News

Political will lacking in fight against banditry – Zamfara gov

Published

6 months ago

June 12, 2024

The Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, on Tuesday, expressed concerns that President Bola Tinubu was not adequately briefed on the severity of bandit operations in the state.

Following a meeting with the President on March 26 2024, Lawal described Zamfara as the “centre of banditry” in northern Nigeria and warned that the ongoing insecurity could destabilise the entire northern region if not urgently addressed.

In an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Lawal asserted that banditry could be eradicated within two weeks if the government showed true commitment.

“If you can take care of Zamfara today, believe me, you would have solved 90 per cent of the banditry issue in northern Nigeria as a whole.

“If we are committed, if we are serious, we can take care of this situation within two weeks maximum. But the political will is not there,” Lawal said.

He criticised ongoing negotiations with bandits occurring without his knowledge, stating that such actions undermine state efforts to combat the crisis.

“While we are trying to take care of the situation, somebody, somewhere, somehow, behind our back, is negotiating with bandits as a governor of a state, without my knowledge.

“In Zamfara, there were a series of negotiations with these bandits but what happened at the end? Nothing. How does one even begin to negotiate at the point of weakness instead of at the point of strength? It is just a money venture kind of thing.

“When the situation got bad, I had to meet Mr President and complain one-on-one, and I told him the true situation of what Zamfara is facing in terms of security,” Lawal said.

He expressed doubts about whether the President was properly informed about the real situation on the ground, stating, “Based on the conversation we had, the answer is no. And I had to explain everything to him, what we are going through and what needs to be done.”

Lawal emphasised the strategic importance of addressing banditry in Zamfara, saying, “Zamfara state has become the hub of banditry in northern Nigeria.

“We are having challenges in the mining sector. Though mining has been banned by the FG and the states, the security outfit set up in the state is doing the best to address the situation in the state,” he said.

The governor also weighed in on the debate regarding state police, highlighting his lack of control over the military, police, and civil defence personnel.

This lack of authority, he argued, has left his administration powerless to effectively combat the bandits.

“In most cases, you get frustrated in terms of where you get help from,” Lawal said. “When you need these people, they will be nowhere to be found. And therefore the best thing to do is to set up that kind of security outfit. For us in Zamfara, they are doing well.

“There are a lot of political undertones in the security issues. Some of you find it difficult to come and say this but I know what we are going through. But like I said, sometimes you are helpless. When you need them, they are not there or even when they are there, they are given certain instructions on what to do and not to do. That is the true situation,” he added.

On education, the governor said, “For three years, our children in Zamfara did not write for the West African Examination Council exams. When we took over, the National Examinations Council owed #1.3billion and WAEC #1.6billion. We had to settle the bills for students to write the exams.”

Efforts to reach the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris and the President’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga proved abortive as they neither picked their calls or responded to the messages sent to them.

News

Senate passes N49.7trn 2025 appropriation bill for second reading

Published

3 minutes ago

December 20, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Senate on Thursday passed the 2025 Appropriation Bill of N49.7 trillion for its second reading, following its presentation by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu before a joint session of the National Assembly.

The passage of the budget came as the Senate adjourned its plenary session until January 14, 2025, to allow lawmakers to partake in the Christmas and New Year festivities.

During the plenary session, the Senate considered and debated the objectives and general principles of the fiscal document, which has been christened “The Restoration Budget: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity.”

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele sponsored the Bill titled: A Bill for an Act to authorize the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation the total sum of N49,740,165,355,396 only, of which N4,435,761,358,925 only is for Statutory Transfers, N16,327,142,689,549 only is for Debt Service, N14,123,544,196,406 only is for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure while the sum of N14,853,717,110,517 only is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure for the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2025, and for related matters, 2024 (SB. 681).”

News

As hunger continues to ravage Nig, Tinubu to spend N164m on tyres, others

Published

11 minutes ago

December 20, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

President Bola Tinubu has said that his government in 2025 will spend N164million on tyres for the State House bullet proof vehicles and the sum of N29.5million on buying and maintaining sports and gymnastic equipment for the State House Sports Club and State House Central Gymnasium.

This was contained in the 2025 fiscal appropriation bill (proposed budget) President Tinubu presented before the joint National Assembly – the Senate and the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

A review of the 2025 Executive Proposal of the proposed budget by SaharaReporters showed that Tinubu proposed that his administration will spend the sum of N12,815,481 for the purchase of sporting equipment for State House Sports Club.

Another N16,733,357 will be spent on the procurement 6/maintenance of equipment for the State House Central Gymnasium.

Further review of the proposed budget showed that the President proposed to spend the sum of N164.9 million on buying tyres for State House bullet proof vehicles, plain cars and Jeeps.

According to the official document of the proposed 2025 budget, Tinubu’s government will spend the sum of N164,990,169 on the purchase of tyres for bullet proof vehicles, plain cars, CCU vehicles, platform trucks, Jeeps, Ambulances and other utility and operational vehicles for State House.

Meanwhile, the N164.9million for the purchase of the vehicles including operational vehicles as indicated on page seven (7) of the 2025 proposed budget Executive Proposal official document, is different from N3,661,566,123 proposed for the purchase of State House operational vehicles on page eight (8) of the same document.

It is also different from the sum of N1,098,469,837 proposed to be spent on replacement of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) vehicles for the State House.

Meanwhile, Tinubu in his address on Wednesday while present the proposed budget before the National Assembly said, “This budget christened, “Budget of Restoration: Securing Peace, Rebuilding Prosperity,” strikes at the very core of our Renewed Hope Agenda and demonstrates our commitment to stabilising the economy, improving lives, and repositioning our country for greater performance.”

The President added, “The 2025 budget that I present today is one of restoration. It seeks to consolidate the key policies we have instituted to restructure our economy, boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments, bolster oil and gas production, get our manufacturing sector humming again and ultimately increase the competitiveness of our economy.

“We do not intend to depart from this critical path to strengthen the Nigerian economy. Just as I believe in the resilience of our economy to withstand the current challenges, l also strongly believe in the resilience of the Nigerian people.”

News

Court Orders Final Forfeiture Of Properties Linked To Emefiele

Published

17 minutes ago

December 20, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Justice Deinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of a warehouse built on a 1.925-hectare property along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Magboro, Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun State.

The court also ordered the final forfeiture of 54 general-purpose steel containers, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) claimed are linked to a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN,) Godwin Emefiele.

The Judge ordered that the assets be forfeited to the federal government after no individual or organisation came forward to claim them.

On November 28, 2024, the judge had granted an interim forfeiture of the assets, directing the anti-graft agency to publish the order in a national newspaper to allow any interested party to appear before the court and show cause why the assets should not be finally forfeited.

However, at the resumed hearing of the matter on Thursday, EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court that the commission had complied with the court’s directives.

Oyedepo also informed the court that the application for final forfeiture was made pursuant to Section 44(2)(B) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006, as well as the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

The lawyer urged the court to issue a final forfeiture order to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the properties listed in Schedule A, which includes the warehouse located at Km 8 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Magboro, and the 54 general-purpose steel containers, suspected to have been acquired through unlawful activities.

After reviewing the submissions of the anti-graft agency’s lawyer and the documents filed before the court, Justice Dipeolu granted the requested relief and ordered the final forfeiture of all the assets.