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N70billion NASS funds: Falana, others taking nonsense, Senate fumes *We need our comfort
The Senate has said that there was no padding of the supplementary budget, saying it was not prepared to join issues with those it described as some misguided and mischief makers on the recently appropriated N70bn for the National Assembly which they have mischievously described as a “gift” from the Executive arm of government.
In a statement Sunday in Abuja by the Chairman,, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, the Senate also said that the passage of the Supplementary Appropriation Act was part of the constitutional duties of the Senate to accommodate funding for the Federal Government’s Palliative for the Nigerian public among other National demands.
The statement read: “After the passage of the Supplementary Budget to accommodate funding for Federal Government’ Palliative for the Nigerian public, among other urgent national demands, the socio-political space has been inundated with spurious, inaccurate and irreverent misinterpretations.
“Suffice to say that the passage is part of the absolute constitutional duty of the Senate. We would therefore, not wish to join issues with the mischief and misrepresentation that a portion of the just passed Amendment Act that appropriated 70b Naira was a ‘gift’ to the Legislators.
“A visit to the Suites, offices and the general structures of the National Assembly complex would reveal a yawning and the need for exigent attention. Many Senators had to bring their chairs, tables and electronics and in many cases, do sundry repairs.
“The so much debated allocation will not be paid to any Legislator. This will be managed by the National Assembly Bureaucracy. It’s pertinent to also note that the National Assembly complex does not house only the Legislators. There are thousands of workers and service providers, whose working environment need a face-lift, and/with necessary tools.
“Since the Assembly Complex is not owned by Legislators who are merely political birds of passage, such allocation cannot be termed by anyone as a palliative to the Legislators. The alleged padding of the palliatve Budget by the National Assembly only exists in the minds of those who are all out to discredit the 10th Assembly. There is nothing like padding as being alleged in some misinformed media outfits.
“We wish to urge fellow compatriots to see the National Assembly as partners in the progress of Nigeria.The National Assembly is the soul of democracy and the 10th Senate shall join hands with other arms of government and our forward looking Nigerians to sing new songs of progress, development, safety and all round economic recovery and growth.
Adaramodu had said, immediately after the approvals that: “Yes, the other issue which the Senate treated is the issue of N500 billion palliatives which the President asked for in order to cushion the negative effects of the fuel subsidy removal on the common Nigerians. Definitely, that may not be enough because there are many other aspects which the government can delve into especially as we learnt that government has been having talks with the organised Labour, and I think the Federal Government is going to do something in that area.
“But in the immediate, what is the stopgap for especially the dependent Nigerians so as to lift them up before other palliatives come. We feel the problems too, and that is why we believe that the average Nigerians must be assisted because we are running a human face government. When we are running face government, then everything that will be done must be targeted at Nigeria. That is why we expeditiously aceded to the request of Mr. President because appropriations belong to the National Assembly. So, no Kobo can be spent without appropriating it by the National Assembly. It took us time to pass it because we have all pointers that this palliative is going to yield result. It is going to touch those people that it supposed to touch. So, that is why it was passed.
“Then, on the issue of $800 million, which is like a social security scheme, which the Federal Government has sourced for because we know that the N500 billion cannot do the magic; so the $800 million will follow in and assisting Nigerians overcome the economic hardship in the country. So, that is why we approved these requests by Mr. President.
“You know we were not part of the previous palliatives, and for this 10th Senate, when we asked questions because all of are concerned; my town is concerned, my Senatorial District is concerned and my State is concerned, and every other person. So, we were not part of any previous palliatives and we are not concerned about what was given before. I am not aware of whatever palliatives that had been done before but what is on ground is that when we asked questions about data, data was supplied; and when we asked questions about modus operandi, modus operandi was supplied.
“Therefore, there is no reason and there is no point that we should doubt the veracity of those explanations, empirical one for that matter. Another thing is that, even when you talk about palliatives in the past, fuel subsidy had never been removed before. So, this one is that fuel subsidy had been removed and everybody knows that one. And this one is targeted to cushion the effect of an action of government, to shore up the economy of Nigeria. Therefore, this one cannot go the way of the others. We all know that there had never been a time the government came to the National Assembly to ask for palliatives. It used to be through a Ministry such Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. But this one is a direct Federal Government dealing with the citizens and we don’t have any reason to doubt the genuineness of the scheme.”
Adaramodu also spoke on why the government sought to $800million loan, sayind: “We are all journalists, we know that this issue of $800 million came up towards the end of the last government. The opinion of many Nigerians was that, when it was just few days to go, where will you expend it? Can you bring up a very good agenda of how you are going to expend it? And if any such money is coming to the coffers of Nigeria, it has to be legislated and it must be targeted at something. And you know that it is a World Bank facility. It has been on before the advent of this government.
“So, it is not borrowing, it is for the national social safety net. So, it is very different from the palliatives targeted specifically at Nigerians and to be sourced among Nigerians. It is not borrowing; it is not a loan, we are not approving a loan for the Federal Government. It is a World Bank assisted facility that has been there before the 10th Senate.
“But any money that is coming from outside or that is being taken out of Nigeria coffers must be legislated upon, so that is what we did today. I have always being recommending something. When ever appropriation is done, let us avail ourselves of the opportunity of reading through. So that oversighting does not reside only with Assembly people even we as journalists can oversight. So if we oversight very well we know that, not a new thing as a budget.
“When you look at all items here they were part of 2022 budgetary provision. The only one that is new is that N500b which had to be sourced for within the budget that had been in existence. So any other budget tittle or heading that is there. Because of the N500b we now first line charge towards the next budget of 2024 which have to start from September. That is the implication. I always say one thing. Even if it is 10k in the budget they write National Assemby that is what Nigerians will first talk about.
“The would have forgotten that National Assembly is not only about senators or house representatives members only. We cannot give ourselves salary, it is not possible, it is illegal. That person will go to jail,there is an organ RAMFAC that do that. Either salary or allowance National Assembly cannot give themselves kobold. They can’t add or even subtract. RAMFAC will never do it for only National Assembly. When they are doing it they will do it for everybody and they have no reason to do it and it has never been done. Nothing like that has ever happened. Even when I read sometimes ago, 831% increase, whatever. I said where’d did that one come from.
“When they gave me my salary for May, I found out it did not change, it was the same thing with 2019 salary of June 2019. That 4 years, my salary never changed. But it is good that we are very alive to it, we have even forgotten that NASS includes all those people that work here, messengers and all sorts. You don’t know if I senator Daramodu is not here many Nigerians too will not be here. They will be unemployed too. Those people who sweep the office, they are there because I am there. There will not just include them to start sweeping outside there, the drivers, the sweepers, and several others and consider even the energy, power and so on.
“When you look at it, it will be paid by the budget allocated to the National Assembly. So when you see National Assembly it is not definitely members. If we avail ourselves of having looked at 2022 budget very well you will find out that nothing there is new. The only thing that is new there is that N500b. Why all other things must be brought forward is that we must show it in appropriation to make it a law that yes, these have been like this, these have been like this, we remove N5 from here N2 from there and N3, we joined them to make N10, that is that N10 that we are spending but everything must still come together. So it is not anything to anybody. Our salary, has not increased, allowances have not increased. If it is going to I will clap for myself.”
Chidi Odinkalu, Nigeria’s fiery lawyer, law teacher and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), is emphatic that President Bola Tinubu is pushing to perpetuate himself in office, beginning with gaming the electoral process in 2027.
Odinkalu, Professor of Practice in International Human Rights Law at the Fletcher School, told his host Naija Unfiltered, a popular Nigerian podcast programme, that he was as sure as death that the President would not exit office in 2031, if he succeeded with his current gambit to remain in power beyond next year.
Hear him: “Yes. But as I said, let me repeat myself. There’ll be a third term. President Tinubu has not done all of this just for another four years. There will be a third term. And anybody who is doing, ‘it is not our portion,’ is not reading the evidence.”
To achieve this aim, the activist, who was also emphatic that the National Assembly, would play a role, added: “The current National Assembly is anything but national or an assembly. And if it’s an assembly, it’s not a parliamentary one. Many people have called it a rubber stamp, but I think that is actually abusive of rubber stamps. I think this National Assembly is a disgrace.
Citing how bizarre and completely compliant the national legislature had become to Tinubu, the ex-NHRC’s boss, stated: “If you can change your national anthem in less than 24 hours with no public hearing, no public consultation, no public involvement, it tells you you don’t have a country because a national anthem is fundamental to the construction of a national identity.”
Also referring to the current move by the President to introduce state police, Odinkalu, wondered how the Nigerian Senate would introduce the bill to that effect and proceed towards the first and second readings, as well as committee stage and passage in less than two hours, questioning how that was possible in normal clime.
Hear him: “Once we finish our elections, we’re going to amend our Constitution, introduce a single six-year presidential term. The current incumbent will be elected until 2031. In 2031, what will happen? The question will be, will he be entitled to run on the six-year term or will he not?
“You will then get the best Senior Advocates in Nigeria telling you the law is not retrospective. That is why the administration is supporting the litigation over President Jonathan’s tenure—not because the Constitution is not clear, but because they will say there is precedent. There will be a third term, and I’m prepared to bet on it.”
“If we continue to pay ransom, we are encouraging these criminals to kidnap more people. The cycle will only continue unless we stop rewarding criminality,” were the words of Dauda Lawal, Governor of Zamfara State, with which he blamed those in the habit of paying ransoms as the major factor fuelling the current wave of kidnapping incidents across the country.
Lawal, on Thursday at the ARISE News/THISDAY Town Hall Conference on State Police and National Security in Abuja, told his audience how he flatly refused to pay a ₦300 million ransom demanded by kidnappers who abducted his brothers in 2019.
Reiterating his opposition to negotiating with bandits and renewed his support for the establishment of state police, Lawal, while recounting the incident, said: “My own brothers were kidnapped in 2019, and the kidnappers demanded about ₦300 million. I told them I was not going to pay a dime. If they wanted to kill them, they could go ahead.”
Stating that his brothers were eventually released without any ransom being paid, he argued that paying ransom usually emboldened criminal groups by providing financial incentives for further kidnappings.
He added: “My position on ransom payments remains unchanged. I will not negotiate, and I will not pay ransom to any criminal, no matter what happens.”
Endorsing the move for the establishment of state police, to enable governors have greater operational authority over security within their states, he regretted that the current constitutional arrangement left governors with responsibility for security without corresponding powers to direct security agencies.
His words: “In as much as I am called the chief security officer of the state, I do not have the command-and-control authority to direct the operations of the security agencies. I’m prepared to support the funding of state police if the proposed policing structure is established. I’m confident that decentralised policing will improve intelligence gathering, response time and the overall fight against insecurity.”
Exactly seven years, two months and four days after he forced Walter Onnoghen, the 16th Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) out of office, Danladi Umar, former Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), on Thursday, found himself in Kuje prison.
Justice Peter Kekemeke, of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Maitama, handed the ex-CCT boss the unwelcome package on Thursday, following his arraignment by the Federal Government on a four-count corruption charge.
Umar’s ordeal began after an investigations revealed that he abused his official position by conferring an undue advantage on himself while serving as head of the tribunal, having in 2021, reportedly using his wife’s bank account to collect the sum of N5.5 million from a contractor engaged to paint the headquarters of the CCT in Abuja.
He was also accuse of using the same account to collect another N6million on January 25, 2024, from a contractor who handled the digitisation of the CCT’s records and yet another N2.43 million a contractor paid as tuition fee of his daughter at Baze University, Abuja.
After pleading not guilty to offences, said to be punishable under section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, Christopher Mshelia, lawyer to the FG, prosecuting the matter, applied for his remand in a correctional facility, while urging the court to set a date for the commencement of trial.
His pleas to be freed on bail pending the determination of the case, was opposed by the prosecution, which drew the court’s attention to the fact that it had just been served with the bail application, saying it needed time to respond to it, forcing Kekemeke to adjourn the case till July 15 for hearing while the former CCT boss remained behind bars.
Umar, had as CCT Chairman, on January 23, 2019, issued a controversial ex parte order that led to the removal of a serving Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.
Following the ex parte order, the late President Muhammadu Buhari, on January 25, swore in the next most senior jurist of the Supreme Court, Justice Tanko Muhammad, to take over the leadership of the judiciary as Acting CJN.
Even though Onnoghen later voluntarily resigned his position as CJN on April 4, Umar went ahead and convicted him on April 18, 2019, on the federal government’s allegation that he had failed to properly declare his assets as required by law.
He gave the federal government the go-ahead to confiscate all monies in five accounts belonging to the former CJN, and also removed him as Chairman of both the NJC and the Federal Judiciary Service Commission (FJSC).
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