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Tag: Senate

  • Presidency submitted fake 2016 budget – Senate panel

    Presidency submitted fake 2016 budget – Senate panel

    The drama trailing the 2016 budget in the Senate continued Thursday with stunning assertions by the Senate leadership.

    The troubling revelations came after over two hour closed session where the lawmakers were said to have “thoroughly discussed and taken far reaching decisions on the budget.

    After the closed session, Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, announced that the secret meeting centered on the controversy surrounding the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

    He also recalled that they mandated the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate the matter in order for the Senate to take an informed position.

    Saraki then dropped the bombshell.

    He said that the Senate discovered from the findings of its Ethics committee that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matter, Senator Ita Enang, printed and submitted to the Senate a different version of the 2016 budget.

    He said that what Enang submitted to the Senate was against the original copy of the Appropriation Bill presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 22, 2015.

    Saraki did not stop there.

    He said that the Senate resolved not to work with a version of the Appropriation Bill not laid before the National Assembly.

    He added that the Senate also resolved to consider only the version of Bill presented by President Buhari as soon as they receive soft copy of the original document from the Executive.

    He said, “We have received the report of the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions on investigations surrounding 2016 Appropriation Bill.

    “Our finding is that Senator Ita Enang, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matter (SSA) printed copies of the 2016 Appropriation Bill and brought to the Senate.

    “We have discovered that what he brought is different from the version presented by Mr. President.

    “We have resolved to consider only the version presented by Mr. President as soon as we receive soft copy of the original document from the Executive.”

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi also addressed reporters immediately after Senate plenary to throw more light on the claim of a fake budget.

    Abdullahi spoke in company with the Vice Chairman of his committee, Senator Ben Murray – Bruce.

    He said, “We are here to update you on an issue that has been awash in the media. We are here in continuation of what we have said earlier that the report about a missing budget is not true.

    “We don’t have a budget that is missing and we still maintain that we don’t have a budget that is missing.

    “But you recall that the Senate President did inform Nigerians that there is issue that a committee was asked to investigate.

    “The report of the investigation by the committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition has been submitted in the Executive session because it was a decision we took in the last Executive session on Tuesday.

    “Now our findings are this, that Mr. President did lay the budget in the Joint session of the National Assembly.

    “Thereafter, the Senate went on recess and upon resumption copies of the document were produced by Senator Ita Enang, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters for Senate and copies were submitted to both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    “What we found out is that the document submitted by Senator Ita Enang upon our resumption has some differences and discrepancies with what was originally laid by Mr. President in the joint sitting of the National Assembly.

    “However, the Senate in defence in its integrity and honour will not work with what has not been laid in the National Assembly.

    “We are constitutionally mandated and duty bound to consider only that budget that has been so laid by Mr. President.

    “Right now, for reproduction, we are awaiting the soft copy of the originally submitted budget so that the National Assembly can reproduce copies of the budget itself.

    “Because if we reproduce ourselves, then we have confidence in the fact that what we reproduced is what was originally submitted to us.

    “The institution of the Senate will not and cannot do anything that is illegal. We will not do anything that will not promote the unity, integrity and welfare of Nigerians.

    “Some people were saddled with the responsibility to find out what happened.”

    Abdullahi reiterated that “the budget submitted by the President is not missing, “we already have copies of it but what we are saying is that for us to reproduce for our members, it is easier, based on the quantum of document that has to be produced, that we get the soft copy of that original version so that we can reproduce it.”

    He insisted that “by next week, we want to go down to business, Senators have picked dates to speak during the three days set aside for debate of the 2016 budget.”

    Abdullahi also said that the Senate leadership was mandated to speak with all those concerned with the document saying “that was why the Senate President was in touch with Mr. President.”

    The Senate spokesperson however refused to speak on the claim by the House of Representatives that it had its own original version of the fiscal document.

    He also declined to say what amounted to the differences spotted in the version of the budget submitted by Enang and the original version presented by President Buhari.

    “I am not in the position to say the differences between the document submitted by the President and the one brought by Ita Enang. The committee that investigated the issue did not include that in their report,” he claimed.

    Abdullahi said that as at the time the Senate President promised to make copies of the budget available to Senators Thursday, “he was working on the assumption that what were brought by the executive were copies of the original copies submitted by Mr. President.”

    He noted that “but based on the outcry, it was discovered that there are another version different from what the President gave us.”

    The man at the centre of the controversy, Senator Ita Enang, refused to respond to what the Senate President said.

    Enang told anxious reporters who crowded his office that he does not want to join issue with the Senate.

     

  • Senate seeks probe of $40m loan to aviation sector

    The Senate yesterday asked its joint Committee on Aviation and Anti-Corruption to investigate the disbursement and utilisation of $40 million loan alleged to have been released by the Federal Government in 2011 for the rehabilitation and development of infrastructure in the aviation industry.

    The upper chamber also mandated the same committee to probe the release of N33.55 billion in the same year for the same purpose.

    This followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the Senate ad-hoc committee on Aviation which investigated a motion on “The worrisome and unstable position of Nigerian Aviation industry.”

    The report was presented by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano Central)

    The Senate said the Chief Executives of Aviation agencies in the country should take steps to replace aging pilots in their system.

    It said that the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should pay more emphasis on the provision of state of the art flying equipment to enhance air safety.

    Other recommendations of the Committee adopted included that “Good leadership spirit should be inculcated by the Chief executive of aviation parastatals and other stakeholders to refurbish and maintain physical facility and equipment.

    “While the building of infrastructure in some of our airports are appreciated, NAMA and FAAN should pay more emphasis on the provision of the state of the art flying equipment that will enhance safety and assist the pilots to do their jobs professionally and confidently without endangering their lives and that of passengers, to guide against a situation where planes cannot take off and land because of poor visibility as a result of fog.”

    The Senate agreed that “because of the delicate nature of the aviation industry only qualified and properly trained people should be employed while “the chief executive of aviation parastatals, Nigeria College of Aviation Technology should put in place a programme in place to replace the aging pilots in aviation industry taking into cognisance young pilots on ground that needed a particular flying hours before they can be employed.”

    The Senate said that NAMA should be directed to henceforth stop the collection of navigational charges on all training aircrafts in Nigeria while the aviation section in federal, ministry of transport should not interfere in the day to day running of the specialised unit in the aviation industry.

    The Senate said that the federal airport authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should be directed to rehabilitate and complete all abandoned structures and pull down those that have lost their value.

  • ‘2016 budget not missing’

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has said that the 2016 budget proposal was not missing.

    He said no statement made by any Senator during Wednesday’s plenary could be interpreted as an admission that the 2016 budget is missing.

    Abdullahi made the clarification in a statement made available to reporters in Abuja.

    He insisted that no budget is missing and that the Senate will on Thursday distribute copies of the budget to all the Senators to enable contribute to the debate slated for January 19 to 21.

    He noted that all the senators have indicated the date they will make their own contributions on the budget.

     

     

  • Senate confirms 2016 budget missing

    Senate confirms 2016 budget missing

    The controversy over whether or not the hard copy of the 2016 budget proposal is missing has been cleared.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Wednesday confirmed that the upper chamber has empanelled a high powered Senate search team to fish out the missing fiscal document.

    The cat of the missing document was let out of the bag by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, (Abia South) who came under Senate Standing Order 42.

    Order 42 deals with Matter of urgent national importance which the Senate is bound to consider if the Senate President allows it.

    Abaribe told the Senate that the grievous issue of the “missing and disappearance of the 2016 budget proposal” was widely reported in the media Tuesday.

    He added that most of them had been inundated with questions by their constituents about the whereabouts of the budget proposal.

    Abaribe said that their constituents who genuinely believed and saw the budget as the life wire of the country wanted to know how and why the budget got missing.

    He said that the Senate should not sweep the matter under the carpet in the interest of not only their constituents but the country in general.

    He recalled that the matter of the missing document also came up during their closed session on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 without satisfactory explanation on the whereabouts of the document.

    Abaribe who prayed the Senate to debate the matter so as to tell Nigerians the truth about the disappearance of the fiscal document said that it was also not in the interest of the Senate not to look into the matter.

    He insisted that “the matter is definite and urgent” and should therefore be considered.

    Abaribe said, “The matter that I refer to is what is in every newspaper today, everywhere in all the talk-shows in the radio of a missing budget and therefore Mr President, I want to bring to your attention and the attention of all my colleagues that yesterday in our closed session, this matter also came up.

    “Some of us who are worried, who have been inundated by messages from our constituents who are really worried about what their fate in the 2016, and are asking us, where is our budget.

    “That is why Mr President I think it is definite and it is urgent that we look into this matter.”

    Saraki agreed and said that a team of Senator had already been constituted to look into the matter.

    The Senate President added that Senators should be patient and await the findings of the search team after which the Senate would go into a closed session to discuss the matter.

    He also confirmed that the issue came up during the Senate closed session on Tuesday.

    He said that though Abaribe did not discuss the subject of his Point of Order with him as required by the Senate Rule, he would allow an exception in order to look into the issue.

    Saraki said, “Because of the importance of this (disappearance of the budget) I will allow an exception.

    “You know we are all part of the decision at the close session yesterday and as part of that decision we are still waiting for those we have referred to carry out the assignment to come back to us.

    “I think they will come back to us by tomorrow (today) and we will go into a close session and finish up the report and we will be able to debate it properly.”

    There was an attempt to cover up the issue when Senate President earlier announced that the Senate would commence debate of the general principles of the 2016 budget proposal on Tuesday, January  19  through 21st.

    Saraki also said copies of the budget proposal would be made available to lawmakers on today (Thursday) to enable them go through before the debate.

    He asked lawmakers who intended to make contribution to the debate to indicate interest before the consideration of the debate would commence.

    There was no mention the reported disappearance of the budget proposal until Abaribe blew the lid open to confirm what some Senators had dismissed as speculation on Tuesday.

    Some Senators spoken to spoke wondered “whether anybody can circulate or distribute what you don’t have.”

    A source noted that “As at today, nobody has given or told us in clear terms the sectoral allocations contained in the budget proposal.”

    The Senator said that “it was wrong for the Senate, the highest law making body of the federation to behave as if all is well when it is obvious that something is amiss.”

    He noted that “if the budget was withdrawn, it could have been appropriate and reasonable for those involved in the whole affair to say so.”

    He added, “To smuggle out a budget that was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly under suspicious circumstances is unacceptable to most of us.”

    On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari and Saraki met briefly in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    It was not clear what they discussed in the closed door meeting.

    Saraki was reported to have declined comment when confronted with questions on the missing budget.

  • Senate begins debate on 2016 Budget January 19

    Senate begins debate on 2016 Budget January 19

    The Senate will begin debate on the 2016 Appropriation Bill submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 19.

    The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, disclosed this during plenary on Wednesday.

    “Senate President @bukolasaraki announces that the debate of #2016AppropriationBill will commence on Tuesday, 19th January 2016,” the Senate said on its Twitter handle.

  • Senate in stormy session over missing 2016 budget

    Senate in stormy session over missing 2016 budget

    The Senate on Tuesday held a stormy session over alleged disappearance of the hard copies of the 2016 budget proposal.

    The lawmaker were said to have been “troubled” that the fiscal document presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 22, 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari, suddenly developed wings and “disappeared.”

    The “missing document” was said to have been the subject of a closed session summoned by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, shortly after the lawmakers reconvened from their Christmas and New Year break.

    President Buhari had on December 22 last year presented the budget proposal to the joint session of the National Assembly.

    Copies of the budget proposal were however not distributed to the lawmakers before they vacated for the Christmas break.

    The disappearance of the hard copies of the budget document was said to have been disclosed by the Senate leader, Senator Ali Ndume, during a closed door session that lasted over 90 minutes.

    There was no briefing after the secret meeting, but Ndume roundly dismissed insinuations that the fiscal document was missing.

     

  • Senate summons minister over Lassa fever outbreak

    The Senate on Tuesday invited the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, to brief it over the outbreak of Lassa fever in 10 states of the federation.

    The invitation of the minister followed a motion by Senator Olanrewaju Tejuoso (Ogun Central) and five others.

    The upper chamber also asked the federal government, health agencies and non-governmental organisations to carry out holistic and aggressive sensitization in affected states, market places, restaurants, schools and other public places on preventive measures.

    It condoled with families that had lost loved ones to the disease and urged Nigerians to adhere to rules on personal hygiene as well as report cases of persistent high fever to the nearest health center.

    Senator Tejuoso in his lead debate expressed concern that since a similar outbreak in 2014, which claimed 20 lives, nothing had been done to check further outbreak of the disease.

    He noted that Lassa fever frequently infected people in Africa and resulted in 300,000 to 50,000 cases annually and about 5,000 deaths each year.

    The lawmaker added that “in spite of this awareness, health and corporate agencies in Nigeria, emphasize on awareness creation only after new cases appear.’’

    He expressed concern that if nothing urgent was done to curtail further outbreak and spread, it would reach a magnitude where it could be declared a national emergency.

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who presided over plenary, asked the Federal Ministry of Health to provide adequate funds for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

     

  • Senate urges CBN to relax strict forex policy

    Senate urges CBN to relax strict forex policy

    • “Small businesses facing difficulty, says Saraki

    The Senate has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to relax its strict Foreign Exchange policy, saying it is doing more harm than good.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki, at a meeting with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde, said small businesses especially were suffering unnecessarily.

    He asked the apex bank to introduce a more flexible foreign exchange regime and reduce the restrictions on the autonomous market, which does not allow business men to bring in foreign exchange or utilise what they have in their accounts.

    The Senate President  equally canvassed a similar view at a private meeting with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, imploring him to consider the effects of the present forex regime on small businesses, which are dying  following decreasing crude oil revenue.

    Saraki urged the IMF chief to support the CBN to bring in low interest loans to SMEs, adding that “we need to encourage entrepreneurs and make most of our new graduates job creators rather than job seekers. This is an area where we need the financial support and technical assistance of the IMF.”

    He explained that his office has received numerous complaints from small businesses complaining that they are being threatened by the huge bottlenecks involved in doing business.

    “As legislators, we play an important role in making our people understand IMF’s advice, policy trade-offs, consultations and other engagements, so that ownership, transparency and accountability are brought to bear on economic policy choices.

    “The Nigerian legislature strongly believes that having a collaborative working relationship with the Executive Branch of government brings development closer to the people.

    “Since the advent of the new administration, we have worked closely to stabilise the economy and steady the fiscal environment. This, we have indeed demonstrated by the speedy passage of the Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work (MTEF) and recently in the postponement of our recess in order to receive President Muhammadu Buhari to present the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

    “The purpose of our Legislative Agenda is to enable us focus our lawmaking in areas that will help create jobs, expand our infrastructure base and make our economy work for the benefit and happiness of the majority of our people.

    “Pivotal to the attainment of this overarching objective is the state of the Nigerian business environment. In collaboration with major stakeholders, the 8th Senate is presently signing a memorandum of understanding on Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for Better Business Environment Project, a National Assembly business and investment roundtable initiative, with developmental organisations,” the Senate President said.

    He urged the CBN to ensure that in reacting to recent developments in the economy, it does not devalue the naira for the mere sake of devaluation.

  • Senate urges CBN to relax strict Forex Policy

    Senate urges CBN to relax strict Forex Policy

    The Senate has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately relax its strict Foreign Exchange policy.

    The upper chamber said that the strict foreign exchange policy is doing more harm to the country’s economy than good.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki who stated this during a meeting with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, Christine Lagarde said small businesses especially, are being made to suffer unnecessarily.

    Saraki asked the apex bank to introduce a more flexible foreign exchange regime and reduce the present restrictions on the autonomous market which does not allow business men to bring in foreign exchange or utilise what they have in their accounts.

    The Senate President had equally canvass a similar view at a private meeting with CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele during which he implored him to consider the effects of the present forex regime on small businesses which are dying  following evaporating crude oil revenue.

    Saraki also told Lagarde that “The IMF should support our CBN to bring in low interest loans to SMEs. We need to encourage entrepreneurs and make most of our new graduates job creators rather than job seekers. This is an area where we need the financial support and technical assistance of the IMF.”

    He explained that his office has received numerous complaints from small business owners, complaining that their businesses are being threatened by the huge bottlenecks now involved in doing business.

    “As legislators, we play an important role in making our people understand IMF’s advice, policy trade-offs, consultations and other engagements, so that ownership, transparency and accountability are brought to bear on economic policy choices.

    “The Nigerian legislature strongly believes that having a collaborative working relationship with the Executive Branch of government brings development closer to the people.

    “Since the advent of the new administration, we have worked closely to stabilize the economy and steady the fiscal environment. This, we have indeed demonstrated by the speedy passage of the Medium Term Expenditure Frame Work (MTEF) and recently in the postponement of our recess in order to receive President Muhammadu Buhari to present the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

    “The purpose of our Legislative Agenda is to enable us focus our lawmaking in areas that will help create jobs, expand our infrastructure base and make our economy work for the benefit and happiness of the majority of our people.

    “Pivotal to the attainment of this overarching objective is the state of the Nigerian business environment. In collaboration with major stakeholders, the 8th Senate is presently signing a memorandum of understanding on Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for Better Business Environment Project, a National Assembly business and investment roundtable initiative, with developmental organizations”, the Senate President said.

    The Senate President used the occasion to call on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that in reacting to recent developments in the economy, it does not devalue the Naira for the mere sake of devaluation.

  • Senate, IMF chief meet Wednesday

    Senate, IMF chief meet Wednesday

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    President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, will on Wednesday lead the leadership of the Senate to a meeting with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde, who is currently on a four-day working visit to Nigeria.

    The meeting, billed to take place at the National Assembly, is expected to focus on the nation’s economy, particularly the recent global developments and their impacts on Nigeria.

    In a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki noted that falling oil prices at the international market has negatively impacted the nation’s oil revenue, external reserve and increased pressure on the Naira at the foreign exchange market.