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Senate to probe Buhari’s N30trn Ways and Means spending
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There was a mild drama on Tuesday as the Senate resolved to revisit the N30 trillion Ways and Means it approved for the Federal Government under former President Muhammadu Buhari, the details of which it said were never provided for scrutiny.
Specifically, the Red Chamber alleged that reckless spending of the overdraft collected from the Godwin Emefiele-led Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, largely accounted for the food and security crises presently facing the country.
It consequently resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to carry out a thorough investigation on how the N30 trillion was spent by the immediate past government since details of such spending were deliberately not made available to the National Assembly.
The ad-hoc committee, which will be constituted on Wednesday, will also probe the N10 trillion expended on the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, the $2.4 billion forex transaction out of the $7 billion obligation made for that purpose, as well as other intervention programmes.
The Senate resolutions followed the consideration of the report of its joint committees on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions; Finance; National Planning; Agriculture, and Appropriations, on the state of the economy after interactive sessions with the Federal Government economic management team.
The report consideration in plenary on Tuesday was very stormy and full of accusations and counter-accusations by senators on why and how the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means was passed by the 9th Senate in May 2023 and an additional N7.2 trillion passed on December 30, 2023, by the 10th Senate.
The Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South), in his contribution, blamed the Senate for approving the request without details from then-President Muhammadu Buhari.
“When the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means approval request was brought before the 9th Senate, I insisted that details of spendings made with it, should be provided before approval, but the Senate then, went ahead and approved it,” he said.
He, was, however, countered by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, who said the decision taken then, was a collective one with the caveat that the executive should provide details later, which was, however, not provided.
In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said, as recommended by the committee and supported by most of the Senators, a thorough probe must be carried out on the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means approved in May 2023 by the 9th Senate, which later increased to N30 trillion, with the passage of the N7.2 trillion accrued interest forwarded for passage in December 2023.
“The food and security crises confronting the nation now, are traceable to the way and manner in which the said ways and means were given, collected, and spent.
“Details of such spending must be submitted for required scrutiny and possible remedies because what Nigerians want now, is food on their table, which must be given.
“Other recommendations made by the committee on the need for a thorough investigation of the N10 trillion Anchor Borrowers Programme and other intervention programmes running into billions of dollars must be investigated.
“But as rightly recommended by the joint committee, security agencies should, as a matter of national urgency, combat all forms of insecurity across the country for farmers to access their farms for required food production, which is highly needed in the country now,” Akpabio said.
No fewer than five suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists has been reportedly killed in a premature explosion while assembling explosives in Marte Local Government Area of Borno State.
According to Zagazola Makama, a counter insurgency reporter, the terrorists who died in the explosion include an alleged medical officer and four improvised explosive device (IED) specialists.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the incident occurred at Maina Daya Village, located between Sabon Tumbu and Jubilaram, about 29 kilometres east of Monguno.
According to the sources, the explosion killed Usman Dan Fulani, described as an ISWAP medical officer, alongside two foreign Arab IED technicians and two ISWAP bomb-making experts.
The sources said the incident occurred while the terrorists were allegedly preparing improvised explosive devices for deployment, suggesting the group was planning further attacks along key military supply routes in the Sector 1 area of Operation HADIN KAI.
The Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamoru Ogunlana has described the 2026 House of Representatives Open Week as a vital platform for deepening democratic governance, promoting transparency and strengthening the relationship between Parliament and the Nigerian people.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2026 House of Representatives Open Week in Abuja, the CNA, on behalf of the National Assembly Management, welcomed dignitaries from across the country and commended the leadership of the House for sustaining an initiative that has become a symbol of parliamentary openness and public engagement.
The event attracted a wide range of stakeholders, including the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, members of the judiciary, lawmakers, representatives of the executive arm of government, diplomats, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations, development partners and members of the media.
The event attracted a wide range of stakeholders, including the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, members of the judiciary, lawmakers, representatives of the executive arm of government, diplomats, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations, development partners and members of the media.
According to the CNA, the Open Week has evolved into one of the most significant expressions of democratic participation in Nigeria, providing citizens with an opportunity to understand legislative processes and directly engage with their elected representatives.
He noted that the House of Representatives occupies a unique position within Nigeria’s democratic framework as the chamber with the broadest representation of the people, drawing members from every federal constituency across the country.
“The House serves as the closest legislative institution to the people, translating local aspirations into national policies and legislation,” he said.
A leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and former Chief Whip of the Senate, Sir. Rowland Owie, has expressed dissatisfaction over the change of the name of the party’s candidate for the Edo South senatorial district in the 2027 general election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission portal had the picture of Sunny Aguebor as the senatorial candidate while it had the name Epelle-Asemota Bridgitte Osayuki as the candidate.
Reacting to the development in a telephone interview, Owie said Aguebor emerged as the candidate of the party in a primary election monitored by the INEC and alleged that a national officer of the party may be responsible for the current development.
Owie declared the development as fraud that would not stand, noting that Aguebor is the Edo South Senatorial candidate.
He said, “The truth is fraud cannot stand. The duly nominated candidate for Edo South NDC is Sunny Aguebor.
His primary election was monitored by the INEC and we have the CTC of his nomination from INEC.
“The party uploaded the information to INEC portal. What they were trying to do is to put that lady’s name but they couldn’t remove Aguebor’s picture.
“Whoever did it is a criminal, it is because we want peace in the party otherwise such a person should have been arrested. It is a criminal act. The NDC is a corrective party, we can’t be part of fraud.
“We have written to the INEC to make the necessary corrections. The person behind the fraud is a leader in the South South and we can get him arrested for forgery.”
When contacted, the state chairman of the party, David Olukoga said the party was still working with the INEC over the issue.
“Those are social media issues, when we are ready, we will publish our lists, we are not done with INEC, when we are done, they will give us our list and we will publish them,” he added.
Five ISWAP bombs reportedly wasted as IED suddenly explodes in Borno
HoR open week will bridge gap between legislature and Nigerians-CNA
Reaction as portal shows NDC candidate’s picture, opponent name
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