News
NSA/NDLEA: Presidency, NASS poise for showdown over alleged N3.96bn fraud
The Presidency and the National Assembly appear poised for a showdown as the Senate has vowed to use constitutional power to force the National Security Adviser, (NSA), Major Gen. Babagana Munguno and the Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Muhammad Buba Marwa to appear before its Committee on Public Accounts for probe over alleged N3.96bn fraud.
The looming showdown follows the continued refusal of the NSA and the NDLEA Chiefs to appear before the Senate for explanations on the alleged fraud totalling N3, 967, 000, 000.
Açcording to the chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP Edo South), the ONSA was expected to address the issue of illegal diversion of N3.5 billion meant for the National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, to acquire vehicles for military officers while the NDLEA, which had 11 queries, is enmeshed with a total of N467million alleged fraud.
Irked by the refusal of both Mongunu and Marwa to appear before the committee, Senator Urhoghide vowed that the National Assembly will use every constitutional means to force both the NSA and the NDLEA Chief Executive to appear before it to make clarifications on the issues raised in the Auditor General’s Report.
He said: “We wrote to NDLEA in 2018 to appear before us, they did not respond, but acknowledged the letter and another letter was written on February 1, 2021 three years after, they only sent written response, they are supposed to appear physically, they acknowledged the letter and sent response on March 21.
“We wrote a letter, they didn’t do physical appearance, we wrote another letter to them on June 9 and scheduled the agency to appear before us 30th of June, NDLEA refused to appear, they only acknowledged the letter.
“On 30th of August, we wrote another letter to the NDLEA for them to appear on September 29th and they also refused to appear physically.
“We don’t have a reference for personality, nobody is bigger than us, we advise them in their best interest to appear, we are warning them for the last time, we are going to use every constitutional means to force them to appear before us.”
On the NSA, the chairman said, “the committee is investigating the Office of the National Security Adviser over the diversion of N3.5 billion meant for National National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, to acquire vehicles for military officers.”
“NSA should come and clarify, we do not have other issues directly with him, we implore him to send any person of competence or appear in person,” Senator Urhoghide said.
The NDLEA had in response to the query by the Auditor General of the Federation, said it was not aware of any invitation from the Senate.
“I have checked through all the relevant channels within the agency and nobody is aware or has received any such invitation from the Senate committee.
“I’m, however, aware that the issues raised had been adequately addressed by the previous leadership of the agency long before the incumbent Chairman/Chief Executive came into office,” the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, said.
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News
Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers
Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers
A former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to honour another invitation extended to him over alleged misappropriation of funds.
Bello went to the anti-graft office with his lawyers in the morning.
The ex-Kogi governor reportedly drove himself to the EFCC’s office in a black Toyota Hilux van with some lawyers.
He was said to have been taken by some operatives of the agency and are currently being grilled.
This is coming after the Supreme Court judgment which dismissed a suit brought by some state governments challenging the constitutionality of the agency.
The EFCC at the last hearing on November 14, sought the adjournment till November 27 in the fresh case it instituted against Bello.
It stated that the 30-day window was still running for the summons earlier issued.
News
Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct
Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct
Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has announced the immediate suspension of two commissioners with a permanent secretary among others for gross misconduct.
Those suspended are the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Francis Ori, and the Commissioner for Health, Moses Ekuma, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
The suspension followed an incident on Saturday night, when the governor reportedly visited the Ministry of Health’s premises and was said to have found six officials diverting government materials.
Others suspended for three months are the Executive Secretaries of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency
The suspension order was announced by the state Commissioner for Information, Jude Okpor, who cited alleged misconduct and dereliction of duties as the reasons for the disciplinary actions.
Okpor made the disclosure on Tuesday during a press briefing on the outcomes of the State Executive Council meeting held on Monday at the New Government House in Abakaliki, the state capital.
“Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health, respectively
“In view of the development, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary Health was directed to take charge of the ministry in the absence of the suspended commissioner.
Governor Nwifuru directed the suspended government officials to hand over all government properties in their possession including vehicles to the Secretary to the State Government.
News
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
The Federal Government has defended its decision to borrow to address budget deficits, despite surpassing revenue targets in 2024.
Finance Minister Wale Edun and Budget Minister Atiku Bagudu clarified this position during a session with the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Finance, Budget, and National Planning. The meeting focused on the 2025–2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
Last week, the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s $2.2 billion loan request to fund the N9.7 trillion deficit in the 2024 budget partially.
During the session, key agency heads, including Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) CEO Mele Kyari, Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman Zacch Adedeji, presented their revenue reports.
The agencies reported exceeding their 2024 targets.
- Customs Service: Generated ₦5.352 trillion by September 30, surpassing its ₦5.09 trillion target for the year. For 2025, the agency projects ₦6.3 trillion, with a 10% increase planned for 2026.
- NNPCL: Achieved ₦13.1 trillion in revenue, exceeding the ₦12.3 trillion projection for 2024. Kyari announced a ₦23.7 trillion revenue target for 2025.
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- FIRS: Surpassed multiple tax collection goals, including ₦5.7 trillion from company income tax against a ₦4 trillion target. Education tax collections also exceeded expectations, reaching ₦1.5 trillion compared to a ₦70 billion target.
Overall, ₦18.5 trillion of the ₦19.4 trillion 2024 revenue target had been achieved by September, indicating the goal will be exceeded by year-end.
Despite these surpluses, the government insists borrowing remains essential to cover budget gaps and support vulnerable populations.
Bagudu explained, “Even with agencies exceeding revenue targets, borrowing is necessary to address deficits and boost productivity, particularly for the poorest. This aligns with Agenda 2050, which aims for a GDP per capita of $33,000.”
Edun also reiterated that loans were critical for adequately funding the budget.
The committee, led by Senator Sani Musa, questioned the rationale behind the borrowing and demanded further transparency. The Immigration Service was specifically asked to provide documents regarding an “unacceptable PPP arrangement” before the end of the week.
The session underscored the government’s balancing act between increased revenues and fiscal challenges requiring external borrowing.
Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG
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