The trial of Chidinma Ojukwu, the key suspect in the murder case of the late Chief Executive Officer of Super TV, Michael Usifo Ataga, failed to proceed on Tuesday, owing to the absence of her lawyer.
Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos High Court sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square, subsequently adjourned till June 8 for continuation of trial.
Chidinma, a former 300-level Mass Communication undergraduate of the University of Lagos, is standing trial alongside one Adedapo Quadri and her sister, Chioma Egbuchu, on a nine-count charge bordering on murder, forgery and stealing, preferred against her by the Lagos State Government.
At the resumed hearing of the case, the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs Adenike Oluwafemi, told the court that she got a message from Ojukwu’s counsel, Mr Onwuka Egwu, that he was ill.
She said that the counsel also mentioned that his junior lawyers would not be able to appear in the case, owing to their engagement in other court matters.
Oluwafemi, however, told the court that her own witness who was to give evidence was present in court.
The second and third defendants’ counsels, Mr Babatunde Busari and Miss P. O. Okpagbo, were present in court and raised no objections to the absence of the first defendant’s counsel.
Justice Adesanya subsequently adjourned the case.
At the last adjourned date of May 4, the court had admitted in evidence two handwritten statements made by Chidinma.
While ruling on a trial within trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements, Justice Yetunde Adesanya held that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Chidinma made the statements willingly and without duress.
Chidinma, who was a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos at the time of the offence, is standing trial alongside one Adedapo Quadri, for the murder of the Super TV CEO, Usifo Ataga.
Both were arraigned before the court on October 12 last year.
The murder was said to have been committed in a serviced apartment in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
The duo were arraigned by the Lagos State Government alongside a third defendant, Chidinma’s sister, Chioma Egbuchu, on a nine-count charge bordering on conspiracy, murder, forgery, stealing and being in possession of a stolen property.
They all pleaded not guilty.
In count one, Chidinma and Adedapo are charged with conspiring to murder Usifo Ataga contrary to Section 233 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos 2015.
In count two, Chidinma and Adedapo are charged with the murder of Usifo Ataga, an offence said to have been committed by stabbing him several times in the neck and chest with a knife.
In counts three, four, five, six and seven, Chidinma and Adedapo are charged with conspiracy to commit forgery, forgery and making documents without authority. They were specifically alleged to have procured false Access Bank and UBA bank account statements of Usifo Ataga. They also allegedly forged an international passport and a driving licence In Chidinma’s name.
In count eight, Chidinma is charged alone with stealing two iPhones — an iPhone 7 and an iPhone 11 — as well as one Apple MacBook laptop and ATM card of Access and Guaranty Trust Bank belonging to the late Ataga from which the sum of N380,000 was subsequently withdrawn.
In count nine, Egbuchu was charged with being in possession of the stolen property, the iPhone 7 belonging to the late Usifo Ataga.
Usifo was found dead with multiple stab wounds on June 16 at a short-let apartment on Adebowale Oshin Street, Lekki Phase I where he had checked in with his lover, Chidinma.
She was consequently arrested on June 23 in her father’s house in Yaba and paraded at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja.
The deceased, 50, was buried on July 30 in a low-key ceremony attended by his family members, including his wife and friends.
Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has tendered 118 exhibits before the presidential election petition court (PEPC) to prove his case against President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu, the standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner of the February 25 election after scoring 8,794,726 votes.
Aggrieved by the outcome, PDP and Atiku approached the tribunal challenging Tinubu’s victory on several grounds.
Among several issues raised, the petitioners alleged that Tinubu “was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast at the election”.
They also alleged that the president “was at the time of the election, not qualified to contest”.
The petitioners further alleged inconsistencies in Tinubu’s age and school certificates.
At the commencement of the hearing on Tuesday, Atiku tendered his first set of exhibits before the court through one of his lawyers, Eyitayo Jegede.
Documents tendered in evidence before a five-member panel of the court included certified copies of the results of the presidential election from the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory (FCT).
The petitioners also tendered printouts of data they obtained from the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) and a record of the number of permanent voter cards (PVC) used for the election across the 36 states and FCT.
They were admitted in evidence.
All the respondents in the matter told the court that they would reserve their objections to any of the documents, till their final written address.
The petitioners did not call any witnesses.
OBI AND LP’S PETITION
Meanwhile, the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have also opened their case before the tribunal.
Led in evidence by Jibrin Okutekpa, the petitioners’ first witness, Lawrence Nwakaeti, told the court that Tinubu was indicted for drug trafficking in the United States and allegedly forfeited $460,000. Documents were tendered before the court.
However, under cross-examination by Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Tinubu and Shettima, the witness said the money forfeited was in a civil forfeiture case.
He also admitted that the documents in relation to the said US court proceedings, which were marked “exhibit PA5,” were not accompanied by a certificate from either the Nigerian consular in the US or the US consular in Nigeria.
Nwakaeti stated during cross-examination by Lateef Fagbemi, APC counsel, that the documents were also not accompanied by a certificate issued under the hand of a police officer in the US where he claimed Tinubu was convicted.
The continuation of the hearing in both petitions was fixed for Wednesday.
A member of the Peoples Democratic Party’s National Executive Committee, Timothy Osadolor, says the immediate-past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, is no longer a member of the party, given his conduct before, during and after the 2023 general elections.
Osadolor, who gave the hint in a telephone conversation with The PUNCH on Tuesday, noted that the leadership of the party had decided to isolate Wike and render him inconsequential in the affairs of the PDP.
According to him, Wike’s recent public outings wherein he appeared to be leaning towards the All Progressives Congress, give him away as a man in perpetual craving for the spotlight at all times and regardless of the cost to his image as an opposition political leader.
He said, “The PDP has ignored Wike because the man is no longer himself. There are more ways to deal with people apart from sanctioning them. You can keep someone in isolation. He (Wike) can boast that he is the one that stayed away but is it not better to stay away than come to party activities and nobody wants to associate with you? He has been given a cold treatment because he went to court to procure a judgment that says he cannot be suspended but there is no judgment that says he cannot be avoided. That is what the PDP has been doing to him and technically, if Wike wants to say the truth, he will tell you that he is no longer a member of the PDP. No PDP leader or member behaves the way he does.”
But in a swift reaction, a chieftain of the PDP and immediate past Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Chris Finebone, said Wike remained a bona fide member of the opposition party.
Describing Osadolor’s comments as wishful thinking, Finebone said he does not have any power to speak for the party.
He stated, “We can’t identify who he represents, but I think it is wishful thinking. It is wishful thinking and the man who is said to have said that is inconsequential as far as we are concerned.
“And so, whatever he has said is of no effect. His Excellency, the former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, is 110 per cent a member of PDP and nothing has changed. And nothing can change it.”
On the accusation that Wike has been hobnobbing with Tinubu, he said it was petty and frivolous.
President Bola Tinubu has made another set of appointments as he officially resumes office.
Tinubu appointed Nosa Asemota as his official photographer and Adelani Opeyemi as the official photographer of Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Their appointment was disclosed by the official photographer of the immediate vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, Tolani Alli.
Tweeting, Tolani wrote: “Congratulations to @nosasemota, The Official Photographer to @officialABAT 001 and @opeadelani the Official Photographer to @KashimSM 002.
“I wish you both the very best, God’s guidance, protection, and favour in this new role!! Go kill it. God bless you both.”
Tinubu and Shettima were inaugurated on Monday at the Eagles Square in Abuja.
On Tuesday, Tinubu and Shettima officially resumed office.
The new President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, has officially inherited over N16.29tn uncompleted projects from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, according to findings by The PUNCH.
The projects were identified through the national monitoring and evaluation platform, EYEMARK, which was launched by Buhari in December last year.
The former President noted that the Federal Government could no longer depend on its handful of monitoring and evaluation teams to oversee the vast number of infrastructure projects spread across the country.
He said that given that his regime invested in infrastructure projects more than any other before, it was only fitting to create adequate avenues for close monitoring by citizens.
He said this would close the existing gaps and promote citizens’ participation in governance.
With EYEMARK, the former president said, “The status of projects, the total amount appropriated and dispensed so far are now available in the public space.”
The national monitoring and evaluation platform, EYEMARK, showed that about 33 projects were yet to be completed.
One such project is the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which reportedly costs about N315bn. This 126.6-kilometre road is said to be at 85 per cent completion.
The Federal Government had again postponed the reopening of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, saying the April 30 date earlier stated was no longer feasible.
The former Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, who dropped the hint, said the development was due to heavy traffic being experienced from the toll gate to the Kara Bridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The EYEMARK app shows that Julius Berger Nigeria Pls and RCC are the contractors in charge of this project.
Another project is the Bodo-Bonny Road, estimated to cost about N200bn. The 37.9km road being handled by Julius Berger is put at 75 per cent completion.
Fashola recently said work on the Bodo-Bonny Road would be completed in December 2023, even as he hailed the continued progress on the work, with or without Buhari in office.
According to him, the funding for the project comes from the Federal Government’s Tax Credit Scheme into which Nigeria’s Liquefied Natural Gas and other big companies, like Dangote and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, are investing.
There is also the Nigeria- Morocco Gas Pipeline estimated at $25bn (about N11.52tn). It is the most expensive yet-to-be-completed project.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is leading the implementation of Nigeria’s National Gas Expansion Programme, including the development of domestic gas pipeline infrastructure projects and the Nigeria-Morocco and Trans-Sahara Gas Pipelines.
The NNPC has signed five Memoranda of Understanding with national oil companies and relevant entities of five African countries on the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project. The five national oil companies and relevant entities are from Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone.
Another project is the $2.8bn (about N1.29tn) Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline project, which is said to be at 70 per cent completion.
The contractors include Oando Plc, Brentex Petroleum Services Ltd, Oilserve Ltd and China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau.
The former Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, recently revealed that the project would help in generating 3.6 gigawatts (3,600 megawatts) of electricity, adding that the AKK pipeline was a major project of the Buhari’s administration.
The NNPC also recently said that $1.1bn had been spent so far on constructing the $2.8bn Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project.
The counterpart funding for the Greater Abuja Water Project, estimated at $470.76m (about N217bn) is still pending.
In July last year, The PUNCH reported that five years after the conceptualisation of the $470m Greeter Abuja Water Project, the Federal Government was yet to release the 20 per cent counterpart fund for the execution and delivery of the project as planned.
There is also the dualization of Akure-Ado Ekiti Road in Ondo/Ekiti states put at N90bn. Fashola last week commissioned the dualisation and construction of the Akure/Iju-Itagbolu/Ado-Ekiti road, which he said would be completed within a spate of 24 months.
He also disclosed that the award and commissioning of the road took so long because of the necessary process required by the new procurement law.
He assured stakeholders that the financing of the project had been taken care of by the NNPC through a tax credit policy and that construction work would not stop till completion.
The Itobe power plant, with a project cost of $5bn (about N2.3tn), is also pending. The 2,400MW coal-fired power project is put at 30 per cent completion with the contractor as Eta-Zuma Group.
There is also the renovation of the National Assembly Complex projected to cost about N30.23bn. The Federal Capital Development Authority recently said that the National Assembly complex would not be ready till August, despite pressure for the remodelling of the complex to be completed before the inauguration of the 10th Assembly.
Other projects include the design and construction of the Nigerian Cultural Centre and Millennium Tower (N69.35bn), the full scope development of FCT Highway 105 (Kuje Road) from the airport expressway to the outer Southern Expressway with Spur at Kyami District (N54.95bn), and the construction and equipping of hospitals at Gwarimpa Phase I (N3.03bn).
More projects include the construction of Bichi Township Roads (N1.40bn), the construction of Dawakin Tofa-Gwarzo-Dayi Road in Kano (N2bn), and the 5.4 kilometres Abuja- Keffi expressway and the dualisation of the 220 kilometres Keffi- Akwanga-Lafia- Makurdi federal roads in the North-Central geo-political zone of the country (N166.36bn).
Speaking at the APC South-East grand finale rally in Owerri, the new President, Tinubu, in February promised to continue with Buhari’s developmental programmes.
He said that Buhari’s eight-year reign was a retooling process, adding that he would invest in education, build infrastructure and be prudent should he be elected as the next president.
He said, “PDP stole Nigeria’s treasure. President Buhari’s eight years is a retooling process. PDP are liars. We will continue with developmental programmes of APC, it will not stop.”
As Nigerians are feeling the bite of the petroleum subsidy “removal” by President Bola Tinubu, the House of Representatives has asked Nigerians to pray for the implementation of the policy.
The House, in a sequel to a motion of urgent public importance, moved on Tuesday by Abdulraheem Olajide, praised President Tinubu for making the pronouncement on Monday.
It would be recalled that Tinubu had, during his inauguration, pronounced subsidy gone. The statement caused a scarcity of petroleum products.
Mr Olajide said the House must support Tinubu in the subsidy removal because he campaigned to do so.
“The legislature must support the President in delivering dividends of democracy, which will go a long way in enhancing development because he asked for it and campaigned for it. And he is ready for the task ahead,” he said.
Consequently, the House resolved to appeal to Nigerians to remain patient, resilient, and prayerful so that the President can deliver on his promises.
Femi Gbajabiamila also prevented members from debating the motion, despite their requests to speak.
The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, on Tuesday, increased to N1,200 per litre in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, following the declaration of the removal of subsidy on the product by President Bola Tinubu.
Scores of residents, who decried the high cost of petrol in the country, said they have since been engaged in panic buying.
Some residents were also seen with their cans as many filling stations were under lock.
A resident, Darlington Okeke, said panic buying was occasioned by Tinubu’s statement during his inauguration on Monday.
Okeke stated that petrol in filling stations was sold between N800 and N1,200, against N230 per litre.
Another resident, Ibrahim Ali, said black marketers sold a litre of fuel for N1,500, adding that the development was causing panic buying and frustration among residents.
He, however, appealed to Tinubu to address the situation to mitigate panic buying and arbitrary hoarding of the products, which marketers introduced after the announcement by the president.
Meanwhile, staff of some filling stations, who spoke under condition of anonymity, disclosed that the management of the Petroleum Dealers Association, Ebonyi State chapter, ordered the closure of fuel stations.
“We are waiting for further directives,” they told NAN.
Efforts to speak with the state chairman of the association, Sailas Njaka, on the development were not successful
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said states performed below global average in financial management, governance quality and borrowing s.
The CBN added that legal and institutional framework, audit functions, coordination with fiscal policy, and record keeping of debt by state governments have exposed the level of deficiencies among the states in their ability to manage their debts.
CBN Director Monetary Policy, Dr. Mahmud Hassan, made these known in Abuja yesterday at the opening of the World Bank/ West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) Sub-National Debt Management Performance Assessment (SN DeMPA) Methodology Training.
Hassan, also a Member, Technical Committee (TC) of the Board of Governors, WAIFEM, stated that “as of July 2019, only seven out of the 36 states had completed subnational Debt Management Performance Assessments (DeMPAs)”.
These assessments evaluate the government’s debt management functions across five areas, 13 indicators and 31 dimensions. Cross River, Edo, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Ondo, and the FCT participated in the DeMPAs between 2013 and 2018.
The CBN Chief said: “The DeMPAs revealed significant weaknesses in institutions and practices of subnational debt management in Nigeria. On average, only three of the 31 dimensions of debt management as defined by the DeMPA methodology were satisfied by Nigerian states.
“In nearly the 13 indicators, including governance quality, borrowing processes, financial management, and operational risk control, Nigerian states performed below the global average.
He added that “the legal and institutional framework, audit functions, coordination with fiscal policy, and record keeping of debt’ by the state governments has exposed their serious deficiencies in these fields.
Hassan appealed to the Federal authorities and development partners to play a crucial role “in building subnational capacity for debt management in Nigerian states”.
The CBN and its partners, he said, had seen that “sub-national debts also build into the federal debts and we see that also playing a large part in terms of the stock of debt”.
“So, I think it is important that we have that transparency, institutional capability and strength to be able to follow through with the processes of either debts securing or management and debt pay back,” he added.
Mahmud said the training “is very important for state personnel, especially the civil service to be well acquainted with those intricacies of debt management and debt sustainability”.
Earlier, Director-General, WAIFEM, Dr. Baba Yusuf Musa, said “national and sub-national debt should have an organisational structure that is conducive for debt portfolio analysis”.
“A legal framework that includes clear debt management objectives, authorization to borrow and undertake other debt management activities and to issue loan guarantees, requirement for strategy development, and accountability, reporting should be manned by skilled staff with adequate capacity to undertake risk analytical,” he said.
The DeMPA programme he explained is aimed at improving the capacity states to manage their debts.
“I think the response of the state to this is overwhelming. We actually have been oversubscribed, we targeted building the capacity of at least half of the states in Nigeria, including the Federal capital Territory (FCT), but because of the demand that we have for this programme we had to increase the number of states.
“Now we have 17 states that are being trained on this specific module of the training. Later in the year the remaining states will also be called on board to have similar training. Each state is sending at least two representatives plus the FCT, and we do hope that they will improve their debt management” Dr Baba said.
Abia state Governor,Dr. Alex Otti has directed the freezing of all accounts belonging to the state government and its agencies domiciled in every bank and financial institution across the federation.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity,Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Governor warned all banks and other financial institutions in the country against honouring any cheque, document, instrument or directive of any kind not expressly approved him.
The statement also directed the dissolution of all boards of the state government agencies and parastatals and ordered the chief executive officers of the organizations to hand over to those next in line to them.
“The Governor of Abia State, His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has directed the immediate freezing of all accounts of the Abia State Government and those of its agencies domiciled in every bank and financial institution across the State and the Federation.
“With this notice, all banks and other financial institutions in the country are directed to immediately seize from honouring any cheque, document, instrument or directive of any kind not expressly approved by or emanating from him.
“Similarly, Governor Otti has directed the immediate dissolution of all boards of the Abia State Government agencies and parastatals and subsequently ordered the chief executives of these organisations to hand over to those next in line to them,” the statement read in part.
— Pick only the best that Nigeria can offer
—- Choose men, and women of impeccable character, competence, capacity
National Leader of the Pan Yoruba Socio-Political Group, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, has congratulated President Bola Tinubu, warning him that Nigerians wouldn’t take his failure as an excuse.
Fasoranti in a congratulatory message, made available to newsmen in Akure, the Ondo state capital, said that ” the whole world knows that you are prepared for the job, and therefore there should be no excuse for failure.
” I am highly delighted to write on behalf of myself and Afenifere to congratulate you on the propitious occasion of your inauguration today as the 16th President and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Your trajectory to the podium today has been long and tortuous, but the arduous path has only made the victory Sweet.
“More importantly, the sweet victory is not without its burden, the whole world knows that you are prepared for the job, and therefore there should be no excuse for failure.
“Today, Nigeria is facing a myriad of challenges on multiple fronts that require urgent and decisive actions.
” These include the exceptionally high level of insecurity, poor and nose-driving economy, derelict infrastructure, youth unemployment and the hydra-headed Corruption among others.
I have gone through your “Renewed Hope 2023 -Action Plan for a Better Nigeria publication and after listening to your maiden broadcast, I am convinced that if the plans enunciated in the speech and personal manifesto are religiously and meticulously implemented the challenges will be mitigated and Nigeria will surely be a greater nation.
” In selecting your team, please pick the best that Nigeria can offer and I believe that this country is well endowed with the human resources that can turn her fortunes around.
” Choose men and women of impeccable character, competence and capacity and post them to their areas of maximum benefit for the nation.
“It is my prayer that the good Lord will grant you the wisdom, zeal, strength of character, good health and the courage of your conviction to steer the ship of our great nation to the promised shore of peace and prosperity.
The Yoruba leader said ” You can count on the unalloyed support of Afenifere throughout your tenure.
More...
President Bola Tinubu has directed the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately vacate the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ikoyi, Lagos State.
According to a statement by the state house, Tinubu said if there were issues between the “two important agencies of government”, they would be resolved amicably.
It would be recalled that officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) barred personnel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from entering their office in Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday morning.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its reaction, described the barricade of its Lagos office by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) as condemnable.
In a statement on Tuesday, the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren said the siege laid by the DSS at its office has left suspects in detention without care with grave implications.
Uwujaren stated that the lockout has affected the Commission’s operations at its largest hub with over 500 personnel, hundreds of critical exhibits, and many suspects in detention.
But the Department of State Services (DSS) rejected claims that its staff barred agents of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) from accessing its Lagos office.
The spokesperson for the DSS, Peter Afunanya affirmed that the agency was merely conducting an operation in “its own facility”.
However, President Tinubu in a statement by his media aide, Tunde Rahman, has ordered the DSS to vacate the disputed premises.
“President Bola Tinubu has directed the Department of State Security Service to immediately vacate the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Ikoyi, Lagos.
“The President gave the directive when reports that DSS officials stormed the EFCC office located on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday, preventing officials of the anti-graft agency from accessing their workplace, was brought to his attention.
“The President said if there were issues between the two important agencies of government, they would be resolved amicably,” the statement reads.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed that the Federal Government borrowed N6.07tn through Ways and Means Advances in 2022.
According to recent data from the apex bank, the Federal Government’s borrowing from the CBN went from N17.46tn in December 2021 to N23.53tn in December 2022.
However, The PUNCH observed that the Federal Government might have borrowed more than N6.07tn as the debt was N23.77tn in October 2022.
It appears servicing of the debt might have reduced it slightly to N23.53tn by December.
Recently, the Senate and the House of Representatives approved the request of the President for Ways and Means Advances restructuring, which then adds to the existing debt stock.
The Ways and Means provision allows the government to borrow from the apex bank if it needs short-term or emergency finance to fund delayed government expected cash receipts of fiscal deficits.
Since the government started experiencing a significant shortfall in revenue, it has relied heavily on the central bank to finance its expenditure program via Ways and Means.
The Federal Government had said it would repay the loan with securities such as treasury bills and bonds issuance.
Prominent economists, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association and opposition parties took a swipe at the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, (retd.), and the National Assembly over the government’s over N22.7tn extra-budgetary spending approved by the legislative chambers.
While groups, including NECA and the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry questioned the rationale for the loan by a regime that was approaching its exit, economists described the approval by the Senate as unusual.
With the approval by the Senate of the N22.7tn loan from the CBN extended to the Federal Government under its Ways and Means provision, Nigeria’s total debt will rise to N68.95tn.
The Debt Management Office recently revealed that Nigeria’s total public debt stock increased to N46.25tn in the fourth quarter of 2022.
It stated that the figure consisted of the domestic and external total debt stocks of the Federal Government and the sub-national governments (36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory).
The Senate Leader, Ibrahim Gobir, who led the Senate in the debate for the approval of the Ways and Means, explained that part of the money was given as loans to states.
Gobir added that the Special Committee was set up by the Red Chamber to scrutinize the fiscal document and put up the report after critical analysis and review of submissions made by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning and the CBN.
He noted that the Senate approved the sum of N819.54bn from the N1tn additional request made by the President, leaving an outstanding balance of N180.4bn being the accrued interest on the sum.
Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has disclosed that the state ruling All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) will collaborate with the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure a sustained peace and unity of the country.
He noted that the party has always been with any ruling party at the centre since its creation in 2002 and the present government of Tinubu would not be an exception.
Governor Soludo stated this during the official commission of APGA Regional Headquarters in Awka, on Tuesday, amidst resident’s partial compliance with IPOB sit-at-home order to commemorate the Biafra day.
Speaking further, the governor said APGA as the third largest party, has come to stay in Anambra and the country at large and it will still be in existence in the next 250 years.
According to him, APGA is on a mission to bring back Nigeria from its lost glory and is not a political party for the rich but a party for the common man. So, we will collaborate with the party at the centre to build a better Nigeria’ for all, the governor declared.
In his speech, the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Victor Oye, said the newly inaugurated edifice proves that APGA has come to stay in Anambra and Nigeria at large.
Meanwhile residents of the state on Tuesday stayed partially indoors in compliance with the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in celebration of Biafra day.
Expectedly, the sit-at-home order was partially in compliance as vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles, moves around in Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi while markets, shops, filling stations, banks, artisans, eatery joints all went on holidays giving the state a picture of a partially deserted settlement.
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday met with the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele and the Group Chief Executive Officer, of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mr. Mele Kyari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
This was the first official assignment by the President after his inauguration as the 16th President of the country at Eagle Square, Abuja
He arrived at the forecourt of the State House at about 2:30 pm through the quarter guard gate, which is his official entrance gate and was received by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, the Permanent Secretary, State House, Tijjani Umar, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and the outgoing Director of Protocol, DOP.
Others were the governor of CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, the GCEO of NNPCL, Mr Kyari, a member of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. James Faleke, among others.
The President went straight to his office with Emefiele, Kyari, Gbajabiamila, Faleke and others
Although the agenda of the meeting was not made public, it may not be unconnected with the removal of fuel subsidies and the attendant fuel scarcity.
It is expected that the issue of unification of foreign exchange, recent Naira Redesign among others
Recall that President Tinubu had his inaugural speech announced that the subsidy is gone and this immediately made filling stations to shut down their stations.