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Tag: Senate committee

  • FULL LIST: Seven recommendations made by Senate committee on Senator Natasha

    FULL LIST: Seven recommendations made by Senate committee on Senator Natasha

    The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions has recommended a six-month suspension for Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central. 

    The committee’s decision followed her allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

    During Thursday’s plenary session, the committee advised that her salary and security details be withdrawn. 

    Presenting the panel’s report, Committee Chairman Senator Neda Imasuen outlined the following recommendations: 

    1. A six-month suspension. 

    2. She must submit a written apology before resuming. 

    3. The suspension is to take effect on March 6, 2025. 

    4. Her office will be locked, and she must hand over all government property. 

    Read Also: Senator Natasha never accused me of sexual harassment, Fayemi clarifies

    5. She must not enter the National Assembly complex during the suspension. 

    6. Her salaries, allowances, and security details will be suspended. 

    7. She will be barred from representing Nigeria in any official capacity. 

    The committee concluded that Senator Natasha was guilty of all allegations against her, stating that she failed to submit herself to the legislative committee for the review of her conduct.

  • Senate panel adjourns over minister’s ‘ignorance’ about Fed Govt’s housing schemes

    Senate panel adjourns over minister’s ‘ignorance’ about Fed Govt’s housing schemes

    •We executed multi-billion naira projects without allocation, says Tunji-Ojo • Rep panel: weak accounting, auditing systems fuelling corruption in Nigeria • National Assembly sets N25tr revenue target for FIRS • Committee queries NECO for spending IGR, postpones budget defence • President okays recruitment of 5,000 personnel for Correctional Service • NNPCL remitted N10tr into Federatioon Account in 2024, says Kyari •Panel absolves JAMB of alleged financial impropriety

    The Senate Committee on Housing yesterday deferred its budget defence session with the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Abdullahi-Ata.

    This followed the minister’s confession that he was unaware of the difference between the National Housing Scheme and the Renewed Hope Agenda Housing Scheme initiated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

    At the beginning of his presentation, the minister of state told the committee that he was delegated by the main minister, Ahmed Dangiwa, who was out of the country on a trip with President Tinubu.

    In the course of the session, two members of the committee – Senators Abdul Ningi and Jimoh Ibrahim – disagreed about the sites of the Renewed Hope Housing Schemes across the states of the federation.

    Abdullahi-Ata said the ministry was building 7,522 housing units under the National Housing Programme, out of which 3,388 had been completed.

    Members of the committee, which is chaired by Aminu Tambuwal, wanted to know the implementation status of the Renewed Hope Agenda Housing Scheme and how it was different from the ongoing National Housing Programme of the Federal Government.

    Abdullahi-Ata replied: “I am still yet to understand the difference between the two.”

    The minister of state, a former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, joined the Tinubu cabinet last October, following a reshuffle.

    On the status of the Renewed Hope Housing Scheme and Cities Programme and National Housing Programme, he said “7,522 housing units spread across the 35 states of federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are under construction, out of which 3,388 have been completed, while 4,134 units are still ongoing”.

    The senators queried the visibility of the projects the minister listed in his presentation.

    But he confessed that neither himself nor the permanent secretary in the ministry could give details about the projects because they were both new in the ministry.

    Abdullahi-Ata appealed for a postponement of the budget defence to enable him have more time to prepare for it.

    Tambuwal told the minister to “go and come back on Tuesday” next week.

    Also, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Federal Mortgage Bank, Shehu Usman Ossidi, told the committee that out of the proposed N5 billion capital base for the bank, only N2.56 billion had been fully paid up.

    Of the paid-up capital, he said the Federal Government contributed N2.5 billion while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) contributed only N60 million out of its N1.5 billion share capital.

    The bank chief said the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) had also not contributed contribute its N1 billion share capital to the bank.

    He urged the committee to intervene to ensure that the seed capital was not only met but that the bank recapitalised to meet the dynamics in the sector.

    Also yesterday, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo yesterday said the ministry successfully executed multi-billion naira capital projects in 2024, despite not receiving any capital allocation.

    The ministry achieved the feat by reviewing and enforcing existing contracts and by compelling contractors to fulfill their obligations, as stipulated in their agreements.

    Speaking during the 2025 budget defence session before the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Interior, Tunji-Ojo said some of the contracts dated as far back as 1999 and that they had been abandoned by contractors, either in breach of the contract terms or under Public Private Partnership (PPP) or concession agreements.

    “We were able to complete automation e-gates, the command and control centre, resource centres, visa approval centres, solar farms, and other projects by thinking outside the box,” he said.

    Tunji-Ojo stressed that the ministry achieved the milestones without incurring additional costs to the government.

    “We didn’t spend a kobo of government money to do some of these things. What we did was avoid entering into new contracts. Instead, we reviewed existing ones and implemented value proposition management to ensure contractors fulfilled their obligations.

    “For example, someone with a contract for issuing visa approval centres (VACs) hadn’t built a VAC centre. We had to ensure they delivered. Another contractor providing border control solutions implemented the software component but failed to deliver the hardware, which is essential for e-gate solutions. I made it clear that contracts cannot be implemented partially but that they must be executed holistically,” he said.

    Following his presentation, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Adams Oshiomhole, and his House of Representatives counterpart, Abdullahi Aliyu, praised Tunji-Ojo for surpassing the 2024 revenue target, despite the zero capital allocation.

    But when a committee member alluded to an omission of tender fees in the budget proposal, the minister apologised and promised to provide the details promptly.

    Read Also: Nigeria stands to gain from $136b AI, says WTO DG

    Also yesterday, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has said weaknesses in the nation’s auditing and accounting systems fuel corruption in the public finances.

    Speaking at the budget defence of the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation (OAuGF), the Chairman of the Committee, Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun), noted that as a result of the weaknesses, pervasive corruption was depriving government of revenue to function and deliver the needed development in the country.

    The lawmaker was reacting to the budget presentation by the Auditor General for the Federation, Shaakaa Kanyitor Chira.

    The AuGF informed the committee that there were various challenges hindering the operations of the office.

    Chira said the office was grossly underfunded and understaffed to discharge its enormous responsibilities resulting in late compilation and submission of the annual reports.

    Responding, Salam said: “There is a lot of money that ought to accrue to government that we are losing as a result of weaknesses in our accounting systems, weaknesses in auditing, weaknesses in general financial management architecture. This also has been reflected even in the budget performance of the Auditor General’s office.

    “The committee raised a few observations also on the need for the Auditor General to expand its coverage of major Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government in a manner that will put greater attention on the places that have more of the revenue.

    “There are some major agencies of government that have not been well audited in the last couple of years. If you don’t audit properly, you are giving an indication that there is less attention on certain agencies and that may promote a lot of impunity happening in those agencies.

    “Even though the Auditor General has limitations because of budgetary constraints, because of personnel constraints, the office is mandated to audit almost 1,000 Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, do periodic audits, appoint auditors for those that they are not going to audit directly.

    “All this will require a lot of resources and manpower. We saw these gaps again in the presentation made today, and we are going to work as a parliament in cooperation with our sister committees that directly oversight some of these agencies in a manner that will make the work of the Auditor General to be more impactful, to be more result-oriented.”

    The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance yesterday set a revenue target of N25 trillion for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for the 2025 fiscal year.

    The committee hailed the agency’s Executive Chairman, Dr. Zaccheus Adedeji, for raking in N21.6 trillion above its target of N19.4 trillion in 2024.

    The resolution of the committee was announced during an interactive session with Adedeji and his management team in Abuja.

    Following Adedeji’s presentation, the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Saidu Musa Abdullahi, described the performance as unprecedented.

    “The feat attained by FIRS on revenue collection or generation in 2024 was unprecedented and wonderful; it’s worthy of commendation.

    “That you surpassed the target set for the agency in the 2024 Appropriation Act from N19.4 trillion to N21.6 trillion is very cheering and encouraging,” Abdullahi said.

    He urged the FIRS chairman to understudy the South African template, saying it helped the country to generate revenue from tax collections far above that of Nigeria, despite having a smaller population of about 45 million to 54 million people, compared to Nigeria’s estimated over 200 million population.

    “We shall give you total support on your tax reforms, but you need to bring in more number of taxable citizens into the net from the informal sector,” he said.

    Also, Senator Joel Onowakpo Thomas (PDP, Delta South) hailed Adedeji and his team.

    He said focusing more on tax is the way to go, adding that this was why FIRS must deepen the process through targeted reforms.

    Also yesterday, the National Assembly Joint Committee on Basic Education Bodies queried the National Examinations Council (NECO) for spending the revenue it generated from selling Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) registration forms without permission in 2024.

    The committee issued the query when the NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, appeared before the panel to defend the 2024 budget performance and 2025 proposal.

    The committee stepped down the examination body’s budget defence due to discrepancies in its presentation.

    Wushishi told the committee that NECO realised over N22 billion from the sales of the registration forms at the rate of N22,250 to over 1.3 million candidates for the examination in 2024.

    The registrar said of the revenue, the Federal Government deducted N9.5 billion and the balance was spent on the overhead cost of the agency.

    But the committee said this did not add up, as the registrar noted that the government deducts 50 per cent, leading the lawmakers to query how it would amount to N9.5 billion.

    Wushishi said: “Because of the fiscal policy of the government to deduct 50 per cent directly from source, the government has taken N9.5 billion from the same account, which makes NECO difficult to operate.

    “We are still reconciling and following up with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to see how we can reconcile and put our house in order and submit.

    Following the development, the committee adopted a motion to step down the budget defence due to insufficient documents and the inability of the NECO registrar to give satisfactory explanation on the 2024 budget performance.

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the recruitment of 5,000 personnel to tackle overcrowding and strengthen the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).

    The acting Comptroller General of the service, Sylvester Nwakuche Ndidi, announced this during a presentation to the House of Representatives Committee on Reformatory Institutions, chaired by Chinedu Ogar.

    Ndidi said though the President granted the approval in August 2024, the recruitment process was delayed due to funding constraints.

    He assured the lawmakers that the recruitment would start once the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire, and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) approved the funding in the 2025 budget.

    During the presentation, the committee members expressed frustration over the delay, stressing the need to address overcrowding in correctional facilities.

    A member of the committee, Victor Ogene, called for transparency in the recruitment process, stressing the essence of timely action.

    Ndidi presented the NCS’s proposed 2025 budget, amounting to N183.6 billion.

    Key allocations included personnel costs of N127 billion, overhead costs of N45.8 billion and capital expenditure of N13.4 billion.

    He said a significant portion — N38 billion — was earmarked for feeding the country’s 91,100 inmates at a daily cost of N1,125 per inmate.

    The acting CG raised concerns about the reduction in capital expenditure by N762 million and called for an additional N70.4 billion to modernise custodial facilities, enhance security, and digitise inmate management.

    The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Dr. Mele Kyari, has said the company remitted N10 trillion to the Federation Account last September.

    He also claimed that NNPCL “is the only company in Nigeria that publishes 100 per cent of its account on a yearly basis”.

    Kyari spoke during his presentation on revenue generation and performance of the NNPCL in 2024 and its projection for 2025 before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance in Abuja.

    The GCEO described the NNPCL as the highest tax payer in the country as well as highest payer of royalty and dividends.

    He announced that the company wanted a forensic audit to be conducted on the money it spent to stabilise the price of petrol from January to September 2024 and for uninterrupted supply of petroleum products.

    “Until October 1, 2024, NNPCL, as mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), acted as the supply of last resort on fuel supply, which requires forensic audit to know how much NNPCL is being owed or owing any agency.

    “Our transactional account is very transparent, which is published on yearly basis, making NNPCL the only company in Nigeria noted for that and also the highest tax payer in the country as well as highest payer of royalty and dividends to shareholders as a commercial national oil company,” he said.

    Kyari told the joint committee that the company’s revenue projection for 2025 would be made after the meeting of its board of directors in two weeks.

    The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance yesterday exonerated the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over alleged financial impropriety the lawmakers made against it during its presentation on Monday.

    JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, had said the examination body spent N1.1 billion on meals, N850 million for fumigation, among others.

    But Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) queried the board over its spending and asked the registrar to justify N850 million allegedly spent on security, cleaning, and fumigation in 2024.

    But in a statement yesterday in Abuja, 48 hours after the session, the Chairman of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), said the JAMB registrar was wrongly accused of reckless spending based on the latest documents submitted to the committee by the examination body.

    The statement, titled: Clarification on the JAMB Report on Revenue, reads: “For the purpose of clarity, the comprehensive report provided by JAMB indicates that the line items mentioned during Monday’s hearing on revenue do not suggest any mismanagement or misuse of the board’s funds.

    “On the contrary, the report highlights the responsible and prudent use of resources under the leadership of the Registrar.

    “The Registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, deserves commendation for demonstrating financial discipline and accountability in managing the board’s resources effectively.

    “This level of stewardship serves as a model for public institutions across the nation.”

  • Autonomy: ALGON President, Senate committee, others meet on judgment

    Autonomy: ALGON President, Senate committee, others meet on judgment

    National President, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Aminu Mu’azu Maifata, has led a high delegation of the National Executive Council (NEC) to a technical session on Supreme Court Judgment.

    The event, themed, “Enhancing the functionality of local councils in Nigeria: Issues, perspectives, and opportunities’’, aimed to also address emerging issues in the polity.

    Read Also: UNICEF calls for urgent action on child malnutrition in Northeast

    Maifata expressed gratitude to the organisers, UK International Development, and Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (PERL), for their role in the autonomy of local governments in Nigeria. He emphasised the need for introspection and retrospect on local government administration since 1999.

    Chairman, Technical Committee, Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Prof Auwal Yadudu, appreciated the Supreme Court judgment.

    He urged ALGON to utilise the window offered by the constitution amendment to articulate their position for consideration.

  • Senate Committee on Slapping

    Senate President Ahmad Lawan disappointed me on Wednesday. My heart is aching seriously from this disillusionment. I was excited for him when on Tuesday he was able to announce the principal officers of the Senate without rancour. That day I looked forward to the list of committee chairmen. And it was my hope that Lawan will create a new committee and name Senator Elisha Abbo as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Slapping.

    But on Wednesday, Lawan did two major things: he announced Senator Dayo Adeyeye as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, and disappointingly set up a committee to probe Abbo, who ace comedian Ali Baba dubbed Abbo “Chairman, Senate Committee on Slapping and Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Human Rights”. I was not expecting Lawan to probe Abbo; I simply expected him to recognise his talent and use him appropriately by creating this special committee and making him the head.

    I am sure you must by now know why Abbo deserves the honour of chairing this committee. The ‘notorious’ Premium Times on Tuesday published an exclusive video showing the Adamawa senator molesting the friend of an adult toy shop owner for daring to ask him to take it easy.

    This obnoxious report was the handiwork of Samuel Ogundipe, who, I last week, recommended the need for his brain to be reset to factory setting because of his penchant for writing reports which always put men of power in a bad light. We were yet to get over Ogundipe’s ‘abominable’ report on Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s arms palaver, and he has pounced on another senator. I put it to Ogundipe that he is on a senators-lynching campaign! With this report, he has given men with loose tongues the tool to rubbish my generation. Just wait for me, Ogundipe, I am coming for you!

    One of the most unfortunate comments I have read over the video footage of Abbo assaulting the woman faulted the campaign for young people to be given the chance to lead key sectors of the country. The commentator said with Abbo’s behaviour, young people have shown that they cannot be trusted with leadership position. This, for me, is a classic case of hasty generalisation. How on earth can an individual’s action be used to judge a whole generation? I blame Ogundipe, and today, I hereby make a case for a citizen arrest of this guy. His bosses should also be arrested and I will dedicate my salaries, for the next six months, as bounty for whoever carries out my instruction.

    Abbo, like me, is 41; so you can understand my dilemma. The senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial District had not been sworn-in at the time the incident happened on May 11, according to the report. The day the probe panel was set up Abbo, who had promised a ‘robust response’ and had alleged that the shop owner doctored the video, apologised and said ‘to err is human’. The senator claims he has never been known or associated with such actions in the past. Well, we need to ask his women. In the CCTV footage, Abbo is seen beating the woman in the presence of an armed mobile police officer who accompanied him and three other women into the shop. Abbo, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is also seen sitting on a yellow power generator near the entrance of the shop. He is also captured making calls. The police officer is seen being spoken to by Abbo.

    Enquiries by the defiant Premium Times showed that trouble started when one of the women who came into the shop with Abbo started vomiting and the shop owner complained. The ensuing arguments led to the beating of the shop owner’s friend. Now, let me remove the cap of a satirist and set the record straight: Abbo certainly does not represent my generation. He represents himself and it would be wrong to use his misdemeanour to judge my generation. On another note, Abbo’s action shows disrespect for womanhood. Abbo obviously is the type who will never agree that a woman is equal to him. He will never support a bill against domestic violence. Chances that he will support having more women in government are extremely slim. I can bet Abbo will see South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as a fool for forming a cabinet with half of its members being women. With people like Abbo, women will continue to be held down. With people like Abbo, a girl will repeatedly be told ‘and you are a girl o’ when she does things the society believes should not be done by a girl, or when she is refusing to do something that society has labelled chores for girls.

    In Abbo’s home, girls must cook, wash clothes and keep the house clean. Boys, I believe in our dear senator’s home, will be watching television and playing games while waiting for the food to be served. Abbo reminds me of the world in Bisi Adjapon’s Of Women and Frogs, where boys and men get undue advantages just because of their gender. Esi, the heroine, rebels and is labelled a badly-behaved girl. Like many fathers in our society, her father, Edward, always sees a lady through her womanhood — her education counts less. He sees nothing wrong in Abena’s husband almost throwing her out of the window. All is well with Mansa’s husband pummelling her. To him, being a woman equals being the wrong one in any dispute with the man of the house.

    Mansa and Abbo, to me, are one and the same! Men like Abbo will certainly fault Esi’s declaration: “I am the queen of my body”. Abbo must believe he owns any woman on earth for him to descend on a woman who he knows from nowhere like his slave! Abbo, I believe, belongs to that school of thought where every woman is seen as having used the ‘bottom power’ to attain the height. With men like Abbo, we will continue to see brilliant women and rubbish their records by attributing their rise to extraneous factors.

    My final take: Now is the time to tell the likes of Abbo that we should give women equal opportunities; we should stop telling a girl to do all the chores while the boys play ludo, and we should, as husbands, support our wives to be the best they can be. They are our better halves and deserve to live their dreams. If they choose to be housewives, all well and good, but we should not force it on them. Each partner in a marriage deserves respect, which should be earned and not forced. No woman should be beaten by any man, and our law should punish the likes of Abbo.

  • Senate committee advocates more funding for NAF

    The Senate Committee on Navy has called for more funding for the Nigeria Air Force (NAF), to assist it in its critical role of safeguarding the country’ territorial integrity.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Duro Faseyi made the call at the NAF’s budget defence exercise on Thursday in Abuja.

    While decrying that the 2018 Budget had capital release of less than 50 per cent, Faseyi said more was needed to be done in terms of releases to the NAF.

    He noted that, “The problem is under-funding, because the Air Force is saddled with so much responsibility like surveillance and many more.

    “The 2018 budget did not even have up 50 per cent capital release. We had to roll it over to this year.

    “Their job is enormous yet the funding is poor. They are the ones that would spot attacks and areas that should be on red attack before those on land go ahead to attack.

    “Besides, they are useful in other areas like lifting of electoral materials, particularly in the last elections.

    “Everything about air is expensive including fueling. The jet A One, for instance, is very expensive. So, how do we expect them to carry out their mandate effectively with poor funding?”

    The chairman while appreciating efforts made by President Muhammadu Buhari in coming to their aid when necessary, however, said beyond that, the NAF’s budgetary allocation should be increased.

    He said the committee on its part would approach Committee on Appropriation and the Minister of Budget and National Planning to make a special case for increment.

    “Budgeting process is crucial and it is as important as other functions of the Parliament.

    “The desire of the 8th National Assembly for thoroughness and transparency in this year’s exercise, informed its decision to suspend plenary and other legislative engagements so that this year’s appropriation exercise gets the required attention.

    “There is no gain saying the fact budgeting is important for planning.

    “One is not unaware that the Air Force is a very expensive force. None of us is oblivious of the fact that our Armed Forces have had a long history of persistent under-funding.

    “However, the realities of the times we live in, compels us to be more prudent and set our priorities in such a way that they are in tandem with our collective desire to ensure judicious and equitable allocation of our scarce resources,” he said.

    He commended the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar for his effort to reposition the NAF.

    Presenting the budget, The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar said the NAF had made tremendous process in carrying out its core mandate.

    He said the NAF was constitutionally vested with protecting the territorial integrity of the nation and assisting civil authority when called upon.

    “The Air Force has been actively engaged in combating several security challenges bedeviling the nation which include act of terrorism, kidnapping, armed banditry and militancy among others.

    “The NAF is involved in several operations. Some of which include Operations Lafiya Dole in the North East, Diran Mikiya in the North West and Yanchin Tafki in the Lake Chad Basin to mention a few.

    “With your support, this administration has increased the serviceability status of NAF aircraft from about 40 per cent to an average of 80 per cent today.

    “The improved serviceability status enabled us carry out over 43, 000 sorties of about 57,000 flying hours between June 15 and Feb. 18 for various operations.

    Read also: Senate president: Buhari, APC leaders pacify Goje

    “These include 20,140 flying hours for Intelligence and Surveillance that enabled the NAF to get real time information to assist surface forces and NAF aircraft carry out precise attacks if necessary.

    “The NAF has also substantially increased its aircraft fleet by inducting 22 new aircraft into its fleet and reactivated erstwhile unserviceable ones, while eight others are currently being overhauled,’’  he said.

    The Chief of Air Staff noted that NAF would soon take delivery of “qty 2 Augusta 109 Power helicopters which were appropriated by the committee and another MI-35M gunship helicopter.”

    He noted that NAF would take delivery of “a C-130H aircraft in a few weeks after an in-country Periodic Depot Maintenance.

    “The NAF has also created new commands and units all over the country. We have created the Special Operations Command, Air Training Command and Ground Training Command in Enugu.

    “Some of the new units created have enjoyed NAF presence in Nguroje, Shari, Bauchi, Daria, Domain and Gusau.”

    He said in the area of enlistment and recruitment “the administration has a total of 669 Officers and recruited 7, 693 Airmen and Airwomen.

    “Presently 206 Officers are in training while the NAF plans to recruit about 2000 airmen and airwomen this year.

    “We have also enhanced our Force Projection and Force Protection through the training of about 4000 Regiment Personnel and over 1000 Special Forces personnel locally and abroad.

    “The NAF was only recently called upon to assist the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to airlift about 692 tons of electoral materials to 31 different locations in the country.” (NAN)

  • 2019 Budget: FCTA proposes over N30b for projects

    THE Federal Capital Administration (FCTA) has presented a National Priority Budget of N30,704,674.051 to the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The presentation was made by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, when he led a delegation of senior FCTA officials to the National Assembly complex.

    According to the minister, the sum is based on the National Priority Budget Capital Envelop for the 2019 fiscal year for the FCT.

    He said 30 projects include provision of engineering infrastructure to several districts, payment of counterpart funds, construction of the Abuja rail mass Transit (LOT1B), Abuja Rail Mass transit (LOT 1and 3), completion of the International Technical and Vocational Institute Utako and four comprehensive science and technical colleges in Abaji, Kuje, Gwagwalada and Karshi  as well as  the provision of primary infrastructure – road, water, sewage and power supply – and mass housing districts among others.

    Read also: FCT: INEC declares PDP winner of Bwari council chairmanship election

    According to a statement issued yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Anthony Ogunleye, on the performance analysis of various projects under the 2018 FCT National Budget, the minister explained that N32, 298,122,862.00 was appropriated. The sum of N9,689,436,861.77 was actually released, adding that of the 33 priority projects listed for implementation, only 15 were executed up to various degrees.

  • Yuletide: Buhari, Senate committee to ensure petroleum products’ supply

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari and Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) Chairman Senator Kabir Marafa at the weekend met to deliberate on measures to ensure smooth supply of petroleum products in the festive period and beyond.

    Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Marafa stated that there are adequate quantities of the products that will last six months.

    But he said some technical issues are threatening to disrupt the free flow of the products to the populace.

    The senator was optimistic that the issues bordering around payment of subsidies, forex differentials and interest will soon be resolved from the outcome of the meeting with the President and forthcoming meetings with stakeholders in the next few days

    On why he was at the Villa, Marafa said: “Basically, there are two issues. One is regarding the committee I chair in the Senate – that is the Committee on Downstream. There has been some disquiet in the industry regarding marketers’ payment with Ministry of Finance, Debts Management Office (DMO) and the Central Bank, which we feel if not carefully handled, some enemies of the administration might bring about technical issues that could lead to queues on the line, especially government has provided enormous quantities of petroleum products across the country that can last the country up to six months through Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    “So, some people are not too happy about it and they want to sabotage the efforts of the government.

    “So, I’m the chairman and the President being the Minister of Petroleum Resources, I came to share some information and tap on his versatile experience in the industry as a former Minister of Petroleum Resources 40 years ago; so there is abundant experience there.”

    On the threats by depots owners to shut down with the festive period around the corner, he said: “That is what I said. So, we are now talking of technicalities. There is fuel in the country, in our seas and in our depots all across the country. But there are some technicalities now regarding payment of subsidies, forex differentials and interest, which this government inherited.

    “They are not a creation of this government. However, government is a continuum and when the President came in, he was confronted with it and he agreed and said fine, I have stopped subsidy but since there are claims, we will look into it and pay.”

    According to him, bureaucracy has been hindering smooth payment of outstanding arrears owed depot owners, which was inherited by the Buhari administration.

    “But now, the bureaucratic nature of the computations is what dragged up to this time and depots owners are not too happy with what the Ministry of Finance has done and may be some other agencies.

    “So, we have been on it in the Senate and the House of Representatives for almost two weeks now. Finally, today, I have had quality time with Mr. President and we have looked into the whole thing.

    “By next week, we will invite all the stakeholders. I believe we should be able to get to the root of the matter. As for the depots owners, we are going to plead with them again to give more time, especially now that we have discussed with the head of the executive arm of government.

    “So, I’m sure everything will be resolved in the next few days.”

    He added that the second issue that brought him to the Villa was the political situation in his state, Zamfara State.

    With the courts now handling the issues that trailed the state All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary elections, he was confident that the issues would soon be resolved.

  • Senate committee approves N189.2b for 2019 elections

    •NSA, DG DSS, IGP, others to defend budget

    THE Senate Committee on Appropriation yesterday gave nod to the N189.207 billion for the conduct of the 2019 elections as requested by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Buhari, in a letter dated September 19, 2018, requested for the holistic consideration and approval of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies’ budgets for the 2019 elections.

    The source of funding of the INEC’s 2019 election budget yesterday appeared to be breeding discomfort among National Assembly members.

    Many senators asked consistently that the source of funding of the INEC budget should be clarified.

    The President said the N189.207 billion should be sourced from the N500 billion the National Assembly inserted into the 2018 budget. The joint National Assembly Committee on INEC recommended that the money should be pulled from the over N900 billion Service Wide Vote in the 2018 budget.

    A memo, entitled: “Submission of harmonised report of INEC 2019 general election supplementary budget estimates submitted to the Appropriation Committee by Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Suleiman Nazif and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Aishatu Jibril Dukku said: “INEC was allocated N143,512,529,455 only as recommended by Mr. President for its 2019 general elections and indicated as amount needed for 2018.

    “The balance of N45,695,015,438 billion was requested for appropriation under 2019 budget.

    “However, the INEC presented the entire sum of N189,207,544,893.13 for the committee’s consideration.

    “The committee after wide consultation with INEC decided on a budgetary allocation of N143,312,256,955.13 only.”

    Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje proposed at the meeting yesterday that the two letters by Buhari should be combined “so that we give Mr. President what he wants”.

    The proposal was unanimously carried.

    Before the committee went into closed session to consider the seemingly knotty issue of the source of funding of the INEC budget, Goje announced that the committee resolved that N189,207,544, 893.13 as requested should be approved for INEC for the conduct of the 2019 elections.

    On security budget for the election, Goje said the committee also resolved to invite the National Security Adviser, Director General, Department of State Services, Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Inspector General of Police, Comptroller General Nigeria Immigration Service and heads of other security agencies connected with the 2019 elections to appear before the committee to defend their budgets.

    Goje emphasised that the N78,340,530535.00 for security agencies would be approved after the appearance of the heads of the agencies.

     

  • Senate committee begs for funds for programme

    Senate committee begs for funds for programme

    Senate Committee on Information Communication Technology ( ICT) yesterday begged the Ministry of Communications to  provide fund for its annual conference on cyber space security.

    Its Vice Chairman, Senator Fosta Ogola, in his observations of the N6.94 billion 2018 budget estimates of the ministry presented by Communications Minister, Adebayo Shittu, noted that there was no provision for annual conference on cyberspace security the committee started with last year.

    Ogola said: “Mr. Minister , I’ve gone through the proposed expenditure of the 2018 budget of your ministry without seeing any headline or item capturing the annual cyberspace security workshop started by this committee last year .

    “We appreciated your ministry ‘s funding of last year’s conference and since it is an annual programme, we expected you to have factored it into your ministry’s 2018 budget projections.

    “The programme is very important since it is aimed at addressing our highly vulnerable cyber space .”

    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, further underscored the need for the funding.

    He noted that funding of the annual programme by the ministry should be part of its priorities towards getting the required strategies  and ideas of  fortifying the Nigerian cyberspace .

    The minister assured the committee that the request would be considered.

    He also asked the lawmakers to fast track work on amendment bill to the Cyber Council Act towards empowering the ministry in  the monitoring and   management   of cyber space  activities.

     

  • Senate urges Immigration to enforce law on expatriate quota

    Senate urges Immigration to enforce law on expatriate quota

    The Senate Committee on Local Content on Friday decried the “unnecessary depletion of the nation’s foreign reserves’’ through engagement of expatriates.

    The Chairman of the committee, Sen. Solomon Adeola, made the remark during an oversight visit to the headquarters of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Abuja.

    Spokesman of the NIS, Mr Sunday James, said in a statement that the lawmaker urged the agency to address the issue by enforcing the country’s relevant local content laws.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that companies seeking business permit and expatriate quota are required to employ Nigerians to understudy their foreign experts for the purpose of training them.

    This is to enable the trainees to acquire the requisite skills for the eventual takeover of the expatriate quota positions.

    “It is sad that our qualified graduates in oil and gas-related disciplines are roaming the streets without jobs, whereas expatriates are collecting huge salaries for jobs that our people can conveniently undertake.

    “This can no longer be tolerated”, Adeola was quoted as saying.

    Responding, the Comptroller General of Immigration, Mr Muhammad Babadende, said the NIS was committed to enforcing the local content law as it affected the understudy programme.

    Babadende said the agency would ensure that companies complied with the conditions for granting expatriate quota to companies with foreign experts in their employ.

    He also assured the committee of a “robust partnership” in enforcement of the local content law as requested by the lawmakers.