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Budget Padding, Delay: NASS, NDDC Trade Words
The National Assembly has reacted to the allegations of budget delay and budget padding of the 2019 budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The Acting Managing Director of the Commission, Kemebradikumo Pondei, and the Executive Director, Project, Cairo Ojougboh, made the allegations in separate interviews.
The duo claimed that the lawmakers inserted over 500 projects into the 2019 budget of the commission and are arm-twisting the Interim Management Committee (IMC) from carrying out a forensic audit as directed by President Buhari.
Mr Ojougboh also said the House of Representatives “vandalized and raped” the 2019 budget by adding ₦85 billion to the budget.
They also claimed that the “overbearing stranglehold” of the National Assembly’s panels was responsible for the delay in the passage of the commission’s 2019 budget.
In his reaction, the Senate spokesperson, Ajibola Basiru, said the commission was exhibiting ignorance about the constitutional power of the National Assembly to perform oversight functions over all entities that expend national funds, particularly to prevent or detect corruption.
He told ThisDay Newspaper that the Senate is acting within its constitutional mandate and the appropriate forum to challenge any perceived infraction by the National Assembly is to challenge the same in a court of law and not by wild claims on a television station.
He said the National Assembly would wait to see if the NDDC will fail to honour the invitation to be extended to it by the ad hoc committee probing the alleged N40 billion fraud at the commission.
On his part, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP – Delta North), said all allegations levelled against the National Assembly are mere fabrications.
He told journalists on Thursday that the ongoing probe of the finances of the commission by both chambers of the National Assembly triggered the open media attacks against the National Assembly by the IMC.
While he said the National Assembly’s response is to correct the misrepresentation, he called on the EFCC, police and ICPC to investigate the claims.
“What we are seeing is a case of a man sent to catch the thief but instead of catching the thief, he starts stealing too.
“If members of the IMC know that their hands are clean, they don’t need to pannick or resort to blackmail which would not in anyway deter the already mandated investigative committees of the National Assembly from carrying out their legitimate assignments.
“Their lies have short legs and unfortunately cannot run fast or fly. IMC must be ready to submit itself for thorough investigation by committees already assigned for that by both Chambers of the National Assembly,” he said.
The lawmaker explained that the National Assembly refused to treat the request to amend the 2019 budget of the NDDC because there was a breach of the procedure for requesting budget amendment.
In the same vein, the House’ spokesperson, Benjamin Kalu, described the allegations as untrue and a deliberate mischief to deceive Nigerians about the financial improprieties of the commission.
Mr Kalu, in a statement, said in reality, it has been the House pushing the commission to do the needful. He said for more than 13 months after the time required by law, the commission deliberately failed to submit its 2019 budget to the National Assembly for approval, choosing instead to engage in illegal and unauthorized spending of billions of naira. He said in December 2019, the commission failed to appear with its 2018 budget performance report and sent a letter on May 13, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as excuse for their failure to provide their 2019 performance report.
Premium Times
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Hon. Abubakar Gummi from the House of Representatives after he left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker represented the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency in Zamfara State.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the ruling, holding that Gummi’s defection breached the Constitution.
The court said the seat does not belong to any politician but to the political party that sponsored the election.
According to the judgment, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, is barred from recognising Gummi “as a member representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency.”
The judge also instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to “conduct a fresh election” for the vacant seat within 30 days.
The case was instituted by the PDP and its Zamfara chairman, who insisted that Gummi’s move to the APC had no legal justification. They argued that there was no division in the PDP to support his defection, as required by Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Gummi, through his counsel, claimed he left the PDP due to internal crises which he said made it “impossible” to serve his constituents effectively. The judge, however, dismissed his arguments and granted all the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs.
Justice Egwuatu, in a firm comment, warned politicians against what he described as reckless party hopping.
“Political prostitution must not be rewarded,” he declared, adding that lawmakers must not transfer votes won on one party’s platform to another party.
The court also ordered Gummi to refund all salaries and allowances received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment. He is also barred from earning any further benefits as a member of the House.
Additionally, the judge imposed a N500,000 cost against the defendants in favour of the PDP.
