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Saraki Gives C’ttee 48hr- Deadline To Submit Budget Report …Senate Approves N1.64trn New Borrowing To Fund Deficit …Passes Police Trust Fund Bill

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Senate President Bukola Saraki, yesterday, gave the Appropriations Committee till Thursday to submit the 2019 budget report.
The Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Sunny Ogbuoji told the Senate that only 24 out of 61 sub-committees had submitted their reports.
Saraki insisted that the budget report must be presented on Thursday, April 11, ahead of the April 16 approval of the money bill.
The Senate President noted the Appropriations committee will be forced to use Executive submissions if the sub-committees fail to submit their reports to the Committee by Wednesday.
Saraki said, “It is unfortunate that only 24 committees have submitted their reports. Last week, we all took a decision here that we are not going to waiver on our position. Our position is very clear: that all committees should submit (their budget reports). And those that don’t submit, then the Appropriations Committee should use the Executive submission.
“That position is still where we are. And I want to appeal to all our committees that you really have just till tomorrow (Wednesday) to make sure that your reports get to the Appropriations Committee because Thursday, you must lay this report.
“Vice Chairman of Appropriations Committee, if you don’t get report from our committees by tomorrow (Wednesday), then you just use the submission of the Executive. But come Thursday, you must lay that report.”
It would be recalled that President Buhari, had presented the N8.83 trillion budget proposal to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 19, 2018.
However, the Senate, yesterday, adopted N1.64 trillion proposed by the Executive as the amount for new borrowing to fund the 2019 budget deficit.
The upper chamber also approved the proposed N500 billion special social intervention fund.
The adoptions were parts of the 2019-2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) passed yesterday by the upper chamber.
President Muhammadu Buhari sent the MTEF/FSP to the National Assembly on November 6, 2018 for consideration and approval.
The passage of the MTEF/FSP came as the Senate is set to receive the report of the 2019 budget from its Appropriation Committee.
The Senate adopted all the critical projections in the MTEF/FSP as proposed by the Executive.
The MTEF/FSP an annual rolling three year-expenditure plan sets out the medium-term expenditure priorities and provides the basis for the preparation of the annual national budget.
The Senate Committee on Finance, which considered the MTEF and FSP, presented its recommendations for adoption by the Senate in plenary.
Apart from the adoption of N1.64 trillion as the amount for new borrowing to fund the budget deficit, the Senate advised relevant agencies to continue to explore ways of generating additional revenues for government to bring down the fiscal deficit.
It said that the Federal Government should harness the full optimal potential of the ministry of Mines and Steel Development in terms of revenue generation to minimize the level of new borrowing.
It also said that the Federal Government should consider reducing the granting of waivers and exemptions while ensuring that the Nigerian Customs Service personnel were at all oil terminals for accountability.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service, it said, should consider increasing tax on luxury goods and services.
On the N5,000 special social intervention fund, the Senate asked for the cooperation of relevant committees in the National Assembly and other relevant MDAs in ensuring that the funds are judiciously utilized to provide tangible impact of the funds on the Nigerians.
The Senate retained the oil output of 2.3 million barrel per day, oil price benchmark of $60 per barrel, exchange rate of N305/$1, GDP Growth rate of 3.0per cent and Inflation growth rate of 9.98per cent.
Other Executive proposals for 2019 also adopted by the Senate included: proposed expenditure of N8.83 trillion, FGN retained revenue N7.92 trillion, fiscal deficit N1.86 trillion, new borrowings N1.65 trillion, statutory transfers N492.4 billion, debt service N2.14 trillion, Sinking Fund N120 billion, total recurrent (non-debt) N4.72trillion, personnel costs (MDAs) N2.29 trillion, capital expenditure N2.86 trillion, Special Intervention N500billion.
The committee said that crude oil production output stood at 2.0 million barrels as of December 2018.
According to the committee, the 2.3million daily target is achievable “due to the continuous efforts of all stakeholders in checkmating the issues of oil facilities vandalism and other vices associated with such regard.”
The committee which recommended exchange rate of N305/$1, asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) “to continue adopting strategies that will aid the strengthening of the naira and bridging the gap between the official and parallel market rate of the foreign exchange.”
The Senate also, yesterday, passed the Nigerian Police Trust Fund Bill (HB 1583).
Recall that last week, the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had promised the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, that the Senate would fast-track its work on both the Police Trust Fund Bill and the Police Reform Bill.
Reacting to the Senate’s passage of the Bill, which has also been passed by the House of Representatives, Saraki said: “By passing this bill, we will be creating big strides towards providing and improving security and the policing in our country.
“One of the major concerns has always been the issue of funding. We believe that this bill will provide the funding needed for training and recruitment. I am confident that by the time we lay the report on the Police Reform Bill, we would have gone a long way in moving the police in the right direction,” the Senate president said.
Similarly, the Senate, yesterday, confirmed the appointment of Maj.-Gen. Paul Tarfa (rtd) as Chairman of the North East Development Commission (NEDC).
The Senate also confirmed the appointment of Mohammed Alkali as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NEDC, alongside nine members.
This followed presentation of report by Chairman, Senate Committee on Special Duties, Sen Abdul Aziz Nyako on confirmation of nominations into the board of the commission.
The other nominees are Musa Yashi as Executive Director Humanitarian Affairs; Muhammed Jawa as Executive Director Administration and Finance; Omar Mohammed as Executive Director Operations.
Others are David Kente, member representing North-East Zone; Asmau Mohammed, member representing North-West Zone; Benjamin Adanyi, member representing North-Central Zone.
Still others are: Olawale Oshun, member representing South-West Zone; Dr. T. Ekechi, member representing South-East; and Obasuke McDonald, member representing South-South.
Contributing, Sen Binta Masi (APC-Adamawa) observed that the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer was from Borno State, while the headquarters of the commission was also domiciled in Borno.
She noted that in the spirit of fairness, other states facing insurgency should have been considered.
Masi noted that late Sen Ali Wakili suggested that the headquarters be domiciled in Bauchi State, but the request was turned down to allow for more negotiations, and wondered why the decision was made in favour of Borno.
In response, Nyako said the observation made by Masi was paramount, but indicated that the decision was reached during Senate and House of Representatives conference.
He said, “Recall that in our bill, we left that issue open and during the hearing, we agreed that if the headquarters should be in Borno, someone from elsewhere should be chief executive officer.
“It was the House bill that came with zoning within Borno. They had overwhelming votes in support of that during our conference and in the spirit of democracy we had to succumb.”
The Deputy Leader, Sen. Bala Na’Allah, also noted that the observation made by Masi was genuine but noted certain situations could warrant a change.
He said, “the citing of the headquarters is because the entire country associated the beginning of insurgency to Borno and other most affected states are Adamawa and Yobe states.
“So, chairman for the commission is from Adamawa and choice of Alkali is for certain convenience, which is required to galvanise support with the least inconvenience.
“Also, it should be noted that the action of the Executive led to choice of Alkali while citing of the NEDC in Borno is legislative action and in the spirit of cooperation among arms of govt we should let that go and confirm them.”
The Leader of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, congratulated the National Assembly for passing the bill and the Executive for assenting to it and sending the list of board nominees for confirmation.
“The people nominated here are qualified and experienced and prepared to hit the ground running.
“So, I urge the committee to monitor the commission’s take-off to ensure that right things are done.
“We have learnt from issues of non smooth take-off of the Niger Delta Development Commission, so that the NEDC will learn from that. The commission needs urgent take off,” Lawan submitted.
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, also congratulated the nominees.
He said the emergence of the commission was a sign that the National Assembly had concerns for happenings in Nigeria irrespective of region and other indices.
“The NDDC bill was initiated in the National Assembly. It was vetoed by the Executive, but we overturned the veto.
“It is the same spirit that led to the initiation of the NEDC. The smooth running of NDDC is due to so much protocol.
“So, from the day one of the take-off of NEDC, the National Assembly should start oversight to give life to North East and hope to other Nigerians doing business in those areas and I hope the pioneers would lay good example,” Ekweremadu said.
In his remarks, President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, congratulated the nominees, and urged them to hit the ground running.
He also emphasised the need for oversight of the commission to ensure proper implementation of projects.

 

Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja

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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.

He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.

“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.

“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.

 “We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.

“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.

He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.

Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.

He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.

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FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.

This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.

The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.

Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.

The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.

From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.

From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.

Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.

From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.

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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

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The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.

The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.

The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the  Polytechnic, recently.

Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.

He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.

This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly,  Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.

The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.

Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.

He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.

The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.

Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.

 

Chinedu Wosu

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