Fani Kayode: ‘Buhari government is a plague,’ Ex-minister says

Former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has described the Muhammadu Buhari administration as a plague.

Fani-Kayode also accused Buhari of promoting an ungodly ethnic and religious agenda. The former minister made the comments via his Twitter handle today, August 12, 2016. He said: “Polio back, Nigeria no longer the largest economy in Africa: this gov. is a plague. They bring nothing but sickness, poverty and hardship." “They are an affliction that thrive on the suffering of the people. They are the incubus and succubus spirits that feed on the nation’s glory and that suck the life out of the people. “Their motivation is pure and unadulterated hate and their objective is to impoverish Nigeria, to silence the opposition, to intimidate and enslave the people, to satisfy their insatiable lust for power and to impose a hideous and ungodly ethnic and religious agenda. “Wickedness is their forte, the abuse of power is their modus, brute force is their language and lies, deceit and propaganda are their weapons of warfare. They are nothing but bullies and fascists and like all bullies and fascists their end will come.” Fani-Kayode had earlier accused Buhari of supporting only Northern interests. Nigeria witnessed a resurgence of Polio after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced, on August 11, that it had identified new cases of the disease in Borno State. The country had been polio-free for two years before the new outbreak was discovered.

Governor Fayose boosts local content capacity by awarding N59m contract to carpenters, welders

Governor Ayo Fayose has taken a decision to boost the local content capacity in Ekiti state.

 Fayose reportedly awarded a N59m contract to carpenters and welders, which entails the construction of 1,250 chairs and desks for primary schools in Ekiti state. According to the Chairman of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) implementation, Chief Dipo Anisulowo, said the move is in-line with the Governor’s desire to boost the capacity of local contractors. Anisulowo also revealed that the desks will be distributed to some primary schools in some part of Ekiti state. Adding that the gesture will improve the learning experience of pupils and increase the standard of basic education in Ekiti state. The Ekiti MDG boss also said “Ekiti State being one of the participants in this programme, had always adhere strictly to due diligent procurement policy of the state and federal governments in the implementation and award process of MDGs projects and programmes. “I, therefore, want you to be rest assured that the procurement arrangements we are working out today between the state government, contractors, furniture and welder associations is being brokered without contravening any procurement law and regulation laid down by the MDGs office in Abuja and Ekiti State.” Governor Ayo Fayose also told his supporters during a rally, that any government that rises up against him will surely fall.

Budget Padding Scandal: Reps back Dogara, say legislature can insert projects

Egoh insisted that Dogara had not done anything wrong for anybody to cast aspersions on his person.


 Two members of the House of Representatives, have expressed support for the embattled Speaker and other principal officers of the house in the allegations of budget padding levelled against them by Rep. Abdulmumin Jibrin. They insisted that the speaker and the other accused principal officers have not committed any offence to warrant calls for them to resign. Rep. Aminu Suleiman (APC-Kano), Chairman, House Committee on Tertiary Education, said that there was no basis for the Speaker to resign. Suleiman told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that neither Dogara nor the house committed any offence by virtue of legislative duties performed with regard to the 2016 budget as attested to by the Presidency.] He said: " am happy that the Presidency has said that the budget was not padded. "But then there are people who have perpetual disdain for the National Assembly, who celebrate crisis, who pray for crisis and use it to cast aspersions on lawmakers. "We are empowered to decide what goes where in the budget; which is why the executive brings the document to us as an estimate of expenditure. "It's in our place as National Assembly to deal with the budget, determine what should be where and return it to the President. "If he (President) disagrees with us and we know that what we have done is right, the law also gives us the power to override his veto after 30 days.’’ Suleiman however noted that if some officials in the executive insert some figures in the budget during transmiision to the President after it had been passed by lawmakers, one could say it had been padded. The chairman criticized the call for Dogara to resign, describing it as unrealistic. "Everybody has a right to call for anything, but whether the call is realistic or not is up to them to prove why they are asking the Speaker to go. Also speaking, Rep. Oghene Egoh (PDP-Lagos), noted that if the Legislature could not remove or add in the process of appropriation, there would be no basis for the President to submit the budget to it. "One thing that has surprised me is that a lot of people who are educated, journalists, lawyers and the rest don't seem to understand the functions of the legislature. "Padding is part of legislative process; it is through padding one can satisfy his or her constituents. "Even the executive does padding. If not, how do you think the President is able to get allocation for the road that leads to his area?" Egoh insisted that Dogara had not done anything wrong for anybody to cast aspersions on his person.

I owe pensioners only four years arrears - Governor says

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo had alleged that the present administration’s failure to pay pensioners’ arrears might cripple the incoming administration in the state.

 Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo says his administration is owing only four years of unpaid pensions after settling pensioners’ entitlements for 13 years. Oshiomhole told the State House correspondents in Abuja on Thursday that contrary to the allegation by the opposition, he was not leaving behind a huge liability for his successor. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo had alleged that the present administration’s failure to pay pensioners’ arrears might cripple the incoming administration in the state. "From 1998 when the Army left, to 1999 to 2000, 2001, 2002 up to the end of 2008 when I took over, that was a period of 13 years. "So, you find a pension bill of 13 years, arrears of gratuity and pension not paid by PDP government including the 7,000 people they dismissed. "Now when I assumed duties at the end of 2008, I had two options. On the one hand, I had this temptation to say ok I would be paying those who retired during my tenure. "But then, as a former labour leader, I asked myself that if an employer was so callous to carry out massive retrenchment of workers as the PDP did by sacking 7,000 and all the permanent secretaries and did not pay them gratuity, is it the fault of those workers? "And so, I accepted the fact that government is a continuum. And so whatever they didn’t do, I will have to try to do. "So, as we speak today, we have paid pension in 1998 and all those who pensioned in 1999, all the ones they dismissed in 2000 and those who retired from 2001, 2002, 2003 up to 2011. "So, I have paid pension arrears of 13 years even though I have been in government for only seven years plus.’’ The governor maintained that having cleared 10 years pension and gratuities arrears, Oshiomhole assured that his administration would settle part of the outstanding four years pensions before handing over power to a new government.

Murderers Robbers explain why they killed Oyo MP

Members of a robbery gang who were recently arrested for the murder of an Oyo State member of parliament, Gideon Aremu, have revealed why they committed the crime.
Aremu was shot dead in front of his residence during a robbery operation by four men who were bothered that the law maker recognized them. This was in response to rumours concerning if the murder was an assasination. Giving a confession, Adedeji, who is the prime suspect in the murder case said his group had no premeditated intention of killing the deceased. He said, “We left a popular drinking joint at Beere, where we smoked Indian Hemp to our satisfaction. We did not have the lawmaker in mind when we took off from Beere." "It was when we were looking for whom to rob that we saw him in his car. We stopped him as he was about entering his premises and robbed him of his phone and money." “Then Abbey just pointed the gun at him and shot him many times. I didn’t know why he killed him. Later I discovered that Abbey lives at Adegbayi too. His mother has a house there." “Abbey said he knew the lawmaker. It was Abbey that brought the deal to us." “We were going somewhere before we had a change of mind. I was there when Abbey shot him." “He told us that the victim was killed because they thought he identified them due to a torchlight he shone on them." “We had only one gun. Although I was the one that collected the items, I did not know how much money we took from him. I was given only N40, 000." “He told us that the victim was killed because they thought he identified them due to a torchlight he shone on them." Leye Oyebade, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police mentioned that the suspects were arrested through the hard work and diligence of the force. He gave assurances that justice will served, as the suspects will be made to face the consequences of their action.

Nigerians protest food shortage at town hall meeting

The atmosphere was charged, yesterday, as participants at the special Town Hall meeting organized by Ministry of Information and Culture, in collaboration with the Alumni Association of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, AANI, in Abuja, confronted nine ministers, demanding for quick remedy to the current economic hardship in the country. Some of the aggrieved participants told the ministers that Nigerians were tired of the talkshops and that government should do more to put food on their tables. Speaking at the meeting, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said 2017 Budget would be submitted to the National Assembly by October this year. According to the minister, necessary consultations on preparing the 2017 budget are ongoing. He revealed that government had already released N331.5 billion to date, as part of capital allocation of the 2016 budget, to key ministries covering sectors that will turn around the economy. He said the ministries that received the capital released were power, works and housing, defence and security, water resources, transportation, agriculture and Niger Delta. *-N100bn ready for capital projects-* Presenting his scorecard at the meeting, Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, told the audience that the present administration had been able to reverse the negative trend of spending the bigger chunk of its annual budget on recurrent expenditure to capital by increasing the vote from 10-15 per cent to 30 per cent in the 2016 budget. He, however, disclosed that the Federal Government was ready to release additional N100,00 billion for capital expenditure, in addition to the N331 billion earlier released in June. Of the N331 billion, Fashola said his ministry received N102 billion as at July 29, and had paid N70 billion to contractors, project managers, consultant, who had not received money for about two and half years. He said: “We are paying out, with the understanding that they will begin to bring back all the workers they have laid off. That is the way to go, and out of this recession. We are not doing anything usual, but working with thinner resources to do more. *-On power-* He explained that the administration was trying to complete transmission lines from Gurara, Kashim Mambila plants, and some other NIPP projects across the country to boost power supply. The idea, he said, was to evacuate power immediately after generation, saying progress is being made on other transmission lines. *-Borrowing-* In her presentation, Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the current effort by Federal Government to borrow some funds was justifiable, in the sense that the funds would be channelled into infrastructure development. Adeosun, who bemoaned the present economic hardship in the country, told the audience that she also inherited 1.2 million civil servants, with over N160 billion total wage bill per month. She described the size of the public sector as a reflection of the failure of the private sector in the country. “We can’t continue that way. That is why we have a very conservative appetite for borrowing,” Adeosun said, adding that there was no quick solution to the present economic challenges. She noted that there was a fundamental problem but assured that government was moving in the right direction. *-Adopts ranching-* On his part, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said the Federal Government had adopted ranching as the only remedy to the lingering farmers and herdsmen crisis in the country. Ogbeh, who traced the problem to the Structural Adjustment Programme, SAP, of Babangida’s administration of 1986, pointed out that "the situation in Nigeria at present did not start today." He said: “This recession started long time ago in 1986, when the then federal government introduced structural adjustment programme. Then we threw our doors open for all kinds of importation.” *-To partner states in mining-* Also in his presentation at the meeting, Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, stated that there should be synergy among the federal, state and local governments for mining to thrive in the country. He said: "Solid mineral is the backbone of industrialization. About $3.3 billion of skilled labor in iron ore and steel is imported into the country. This has to stop for the sector to move forward. ‘’We do not want people to come into the sector and export mining products. If you are in it, you have to set up processing plants to enable us create resources available in that area and send out finished products like cement,’’ Fayemi said. Earlier, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had said the administration was always willing to engage with Nigerians to explain its policies and programmes, as well as seek the necessary input from them. He lamented that some individuals and groups had made it their pastime to continually castigate the present government over an economic situation which was not its own making.

We can’t drive on empty stomachs, say striking Lagos BRT drivers

Commuters were stranded, yesterday, when Lagos Bus Rapid Transport, BRT’s drivers and ticketers on the Ikorodu-CMS route downed tools over unpaid salaries and unfavourable condition of service. The BRT scheme, operated by Primero Transport Services Ltd., began operation in November 2015 and has 434 buses on its fleet; and more than 2,000 staff. It was gathered that the workers convened an emergency meeting at about 5.45a.m. at the loading station, after which they converged on the bus corridor and barricaded it. The protest was orderly. *-Their grouse-* Some of the workers, who spoke to Vanguard, lamented that their terms of service had been reversed, with salaries slashed from N60,000 to N45,000. A driver, Mr. Julius Adejire, said: “We are still waiting for our July salaries. The funny thing is that as at Monday evening, we discovered that some other staffers, including the engineers and ground staff, have been receiving salaries alerts. Can we drive this bus on empty stomach?’’ Adejire said that apart from delayed salaries, the drivers wanted improved welfare and working conditions. He said: “The policy guiding our job is another issue; we are working like slaves because as a driver you cannot stop to ease yourself or have break time. “We are supposed to be doing 40 hours in a week, but they cowed us into doing 48 hours with just one off day instead of two. “We have been tolerating them because we believe this is a new project that needs to be supported, but the situation is getting tougher. “We don’t even know where we are heading; the buses are still new. Is it when the buses go bad that they will pay us? “In our appointment letter, they said we will receive N60,000 as basic salary and N20,000 as performance bonus. After five months they changed it to N40,000 basic and N40,000 bonus with a lot of conditions. *-‘We sleep under bridge’-* “They are trying to instil discipline when there is no staff bus or accommodation arrangement for drivers who come from as far as Sango-Ota, Badagry and Agbara.” He added that drivers, who could not afford to sleep on the bridge near the BRT bus shelter, pay N500 daily to sleep in a nearby church. He said: “They should revert to the agreement on our appointment letter and also tell us the exact day of the month we will be receiving our salaries. “This is the only job we depend on, but the salary is often delayed, so how do we survive? We don’t collect pension even if you work for 10 years.” *-Management’s reaction-* The company’s Managing Director, Mr. Fola Tinubu, said the delay in salaries payment was due to an error on the part of the bank handling the disbursement. He said: “It is really due to an error and we have corrected it. The money was paid yesterday (Monday). So why they are doing this beats me, because the money should be in their accounts by now.” On the allegation of reviewed salary structure, Tinubu said the company’s management took the decision to instil discipline in the protesting drivers. He said: “When I took over, they were being paid a basic salary of N60,000 and bonus of N20,000, but nobody was being paid the bonus. “So I thought it was unfair for them not to get their bonus and I made sure they get their bonus. “However, we discovered that majority of them were not conscientious and when they take the buses out they just park somewhere and don’t work. “So we decided to shift the salary to N40,000 and the bonus to N40,000; it is same amount. “We are not trying to take money away from them, but we don’t want to pay people that will not work and we don’t want those people in the system anyway. “The way the country is today you cannot expect us to be paying people that don’t want to work. So that’s the genesis of the whole issue.” *-Commuters stranded-* Meanwhile, some stranded passengers expressed their disappointment and urged the Lagos State Government to intervene in the matter in the interest of commuters and residents of Lagos as commercial buses used the opportunity to increase their fares on the route. Mr. Hakeen Abdulraham, an insurance broker, said: “The buses have been a sort of life saver, especially for residents of Ikorodu because of the comfort and relatively cheaper fares. “But I was shocked when I got to the bus terminal early today (yesterday) to discover that the buses had yet to arrive at 6.30a.m. “It is quite disappointing that this is happening at a time when the economy is biting hard as some of the yellow- painted commercial buses ( Danfo) may want to take undue advantage of the situation to hike their fares.”

CBN sets new limit for sale of foreign exchange cash to BDC

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday, set a new limit of $30, 000.00 per week for the sale of foreign exchange cash from the Authorised Dealers, ADs to Bureaux de Change, BDCs, just as the Naira depreciated to N350 per dollar. The apex bank also warned Authorised Dealers to refrain from accessing its Discount Window on the settlement date for government securities’ auctions. The securities are CBN Bills, Nigerian Treasury Bills and Federal Government of Nigeria Bonds. The warning, according to the CBN Circular Ref: FMD/ DIR/GEN/CIR/07/005 to all authorised Dealers titled “Access to the CBN Discount Window” signed by Director, Financial Market Department, CBN, Dr. Alvan E. Ikoku is coming in view of the observed abuse of access to the CBN Standing Lending Facility by authorised dealers.The CBN warned the authorised dealers to comply as any violation will result in their denial of access to its Standing Lending Facility.“You are reminded that authorised dealers who come to any of the CBN’s windows are prohibited from interbank foreign exchange market on the same day” Ikoku stated. *- Naira falls to N350 per dollar-* Naira traded at an all-time low of 350 to the dollar in a single interbank market trade of $100,000. The currency was offered at N313 naira to the dollar and a total of $3.11 million had been traded Meanwhile, in another circular Ref: TED/FEM/FPC/ GEN/01/006 titled “Re: Sales of Foreign Currency Proceeds of International Money Transfers to Bureaux De Change Operators” signed by the CBN’s Acting Director, Trade & Exchange Department, W.D. Gotring stated “ Authorised Dealers shall sell foreign exchange cash to BDCs subject to a maximum of $30,000.00 per week. A BDC shall nominate its preferred Authorised Dealer (DMB) and can only procure the said amount from only that bank of its choice in a week. Any breach of this condition will attract appropriate sanction.” The circular further stated that “the selling rate by the Authorised Dealers to BDCs shall be the buying rate from International Money Transfers Operators, IMTSOs plus a margin not exceeding 1.5 per cent; Foreign exchange cash purchased by BDCs from Authorised Dealers (Ads) shall be sold to foreign exchange end-users at a rate not exceeding two per cent margin above the buying rate; For the avoidance of doubt, the two per cent margin stated shall be applicable to all funds to be retailed by BDCs regardless of source of fund; Authorised Dealers shall continue to render weekly returns on sales to BDCs and the BDCs shall also continue to render weekly returns on purchases from ADs as specified in the attached excel format to Trade & Exchange Department, CBN , Abuja.” Other requirements in the circular include: “Funds purchased by BDCs shall be disbursed for the following eligible transactions only. In all cases, the maximum disbursement per transaction shall not exceed $5,000.00 for (a) Business Travel Allowance/ Personal Travel Allowance (b) Overseas School fees and (c) Overseas Medical fees.” The CBN in the circular said “Record shall be maintained for all transactions by the BDCs showing the BVN of the end-user, including endorsement of the amount disbursed in the International Passport of the beneficiary; International Money Transfer Service Operators shall continue to render weekly returns on their operations with agent banks directly to the CBN as specified in the attached format.; All BDCS are required to render weekly returns on foreign exchange purchases from Autgorised Dealers and other sources as well sales to the Director, Trade and Exchange Department as specified in the attached excel format. *-CBN to allow banks write-off bad loans this year-* Meanwhile, the CBN also yesterday said it will this year allow banks to write off bad loans for which they have already made provisions to help them to clean up their balance sheets. Pressure has been building on the country’s banks, whose loan books have been hit by Nigeria’s shrinking economy, plunging currency and foreign exchange shortages following the slump in oil prices. Banks had asked the central bank to amend its rule requiring them to keep non-performing loans on their books for one year even after they have been fully provided for. The Central Bank has granted them permission to write off these bad loans but this will be a one-off that will only apply until the end of this year. “In view of the current macro-economic challenges ... the CBN hereby grants a one-off forbearance, this year 2016, to banks, to write-off fully provided NPLs without waiting for the mandatory one year,” the bank said in a circular dated July 28 and published on its website on Tuesday. Non-performing loans are expected to jump to 12.5 percent of total loans this year, up from the central bank’s target of 5 percent at the end of last year, as banks suffer a hangover from an oil industry credit boom that ended abruptly in 2015, according to Augusto & Co, Nigeria’s main rating agency. Last week, Diamond Bank said its non-performing loan ratio rose to 8.9 percent by the first half, but expects it to fall to 7.5 percent by year end. Rival FCMB expects to restructure 25 percent of oil and gas loans in the third quarter after it restructured 50 percent of those loans last year.

It is regrettable that APC has failed to provide the change promised – Agbaje

Former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for Lagos state in the 2015 election, Mr Jimi Agbaje has promised that he will lead the party back to winning ways if elected chairman of the party at the Portharcourt Convention. He also said that PDP gave 'way so that Nigerians can test what other parties have in stock. But it is regrettable that party has failed to provide the change promised. Every youth in Nigeria will like to see PDP reformed, and the reformation has started." Speaking with Journalists shortly after he picked the nomination forms for the chairmanship position of the party in Abuja, Mr Agbaje said as a candidate who does not belong to any of the factions in the party, he stands a better chance to unite all the contending forces in the party. According to him, it was high time the party learnt from its mistakes of the past that cost it power at the national level as well as some states that it had previously won. He said: "We accept that mistakes were made in the past in the PDP, especially with our internal democracy. So we have to go back to the position of the founding fathers of our party on internal democracy "And that means that we have go back to our constitution. That is very important. We have to be more all inclusive as we have been thus far. It is about bringing people nearer rather than sending them far away from the party. Everybody must feel to be part of this party. "what I bring to the table is that I am not a member of any faction or any tendencies. I am in a position to talk to everybody, to ensure that if you love the PDP, then it is time to come back to the zone. I will appeal to those who feel very strongly to join us because Nigeria cannot make the progress it deserves without a viable opposition and that PDP is going to provide that opposition as an alternative government and in a responsible manner. On the attempt by leaders of the party in the south to conduct an internal zoning, he said it is difficult to achieve that. "We must understand what is playing out. The party is very clear, what the party zoned is that the National Chairmanship is to the South. It is the south on its own now that is running to see if it can get some measure of consensus. "It is already very difficult to get consensus under circumstances where everybody feels that he is qualified. The beauty of democracy is that you must be able, and shouldn't be afraid to contest. "What matters is that a level playing field is created and we shouldn't bring this idea that we must have consensus. No! It is not even good to have consensus all the time. Let us have robust competition, because competition always brings out a better solution and I think that is important. "Now it is for those in the south to decide what they want. If they say it is the Southwest, so be it. If you feel you can run against the tide, nobody will stop you. We must continue to go back to the constitution, the constitution does not give you the power to exclude anybody. When you exclude you create tension. If you say look, this is what we think is best, if you do not agree, then, get into the field and let us run this race" he said. Meanwhile, an aspirant for the national youth leader under the PDP, Mr Ude Okoye, has said that the zoning of positions in the party would ensure equity. Speaking after he picked his form ahead of the party's national convention, Okoye said "Sometime we may rule and think that our ruling is correct. Anybody who knows this wonderful party, PDP, and our many slogan will know that it is a party that dwells on equity. It was built and anchored on equity that anything that the north has, the south should have the same. We are not like the present political party ruling Nigeria; we want the northerners to feel the same way as southerners because we are one Nigeria. "That is why in our system we believe in zoning; the zones that can give us what we have so that the party can move forward. That we zoned offices does not mean that any of our members who feels like running cannot run. The zoning formula of PDP is not in anyway prohibiting anyone who feels like running. "When elected as youth leader of this party, I will do my best to unite the party. First of all, I will like to say that our image has not been battered because PDP has been at the top of politics in Nigeria. Many people have been clamouring for the party to come back to power. We have given way so that Nigerians can test what other parties have in stock. But it is regrettable that party has failed to provide the change promised. Every youth in Nigeria will like to see PDP reformed, and the reformation has started." On what he intends to achieve as youth leader, he said "I intend to reach out to all the youths in order to tell them about the new agenda of the party, and also the agenda of the founding father of this party. I will like say that nobody."

Budget Padding: EFCC grills Jibrin for seven hours

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, commenced a formal probe into alleged padding of the 2016 federal budget, with the former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jirbin being grilled for seven hours. The EFCC moves, corresponding with a financial audit of the accounts of the National Assembly, came as the Presidency affirmed that it was not implementing a padded budget. The Presidency also reassured Nigerians that there was no cause for alarm over the controversy, given the decision of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to handle the matter as a “domestic issue.” Exonerating itself from allegations of padding the 2016 national budget, the Presidency further affirmed that the budget signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari was the copy passed and sent to him by the National Assembly. Meanwhile, supporters of Speaker Yakubu Dogara were, yesterday, basking in the assurance of having collected more than 200 signatures in the 360-member House to drum support for the speaker. Jibrin, who raised the allegations of padding of the budget against Speaker Dogara and four other principal officers of the House, was the first to be quizzed in what EFCC officials claimed would be a thorough investigation to get to the root of the matter. EFCC operatives reportedly asked him to authenticate his claims about the alleged improprieties and also questioned a petition written against him by some aggrieved youths that he (Jibrin) used his position to loot N418 million through fake contracts from the National Refugees Commission. Jibrin, who arrived the EFCC premises around 10 a.m., did not leave until 5 p.m. yesterday. Before leaving, Jibrin reportedly filed more allegations against Dogara and his principal officers, accusing them of maintaining guest houses at the expense of government. He also alleged that Dogara and others were collecting rents from their homes and pretended to be staying in rented quarters in breach of extant financial rules. Vanguard learned that the EFCC has written two letters to the Permanent Secretary in the Budget & National Planning Ministry to furnish it with the details of the budget presented to the NASS and that returned to the government by the lawmakers. The letter was dated August 3, 2016. Similarly, the agency has despatched another letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly, requesting him to provide the EFCC with a comprehensive list of all contracts awarded since inauguration of the 8th National Assembly, last year. In addition, the commission asked the National Assembly to forward the list of contract beneficiaries and accounts into which payments were made by the legislature within the period under review. It also requested for total amount already paid to each of the contractors and the outstanding balances for each. A top source in EFCC confirmed the probe, saying they were ready to get to the root of the alleged padding and bring culprits to book. *- Buhari didn't sign padded budget — Udoma -* Speaking at a town hall meeting in Abuja, yesterday, the Minister of Budget & National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, explained that the budget signed by the President was well scrutinized and passed through due process of appropriation in the National Assembly before it was signed into law in May. Udoma, who was reacting to a question on whether the President signed a padded budget, insisted that the executive arm of government was never in the know of any form of padding before signing it into law. “We did not assent a padded budget. The budget followed through the various stages of preparation and scrutiny and appropriation before it was signed into law.” Senior Special Assistant to the President (Senate) Senator Ita Enang, also distanced the Presidency from the issue of alleged padding. Enang spoke after a consultative meeting with senior officials of the APC at the party secretariat in Abuja. He also added that the party had ordered its members to refrain from further comments on the issue. “The budget, as assented to by Mr. President, is the budget as passed by the National Assembly and that is the budget being executed. “But as at now, the party is handling it as a domestic issue, and all of us are enjoined not to make public comments on the details of it because the matter is still under consideration,” he said. Accompanied on the visit by the SSA to the President, (House of Representatives) Ismail Kawu, the presidential aide explained that “in all our years of legislative engagement, we are yet to find in the legislative lexicon the word ‘padding.’ "When the budget is presented before the legislature, the legislature is to consider the budget and pass as it deems fit. So what the legislature passes becomes the appropriation law upon assent. "Therefore, any word which is yet to crystallize in legislative lexicon, you cannot hear us mention it.” Asked to comment on whether Speaker Yakubu Dogara padded the budget, Enang drew back from speaking further, concluding “we would not want to draw any conclusion. Please let us not go too far mentioning any office. Let it be that two of us have appeared before the party.” Meanwhile, with the discord over the alleged padding raging, the controversy was being traced to the alleged decision to sideline an ad-hoc committee of senior legislators and Presidency officials that had in the past superintended over the budget. The ad-hoc committee, comprising chairmen of the committees of appropriation and finance of the Senate and House, the Minister of Finance, Director-General of the Budget Office had since 2008, been presided over by the Deputy President of the Senate. The committee, which played a backroom duty of reconciling issues between the Presidency and the legislature, had in the past doused tension between the two arms of government during the budget process. However, following the advent of the APC administration last year, that committee was not constituted, partly on account of the emergence of Senator Ike Ekweremadu as deputy president of the Senate. This led to a situation where there was no platform to address issues that arose during the work on the budget by the National Assembly. One of such issues was the controversy over the alleged smuggling of a fake budget into the National Assembly. Some concerned stakeholders had recently tried to put an ethnic hue to the issue as a comparison was being made to the decision of the House of Representatives in 2008 to break up the Joint National Assembly Committee on Constitution Review after Senator Ekweremadu also emerged as Deputy President of the Senate. Meanwhile, chairman of the House Committee on Health Services, Rep. Chike Okafor, has denied Jibrin’s allegation that he (Okafor) moved massive amounts of money from the health budget. Okafor, who represents Ehime Mbano/Ihitte Uboma/ Obowo Federal Constituency of Imo State, noted with dismay that Jibrin neither said where the money was moved from nor where it was moved to. “My first impulse was to ignore the blabbing which is fast becoming the hallmark of Jibrin, but on a re-think, letting the lies fly without calling it by name may expose some gullible audience to the risk of choking on the mendacious gibberish that has become Jibrin’s biggest capital in recent times. “In the publication crawling with deliberate misrepresentations and wilful lies designed to rope in any person within reach, Jibrin who referred to me as ‘Chairman, House Committee on Health accused me of ‘moving massive amount of money that made the exercise look like a big joke.’ “Jibrin neither said where the money was moved from nor where it was moved to. “When you have been around and about in fiscal circles you will know the signs when you see them – Jibrin is merely grasping for straws and clearly cuts a picture of a man who has reached the end of his tethers in a desperate bid to hide his smear in the crowd of imaginary culprits he conjures ‘daily’ with such voodoo- vibrancy. One begins to wonder where he left his honour." Meanwhile, Jibrin in a statement, late last night, said the present development was an answer by God to President Buhari’s anti corruption drive as he debunked claims by Speaker Dogara that padding was within the purview of the National Assembly. Responding to assertions by Speaker Dogara at the Presidential Villa, last Friday, that padding was not an offence, Jibrin said: “Since Speaker Yakubu Dogara made the public comment that padding is not an offense, why then did he say he “sacked” me on the grounds of padding allegations? “I have said it repeatedly and wish to restate that I did nothing wrong and I committed no offence. I did not abuse my office or corruptly enrich myself in the five years I have been in the House,” he said. Meanwhile, confidence among supporters of Speaker Dogara continued to wax strong, yesterday, with core loyalists insisting that at least 200 members had signed on to endorse confidence in the speaker. A source privy to this development revealed: “We’ve gone far ahead of our adversaries.” SOURCE: Vanguard - Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor, Emman Ovuakporie, Johnbosco Agbakwuru & Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA