Politics
Senate In Stormy Session Over Buhari’s N23.7trn ‘Ways And Means’
The Senate was in disarray for several hours, on Wednesday, over how to restructure the payment of N23.7 trillion “Ways and Means” secured from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in the last 10 years.
President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, forced the lawmakers to go into a closed-door session to stop the chaos from degenerating into a brawl.
“Ways and Means” are loans or advances by the CBN to the Federal Government to enable it to cater for short-term or emergency finance to fund delayed government expected cash receipt of fiscal deficits.
Trouble started when Chairman of Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Lagos West), came up with a report on Ways and Means 2022 as requested by President Muhammadu Buhari, last week.
Soon after Adeola’s presentation, Senator Apiafi (PDP, Rivers West), raised a point of order, with very strong argument that President Buhari’s request was unconstitutional and what the Senate was about to do by considering the request was unknown to Nigerian law.
Tension engulfed the Senate when the Senate President, Lawan, ruled her out of order on the grounds that the report should be presented and read by the committee chairman for lawmakers to contribute to the debate.
President Buhari had last week written to the Senate, requesting the approval of restructuring of N23.7 trillion Ways and Means advances given to the Federal Government by the CBN.
The President in a letter read by Senate President during the Plenary session last Wednesday, explained that the ways and means balances as of December 19, 2022, were N23.7 trillion.
President Buhari further stated in the letter that he had approved the securitisation of the Ways and Means balances along the following terms: Amount N23 .7 trillion; Tenure 40 years; Moratorium on principal repayment, three years; and Pricing interest rate nine percent.
The Senate had in line with parliamentary procedure, given the request expeditious consideration by passing it for second reading and mandating its committee on Finance to work on it.
Lawan’s ruling annoyed Senator Apiafi and some senators, thereby leading to a charged atmosphere in the chamber.
At this point, Senator George Sekibo (PDP, Rivers East) raised a point of order, calling on Lawan to step down consideration of the report until lawmakers get more details on what the funds were used for.
In a strong move to stop approval of the report without scrutiny, Senator Sekibo rose through constitutional orders by citing Sections 80, 83, Section113(1) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 38 of the CBN Act to kick against the request.
Sekibo said: “We came into this chamber today and were given the report on N23.7trillion, which has been spent in the past 10 years. Whether it is 10 years or five years, whatever it is, the issue is that such payment, when the loans are taken, the Senate should be informed, we should be abreast with the information that such money is going to be taken because it is being taken on behalf of the people of Nigeria and we are entrusted with the power to make laws.
“According to the constitution, we can appropriate. They brought this up without details for us to approve.
“Section 80 of the 1999 constitution as amended provides that all revenues or other monies raised or received by the federation, not being revenue and other monies payable under this constitution or any Act of the National Assembly into any other public fund of the federation established for a particular purpose, shall be paid into and form one consolidated revenue fund of the Federation.
“No money shall be withdrawn from the consolidated revenue fund of the Federation except to meet expenditure that is charged upon the fund or where the issue of those monies has been authorised by an appropriation act, supplementary act or an act passed in pursuance of Section 81 of the constitution”.
“No money shall be withdrawn from any account other than the consolidated revenue fund of the Federation unless the issue of those monies has been authorised by the Act of the National Assembly.
“Section 80 (4) no money shall be withdrawn from the consolidated revenue fund or any other fund of the Federation except by the approval of the National Assembly, except in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly
“Section 83 the National Assembly may make provision for the establishment of Federation fund for.the Federation and for authorising the President if satisfying that there had arisen an urgent unforeseen expenditure to make advances to meet the needs.
“Section 38 of the CBN Act states ‘any money collected by the federal government as loan or emergency fund in form of Ways and Means Advances must be refunded before collection of another one.’
“Mr President, the relevant laws quoted clearly show that the N22.7triillion Ways and Means Advances already spent by Federal Government without informing the National Assembly was wrong and it will be unfair as representatives of Nigerians to approve this request.”
The Senate, thereafter, went into a closed-door session for one and half hours and the request was stepped down at the end of the day for lack of details.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, even as it seeks N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027.
An additional N171bn is needed to support INEC’s routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections, the commission stated.
The INEC boss said the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.
He explained that, although the details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the almost N1tn election budget is structured across five major components.
“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chief noted that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the Commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”
On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided an envelope of N140bn, stressing, however, that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”
The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.
He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.
Amupitan also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical glitches.
Speaking at the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.
He advocated that the envelope budgeting model should be set aside.
He urged the National Assembly to work with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid future instances of possible underfunding.
In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable the Commission to plan early enough for the 2027 general election.
The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.
The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Simon Along, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the Commission to ensure it receives the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, also pledged legislative support, warning INEC to be careful about promises it might be unable to keep.
He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made strong assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.
“iREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.
The N873.78bn proposed by INEC for next year’s general election is a significant increase from the N313.4bn released to the Commission by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.
In a timetable issued by its National Secretariat in Abuja and signed by the National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, the party said the activities were in line with provisions of its constitution guiding the election of party officials across all tiers.
According to the schedule, membership e-registration began on January 31 and ended on February 8, while notices of congresses were dispatched to state and Federal Capital Territory chapters on February 2.
Submission of nomination forms for ward and local government congresses closed on February 9, followed by screening and appeals between February 10 and February 14.
Ward congresses are fixed for February 18, with appeals the following day, while local government congresses will take place on February 21 and appeals on February 23.
At the state level, purchase of forms for state executive positions will run from February 22 to February 25, with screening set for February 27–28 and appeals from March 1–2. State congresses are scheduled for March 3, and appeals on March 4.
Activities leading to zonal congresses and the national convention include purchase and submission of forms between March 12 and March 16, inauguration of screening committees on March 23, and screening of aspirants on March 24. Zonal congresses across the six geo-political zones are slated for March 25, with appeals on March 26.
The party’s national convention will hold from March 27 to March 28.The APC also published fees for expression of interest and nomination forms across the different tiers.
At the ward level, expression of interest costs ?5,000, while nomination forms range from ?15,000 to ?20,000 depending on the position. For local government positions, nomination forms range from ?50,000 to ?100,000 after a ?10,000 expression-of-interest fee.
State executive positions attract ?50,000 for expression of interest, with nomination forms pegged at ?1 million for chairman and ?500,000 for other offices. Zonal offices require ?100,000 expression of interest and ?200,000 for nomination.
For national positions, the fees rise significantly, with expression of interest set at ?100,000. Nomination forms cost ?10 million for national chairman, ?7.5 million for deputy national chairmen and national secretary, ?5 million for other offices, and ?250,000 for National Executive Committee membership.
The party noted that female aspirants, youths and persons living with disabilities would pay only the expression-of-interest fee and 50 per cent of nomination costs. It also clarified that Ekiti, Osun, Rivers states and the FCT are excluded from ward, local government and state congresses, but will participate in electing delegates to the national convention.
Forms are to be completed online after payment verification, with payments directed to designated APC accounts at Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa.
The congress cycle is expected to determine new party leadership structures ahead of future electoral activities.
The Tide source reports that the committee, reportedly backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, is making moves to reclaim the Wadata Plaza headquarters months after it was sealed following a violent clash between rival factions of the party.
Senior officers at the FCT Police Command told our source that while they had not received an official briefing, police personnel would be stationed at the secretariat and other key locations to maintain peace.
The Acting National Secretary of the Mohammed-led committee, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, announced last week that the secretariat would reopen for official activities on Monday (today).
He dismissed claims that ongoing litigation would prevent the reopening, saying, “There are no legal barriers preventing the caretaker committee from resuming work at the party’s headquarters.”
However, the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) has fiercely rejected the reopening move, insisting that Sen. Anyanwu and his group remain expelled from the PDP and have no authority to act on its behalf.
Speaking with The Tide source, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, declared: “They are living in fool’s paradise. The worst form of deceit is self-deceit, where the person knows he is deceiving himself yet continues with gusto.
“Even INEC, which they claim has recognised them, has denied them. They are indulging in a roller coaster of self-deceit.”
Mr Ememobong further revealed that letters had been sent to both the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police, stressing that the matter was still in court and warning against any attempt to “resort to self-help.”
“The case pending before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik was instituted by the expelled members. They cannot resort to self-help until judgment is delivered,” he said.
He warned that reopening the secretariat would amount to contempt of court.
A senior officer at the FCT Police Command, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that officers would be deployed to the area to avert a repeat of the November 19 violence that led to the secretariat’s initial closure.
“The command would not stand by and allow a breakdown of peace and order by the party or anyone else. Definitely, the police will have to be on the ground,” he said.
Another officer added, “There will definitely be men present at the secretariat, but I can’t say the number of police officers that would be deployed.”
When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said she had not been briefed on the planned reopening and declined to comment on whether officers would be deployed.
Asked to confirm whether the secretariat was initially sealed by police, she responded, “Yes,” but refused to say more about the current deployment plans.
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