Headlines
Why We Suspended Buhari’s $22.7bn Loan Approval – Gbajabiamila
The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the protest by National Assembly members from the South-East geopolitical zone led to the suspension of work on the $22.79bn external borrowing request by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Gbajabiamila said the House of Representatives was already in talks with the Federal Government on how the zone would be accommodated in the execution of projects with the loan.
The Speaker said this in Abuja, on Wednesday, when he hosted Leaders of the South-South and South-East Faith Forum.
The House had, on March 11, suspended consideration of the $22.79bn loan request indefinitely.
It had scheduled consideration of the report by the Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management, on the 2016-2018 Federal Government External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan, but Gbajabiamila asked that the consideration be stood down without giving a new date.
On March 13, members of the South-East caucus in the National Assembly, led by the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, met separately with President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; and the Speaker behind closed doors.
Responding to the call by the Leaders of Faith Forum that the Federal Government should jettison the idea of taking the loan at this critical time, the Speaker said the issue was debatable, adding that government should be given the benefit of the doubt.
Gbajabiamila disclosed that the confirmation process was discontinued due to protests that the South-East would not benefit from the loan.
The Speaker said he spoke with Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; and the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, to find a solution to the impasse.
He said, “There has been a lot of agitation about South-East not benefiting from the loan. It is one of the reasons we haven’t considered the loan in the House. I’ve discussed with the finance minister and the DG Budget. It is a matter that we are looking into seriously.
“I’m hoping that there will be some kind of amicable resolution, so that everybody will be carried along. Equity suggests that all zones must be carried along.
“With the quality of members that you have and the generality of the House, we’ll work towards a fair resolution of the issue so that it leads to something that will bring us together and unite us as a country.”
Gbajabiamila also said the House was already addressing the issues of open grazing and insecurity, among others, as raised by the clerics, challenging them to come up with alternatives and possible solutions to any issue that they were uncomfortable with.
The Speaker also urged religious leaders to always pray for Nigerian leaders because they need prayers all the time in order to succeed.
He appealed to the clerics to avail Nigerian leaders with their wisdom and knowledge, especially in the areas of politics and governance.
Earlier, leader of the delegation, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, said the visit was to discuss issues of concerns with the Speaker, saying, while they applauded the Federal Government’s food security agenda, farmlands across the country were still unsafe.
The leaders urged the government to urgently address the situation and avert impending hunger in most communities that depend on staple food like cassava and rice.
The religious leaders said the issue of open grazing must stop, adding that it generated insecurity and people were no longer safe in their farmlands.
The Punch
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
