Showing posts with label POLITICS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label POLITICS. Show all posts
Tuesday, 11 July 2017
Friday, 7 July 2017
I will become Nigeria’s president through divine intervention - Ayo Fayose says
I will become Nigeria’s president through divine intervention - Ayo Fayose says
"It is carnality that makes you look at me and think I cannot be president. I am the man to watch in this generation. I surely will become the president. Something has to give way for you to manifest,” he said
Monday, 3 July 2017
INEC releases timetable and schedule of activities for the recall of Dino Melaye
INEC releases timetable and schedule of activities for the recall of Dino Melaye
Tuesday, 27 June 2017
'Your lack of knowledge is worrisome' - Fashola fires at Nigerian Senate over alteration on Ministries budget
'Your lack of knowledge is worrisome' - Fashola fires at Nigerian Senate over alteration on Ministries budget
He argues that the Senators do not have the power to alter the budget, but the senators argue that they have the constitutional right to do do. In this statement released by his media aide, Hakeem Bello, Fashola said the senate's lack of wisdom on issues such as this is quite worrisome. Read the statement after the cut...
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN has expressed deep concern over the recourse of the National Assembly’s Spokespersons to name calling over his observations on the 2017 Budget.
In a Press Release signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Hakeem Bello, the Minister said he was worried that the National Assembly Spokespersons failed to address the fundamental points about development- hindering whimsical cuts in the allocations to several vital projects under the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as well as other Ministries.
Fashola had, in a recent interview while acknowledging that Legislators could contribute to budget making, disagreed with the practice where the legislative arm of Government unilaterally alters the Budget after putting members of the Executive through Budget Defence Sessions and Committee Hearings to the extent that some of the projects proposed would have become materially altered.
While acknowledging the need for legislative input from the representatives of the people to bring forward their developmental aspirations before and during the Budget production process, the Minister had observed that it amounted to a waste of tax payers money and an unnecessary distortion of orderly planning and development for all sections of the country, for lawmakers to unilaterally insert items not under the Exclusive or Concurrent lists of the Constitution like boreholes and streetlights after putting Ministries , Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through the process of Budget Defence.
Specifically with regards to the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Fashola listed the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway, the Bodo- Bonny road, the Kano-Maiduguri road, the Second Niger Bridge and the long drawn Mambilla Hydropower Project among others as those that the National Assembly materially altered the allocations in favour of scores of boreholes and primary health care centres which were never discussed during the Ministerial Budget Defence before Parliament.
In their responses both the Spokespersons of the Senate and the House of Representatives accused the Minister of spreading “Half-Truths” and making “Fallacious “ statements because he (Fashola) should have known that they only interfered with projects that had concession agreements and private sector funding components. They also accused the Minister of wanting to hold on to such projects in order that he may continue to award contracts.
However, while dismissing the allegations in the course of an official trip outside the country, Fashola said it was sad that the lawmakers would resort to name calling even without understanding the facts of what they were getting into. Taking the projects which the lawmakers chose to focus on one after the other, the Minister insisted that there is no subsisting concession agreement on the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway adding that what the Infrastructure Construction Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has is a financing agreement from a consortium of banks which is like a loan that still has to be paid back through budgetary provisions.
There is no fallacy or half truth in the allegation that the budgets were reduced. The Spokespersons admitted this much and now sought to rationalize it by a concession or financing arrangement that has failed to build the road since 2006. The biggest momentum seen on the road was in 2016.
In the case of the Second Niger Bridge where one of the Spokespersons alleged that the provision in 2016 budget was not spent and had to be returned, Fashola said that this displays very stark and worrisome gaps in knowledge of the Spokesperson about the budget process he was addressing.
According to him, a budget is not cash. It is an approval of estimates of expenditure to be financed by cash from the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Finance has not yet released any cash for the Second Niger Bridge, so no money was returned.
Three phases of Early Works of piling and foundation was approved and financed by the previous Government in the hope that a concession will finally be issued, which has not happened because concessionaires have not been able to raise finance.
The continuation of Early Works IV could not start in May 2016 when the budget was passed because of high water level in the River Niger in the rainy season.
The contract was only approved by the Federal Executive Council in the first quarter of 2017 and the contractor is awaiting payment.
Dismissing the allegation that the Ministry under him was holding on to projects that could be funded through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) so that he could award contracts as a tissue of lies, the Minister said from Day One of his assumption of office, he made it clear publicly and privately that his priority would be to finish as many of the several hundreds of projects that his Ministry inherited which had not been funded for close to three years.
According to Fashola, if the Spokesperson was in tune with the Public Procurement Law which the National Assembly passed, he would realize that the Minister has no unilateral power to award such contracts whose values are in Billions of Naira, adding that all the new projects presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval were either Federal roads requested by State Governments or those put in the Budget by the Legislators to service their constituencies.
Fashola stated that the focus on contracts by the Spokesperson is probably a Freudian slip that reveals his mindset and interests; when indeed he should be focused on Developmental projects that strengthen the economy, which is the focus of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan endorsed by the legislature.
Also responding to the issues that the Budget for the Mambila Power Project was slashed because it contained a “ whooping N17 bn” for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the Minister said there was indeed a mis-description of that particular Expenditure Head which could have happened during the classification of so many thousands of Budget heads in the Budget estimates.
According to him, what was described as a Budget Head for EIA was actually the nation’s counterpart funding to the China- EXIM loan to fund the building of the Mambila Project , adding that this was brought to his attention only after it had been slashed and that if the intention was not to slash arbitrarily it should have been brought to his attention to explain. “At a joint meeting convened at the instance of the Budget Minister when I complained that the budget was slashed, the issue of EIA was brought to my attention and I explained what it was meant for,” Fashola said.
On the issue of the N20 Billion provision in the Ministry’s Budget which the Spokesperson alleged that the Minister failed to give details of, Fashola said the Spokesperson is hiding behind a finger.
The Minister explained that it was a very basic principle of good planning to make provision for unforeseen contingencies adding that in the 2016 Budget , a similar provision enabled the Ministry to respond to the failures of the Tamburawa Bridge in Sokoto, the Ijora Bridge in Lagos and the Gada Hudu Bridge in Koto Karfe along the Abuja – Lokoja Highway. Similarly, the Ministry was able to pay N1BN to the Contractor handling the Suleja to Minna road.
The recent failures caused by flooding along Tegina-Mokwa-Jebba road and Tatabu in Niger State could not have been provided because they were not foreseen and there may be more. “ This is what good planning is about ,“ Fashola said.
Noting that the Senate Spokesperson missed the point in the haste to cast aspersions on him because he was not at the meetings he was speaking about, Fashola said he would have expected a more sober approach to the matter. “ In any event, allegations of half truth is only a flawed response to the constitutional and developmental issues that have plagued Nigeria from 1999 about how to budget for the critical infrastructure in Nigeria. It shows the conflict between the Executive that wants to build big Federal Highways; Bridges ; Power Plants; Rail; and Dams on one hand and Parliament that wants to do small things like Bore holes , Health Centres , Street lights and supplying grinding machines ,” he said.
According to the Minister, being an institutional and not a personal issue, it won’t be out of place to seek a resolution of the conflict at the Supreme Court in order to protect the country’s future, because it is a clear conflict about how best to serve the people.
“ As long as Budgets planned to deliver life changing infrastructure are cut into small pieces, Nigeria will continue to have small projects that are not life changing , and big projects that have not been completed in 17 years . If a project would cost N15 Billion and the contractor gets only a fraction of that, then things won’t move. Success should be defined by how many projects an administration is able to complete or set on the path of irreversible completion and not how many poorly funded contracts are awarded,” he said.
Monday, 26 June 2017
"If we don't get a referendum on Biafra's independence, there will be no elections in the South East"- IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, says in new interview
"If we don't get a referendum on Biafra's independence, there will be no elections in the South East"- IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, says in new interview
"There will be no election in Biafra land. No more elections. They can put whoever they like in office, they can do whatever they like with their political positions but we will not engage in any political process".Making reference to the various attacks by herdsmen, Kanu said although the Biafran agitation is a peaceful one, they would require arms and ammunition for self defense.
"I am sure you have heard about the Fulani herdsmen killing people all over the place. So how do you intend to defend yourself against the Fulani people who have guns and bullets. They have been killing our people, raping our women, destroying crops in the farms. No one has done anything about it. Is that how human beings are supposed to live? Self defense is recognized even by the laws in the UN. We have the right. If someone were to barge into this interview and is wielding a machete or an AK 47, are you suggesting we should let them get away with it".Kanu described Nigeria as an uncivilized country. He said he was not treated fairly by the Nigerian judicial system.
"I was not treated fairly. Nigeria is not a civilized country. People behave like animals. They are not reasonable enough. They are not disciplined. They are not mentally developed enough to run a transparent civil society They have a fiddle mindset where you have the ruling class and a multitude of poverty stricken who never utter any word in rebellion or to even ask questions about their plight. That is one thing we are determined to challenge".When asked how he feels using such words to describe Nigerians, Kanu said
"I am being very kind to be honest. I could have used far more harsh words to describe them. I am being very kind. Perhaps there are a few good people among them but as a collective, it is a complete mess and you can see for yourself. You look through the road, you see how horrible they are. Don't you see how unkempt everywhere is? How filthy and dirty everywhere is? That is the product of a Nigerian system that is uniquely backwards even by the very third world standards of black Africa".According to Kanu, Biafra existed before the British came into Nigeria
"We were existing before the British came. Just allow us to go back to what we were before. No African came to Europe to create countries, so for somebody to just come here and say you, you and you are now Nigerians is simply laughable".Watch the video below...
Saturday, 24 June 2017
River State governor Nyesom Wike sacks all his commissioners
River State governor Nyesom Wike sacks all his commissioners
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, has dismissed all his commissioners, just 24 hours after the Commissioner for Information, Austin Tam-George, resigned from the cabinet.
A statement issued Saturday by the governor’s spokesperson, Simeon Nwakaudu, directed the commissioners to hand over to the permanent secretaries in their respective ministries.
“Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has dissolved the State Executive Council. The governor directed all former commissioners to handover to their respective Permanent Secretaries. Governor Wike thanked the former commissioners for their service to the state and wished them well in their future endeavours.”
The statement did not give reasons for the termination of the commissioners' appointments.
Governor Wike had earlier sacked his Commissioner for Works, Bathuel Harrison.
The governor has now joined the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha and Governor of Abia state, Okezie Ikpeazu who also dissolved their cabinet this year.
Saturday, 17 June 2017
Abia State governor sacks all his commissioners, including top officials
Abia State governor sacks all his commissioners, including top officials
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state has dismissed the state executive council, including commissioners and special advisers as well as senior special assistants.
The Permanent Secretary, Government House, Mr. Onyii Wamah, announced the dissolution in a statement posted on the government’s website on Friday night.
According to the permanent secretary, the governor retained his Chief of Staff, Mr. Sunny Nwakodo, Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Obinna Oriaku and Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the state, Chief Umeh Kalu (SAN).
No reason was given for the dissolution but there are speculations that it was after the commissioners and other officials presented their scorecards at a forum attended by the governor between May 28 and May 29.
The statement also announced the appointment of three special advisers to the governor, including the former Commissioner of Works, Mr. Eziuche Ubani, who was appointed as the Special Adviser on Works and Project Monitoring.
Others were Mr. Emma Nwabuko and Mr. Solomon Ogunji, who were appointed as Special Adviser/Personal Secretary to the Governor and Special Adviser on Urban Renewal, respectively.
Last month, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State also dismissed his entire cabinet members in what was said to be a strategic bid to restrengthen his administration.
Monday, 12 June 2017
Afenifere chieftain Ayo Adebanjo calls for restructuring, says the present arrangement only benefits the north
Afenifere chieftain Ayo Adebanjo calls for restructuring, says the present arrangement only benefits the north
He went as far as to lay the blame for the poor state we find ourselves in squarely at the foot of Northern Nigeria.
He said they took advantage of their long years as absolute rulers in military regimes to skew the balance in their favour and will fight to keep it that way. He also called out Yoruba leaders in the APC who he believes have chosen to stay silent in the face of the present state of affairs. This interview is a must read. Read more here
FG to submit 2018 budget to NASS by October 2017 and have it passed into law by Dec 2017- Osinbajo
FG to submit 2018 budget to NASS by October 2017 and have it passed into law by Dec 2017- Osinbajo
Saturday, 10 June 2017
Photos: Kogi residents file out to sign recall register for Senator Dino Melaye
Photos: Kogi residents file out to sign recall register for Senator Dino Melaye
According to Dino, that the state governor, Yahaya Bello, is behind the recall exercise. On his Facebook wall this morning, he wrote;
"Yahaya Bello: on recall of Dino Melaye,he is shooting the Moon and boxing the air. Spending over one billion naira tax payers money on an unproductive venture when salaries and pensions have not been paid is wicked. I will continue to defend the poor and defenseless masses of kogi state. If I die I die. We must rescue the state".More photos below...
Ango Abdullahi is not speaking for us – Northern Elders Forum say
Ango Abdullahi is not speaking for us – Northern Elders Forum say
However the deputy chairman of NEF, Elder Paul Unongo, says Abdullahi is on his own in backing the ignorant youths.
“I am the Deputy Leader of the Northern Elders Forum and Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Sule is the leader. So, only the two of us can speak for the forum on sensitive matter like this. Therefore, if Professor Ango Abdullahi is backing those ignorant youths, then he is speaking for himself. We cannot support the nonsense those boys said. We fought civil war with our blood to keep Nigeria one. So, any Nigerian can live in any part of the country he feels like. Igbos are welcome in the North, they are welcome in Yoruba land and my own village in Tiv land and they have right to pursue their daily bread and own property. We couldn’t have killed three million people to keep Nigeria one and come back and allow these kids (the Northern Youth Groups) to insult our intelligence. We knew why we fought the war, we knew why we killed the people we loved. We knew why we made the sacrifice of three million men dead. So, Northern Elders Forum cannot take same position as those young men, if at all they took a position. So, if the young men cannot build a nation, they should not destroy the one we put our lives on the line to build for them. We cannot allow young men who did not fight the civil war with us to destroy our country, because Nigeria cannot afford another civil war,” he said.
Friday, 9 June 2017
Photos: Check out the mansion allegedly owned by the PA of former NDDC official, George Turnah
Photos: Check out the mansion allegedly owned by the PA of former NDDC official, George Turnah
Wednesday, 7 June 2017
INEC registers APDA, four other new parties
INEC registers APDA, four other new parties
The new parties are Young Progressive Party (YPP), Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance (APDA), New Generation Party of Nigeria (NGP), All Democratic Peoples Movement (ADPM) and Action Democratic Party (ADP). APDA is the new party floated by former AIT chairman, Raymond Dokpesi and former Chairman of Labor party, Dan Anyanwu two days ago.
Sunday, 4 June 2017
FG raises alarm over increase in the spread of fake news in Nigeria
FG raises alarm over increase in the spread of fake news in Nigeria
In a statement issued in Abuja today, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said over this weekend alone, several major cases of fake news were recorded, each of them capable of causing panic, triggering chaos or setting one group against the other.
He said a gory video of a blast that occurred many years ago is being circulated along with the false news of a bomb blast in Abuja, while news of a non-existent bomb blast in Lagos was also widely circulated, forcing the police to promptly debunk the fake news.
Mohammed also said the latest strategy being employed by the purveyors of fake news is to attribute to top government officials improbable statements that are capable of destabilizing the polity, causing tension and threatening the country's unity.
''This is why we are appealing to Nigerians not to ever engage in a knee-jerk reaction to any news, and to subject every information to a very serious scrutiny by checking with security agencies and government spokespersons,'' he said.The Minister described the fake news phenomenon as 'the scourge of our times' which will probably get worse in the months ahead, hence the need for all Nigerians to be very vigilant so that fake news purveyors do not succeed in their quest to sow the seeds of chaos and confusion.
He also appealed to the traditional media, which has a reputation to protect, to join the campaign against the purveyors of fake news, especially because the websites of many reputable media organizations are being parodied and used to spread false information in order to gain some modicum of credibility.
''On our part, we will not relent until we have exposed those who are behind this fake news phenomenon and brought them to justice,'' Alhaji Mohammed said.
Buhari has never succeeded in any of his private businesses, is it a coincidence then that Nigeria went into recession just months after he was sworn in? - Reno Omokri
Thursday, 1 June 2017
The National Assembly has finally passed the 2017 budget into law.
2017 BudgetN’Assembly passes Buhari’s N7.44tn ‘Budget of Recovery and Growth’
The National Assembly has finally passed the 2017 budget into law.
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President Buhari during Budget 2017 presentation
(Guardian Nigeria)The National Assembly has passed the 2017 budget into law.
The Senate passed this year’s appropriation act through third reading on Thursday, May 11, 2017.
Earlier, the 2017 appropriation act passed through third reading at the House of Representatives.
President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the appropriation bill christened ‘Budget of Recovery and Growth’ on December 14, 2017.
The Senate committee on appropriation chaired by Senator Danjuma Goje failed to submit its report on Thursday, May 9, 2017 – a day before the expiration of the 2016 budget.
Pulse recalls that Senator Goje had alleged that the Police hijacked part of the 2017 budget during a raid of his residential apartment in April.
The joint committee on appropriation finally submitted the document to the Senate at plenary on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.
The report indicated that the committee increased the budget to N7.44tn, representing an addition of about N143bn to the one presented by President Buhari.
According to the document, N434.4bn is for statutory transfer, N1.84tn for debt servicing and N177.46bn is for sinking fund for maturing bonds.
Also, N2.99tn was appropriated for recurrent (Non-Debt) expenditure, while N2.17tn was provided for contribution to the development fund for Capital Expenditure.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu urged the executive to ensure speedy assent and implementation of the 2017 budget.
Senate leader, Ahmed Lawan noted that the 2016 budget performance was far better than that of the previous year by over 10 per cent.
Lawan noted that if implemented, the budget would meets its aim of economic recovery and growth.
He called on the National Assembly to ensure effective and close oversight of the projects contained in the 2017 budget.
Minority leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio called for equal implementation of the budget across all states of
the country.
Buhari Senate confirms 15 RECs President Buhari had forwarded the names of 27 RECs to the Senate for confirmation.l
BuhariSenate confirms 15 RECs
President Buhari had forwarded the names of 27 RECs to the Senate for confirmation.l
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Senate Plenary
(PT)After over two months of delay, the Nigerian Senate has confirmed 15 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday, March 23, 2017, forwarded the names of 27 RECs to the Senate for confirmation.
But, chairman of the senate committee on INEC, Suleiman Nazif, while presenting his report at plenary on Thursday, 01 June 2017, explained that the other 12 nominees were still undergoing screening.
He said if cleared, the 12 others would be presented to the Senate for confirmation.
“All the nominees were also cleared by the security agencies,” Nafiz said.
The REC nominees who were confirmed by the Senate are;
1.Godswill Obioma, Abia (new appointment)
2. Ahmed Makama, Bauchi (reappointment)
3. James Apam, Benue (new appointment)
4. Nwachukwu Orji, Ebonyi (new appointment)
5. Iloh Chuks, Enugu (new appointment)
6. Nentawe Yilwada, Plateau (new appointment)
7. Umar Ibrahim, Taraba (new appointment)
8. Emeka Joseph, Imo (new appointment)
9. Obo Effanga, Cross River (new appointment)
10. Francis Ezeonu, Anambra (new appointment)
11. Briyai Frankland, Bayelsa (new appointment)
12. Ibrahim Abdullahi, Adamawa (new appointment)
13. Agboke Olaleke, Ogun (new appointment)
14. Hussaini Pai, FCT (reappointment)
15. Sadiq Musa, Kaduna (reappointment)
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