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Reps kick over subsidy, debt profile as 2023 Appropriation Bill scales second reading
The House of Representatives has passed for second reading the 2023 appropriation Bill as members kicked against the continuous payment of fuel subsidy and high debt profile in the country.
The House of Representatives also said the two issues were the major factors crippling the nation’s economy.
Rep. Abubakar Fulata, Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, read the breakdown of the budget before the House at plenary in Abuja on Wednesday.
The lawmakers, while debating the general principles of the N20.5 trillion proposed 2023 Appropriation Bill, decried the projections by which the appropriation bill was predicted, describing it as “untenable and unrealistic.”
Rep. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, the Leader of the House, while leading the debate on the issue of subsidy, said the House passed an unprecedented bill to address the issue of subsidy, adding that Nigeria can now go into full withdrawal of subsidy.
He said that the funding provided in the security budget was to address the security concerns in the country, adding that it would improve security.
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Ado-Doguwa also said the recent strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities was also a concern to Nigerians, adding that the leadership of the House had been able to resolve the impasse.
Rep. Toby Okechukwu, the Deputy Minority Leader, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for bringing the budget at the right time, adding: “The things the budget did not contain were very significant.”
He expressed worry over the level of borrowing and that the debt servicing Nigeria would do in 2023 was huge.
Okechukwu also said: “The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) presupposed that subsidy should have ended by now.”
He said including subsidy in the budget was a breach of PIA Act, adding: “Time is of essence.
“The House should do its job.
“The government does not have the courage to undertake subsidy withdrawal at this time.”
Rep. Mohammed Monguno, Chief Whip, of the House, while justifying the need to borrow, said: “Our debt is still within the sustainable power and there is no cause for alarm.”
Rep. Leke Abejide, Chairman, House Committee on Customs and Excise, commended the National Assembly for keeping to the January to December budget in four years running.
Rep. Soli Sanda (APC-Katsina) called for the improvement of the tax administration and collection efficacy and an end to leakages by checking oil theft.
Sanda said that a performance framework that would bring good management must be brought in to address remittances in oil and gas.
On the personnel cost, the lawmakers urged Buhari to implement the resolutions of the Oransaye report as “too much is expended on personnel cost.”
The lawmakers also insisted on the need to block revenue leakages, adding: “The government Is being shortchanged billions of naira due to these leakages in Ministries, Departments and Agencies.”
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Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.
He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.
The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.
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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.
“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”
Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.
“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.
“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
News
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”
His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.
In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.
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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”
Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.
He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.
“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
News
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.
The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.
The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.
The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.
The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.
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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”
Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.
Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.
Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.
However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
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