₦airaland Forum

[b]The 2014 budget presented to the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan last week contains fraudulent request for funds.

In what clearly appears a ploy by officials to brazenly steal public funds, the Federal Government is asking the National Assembly to approve about N30million which it purportedly plans to spend on fueling aircraft and boats owned by Nigerian embassies abroad.

The fraudulent request is coming when government officials know that none of Nigeria’s foreign mission owns a plane or boat.

Details of the 2014 Federal Budget presented last week by the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to the National Assembly on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan, revealed that the foreign affairs ministry is asking for about N30million to cater for these phantom expenditures.

Officials claim Nigeria’s foreign missions in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Ethiopia, Algeria, and Mali would need an average of N1.785million each to fuel aircraft, and another N2.381million each to fuel boats during the year.

Similar provisions, concealed under the general fuel and lubricants subheads, were made for the embassies in Turkey, Lebanon, and United Arab Emirate, UAE.

The budget for the mission in Mali also has ludicrous demands for aircraft maintenance cost (N638,365); boat maintenance cost (N635,435), and railway equipment maintenance cost (N999,8240).

When released, these funds will simply go into the pockets of corrupt officials since the embassy does not own aircraft or boat and has no railway line to maintain.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ogbole Odeh, told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview in Abuja on Tuesday that the provision for aircraft fuel cost in the budget for the foreign missions was strange, as the federal government does not maintain aircraft in any of its embassies abroad.

“Aircraft fuelling cost? This sounds strange to me. I have never heard of such,” Mr. Odeh said, in response to an enquiry by PREMIUM TIMES . “What is normal is motor vehicle or generator fuelling costs. To the best of my knowledge, none of the Nigerian Missions abroad maintains an aircraft. Or what purpose is the railway equipment maintenance supposed to serve? I don’t know. It sounds ridiculous.”[/b]

This is not the first time PREMIUM TIMES has uncovered fraudulent fund requests smuggled into budgets by corrupt officials.[b]

Earlier this year, this newspaper revealed how the Federal Government made provisions for about a quarter of a billion Naira in the 2013 budget for fuelling and maintaining electricity generators in Nigerian embassies abroad where, indeed, they had no such need.

Although some embassy officials denied being aware of such provisions in their budgets, indications are that the federal government would still purportedly spend about N872.46million on generator fuel costs in its foreign missions across the world this year.

For instance, the government has budgeted about N5.815million to be spent by Nigeria’s Mission in New York on plant/generator fuel cost, in addition to about N3.813million set aside for electricity charges.

In Washington DC, about N199,674 would be spent on plant/generator fuel cost during the year, while another N3.124million would be spent on electricity charges in a country widely known to have stability in electricity supply as the least of its worries.

Similarly, in London, a provision has been made in the budget for about N1.641million to be spent on plants/generator fuel cost, apart from about N20.441million set aside for electricity charges.

The Nigerian mission in South Africa hopes to spend about N5.921million on electricity charges, in addition to about N1.445million on plant/generator fuel cost during the year.

Unlike Nigeria, most of these countries have steady electricity supplies and it is not known why officials continue to demand millions to fuel generators[/b].

tomakint: The year is gradually going to an end, ain't you tired of this wayward life of yours "Child of Belial" don't you have elders in your lineage? Just asking son, just asking.....

Yomieluv: i wont banter words with frustrated person like you,just Go,and Die.

Akinmail: If Amosun was still in PDP, he woul never have won a primary talk less of becoming governor.

There is a clear difference between the culture of APC and PDP.

Yomieluv: just one picture with xmas lights,and you tagged it "eko oni baje",when there are many places that show otherwise.
I smell hypocrisy here.

Idi Amin: Don't you have village

Big B1: Now that the old PDP is gradually changing to the new APC, it may not be a bad idea for the Nigerian youth to come together and come up with another party.

APC members are more or less like snakes that have just completed the removal of their shed skin; at the end of the day they all remain the same poisonous snakes of many colors.
Nigerians should not be f00lish to fall for this rubbish once again.

We want new people, new ideas, new system and new party. Nigeria deserves a true brand new life, I honestly don't see this taking place with this fake party, called APC.

owobokiri: Ask him what he did for Nigerians after 8 years in power with high oil earnings and it has always been the same answer; paid Nigerias debt nd 'gave Nigerians GSM'...That is it. You paid your foreign handlers their thank you package for killing you opponents and helping you to Aso Rock and we wont hear word again.

theoctopus: Being debt free is not the same thing as being in good financial state. A third world country like Nigeria trying to develop and with the population we have, is not expected to be debt free. America is not debt free. The few countries in the world that are debt free are low population countries. What is important is how much development you put in place, not how debt free you left the country. Nigeria would have been better off with constant power, world class hospitals, transformed education, an industrial revolution and $50 billion debt when he left, than being debt free.

Garri the 1st: Why is PEJ in a hurry to shake hands with the clergy man even while her husband was yet to finish his handshake??

Afam4eva: people like you represent the future of Nigerian because you're very logical in your submissions. I don't know why majority of Nigerians are not critical in their thinking. It beats me how someone cannot differentiate between "Political might" and "Good performance in office". This is why i've been saying that the government should budget a huge chunk of the nation's budget on education cos with the likes of the OP and some other characters on this thread, we might be grooming an intellectual handicapped generation. I hope they get the education they deserve and not the one they want.

ketoprofen: .
Like I said before, that I admonished my child for stealing, does it mean he has lost his first position in class which I praised him for?
.

Afam4eva: There's a difference between commending someone's resolve in a particular sector and someone having a huge political following.

Fashola has done well in Lagos state but he doesn't necessarily have a huge followership in Lagos. Atleast not up to Tinubu's level. I wonder how you people reason. Is your brain in reverse mode?

Afam4eva: The mental poverty being exhibited by some folks on this forum is mind bugging. I think Jonathan needs to invest in mental capacity building. What has someone's political relevance got to do with the person't Person's performance in office. As a matter of fact, Amaechi will still make my list as one of the best governors in Nigeria but as far as having the political weed goes, i don't think he's up there. @OP Next time you want to engage in this form of tomfoolery, make sure your drivel adds up.

Afam4eva: Chibuike Amaechi is a visionary leader. He's not as tribalistic and chauvinistic as some governors we have in Nigeria eg Theodoore Orji. That's how it's supposed to be. Thumbs up.

afam4eva:
A governor like Rochas and Amaechi have done well in investing in people from their states. Amaechi has built world class educational facilties with one of the best facilities you can think of. Rochas launched a FREE educational program from primary school level to the university level. These two governors have invested heavily in the education of their people.

Afam4eva: .

Isn't it common knowledge that Rochas declared free education up to university level? Why are yous till asking me about Rochas. As for Amaechi, i've seen the primary and secondary schools that he invested and i think that he has invested in his people. Thoug more still needs to be done. Tinubu even achieved more in education when he was governor of Lagos state. I remember the Millenium schools that he built throughout lagos state.

Afam4eva: When i said Amaechi has no say in Rivers state, some people thought that i was joking. Wait till Amaechi leaves office and you'll see that he's a nobody. In that part of the country, no single individual has an overwhelming following like in some other parts of the country.

Red Eboe: Looks to me like the stadium was barely half full but the crowd were encouraged to leave their seats and come closer to the podium.
Only an ariel picture could show how full the attendance was and Channels TV pictures proved it wasnt a massive crowd-close up pictures can be very deceptive.

Reptyle: Dunno about the empty stadium seats, but I watched the rally on Channels TV and I did see quite a respectable turnout of people at the stadium.