Senate indicts Justice Ministry over failure to account disbursement of N10.4bn judgement debt
AdminThe Senate has indicted the Ministry of Justice for failure to show the details of how N10.4 billion judgement debt was disbursed to the beneficiarie.
The indictment was sequel to consideration and adoption of 2017 and 2018 reports of the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) chaired by Senator Mathew Uhroghide.
The Senate therefore ordered the Ministry to stop further disbursement of the Judgement debt and the committee responsible for the disbursement should be re-constituted and evidence forwarded to the Auditor General and Senate Panel within 30 days.
In another development, Senate has ordered University of Ilorin , University of Abuja , University of Uyo, Federal University Birim Kebbi, Federal University, Lafia, Federal University, Wukari, Modibo Adams University of Technology, Yola and Federal University of Petroleum, Effurun to refund N4.7 billion mismanaged by the School Management.
The Auditor General reports for 2016 and 2017 indicted the seven universities which was upheld by Senate Public Accounts Committee and also considered and approved by the Senate.
The breakdown showed that University of Abuja mismanaged total of N1.3 billion in 2017, Federal University of Petroleum mismanaged N1.1 billion , University of Ilorin mismanaged N745 million , Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA)- N467 million , Federal University, Wukari, N43 million , Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina – N141 million, and the Federal University, Lafia – N32 million.
The indictment has been considered and sustained by the Senate and will be forwarded to Secretary to Government of the Federation for necessary action.
On the Judgement debt, the auditor-General’s report stated that the committee saddled with the responsibility of managing the disbursement of judgement debt was dissolved in 2013.
It said that as of the time when the N10.4bn was disbursed by the Ministry of Justice in 2017, the committee had yet to be reconstituted.
The report stated that lack of control, as witnessed in the disbursement of the judgement debt, could lead to loss of public funds.
The Senate in the report, recommended that the Solicitor-General of the Federation and permanent secretary in the Ministry of Justice should immediately constitute the committee as required by law.
The report read in part, “Examination of the budget of the Federal Ministry of Justice revealed that the sum of N460.95m was appropriated for payment of judgment debts for 2016 and N10bn appropriated for 2017, totalling N10.46bn.
“Further examination revealed that the committee saddled with the responsibility of managing the fund was dissolved after the 2013 financial year and is yet to be reconstituted after the 2016 and 2017 appropriations.
“However, the ministry has been disbursing this sum without a committee in place. Lack of control could lead to loss of public funds.”
Judgement debt refers to money that a court of law orders the losing party to pay to the winning party. The parties in the case may either be an individual, a family, a company, an institution or a government.
The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele has said President Muhammadu Buhari-led Government performed “woeful” since its emergence in 2015.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, the cleric made it known that the outgoing government failed woefully in every sector except infrastructure.
His words; “President Buhari didn’t perform well for this country. He failed in every sector of the nation throughout his eight years in power.
“President Buhari’s government didn’t give Nigerians joy. It’s quite unfortunate that things turned out this way, the country has been seriously damaged. He didn’t add any value to this country, He is leaving it worse than he left it. He is not to be blamed totally, He wasn’t in charge of the government.
“In terms of education, so many people couldn’t progress. People spent more than four years in school because of Buhari’s failure.
“Economically, things are very difficult for Nigerians. The economy is in one of it’s worse state as we speak.
“Security wise, there was no serious improvement.”
Primate Ayodele slammed the government for corrupt practices while praying that the country never witness a government like his again.
“The government is really corrupt. No respect for human rights and rule of law. I pray we never witness another government like President Buhari.
“The only thing he should be praised for is infrastructure but every other thing, He failed at them.
“Whoever will take over must not follow Buhari’s steps,” he said.
In a bid to accomplish the removal of fuel subsidy, President Muhammadu Buhari requested a fresh $800m loan from the World Bank to help Nigeria expand its National Social Safety Net Programme (NASSP).
The loan will be used as palliatives for the people categorised as poor in Africa’s most populous nation.
Fuel subsidy costs Nigeria $850m monthly which has become unsustainable but experts believe taking a fresh loan to sustain its social investment programme for poor and vulnerable Nigerians is a double-edged sword.
“You may wish to note that the federal government of Nigeria under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme will transfer the sum of N5,000 per month to 10.2 million poor and low-income households for a period of six months with a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals,” the President wrote to the Senate.
Nigeria’s debt stock managed by the DMO as of December 2022 was N46.25trn or $103.1bn.
Domestic debt made up N27.5trn or $61.4bn.
The external debt profile accounts for $41.69bn, an increase from the $7.35bn external debt he inherited from the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
With the securitisation of the N22.7trn ($50.6bn) debt, domestic debt will balloon to N50.2trn or $112.03bn from N27.5trn ($61.4bn).
This is a significant rise of 82.5 per cent.
Historically, external debt inherited by Obasanjo was $28.04bn in 1999 which grew to $36.99bn in 2004.
In October 2005, Nigeria and the Paris Club announced a final agreement for debt relief worth $18 billion and an overall reduction of Nigeria’s debt stock by $30 billion.
Nigeria paid an initial $6bn to qualify for debt relief.
$8.2bn of the debt was bought back at discount and paid off the final $6bn at a 60 per cent discount.
Obasanjo left a debt of $2.17bn for his successor Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Yar’Adua left office leaving an external debt of $2.58bn in 2010. At the end of Jonathan’s tenure in 2015, the external debt was $7.35bn.
Members of Buhari’s government like the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akabueze had raised the alarm that the nation’s debt profile was becoming unsustainable.
An expert, Kalu Aja believes Buhari’s borrowings is uninformed and a reversal of a landmark debt relief accomplishment made under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He said, “All the debt relief work done by President Obasanjo and Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has been undone by President Buhari. The economic consequence of having economic illiterates in power who fail to take economic advice.
“For the economic illiterates, when OBJ became President, Nigeria owed about $44b but had borrowed less than $5b, the increase was on interest on Interest, fines etc.
“Thus, OBJ paid cash and bought back Nigerian debt in a deal. No other nation has been offered that ever again.
“If we had not cleared that $44b, it would be $100b today based on high-interest rates and negative compounding. It’s like borrowing at 21 cent a month from your credit card to fix your bus which earns 5 per cent a year in return.”
The Federal Government is seeking a waiver for inmates across the nations’s correctional facilities with fines less than N1 million.
According to Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Interior, at least 5,000 people are still in prison custody due to their inability to pay fines.
The minister while commissioning a 20-bed space medical facility at the Port Harcourt custodial centre asked governors to grant waivers to inmates in that situation.
“Last year, we requested for details of persons with fines or such financial orders of less than N1,000,000 that are still in our facilities and we got about five million,
“In January, I wrote specifically to all governors to sensitise them on the need to waive these fines so as to take those Nigerians away from the custodial centres,” he said.
The development followed plans by the FG to spend N22.44 billion to feed prison inmates in 2023, as a part of the reform of correctional facilities in Nigeria.
The fund is 1 per cent of the 2023 budget which is N21.83 trillion earmarked by the federal government.
In 2021, lawmakers had approved the increase of inmate’s daily allowance from N450 per person to a minimum of N1000 per day, based on the nation’s economic situation.
In 2022, the correctional service authorities decried the pressure of maintaining its facilities across the country due to the increase of inmates in its custody.
Its leadership disclosed in the same year that nearly 75 per cent of inmates were awaiting trial.
Popular Nollywood actor, James Olanrewaju Omiyinka better known as Baba Ijesha, has lost his father, James Akin Omiyinka at the age of 95.
This was announced on Saturday, in an Instagram post by actor Yomi Fabiyi.
Fabiyi prayed that the spirit of the deceased will not leave his son Baba Ijesha stressing that he lived a good life.
Also, praying for those behind the misfortune of Baba Ijesha, Yomi said: “Accept my condolences BABA IJESHA on the death of your father. May the spirit of your father never depart you, he will fight for you someday. Baba lived a good life.
“I pray for the souls of all those who AMBUSHED YOU INTO THIS MISFORTUNE, and used your profession to lure you into acting with an opposite sex they invariably gave a “football age” so you can be sent to prison.
“We will continue to pray with you and hope that the integrity of the judiciary will be restored in this matter someday. Take heart senior man.”
Recalls that an Ikeja Special Offences Court had in July 2022 sentenced Baba Ijesha to 16 years imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old minor.
“He Has Barely 2 Weeks In Office’ – World Bank Asked To Halt Disbursement Of $800m Loan To Buhari Administration
AdminThe World Bank has been asked not to disburse the $800m loan sought by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
This was disclosed in a letter to the global financial institution by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
Recall that the Federal Government had early this year said it planned to borrow $800 million to support 50 million Nigerians as palliatives for fuel subsidy removal.
Recently, he wrote to the Senate seeking approval for the said loan.
But SERAP, in its letter, wants the World Bank President Mr David Malpass to suspend the disbursement of the $800m loan and await proper explanation from the incoming administration.
The advocacy group alleged that the usage of such loans needs to be clarified in view of the economic problems bedeviling the nation.
The statement partly reads,“The World Bank should comply with its own Articles of Agreement in disbursing any loans. The Bank should not sacrifice international standards in the rush to disburse the $800m loan to the government.
“Suspending any disbursement of the loan to the government would reduce the risks and vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement.”
“SERAP is concerned that the government is seeking to spend the loan when it has barely two weeks to leave office and when the project objectives and intended purposes for which the loan is reportedly approved and will be disbursed remain unclear.
“The government has not satisfactorily explained or justified the need for the loan at this time, especially given the lack of clarity on its use and the crippling debt burden, and the disproportionately negative impact of these retrogressive measures on poor Nigerians.”
Troops of the Nigerian Army have recovered a massive armory with arms and ammunition from terrorists in Sambisa Forest in Borno State.
The troops of 21 Armored Brigade had discovered the large cache of arms after an incursion into Ukuba camp in the fringes of Bama Local Government Area of the state.
The armory suspected to belong to the Islamist State West Africa Province fighters were recovered on Saturday as part of ongoing counter terrorists Operation Desert Sanity II.
The troops discovered the weapon in hidden dug pits concealed by the terrorists group, Zagazola Makama, a Counter-Insurgency Expert said.
They found variants of Rocket Propelled Grenade Tubes, SMG Rifle, Double Barrel gun, 50 hand grenades bombs, 5 SMK bombs, 183 Shilka rounds, several IEDs making materials, Non electric detonators, many already prepared IEDs, as well as several canister bombs.
According to Makama, the troops had neutralized one terrorists while they withdrew from the general area. They recovered one Ak47 rifle and other items.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has emphasized the need for Nigerians to unite and join hands towards making the country achieve its full potential.
The former President noted that individually, each citizen of Nigeria is unique and always excels individually but beyond that, there is the need to harness the potential for the benefit of the nation.
According to him, however, without justice, equity, and fairness, no country including Nigeria can attain greatness. He added that making Nigeria better is linked with having the right kind of leaders.
The former leader warned that if Nigeria fails to live up to its expectations, questions should be asked of every stakeholder.
Naija News reports Obasanjo made the submission during the National Daily Awards in Lagos where he was the keynote speaker.
The former President also said the earlier leaders of Nigeria during the immediate post-independence era performed better in office than those after because they were determined to make the right decisions for the country.
“In fact, in making choices of leaders, I will say Nigerians of post-independence make the right choices of leaders. We all know that if your choice is right, the performance and consequences will be right,” Obasanjo said.
“When the then Prime Minister went to the United Nations post-independence, the world referred to Nigeria as a giant in the sun, not even a giant of Africa.
“But the question is, have we lived up to that? If we have not, the question is why? Are there certain qualities that leaders in the post-independence era had that are absent in leadership today? We talk about values, have our values changed? What is Nigeria today, and what is the Nigeria we want? How do we get the Nigeria we want?”
“Over a long period of my life in peacemaking and mediation, I have come to realize that peace, security, and stability are essential ingredients for the development and growth of any country. Without justice, equity, and fairness, no country can attain greatness.
“When you look at us individually, there is something unique about Nigerians. Wherever they go, they excel individually. Today, when you look globally, Nigerians are doing great things individually. It’s time for us to unite and take the country to where it’s supposed to be.
“If we fail to do so, then our existence is useless. We need to make a difference so that we can leave behind a better society.”
[NaijaNews]
The largest countries in the world by size have been ranked.
Russia is the largest country in the world with 17.1 million km². Russia is followed by Canada with 9.9 million, while China comes third with 9.5 million km².
According to the World of Statistics ranking, Algeria, DR Congo, Sudan and Libya are the top four largest countries in Africa.
Nigeria has an area of 923,768 km² according to worldometer.
See the ranking below:
Russia: 17.1 million km²
Canada: 9.9 million km²
China: 9.5 million km²
US: 9.5 million km²
Brazil: 8.5 million km²
Australia: 7.6 million km²
India: 3.2 million km²
Argentina: 2.7 million km²
Kazakhstan: 2.7 million km²
Algeria: 2.3 million km²
DR Congo: 2.3 million km²
Saudi Arabia: 2.1 million km²
Mexico: 1.9 million km²
Indonesia: 1.9 million km²
Sudan: 1.8 million km²
Libya: 1.7 million km²
Iran: 1.6 million km²
Mongolia: 1.5 million km²
Peru: 1.2 million km²
Chile: 1.2 million km²
[DailyPost]
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged the World Bank President, Mr David Malpass, to suspend any disbursement of the $800m loan to the Federal Government and to request the incoming administration to provide satisfactory explanations for the loan.
SERAP urges Mr Malpass to reopen a discussion on the reportedly approved $800m loan with the incoming administration to clarify the details on the rationale and use of the loan because the term of office of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari ends in May 2023.
The Federal Government in April announced its plan to spend the $800 million loan as ‘part of its subsidy palliatives measures’.
Also, last week, President Buhari requested the Senate’s approval for the World Bank loan. It is unclear whether the request to the Senate is for a fresh loan or the one announced in April.
In the letter dated 13 May 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “The World Bank should comply with its own Articles of Agreement in disbursing any loans. The Bank should not sacrifice international standards in the rush to disburse the $800m loan to the government.”
SERAP said, “Suspending any disbursement of the loan to the government would reduce the risks and vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement.”
The letter, read in part, “SERAP is concerned that the government is seeking to spend the loan when it has barely two weeks to leave office and when the project objectives and intended purposes for which the loan is reportedly approved and will be disbursed remain unclear.”
“The government has not satisfactorily explained or justified the need for the loan at this time, especially given the lack of clarity on its use and the crippling debt burden, and the disproportionately negative impact of these retrogressive measures on poor Nigerians.”
“The World Bank cannot close its eyes to this important transparency, accountability and human rights issues.”
“The National Economic Council on April 27 reportedly suspended the planned removal of subsidy on petroleum products by the end of the Buhari administration.”
“We would consider the option of pursuing legal action should the World Bank refuse to suspend the disbursement of the loan to the Federal Government and to implement the other recommendations contained in this letter, and we may join the government in any such suit.”
“The crippling debt burden is a human rights issue because when the entire country is burdened by unsustainable debts, there will be little money left to ensure access of poor and vulnerable Nigerians to legally enforceable socio-economic rights.”
“There is also a lack of transparency and accountability in the spending of the loans so far obtained. The details of the projects on which approved loans are spent are often shrouded in secrecy.”
“The Bank has a responsibility to ensure that the Federal Government is transparent and accountable to Nigerians in any discussion to obtain loans, credits or grants from the bank and how it spends any approved loans, credits or grants.”
“The Bank’s power to provide loans is coupled with a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that the spending of such funds by the government meets international standards of transparency and accountability, including those entrenched in article 5 of the UN Convention against Corruption.”
“The World Bank should also seek transparency and accountability commitments if the incoming government decides to use the loan to implement the National Social Safety Net Programme because the spending on the programme has been mostly shrouded in secrecy.”
“Under the programme, the government reportedly plans to transfer the sum of N5,000 per month to 10.2 million poor and low-income households for a period of six months.”
“SERAP encourages you and the World Bank to in any future engagements with the incoming government insist on accessing information on the spending by the government on the National Social Safety Net Programme since 2015 and the publication of the details of such spending.”
“Under Article 1 of the World Bank Articles of Agreement, the stated purposes of the Bank include ‘to assist in the reconstruction and development’. The Bank is also to ‘be guided in all its decisions by the purposes.’”
“Under Article 3 Section 4(vii) of the World Bank Articles of Agreement, loans made or guaranteed by the Bank ‘shall be for the purpose of specific projects of reconstruction or development.’ Also, under Article 3 Section 5(b), the Bank ‘shall make arrangements to ensure that the proceeds of any loan are used only for the purposes for which the loan was granted.’”
“According to our information, the Federal Government of Nigeria recently secured a $800 million loan from the World Bank.”
“The government reportedly plans to spend the loan as part of its ‘subsidy palliatives measures’, and aims to target 50 million vulnerable Nigerians or 10 million households.”
“According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total public debt stock, including external and domestic debts, increased to N46.25 trillion or $103.11 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022.”
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The Federal Government says it spends N1 million annually to cater for each of the inmates at the correctional facilities in the country.
Sola Fasure, the Media Adviser to the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made this known in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.
According to the statement, the minister said this while inaugurating a 20-bed COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund Hospital and Equipment at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, Port Harcourt.
The minister said that the project would be an enduring legacy and a testimony of the utmost importance the Federal Government had so far taken corrections, the welfare of inmates as well as the staff.
Aregbesola added that President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had, to a large extent, addressed the problem of inmates contracting diseases in custodial centres.
“The custodial centres were frighteningly centres for contracting diseases like scabies and tuberculosis, among others.
“Happily, this has been addressed by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and is now a thing of the past.
“We not only have well-manned clinics and well-stocked pharmacies, the inmates at the custodial centres now have access to excellent medical care beyond the centres,” he said.
The minister also decried the enormous challenges of running correctional services with huge demands for infrastructure, equipment and maintaining the welfare of inmates.
He, however, assured that the Federal Government had provided a long-term solution to the challenges.
“This centre in Port Harcourt, with a capacity for 1,800 inmates, presently houses about 3,067 inmates. This is just a reflection of the situation in most urban custodial centres where we have congestion at the moment.
“The facilities and even the personnel are overstretched, but we are coping and providing long-term solutions to this challenge.
“One of such solutions is the construction of mega 3,000-capacity custodial villages in six geo-political zones of the country. The one for the South-South is in Bori, not far from here in Rivers.
“The ones for the North-West in Janguza, Kano and the North-Central, in Karshi, Abuja, are ready. Hopefully, we shall inaugurate the one in Kano in a few days, before our departure.
“Even work is steadily going on in the others and has reached appreciable level.
“Let me also reiterate that the Federal Government will stop feeding inmates incarcerated for breaching state laws. As you commence your budget process for next year, include feeding of your inmates,” he said..
Aregbesola said that he had no doubt that the facility would go a long way in addressing the medical concerns of inmates and correctional service personnel.
The minister commended the management and staff of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) for working hard to keep the virus away.
He added that the new hospital was an intervention aimed at making robust healthcare for those in custody and the NCoS staff.
Aregbesola said that the beauty of all the interventions in consonance with other reforms in the NCoS would obviously translate to security, peace and tranquillity in and around the centres and ultimately the entire country.
(NAN)
The Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Productivity, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN has said the last-minute move by the administration of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) to introduce a pay rise for the 144,766 federal civil servants under the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure cannot be described as unreasonable.
Keyamo, who spoke with our correspondent in an exclusive interview in Abuja on Saturday, also said the pay rise is something the government can afford.
Sunday PUNCH reports that there have been criticisms following the announcement of the peculiar allowance for civil servants. Certain finance experts described the introduction of the allowance as a “trap for the incoming administration.”
But Keyamo said, “The new package for workers cannot be unreasonable under our present circumstances. In fact, Nigerian workers deserve more. The issue is the funding. I think when the new government removes subsidy and explores some others means to fund our budgets, the government can afford it.”
Sunday PUNCH reports that workers under the CONPSS were paid peculiar allowances alongside their salaries for the month of April with arrears of January to March 2023 paid alongside.
Earlier, the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, explained that the government introduced the allowance for civil servants in view of the current economic reality, and it is meant to help government workers to cushion the effects of rising inflation, the rising cost of living, hikes in transportation fare, housing and electricity tariffs.
The Nigeria Labour Congress on Saturday said it was looking forward to holding a meeting with the incoming administration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, over matters relating to the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol.
It, however, insisted that its position on fuel subsidy had not changed, stressing that the government must endeavour to get Nigeria’s refineries functional before taking out subsidy on petrol.
The labour union’s position was also re-echoed by the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, as IPMAN explained that while it was important to halt the subsidy regime, the government should at the same time strive to fix Nigeria’s refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri.
The NLC Vice President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Adewale Adeyanju, told our correspondent that though the NLC had already made its position known to the incoming administration, it was looking forward to meeting the President-elect after he has been sworn in as President.
“The man (President-elect) has not been sworn in. When he is sworn in, he can then sit down with the NLC to discuss the fuel subsidy issue. The NLC has been making its position known to Nigerians and to even the incoming government.
“The incoming government has been advised properly by all stakeholders about removing the subsidy and I cannot advise them more on this. But let them come in first and we can then sit with them and discuss this matter,” Adeyanju stated.
On what the position of the NLC was, he explained that it had remained that the government should get Nigeria’s refineries running, as this would help ameliorate the cost burden of fully deregulated petrol.
About two weeks ago, The PUNCH exclusively reported that Nigerians should brace up to pay N8.4tn for petrol from July to December 2023, once the Federal Government stops subsidy on PMS in June, as planned.
This was following the explanation by oil marketers that the average cost of petrol could rise to about N700/litre from July, should fuel subsidy be brought to an end in June as projected by the Federal Government.
“If the refineries are not working and we are going to depend on imports, then the price of petrol may rise even above the N700 or N750 that is being projected,” the President, Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, had told our correspondent.
He added, “This is because it is going to depend on the dollar rate and crude oil cost. When you check the landing cost, logistics, overhead, profit, etc, you may be looking at about N800, though the average is pegged at N700.
“And that is if we continue to depend on imports. Now, this calculation is based on when we get the product at the approved Central Bank of Nigeria dollar rate, and not at the over N740/$ black market price.
“If the dollar is accessed at the black market rate, then you can double that N700/litre average price once the subsidy is removed. So you should be looking at between N1,400 to N1,700/litre. This is why we must get our refineries working.”
Gillis-Harry’s position was further given credence by the Secretary, IPMAN, Abuja-Suleja, Mohammed Shuaibu, who explained, as captured in the exclusive report that though it was vital to halt the subsidy regime, implementing this without functional refineries would definitely lead to high PMS price.
‘Fix refineries first’
Also speaking on the issue, the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, said IPMAN had repeatedly made it clear that subsidy should be removed when refineries are working.
“We have said this time without number that though subsidy removal is okay, it should be done when the government has fixed our refineries. This will help cushion the hardship which the full deregulation of petrol would have on the masses,” he told our correspondent.
Ukadike had earlier explained that IPMAN was not saying that subsidy should not be removed.
MOMAN objects
But the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, gave a different view on the subsidy debate, as he insisted that it was high time the government stopped subsidising petrol.
Asked to state what could be the cost of petrol when deregulated, he replied, “It is not safe to project the cost of petrol at the pumps because it is all based on how we manage our foreign exchange as a country. But that does not mean we should continue to burn trillions of naira on subsidy. It makes no sense.
He said, “If there is visibility, if you stop your multiple exchange rates, if everybody develops confidence in the credibility, sincerity, transparency in the management of the nation’s foreign exchange, then your pump price can indeed, even if it stands at N400 or above N400, go lower. But this is if the cost of crude, cost of Platts continues to trade lower in the international market.”
As the leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) heightens, the Bashiru Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the party has declared that nothing can stop the inauguration of the President-elect, Sen Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29th as the next President of Nigeria.
The LP faction also called on the Nigerian Military, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba and the DSS to immediately arrest anyone, including the presidential candidate of the LP, Peter agitating for an interim government.
The Lamidi Apapa faction further called that any other person moving and clamouring to stop the transition process and the inauguration of President-Elect, Bola Tinubu on May 29 2023 should be arrested and prosecuted no matter his or her status in the society.
The call was made by the National Publicity Secretary of the Lamidi Apapa-led LP faction, Abayomi Arabambi while fielding questions to Journalists after the FCT High Court re-affirmed Lamidi Apapa as Acting National Chairman of the party.
Abayomi Arabambi also stated that if the Party’s legal team at the election petition Tribunal in Abuja failed to meet Lamidi Apapa in his capacity as the National Chairman and brief him on the legal proceedings within 48 hours, the faction would appoint new Lawyers to take over Labour party’s case at the tribunal.
He said that, “If anyone calls for interim administration including Peter Obi, they should be arrested. For him or any other person calling for such, we are calling on the IGP to immediately arrest them because nobody is above the law of the land.c
According to him, “You cannot plunge Nigeria into war and say that you want to rule the country. We in the Labour Party are saying capital ‘no’ to that. We don’t understand the call by Peter Obi that the President-elect, Sen Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not be sworn in on May 29th. As far as we are concerned, the LP came third in that election behind the PDP.”
Abayomi Arabambi added, “The irony is that today, the LP is not challenging the PDP that came second, that means that we are saying that the votes allocated to PDP is correct in the eyes of the law, but, the PDP that Peter Obi is defending is challenging the validity of the election that brought Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the President-elect.”
He stressed that PDP is claiming that it scored the highest lawful majority votes in the election while the LP is saying, “No, the votes you have, we are not challenging it because it is in accordance with what we believe in, that was why Peter Obi with Julius Abure deliberately excluded the PDP after the shenanigans with them and now challenging the results of the APC.”
“So, how on earth will he not cover his face in shame for excluding the PDP, why must he not challenge the second person but challenging the first person,” he said.
The factional National Publicity Secretary stressed that no matter the status of any individual, he or she is not above the laws of the country and must be treated as such saying that the security agencies in the country must act in order to curb all such moves in the bud.