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Tag: Senate

  • APC: no rift between Buhari, Senate

    APC: no rift between Buhari, Senate

    Following Tuesday’s jettisoning of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ambassadorial list, the All Progressives Congress (APC)  yesterday denied that there is a rift between the executive and the legislature.

    It insisted that there is a smooth working relationship between the two arms of government.

    National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun said the return of the non-career ambassadors’ designate list to the President by the Senate had nothing to do with a strained relationship as being speculated by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The statement said: “this assurance is in reaction to a statement credited to a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suggesting a rift between the executive and legislature following the Senate’s return of the list of non-career ambassadors to the presidency for review.

    “The Senate, in the adopted report of its Committee on Foreign Affairs stated on Tuesday that the decision to return the list followed petitions received on the nominations and went ahead to propose that the presidency review the ambassadorial list.

    “Hence, attempts by the PDP to give the Senate action a political coloration and other negative interpretations are unnecessary and misleading.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari is a democrat and does not subscribe to the idea of “controlling” the National Assembly as was the practice with the PDP during its 16-year misrule of the country.

    “Respect for the principle of the Rule of Law and the constitutional provisions of Separation of Power between the three arms of government is a best practice and also healthy for our democracy.

    “The powers and duties of the three arms of government are clearly spelt out in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and President Muhammadu Buhari respects them.”

    Also yesterday, the senate and the House started discussions on the virement request by the president.

    Both arms of the legislature directed committees on Appropriation and Finance to carry out legislative work on the request and submit their reports next week.

    Last month the president requested the National Assembly to approve a virement of N180. 83 billion from the N500billion appropriated for Special Intervention Programme, to finance other key projects.

    The president’s request indicated that “the total recurrent expenditure required to be transferred is N166.63billion while the capital expenditure requirement to be transferred is N14.20billion’’.

    A breakdown of the N180.83 billion shows that Public Service Wage Adjustment takes N71.80billion; the Amnesty Programme receives N35billion as against the mobilisation of corps members which receives N19.79billion.

    House of Representatives Leader Femi Gbajabiamila justified the need for the House to consider the motion. He said several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) presented issues pertaining to salary shortfalls as it affects the MDAs that are not under the platform of Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), and some MDAs that are under the IPPIS platform wpuld be locked put as their Personnel Cist budgets would not cover salaries for the rest of the year.

    “Also the Nigerian Air Force needs to cover the foreign exchange differentials in the procurement of its critical equipment and augment the contigency vote, and also to provide for inadequacy in the provision for the National Youth Service Corps in the 2016, among others,” he added.

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote. It was then referred to the Committee on Appropriation and other Committees to to serve as sub-committees of the Committee on Appropriations.

  • Senate panel to fast-track FHA’s restructuring

    Senate panel to fast-track FHA’s restructuring

    The Senate Committee on Housing has promised to work with relevant agencies to fast-track the restructuring and commercialisation of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

    Its Chairman, Senator Barnabas Gemade, made this known in Abuja when he led his colleagues on an oversight visit to the Authority’s headquarters.

    He said urgent legislative action was required to fast-track the reform and commercialisation of the FHA which had been on-going since 1992.

    He said the planned amendment would strengthen the Authority and return it to its pride of place as an effective national instrument for housing delivery.

    The lawmaker, who was accompanied by four of his colleagues, noted that the fortunes of the FHA has been adversely affected by somersaults in government’s policy. He said the removal of the FHA from government funding had stacked the odds against the agency and affected its ability to deliver on its mandate.

    To strengthen the FHA, Gemade promised that his committee would explore the possibility of its benefitting from the Central Bank’s N30 billion Real Estate Development Intervention Fund. To this end, he directed the Authority’s Managing Director, Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin, to furnish his committee with a list of all its completed and on-going housing projects, including partnership projects, loan portfolio, and nominal roll.

    During a visit to the FHA/ENL Paradise Hills Estate, Apo, Abuja, Gemade expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done on the houses.

    He said FHA demonstrated a high level of professional competence in delivering quality houses for medium and high income earners and urged it to brace up to build houses for millions of the nation’s low  income earners.

    Al-Amin said there was need to strengthen the Authority’s ability to deliver on its social housing mandate through special subventions and regular budgetary allocation.

    He appealed to the committee to hasten work on the amendment of the law establishing it. He said the FHA depended solely on public- private partnerships to deliver houses since the government funding for it stopped.

  • Senate wades into crisis between ASUU, FG

    Senate wades into crisis between ASUU, FG

    Sen. Jibril Barau (APC-Kano), says the Senate has intervened in the crisis between the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Barau made this known when he was briefing Senate correspondents after a closed door meeting with leadership of ASUU, Minister of State for Education and other stakeholders in Abuja on Wednesday.

    “After the deliberation, we set up a sub-committee that will meet with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Budget and Planning to resolve the issues,” Barau said.

    The Senator, who is the chairman of the sub-committee, assured Nigerians that the parties involved had found a way forward as there was determination to get the issues resolved.

    Also, Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP-Abia), acting Chairman, Senate Committee on Labour said they had resolved to “nip the issue in the bud”.

    “With the attention of the minister of finance and that of budget and planning, by Monday next week, we should resolve amicably and the warning strike will come to an end,” Ohuabunwa said.

    Minister of State for Education, Prof. Tony Anwuka said that the initiative was commendable and was geared toward finding a lasting solution to the crisis.

    “We should be able to find pleasant resolutions,” Anwuka said.

    On his part, ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi thanked the Senate for intervening in the matter.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that ASUU, earlier on Wednesday, embarked on a one-week warning strike. 

  • Senate probes Customs’s declining revenue profile

    Senate probes Customs’s declining revenue profile

    The Senate yesterday mandated its Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff to carry out a holistic investigation into the activities of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) with a view to identifying the reasons for its declining revenue, leakages and irregularities in its operations.

    The recommendations of the committee, the Senate said, should aim to reinvigorate the revenue profile of the Nigeria NCS.

    The resolution followed a motion on the “urgent need to examine the operations of the Nigeria Customs Service revenue drive” sponsored by Senator Isaac Mohammed Alfa (Kogi East) and 12 others.

    Sen Alfa, in his lead debate, noted that the NCS was established to among other things, collect and account for revenue from customs duties, excise duties, other fees and excise laws; administer any aspect of trade and fiscal policy that the government of the federation may mandate it to administer; promote trade facilitation;  as well as to protect Nigeria against smuggling, fraud and all other violations of customs and excise laws and laws of Nigeria subject to Customs jurisdiction.

    He prayed the Senate to note with serious concern that the revenue projections and targets of the NCS are currently not being met, despite multiple strategies and policy initiatives to improve revenue collection.

    The lawmaker lamented that NCS recorded a revenue shortfall of N230 billion by the last quarter of last year, adding that in the first quarter of this year, the Tin can Island and Apapa Command recorded a revenue shortfall of N2.7 and N2 billion respectively compared with the corresponding period last year.

    He said he was aware that the revenue shortfall was as a result of unwholesome fraudulent trade malpractices, under declaration, abuse of fiscal policies concealment, over and under invoicing, false declaration of value and wrong classification.

    He said the probe became imperative because: “Aware of the Federal Government’s resolve to diversify the economy and enthrone multiple revenue sources in order to augment the dwindling oil revenue;

    “Determined to utilise legislative action to create an enabling environment that sees the NCS thrive and in effect dramatically increase the revenue accruable to the country and realistically become a major driver in the funding of the nation’s budget;

    “Further aware that the NCS is currently operating a regime that through a directive from the Federal Ministry of Finance, bars the NCS from collecting excise revenue as enunciated in the Mandatory Excise List and Community List in clear contravention of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) tariff harmonisation directive.”

    The motion was promptly seconded by Sen Shehu Sani who prayed the Senate to work to give more life to the NCS.

    Sen Sani said Nigerians should appreciate the fact the era of oil was over hence there was need to reposition the NCS.

    Deputy Senate President, Sen Ike Ekweremadu agreed with the submission of Alfa and Sani. Ekweremadu noted that the time has come to block all revenue leakages to shore up the economy of the country.

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki said the motion was timely especially at a time of dwindling economic fortunes of the country.

    The Senate, he said, will work to reposition the NCS in the interest of the country

  • ASUU adamant as Fed Govt urges halt to strike

    ASUU adamant as Fed Govt urges halt to strike

    •Union: we’ll go ahead

    THE Senate has pledged to engage relevant stakeholders to avert the warning strike planned by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
    ASUU had on Monday announced plans to embark on a one-week warning strike over the inability of government to implement agreements reached with it since 2009.
    The move by the Senate to intervene in the matter followed a motion moved by Senator Jibrin Barau (APC-Kano North) under matters of urgent national importance.
    The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, urged the chamber to intervene and ensure that the eight–year agreement was fully implemented.
    “We must find a way of seeing to the implementation and we will look into the matter quickly.
    “We will also get the relevant parties to quickly come to the table so that we can find a way of moving forward and report back to us,” he said.
    In his motion, Barau, who is Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TetFund, urged government to implement all agreements.
    He urged government to as well carry out certain actions that were necessary for the wellbeing of the development of public universities.
    The lawmaker, however, hailed ASUU for choosing the path of dialogue rather than confrontation as a means of resolving the outstanding issues between it and the Federal Government.
    In his contribution, Senator Danjuma Goje (APC-Gombe Central) noted that the history of strike was a recurring decimal.
    “It is a disturbing issue to parents and students. There is need to nip it in the bud. We should not allow it to escalate,” Goje said.
    He said the motion was apt and called on the Senate to engage the leadership of ASUU to suspend its planned warning strike.
    The Majority Leader, Senator Mohammed Ndume, described the Senate as a stabilising agent and called for the immediate intervention of the Senate leadership in the matter.
    But ASUU said the warning strike scheduled to begin today would go ahead despite the Senate’s intervention.
    Its National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, told The Nation on phone that there was no way the union could suspend the planned action until after its meeting with the leadership of the Senate.
    He said: “They have invited us for a meeting tomorrow (today) and we are going to meet with them. It is only after the meeting that we will call our own meeting and take a position.
    “So, for now, the action will commence as planned. When we get to the Senate, we will address the issue. That is the position for now.”
    The union, had at a news conference asked its members nationwide to embark on a one-week warning strike from today to protest the failure of government to implement the 2009 agreement with the union.

     

  • You can’t probe Ekiti bailout funds, govt tells Senate

    You can’t probe Ekiti bailout funds, govt tells Senate

    The Ekiti State government has rejected moves by the Senate to probe how it spent its bailout funds from the Federal Government.
    The state described the planned investigation by the Senate as unconstitutional and unwarranted.
    Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Owoseni Ajayi was reacting to a letter by the Senate Committee Chairman on State and Local Government Administration, Abdullahi Gumel.
    The committee’s letter written through the Office of the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki was dated November 11 and entitled: “Re: Senate oversight assignment on bailout funds granted to Ekiti State.”
    The committee was requesting an oversight function in the state on the bailout funds given to it by the Federal Government.
    In his reply, Ajayi said: “We respectfully wish to observe that we are constrained as a state government, bound by the principles of federalism, and the rule of law, to accede to your proposal to exercise oversight powers over the disbursement of the bailout fund granted to Ekiti State by the Federal Government because it is legally and constitutionally outside the powers of the Senate.”
    The commissioner added that the Senate’s request to probe its bailout funds, was against sections 121,122,123, 124, 125 and 128 of the 1999 Constitution.
    The commissioner noted that it was not in doubt that the Constitution vested the powers of oversight functions in respect of states finances exclusively on state legislatures.
    “In light of the above, we respectfully opine that your request for a meeting with certain officials of the Ekiti State government and the preparation of reports detailing all grants as received by the state from the Federal Government and the application of such funds, for the consideration of your committee, is a usurpation of the constitutionally vested powers of the Ekiti State House of Assembly as currently constituted under the leadership of the Speaker, Kola Oluwawole.
    “Consequently, we have no other choice in the circumstance than to decline to entertain the proposed enquiry by your committee into the disbursement of bailout funds granted to Ekiti State for the above stated reasons”.

  • Senate probes zero capital allocation to NAHCON

    Senate probes zero capital allocation to NAHCON

    The Senate committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs Monday demanded explanations from the Federal Government over its decision not to vote funds for capital projects in the 2016 budget of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).

    The committee resolved to probe the zero capital allocation to the commission during its oversight visit to the commission’s office in Abuja.

    It said that the investigation became necessary in order to address growing concerns and observations raised by the leadership of NAHCON.

    Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, noted the committee would immediately write to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to seek explanation over the development.

    Chairman of the National Hajj Commission, Abdullahi Mukhtar, who gave highlights of the budget performance of the commission, told members of the committee that no funds were appropriated for capital expenditure in 2016 budget.

    Mukhar said, “The present challenge facing the commission at present is office accommodation. As at today the present office being occupied by the commission’s head office is a rented apartment and funding of the rent along with the zonal offices rent is not being adequately provided for in the overhead appropriation. Proposal for construction of commission’s permanent site in Abuja was not captured in 2016 appropriation act.”

    The NAHCON boss noted that out of N617, 524,914 appropriated for overhead cost, the sum of N91, 348,017 was released to date leaving a balance of N526, 176,896 million.

    He told the committee that all attempts to have the Finance Ministry to allocate funds for capital projects failed.

    The chairman pleaded with the Senate to give its support by way of input in the 2017 budget needed to enhance NAHCON’s performance to be at par with international standards.

    Senator Hunkuyi, said, “across the board, most agencies we have gone to, we found that capital releases has been phenomenal in comparison to the last sixteen years. I stand to be corrected on this.”

    Speaking on the zero budget allocation for capital in NAHCON’s 2016 budget, Senator Hunkuyi added, “There are explanations that should come from here, and additional explanations from the office of the SGF. This committee needs this information to be able to understand what is going on.

    “This committee is duty bound to investigate and define the nature of the problem with a view to finding solutions to these problems, if indeed there are.”

    The Kaduna North senatorial district lawmaker who commended NAHCON’s chairman for his achievements so far, asked the commission to come up with strong arguments to justify its request for increased funding.

    He said, “It is commendable that despite the releases made to the commission, you have been able to utilize what was given in such a way that you achieved so much. Therefore, asking for more funding would raise concerns as to why you are making such a request since you you were able to realise so much with little.

    “However, I think if the commission wants more funding, it has to come up with strong explanations to back its demands.”

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character, Senator Tijjani Kaura (Zamfara North), said that the reason for the panel’s oversight visit to the commission was for it to be briefed on the implementation of the 2016 budget.

     

     

     

  • Senate rejects FIRS budget over alleged duplication of figures

    Senate rejects FIRS budget over alleged duplication of figures

    The Senate yesterday stepped down the 2016 budget of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over alleged shoddy preparation of the financial document.

    The upper chamber threw out the report of its Committee on Finance which considered the FIRS budget due to what it described as “the poor preparation of the document.”

    This is coming about four months after President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the 2016 budget of the tax collection agency to the Senate.

    The upper chamber referred the budget to its Committee on Finance for further legislative action on 25th of July, 2016.

    The Senate came hard on its Finance Committee for accommodating what it described as “glaring duplications in the budget estimates.”

    The lawmakers were categorical on their blame that the Finance Committee in its consideration of the N146,165,108, 293 billion budget proposal of FIRS failed to scrutinise subheads of the proposals.

    The Senate also agreed that the report submitted for consideration supported the Committee’s position that more oversight of the budget was necessary.

    Some Senators expressed concern that the FIRS budget estimates were “poorly compiled and incomplete.”

    They insisted that “the days where a partially prepared budget is sent to the Senate are over.”

    Some said the refusal to pass the budget should be “a strong signal to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that there will be no more business as usual in the budget process as the Senate awaited the arrival of the 2017 federal budget.”

    The lawmakers also frowned at what they called “ambiguous figures and questionable inclusion of capital projects” in the budget

    Some of the proposals in the budget included: Office materials and supplies -N440,000,000;

    Library books and periodicals – N68,000,000; Computer materials and supplies- N530,000,000; Printing of non security documents – N1,900,000,000; Printing of security documents- N250,000,000; Maintenance of office furniture and equipment- N90,000,000; Maintenance of building office- N300,000,000; Maintenance of office equipments – N266,000,000; Maintenance of computers and IT equipments- N120,000,000; Maintenance of plants/generators- N170,000,000;

    Cleaning and fumigation services -N750,000,000; Office rent- N885,000,000; Security vote- N250,000,000; Legal services- N500,000,000; Motor vehicle fuel cost – N700,000,000; Generator fuel cost – N750,000,000; Refreshment and meals- N586,000,000; Hire of hall, accommodation and events- N350,000,000; Honorarium and sitting allowance payments- N150,000,000; Publicity, advert and taxpayers education- N2,000,000,000; Medical expenditure- N700,000,000; Postages and courier services- N244,000,000; Welfare packages- N681,000,000; Tax audit investigation and monitoring- N2,500,000,000; and Tax investigation- N500,000,000.

    Other estimates are Purchase of vehicles- N2,300,000,000; Purchase of furniture and equipment-general-N5,180,000,000; Acquisition of land and building- N5,586,300,000; Construction of offices- new projects-N300,000,000; Rehabilitation/Repairs- N4,028,000,000; Rehabilitation/Repair of offices- new projects- N415,000,000; Other infrastructure- ICT New projects- N555,000,000;

    Other infrastructure-ongoing projects- N2,026,000,000; FIRS corporate headquarters- N10,000,000,000

    The senators described some of the proposals as “curious” and wondered why the Finance Committee simply lifted the figures contained in the submission of FIRS into its report for the consideration of the Senate.

  • Senate rejects FIRS budget over alleged duplications of figures

    Senate rejects FIRS budget over alleged duplications of figures

    The Senate Thursday stepped down the 2016 budget of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over alleged shoddy preparation of the financial document.

    The upper chamber threw out the report of its Committee on Finance which considered the FIRS budget due to what it described as “the poor preparation of the document.”

    This is coming about four months after President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the 2016 budget of the tax collection agency to the Senate.

    The upper chamber referred the budget to its Committee on Finance for further legislative action on 25th of July, 2016.

    The Senate came hard on its Finance Committee for accommodating what it described as “glaring duplications in the budget estimates.”

    The lawmakers were categorical on their blame that the Finance Committee in its consideration of the N146, 165,108, 293 billion budget proposals of FIRS failed to scrutinize subheads of the proposals.

    The Senate also agreed that the report submitted for consideration supported the Committee’s position that more oversight of the budget was necessary.

    Some Senators expressed concern that the FIRS budget estimates were “poorly compiled and incomplete.”

    They insisted that “the days where a partially prepared budget is sent to the Senate are over.”

    Some said the refusal to pass the budget should be “a strong signal to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that there will be no more business as usual in the budget process as the Senate awaited the arrival of the 2017 federal budget.”

    The lawmakers also frowned at what they called “ambiguous figures and questionable inclusion of capital projects” in the budget

    Some of the proposals in the budget included: Office materials and supplies -440,000,000;

    Library books and periodicals – 68,000,000; Computer materials and supplies- 530,000,000;

    Printing of non-security documents – 1,900,000,000; Printing of security documents- 250,000,000; Maintenance of office furniture and equipment- 90,000,000; Maintenance of building office- 300,000,000; Maintenance of office equipments – 266,000,000; Maintenance of computers and IT equipments- 120,000,000; Maintenance of plants/generators- 170,000,000;

    Cleaning and fumigation services -750,000,000; Office rent- 885,000,000; Security vote- 250,000,000; Legal services- 500,000,000; Motor vehicle fuel cost – 700,000,000; Generator fuel cost – 750,000,000; Refreshment and meals- 586,000,000; Hire of hall, accommodation and events- 350,000,000; Honorarium and sitting allowance payments- 150,000,000; Publicity, advert and taxpayers education- 2,000,000,000; Medical expenditure- 700,000,000; Postages and courier services- 244,000,000; Welfare packages- 681,000,000; Tax audit investigation and monitoring- 2,500,000,000; and Tax investigation- 500,000,000.

    Other estimates are Purchase of vehicles- 2,300,000,000; Purchase of furniture and equipment-general-5,180,000,000; Acquisition of land and building- 5,586,300,000; Construction of offices- new projects-300,000,000; Rehabilitation/Repairs- 4,028,000,000; Rehabilitation/Repair of offices- new projects- 415,000,000; Other infrastructure- ICT New projects- 555,000,000;

    Other infrastructure-ongoing projects- 2,026,000,000; FIRS corporate headquarters- 10,000,000,000

    The Senators described some of the proposals as “curious” and wondered why the Finance Committee simply lifted the figures contained in the submission of FIRS into its report for the consideration of the Senate.

    The upper chamber asked the Senator John Enoh led Finance Committee to reflect observations made by Senators in the report and report back to Senate in plenary within one week.

    The explanation of Senator Enoh about the rationale behind the approval of some capital projects in the budget did not go down well with majority of the lawmakers.

    Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Na’Allah, who stood in for the Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, promptly moved that the report be stepped down to give the committee time to correct the lapses.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who summed contributions of Senators, noted the late submission of budgets of government departments and agencies, especially revenue generating agencies.

    Saraki noted that going forward, budgets of special agencies not included in the annual budget, must be submitted not later than the first quarter of the year.

    He said, “I will partly blame these things on the late submission of budgets. This practice where government agencies send their budgets late to the National Assembly and expect them to be passed immediately will not be tolerated.

    “They must submit their budgets early so that we can have enough time to work on their proposals.

    “If we do that, these issues we have here will not arise. The relevant committees should take note of that and ensure that the right thing is done.”

    Saraki ruled that the report be returned to Senator Enoh’s committee to rework.

    The Senate also failed to pass the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Authority Act, 2011 Amendment Bill 2016.

    Like the FIRS report, the report of the amendment bill was also presented by Senator Enoh-led Finance committee.

    The lawmakers fingered constitutional conflicts for their inability to pass the bill.

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu observed that it will be illegal to pass the amendment bill without first amending the constitution which stipulated how monies accruable to the Federation Account should be shared among the three tiers of government.

    The consideration of the report was subsequently suspended pending when the National Assembly will conclude its ongoing constitution review exercise.

    The constitution review is expected to address the conflicts observed in the report.

    Apart from the FIRS budget rejection, the Senate returned the 2017 to 2019 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to the Presidency and turned down the bid by President Muhammadu Buhari to borrow $29.96 billion due to lack of supporting documentation and details of where the expenditures are to be allocated.

    It is the thinking of some observers that the failure to submit supporting documentation for examination has held up the 2017 budget process.

    The leadership of the Senate has long stated that they had hoped to resolve most outstanding issues of disagreement well ahead of receiving the 2017 budget.

  • Senate probes $2 billion rail line concession to U.S. firm

    Senate probes $2 billion rail line concession to U.S. firm

    THE Senate yesterday resolved to investigate the handling of a $2 billion rail lines contract by the Ministry of Transport.

    The upper chamber said it wanted to know how the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, handled the procedures leading to concession of Port Harcourt-Maiduguri and Lagos-Kano rail lines to General Electric (GE), a United States (U.S.) conglomerate.

    The Senate mandated its committees on Privatisation, Land Transport, Finance, Anti- Corruption and Financial Crimes, Special Duties, Trade and Investment and Judiciary to carry out the investigation and report back in two weeks.

    The investigation followed a motion by Senator Bassey Albert Akpan (Akwa Ibom North East) entitled: “Urgent need to investigate the granting of concession of the Western (Lagos-Kano) and Eastern (Port Harcourt-Maiduguri) Rail Lines to General Electric”.

    Akpan, in his lead debate, claimed that Amaechi violated the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act, 1999 by “unilaterally engaging General Electric for the concession of the Western and Eastern Rail Lines”.

    He noted that upon approval of the project by the National Privatisation Council in April 2015, the Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility had developed a roadmap.

    The Akwa Ibom lawmaker added the BPE had engaged the Global Infrastructure Facility and the World Bank in discussions on how to access funds to manage the project before Amaechi’s “unilateral” deal with GE.

    He quoted the minister in an interview with CNBC in June this year, where he allegedly announced  Nigeria’s engagement with GE regarding the concession of Western and Eastern rail lines – Lagos to Kano and Port Harcourt to Maiduguri – worth around $2 billion.

    Expressing worry, Akpan said it was the responsibility of the steering committee and technical committees of the NPC inaugurated by the Vice President in August, to negotiate with potential bidders for the concession.

    He wondered how the Ministry of Transport engage General Electric Company as far back as June.

    He expressed worry that contrary to the provisions of the BPE Act, the Federal Government had already constituted a task force headed by the Minister of Finance to drive the transaction process in line with the approval of National Council on Privatisation (NCP) in April.