What Tinubu Told Lawmakers During 2024 Budget Presentation

President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday presented the 2024 appropriation bill at the National Assembly’s joint session, marking his first annual budgetary presentation since assuming office six months ago. The President spoke at length about the economic environment, focusing on the challenges and strategies to navigate global headwinds while ensuring Nigeria’s economic stability. Tinubu highlighted achievements and outlined the key priorities of the proposed budget, themed ‘Budget of Renewed Hope.’ “Renewed Hope” encompasses job-rich economic growth, enhanced human capital development, poverty reduction, and a greater emphasis on social security.  Defense and internal security were highlighted as top priorities, with plans for an overhaul of the internal security architecture. The President emphasized the importance of sustainability, focusing on funding tertiary education through a Student Loan Scheme and implementing business-friendly measures to catalyze private investment. The goal is a minimum economic growth of 3.76 percent and a moderated inflation rate of 21.4 percent for 2024. In alignment with global climate action, Nigeria aims to position itself as a leader in clean and sustainable energy. President Tinubu directed efforts toward COP 28 commitments, urging engagement to showcase Nigeria’s strides in creating an enabling environment for sustainable energy projects. The proposed 2024 budget allocates 27.5 trillion naira for the Federal Government, emphasizing non-debt recurrent expenditure, debt service, and capital expenditure.  He said The government remains committed to meeting debt obligations while exploring public-private partnerships for critical infrastructure financing. President Tinubu lauded the collaborative efforts of the National Assembly and assured commitment to sustaining the relationship for the benefit of Nigerians.  He urged a thorough legislative review process, emphasizing equitable and impactful project selection aligned with governmental visions and sectoral mandates.

Abba Moro Emerges Senate Minority Leader

Former Minister of Interior and Senator, Abba Moro, has been named as the new Senate Minority Leader. The four-time senator was announced as leader by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during Tuesday’s plenary session. The decision to appoint Moro, a four-time Senator, as the Senate Minority Leader was reached after consensus among lawmakers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).  Their agreement was rooted in the principle of fairness and equity, leading to the zoning of the position to the North-Central region. Hailing from Benue State in the North Central zone, Moro’s emergence represents a strategic move by the PDP to uphold regional balance and inclusivity within the Senate leadership.

Bayelsa Guber: Off Season Elections Must Stop In Nigeria -Jonathan

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has voiced concerns over off-season elections, urging the National Assembly to take action and harmonise the calendar for polls in the country.  Speaking after casting his voter in the ongoing off-season elections in Bayelsa, Jonathan emphasized that such elections do not align with global best practices. “I’m worried about this issue of off-season elections because it does not conform with global best practices,” Jonathan stated. Meanwhile Governor Douye Diri, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Bayelsa State, has accused his major opponent, former governor Timipre Sylva, of being troublesome and blamed him for the reported threats to PDP members in Nembe.  He made the allegation shortly after casting his vote at Ward 6 Unit 4 Kalaowei Owei Sampou town in Kolokuma-Opokuma LGA of Bayelsa State around 8.40 am. Diri said PDP members were being chased out of the area notorious for electoral violence. The 64-year-old governor called on security agencies to intervene in Nembe and ensure a peaceful electoral process.

Job Racketeering: ICPC begins investigation of bribery allegation against Reps C’ttee

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has commenced investigation into bribery allegations against the House of Representatives Committee on job racketeering and gross mismanagement in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).Azuka Ogugua, spokesperson for ICPC, said this in a statement at the weekend in Abuja.Ogugua said that the ICPC received petitions from an online medium, Premium Times Nigeria; and Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, Chairman of the ad hoc committee, to investigate bribery allegations against the probe panel. The online medium published a story alleging that some members of the committee requested vice chancellors and heads of tertiary institutions to pay certain amounts to an account as bribes. The story also claimed that the account was dedicated for the purpose of giving a soft landing to any institutions’ that would pay the bribe money into it during the investigation. Members of the committee were also said to have engaged in extortion from heads of MDAs, including those of academic institutions. On Thursday, Gagdi had had said the committee wrote to ICPC to investigate the allegations of bribery and extortion against the members of the committee. The chairman said that the committee had written to ICPC to investigate the account number allegedly released to heads of tertiary institutions for payment of the bribe. “I have already written to the ICPC to investigate the account number that was published by an online medium the owner of that account, whether there is any transaction by vice chancellors and rectors of polytechnic in the country.” Gagdi threatened that the committee would take legal action against the online medium over the publication, which aim, he said, was to “blackmail and discredit” the committee. 

Taraba State and oppositions to Gov Kefas’ planned N206bn loan

I’m compelled to put up this rejoinder in a bid to the ongoing effort by the Executive Governor of Taraba State Dr. Agbu Kefas to access some loan to the tune of N206, 776,000,000, from the commercial banks. One concerned citizen of the State, Mallam Abdulluhi Umar has petitioned the Acting Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria Mr. Folashdun Shounbi not to grant the loan to the Taraba state government. At the same time, he also urged the Acting CBN Governor to immediately instruct the affected commercial banks to suspend any consideration of granting the requested loan facilities. The petitioner noted that he was worried and concerned because the loan facilities being sought by the state Government were characterized by the brazen violations of subsisting laws of Nigeria guiding the process of the loan application by the various tiers of Government. Mallam Umar cautioned the relevant agencies to investigate the loan process. Umar the petitioner writing through his Counsel, Parlance law office in Garki Abuja, in an 8 pages letter dated 9th August 2023, stated that he was bringing the information to the attention of the Acting CBN Governor for immediate investigation and to daunt all banks involved in the process. Copied in the petition were President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Senate President, the Speaker of House of Representative, the Federal Ministry of Finance, other agencies copied are the Ministry of Justice, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, EFCC Chairman and the NFIU, among others. The petitioner further alleged that the recent loan facilities requested by the state Government from the commercial banks was hasty, ill-conceived, a wasteful venture, that the loan is politically motivated to consolidate power of an embattled Governor, facing challenges to his petition in court, and an attempt by the Governor to put the State in a state of perpetual servitude of paying debts beyond its means and penury under the guise of embarking on purported developmental activities. Ironically, this is uncalled for, a laughable, pathetic and antagonist from the petitioner, that is an enemy of the state. He should know that this is a new administration that just came on board and needed to fulfill all the campaign promises to the state to enable the new Government progress and achieve its tremendous project within and outside the state.  It’s not business as usual, from the former regime. This Government is committed with a lot of projects to execute in many areas, before his 100 days in office and they include tourism, transportation, health, Agriculture and Education among others to be mentioned.  The loan facilities are needed to achieve some of the projects stipulated above to meet its goals and objectives.  The Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas had on 2nd July 2023, written to the Taraba State House Assembly seeking approval to enable the state Government access loan facilities worth the sum of N206 billion only from four commercial banks he explained. The letter was read by the speaker of the house, Honorable John Kirito Bonzena, on the floor of the parliament and subsequently, it was promptly approved by the state house of assembly. The petitioner claimed the move is hasty and ill-advised. The four commercial banks involved in the loan application and their respective loan amounts are as follows; Zenith Bank Plc (83,300,000,000. only) UBA Plc (50,000,000,000. only) Fidelity Bank Plc (50,000,000,000. Only) Keystone Bank Plc (23, 000, 000, 000.  Only).  In addition, the Governor stated that the security for the loan facility from Zenith Bank Plc shall be deducted from the FAAC allocation to Taraba State. While that for the facility from UBA Plc shall be deducted from JAAC belonging to the Taraba State. Furthermore, he stressed that the security loan facility from Fidelity Bank Plc shall be deducted from VAT accruable to Taraba State and finally, the security for the facility from Keystone Bank shall be deducted from Taraba State Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) The Governor explained further, that the total rate of the facilities shall be 23% in total, comprising 18% interest and 5% administrative charges deductible upfront, and the tenor of the listed facilities is four (4) years only. Meanwhile the petitioner in his words questioned that the loan facilities and its unfavorable conditions were yet to be fully disclosed to the state house assembly by the ministry of Finance, Budget and planning. The petitioner stresses that the Governor has hotly contested the ongoing litigation at the Taraba Governorship election Tribunal that is yet to deliver its Judgment. Also, he said that the loan amount can be easily diverted to other projects unconnected with what the loan was meant for since the position of the current Government is shaky and may be set aside by the court, His concern was how would the Government repay the huge loans granted to the State? The petitioner is an attention seeker that want to be recognize in a public domain, I could see his frustration, haven’t lost woefully to the People Democratic Party (PDP) with a wild margin, the petitioner is looking for all means to antagonize the present government not to achieved his campaign promise to the good people of the state is a bad omen. Mallam Umar, the Governorship election petition in court is dead on arrival that has no merit, the curtain has been drawn a long time ago, the litigation is a baseless one, nothing good will come out of the petition. I would like to make clear that having litigations going on in a court of law has nothing to do with Governmental activities, Government is a continuing process, with or without the loan Taraba would progress beyond expectations. The Governor Kefas administration is determined to see Taraba state moving to the right direction in terms of development. He was working tirelessly inviting foreign investors to come and invest in Taraba, the God given state that has a lot of natural resources to compete with the rest of the world to showcase Taraba state around the globe. Dr. Agbu Kefas the Executive Governor of the

Akpabio to involve women, special needs persons in governance

The newly elected President of the Nigerian Senate, His Excellency Godswill Obot Akpabio, CON, has assured Nigerian women and those with special needs that the 10th Senate will work to ensure their inclusion in governance. He made this known in his acceptance speech after taking his oath of office as the 10th President of the Senate in Abuja. According to him, government is a continuum and the Senate is no less so. “We shall therefore, further strengthen the legislative space in continuation of the laudable efforts made by the 9th Senate under the able leadership of H.E. Senator Ahmed Lawan, GCON, President of the 9th Senate”. “Chief among these are: Gender matters, with specific affirmative provisions to guarantee women’s inclusivity; and Issues relating to persons with special needs and equality. Also, engaging, empowering and rewarding our resourceful and innovative youths in terms of protection of intellectual innovations and property, and improved access to finance for technological start-ups. “We must recognize and prepare for a mid-21st century global economy that places a premium on intellectual content and knowledge, and our young men and women must be supported to engage competitively”. The Senate President equally promised the expansion of the revenue streams available to the country, especially from our huge but largely unregulated natural and solid mineral resources base. He noted that, these additional sources of revenue will build the nation’s resilience to shocks and stresses resulting from the fluctuation of oil prices in the international market. “We will, as a forward-looking Senate, pass laws that emphasize economic viability, social acceptability and environmental sustainability, to encourage alternate and green technologies without prejudicing our developmental needs”. The Senate President also urged his colleagues to partner with the administration of President Bola Tinubu to make Nigeria better. “We must, as a Senate, rise to partner with His Excellency the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and provide the required legislative framework and legal environment for him to anchor the policies and programmes that he espouses for the country. In doing this, I will particularly like to address our Distinguished colleagues from other parties. Yes, we may have come to the National Assembly through the instrumentalities of different political parties, so it is appropriate to recognize and respect our differing perceptions and positions on issues that will be brought before this chamber”. “However, in all matters of national interest, we are enjoined to remember that we are first and foremost, Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, before our roles as representatives and members of our individual political parties. There is therefore, every reason to support good policies and programmes of the federal government, and I call on you to put this national interest first at all times. Our Senate, the 10th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will be a senate for all Nigeria. Together, we shall be greater than the sum of our individual political parties”.

NASS Leadership: NGF endorses APC zoning arrangement

The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has endorsed the zoning arrangement of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the election of the presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly. Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun said this in a statement by Rep. Tajudeen Abbas Campaign Team in Abuja after receiving a delegation of the Joint Task-10th Assembly.Abiodun said that he and his colleagues took the decision after an interactive session with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja. He said that during the meeting, Tinubu sought the support of the governors for the APC candidates to make the election easier for them.“It is within the right of the President to seek those that will make his job easier. He has decided in collaboration with the party that these are the people that he wants to work with. “All of us across party lines keyed into what the President told us. We had our meeting after meeting him and decided that we should support the President,” Abiodun said.

Senate moves valedictory session to June 10

Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan on Wednesday,  announced that the Senate has rescheduled its valedictory session from Thursday, June 8 to  Saturday, June 10. Lawan had announced on Tuesday at plenary  that the senate would hold its valedictory session on Thursday. The senate president, however, told members of the senate Press Corps that the shift in the date was due to a scheduled meeting of President Bola Tinubu with the lawmakers of the incoming 10th National Assembly on Thursday. “By the grace of God, we will still hold plenary tomorrow (Thursday) and then our valedictory session will be on Saturday. “It is because tomorrow, the  President will be meeting with the senators-elect and members-elect at 2p.m. “We believe that a session as significant, important,   historical and memorable as valedictory session of the senate requires a whole day. Not one, two, three hours. And therefore,  we pushed it to Saturday,” Lawan said. The Ninth senate would officially end its four-year tenure on  June 11. Lawan also hinted that the 10th senate would be inaugurated on Tuesday, June 13.

Senate Presidency: ACF denies endorsing Kalu

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has denied endorsing former Abia governor, Sen. Kalu Uzor Kalu as its preferred candidate for the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly. Alhaji Musa Saidu, a member of the forum said this in a statement on Monday in Abuja. Saidu was reacting to a statement created to Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the leader of the Arewa Youth Conservative Forum (AYCF) claiming that the ACF had endorsed Kalu for the position.“I want to say without fear of contradiction, that the ACF has no youth wing and there was no time that we sat to make Shettima the AYCF leader. The whole thing is false. “The ACF has not endorsed Kalu as the next Senate President, because we have our own ways of doing things. It is shocking to hear Shettima asking Sen. Abdulaziz Yari to step down for Kalu in the race for Senate Presidency,” he said. Saidu, also the leader of the Arewa Community in Southern Nigeria, said that the ACF would have preferred that the position be zoned to the North because of its contribution to the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the Feb. 25 election. “The North contributed the highest votes for Tinubu in the presidential election, so we can’t just endorse candidates from other zones for the Senate Presidency. “How can we work for Tinubu to become president and then turn around to start campaigning for other zones to become Senate President?“In fact, the Vice-President slot given to the North is just like a spare tyre, everybody in Nigeria knows that the position has not much value. “Since the North West gave Tinubu the highest votes, then it should be given the Senate Presidency, the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is too small for the zone,” he said. Saidu added: ”It is a payback time for the North, so it should be given the Senate Presidency of the 10th National Assembly. “For fairness and justice, the North should be considered for the Senate Presidency and Sen. Abdulaziz Yari should be endorsed for the position.”

Tinubu picks Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff

Current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has been appointed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This decision means that Gbajabiamila will not be participating in the upcoming 10th National Assembly. Gbajabiamila, who recently secured his sixth term as the representative of Surulere Federal Constituency in Lagos State, made the announcement through his Chief of Staff, Olanrewaju Smart Wasiu, on his official Facebook page on Thursday morning. In the statement, it was revealed that President Bola Tinubu selected Gbajabiamila as his Chief of Staff after careful deliberation and consultations. The President considered several potential candidates within his loyalist circle before making the decision. This move marks a significant change for Gbajabiamila, as he is yet to receive his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). By accepting the role of Chief of Staff, he will be foregoing his sixth term in the House of Representatives to join the executive branch of the government. Sources mentioned in the statement disclosed that President Tinubu chose Gbajabiamila over James Faleke, the representative of Ikeja Federal Constituency and a dedicated campaigner for Tinubu. The President’s decision was motivated by the desire to have someone who could effectively persuade lawmakers in the National Assembly to support his proposed policies.