Gbajabiamila holds closed-door meeting with Buhari over cash withdrawal limit, trapped ‘N89trn’ stamp duty – Newstrends
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Gbajabiamila holds closed-door meeting with Buhari over cash withdrawal limit, trapped ‘N89trn’ stamp duty

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Gbajabiamila, Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, held a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, discussing the cash withdrawal limits recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who was supposed to appear before the House of Representatives on Tuesday, did not honour the invitation, saying he was out of the country.

They also discussed issues related to the 2023 general elections and the alleged N89trn stamp duty controversy at the meeting held at the State House, Abuja.

“There were issues around cashless policy, issues around elections and violence that seem to be erupting here and there are a couple of other very important matters as well,” Gbajabiamila told journalists after the meeting.

The Speaker said the National Assembly has no connection with the task of being pursued by a member of the lower chamber and the Secretary of the dissolved Presidential Committee on Reconciliation and Recovery of Stamp Duties Revenue, Muhammadu Gudaji Kazaure.

Kazaure had said President Buhari secretly constituted the committee to recover the purportedly trapped N89 trillion stamp duties.

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However, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, had said last week Tuesday that the claims of a missing N89 trillion from stamp duty appeared false and a figment of their malicious imaginations after President Buhari had rescinded the approval he gave via the late Abba Kyari’s letter of March 28 and asked that the committee be stopped from operating under the seal of his office long before he stirred up the latest controversy.

“The same set of consultants claimed in 2016 there was N20 trillion to be collected. It was found to be false. The entire banking sector deposit is not even up to half of N89 trillion.

“Indeed, if the Federal Government can find N89 trillion Naira, it can pay off all its debt, both foreign and local currency and all state government debts and still have over N10 trillion left.

“So, the claim by these so-called consultants and the disbanded committee is totally ridiculous and a complete mockery,” he also said.

He had added that a duly authorized committee under the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) was working to reconcile, recover and transfer all Stamp Duties into Stamp Duties Central Account.

Asked if he discussed the Kazaure issue as a member of the House of Representatives, the Speaker said: “Kazaure, from my understanding, he is working with whoever he is working with. If it necessitates the house coming in, we will come in. If he has an official function, he should go ahead and do his work. But this has nothing to do with National Assembly. Not that I know of.

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“It was not based on a resolution of the National Assembly. It was not based on a motion from the National Assembly, I believe he said he had the executive authority to do what he’s doing. If that’d be the case, I mean, then it’s got nothing to do with the National Assembly.”

Asked whether the house would call him to order since he was not representing them, he said: “The house can only call Kazaure to order to the extent that it is impugning on the integrity of the house or individuals or leadership of the House that have nothing to do with what heis doing.

“It is important to separate the two, if he has a mandate to do something, that’s on him. When it came up, we had asked members of the executive, they said they were not aware of any mandate or such mandate has been withdrawn. I don’t want to get into it. I don’t want to get into it except to the extent that he tries to impugn on the integrity of members of the House. And that’s a no no, we have nothing to do with this.”

On what the house would do between now and next year, Gbajabiamila said the 2023 budget would be passed on Thursday.

He said the lower chamber of National Assembly would use 10 days to do “house cleaning matters” and attend emergency issues before going back for campaigns and elections.

On his regular routine meeting with the President which he described as “fruitful”, Gbajabiamila said it was meant to get his perspectives on some state matters of national interest and shared the position of National Assembly with him.

He said the discussion focused on cashless policy, elections and related violence, adding that the opportunity was used to wish the President happy birthday and offer prayers for longer life and Allah’s continued protection and blessings on his life.

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World Bank approves Tinubu’s $632m loan request

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World Bank approves Tinubu’s $632m loan request

The World Bank is poised to approve $632 million in new loans to Nigeria today (Monday), amid growing concerns over the country’s expanding debt profile.

The loans are intended to support important sectors such as nutrition enhancement and quality basic education.

According to data obtained from the World Bank’s website on Sunday, the two loans scheduled to be approved today are $80 million for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 initiative and $552 million for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme.

Both projects are now in the negotiating phase and are likely to gain final clearance later today.

These new loans are part of the World Bank’s overall strategy to support Nigeria’s development agenda, which focuses on healthcare, education, and community resilience.

The loans will support the government’s efforts to improve nutrition and education for Nigerian children.

Additionally, the World Bank approved a $500 million loan for Nigeria’s Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme on March 28, 2025, a significant step towards addressing the country’s economic challenges through expanded access.

The initiative, formally known as the NIGERIA: Community Action (for) Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme, is intended to give critical support to households impacted by economic downturns while also strengthening community resilience.

The initiative focuses on vulnerable populations, providing assistance to households and small companies to help them cope with economic difficulties.

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The loan clearance is likely to considerably boost Nigeria’s efforts to revive the economy through grassroots backing, especially given current issues such as inflation and high living costs.

The stimulus plan will prioritise enhancing food security and developing economic possibilities for the populations most affected by recent economic changes.

This decision came after a delay in distributing funds for a previous loan aimed at poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

Further investigation by The PUNCH revealed that the World Bank disbursed around $315 million to Nigeria from the $800 million allocated for the National Social Safety-net Program Scale Up.

Nigeria is yet to receive further funding from the World Bank for this loan project, which was approved in December 2021. The delay in grant release is most likely due to fraud detected under the initiative.

In honour of the 2023 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, President Bola Tinubu unveiled a social safety net programme that will distribute N25,000 to 15 million households over the course of three months.

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was responsible for managing the $800 million World Bank loan initiative.

However, due to allegations of embezzlement, the federal government was forced to stop the cash transfer program for further investigation and reform.

Betta Edu, a former humanitarian minister, was previously suspended for misappropriating N585 million set aside for palliative care distribution.

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Furthermore, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, Edu’s predecessor, was under investigation by the EFCC. The former minister is being investigated for allegedly laundering N37.1 billion during her stint as minister.

The World Bank also imposed sanctions on people and businesses discovered to be engaging in fraud under the initiatives.

According to the World Bank’s official website, this will bring Nigeria’s total approved loans to $9.25 billion over three years, indicating a growing reliance on multilateral funding to support critical sectors of the economy such as infrastructure, healthcare, education, and financial resilience.

A review of Nigeria’s World Bank loan approvals since 2023, under President Bola Tinubu’s government, reveals a huge rise in funding commitments.

In 2023, the World Bank approved $2.7 billion in loans for renewable energy, women’s empowerment, education, and the power sector. In 2024, funding approvals totalled $4.32 billion for various projects.

This increase was largely due to Nigeria’s growing need for financial assistance to stabilise the economy amid fiscal pressures and rising public debt.

Under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the World Bank granted around 11 different credit projects for Nigeria.

In less than two years, the federal government has acquired loans from the World Bank totalling $7.45 billion, raising concerns about the mounting debt burden. According to data from the Debt Management Office, the World Bank’s portion of Nigeria’s external debt is $17.32 billion as of the third quarter of 2024.

The International Development Association is owing the majority of this debt, which amounts to $16.84 billion, or 39.14 per cent of Nigeria’s total external debt.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, another World Bank subsidiary, is owing $485.08 million, or 1.13 per cent.

While the planned World Bank loans may give much-needed budgetary relief, concerns persist about the country’s mounting debt burden.

According to recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the country has spent $5.47 billion servicing external debt in the last 14 months, underscoring the strain on its foreign reserves.

 

World Bank approves Tinubu’s $632m loan request

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Investigation of wanted businesswoman Achimugu not linked with Atiku, Sanwo-Olu – EFCC

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Investigation of wanted businesswoman Achimugu not linked with Atiku, Sanwo-Olu – EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has reacted to media reports linking its investigations of Ms. Aisha Achimugu with political undercurrents involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Lagos State Governor,  Babajide Sanwo-Olu

This is contained in a statement by the commission on Friday night.

The statement read, “We wish to state unequivocally that the investigations of Achimugu have no correlation of any kind with the two political actors.  She is being investigated for alleged criminal conspiracy and money laundering and has since been declared Wanted by the Commission”.

The EFCC started investigating Achimugu in 2022. Although she approached the court to obtain an injunction restraining the Commission from arresting, investigating, inviting or detaining her for any alleged criminal act,  the injunction was challenged and vacated on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

 The court ruled that “…no court has the power to stop the investigative powers of the Police or EFCC or any agency established under our laws to investigate crimes when there is reasonable suspicion of commission of a crime or ample evidence of commission of an offence by a suspect.”

“The court further upheld the interim order of forfeiture of assets of Achimugu suspected to be proceeds of crime, dismissing her suit against it as lacking  merit .

“The foregoing clearly establishes that the EFCC’s case against her has no immediate or remote nexus with any politician or any veiled or open reference to any political engagement or transaction.

“The EFCC is non-partisan and non-sectarian.  We enjoin the public to continue to keep faith with the professionalism of the Commission without imputing any extraneous consideration to its works.”

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Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

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Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) yesterday attributed its neutral position on the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State to the need to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.

Taking positions on contentious partisan issues, the NGF said, would not augur well for it, especially in view of its past experience in fundamental division.

Notwithstanding, the declaration of the state of emergency by President Bola Tinubu yesterday generated more kudos and knocks from across the country.

Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, said the action of the president was meant to ensure protection of lives and restoration of law and order in the state, while the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said his principal  was required  to “avert needless harm and destruction .”

National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, said Tinubu, by his action, cleared what had manifested as a constitutional crisis in Rivers state.

But former President Goodluck Jonathan saw it from a different perspective.

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He described “abuse of office and power by the three arms of government in the country“ as a dent on Nigeria’s image.

The NGF, in a statement by its Director General Abdulateef Shittu, said it is essentially “an umbrella body for sub-national governments to promote unified policy positions and collaborate with relevant stakeholders in pursuit of sustainable socio-economic growth and the well-being of the people.”

It added: “As a technical and policy hub comprising governors elected on different platforms, the body elects to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.

“In whatever language it is written, taking positions on contentious partisan issues would mean a poor sense of history — just a few years after the forum survived a fundamental division following political differences among its members.

“Regardless, the Forum is reputed for its bold positions on governance and general policy matters of profound consequences, such as wages, taxes, education and universal healthcare, among others.”

It asked for “the understanding of the public and the media, confident that appropriate platforms and crisis management mechanisms would take care of any such issues.”

Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

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