Headlines
Supplementary Budget: Presidency Plans to Spend N28bn on Cars, Houses for Tinubu, Wife, Shettima
Reports reaching The Boss says the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government is planning to spend about N28 billion for the renovation of the official quarters of President Bola Tinubu and his deputy, Kashim Shettima in Abuja and Lagos as well as buy cars for the presidency and Tinubu’s wife, Oluremi.
On Monday, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, declared that the Federal Government would request permission to appropriate more than N2 trillion for the 2023 supplemental budget.
See breakdown:
This is a 9.16 per cent increase from the N21.83 trillion 2023 Appropriations Bill signed into law on January 3, 2023, by former President Muhammadu Buhari, marking it Nigeria’s highest budget ever.
Details from the supplemental budget indicate that President Tinubu plans to spend over N4 billion on renovations of his official mansion in Abuja and about 2.5 billion on renovations for his vice president’s official residence.
In a similar vein, the president plans to renovate his official residence in Lagos, the Dodan Barracks, for approximately N4 billion. And the renovation for the official residence of the VP in Lagos is expected to gulp about N4 billion.
These figures have drawn wide reactions from different quarters as many Nigerians continue to suffer the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy.
In his inaugural speech on May 29, Mr Tinubu declared the removal of the petrol subsidy, which caused the price of petrol to rise by about 200 percent, from about N200 to over N500.
While many groups have applauded the President for acting quickly to remove the subsidies, which experts estimate have taken billions of dollars out of the nation’s economy, some have also criticised the administration for its propensity to engage in extravagant spending, urging them to make greater sacrifices to lower the cost of government.
Last month the National Assembly declared it would be spending an estimated N57.6 billion for the official vehicles of its 109 senators and 360 members at the House of Representatives.
The spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, told Sunday PUNCH correspondent that members of the House had started taking delivery of the vehicles.
Rotimi said, “Some members have started taking delivery of their vehicles. Priority was given to women in the parliament, people with any form of disability and the elderly. The management has also ensured that only members who have been fully disposed of their court cases will be given the vehicles to avoid problems.”
Peoples Gazette
By Eric Elezuo
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been declared winner of the presidential primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The declaration was made at the Trascorp Hilton Hotel, where the final collation of results was made.
The former Vice President polled a total of 1, 846, 370 votes to defeat his closest rival, former Governor of Rivers State, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, who scored just over 500 thousand votes. Alhaji Muhammed Hayatu-Deen came third.
Headlines
ADC Presidential Primary: Hayatu-Deen Alleges Rigging, Withdraws from Results Announcement
One of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, says he will not attend the announcement of the party’s presidential primary election results, citing allegations of widespread vote rigging.
In a statement on his X handle on Tuesday, Hayatu-Deen expressed concern over reports of electoral irregularities from across the country.
The ADC aspirant noted that he witnessed some of the incidents.
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps,” the statement read.
The development comes amid keen competition for the ADC presidential ticket involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and Hayatu-Deen.
The ADC presidential primary election collation exercise will take place in Abuja. Results are expected from across the nation.
Ahead of the nationwide presidential primary held on Monday, the ADC had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative.
According to him, the party remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” Abdullahi stated.
The party also stressed that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
Headlines
You’re Not Different from APC, INEC, Amaechi Slams ADC, Rejects Presidential Primary Results
A former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has rejected the results of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi, in a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, described the outcome of the exercise as “concocted results.”
He said he had earlier made it clear that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that about 80 percent of party members across the country were prevented from voting during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Governor of Rivers State accused the party of engaging in practices it had previously condemned in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to him, the ADC cannot criticize vote buying, rigging and manipulation of election results by others while allegedly engaging in similar acts during its own primary.
Amaechi added that the development was unacceptable and contrary to the ideals upon which the party was founded.
