₦airaland Forum

CROWNWEALTH019:

Three people have been confirmed dead and four others injured in a bomb explosion in Kontagora, Niger state.

The explosion occurred in Gari market, a few kilometers from Kontagora town on Saturday when a man in military uniform detonated the bomb and died in the process.

The Police Public Relations officer, DSP Bala Elkana who confirmed the explosion said it was as a result of wrong handling of explosives device by a newly recruited soldier identified as private Tanko Damina who just came back from Maiduguri.

According to Elkana, Tanko Damina was in the habit of showing explosives to the villagers to prove that he was involved in the Maiduguri operation against the Boko Haram terrorists.

“Tanko Damina used to carry the explosives on his body around the village to show off to the villagers. The explosion was as a result of wrong handling of the explosives. We thank God that it was not a market day, the casualty would have been very high”.

Elkana assured that there is no need for panic because the incident was not caused by a suicide bomber, adding that “it was an accident like I told you”.

The police spokesman said the force and the army have despatched anti-bomb experts to the home of the deceased to check if there were other IEDs in the residence.

Shehu Sani, the Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, has blamed wealthy politicians for the current poverty in northern part of Nigeria.

According to the Senator, the North is believed to be the poorest region in the country despite the number of wealthy people from the area.


1. They toil so hard for less

Sani said that the poor “toiled and worked for us, and laboured hard to see us elected into public offices,” yet no gains.


2. Used and dumped

He noted that the poor and physically-challenged people were usually neglected after elections.

“It has always been the same pattern; each time we are aspiring for political offices, we search for them in the nook and crannies but at the very time we have won the election, the best thing is how to clear them from our cities.


3. Begging

“You cannot end (street) begging in any part of Nigeria without making provisions for uplifting their socio-economic and living standards. It has always been the case. Public begging and loitering is an economic problem.

“Begging has been a major problem in northern Nigeria but it couldn’t in any way be stopped because the economic basis that would address the problem has not been done."


4. No economic roadmap

“You cannot legislate people out of poverty; you cannot decree people out of poverty; you have to lay an economic roadmap for which these people can stand and fend for themselves."


5. The poor are seen as pests

“Many rich northerners, who own oil blocks and are in position of power, are seeing these people as pests in the society that should be cleared off. And they cannot be cleared off.

“We have enough people who are rich in the northern part of Nigeria and who could have ended this problem."


6. Philanthropy making the people lazy

“But what we should understand is that philanthropy alone cannot address the problem of socio-economic inequality; we need to have an entrenched social system and social justice in which people of this."

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, on Friday described the welfare and unity of Yoruba people as too important for anyone to play politics with.

The governor, who spoke in Akure, Ondo State, during the inauguration of Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) as the governor of the state, said being a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, should not stop him from attending the inauguration of a governor in the All Progressives Congress.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, the governor described the occasion as a national event that well-meaning people should identify with.

He said, “This is a Nigerian affair. When a governor is sworn in, we have to support him. We are talking about regional integration and unity and Akeredolu is one of us; we have to support him. Electioneering has come and gone and a winner has emerged, we have to work together in the spirit of the people of our region.

“We cannot play politics with the welfare of the people of our region. We have to support Akeredolu to make the difference. This is a matter that concerns the Yoruba nation and after Nigeria, Yoruba nation comes first. We don’t need to play politics with the welfare of Yoruba people.”

On whether he was planning to join the APC, the governor said he no such plan in mind.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Indications have emerged that Acting President Yemi Osinbajo is facing pressure with loaded activities resulting from the continued absence of President Muhammadu Buhari. President Buhari left Nigeria over a month ago for the United Kingdom (UK) where he is currently receiving medical attention.

Buhari had in separate letters to the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives, transmitted power to Osinbajo to perform the duties of the President in acting capacity until he returns.

The President on February 6, dispatched another letter expressing his desire to extend the vacation in order to undergo a series of medical tests as recommended by London doctors.

Saturday Telegraph gathered that since President Buhari’s departure, the traffic of activities in Aso Rock has shifted to the Vice- President’s office wing with a series of events and meetings engaging the acting President attention.

Osinbajo, who heads the President’s Economic Management Team (EMT), also presides over the National Economic Council (NEC).

This comprises the governors of the 36 states of the federation, governor of the Central Bank if Nigeria (CBN) and other top government officials. With the absence of President Buhari, the acting President has also been presiding over the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC).

Investigations of his weekly schedule show that the Acting President holds about 15 meetings ranging from security, economic to political issues.

A senior aide to the Acting President, who spoke to our correspondent yesterday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to do so, confirmed that the absence of President Buhari was telling on Osinbajo. “It’s really tough for the acting President.

Everyone with a problem, from the ministers, the state governors, the leadership of the National Assembly, the diplomatic community, security agencies and many others, want his attention.

“He has to attend to these officials and other consultations from the private sector as well as other organised sectors. You can understand the pressure this is exerting on the acting President unlike when both leaders were around,” the source noted.

Our correspondent also gathered that following the official transfer of power to the Vice President, the atmosphere in Aso Rock is not tense as compared to the crisis created during the days of late President Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan.

“Every government official including the President’s men are loyal to the Acting President who is performing all functions of the President.

“You can see that both the Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu who are the three closest aides to Buhari here have been coming to work. It’s one presidency,” another aide to the Acting President noted yesterday.

This week, Osinbajo met with the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), the Presidential Task Force on Wheat and Rice Production and the management of South African Telecommunication firm, MTN. Osinbajo was also in Lagos on Thursday where he flagged off the GreenBond as well as inspect facilities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. He also visited The Gambia.

The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Acting President, Mr. Laolu Akande, who confirmed that work load for his principal had increased, however, said he was equal to the task. Akande in an interview with our correspondent said “The Acting President is doing very well.

Even before the transmission of power to him through the letter to the National Assembly, he had been hardworking.

“Let me tell you that the acting President became a law teacher at 23, a Professor at 33. Not many people become professors so quick, that’s a sign of hard work.

“He coordinated a lot of work as Commissioner of Justice in Lagos State and did that job with all seriousness and a great sense of commitment.

“He has always been hardworking. Hard work for him is an important value and that is why he works round the clock. In fact, the Acting President has told me that Mr. President inspires him a great deal,” Akande noted.

Obascoetubi:
SEE HOW THIS FLAT HEAD GOVERNOR IS DRYING OUR MONEY

A House of Representatives panel has threatened to issue an arrest warrant against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, for failure to appear before.

The panel is seeking relevant documents on the alleged non-remittance of N6 trillion oil proceeds.

The ad-hoc committee on the matter, chaired by Rep Abdulrazak Namdas (APC, Adamawa), said it invited Emefiele to furnish it with relevant information yesterday but that he neither appeared nor sent any representative.

The committee said it had sent letters to different government agencies and other companies to forward certain details to it, but that while others responded, the apex bank has been dilly-dallying.

“We are an adhoc committee that works with time. We are disappointed that the CBN is trying to drag us back. We’re not witch-hunting anybody. This is a mere allegation,” Namdas said.

The House had in September last year said based on a report by a consultant appointed under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s crude oil worth $12billion was shipped to the United States between 2011 and 2014, with another $3 billion worth shipped to China, while $839.5 million crude was taken to Norway.

The figures were ascertained by buyers, bill of lading, arrival dates, destination ports, quantity of crude and other documented information, but that the country has $17bn recoverable shortfalls from the crude exports.

No fewer than 43 Nigerians on Thursday night deported from Germany, Belgium, and Italy for several immigration-related offenses and unruly behavior.

The deportees arrived through Hi-Fly chartered Airbus 330 aircraft with registration number CS-TQW at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) at exactly 8:55 p.m.

The deportees were received on arrival by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the police and several other agencies in deportation matters.

This is the second time within the week that Nigerians would be brought back into the country.

Earlier in the week, 171 Nigerians ‘voluntarily returned from Libya with a tale of woes after their attempt to cross to Europe through the sea and the Sahara Desert failed.

Commenting on the latest deportation, the Deputy Director, Search and Rescue, NEMA, Dr. Bandele Onimode, said the deportees comprised 33 from Italy; seven from Belgium and three from Germany.

Onimode who represented the Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mohammed Sidi said the agency would make sure the deportees were comfortable and ensure their safe return to their various destinations.

He urged them to stay in the country and join hands with others to develop it.

"They are coming back almost empty and this is a lesson to them to settle down home and be useful to their country. We will ensure that they are well catered for," he said.

It would be recalled that on Tuesday, 171 Nigerians, consisting 112 females, 49 males and five infants returned to the country with lamentations.

One of the deportees who was allowed to talk to the media, Miss Gift Peters, 27, had lamented her sordid experience in the North Africa country.

She decried that many Nigerians especially ladies were still different detention camps and jails in Libya for offenses they knew nothing about.

She also revealed that she was lured into traveling to Europe through Libya by an unknown person whom she said is at large at the moment.

She had said: “I traveled to Libya about 11 months ago, but I was deceived that I was going to Germany, but instead, I found myself in Libya. When it was not in my mind to continue the journey, I asked him to take me back and he started maltreating me, they will do things that make you want to die.

“They will use hot electric iron to burn that person. They will even ask other girls to urinate for you to drink. My family was not aware of my situation in Libyan so I called my friend and told him the situation I was going through in Libya, and he took my matter to the station to arrest the man who took me to Libya, but whenever the police authorities checked on him, he would not be found, and I have since vowed that whenever I come to Nigeria, I will look for him myself.

“It was not easy for me in Libya, even now, several of our girls are right now in prison, the innocent ones, while the culprits are out there free. Several of them have even died; many did not survive the gunshots when they were catching everybody. Some people were shot at the scene, and some other died in prison yards. Many of my friends that went to Libya with us have died.”

ademoladeji:
Paddy, I don quit change since last year June as promised.


Na work no lemme show face oooo.


Hope you're good?

ademoladeji:
Onye-PDP

drnoel:
A man who claimed he didn't have money to buy his INEC form can sponsor his kids in Uni abroad and can give judges cash gifts of 500 k. Who is deceiving who?

AuroraB:
Tell them

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has declined assent to four bills amended by the National Assembly for several reasons including an ongoing court case against one of the Acts.

The lawmaker yesterday threatened to override Osinbajo’s veto on the four bills.

Osinbajo’s four letters to the National Assembly were read at both chambers by the Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

The bills rejected are Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (Amendment) Bill 2016, Currency Conversion (Freezing orders) amendment bill, 2016, Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and National Lottery (Amendment), Bill 2016.



Osinbajo said he withheld assent to Agricultural Credit Gurantee Scheme fund because, “of the concerns surrounding board composition, funding arrangements, limitation of liability of funds, and proposals to increase levels of uncollateralised loans from N5,000 to N250,000”.

The acting President said he rejected the Currency conversion bill in view of the concern regarding the modalities for the communication of asset forfeiture orders.

On the dangerous drugs bill, Osinbajo said certain words and phrases utilised in the draft bill may be inconsistent with the Principal Act.

He said he withheld assent to the National Lottery amendment bill, following the existence of pending legal challenge to the competence of the National Assembly to legislate on the subject matter.

Daily Trust reports that the acting President last weekend assented to seven bills passed by the National Assembly.

Raising a point of order on the rejection, Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi) said the acting President usurped the power of the National Assembly by withholding the assent to the bills.

Melaye who laced his argument with quotation from section 4 of the 1999 Constitution faulted the explanation given for the rejection of the National Lottery bill. Melaye sponsored the bill on the National Lottery.

“Mr President, the role of the executive is to carry out their fundamental objective by signing anything that has been passed by this House... It will become so dangerous for democracy and our powers to legislate must have been taken away from us as enshrined in section 4 of the constitution.

“So the role of the executive is to assent to any law passed by this House and anyone who has problem with it can go to court in compliance with the provisions of section 6 of the constitution, “he said.

Also speaking, Senator Geroge Sekibo (PDP, Rivers) said the National Assembly has power to override the President.

In his remark, Saraki said the issue would be referred to the legal unit for advice.

“We would refer this to our legal department to give us advice on interpretation on some of the things that you have said for us to be properly guided but I agree with you that it is a matter that we must take seriously because it goes down to the issue of separation of powers. We would get the opinion of the legal department, “he said.

At the House of Representatives, the four letters were referred to the justice committee and others to examine the reasons given by the acting president for withholding his assent to the bills, before knowing whether or not they would veto him on the matter.

House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila said yesterday was a historic day as it was the first time the executive notified the House on why the acting president was withholding assent to certain bills.

“Today is historic because you just read several letters from the acting president for withholding his assent to four bills. What we had in the past was just quiet from the other side. I want to urge that the letters should be circulated to members for everybody to dissect the reasons given before we decide,” he said.

Dogara said the committee on justice and other related committees would look at the bills and advise on what to do.

“Where the reasons given by the acting president are cogent, we’ll re-examine the bills, but where they are not, we’ll subject the bills to voting to see if we can have two/third of members to override the acting president’s veto,” he said.

The amendments

The Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund Bill sponsored by Senator Andy Uba (APC, Anambra) seeks to amend the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Act, 2004 to promote commercial agriculture in Nigeria, ensure credit support for production, storage, processing of target commodities, market and enterprise development. It also aims to provide concessionary funding for agriculture and other related matters.

The National Lottery Act 2005 (Amendment) Bill, sponsored by Senator Dino Melaye seeks to amend 13 sections of the principal Act.

For example, there is a new subsection (2) in Section 18 of the Act which says “Any person or body corporate may submit application for a license for the operation of fixed-odd lottery to the President through the Commission upon the payment of such fees as may be prescribed from time to time by the Commission.

The Currency Conversion bill, sponsored by Rep Ahmed Idris (APC, Plateau) seeks to amend the Currency Conversion (Freezing Orders) Act Cap. C43 to give discretionary powers to a high court judge to order forfeiture of assets of an affected person.

The Dangerous Drugs Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016, sponsored by Rep Chike Okafor (APC, Imo) seeks to amend Cap D1 to give powers to the minister of health to regulate certain classes of drugs, allow arrest to be effected by the members of the public and review the prescribed penalty provided under the Act.

Spokesman of the House, Abdulrazak Namdas (APC, Adamawa) told journalists at a press conference that they would only override Osinbajo’s veto if they determine that the reasons given were not cogent.

“For us, we’re ok. This is an acting president that didn’t sign the bills into law and found it worthy to communicate to us.

“This wasn’t the case in the past. We’ll look at the reasons he gave, and if they’re ok, we’ll rework on them. But if they’re not, we’ll have to override him.

“Remember, there were 11 bills, and he signed seven, which is ok. But we won’t override him until we are very sure that the reasons given are not cogent. This is democracy at play,” he said.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Maiduguri – The Borno command of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it arrested 19 Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs) for alleged drug abuse and sale in camps.

The Commandant of the NDLEA, Mr Ona Ogilegwu, a lawyer, stated this in an interview in Maiduguri.

He said the suspects were arrested on 1 February this year during a raid by men of the command.

Ogilegwu said the suspects were nabbed in Bakkasi and Mogolis IDPs camps in the Maiduguri metropolis.

He said that illicit substances like cannabis sativa, rophenol, and diazepam, benylin with codeine, suck and Die solution and several other substances, were seized from them.

“You will recall that the command had embarked a massive sensitisation campaign in almost all the IDPs camps here in Maiduguri in December, because of the growing increase of drug abuse among IDPs,” he said.

He said the command had visited Dalori camp, Bakassi, Teachers village, Mogolis and Dikwa IDPs camps in the state capital to warn them against the dangers of illicit drug use.

” After we warned them, they still didn’t listen. So we decided to use our powers to fish them out.

“It will interest you to know that none of the camps in the state capital is free from the nefarious drug activities. Allowing these activities to go unchecked will spell doom to the society”, he said.

Those arrested with large quantity of drugs would be prosecuted while the ones with a negligible quantity would be counselled and released, Ogilegwu added.

The Nigeria Army on Wednesday paraded 17 suspects arrested during a military operation launched on Boko Haram cells and hideouts of kidnappers existing within the Kogi Central senatorial district.

The Commander, Army Records Lokoja, Brig. Gen. Henry Ayamasowei, who paraded the suspects at the Chari Maigumeri Barracks, Lokoja, said the operation launched by the army in the last three weeks led to the arrest of two members of the Boko haram sect while the 15 other suspects were those that have been coordinating various kidnappings and armed robbery operations along the Okene, Adavi, Obajana and Adogo axis of the state.

The Army displayed large cache of weapons recovered from the suspects including a pump action gun, AK47, locally double barrel guns, pistols, IED materials, live ammunitions, fire extinguishers, face hoods and a T-shirt with Boko Haram inscriptions, amongst others.

Governor Yahaya Bello who witnessed the parading of the suspects, commended the Army for the feat, saying that his administration will not condone the activities of any terrorist group in the state.

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday restrained Senator Stella Oduah, along with Sea Petroleum and Gas Company Limited and its directors, from making any withdrawals from the account of the company.

The order is in connection with an issue before the court of their indebtedness of over $16.4 million and N100.4 million.

The court also forbade them from withdrawing any funds from the accounts of three other companies in 21 commercial banks listed before it. The affected companies are: Sea Shipping Agency Limited, Rotary Engineering Services Limited, and Tour Afrique Company Limited.

The court further granted an order directing the said commercial banks having assets belonging to Ms. Oduah and the four companies to sequestrate up to the indebtedness of the Senator and Sea Petroleum and Gas Company Limited in the sum of their indebtedness as of November 2016, and maintain the sums in an interest-yielding account in the name of the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court pending the determination of the suit filed at the court to recover the debt.

The order of the court follows an affidavit sworn to by the business manager of Maritime of Sterling Bank, Segun Akinsanya, and filed and argued before the court by a Lagos lawyer, Kemi Balogun.

In the affidavit, Akinsanya averred that on October 8, 2012, the bank granted a lease/cabotage vessel finance facility to Sea Petroleum and Gas Company in the sum of $10,069,620.25 to finance one unit 5,000MT tanker vessel..

The loan was secured by unconditional personal guarantee of the company’s director, Ms. Oduah, supported by a statement of her net worth, legal mortgage of two properties worth N135million, power of Attorney of the tanker vessel in favour of Sterling Bank and a fully executed and irrevocable standing payment order and tripartite remittance agreement between First Bank, Sterling Bank and Ms. Oduah.

It was further averred that between June 27, 2013 Sea Petroleum Company requested for and was granted additional facilities in the sum of $449,600.00 for post-delivery expenses, $642,954.00 and $350,000 to meet the requisite conditions in securing of the Federal High Court in securing the release of the tanker.

According to the affidavit, upon the persistent failure of the defendants to liquidate their indebtedness, Sterling Bank instructed the law firm of Oluwakemi Balogun to recover the debt.

But despite several reminders, demands, pleas and persuasion by the bank and its solicitor, the defendants did not liquidate their indebtedness which stood at over $16.4 million and N100.4 million in November 2016.

Akinsanya also averred that the defendants are also greatly indebted to a number of banks and have conceded a number of Assets to AMCON, which has stepped into the shoes of those banks, raising the imminent risk of the defendants dissipating the assets of the companies. He therefore urged the court to grant the order restraining Ms. Oduah and other directors of Sea Petroleum and Gas from withdrawing money from the account of the companies in the 21 listed banks until final determination of the debt recovery suit.

Meanwhile, based on an ex-parte application filed and argued before the court by Mr. Balogun that it has been difficult to serve court processes and orders on the defendants, Justice Abdulaziz Anka ordered that the documents should be advertised in the newspapers.

Ms. Oduah and her companies, urging the court to discharge the order made against them, also filed a preliminary objection to the suit. They asked the court to strike out the action as the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the suit. Mr. Balogun vehemently opposed the two applications.

Justice Anka adjourned the matter to March 2017 for a decision on whether to vacate the order or not.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

The Nigeria Voters’ Assembly and the National Association of Resident Doctors have reacted to the latest development on President Muhammadu Buhari’s long medical vacation.

President Buhari had in a new letter sent to the national assembly said he might not return soon as his doctors said he needed ‘longer’ time to rest.

Reacting to the development, President of NARD, Dr. Onyebueze Ugochukwu, urged Nigerians to pray for the quick recovery of the President.

He prayed that the Acting President would sustain the fight against corruption and insurgency.

“These gaps may lead to some internal bickering and power play. This is bound to happen when those in his management team depart from project Nigeria to pursue personal interest,” he stated.

Airing his views, the National Publicity Secretary of the Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-cultural group, Yinka Odumakin, said the cabal around the President would put pressure on the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

He said, “The implication of his long stay is that the country would technically pause for the period he is going to be away.

“There would be a lot of power play with the cabal around the President, breathing down the neck of the Acting President with ‘the President said’ even when he did not say. They may even sign things in his name knowing that the Acting President does not have regular access.

“We are in for a season of dual Presidency as the power bloc around the President will maximise this season. The President should be commended for transmitting power to his deputy, unlike Yar’Adua, who did not transfer power or possibly had his transmission seized by the cabal.”

Also speaking with Punch on the development, President of the NVA, Mashood Erubami, said Nigerians should be happy that the evil wishes of some unnamed enemies for the President had not come to pass.

He said, “We should thank God for the message from the President; a message of hope, which should be well managed to advance the cause of good governance.

“Hitherto, Nigerians were worried that the President was not communicating directly with them as they had to rely on good faith with third party information.

“Now that he can be quoted to have said he will stay longer to rest well before he returns, he is only being truthful and honest with Nigerians. We should all be happy that the evil wishes of the enemies of progress have not come to pass.”

Also, the Executive Secretary Anti-Corruption Network, Ebenezer Oyetakin, described the President’s statement as apt.

He said, “I am sure that if the situation gets to the extent that he can no longer be the President, the Buhari that I know will obviously take the path of honour and be the first to so declare.

“Nevertheless, he has obtained annual leave legally; he has transferred Presidential power to his Vice-President as required by the constitution and has informed Nigerians.”

Four days to the Saturday rerun election in Riv­ers State, the National Youth Service Corps (NYS) has withdrawn corps mem­bers from participating in the exercise.


The election will hold in Etche Local Government Area for the vacant House of Representatives’ seat.
The State Coordina­tor of NYSC, Mr. Omotayo Adewoye, disclosed this on Monday during a stakehold­ers’ meeting in Port Harcourt which was organised by the State Police Command to­wards a peaceful election in the council.


According to Adewoye, the move to retrain 300 corps members for the elec­tion was due to the violence that marred the last Decem­ber 10, 2016 election where he said, one corps member was killed.


He said: “I am just a month old here, when on Thursday I received a letter calling for interested corps members, 300 in numbers to participate in the Etche election.


“I am quite aware of the Memorandum of Under­standing (MoU) that exists between the Independent National Electoral Commis­sion (INEC) and the NYSC. I am not a signatory to the MoU, so I had to approach the National Directorate Headquarters in Abuja. I equally contacted the field of­ficer in Etche Local Govern­ment Area where the election is supposed to be held, to get the corps members ready in case we are taking part in the election.”


“I am standing here to let you know that the corps members may not take part in the election because of the violence that marred the last elections in this state in which we lost one corps member,” he said.


Earlier, the Acting Com­missioner of Police, DCP Ahmed Magaji, promised equal treatment for all par­ticipants during the election.


Magaji said that the police will remain apolitical during the election but warned that the command will not toler­ate any form of violence or crisis from any politicians or their supporters in the area. He called for support from sister agencies, INEC, politi­cians and other stakeholders to ensure a successful, free and fair election in the area.


The election will hold in 147 polling units for House of Representatives and 74 polling units for State House of Assembly seats.

Between January and September last year, the Federal Government spent N1.094 trillion on debt servicing.

A document sighted yesterday by our reporter revealed that N1.044 trillion was spent on local debt servicing as against the N980.55 billion appropriated, representing N63.45 billion extra-budgetary expenditure.

The document also revealed that the government spent N50.22 billion on foreign debt servicing as against the N40.86 billion budgeted.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) had put the government’s domestic debt stock at N10.845 trillion as of September 30, 2016; and foreign debt stock, $11.583 billion.

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, yesterday presented the 2016 budget implementation and performance monitoring report for the third quarter at the State House in Abuja.

She explained that the increase in the external debt stock in the third quarter of 2016 was due largely to the rise in Non-Paris Club Bilateral Debts draw-down.

Ahmed also revealed that N85.17 billion was withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for distribution amongst the three tiers of government within the quarter, leaving a balance of $2.89 bn balance as of September 20.

She said no transfers were made to the ECA in the first two quarters of last year sequel to the decline in the global oil price and supply constraints, adding that N145.48bn was transferred to the account in the third quarter owing to price recovery.

A breakdown of the actual statutory transfers in the third quarter shows that N19.28bn was released to the Universal Basic Education; the Niger Delta Development Commission, N10.26bn; N17.50bn to the National Judicial Council; N11.25bn to the Independent National

Electoral Commission; N28.75bn to the National Assembly; N0.50bn to the Public Complaint Commission; N0.30bn to the Human Rights Commission.

The minister also stated that as of October 19, 2016, a total of N753.663bn capital releases, out of the appropriated N1.587trn, was released for priority projects and programmes identified as contributing to the Strategic Implementation of the budget.

She said a review of the utilisation performance as of October 19, 2016 showed that out of the N1.58 trn total capital budgetary allocation, N753.663bn, representing 47.5 percent, had been released and cash-backed with N403.4bn so far utilised by 30 out of 46 ministries, departments and agencies.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) had put the government’s domestic debt stock at N10.845 trillion as of September 30, 2016; and foreign debt stock, $11.583 billion.

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, yesterday presented the 2016 budget implementation and performance monitoring report for the third quarter at the State House in Abuja.

She explained that the increase in the external debt stock in the third quarter of 2016 was due largely to the rise in Non-Paris Club Bilateral Debts draw-down.

Ahmed also revealed that N85.17 billion was withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for distribution amongst the three tiers of government within the quarter, leaving a balance of $2.89 bn balance as of September 20.

She said no transfers were made to the ECA in the first two quarters of last year sequel to the decline in the global oil price and supply constraints, adding that N145.48bn was transferred to the account in the third quarter owing to price recovery.

A breakdown of the actual statutory transfers in the third quarter shows that N19.28bn was released to the Universal Basic Education; the Niger Delta Development Commission, N10.26bn; N17.50bn to the National Judicial Council; N11.25bn to the Independent National

Electoral Commission; N28.75bn to the National Assembly; N0.50bn to the Public Complaint Commission; N0.30bn to the Human Rights Commission.

The minister also stated that as of October 19, 2016, a total of N753.663bn capital releases, out of the appropriated N1.587trn, was released for priority projects and programmes identified as contributing to the Strategic Implementation of the budget.

She said a review of the utilisation performance as of October 19, 2016 showed that out of the N1.58 trn total capital budgetary allocation, N753.663bn, representing 47.5 percent, had been released and cash-backed with N403.4bn so far utilised by 30 out of 46 ministries, departments and agencies.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44