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Budget Padding, Delay: NASS, NDDC Trade Words
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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 Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, on Thursday, criticised President Bola Tinubu’s “Emi Lokan” slogan ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Makinde said Nigerians do not need “turn-by-turn nepotism”, arguing that voters should be free to decide who becomes the country’s next president in 2027.
The Oyo State governor spoke during the APM’s town hall meeting in Akure, Ondo State.
Makinde asked: “How can someone say ‘Eemi lokan’ in a country like Nigeria? You were given the opportunity. If you recall the 1999 presidential election, the South-West voted massively for Baba Olu Falae, but the rest of Nigerians voted for Baba Obasanjo. So, this is not an issue that only the South-West can resolve; it is an issue we must address collectively as Nigerians.
“We do not want ‘turn-by-turn nepotism’, nor do we want a situation where people say, ‘I will vote for projects because it is my turn’. You will not finish those projects, and when it becomes someone else’s turn, they will do the same thing. We will end up with a Nigeria where we cannot get value for the resources belonging to Nigerians.
“The Reset Nigeria agenda is about building a country where infrastructure development supports economic growth and addresses the concerns of young people and women.
“Once we fix our economy, no zone will be left behind, and no demographic group will be left behind.”
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has denied saying the Federal government will introduce a fuel tax when the economy stabilises and income levels improve.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Oyedele said his remarks during an interview with ARISE News was misrepresented, insisting that a “fuel tax is not on the table.”
However, during the interview with Rotus Odiri, ARISE News Business Correspondent, on the sidelines of the 2026 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, Oyedele said the tax would come when income levels improve enough for Nigerians to accommodate it.
He said taxes account for between 20 and 80 percent of pump prices in some countries, while many African countries impose between six and 10 different taxes on fuel products.
He said introducing fuel tax while petrol was still subsidised would have been counterproductive because government would effectively be paying the tax itself.
According to him, imposing the tax immediately after removal of petrol subsidy would be insensitive to Nigerians.
“The objective should be that instead of trying to suppress prices, which hasn’t worked for us, it hasn’t worked for any country in the world, not one. Instead of trying to suppress prices, think about how to grow income faster than prices rise,” Oyedele said.
“That’s how you bring prosperity and grow the middle class and that is exactly what we are doing as led by Mr. President himself.
“At the appropriate time, when the economy has stabilizes and income level will be able to accommodate it, those taxes will come. Not because we want to impose taxes,” he added.
In his Tuesday post, the minister reiterated that introducing a fuel tax at this time would be insensitive following removal of petrol subsidy, describing reports that government will introduce the levy when the economy stabilises as “fake news.”
A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Deputy Director of the Presidential Campaign Council, Chief Dele Momodu, has described former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the most nationally formidable and experienced among the leading contenders for the 2027 presidential election.
Momodu said Atiku’s experience at the national level distinguishes him from President Bola Tinubu and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi.
He stated this on Wednesday during an interview on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, in Abeokuta.
“If you look at the antecedents of the three major candidates, between Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, you will see that Atiku is the most experienced. He has managed our country at the highest level,” he said.
Momodu traced Atiku’s political journey to the 1992 Social Democratic Party (SDP), presidential primary where he contested against late MKO Abiola and stepped down for him.
He said Atiku accepted the outcome without crisis even after he was not picked as Abiola’s running mate, describing it as a mark of true democratic temperament.
“He is the only one who started from around 1992, contested the SDP primary against Abiola and stepped down with uncommon equanimity. He did not make any noise,” Momodu said.
He noted that Atiku was among the founders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and served as Vice-President from 1999 to 2007.
Comparing Atiku with Obi, Momodu argued that while Obi’s best was demonstrated in Anambra, Atiku’s was at the presidency level managing the national economy.
“Peter Obi has tried his best in Anambra, while Atiku’s best is at the level of vice president controlling the economy of Nigeria. The difference is clear. He has matured in experience and exposure,” he said.
Momodu also said President Tinubu’s experience was largely limited to Lagos.
“What I’m trying to say is that Tinubu’s experience was limited to Lagos, and that is why when he became president, he thought Nigeria was Lagos. And he has found out now that Nigeria is not Lagos,” he said.
He argued that the current economic hardship under the present administration did not show prosperity, insisting Atiku remained better positioned to lead the country.
“Well, we are yet to see that prosperity, and if yesterday would determine today and tomorrow, it is obvious that Tinubu should retire now and let someone else do it,” Momodu added.
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