed over the proposed amendments to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

    It was at a public hearing in Abuja.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Trade, Senator Odion Ugbesia, explained that the Bill entitled: “Companies and Allied Matters Act CAP. 20, LFN 2011, Amendment Bill 2013” seeks to empower the Upper Chamber to approve the appointments of board members and the budget of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    Ugbesia said: “The highlight of this amendment is to subject the appointment of the Chairman, members of the Board of Corporate Affairs Commission, to the confirmation of the Senate.

    “Similarly, the Bill seeks to subject the Commission’s annual budget to the scrutiny and approval of the National Assembly, as the institutional arm of government vested by the Constitution with the power of appropriation.”

    He added: “In an emerging democracy such as ours, this is certainly an aberration. The Minister is neither an appropriating authority nor the President.

    “The time has come for all to stand up and be counted on the side of the Constitution which we all swore to uphold and protect by putting a stop to this objectionable practice.”

    However, Aganga criticised the Senate on the proposal.

    Aganga said the proposed action of the Senate would infringe on the powers and independence of the executive to appoint competent and qualified professionals to manage the affairs of the CAC.

    He insisted that since the budget of the CAC, like other agencies and parastatals, is always part of the national budget presented to the National Assembly annually, there was no need to demand for a separate budget from the agency.

    Aganga noted that Sections 12, 13 and 14 of CAMA had already addressed all the isues raised by the lawmakers in the bill because funds allocated to the CAC and the revenue generated by it, forms part of the federal budget passed by the National Assembly.

    Senate President David Mark, represented by the Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, had while declaring the public hearing open argued that the amendment would promote democratic ethos and accountability in CAC.

  • Senate, PTDF disagree over N57b budget

    The Senate and the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) at the weekend disagreed over funding of the agency.

    The PTDF’s management claimed that the agency might go bankrupt if the over N57 billion budget backlog allegedly owed it was not released. But Senate dismissed the agency’s bankruptcy claim as unfounded.

    The upper chamber said that the bankruptcy claim could not be true especially when PTDF’s portfolio investments and other sources of income were shrouded in secrecy.

    The PTDF’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Oluwole Oluleye spoke when the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) visited the agency on oversight duty.

    Oluleye told members of the committee that the PTDF may be bankrupt “in months” if over N57 billion as part of its 2013 budget was not released.

    He added that the situation could result in the withdrawal of hundreds of Nigerian students on PTDF scholarship in foreign universities.

    The PTDF boss also said that the agency has been unable to pay workers’ salaries in the past two months due to the cash crunch.

    He told the visiting lawmakers that multi-billion dollar statutory “signature bonus” payments have been withheld from PTDF over the years.

    The PTDF Act promulgated in 1973 provides that the agency will be funded by proceeds from the sale of crude oil blocks, otherwise known as signature bonus.

    In the budget performance report of the agency January to August, 2013 under “Income” category, of N70.99 billion voted for it for the 2013 fiscal year, only N13.8 billion has so far been released to the agency.

    The document also showed that in the “Expenditure” category for Capital Projects, N45.8 billion was budgeted, N4.997 billion released giving 10.91 per cent budget performance.

    Capital Programmes, N18.7 billion was budgeted, N5. 2 billion released, which gave 27.95 per cent budget performance.

    Personnel emoluments, N4.7 billion was budgeted, N2.9 billion released which gave 61.38 per cent budget performance.

    On Overhead Costs, N1.6 billion was budgeted, N517,091,853.95 released.

    Oluleye lamented, “We have managed to keep the scholarship students afloat and I have had to travel to some of the schools to explain the challenges and they (foreign universities) have been very understanding.

    “The PTDF is no longer the one people used to know in the past. It is now a different PTDF without funds.

    “PTDF cannot pay salaries, we only managed to pay junior staff. If funds are not released within the next two months, we may close shop.”

    Oluleye said that the agency had written several letters asking for the release of the funds without success.

    Committee, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, insisted that the claims of the PTDF cannot be relied upon.

    Paulker noted that it is on record that PTDF’s portfolio investments and other sources of income were not known to the public.

    The committee chairman also queried the anticipatory budgeting practice of the PTDF, a practice, he said, was criminal and negation of the procurement Act.