Politics
RSHA Commits Budget To Committee Stage
The Rivers State House of Assembly last Friday committed the 2021 Appropriation bill to committee stage.
The budget had shortly after its presentation last Wednesday passed first reading and was billed for debate.
After debates by various lawmakers, Speaker of the House, Rt Hon. Ikuinyi – Owaji Ibani, committed further debates to the committees to deliberate the estimates and return back its submissions to the House.
With a total of N448,660,773,476 budget for 2021 fiscal year the governor said it was 20 percent higher than that of 2020.
The budget christened, “Budget of Recovery and Consolidation,” has N305, 894, 284.061 as Capital Expenditure,while N142,776,489,415 is earmarked for Recurrent Expenditure.
The governor, while presenting the budget before the Assembly in Port Harcourt, yesterday, said the N448,660,773,476 budget for 2021 fiscal year represents more than 20 per cent increase over the 2020 Revised Budget of N300 billion.
Wike said the capital expenditure, representing 68.18 per cent of the total budget size, constituted as follows: “Administrative sector N87,790, 330,011.37; Economic sector, N105,077, 364,248.81; Law and Justice, N1,742,996,000.00; Social sector, N132, 656,033,322.35; and Deductions/Loan repayments, N38,000,000,000.00.”
He noted that N82,957, 295,248.81 has been provided for infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and completion of flyover projects at Okoro-Nu-Odo, Rumuola, Rumuogba, and Port Harcourt GRA junction.
He said: “We will also deliver the Ogoni-Andoni-Opobo Unity Road, the Eastern bypass dualisation, 6th and 7th flyover projects and the Wakama Road as well as all other ongoing rural roads in our communities and local government areas across the state.”
The governor stated that over N6 billion had been provided in the 2021 budget to stimulate economic growth through investments in commerce, culture and tourism, mineral resource development as well as address environmental challenges to improve the quality of life of all residents.
Similarly, he said, N13,861,407,451.97 had been provided to fund various social and economic investment schemes to support the development of small and medium scale businesses as part of efforts to create jobs and reduce poverty.
The governor noted that economic challenges of COVID-19 pandemic clearly exposed the vulnerability to food insecurity.
Hence, N16,107,080,000.00 will be spent on targeted investments in the agriculture value chain in a bid to create employment and enhance collective food security of the state.”
He said the Recurrent Expenditure of N142,776,489,415 represents 31.82 per cent of the 2021 budget. Of this sum, he said N76,198,906,179 is for personnel costs; N18,863,016,430 is for overhead and N47,704,566,804 will be for grants and transfers to the consolidated revenue charges.
Wike said “the budget will be funded from Statutory Allocation, 13 per cent Oil Mineral Fund, internally generated revenue, Value Added Tax, refunds for federal projects and excess crude oil deductions, domestic and foreign credit as well as grants from our development partners.”
On his part , Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon. Ikuinyi – Owaji Ibani assured the governor that the lawmakers would diligently consider and pass the budget to facilitate the continued development of the state.
Meanwhile, the budget has passed first reading shortly after the presentation.
Leader of the House, Hon. Martins Amaewhule said there is need to give the proposal speedy consideration, as he lauded the governor for his vision and commitment to transform the state.
By: Kevin Nengia
Politics
Alia Denies Calling For Ganduje’s Resignation
Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has denied calling for the resignation of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje.
This was contained in a press statement issued on Wednesday in Makurdi by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Tersoo Kula.
The Tide source reports that the CPS was reacting to some media reports that the governor had called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
Kula said the governor at no time called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
He said the governor enjoyed a good relationship with the Ganduje-led leadership of the APC.
“It is imperative to clarify that at no point did Governor Alia assembled, attended and sent a representative or participated in any meeting to discuss the removal or call for resignation of Alhaji. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“The Benue State governor remains firm in his support and allegiance to the leadership of the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Alhaji Ganduje.
“Furthermore, at no point, whether publicly or privately, has the governor advocated or expressed any desire for the resignation of the national party chairman”, he said.
He said the governor was focused on positively changing the fortunes of the state.
“He is alive to his responsibilities as the leader of APC in Benue State and is doing everything legitimate to reposition the party for future victories,” Kula said.
Politics
LP Re-Elects Abure As National Chairman
The embattled national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Julius Abure, has been re-elected for a second term by a unanimous affirmation of delegates despite the protests by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr. Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the party’s national convention that held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
Other serving officers of the party were also returned unopposed.
Recall that the NLC had called for Abure’s resignation as party chairman and the immediate constitution of a caretaker transition committee to organize an all-inclusive national convention for the party.
Meanwhile, a factional chairman of the Labour Party in Anambra State, Mr Peter Okoye has boasted that the Nnewi national convention will not stand.
Describing the convention as a sham, Okoye said: “This is not a convention. We are on top of the matter. It’s purely illegal.
“There was no ward congress, no local government congress, no state congress, and now who and who are the elected delegates that are electing the National Working Committee, NWC, members?
“The NLC was not there, TUC was not there, the owners of the party and members of the NEC and BOT members were not there too. So, who is holding the convention?”
Politics
Suswam Blames External Forces For Problems In PDP
Former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is being undermined by external forces which have rendered the party ineffective as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam stated this during a live television interview on Wednesday.
He lamented that the party had since after the 2023 general elections failed to live up to expectations of Nigerians as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam, who blamed the current PDP leadership for the ineffective state of the largest opposition party in the country, said unless there is an overhaul of its leadership, the party would “go nowhere” because the current leadership has lost focus.
He said, “I think there are subterranean forces inferring in the party and they are determining what is going on in the party. And the leadership is acquiescing to it.
“Subterranean suggests that people are trying to control the party from the outside. They are controlling the party from the outside and they are keeping the party in a comatose state.”
The Benue senator accused the party of refusing to call a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to help resolve some of the issues arising in the party.
He regretted the inability of the party to resolve the fallout of the 2022 presidential primary election which saw a group of five governors work against the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
He added that the inability of the Iliya Damagum-led leadership to discipline erring party members worsened the situation.
Senator Suswam said it was wrong for the party not to have sanctioned the G-5 governors and their allies who openly declared that they would remain in the party and work against its interest.
“They were not sanctioned which made others become emboldened to act anyway they wanted. PDP has been weakened since then,” he said.
He said no serious organisation does that, stressing that, “A serious organisation would apply sanctions” based on the laid down rules as contained in its constitution.
He further accused the acting national chairman of the party, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, of occupying the position which belongs to the North-Central zone, following the removal of the substantive chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, who hails from the zone.
Amb. Damagum, who was the Deputy National Chairman (North), hails from the North-East zone but was, as permitted by the party’s constitution, made acting chairman after Ayu’s removal by a court order.
The party’s law provides that the deputy chairman from the same region as the chairman takes over in the event of the latter’s removal from office.
Senator Suswam further lamented that “PDP is comatose now, and nothing can happen now,” adding that it was regrettable that politicians are now preferring to hold talks with smaller parties and not the PDP.
Noting that the PDP was at the precipice, Senator Suswam said, “Until we provide that leadership, PDP will not be a viable platform. We need to overhaul the leadership of the party. There is no pretence about it, everybody in PDP knows it. Without discipline and reconciliation, the party goes nowhere.”
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