The Nigerian Senate, on Thursday, debunked reports that lawmakers in the upper chamber of the National Assembly receive ₦21 million naira monthly as salary and allowances.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, made this clarification in a statement in Abuja.

According to him, running costs, as mentioned by Senator Abdurrahman Kawu Sumaila in his earlier interview, is not peculiar to the National Assembly, and neither is the mentioned amount a personal emolument for any Senator.

The explanation follows the disclosure by Sumaila, who represents Kano South senatorial district of Kano State in the National Assembly, that Senators get ₦21 million naira monthly each as allowances and running costs.

He made the revelation in a chat with the BBC Hausa Service on Wednesday morning.

The disclosure generated fresh controversy over the earnings of Nigerian lawmakers amidst the allegation by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that members of the National Assembly, fix bogus salaries and allowances for themselves in contravention of extant laws.

However, Adaramodu said that “running cost” was quite different from the salary and personal allowances of the lawmakers.

He explained that the running costs are not personal to any lawmaker, but used for official purposes such as maintaining lawmakers’ Constituency offices and staff, oversight functions and community engagements.

The Senate spokesperson said the lawmakers do not engage in wasteful spending, explaining that “The Nigerian Senate is an Assembly of accomplished and successful professionals, administrators and captains of industries, who are not driven by these often touted egregious pecuniary bits, rather for their patriotic zeal in the nation’s quest to breathe life to Nigeria’s political and socio-economic dry bones.”

Adaramodu said the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC) has already clarified and disclosed the monthly salary of lawmakers in the country, and all other figures apart from what the commission declared should be ignored.

“For the umpteen time, the Senate is compelled to react to the obsolete allegations of a phantom salary and personal emoluments spuriously credited to Senators monthly.

“The Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission, the agency of government that fixes political officials’ salaries and allowances, has duly disclosed the monthly personal take-home of Senators.

“However, all arms of Government and their personnel, Governors, Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Directors-General, State Commissioners, even Boards and parastatals, including local government councils run their activities with running costs and the National Assembly is not an exemption.

“Thus the money referred to by Senator Kawu Sumaila is neither his salary nor personal allowance.

‘It’s for the daily running of offices by Senators and other attached statutory officials. It equally provides funds for Constituency office staff. It is also for oversight functions and community engagements.

“This funds are not static and it’s provided for in the annual budget. Such funds are retired by relevant officers after being used for official purposes and proof of genuine expenditure.

It’s not a personal allowance or salary of the legislator.

“The National Assembly receives about one per cent of the federal budget and has never exceeded this, even when the non-availability of funds is pervasive.

“The Nigerian Senate is an Assembly of accomplished and successful professionals, administrators and captains of industries, who are not driven by these often touted egregious pecuniary bits, rather for their patriotic zeal in the nation’s quest to breathe life to Nigeria’s political and socio-economic dry bones,” he said.

Zhongshan, the Chinese company involved in a legal dispute with the Ogun State government, has expressed its readiness to settle with the Nigerian government after a French court authorized the seizure of three Nigerian presidential jets.

The court’s decision prohibits the movement, sale, or purchase of the aircraft until Zhongshan receives $74.5 million, awarded to the company in an arbitration ruling.

The jets, including a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus A330, were all undergoing maintenance at airports in France and Switzerland when the seizure orders were issued.

The seizure is part of efforts by Zhongshan to enforce the arbitration award granted in its favor in March 2021, following the revocation of its export processing zone management contract by the Ogun State government in 2016.

In a statement sent to Premium Times, on Thursday, Zhongshan indicated that it is willing to negotiate a settlement with the Nigerian government to resolve the dispute.

This development comes amidst efforts by the Federal Government, through the Offices of the National Security Adviser and the Attorney-General of the Federation, to challenge the court orders and ensure the release of the seized jets.

The Federal Government has argued that the aircraft are sovereign assets, used solely for official purposes, and therefore immune from attachment.

The statement reads, “Zhongshan has only ever sought to assert its rights under international law and is confident in its case. The independent arbitral panel was found unanimously in its favour, and courts in multiple countries have upheld the view that the panel’s compensation should be enforced. The French court was fully aware of the facts when it reached its decision.

“Far from being just a fence, the Ogun Free Trade Zone was featured as a significant international investment by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“Zhongshan has for a long time been ready to enter serious negotiations with the federal government of Nigeria to settle this case and still awaits an indication that the government is equally willing.”

The Federal Government has initiated legal and diplomatic actions to overturn the interim orders leading to the attachment of three Nigerian presidential aircraft in France.

These steps are being coordinated by the Offices of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), according to a statement released by Kamarudeen Ogundele, spokesperson for AGF, Lateef Fagbemi.

The Federal Government became aware of the temporary attachment of the jets on Wednesday, August 14, 2024.

The orders, which were issued by the Judicial Court of Paris on March 7 and August 12, 2024, were secured by Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese company seeking to enforce an arbitral award granted in its favor on March 26, 2021.

The dispute stems from a contractual disagreement between Zhongshan and the Ogun State Government over the operation and management of the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone.

Despite the dispute originating at the subnational level, the enforcement actions are being directed against the Federal Government, as international law holds that actions of subnational entities are attributable to the state.

In its statement, the Federal Government clarified that the jets in question are sovereign assets, used solely for official purposes, and thus immune from attachment.

“Further actions are being taken to resolve the entire dispute through available legal means,” the statement read, emphasizing Nigeria’s firm position on the immunity of its sovereign assets.

The seized aircraft include a Dassault Falcon 7X stationed at Le Bourget airport in Paris, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus A330 located at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland.

All three jets were undergoing routine maintenance at the time of the seizure.

The Presidency has stated that it is aware of the various failed attempts by a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, to take over offshore assets of the Federal Government of Nigeria through subterfuge.

Naija News reported earlier that a French court had authorized the seizure of three presidential jets linked to the Federal Government of Nigeria as part of a legal battle involving Zhongshan, a Chinese company.

The company had a business dispute with the Ogun State government, which led to this significant legal action. 

But in a statement on Thursday, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated that the Federal Government is not under any contractual obligation with the company.

He said the case in which Zhongshan is trying to use every unorthodox means to strip our offshore assets is between the company and the Ogun State Government.

According to him, the Federal Government is fully aware of efforts being made by the Ogun State Government to reach an amicable resolution on the matter.

The statement continues: “It must be said without any equivocation that Zhongshan has no solid ground to demand restitution from the Ogun State Government based on the facts regarding the 2007 contract between the company and the State Government to manage a free-trade zone.

“When the contract with Ogun State was revoked in 2015, the company had only erected a perimeter fence on the land earmarked for a free trade zone.

“While the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is working with the Ogun State Government on an amicable resolution, Zhongshan obtained two orders from the Judicial Court of Paris dated March 7, 2024, and August 12, 2024, without any notice being duly served on the Federal Government of Nigeria and Ogun State Government.

“This arm-twisting tactic by the Chinese company is the latest in a long list of failed moves to attach Nigerian government-owned assets in foreign jurisdictions.

“The material facts in the transaction between the Ogun State Government and Zhongshan point to another P&ID case in which unscrupulous and questionable individuals falsely present themselves as investors with the sole objective of undercutting and scamming Governments in Africa.

“Undoubtedly, Zhongshan withheld vital information and misled the Judicial Court in Paris into attaching the Nigerian government’s presidential jets, which are on routine maintenance in France. The use and nature of the Presidential jets as assets of a Sovereign entity whose assets are protected by diplomatic immunity forbid any foreign Court from issuing an order against them.

“We are convinced the Chinese company misled the Judicial Court of Paris regarding the use and nature of the assets it seeks to attach and did not fully disclose to the court as required by law.

“This same Chinese company had tried to enforce its questionable judgment in the UK and USA but failed. 

“Like the P&ID case, foreign companies are trying to defraud Nigeria with the collaboration of some bureaucrats. Zhongshan appeared to have sold the judgment they got to a venture capitalist seeking to make money by embarrassing the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu.

“We want to assure Nigerians that the Federal Government is working with the Ogun State Government to discharge this frivolous order in Paris immediately.

“Nigerian Government will always work to protect our national assets from predators and shylocks who masquerade as investors.

“Background to the Zhongshan Fucheng Case:

“A contract between Ogun State and Zhongshan to manage a free-trade zone was executed in 2007. The parties entered into a dispute in 2015, and arbitration began in 2016.

“By 2019, the arbitration hearing had been concluded. The Arbitral Panel awarded over 60 million USD against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), a co-defendant, when all Zhongshan had done was build a perimeter fence around the free-trade zone.

“Based on legal advice, the Ogun State Government resolved to resist the enforcement of the award. The resistance was successful in 8 different jurisdictions. There are pending appeals against recognition orders issued in both the US and UK.

“Ogun State also engaged Zhongshan in settlement discussions on reasonable terms. The last meeting, held in September 2023 in London, lasted for three days and was attended by several officials of Ogun State, including Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Attorney General/Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.

“Zhongshan’s initial reasonable readiness to consider Ogun State’s offer was surprisingly reversed by the second day when it insisted on the government paying the full arbitration debt. This led to a breakdown of the mediation, with parties agreeing to meet again in the first quarter of this year.

“Since then, Zhongshan has been evasive. Instead, it embarked on a series of enforcement proceedings, which the legal team appointed by the FGN and Ogun State successfully opposed. In cases similar to the present one, where Zhongshan obtained an ex-parte order, Ogun State successfully set aside the orders.

“Ogun State has not given up on a reasonable settlement option, with the most recent letter sent to Zhongshan last week. Zhongshan only responded after obtaining this latest illegal order.”

Former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) president, Olisa Agbakoba, has advised President Bola Tinubu to work towards giving the country a new constitution.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Olisa Agbakoba said the current political structure of the country has been ineffective for too long.

In a statement, on Thursday, on X, Agbakoba said the current power-sharing structure in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) did not decentralize governance.

“It’s time to reconsider Nigeria’s governance structure. We’ve been operating within a system that has been ineffective for far too long. Too much power has been centralized in Abuja, limiting the authority of states and regions and stifling their power. We need to go back to basics with a constitutional reform that truly redistributes power, empowering states to drive their own development.

“History has taught us a valuable lesson. In 340 AD, Roman Emperor Diocletian believed that his empire was too vast for one person to effectively govern. What did he do? He appointed four co-emperors, decentralizing power and allowing the Roman Empire to thrive for another 1,500 years! This is the bold action required in Nigeria.”

He further advised the National Assembly to start up the process for constitutional reform. He noted that decision-making should be closer to the citizens.

“We should aim for a governance structure where governors have the authority to lead their states, local communities have a say in their affairs, and decision-making is closer to the people it affects.

“The National Assembly holds the key to making this change. We need a constitutional reform that recalibrates the balance of power and allows real strong political and economic development to take hold in Nigeria,” Agbakoba added.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says the fifty billion naira it gave to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is part of recovered proceeds of crime remitted to the Federal Government and not a donation by the Commission.

The EFCC, which said this in a statement, explained that it is clarifying reports in a section of the media purporting that the Commission donated fifty billion naira to NELFUND from its recovery account.

The statement explained that President Tinubu, in furtherance of his social intervention policy for the most vulnerable segments of the population, decided in his wisdom to plough the money into funding the critically acclaimed Students Loan Scheme.

The EFCC says it is not its place to determine where the Government commits Recovered Proceeds of crime, but the Student’s Loan Scheme is a salutary innovation which has the potential to reduce youths’ involvement in criminality.

The Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyde, had disclosed during a courtesy visit by NELFUND’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Akintunde Sawyerr, on Tuesday that the Anti-graft Agency will monitor the use of the funds to ensure accountability and the realization of the objectives of the Scheme.

As the abysmal performance of Team Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympics continues to raise dust, Minister of Sports Development John Enoh says the different sporting federations in the country need comprehensive reforms for efficient sports development. 

The minister, who apologised to Nigerians over the poor outing in Paris, indicted the leadership of sporting federations for the lacklustre performance, emphasising the need for systems and structures at the federations to get the best athletes to represent Nigeria and get the desired medals in the next games.

“I’ve always stated that we need to reform our federations,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.

“I am also glad that these discussions are going on now. And I need this discussion to continue. Let it not be limited to the reaction because we didn’t get a medal.

“Let it go further in terms of finding out which of those federations is holding the country to ransom when the ministry starts its move to want to reform, which of those federations wants to become an obstacle to that reform?” 

He said the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) was dead when he assumed office in August 2023, and that none of the sporting federations have well-equipped training centres.

He agreed that a state of emergency should be declared for sports development.

The minister admitted his limitation and that he had no powers to change weak ones among the federation leaders because they were elected by congresses.

“The leadership of these federations are elected in congresses, and they hold office for four years. Those four years coincide with the four-year Olympic circle,” he said.

Interference?

The minister said any attempt by him to make input into the activities of the federations is perceived as interference.

“It is the federations that pick the athletes that they think are competitive enough for any game.

“The federations are very strong in their defence of what decisions they make…these federations guard what they do so jealously that any attempt by any minister to reach out in things like this is considered interference.

“My responsibility is to prosecute the games at international competitions.

“I have avoided in my leadership most of the pitfalls that have bedevilled our sporting competitions and engagement internationally for the last several years.”

Enoh described Nigeria’s pathetic fate at the Olympics as a “very sad” one because Africa’s most populous nation couldn’t clinch a single medal despite that the country registered for 12 events at the global games.

Admits Poor Preparation

The minister expressed utter disappointment, saying that he didn’t expect that Team Nigeria would come back from the Olympics without a medal.

He said the medal-less outing should be blamed on a lack of motivation as all Nigerian athletes who participated in the games were well-paid, while some of them were paid in advance before the games.

He said over N8bn was spent on the competition, adding that Nigeria funds competitions and not training for the competitions. “We spent more funds qualifying for the Olympics than actual preparation for the real games,” he said.

The minister said there would have been backlash if he had ruled out Nigeria’s participation in the games because of poor preparation.

Enoh said heads would roll if findings establish that some persons sabotaged Nigeria’s chances at the games.

Decries Limited Powers

Asked whether he has the powers to sack or discipline any erring heads of federations, he said, “I don’t have such powers.”

The sports minister said he does not have the luxury to replace or work towards the replacement of those who can’t contribute enough to the development of sports at federations.

He said many of the federation presidents are in their third or fourth Olympics and they are holding the country to ransom with their lack of their ability to bring home medals from games after games.

As part of efforts to secure the nation and protect her territorial integrity, the Minister Of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, says the Armed Forces of Nigeria requires two hundred million rounds of ammunition annually for its operations.

He said the volume will cost the Federal Government at least two dollars per ammunition.

The minister disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Defence through the Defence Industries Corporations of Nigeria (DICON) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering (NASENI) on the establishment of an ammunition production factory in Nigeria.

He blamed past governments for the nation’s failure to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of military hardware.

Matawalle assured Nigerians that the Defence Industries Corporation will in the next three years export its military capabilities through local manufacturing of military hardware.

The Nigeria Customs Service has been directed to start the implementation of the zero per cent import duty and exemption of Value-Added Tax on basic food items, The PUNCH reports.

This was after President Bola Tinubu approved the implementation of zero per cent import duty and exemption of Value-Added Tax on basic food items.

The Ministry of Finance confirmed the approval in a letter to the Nigeria Customs Service dated August 8, 2024. The Nigeria Customs Service also confirmed the development in a document shared with one of our correspondents on Wednesday.

Responding, the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Bashir Adeniyi, instructed officials of the service to commence enforcement measures.

In the circular titled, “Approval for the implementation of zero per cent duty rate on basic food items”, the NCS said the Ministry of Finance sent a letter to the service, informing the agency that Tinubu has approved the implementation.

The letter dated August 14, 2024, and signed by the Deputy Comptroller-General, C.K Niagwan, noted that the food commodities include maize, husked brown rice, wheat, grain beans, and millet.

She stated that the policy is restricted to the items listed and is effective from July 15 to December 31, 2024.

The letter read, “I am directed to forward herewith a copy of the Federal Ministry of Finance letter, confirming His Excellency, Mr President’s approval for the implementation of zero per cent duty rate and Value Added Tax exemption on some basic food items.

“You are to note the following, ‘the policy is restricted to the items listed in the letter and it is effective July 15, 24 until December 31, 24. The importation of these items shall be limited to investors with milling capacity and a verifiable Backward Integration Programme for some of the items.”

The deputy director further stated that the finance ministry would provide the list of importers and approved quotas during the implementation period and called for wide coverage to ensure strict compliance.

“The Federal Ministry of Finance shall from time to time, during the implementation period, furnish the Nigeria Customs Service with the list of importers and their approved quotas to guide the importation of the basic food items. Ensure wide circulation for strict compliance, please,” the letter added.

Recall that the Federal Government announced on July 10 the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of food staples through land and sea borders to reduce inflation.

On August 7, the NCS said the duty waiver on imported foods would be implemented within the next week.

In the first letter, the finance minister, Wale Edun, said the “measure which is geared towards ameliorating the high cost of food items in the Nigerian market shall be limited to the national supply gap to be determined by a committee set up by the minister”.

It showed that the government crashed the duty rate and levy from 30 per cent to zero for husked brown rice, from five per cent to zero for grain sorghum, millet, and maize, and removed the 20 per cent duty levy for wheat and beans.

Edun said importers applying for the duty waiver must have milling capacity and a verifiable backward integration programme.

BIP is the sourcing of raw materials locally to reduce dependence on foreign raw materials.

“This measure which is geared towards ameliorating the high cost of food items in the Nigerian market shall be limited to the national supply gap to be determined by a committee set up by the minister.

“The importation of these items shall also be limited to investors with milling capacity and verifiable Backward Integration Programme for some of the items,” the minister said.

On Tuesday, the comptroller-general of the customs service said the Federal Government would lose about N188bn in revenue due to the suspension of import duties on food commodities.

Adeniyi said the service would ensure adequate implementation by enlisting special corridors to clear imports of food items.