The Senate on Thursday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately release the result of June 12, 1993 election.
It also insist on May 29 as day of inauguration of elected president.
Details later…
…Wants minister to withdraw commend on state laws
The Senate Wednesday asked the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, to immediately withdraw his statement seeking the annulment of Anti-Open Grazing Law enacted by some states.
This is coming less than twenty four hours after the Federal Government restated its position that the enactment of Anti-Open Grazing Law in Benue and Taraba State was the main reason fueling unabating killings in the states.
The upper chamber adopted a resolution asking Dan-Ali to withdraw what it described as inaccurate assessment of the cause of killings in parts of the country without delay.
The lawmakers insisted that State Houses Assembly like the National Assembly have the right to make laws for the good governance of states especially under the Land Use Act of 1977 as it has to do with land matters.
Dan-Ali, had in a statement signed by Colonel Tukur Gusau at the end of a lengthy security meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, said that there was “the need to employ other channels with the affected states to reduce tension by suspending the implementation of the Anti-Open Grazing Law while also negotiating safe routes for the herders.”
The minister’s statement was said to be part of the resolutions reached at the Security Council meeting, which had all the security chiefs in attendance.
The Anti-Open Grazing Law passed in Benue, Taraba and Ekiti States.
Abia State is said to have also adopted the same law.
The resolution to demand the withdrawal of the minister’s statement for the abrogation of the law followed the adoption of a motion by Senator Barnabas Gemade (Benue North East) on the need for Dan-Ali to be made to withdraw the statement.
Gemade posited that the enactment of the law by some states did not in any way contravene the constitution of the country.
He noted that the position that the enactment of the law by Benue and Taraba was the cause of killing in part of the country does not hold water.
Gemade noted for instance that massive killings have been going on in Zamfara State that did not enact the Anti-Open Grazing Law.
He said that the implication of Dan-Ali’s statement was that the federal government has not been able to find out the cause of killings in the country.
Senator John Owan Enoh supported Gemade’s position.
The Cross River Central lawmaker noted that killings had been going on for years before some states enacted the Anti-Open Grazing Law.
Enoh said: “If killings have been going on for over seven years, I don’t think going against anti-grazing laws will be the solution. It is unfortunate that after a security meeting, the only solution they could come up with was a ban on anti-open grazing.
“Sometimes, we begin to wonder if these herdsmen are being protected. The Senate needs to rise up and make a statement that the anti-grazing law is against not responsible for the killings. It also means that these people in authority still don’t have any solutions to these mindless killings.”
Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, (Taraba South) added that Zamfara State, where the Minister of Defence hails from, did not have any anti-open grazing law.
Bwacha said that it is on record that Zamfara state has the highest number of killings carried out by herdsmen.
He said, “The Minister of Defence is from Zamfara State. There is no anti-grazing law there. But there are more killings there than you have in Benue and Taraba. Even in my state of Taraba, five people were killed by herdsmen. I don’t know if these people are killed by Libyan trained terrorists.”
Senate panel investigating the invasion and mace snatching at the Senate chamber on April 18 and Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Ovie Omo-Agege on Tuesday exchanged words over his appearance at panel’s sitting.
Omo-Agege had insisted that because of the action he filed in court on the subject matter of the panel’s sitting he will not comment.
But the Panel maintained no court has the right to stop it from sitting.
Senator Ali Ndume sought closed session to discuss issues.
The Senate Wednesday invited the Service Chiefs and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) over the continued killings in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State.
The resolution followed a point of order by Senator Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central) at plenary on the security situation in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Sani said, “I will say again that there is the need by the Federal Government to take Birnin Gwari as seriously as other parts of Nigeria. It is very clear that the people have been crying and raising issues but nobody is listening. Birnin Gwari has gradually become the Sambisa Forest of the North West region in Nigeria.”
President of the Senate, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, decried the killings in Birnin Gwari and other parts of the country.
Saraki said that the security chiefs were invited to brief the lawmakers on their efforts to check the growing insecurity in that part of the country.
He said, “This is a matter that is very serious. It is a case where we have in our society people being killed daily and kidnapped in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area, particularly the events of last week where many were killed. Doing nothing does not give hope to our people. We must continue to be seen to be addressing these concerns.
“I will want to suggest that next week and on this particular issue as well, we do get a briefing from the state security, the military and the police. I don’t think any of us have any objection to that. If there is none, I will rule on it, that we direct these three agencies, next week, to come and brief us on this.”
The Senate on Wednesday finally passed the 2018 budget.
The budget was increased from the earlier proposal of N8.612 trillion presented by President Muhammadu Buhari in December last year to N9.120trn.
The Senate dissolved into Committee on Supply to do the clause-by-clause consideration of the budget.
Breakdown of the proposal show are N530,421,368,624 for Statutory Transfer; N2,203,835,365,699 for Debt Service; N3,512,677,902,077 for Recurrent Expenditure, N2,873,400,351,825 for Capital Expenditure, Fiscal Deficit of N1,954,464,993,775 and 1.73 percent Deficit to GDP.
Earlier, Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Dajuma Goje, revealed that increase in the budget by N508 billion was done in consultation with the executive arm of government.
House of Representatives headed by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara also passed the budget.
13-clauses accompanying the bill were also approved and passed.
The House suspended it’s rules to immediately take the third reading of the bill and set up a conference committee headed by the Chairman House Committee on Banking and Currency, Jones Onyeriere to harmonize with the Senate.
Before the passage of the appropriation bill. The House went into a closed -door session.
In a bid to stop the payments of unappropriated subsidies and other payments not approved by the National Assembly, the lawmakers inserted the clause ” The minister of Finance shall ensure that only funds appropriated under this act are released to the appropriate
Dogara said there was no request for subsidies and that it can only come through supplementary budget and that the House cannot give approval for what was not requested “we’re not Father Christmas here, ” he said.
The budget is to run from the date in is assented into law till June 30th, 2019.
The Nigeria Police Force has alleged that the Inspector-General of Police ( IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris was invited by the Senate because of Sen. Dino Melaye and not the killings across the country as claimed.
The senate at plenary recently, declared the IGP as enemy of democracy and unfit to hold any public office within and outside the country for failing to honour its invitation thrice.
The senate had refused the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in-charge of operations and other senior police officers to represent the IGP when he was invited on April 26.
“The recent claim by the Senate that the reason for inviting the IGP is to brief them on the recent killings in some part of the Country is an afterthought which can be seen from the headings of their invitation letters”, ACP Jimoh Moshood, police spokesman said in Abuja on Saturday.
Moshood said that if the invitation was for him to brief the senate on strategies adopted in tackling killings in the country, it would not have been planned for a national television.
“The Senate’s action to cover the appearance of the IGP on National Television is against National Security, unconventional and it negates global security practice,”he said.
The spokesman said that the letter the senate wrote inviting the IGP clearly showed that the invitation was not about the killings but about Dino.
“From the headings of the invitation letters, it is very clear that the IGP was invited on those occasions by the Senate purposely because of Senator Dino Melaye’s criminal indictment,”he said.
Moshood said that the purported list of killings in Nigerian this year by the senate, was shocking, unfortunate and capable of worsening the security situation in the country.
“It is mischievous and heinous to play politics with people’s lives; even if it is a soul.
“The release is speculative and not supported by any fact. Office of the Senate President does not receive or process security report from State commands,”he said.
He said that the Force as a law abiding entity would continue to uphold the rule of law in all its ramifications.
“The Force insists on due process of the law and once again implores the Senate not to whip-up sentiments or resort to self-help but to allow the rule of law and justice to prevail on the whole matter, “he said.
…Declares him ‘enemy of democracy’
The Senate Wednesday passed a vote of no confidence on the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris.
Apart from adopting a no confidence vote on the police boss, the upper chamber also declared Idris “enemy of democracy” who is not “fit to hold public office within and outside Nigeria.”
The resolution was sequel to the refusal of the IGP to personally appear before the upper chamber to brief lawmakers on the increasing spate of killings across the country and alleged inhuman treatment the police meted to Senator Dino Melaye.
For three times the police boss was invited by the Senate for “security briefing” and for three times the IGP ignored the invitation.
Wednesday’s non-appearance of the IGP for the Senate into emergency closed session to discussed what the upper chamber described as “an affront on it by the IGP.”
After over 30 minutes behind the door session, the senators emerged to vent their anger on the IGP.
Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who announced resolutions adopted at the closed session said: “Distinguished colleagues, the Senate in a closed session deliberated on the non-appearance of the IGP to the Senate in plenary after a series of invitations.
“The Senate noted that this amounted to a great disrespect to the institution and constituted authority.
“The Senate also notes that his earlier refusal to appear before its investigative committee was overruled by a court of competent jurisdiction just in April of this year.
“The Senate therefore views his persistent refusal (to appear before the Senate) as a great danger to our democracy.
“Therefore, the Senate resolved to declare the IGP as an enemy of our democracy and not fit to hold any public office within and outside Nigeria.
“The leadership of the Senate was also mandated to look into the matter for further necessary action.”
The Senate had listed in its Order Paper for Wednesday “Security briefing: Briefing by the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
“The spate of killings across the country and the inhuman treatment of Distinguished Senator Dino Melaye.”
The Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) read the item “That the Senate do receive the Inspector General of Police to brief this Distinguished Senate on the spate of killings across the country and the inhuman treatment of Distinguished Senator Dino Melaye over a matter that is pending before a competent law court.”
Saraki mandated the clerk, Nelson Ayewo, to go and usher in the IGP into the chamber.
That was not to be as the clerk returned to the chamber minutes later without the IGP.
Saraki announced to the obvious disappointment of the senators “I have just been informed that the Inspector-General of Police is not here or anybody in his team so I think we need to decide on the next line of action.”
Before then, the Senate had suspended it Order 18 to allow the IGP into its chamber
With announcement of the non-appearance of the IGP, subdued anger appeared to have descended on the chamber.
Senators were observed in clusters in the chamber apparently to discuss “the disregard of the institution of the Senate” by the police boss.
Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan’s report of his inability to reach the IGP did not help matter.
Lawan said, “For the past two days we have tried to reach the Inspector General of Police to inform him that he should be here today in keeping with our resolution. We have done that with chairman of Police Affairs Committee.
“Personally, I made attempts to call his line and I sent text messages that he should call me as soon as he was able to see my message.
“Clearly, the IG is not here. I think this is very unusual and very unfortunate. I personally feel that public officers should do what is in the interest of the public and where any public officers cannot do what is in the interest of the public, then there is no need for such an officer to continue to occupy that kind of police.
“This institution is now at a crossroad on this. I believe that a decision has to be taken on way forward. Even though we will always like our security agencies to come and brief us because of the current security situation in the country. But in a situation where there is consistent non-appearance by the IG, I don’t think it will make any further sense to continue to extend invitation until the Senate takes a different decision to make the situation better.”
Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, lamented he described as “national embarrassment.”
Bwacha said, “This is quite sad moment for Nigeria, not for the parliament but for our democracy that for the very first time the IG is disregard the institution of the Senate.
“Let me share or inform the Senate, I had the privilege or the grace to chair the House Committee on Police Affairs in the fifth National Assembly and I cannot imagine in my wildest imagination that such a thing could happen to the country’s highest lawmaking body.
“It is sad, it is inexcusable, unacceptable, it is condemnable and it calls for immediate action. We need to take a very serious action on the way forward.
“I suggest Mr. President let us have a closed-session for a very serious consideration on this matter. This is a national disgrace.”
On his part Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe said, “Democracies die and it dies in two ways. It either dies abruptly or in bits and what is happening today in Nigeria is that democracy is dying in bits.
“It dies when people abuse governmental powers and all that we have seen today with the conduct of the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is nothing but an abuse of power.
“He has no respect for this institution and that is now a fact. There is actually no way we can dress it to say we should give him some more time.
“We can say that what he is doing is anything but an abuse of this institution, the federation and himself even in the eyes of the international community.
“This morning I watched someone who was a police officer in Britain and what he said was germane to what we are saying here.
“He said if the Chief Law Officer cannot obey the law of the land how do you now say to other people who are miscreants should obey the law.
“I also want to agree with some of our colleagues who have said that we should go into a close door session and agree whether we will accept this insult to the President of the Federation because he is an appointee of the President and if he disobeys the law he is doing it against the President.
“I want to appeal to us to remember that if we do not deal with this abuse of power all of us are going to regret it because there is nothing to stop anybody else from doing what he likes in this country.”
Senator Isah Hamman Missau, (Bauchi Central) recalled that “I made mention that there is problem with the leadership of the police.”
Missau continued, “On official capacity, there is no any person here that is not bigger than the IG constitutionally. Anybody here can invite the IG officially, because by the Constitution, every senator is bigger than the office of the IG.
“What the IG is doing is not against the Senate, it is against the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because he is the leader today of this country. If an appointee of the President will refuse to honour invitation of an institution, it is unfortunate.
“I think it is left for this government to decide if they have an appointee that will rubbish the image of the country.
“I think it is much unfortunate and we will have to do something, the image of the President, the image of the country and the image of our democratic environment that is the institution of the parliament is at stake. This is a big embarrassment to the country.”
A competent source told our reporter that the Senate also resolved to write Nigeria’s international partners, foreign embassies and Inter Pol to intimate them about the attitude of the IGP.
The Senate may have concluded arrangements to impose fresh sanctions on suspended Delta Central senator, Ovie Omo-Agege, over his alleged role in the invasion of the Senate chamber by thugs.
This is coming as the upper chamber Tuesday referred the report of its panel on the investigation of the April 18 invasion to the chamber to the Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition Committee to review.
Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Monday met President Muhammadu Buhari over the invasion, the alleged ill treatment of Senator Dino Melaye by the police and the 2018 budget.
After the invasion, Saraki on April 25 constituted an adhoc committee chaired by Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah to investigate the circumstances that led to the incident.
The committee was given two weeks to report back to the Senate in plenary for further action
Saraki Tuesday announced that the Na’Allah led adhoc committee had concluded its assignment.
He further told the Senate that the report of the adhoc committee had been assigned to the committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to scrutinize and make recommendations for more legislative action.
Saraki said, “The report on the invasion of the Senate is ready. It has been given to the Senate committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions. The committee is to review the report and come up with recommendations for the consideration of the Senate.”
Sources close to the leadership of the Senate noted that “there is no doubt that Senator Omo-Agege will be in for more trouble following the perceived role he was said to have played in the invasion of the Senate chamber.
The source said that “Omo-Agege may not escape the recommendation that he should proceed on indefinite suspension.”
According to the source, “the role of Omo-Agege during and after the invasion of the hallowed chamber of the Senate was too glaring to be ignored.”
Findings further showed that security agents said to have found “culpable” during the invasion would not be scolded.
Some of the security personnel, he said, will be redeployed “for dereliction of duty.”
He said that the committee is also expected to come up with ways and means to strengthen security in and around the National Assembly.
On the masked operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) which took over the internal security of the National Assembly last week, he said that the development was part of the new security architecture in the National Assembly which may be permanent.
THE recent disquiet in the upper chamber of the National Assembly over the suspension of one its own has thrown open the debate on whether or not the Senate or indeed any chamber of the National Assembly has the powers to suspend a fellow lawmaker who is in the National Assembly to represent the interest and aspiration of a given constituency.
Although the suspension whip is seldom applied, the question is whether the senate or the House of Representatives truly has the powers to apply the whip at all.
Those who argue that the National Assembly has in-house rules, either by way of the Senate’s Standing Orders or the House Rules, which every member of the National Assembly has sworn to abide with, maintain that any member who thus steps out of the bound of what is interpreted to be proper conduct, should be flogged into line. Such disciplinary measure becomes the discretion of the other lawmakers, based on the recommendation of the Ethics and Privileges Committee. This is provided for Sections 60 and101 of the constitution which empowers the national Assembly to regulate its proceedings and procedures.
The recent suspension of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, representing Delta Central senatorial district has drawn arguments from parliamentarians and legal luminaries on whether the suspension is in order or not.
Last Thursday, some guests at the NTA Good Morning Nigeria programme failed to agree on what ought to be. One of the guests, Senator Roland Owie, former Chief Whip of the Senate argued strongly that every association has its own abiding rules by which it disciplines itself, including motor park drivers and even farmers, but some other guests rightly maintained that whatever the in-house rule is, it cannot be in conflict with the grand norms of the land which is the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
Senator Owie and all those who argue like him, fail to realize that the Headmaster approach they are applying to the issue has to be tested by the provisions of the law. The fact that a certain people came together and fashioned out some code of conduct guide among themselves does not mean that the provisions of that code cannot be challenged against the backdrop of what the superior code (the constitution of the federal republic) says. Just for the sake of argument: assuming a code of conduct guide among some drivers says that any driver who drives on the highway without a valid driver’s licence must be stoned to death, and they all endorsed such a code. And then one such member runs fowl of that “agreement”. Is Owie and his ilk saying that because the “offending” driver subscribed to that code he should surrender himself to be stoned to death, just because he belongs to that association? And that the verdict of death should not be challenged against the provisions of the nation’s constitution?
So nothing in the book says the decision of the Ethics and Privileges Committee of the senate cannot be challenged in court, knowing fully well that the provisions of the Ethics and Privileges Committee is nothing but a subsidiary legislature.
What’s more, what is the authority of the Ethics and privileges Committee to truly determine what constitutes “misconduct”? This is not science. What does the Senate’s standing order define or classify as “misconduct”? To insist that the Ethics and Privileges Committee, which is ultimately answerable to the plenary via the Senate President, cannot be challenged, is to elevate the committee to a prosecutor and adjudicator at the same time, which is not permitted in law.
Given all the unseen battles that have gone on between Omo-Agege, the Parliamentary Support Group for President Buhari and the senate cabal led by Senator Bukola Saraki, who would have expected that Omo-Agege’s hen would get justice in the court of fox presided over by Saraki? That was why not many people expressed surprise that the dissolution of the PSG was one of the top recommendations of he Ethics and Privileges Committee.
The late Gani Fawehinmi, in 1981, fought an epic legal war, all the way to the Supreme Court, in challenging the authority of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) to try him, having established that he was not sure to get justice from the body. The LPDC is to lawyers what the Ethics and Privileges Committee is to the senate.
Gani won the case in all the three courts that heard the matter. There is nothing that cannot be challenged in court, if you have your facts and argument in the right kit.
The senate cannot therefore appear to be more Catholic than the Pope. If the entire legal body, in the exercise of its full attributes of legalese, declares that its own subsidiary body, the LPDC cannot try Gani because of his suspicion of bias by its members, why is the senate angry that Omo-Agege is challenging his trial by the Ethics and Privileges Committee knowing that the Senate President does not accord with him on legislative works and holds him and the members of his Parliamentary Support Group for President Buhari in suspicion and contempt?
As Barry Goldwater once declared, “Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice’ , just as “Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue”.
Senators Saraki, Owie and co must realise that it is not an act of indiscipline if a member of a group decides to challenge or call for a re-examination of the provisions of a code. Law is dynamic. That is why it is open for amendment from time to time. To insist that a law, no matter how anachronistic and unfair, must run according to its letters, is to be both rigid and draconic. None is acceptable in a democracy.
But even if the above argument is stepped down, and the provisions of the Senate’s Order Rules are examined, which section of it recommends that a senator can be suspended for as much as 90 legislative days or 180 legislative days? Where is that stated in the entire labyrinth of the legislative Act?
Indeed, by the provisions of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act 2018, a member of a Legislative House who “is guilty of contempt” of that House may be suspended but not more than 48 hours.
What’s more, the Senate Rules in Order 67(4), says a senator cannot be suspended for more than 14 days.
So the question is: where did Saraki’s senate derive the power to slam a 180-day
(and ‘mercifully’ reduced to 90-day) suspension on a fellow senator?
The fact that Saraki unilaterally halved the period of suspension recommended by the Ethics and Privileges committee, shows the skewed sentiments and arbitrariness in the punishment meted out to Senator Omo-Agege, whilst Saraki tried to appear as being kind.
Is the law being whimsically applied by Senate President Bukola Saraki? Ninety legislative days is almost eight months! What happens to the interest and aspirations of the constituents of such a suspended senator for that length of time? Nobody cares?
That the senate had suspended people in the past and it was unchallenged or that the senate had its way albeit illegally does not make such act right, nor does it make it unchallengeable. It is by no means a sacrosanct act. Nothing indeed is sacrosanct in the eyes of the law.
It amounts to an abuse of power and privilege by a presiding officer in this case, the Senate president, to slam such a harsh disciplinary measure on so-called erring member. Surely, there are other ways of disciplining a member who runs fowl of the code of conduct other than wielding the sledge hammer of suspension so recklessly. Errant members could be reprimanded, removed from being a chairman of a committee, for instance, or could be made to pay some fine or some other punishment. But not suspension! The reasonability of the punishment is as important as its essence.
And as Professor R.A.C.E Achara, a constitutional lawyer had argued, along with the likes of Femi Falana, SAN, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN) et al, the senate or the House of Representatives does not have any power whatsoever to suspend a fellow member, so long as the nation’s constitution does not make provision for it. Any other subordinate law that prescribes suspension will remain what it is before the constitution: a subordinate law, and so it must suffer the override of the constitution.
Is it also not instructive that whenever a member’s suspension is challenged in court, the court has always ruled in favour of the suspended member? And yet the senate never seems to learn? Would the highest law making body of the land be so lawless as not to obey court orders?
Indeed, there are plethora of court judgements that have declared that the senate does not have the powers to suspend any elected member of the legislature, given that the mandate to be in the legislature was derived from his/her constituents. The latest case was that of Senator Ali Ndume (see Senator Ali Ndume Vs the Senate President & Ors FHC/ABJ? CS?551?2017). Justice B. O Quadri heard the case. Although he won the case as expected, it took the court almost the entire length of the illegal suspension for Ndume to get justice in the court.
All said, whilst it is agreed that the senate can self-regulate by applying sanctions to act as check among members, the inalienable rights of members to seek redress, when not satisfied, can neither be abridged nor circumscribed on the banal alter of what has come to be seen as unimpeachable legislative conventions. If democracy must be nurtured and promoted, the grand rules of the game cannot be whimsically treated.
The Senate Thursday queried the sum of N800 million requested for purchase of security equipment by the Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).
The query was handed down to NIWA Acting Managing Director, Danladi Ibrahim, when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Marine Transport to defend the Authority’s 2018 budget.
The committee wondered why the Authority requested for N800 million in the 2018 budget for purchase of security equipment, the same amount it received in 2017 budget for the same purpose.
It said that out of the N800 million, the Authority spent N790 million in 2017 which is over 90 per cent of the appropriated fund.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima observed that the Authority failed to provide details and specifications of how it planned to spend the money it requested for approval.
Yerima said, “You said you want to do something; the same amount last year, the same amount this year. There are no details, no explanations, no form of specification whatsoever. This is unacceptable.”
A member of the committee, Senator Mohammed Hassan, said that Ibrahim and his team should be asked to go back and do the right thing.
Hassan said, “You are doing construction, the locations are not known. You have a project of N1.2billion which you requested for in 2017, you have received over 90 per cent, you requested for the same amount in 2018. The right thing should have been for you to request for the remaining balance.
Another member of the committee, Senator Chukwuka Utazi frowned at the poor preparation of the budget document.
Utazi said, “Budget preparation is a professional job. It is a public document. Anybody who looks at what you have prepared will not know your intention. It is only what you have presented that will be considered, not your intention. If you don’t know how to do it you bring in consultants. If you go to other West African countries, things are done properly. When you come to Nigeria, things change. It is unacceptable.”
Ibrahim told the committee that the security equipment is not meant for one place alone.
He also said that the 2017 approval was the first time the Authority was receiving fund for capital projects.
The committee resolved to ask the Authority to go back and do the right thing.
Yerima said that the Authority should furnish the committee with necessary details and specification about every item in its budget.
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