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In regards to the recent instruction of our president of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the state Governors to provide land for grazing to herders in attempt to curtail the incessant Farmer Herders Crisis that is ravaging the country. Members of COYN hereby reject this proposition of PBAT on this subject. Grazing zones as a proposal to combat the farmers herders crisis has proved ineffective in the middle belt of the country. Benue state banned open grazing and provided ranches yet the crisis in Benue has continued. In Plataeu State and Nasarawa, lands were donated by the President Buhari administration but this did not stop the continued Farmers -Herders clashes. Southern Kaduna is another example of cases of failure of the grazing reserves: they have the longest record since the 1960 grazing reserve act where the former Northern region let the herders lease land for grazing, the reserve land subsequently becoming disputed land, leading to further conflicts till today and continued killings in the region.
We are also dismayed that the President did not recommend any investigation into the offending herders who are interfering with agricultural practices in affected regions such as the South West of Nigeria. As the chief law enforcement officer of the country, we urge the president to look into farm security initiatives for farmers whose lives are endangered everyday by herders who are often armed and has been confrontational in their encounters with farmers, leading to their murdering of many farmers in cold blood. We propose that the president set up a committee to investigate the causes of the incessant farmers -herders crisis and why existing remedies in other regions of the country with adequate land mass for ranching has failed. Mandating State Governors to give land as grazing zone appears to be a repeat of same ineffective strategies that have plagued the country since 1960s.
We urge the State Governments of the Southwest to double their efforts in Animal husbandry to meet the demands of the citizens.
COYN continues to believe in the unity of Nigeria under a federal system based on equity and fairness.
We also believe in the capacity of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to solve the problems bedevilling Nigeria.
Otunba Adekolejo Kole Omololu.
Conveiner.
A civic organisation focused on the Nigerian budget and public data, BudgIT, has thrown its weight behind suspended Senator Abdul Ningi on a N3.7 trillion gap in the 2024 budget presented to the National Assembly.
The Director and co-founder of BudgIT, Seun Onigbinde, made this known during an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, stressing that Ningi was right if he posited that there was no detailed allocation for N3.7 trillion in the 2024 budget.
Ningi, representing Bauchi Central senatorial district was suspended on Tuesday by the Senate, over the allegations that two versions of the 2024 budget were passed at the National Assembly. The senator said he stood by his story and also said there was nowhere he said two versions of the budget were being implemented.
The senator from Bauchi, who was also the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), alleged that the budget was padded by N3.7 trillion and that the North has been neglected under the administration of President Bola Tinubu. On the floor of the Senate, the Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West) on Tuesday moved a motion on breach of privilege and after heated debate by senators, Ningi was suspended for three months.
‘Ningi was right’
But reacting yesterday, the BudgIT Director, Onigbinde, stressed that Ningi was right for positing that there was no detailed allocation for N3.7 trillion in the 2024 budget.
Onigbinde said the allocations of the National Assembly, National Judicial Council (NJC), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and others do not carry a detailed breakdown.
He added that the people have the right to know how the funds earmarked for the aforementioned agencies were being spent.
“Around N2 trillion of the budget presented by the president is the government-owned enterprises budget. So, if Senator Ningi says there is a N25 trillion budget, yes, that is the MDA’s budget. It’s different from the government-owned enterprises budget which was now added.
“It is factual that he said that, but it doesn’t mean that we are running two concurrent budgets. There is a different conversation that those projects should be detailed. TETFUND should not just get an allocation.
“What are you spending the money on? INEC is collecting a huge chunk of funds but there are no public details about what the funds are used for, the same thing with NJC, even the National Assembly. “In the current budget, the National Assembly gave a very broad summary of its allocations but there are no detailed allocations on a granular level that everybody can interrogate.
“These are transparency issues and if you put all these together, that is around N3.5 trillion to N3.7 trillion. So, if that is what he (Ningi) wants to interrogate, there are components of the budget where there is no breakdown. That is very factual.
“But the National Assembly needs to push back. We need a breakdown. What is NJC spending money on? We give more money to the NJC and say take it arbitrarily. What are they spending that money on? There should be a detailed breakdown to the public. On that point, Senator Ningi is right but to look as if we are running parallel budgets, that is not right.” He said. Contacted by Daily Trust yesterday to shed more light on their finding, Onigbinde said “Ningi’s allegation of budget padding was partly true. “From my fact-checking of Ningi’s statement, we found some parts to be untrue, and we found some parts to be true.
“The only part that we found to be true is that some of the items that were statutory transfers and Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) do not have a breakdown. “The bigger picture here is about insertion into the budget. Around 7,474 projects worth N2.2 trillion were added to the budget. I think that’s where the bigger problem is.”
But efforts to get the Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, to comment on the latest development proved abortive, as he neither answered his phone calls nor responded to an SMS sent to him. Senator Adaramodu had explained on Tuesday that the N3.7 trillion alleged to have not been traceable to any project or location was for agencies of government “on first line charge.”
The Senate Spokesman said, “They include the Public Complaints Commission, INEC, UBEC, TETFUND, and many others. So, the money was not padded. They are allocations of agencies of government that have to take first line charge.”
However, Dataphyte, a research and data analytics organisation, said there was no evidence of padding in the 2024 budget.
“What we can confirm is that the 2024 Appropriation Act approved an aggregate expenditure of 28.78 trillion naira, and the figures add up,” Mr Oluseyi Olufemi, the Insight Lead, Dataphyte, told Daily Trust yesterday.
We stand by Ningi – Bauchi gov
Meanwhile, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has declared that the state government is behind Senator Ningi.
Speaking during the state’s cabinet meeting at the Government House in Bauchi yesterday, Mohammed said, “Yesterday (Tuesday), I was very sad the Senate suspended one of our best from Bauchi for saying the truth, for standing up to be the beacon of the truth. “Equally I don’t know what we will do but we will discuss privately to see what we can do to support him because I support whatever he is doing and that is our best position especially if what he is saying is the truth.” The governor, however, called on all relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate the matter rather than suspending the senator.
PDP asks Akpabio to step aside
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked Senate President Godswill Akpabio to immediately step aside and allow an independent investigation into the “allegation that a staggering N3.7 trillion was discreetly inserted into the 2024 budget for alleged non-existent projects.”
PDP also demanded that Senator Akpabio immediately report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the pending case of “alleged looting of N108 billion belonging to the people of Akwa Ibom State under his watch as governor”.
Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary of the party, in a statement, said the Senate president should also speak to Nigerians on the “reported N86 billion contract scam in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during his tenure as the minister of Niger Delta Affairs.”
Ologunagba said, “We ask, why the APC leadership in the Senate not referred the matter to the appropriate Senate standing committee for an open investigation in line with the extant rules of the Senate? What is the APC Senate leadership afraid of and what is it hiding from Nigerians?
“It is even more absurd that instead of recusing himself, the Senate president sat as a judge in the matter; a situation that can bring the institution of the Senate to further public disrepute.”
Suspension didn’t address budget padding allegation – Obi
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in last year’s election, Mr Peter Obi has said that the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi by the Senate has not addressed vital issues emanating from his allegation of the 2024 budget padding. Obi, in a post on his X handle yesterday, asked senators to disclose to Nigerians the exact amounts allocated to them for constituency projects for appropriate monitoring of implementation by the public. “And if indeed the report from BudgIT is true, that there is about N3.7trn without any detailed project allocations, I strongly urge the Senate to do more detailed work of channelling these funds into the critical areas of development – education, health and pulling people out of poverty, which will in turn, minimise the criminality we are facing today.”
Ningi’s suspension attack on freedom of expression – CISLAC
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)/Transparency International in Nigeria (TI-Nigeria) also queried the “undemocratic action and questionable decision by the leadership of the Senate to suspend Ningi over the 2024 budget padding controversy.”
The Executive Director of CISLAC/TI-Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said on Wednesday in Abuja that it is unacceptable that the suspension was initiated against Ningi for expressing his constitutionally guaranteed concerns and observations on the 2024 budget at this critical moment when the nation is deeply soaked in socio-economic and financial crisis.
He said that the unjust suspension of a senator who represents an entire senatorial district is similar to a public demonstration of an unguarded culture of silencing, insensitivity, disrespect and marginalisation of the people and dictatorship. Also, Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, Executive Director, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), demanded for forensic audit of allocation for constituency projects. He also demanded Senator Abdul Ningi’s immediate reinstatement.
“The Senate leadership made major attempts to undercut Senator Ningi’s charges and swiftly suspended him without conducting a thorough inquiry to check the veracity of his claims. He commended Senators Ningi and Jarigbe for their courage in speaking out against corruption and theft of public resources in the Nigerian Senate.
“Furthermore, we’ve discovered that members in both the Senate and the House of Representatives have developed new methods to sneak fake projects into the budget, making it impossible to monitor.
“This has occurred since the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) collaborated with selected Civil Society Organizations, including CHRICED, to monitor constituency projects across the country, exposing the fraudulent practices of several federal and state legislators.
“One such strategy adopted by them is to insert useless and frivolous empowerment initiatives that are virtually hard to track down and do not fulfil the constituents’ concerns. We saw in the 2024 budget that a lot of projects with billions of Naira earmarked to them had no locations or specifics,” he said.
[DailyTrust]
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has said the firm recorded 9,000 infractions on oil pipelines in one year.
Kyari stated this yesterday when the House of Representatives Special Committee on Oil Theft visited the NNPCL headquarters in Abuja on oversight functions.
According to him, from 2022 till date, the NNPCL had deactivated 6,465 illegal refineries. It has also removed 4,876 of the 5,570 illegal connections to pipelines.
He added: “Some of the infractions we see are unbelievable. We are not able to deal with it. When you remove one connection, the next day in the same location, someone will replace it.
“It is obvious that crude oil theft is almost an end-to-end issue in Nigeria; it is very obvious that everyone is involved. In most of these locations, they are less than a 100 meters from the settlement. Some are even less than a 100 meters from the local government headquarters.”
Kyari said the key issue was insecurity, and that NNPCL moved to curtail pipeline vandalism by incorporating all security agencies into a single platform, including private security.
According to him, no country surrenders the protection of such critical assets, which are the source of income, to non-state actors.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, on Wednesday, expressed anger over the failure of about 90 per cent of states (over 30 states) in paying the wage award as agreed by the Federal Government and the organised Labour.
The NLC said this as pensioners who retired from the Federal Civil Service threatened to embark on a nationwide protest following the failure of the government to pay their wage award.
Labour leaders in Sokoto, Kano, Benue, and Bayelsa states told The PUNCH on Wednesday that their state governments had no paid the wage award, while Gombe, Ogun, and Osun were paying N15,000 or N10,000.
The NLC Assistant General Secretary, NLC, Chris Onyeka, in an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, said state governors jettisoned negotiations, as they unilaterally gave workers N10,000 without any negotiation.
The payment of wage award to workers was one of the agreements between the organised labour and the Federal Government as one of the ways to mitigate the effect of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol.
In 2023, the NLC and Trade Union Congress entered into an agreement with the Federal Government where the latter agreed to pay a N35,000 wage award to workers for six months, as well as review the minimum wage in 2024.
On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu in Niger State appealed to state governors to continue to pay workers in their various states the wage award till negotiations on a new minimum wage were concluded.
But speaking with one of our correspondents on Wednesday, the Assistant General Secretary, NLC lamented that about 90 per cent of states, representing over 30 states, were not paying the wage award to their workers.
He “About 90 per cent of the states have not paid wage awards. Some states I know decided to give workers N10,000 but the wage award is not decided alone.
“There is a process for it. There must be a negotiation with the workers. Wage award is not a dash out or a charity. The process must be inclusive,” Onyeka stated.
Gombe pays N10,000
But the General Secretary of the NLC in Gombe State, Ibrahim Fika, said so far, workers had received N10,000, as the wage award had yet to be implemented by the state government.
Fika said, “Nothing yet. We have only been paid N10,000 per month. We have not received the wage award as directed by the President. We are still hopeful that workers will be duly paid the agreed amount at the right time to reduce the hardship.”
The NLC leaders in both Sokoto and Kebbi states said workers in the two states had yet to receive any wage award from their respective state governments.
Speaking in separate interviews, the union leaders said they had commenced the process of negotiation for the wage award with the representatives of their governments.
The Chairman, NLC, Sokoto State, Abdullahi Jungle, said the state government would soon announce the wage award to its workers.
“We are still negotiating with the government and I am sure that very soon the state government and labour leaders will agree on how much to be paid to workers,” he said.
His counterpart from Kebbi State, Murtala Usman, said, “Yes, we are still negotiating and the outcome will soon be made public.”
Meanwhile, a senior aide to the governor of Sokoto State, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the state government had been adopting different measures to cushion the effect of the current economic hardship on its workers.
He said, “Look at the announcement made by the governor yesterday on the payment of half salary to all categories of workers including pensioners in the state to assist them in this month of Ramadan.
“This is apart from so many other measures being made available to workers including palliatives. I am sure the wage award will be addressed soon as usual.”
‘Bayelsa not paying’
In Bayelsa State, the state chapter of NLC said the state government had not been paying its workers the wage award.
The state NLC Secretary, John Angese, who stated this, said the state government had not given the organised labour a definite response on the issue of wage award.
He said, “No, the state government is not paying workers the wage award. The government has not given us any definite answer on that matter.
“The wage award is N35,000. The Federal Government paid only two months (to its workers) and stopped, now they are about to continue. That stoppage couldn’t allow us to make any serious case (with the state government) since the national government also defaulted.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Ekiti State, Sola Adigun, said the hike in the prices of goods and services had made the wage award insignificant, hence the need for immediate conclusion of negotiation and implementation of a new living wage for workers.
Adigun said though the Ekiti State Government had since December last year been implementing the wage award for workers, “what is being implemented is not the same amount that the Federal Government expected.
“Here in Ekiti, all public servants at the states and Local Governments are given N15,000 monthly after the payment of salary. We have been paid for three months now, December, January, and February. Pensioners are being paid N10,000 monthly apart from their pensions.’’
When contacted, Osun State TUC Chairman, Bimbo Fasasi, said the state government started paying the wage award to workers and retirees in December 2023.
Fasasi, who added that the government had paid up to February, said, “Osun is paying N15,000 for active workers and N10,000 for retirees.
“It commenced payment last December 2023 and has paid up to February 2024. By March ending we are expecting the March wage award to come.”
The Kano State Government has yet to fulfill its promise on the payment of the N20,000 wage award it agreed to pay the state and Local Government workers for six months beginning from December 2023.
Similarly, the government has also yet to commence the payment of the N15,000 wage award it promised pensioners for three months from December 2023.
The Chairman of the NLC, Kabiru Inuwa, said this in a telephone interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday.
He said, “We agreed on N20,000 but the government has yet to begin the payment.”
According to him, the wage award was aimed at minimising the hardship being experienced by workers brought about by the fuel subsidy removal in the country but was not forthcoming in Kano State.
Efforts to get the state Commissioner of Information, Baba Dantiye, failed as his phone was switched off. He was said to be in the State Executive Council meeting.
A WhatsApp message sent to him was not replied as of the time of filing this report.
Labour in Benue State threatened to write to the national secretariat about the non-response of the state government to the wage award demand.
The state NLC Chairman, Terungwa Igbe, said the union had written to the state government about their desire to meet with the government.
He said, “We have not heard of anything from the state government despite the letter we wrote to them to have a meeting with them.”
Asked what would be the next line of action, Igbe said, “We are going to write to our national secretariat to inform it of the development.”
Meanwhile, the state government through the Commissioner for Finance and Budget Planning, Michael Oglegba, said the government would soon meet the labour union concerning the wage award.
The Chairman, TUC, Ogun State, Akeem Lasisi, said the state government had since July commenced the payment of N10,000 palliatives to the state workers.
“We were given 40 per cent of the basic salary starting from September 2023; N10,000 palliatives started in July 2023, while we also got Christmas bonus in December, ranging from N20,000 from Level 01 to N100,000 for level 15-17.”
Pensioners threaten protest
Meanwhile, pensioners who retired from the Federal Civil Service threatened a nationwide protest following the failure of the Federal Government to pay their wage awards.
The pensioners under the aegis of Federal Civil Service Pensioners, an affiliate of the National Union of Pensioners, expressed dismay at the failure of the Tinubu-led administration to pay the wage awards despite the untold hardship currently being faced by Nigerians.
While addressing selected members of the press in Abuja on Wednesday, the President of the Federal Civil Service Pensioners, Sunday Omezi, said pensioners were going through excruciating pains and agony.
“We feel constrained to bring to the knowledge of the world through this medium, the excruciating pains and agony we have been subjected over the years by the same government we served vigorously and diligently with our youthful energy without blemish only to be abused, dehumanised, marginalised and neglected with reckless abandon, after sapping our energy and leaving us dejected and consigned to rot and death,” he said.
Speaking on the unpaid wage award, Omezi said, “It is pathetic and disappointing to bring to the fore, the non-payment of the N25,000 wage award promised pensioners by the government.
“It is rather distasteful that up till date, no single payment has been made to pensioners. We are hereby demanding immediate payment of the award, because it is so embarrassing for such a promise to be left unfulfilled.”
Omezi also noted that pensioners have been crying profusely the tears of pain over the years through several official representations to the government.
“Our telling has been deliberately ignored, hence we are left with no option, but to cry out louder to the world to be informed of the pathetic condition we have been made to suffer by the same system that is expected to protest us.”
When asked whether the union would protest, Omezi said, “We are hoping it won’t get to that. That is the major reason we have this press briefing. However, if nothing is done, we may have to embark on a protest.’’
But the Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago has promised to start paying the State’s workers wage award beginning from March 2024.
The governor’s promise was the outcome of a round table negotiation with the leadership of the State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, in Minna.
Chairman of the Niger State NLC, Idrees Lafene, spoke with The PUNCH in a telephone chat on Wednesday in which he said President Bola Tinubu’s comment on wage award during his visit to the State was important to the State’s Labour Union.
He expressed confidence that the Niger State Governor would fulfill his promise to start paying the wage award from March 2024.
“I like what the president said, especially when he said governor’s should give wage award. That is the only thing hat remains for our Governor. If he is able to give wage award, he’ll be one of the best governors,” Lafene said.
Asked if the governor has started paying wage award, the NLC chairman said, “ Our agreement with the governor is this March, he said end of March, that is when he will start paying the wage award. He said he will pay N20,000”.
[Punch]
More controversies appear to be swirling around the 2024 budget as more indications that the portion of the budget attributable to some federal government institutions lack details and transparency.
The affected institutions, including the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were allocated between N3.5 trillion and N3.7 trillion without specific expenditure heading, or stipulations of what the monies were meant for.
These were some of the findings of BudgiT, a fiscal policy analytics and advocacy organization with its Co-founder, Seun Onigbinde, declaring that Senator Abdul Ningi, who blew the whistle on the budget was right about the low level of transparency in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
This came as the Minority Leader of the Senate, Abba Moro, expressed concerns yesterday that the Senate is currently having credibility problems, following suspension of the whistle blower, Senator Abdul Ningi.
This is even as Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, also yesterday threw his weight behind Senator Ningi, the lawmaker representing Bauchi Central senatorial district, who was handed a three-month suspension by the Senate for his expose, just as Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, and Transparency International in Nigeria, TI-Nigeria, declared Senator Ninigi’s suspension as sheer attack on freedom of expression and opposition’s rights.
Similarly, the presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, urged the Senate to come clean and clear all allegations associated with the N3 trillion padding in the 2024 budget.
Onigbinde, who was a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme late Tuesday, stated: “There should be a detailed breakdown of the budget. On that point, Senator Ningi is right”.
Ningi, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) resigned as Chairman of the Northern Senators’ Forum, even as he was suspended by his colleagues in the red chamber on Tuesday over budget padding allegations.
BudGit fact-checks
But the BudGit co-founder, Onigbinde, said: “As the Senate rowdy session was going on, we were also fact-checking and one of the things we found is that we were not able to lay hold to the claim by Senator Ningi. A budget of N28.7trillion was passed into law and we were not able to see where N3.7trn (was missing).
“Historically, there are items in the budget that don’t have breakdown, like statutory transfers but that does not mean there is a certain level of capital projects by the Federal Government that was appropriated and does not have a breakdown.”
He said the entire capital project was around N9trn in the 2024 Appropriation Act signed into law by President Bola Tinubu after the bill was reviewed upward from N27.5trn to N28.78trn.
“The budget we have now have the ministries, departments and agencies (MDA) and the government-owned enterprise budget.
“Around N2trn of the budget presented by the President is the government-owned enterprises budget. So, if Senator Ningi says there is a N25trn budget, yes, that is the MDA’s budget. It’s different from the government-owned enterprises budget whose budget was now added.
“It is factual that he says that but it doesn’t mean that we are running two concurrent budgets. There is a different conversation that those projects should be detailed. TETFUND should not just get an allocation. What are you spending money on? INEC is collecting huge chunk of funds but there is no public details about what the funds are used for.
“In the current budget, the National Assembly gave a very broad summary of its allocations but there are no detailed allocations on a granular level that everybody can understand.
“These are transparent issues and if you put all these together, that is around N3.5trn to N3.7trn. So, if that is what he (Ningi) wants to interrogate, that there are components of the budget where there are no breakdown, that is very factual.”
The Budgit boss urged the executive and the National Assembly to ensure transparency in the budgetary allocations to MDAs and government-owned enterprises.
Senate already having some credibility problems – Minority Leader
Reacting to Ningi’s suspension yesterday, Senate Minority Leader, Abba Moro, said the upper chamber is having some credibility problems as a result.
Senator Moro said: “The budget in question was passed by the senators. Senator Ningi is a senator, he was a member of the Appropriation Committee. I am from the North and he purported to speak for the North.
“Why I was angry is that Senator Kawu Samaila who is the spokesperson of the Northern Senators Forum came before me and said he was going to address the press on this same matter while the debate was going on.
“I said ‘you don’t do that. You raised issues, we are tackling the issues and here you are, you want to address the press, go ahead and address the press.’ That was why I raised my hands because as minority leader, Senator Kawu Samaila is a member of the NNPP, he is with me and signed for me to be a minority leader.
“So why would he not accept my advice? As people have commented now, the Senate is already having some level of credibility problems. Why would an individual arrogate to himself the power to know it all, say it all?”
Speaking further, Senator Moro, who spoke in an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, yesterday, also defended the action of the Senate leadership, saying it did the right thing in Ningi’s matter.
‘I think the Senate did the appropriate thing, I was there. Budget padding may not be mentioned here now in the 10th Senate because previous budgets have been criticised based on budget padding.
“But this is the first time a participant senator who was honestly engaged in the whole process is coming out to say that what I did was wrong and rubbing it on all of us. I think it is not correct.”
He faulted Ningi’s action, recalling how the Northern Senators Forum had an audience with the Senate President in which Kawu and Ningi were in attendance.
Bauchi governor declares support for Ningi over Senate suspension
In his reaction yesterday, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State defended Senator Ninigi for his expose, condemining the three months suspension slammed on him by the Senate.
Speaking during the State Executive Council meeting at Government House, Bauchi, the governor said he was with Ningi as the face of opposition in the Senate.
He said: “We will, as the opposition to the Federal Government, say some of the things that should be done in our modest opinion, but it is not for us to disparage our country. ‘’Yesterday (Tuesday), I was very sad for the Senate to suspend one of our best from Bauchi for saying the truth, for standing up to be the beacon of truth.
“Equally, I don’t know what we will do but we will discuss privately to see what we can do to support him because I support whatever he is doing. And that is the face of the opposition, especially if what he saying is the truth. I am not too quick to go to the media but, certainly, he has shown courage.”
Come clean, clear all the allegations, Obi tells Senate
The presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, in his reaction yesterday, asked the Senate to come clean and clear all allegations associated with the N3 trillion padding in the 2024 budget.
Obi, who gave the charge in a series of tweets on his X handle yesterday, told the Senate that the Nigerian public deserves to know the whole truth about the allegations, especially as the Senate and the executive were singing discordant tunes on the matter, while fresh allegations over the sharing formula of constituency funds in the same budget were cropping up.
He wrote: “The fuss over the alleged N3 trillion padded into the 2024 budget raised by a Senator still rages as the Senate reaction of suspending the whistle-blower has not addressed vital issues emanating from the allegation.
“The senator is insisting on his allegation and the executive agreed that there was only N1.2trillion padded, not N3trillion as alleged by the Senate.
“Fresh allegations have also cropped up over indiscriminate and unbalanced allocation of constituency projects by the Senate leadership.
“A civic group, Budgit, through their official, have also added their voice to agree with the Senator. They alleged that there was no detailed project allocations for about N3.7trn in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
“As the Senate suspension of the senator involved has not addressed the issue, they still owe the Nigerian public a clear clarification over the various claims and counter-claims, including that of the executive arm, to be able to know exactly what is happening, and also disclose to the public, the amounts allocated for constituency projects for appropriate monitoring of implementation by the public.
“I had particularly elucidated in my earlier comments on what we can use the N3 trillion to achieve, by showing that it is more than the national budget of the two most critical components of the human development index, health and education, combined.
“Now that the executive arm has accepted that the padded amount is only N1.2 trillion, it is still a very significant amount, when you consider that it is almost five times the N251.47 billion proposed for Universal Basic Education, which is the foundation of education, in the country.
‘Use the money for health, education’
“Today in Nigeria, the greatest challenge to human resource development is education, which has been identified as most critical at the basic level. Nigeria has about 20 million out-of-school children today because of the poor investment in education. These are resources that would have been utilised to ensure that our children are taken off the streets and returned to schools.
“The N1.2 trillion as the executives claimed to have been padded, if channelled to any of the critical areas of development, could have positively impacted the nation and uplifted the people.
“If, indeed, the report from the BudgiT is true that there is about N3.7 trillion without any detailed project allocations, I strongly urge the Senate to do more detailed work of channelling these funds into the critical areas of development – education, health and pulling people out of poverty, which will in turn, minimise the criminality we are facing today.
“We must, as a matter of urgency, put a stop to all the wastage of our scarce resources, amid the excruciating hardship in the country. Let every penny of our public funds be used for public good. That is the only way to achieve the New Nigeria we are working towards.”
Ningi: Attack on freedom of expression, oppositions’ rights – CISLAC, TI
Also yesterday, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, and Transparency International in Nigeria, TI-Nigeria, declared the suspension of Senator Ningi as sheer attack on freedom of expression and opposition’s rights.
In a statement, Executive Director of CISLAC/TI-Nigeria, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the Senate’s action was not only undemocratic but also questionable.
Rafsanjani also pointed out that anything outside the provisions in the Declaration of Human Rights, 1948; Article 19 (2) of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, was tantamount to deliberate violation of human right and apparent disregard to the rule of law.
He said: “The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)/Transparency International in Nigeria (TI-Nigeria) is seriously perturbed by the undemocratic action and questionable decision by leadership of the Senate as shockingly demonstrated in the recent unfounded suspension of the Senator Abdul Ningi.
“We are not unaware that the suspension was initiated against Senator Ningi for expressing his constitutionally guaranteed concerns and observations on 2024 budget at this critical moment when the nation is deeply soaked in socio-economic and financial crisis.
“The suspension is not unconnected with the public exposure of the N3trillion padded into the 2024 budget by the Upper Chamber, which has hitherto failed to display transparency and public accountability in its annual budgetary allocation and spending.
“This includes the inequality and disproportionate marginalisation surrounding the distributions of the N3trillion, where each senator is expected to receive N500million as constituency allowance.
‘’We recognise and affirm that freedom of expression and opinion remains sacrosanct to preserve the democratic culture, values and principles in Nigeria.
“We, without hesitation, uphold our position that freedom of opinion and expression is a constitutional and legally-backed right under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria; Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948; Article 19 (2) of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966; hence, the sanity and sanctity of these provisions must be strictly adhered, demonstrated and protected by a civic institution such as National Assembly.
‘’Anything outside these provisions is tantamount to deliberate violation of human right and apparent disregard to the rule of law.
“We must reiterate that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a supreme law of the country gives zero provision or power to the Senate to suspend a member of the National Assembly. ‘’Such provisions are only found in the ethics and privileges committee laws, which is answerable to the plenary through the Senate president.
‘’On this note, the committee laws cannot override the Constitution, especially in a matter of freedom of expression which is a fundamental right.
“Just as every member of the National Assembly representing his/her constituency has the primary mandates and responsibilities to absorb communal observations and offer feedback to the people for public accountability, expressing such in form of opinion must not be interfered, intimidated or suppressed in anyway or form.
‘Action projects legislative arm as autocratic’
“The repressive action by leadership of the Senate would clearly project the legislative arm as autocratic, which to a large extent would negatively impact legislators’ independence, robust debate, genuine submissions, and image of the legislature before Nigerians and rest of the world.
“Unjust suspension of a senator who represents an entire senatorial district is similar to public demonstration of unguarded culture of silencing,insensitivity, disrespect and marginalisation of the people.
“We strongly maintain that intimidating or silencing opinion of the dissents or oppositions is unhealthy in any civilised democracy and must not be tolerated as a culture in Nigeria. Despite the multiple number of opposition parties in the National Assembly, they appear to be conquered by power of the executive as well as the principal officers in the legislature.”
Rafsajani, however, called on the Senate not to silence opposition in the National Assembly, and warned that such action will lead to dictatorship and oppression, and should, therefore, not be allowed to exist in any form.
“We, therefore, call on the Senate to as a matter of urgency, shun silencing opposition views in the legislature; as the essence of the legislature is to allow for freedom of expression and contrary opinions as well as provide a democratic platform for constructive debates that enhance national interest.
“The greatest danger is that legislators can no longer be allowed to perform their duties, including oversight and opposing views on the executive and principal officers in the Senate which will be tantamount democratic dictatorships.
“We call on all well-meaning Nigerians and the media to protect and reject any undemocratic action or decision by the National Assembly targeted at impeding public accountability and shrinking civic space.’’
PDP demands Akpabio’s resignation, says it stands with Senator Ningi
Also reacting yesterday, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, asked the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, to immediately step aside and allow for an independent investigation into the allegation that a staggering N3.7 trillion was discreetly inserted into the 2024 budget for alleged non-existent projects.
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, who made the party’s position public, in Abuja, yesterday, said the party also demanded that Senator Akpabio immediately report at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over his pending case with the commission.
‘President should speak on N86b contract scam’
Ologunagba said: “Furthermore, the Senate President should speak out on the reported N86 billion contract scam in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, during his tenure as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
“The PDP firmly condemns the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi by the All Progressives Congress, APC, leadership in the Senate without a detailed inquest into the issue of budget padding which he raised.
“The suspension of Senator Ningi is apparently a desperate move to suppress investigation, conceal and sweep the facts under the carpet.
“Moreover, the frustration of investigation by the APC Senate leadership further confirms PDP’s repeated alert that prominent APC officials in the National Assembly and a top official in the Presidency have been using ministers and other government functionaries to siphon budgeted funds from the national coffers.
“We ask, why did the APC leadership in the Senate not refer the matter to the appropriate Senate Standing Committee for an open investigation, in line with the extant Rules of the Senate? What is the APC Senate leadership afraid of and what is it hiding from Nigerians?
“It is even more absurd that instead of recusing himself, the Senate President sat as a judge in the matter; a situation that can bring the institution of the Senate to further public disrepute.
“This is especially as the issues at hand heavily border on alleged gross misconduct and criminal betrayal of public trust which are serious offenses under our laws.
“Nigerians can now see why the APC leadership in the National Assembly, especially in the Senate continues to condone the unbridled looting of public resources including funds meant for palliatives for poor and vulnerable citizens.
“This apparent inclination towards covering up sleaze in the polity is already pitching the institution of the Senate against Nigerians who are demanding for answers on the matter. Of course, the widely condemned suspension of Senator Ningi does not provide answers to the budget padding allegation.”
[Vanguard]
Nigeria has hired investment banks including Citibank NA, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Goldman Sachs, to seek advice on its first eurobond issue since 2022.
According to a Bloomberg report, the size of the eurobond offer, which is expected before June, is yet to be determined.
The federal government could raise as much as $1 billion in external borrowing this year to meet its spending needs, according to sources who spoke to the publication.
The report said Nigeria has also hired Standard Chartered Bank and Lagos-based Chapel Hill Denham as advisers.
On January 1, President Bola Tinubu signed the N28.7 trillion budget for 2024 fiscal year, with a deficit of N9.8 trillion — which will be financed by borrowings from local and international investors and multilateral lenders.
Tinubu also received approval from the senate on December 30, 2023, to borrow the sums of $7.8 billion and €100 million as part of the 2022-2024 borrowing plan of the federal government.
The president had sent a request to the national assembly to approve the sum, saying the funds, when obtained, would be used to assuage the economic realities and undertake many projects cutting across various sectors of the economy.
Meanwhile, since he took office on May 29, 2023, Tinubu has been seeking to attract foreign investors back into the economy through several reforms.
Last year, on June 14, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the unification of all segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market.
[TheCable]
Labour Party (LP) standard bearer in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi, has admonished the Senate to come clean and clear all the allegations of N3 trillion padding in the 2024 budget.
Obi on his X handle yesterday told the upper chamber that Nigerians deserve to know the truth about the allegations, especially as the Senate and the executive arm of government are singing discordant tunes on the matter and fresh allegations cropping up on the sharing of constituency funds in the budget.
The former Anambra State governor said, “The fuss over the alleged N3 trillion padded into the 2024 budget raised by a senator still rages as the Senate reaction of suspending the whistle-blower has not addressed vital issues emanating from the allegation.
“The senator is insisting on his allegation and the executive agreed that there was only N1.2 trillion padded not N3 trillion as alleged by the Senate.
“Fresh allegations have also cropped up over indiscriminate and unbalanced allocation of constituency projects by the Senate leadership.
“A civic group, Budgit, through their official, has also added their voice to agree with thes. They alleged that there was no detailed project allocations for about N3.7 trillion in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
“As the Senate suspension of the senator involved has not addressed the issue, they still owe the Nigerian public a clear clarification over the various claims and counterclaims, including that of the executive arm, to be able to know exactly what is happening, and also disclose to the public, the amounts allocated for constituency projects for appropriate monitoring of implementation by the public.
“I had particularly elucidated in my earlier comment on what we can use the N3 trillion to achieve, by showing that it is more than the national budget of the two most critical components of the human development index, health and education, combined.
“Now that the executive arm has accepted that the padded amount is only N1.2 trillion, it is still a very significant amount, when you consider that it is almost 5 times the N251.47 billion proposed for Universal Basic Education, which is the foundation of education, in the Country.
“Today in Nigeria, the greatest challenge to human resource development is education, which has been identified as most critical at the basic level. Nigeria has about 20 million out-of-school children today because of the poor investment in education. These are resources that would have been utilised to ensure that our children are taken off the streets and returned to schools…
“We must, as a matter of urgency, put a stop to all the wastage of our scarce resources, amid the excruciating hardship in the country. Let every penny of our public fund be used for public good. That is the only way to achieve the New Nigeria we are working towards,” Obi added.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced its plans to issue a Eurobond, marking its return to the international bond market since its last issuance in March 2022.
For this venture, the government has enlisted the services of leading global investment banks, including Citibank NA, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., along with Standard Chartered Bank and the Lagos-based Chapel Hill Denham, as advisors.
According to Punch, the upcoming Eurobond issuance, expected to occur before June, represents a pivotal moment for Africa’s largest oil-producing nation as it seeks to re-engage with global financial markets.
This initiative is part of a broader strategy to finance the significant budget deficit outlined in President Bola Tinubu‘s N28.8 trillion ($18 billion) spending plan for 2024, which projects a fiscal shortfall of N9.8 trillion, or 3.8 percent of the GDP.
The exact size of the Eurobond offer has yet to be determined.
However, sources close to the transaction, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the platform that Nigeria could aim to secure up to $1 billion in international loans throughout 2024.
This external financing is deemed critical for the country to manage its ambitious fiscal deficit. The shortfall is expected to be covered through a mix of local and international borrowings, alongside support from global financial institutions.
In a related development, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, revealed that the decision to issue Eurobonds was influenced by the potential for lower interest rates and ongoing economic reforms.
Since taking office in May 2023, President Tinubu has introduced several policies to attract foreign investment and revitalise the economy.
These include two devaluations of the naira to establish a more flexible exchange rate regime and the controversial removal of fuel subsidies.
Furthermore, the Federal Government has disclosed plans to borrow N450 billion from its third FGN bond auction of 2024, a significant reduction from the N2.5 trillion target of the previous month.
According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), this auction will feature a new 3-year bond and the reopening of existing bonds, with the collective aim of financing the 2024 budget deficit.
With the DMO’s recent circular announcing the auction details, including the offer of three different bonds, each with an allocation of N150 billion, the government’s N450 billion borrowing target for March 2024 is set.
The Federal Government has filed a Charge, bordering on terrorism, against the President of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Bodejo.
Bodejo has been in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency since his arrest on January 23.
The Miyetti Allah leader was arrested in Nasarawa State days after the organisation launched a vigilante group named, Kungiya Zaman Lafiya.
At the inauguration of the 1,144-man Fulani outfit on January 17, 2024, Bodejo said the move was to tackle banditry, cattle rustling and all forms of insecurity in Nasarawa State.
Following his arrest, the Miyetti Allah leader filed a fundamental rights suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja to challenge his prolonged detention.
In response, the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi(SAN), on February 5 filed a motion ex parte, seeking to remand Bodejo pending the conclusion of the investigation and arraignment in court.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, who is hearing Bodejo’s suit, granted the Federal Government permission to detain him for 15 days in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency.
Subsequently, the judge ordered the Federal Government to either file charges against the Miyetti Allah leader or release him.
At the resumed proceedings on Wednesday, the judge asked the counsel for the prosecution, Y.A. Imana, if charges had been filed against Bodejo.
“The court made an order that you should charge the defendant before a court of competent jurisdiction. Where is the evidence that you filed before this court?” The judge demanded.
In response, the lawyer told the judge, “It was filed yesterday.”
The judge, however, said the charge was not before him.
Our correspondent also observed that the DIA did not bring Bodejo to court.
However, in the charge sheet sighted by the correspondent, the Federal Government accused Bodejo of establishing an ethnic militia group without authorisation.
The Federal Government stated that Bodejo’s action was “prejudicial to national security and public safety and punishable under Section 29 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.”
Bodejo’s lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, subsequently urged the court to hear his bail application pending his client’s arraignment.
The prosecution counsel, however, opposed the prayer for bail.
“We pray this court will dismiss the application of the defendant because it is a matter that touches on national security,” the Federal Government’s lawyer said.
Justice Ekwo adjourned till March 22 for ruling on Bodejo’s bail application.
Meanwhile, some members of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, in their numbers, stormed the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, to demand Bodejo’s unconditional.
They held a big banner bearing a large picture of Bodejo and the inscription “Free Bello Bodejo”. Others, mostly women, lined along the road with placards in hand.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Kabir Matazu, decried the DIA’s disobedience to court orders directing that Bodejo be tried or released.
He said, “We are in a democratic society and in a democratic society, respect for the rule of law is the building block for democracy to thrive. You cannot arbitrarily arrest and detain an individual without a charge against him.
“That’s why we have gathered our members from across the country to come here to agitate and also make our voice heard that the Nigerian security agencies should, without further delay, free and release him unconditionally.”
Matazu lamented that Bodejo’s family and friends had yet to see him since he was arrested.
Matazu said, “It is sad that up till now, his family members were not granted access to see him.
“He is not a criminal. He has no criminal record. He will not run away and leave this country. So, if not because of the failure of our security agencies, there are bandits in the forest who they should have gone after.”
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has decried the country’s high crude oil theft rate.
Kyari, who spoke during the oversight function conducted by the House of Representatives Special Committee on Oil Theft at the NNPCL headquarters in Abuja, on Wednesday (today), revealed that the company documented 9000 infractions on its pipelines within a single year.
According to him, from 2022 to the present, the company has shut down 6,465 illegal refineries.
Kyari noted further that out of the 5,570 illegal connections discovered, 4,876 have been removed from the pipelines.
The NNPCL boss expressed uncertainty regarding whether this was the actual number of illegal connections.
He said, “Some of the scale of the infraction that we see is unbelievable; we are not able to deal with it. When you remove one connection, the next day in the same location, someone will replace it.
“Crude oil theft is almost an end-to-end issue in Nigeria; it is very obvious that everyone is involved.
“In most of these locations, they are less than a hundred meters from the settlement; some are even less than a hundred meters from the local government headquarters.”
Kyari said that notwithstanding the distance, “these evils are being perpetrated unabated, adding that this makes it impossible to guarantee the production that would happen the next day.”
He mentioned that the primary concern was security, and highlighted that the NNPCL took steps to address the problem of pipeline vandalism by uniting all security agencies under one platform, which also included private security firms.
Kyari said: “It is very obvious that despite all the integrity issues with our pipeline and our facilities, we have capacity beyond 2 million barrels per day without doing anything.
“But today, we are struggling to meet the budget estimate of 1.6 million barrels per day. This by no means is related to crude oil theft.
“In 2022, it became so obvious that if something dramatic is not done, we are going to run into trouble. On a specific date, our production came down to as low as 1.1 million barrels per day. And on a particular date, we have gone below a million barrels,” Daily Trust quoted Kyari saying.
On his part, the Chairman of the Special Committee, Rep. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, emphasized the significant difficulties faced in operating oil and gas pipelines in Nigeria.
He highlighted the frequent occurrences of infractions and damages to these pipelines on a weekly basis.
Additionally, he expressed concern over the continuous breaches at oil well heads, flow stations, loading, and export terminals.
Ado-Doguwa also raised an alarm regarding the lack of transparency in regulatory activities at Nigeria’s crude oil export terminals.
He said, “We are compiling the facts and figures. Instances, where approvals are hastily granted to vessels involved in crude theft just to cover official complicity, are reported.
“Incidences of undeclared liftings are noted, and all these and several other infractions, particularly in our offshore marine environment, contribute to the huge volume of crude oil theft being reported.”
In his opinion, there is no denying the fact that Nigeria has been plagued by extensive crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, with a significant portion of these incidents taking place in the Niger Delta region.
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lifted the ban on trade relations with the Republic of Niger and Republic of Guinea.
This was made known in a statement by the spokesperson to the President.
According to the statement, President Bola Tinubu also directed the opening of Nigeria’s land and air borders with Niger with immediate effect.
The directive is in compliance with the decisions of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its extraordinary summit on February 24, 2024, in Abuja.
ECOWAS leaders had agreed to lift economic sanctions against the Republic of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.
“The President has directed that the following sanctions imposed on the Republic of Niger be lifted immediately:
“Closure of land and air borders between Nigeria and Niger Republic, as well as ECOWAS no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from Niger Republic.
“Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between Nigeria and Niger, as well as freeze of all service transactions, including utility services and electricity to Niger Republic.
“Freeze of assets of the Republic of Niger in ECOWAS Central Banks and freeze of assets of the Republic of Niger, state enterprises, and parastatals in commercial banks.
“Suspension of Niger from all financial assistance and transactions with all financial institutions, particularly EBID and BOAD.
“Travel bans on government officials and their family members,” the statement read in part.
Tinubu also approved the lifting of financial and economic sanctions against the Republic of Guinea.
The Presidential team on communications has given clarifications on the suspended student loan scheme noting that it was suspended partly to put finishing touches to ensure that the less privileged in the society actually get to benefit.
Recall that the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, Akintunde Sawyer, had announced the indefinite postponement of the scheme during a TV interview on Tuesday.
President Tinubu had on June 12, 2023, signed the Access to Higher Education Act, 2023 into law to enable indigent students to access interest-free loans for their educational pursuits in any Nigerian tertiary institution.
The Act established the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which is expected to handle all loan requests, grants, disbursement, and recovery.
The legislation provides for the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which will have the power to administer, supervise, coordinate, and monitor the management of student loans in the country.
Based on the provisions of the legislation, the fund is expected to receive and screen applications for student loans through higher institutions on behalf of the applicants.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by President Tinubu at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said: “In addition to that, you know that the President has also introduced the issue of social security and consumer credit. We mentioned that in the last press briefing we had.”
“So all these are being taken together and Mr. President is not stopping or suspending the students’ loan. Indeed, he’s ensuring that it comes about strongly so that Nigerians and especially the families of the less privileged, take advantage of that so that they can get education.”
Similarly, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, stated that final touches are being put in place to enable proper launch of the scheme which he described as the President’s flagship programme.
Onanuga disclosed that there will be a new date to launch the student loan scheme, it’s not forgotten.
“There are some things that need to be rearranged so that it can be launched properly. I think that’s what’s happening.
“So the President is committed to it, you know it’s one of his flagship programmes and he wants to get it done as quickly as possible,” he said.
Senator Abdul Ningi says the can of worms he opened in the Senate cannot be controlled.
The Senate slammed a 3-month suspension on Ningi, lawmaker representing Bauchi Central, over the allegations that N3.7 trillion was not traceable to any project in the 2024 budget.
The lawmaker made the claim in an interview he granted to BBC Hausa over the weekend.
Based on the wide interest generated by the issue, Ningi had addressed the media ahead of the next plenary sitting, saying although he was misrepresented in some quarters, he stood by what he said and was ready for any consequence.
Expectedly, when the upper legislative chamber sat on Tuesday, the issue was discussed as some of Ningi’s colleagues called for his suspension.
After Senator Olamilekan Adeola from Ogun West moved a motion for the issue to be discussed, the senate descended into chaos as Jarigbe Jarigbe, senator representing Cross River north, claimed that some “senior senators” got N500 million in the budget for constituency projects.
“Let us wash our dirty linen in public. If we want to go into those issues, all of us are culpable. Some senators here… so called ‘senior senators’… got N500 million each. I am a ranking senator, so I didn’t get. Did I go to the press?”
The discussion has dominated the media as many Nigerians have been asking their representatives at the senate to comment on the amount they got.
Speaking on the development when he featured as a guest on Arise TV after the suspension, Ningi claimed that members of the Senate were determined to get him silenced or arrested.
He said: “That is why I said I know this parliament very well, I have come a long way. And that is why we are speaking. Let’s speak. Have they ever asked me since the beginning of this so-called crisis, where are your findings? Where are the documents? I’m not using my head to come up with figures.
“Nobody has talked to me about evidence. Nobody has suggested even listening to me. All they are trying to do is to ensure that ‘how do we make sure that Ningi is silenced or arrested so that he doesn’t do anything?’. I have opened this can of worms. Neither they nor I will be able to control it.”
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday reiterated his directives to security agencies and the ministry of defence that no ransom should be paid by the government to kidnappers, bandits, or any criminal elements for the release of abducted persons.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by the President at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
This is coming on the heels of the reported cases of kidnapped children in Kaduna State who are still held in captivity by their abductors and are demanding billions of money for their release.
He said, “In council today, Mr. President reiterated his directive to the security agencies and the ministry of defence to ensure that those of our kids that have been abducted by these criminal gangs are brought back to their homes safely.
“And Mr President has also reiterated his zero tolerance for payment of ransom. That was also mentioned by Mr. President at the council today. So the security agencies are working around the clock.
“So these children and people that have been abducted by criminal elements will be brought back to safety pretty soon. The security agencies are working hard in that direction. And Mr. President has also directed that no ransom will be paid by government to any of these criminal elements. It is important that it be put out there.”
While fielding questions on the increasing wave of kidnapping in the country, the Minister said, “You’re also asking about the apparent surge in this kidnapping across the country. Now it is true that some of these are happening, we have seen what has happened in Kaduna, in Borno, and then in Sokoto.
“Of course, the government is watching that very closely and not just watching but also ensuring that security agencies are taking proactive steps to ensure that this is halted significantly.
Now, like I said, Mr. President has said that it is an unacceptable situation, and the government will not condone abductions or kidnappings, or any kind of criminality in that direction. We’re seeing this happening, and the government is taking very proactive steps, first to mitigate that, and also to stop the spread of this apparently.
“We are seeing that the more the security agencies are also hitting these targets or criminals, the more they are pushed to also get some soft targets. But the government is not taking any excuses.
“The President has directed that security agencies must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back in safety and also in the process to ensure that not a dime is paid for ransom.
“So it’s important to underscore that the government is not paying anybody any dime, and the government is optimistic that these children and other people that have been abducted will be brought back to their families in safety.”