₦airaland Forum

we wish quick recovery buhari jr

good development.

Good one, that is paper qualification! we want to see something done.

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More prayers for all Nigerians...things are bad in country.

Many federal agencies are unable to get releases for their multi-billion naira overhead costs as the recurrent expenditure officially ends today, Daily Trust findings have shown.

The salary and overheads constitute the recurrent expenditure, while the overheads are the cost of running the government.

The overhead is comprised of payment for utilities, maintenance, security, welfare, stationaries, insurance and training.

Dozens of federal agencies recorded huge debt in electricity, water, insurance bills, among others, due to the reduction in allocations for overheads.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Ltd recently decried outstanding debts of the MDAs which runs into billions.

Under the appropriation law, only the capital expenditure will be rolled over to the following year (2018); but spending on recurrent expenditure will officially end at the end of the year.

Daily Trust gathered that government released overheads for only seven months and below, depending on the importance of the Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs).

The federal government budgeted N219.84 billion as total overheads in 2017. By the first half of the year, only N35.4 billion was released, according to official records obtained from the Budget Office of the Federation.

Sources said about N100billion of such overhead in 2017 will now be lost by the MDAs when the federal books are closed tonight.

Many of the MDAs have been rushing to secure releases of some of the overhead before the year runs out, but there was no fund to finance such claim with the government.

Sources said some MDAs resorted to cutting down some of their personal cost to run the activities of their offices.

Workers, service providers complain

Recently, workers in Ministry of Interior threatened to down tools due to poor working condition as a result of insufficient overhead releases.

In a letter recently addressed to the minister, the workers said there were no decent working materials that could aid staff in the discharge of their duties such as photocopies, papers, tonners and inks. They also said water in most of the toilets in the ministry and other departments.

The letter was written by the Joint Union Negotiating Council of the ministry, and signed by Comrade Iribom A.K and Comrade D. Bassey.

The workers also complained that since 2015, none of them attended any training from the ministry and even their staff bus was maintained from their contribution.

A staff of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who declined to be named because he was not permitted to speak, said it’s now very difficult to work due to poor overhead.

He said most times they could not go out for routine operation with their vehicles due to lack of fuel.

A security service expert, who runs a security outfit, and services in some federal ministries in Abuja, said a lot of security workers and cleaners attached to the MDAs had not been paid salaries.

The federal government has already outsourced the security and cleaning services to private companies and are being paid through the overhead allocations.

Due to non-release of overhead allocation as and when due, some of these workers are being owed many months’ salary, another source said.

What government says

The budget implementation report recently released by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, signed by Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Budget and National Planning, and Ben Akabueze, Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, said government continued to prioritize capital expenditure over nonessential recurrent non-debt expenditure like overtime in the face of continuing revenue constraint.

“The strategic initiatives of Government aimed at cutting down recurrent costs were therefore vigorously pursued during the period. This includes the continued roll-out of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) across MDAs, activation of more module of the GIFMIS platform as well as the use of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

Mr. Akabueze, said the government was forced to cut overhead allocations to MDAs due to dwindling revenue.

“So, personnel, pensions, debt servicing and capital expenditure, eat up 85 percent, leaving 15 percent for statutory transfers to National Assembly, judiciary, service-wide charges and overhead cost of running all of government.

“By the time you finish all of this, you’ll find that the overhead cost is the last to be paid. So, the overhead cost has been taking the brunt of this situation,” Akabueze told journalist recently.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/as-recurrent-budget-ends-today-federal-agencies-overheads-trapped.html

Up PDP

President Muhammadu Buhari will complete projects during his second term, Senator Kabiru Gaya (APC, Kano) said this at the Presidential Villa on Thursday.
Gaya was speaking to State House correspondents after meeting with the president.

"On road projects, we have to thank President Buhari for putting extra efforts and may Allah continue to give him good health and strength to continue. I know he is going to commission some projects in 2018 and those not completed will be completed during his second term," he said.

Gaya, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, said he was in the Villa to, among other things, thank the president for visiting Kano.

He said: "We are also very happy that he has awarded the road projects from Kano to Abuja which will cost N165 billion, that is a plus. And also being that I am the chairman of works Committee, no government for the past 16 years has been able to put so much money on road project like this government.

"The budget of 2011-2014 it was only N26 billion that was allocated for works but in 2016 when President Buhari came in we had a budget of over N200 billion for works and in 2017 we have over N400 billion and for 2018 we have about N500 billion for works. So we are rehabilitating our roads and those that were abandoned for years the contractors have gone back to site.

"I have gone round 26 states of the federation as Chairman Senate Committee on Works, is remaining the states in the south west and three states in the north west for me to visit. We have seen that work are going on, in some places there are issues of payment but the contractors are back to site because the president has orders for them to be paid and I’m sure payment to contractors commenced last week and will continue till next week."

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/buhari-for-second-term-sen-gaya.html

Good bless the union.

Nigerian youth have been admonished to shun money-bag politicians so as to secure their future and achieve successful life beyond the 2019 election.

A former minority leader of Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Lagi Innocent, gave the admonition, yesterday, shortly after he was presented with an award for excellence and outstanding representation as a lawmaker.

Innocent was honoured for his contribution towards the development of his constituency by Sinsin Baki Youth Unity Forum in Wamba Local Government Area (LGA) of Nasarawa State.

He expressed displeasure on how some politicians were jeopardising the future of the younger generation.

“It saddens me when I see how some mischievous elements drag youth into thuggery and other social vices all in the name of politics,” he said.

Responding to questions from journalists over his political future, Innocent said he intended to run for Nasarawa North senatorial seat in the forthcoming general elections.

He said, “I have contested the number one seat of this state in 2015 where I made a very serious impact. But my election was rigged. Since the creation of Nasarawa State, my zone, the northern zone, has never occupied the seat of governor. Now that we are given the chance to produce the next governor, we need to come together to work towards achieving our goals. This is time for action not noise making.”

Innocent, who is also a former state attorney general, said his decision to run for the Senate seat was propelled by the desire to render service to humanity.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/nigerian-youth-urged-to-shun-money-bag-politicians.html

hmm

Some motorists in Abuja on Wednesday got more free petrol as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) sealed more stations.

The team had sealed the Khalif Civic Centre and Investment Limited at Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja on Tuesday.

”This is an effort of government to continue to identify all those who are a hindrance to the supply of petroleum products.

”Incidentally, this filling station is owned by the same perpetrator of yesterday and to our dismay, not only is he selling to people at N250 per litre, but he’s also under-dispensing at half the volume as testified by one of the motorists.

”DPR confirmed yesterday that he did not have licence and they have handed over the station to civil defence for appropriate action.

”Today, this one has more volume about 15,000 litres so we are dispensing 5 litres to every motorcycle and 20 to every car and this will continue,” Maikanti Baru, NNPC boss, said.

He said there were also vehicles that had refurbished tanks and could take more than 300 litres, thereby depriving other motorists the oportunity to fuel on time and ration available product.

”They go and siphon the tank and come back. The civil defence has arrested several and will continue to do so.

”Those who are in the habit of instaling extra tanks should beware.

”As at noon, we have gotten 110 trucks distributed to Abuja and environs,” he said.

He said about 24 marketers that had diverted products had been apprehended and it would be a continuous exercise.

The Abuja Zonal Operations Controller, DPR, Mr Mohammed Abba, advised that the station should be demolished.

”We have advised the civil defence to apprehend him, they have put that in motion but he is in hiding.

”If you look at this station, it is an illegal station, there is no way we will give licence to a station within a community because it has not satisfied all the requirements.

”Look at the power lines and high tension cables all around.

Moreover, when we spoke yesterday we gave him a concession but I think the owner of this filling station does not need pity from any government.

”The way he situated this, if there is any accident, the amount of lives that would be lost would be massive.

”We advise that instead of giving this fuel free, the station should be demolished, it should not exist at all.

”Under no circumstance should the station be allowed to exist within this community because it is very dangerous.

” We call on development control that its Certificate of Occupancy should be revoked.

Mr Aminu Abdullahi, Assistant Commandant-General, Operations of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps told newsmen appropriate action was being taken against illegal dealers.

”Any body who is dealing illegally is a saboteur and we are going to try him under the Petroleum Distribution and Sabotage Act and if found guilty, will be charged.”

He said outside Abuja, distribution was being monitored and despatches were made to ensure sanity.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reliably gathered that more filling stations were going to be sealed until the situation with fuel queues cleared. (NAN)

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/abuja-motorists-get-more-free-fuel-as-nnpc-dpr-seal-stations.html

Good news.

A youth group supporting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says it has opened a bank account to enable its members raise funds from volunteers to buy the 2019 presidential form for the Wazirin Adamawa regardless of the political party platform he wishes to run on.

The group, under the aegis of Youth in Support of Atiku 2019 (YISA), said it has the responsibility to beg the former vice president to come and serve his country because he has the solution to Nigeria’s problems.

The YISA national president, Comrade Gbeminiyi Ololade, said this in a communique issued at the end of its end of year meeting on December 21, 2017, in Ibadan, which featured award presentation, prize giving, free medical tests and engagement for the 2018 activities.

Ololade said the former vice president’s investments in Nigeria and contribution towards the country’s development were incomparable to any other leader’s.

“He strongly believes in our country, Nigeria. That’s why we are in full support of him for a better Nigeria,” he also said.

The communiqué, jointly signed by YISA national president and national secretary, Bala Gana, which was made available to journalists yesterday, said the great grand patron award bestowed on former the former vice president had made him the number one citizen of the organisation.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/yoruba-youth-group-to-buy-presidential-form-for-atiku.html

hmmm

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said yesterday, that it was healing the wounds in its fold in order to win all the states in the North, South-west and clinch the presidential seat in the 2019 general elections.

The PDP, in a statement yesterday by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said its sweeping victory in last Saturday’s local government elections in Ekiti State was an indication that ‎the party was still popular in the state, South-west and Nigeria at large.

“The landslide victory is a direct response by the people to the achievements of the Governor Ayo Fayose-led PDP government, in line with the ideology, vision and programmes of the party.

“Nigerians have since seen through the deception and incompetence of the APC and are now very eager to kick out the ruling party at all levels of government,” the PDP said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/pdp-plans-to-sweep-northern-states-south-west-in-2019.html

Congratulations

Congrats