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2018 Budget: Senate Moves To Expose Buhari …President Lacks Capacity To Implement Budget -PDP …Says APC Bent On Stifling Opposition
The Senate has disclosed that it has delegated its Chairman, Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje to hold a media briefing to clarify concerns raised by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 2018 Budget.
The red chamber of the National Assembly assured that Goje would make revelations about contentious areas.
Chairman, Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, in a statement, yesterday, confirmed that the Senate was in agreement with the statement issued by the House of Representatives, in response to the issues raised by Buhari on the budget.
He said, “The leadership of both chambers have directed the chairmen of our committees on appropriations to provide item by item, detailed explanations on all points raised by the President for the benefit of members of the public.
“It should, however, be noted that the action of the National Assembly while working on the budget was informed by the provision of the Constitution on the need for inclusion, balance and the fact that the first responsibility of government is the security and welfare of all citizens,” he said.
Buhari had in his speech said, “the logic behind the Constitutional direction that budgets should be proposed by the Executive is that, it is the Executive that knows and defines its policies and projects.
“Unfortunately, that has not been given much regard in what has been sent to me. The National Assembly made cuts amounting to N347billion in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to N578 billion.
“Many of the projects cut are critical and may be difficult, if not impossible, to implement with the reduced allocation.
“Some of the new projects inserted by the National Assembly have not been properly conceptualized, designed and costed, and will, therefore, be difficult to execute.
“Such examples of projects from which cuts were made are as follows: The provisions for some nationally/regionally strategic infrastructure projects such as counterpart funding for the Mambilla Power Plant, Second Niger Bridge/ancillary roads, the East-West Road, Bonny-Bodo Road, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Itakpe-Ajaokuta Rail Project were cut by an aggregate of N11.5billion.”
“Similarly, provisions for some ongoing critical infrastructure projects in the FCT, Abuja especially major arterial roads and the mass transit rail project, were cut by a total of N7.5billion.
“The provision for Rehabilitation and Additional Security Measures for the United Nations Building by the FCT, Abuja was cut by N3.9billion from N4billion to N100million.
“The above will make it impossible for the Federal Government of Nigeria to fulfill its commitment to the United Nations on this project.
“The provisions for various Strategic Interventions in the health sector such as the upgrade of some tertiary health institutions, transport and storage of vaccines through the cold chain supply system, provision of anti-retroviral drugs for persons on treatment, establishment of chemotherapy centres and procurement of dialysis consumables were cut by an aggregate amount of N7.45billion.
“The provision for security infrastructure in the 104 unity schools across the country were cut by N3billion at a time when securing our students against acts of terrorism ought to be a major concern of government.
“The provision for the Federal Government’s National Housing Programme was cut by N8.7billion.
“At a time when we are working with labour to address compensation-related issues, a total of N5billion was cut from the provisions for Pension Redemption Fund and Public Service Wage Adjustment.”
Similarly, the Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has stated that President Muhammadu Buhari should be ashamed that he signed the 2018 budget in June, instead of blaming the National Assembly for performing its constitutional duties.
This was as he wondered that, “The previous budgets that he agreed with the National Assembly, what did he do with them? Where are the impacts of 2016 and 2017 budgets?”
The governor described those presenting the President as the only one who is right and knowledgeable about national issues, as his greatest enemies.
He said; “In the mindset of President Buhari and his men, all Nigerians are wrong except him. That is the reason he feigned ignorance to the fact that the law did not say that the legislative arm of government must pass the budget as presented by the executive.”
In a statement issued in Ado Ekiti, yesterday, by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said, “President Buhari has become what can be termed as blame specialist who will always blame his failure on other people.
“As a military Head of State, he blamed former President Shehu Shagari’s government. Since he assumed office, he has been blaming his predecessor. And now that he can’t get ordinary budget passed by the National Assembly for over six months, he is blaming the legislative arm. When is he going to be man enough to stop his blame game?”
The governor reminded the President of the 2016 ruling of Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja in which he declared that the National Assembly has the power to add, reduce, and review the budget, pointing out that the judge said categorically that the National Assembly can increase, or review upward, budget estimates laid before it by the executive.
“Trying to use the National Assembly as scapegoat for his failure is a disservice to the principle of separation of powers, checks and balances,” he said.
While calling on the President to govern the country and stop blaming others for his inadequacies, Fayose asked; “The budgets that the National passed in 2016 and 2017, what did he do with them? What impact did the budgets make on the lives of Nigerians?
“Why can’t the President just go ahead and implement what the National Assembly appropriated and present supplementary budget later instead of trying to label the legislative arm as the reasons for his government’s failure?”
The governor said Nigerians were tired of President Buhari’s repetitive speeches and unfulfilled promises, adding that, “The masses want the president to create jobs and make life more abundant for them.
“As at today, everything is wrong with Nigeria under President Buhari. The country is not secured as armed bandits and killer herdsmen have taken over everywhere. Nigerians are no longer free to move even within a state not to talk of from one state to another.
“Therefore, he should stop the blame game and get serious with governance so that Nigerians can at least attach one major achievement to his tenure as President.”
However, Chairman, Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Dino Melaye, APC, Kogi West, yesterday, took a swipe at President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that he should stop playing to the gallery and milking the naivety of the masses on the issue.
Melaye, in his reaction to President Buhari’ s lamentation and outright displeasure on the 2018 Appropriation bill before he finally signed it into law, said that the President should halt what he described as his chicanery and smear campaign of the National Assembly.
In a statement, yesterday, which he made available to Journalists, Senator Melaye who noted that the National Assembly is not a department of the Presidency, said, “I notice that President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to whip up sentiments against the National Assembly again by alleging that the 2018 budget was padded.
“What the President is authorised to do constitutionally is to present the National Assembly with a bill. A bill is a work in progress and not the finished work. The reason the Constitution directs the Bill to be submitted to the National Assembly is that it expects the National Assembly to vet it and make inputs into such a Bill before passing it as the Appropriation Act.
“The National Assembly is not just expected to rubber stamp whatever Bill the President presents. If this was the norm then there would have been no need for the Constitution to direct that the Bill be submitted to the National Assembly in the first place.
“Mr. President should therefore refrain from playing to the gallery and milking the naivety of the masses on the issue.
“In any event, he reserves the prerogative of refusing to append his signature to the Bill passed if it meets with his displeasure. He is also free to return the Bill to the N/A unsigned with a note indicating his areas of disaffection.
“Therefore Mr. President should halt his chicanery and smear campaign of the National Assembly.
“I also ask, in the last three years of this administration: What has been the percentage of implementation of capital budget?
“The powers and authority of the National Assembly cannot be eroded by the presidency. The National Assembly is not a department of the Presidency.”
Meanwhile,the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s submission that the 2018 budget would be difficult to implement “is a clear admission that he lacks the capacity and competence to run a development-oriented economy as desired by Nigerians.”
The party, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja, said the President’s action was an indication that “the economy is in very bad hands.”
He said, “President Buhari, in picking holes on items that would directly impact on economic productivity, infrastructural advancement, rural development as well as those that would provide urgent palliatives to the plight of Nigerians, shows his aversion to developmental economy as well as insensitivity to the welfare of our citizens.
“In fact, President Buhari, in his comments on the budget has further de-marketed our economy before international investors, thereby worsening our woes as a nation.
“How on earth can a President, if indeed he loves the people, quarrel over budgetary items seeking to cushion the biting effect of the economic recession, particularly for the poor, who are the direct victims of the harsh policies of his incompetent administration?
“Furthermore, President Buhari’s resort to blaming the National Assembly for his inability to exert himself as a leader and ensure smooth implementation of the budget, further shows that he cares little about the actual needs of the people, having holed himself up in the comfort, security and pleasures of the Presidential Villa.”
Ologbodiyan urged the National Assembly to ensure strict implementation of the 2018 budget.
President Buhari had last Wednesday lamented that the 2018 Appropriation Bill which he signed into law would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement because of the alterations members of the National Assembly effected on the document he submitted to them on November 7, 2017.
Also, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Working Committee, NWC, yesterday alleged that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has commenced “desperate clampdown” on perceived opposition leaders.
PDP said the safety of its members was no longer guaranteed.
In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party insisted that Nigeria has “fallen into perilous time” under Buhari’s government.
The statement recalled that the party had earlier alerted the nation and the international community that the “enemies of our democratic process and adversaries of our unity and harmonious living as a nation have commenced a desperate clampdown on opposition leaders”.
“Today, our dear nation, Nigeria, has finally fallen into a perilous time! There are fears and trepidation everywhere. The safety, personal freedom and well-being of Nigerians, particularly, opposition members are no longer guaranteed.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC), having realized that they stand no chance in the 2019 general elections, are now deploying all wicked machinations to cause confusion, heighten political tension, hounding and arresting of opposition leaders, making spurious allegations and attacking influential Nigerians, including former heads of state, all to instill fear on the polity.
“Having failed in their corruption smear campaign against the PDP and many notable Nigerians, the APC and the Presidency cabal have now devised a devious machination to rope in, frame up, implicate and ultimately incarcerate marked opposition leaders and other dissenting voices over fabricated security charges.
“Part of this design, as already exposed by the Special Adviser to President Buhari, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Arise TV, is to link such opposition leaders and dissenting voices with the widespread killings in various parts of the country, while forgetting that President Buhari had earlier blamed the attacks on invaders from Late Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya, while his Director General of State Security Services (DG SSS) blamed it on herdsmen from neighbouring countries.”
Similarly,the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the umpteenth time has accused President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of deliberate moves to stifle opposition ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The party also said it has uncovered fresh plot by government to pick up opposition figures on phoney charges all in a bid to boost its chances at the polls.
Addressing a world press conference, yesterday, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan also alleged that a former Head of State was also on the radar of the Buhari Presidency for daring to criticise the leadership style of the first citizen.
“The APC, having realized that they stand no chance in the 2019 general elections, are now deploying all wicked machinations to cause confusion, heighten political tension, hounding and arresting of opposition leaders, making spurious allegations and attacking influential Nigerians, including former heads of state, all to instil fear in the polity.
“Having failed in their corruption smear campaign against the PDP and many notable Nigerians, the APC and the Presidency cabal have now devised a devious machination to rope in, frame up, implicate and ultimately incarcerate marked opposition leaders and other dissenting voices over fabricated security charges,” said the publicity scribe.
The party also noted that “part of the design, as already exposed by the Special Adviser to President Buhari, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Arise TV, is to link such opposition leaders and dissenting voices with the widespread killings in various parts of the country, while forgetting that President Buhari had earlier blamed the attacks on invaders from Late Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya, while his Director General of State Security Services (DG, SSS) blamed it on herdsmen from neighbouring countries.
“The wicked clampdown has started. Only yesterday, we were made aware of the arrest and detention of former Benue State governor, Hon. Gabriel Suswam, who has been kept incommunicado without access to his lawyers, while the Federal Government is not forthcoming with the details of the reasons behind the arrest and detention,” he said, adding “his arrest and detention is intended to put him out of circulation, so that he will not take part in the mega meetings of our party planned for the North-Central states.”
Ologbondiyan added that Nigerians were already aware of the alarm raised by former President Olusegun Obasanjo of alleged plots by the Buhari administration to frame, arrest and detain him indefinitely on trumped up charges, ostensibly following his criticisms and open rejection of the administration for its failures and misrule.
He added: “The world is also aware of the numerous alleged plots by the APC and its Federal Government to frame up and humiliate Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, Senators Dino Melaye and Shehu Sani, as well as Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike and his Ekiti State counterpart, Governor Ayo Fayose.
“Also, there are concerns about the safety of former Chief of Army Staff and former defence minister, Gen. Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd), following the fear expressed by Governor Wike that Gen. Danjuma’s life might be in danger after his comments in March, this year, on possible complicity of the state in the killings in Taraba State,” he said, stressing that “Only Wednesday, an explosive device was discovered at the Ebonyi state PDP secretariat, either planted to blow up our secretariat and kill our members or to set up our leaders,” Ologbondiyan further stated.
He called on Nigerians to remain resolute and charged President Buhari to ensure that the 2019 general elections pass the credibility test.
The Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, has been named Social Impact Man of the Year 2025 by Daily Independent Newspapers.
The award was presented at the Independent Awards 2025 Silver Jubilee Edition held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, as part of activities marking the organisation’s 25th anniversary of editorial excellence.
Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of Independent Newspapers, Steve Omanufeme, said the award recognises individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and transformative impact in their respective fields. He explained that recipients emerged through a rigorous process involving public voting, editorial board scrutiny, and assessment by a panel of judges.
Omanufeme noted that Zabbey’s selection reflects his outstanding contributions to environmental restoration and community development in Ogoniland through the Ogoni cleanup project.
With over two decades of experience spanning research, advocacy, capacity development, and administration, Zabbey has, within three years of leading HYPREP, implemented people-focused initiatives aimed at improving livelihoods and restoring degraded ecosystems.
Under his leadership, the project has reportedly created more than 7,000 direct jobs and facilitated the training of thousands of youths and women in high-demand skills, including mechatronics, cybersecurity, commercial diving, underwater welding, and data analytics.
HYPREP has also trained over 5,000 beneficiaries across 21 vocational skill areas, providing start-up kits to support entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.
In the area of environmental sustainability, the agency has established 31 environmental clubs in secondary schools and trained 2,500 youths with International Maritime Organization (IMO) certification to support shoreline cleanup and mangrove restoration efforts.
The project has recorded significant ecological milestones, including the cleanup of over 1,000 hectares of shoreline and restoration of 560 hectares of mangroves. This progress contributed to the designation of Ogoni mangrove wetlands as a Ramsar Site of international importance.
Beyond environmental remediation, HYPREP has expanded its social intervention programmes to include educational grants and scholarships for over 1,000 students, support for small and medium-scale enterprises, and skills training for persons living with special needs.
Infrastructure and healthcare development have also featured prominently, with ongoing projects such as the Ogoni Specialist Hospital, a Cottage Hospital, the Ogoni Power Project, and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration. The agency has further strengthened emergency healthcare delivery by donating five ambulances to medical facilities in the region.
Additionally, potable water has been provided to more than 40 communities, alongside the construction of wind-powered water systems in underserved areas.
Speaking on the award, Zabbey described it as a validation of HYPREP’s integrated approach to environmental restoration, healthcare improvement, and economic empowerment.
“We remain committed to delivering a cleanup that not only restores the environment but also improves livelihoods in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
HYPREP, in a statement, expressed appreciation to the management of Independent Newspapers for the recognition, the Federal Ministry of Environment for its oversight role, and the Ogoni communities for their continued support and collaboration.
The agency was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria to implement the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland and restore areas impacted by oil pollution.
By: Donatus Ebi
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has awarded a total cost of ¦ 2 million against High Chief Cassidy Ikegbidi and other appellants in the protracted Eze Igbu Akoh II chieftaincy dispute, citing abuse of judicial process and disobedience of subsisting court orders, in a ruling that underscores growing judicial intolerance for procedural delays in long-running traditional leadership cases.
The decision, delivered on March 16, 2026, in Abuja by a five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, arose from a series of applications filed by High Chief Cassidy O. W. Ikegbidi and others against HRH Eze Godspower Okorobia Okpagi and seven others, in a dispute over the rightful occupant of the Eze Igbu Akoh II stool in Igbu Akoh Kingdom of Ekpeye ethnic nationality in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Court proceedings revealed that the appellants had filed multiple motions before the Supreme Court, including an application seeking injunctive relief and another seeking leave to amend a ground of appeal. However, both applications were later withdrawn by the appellants after the respondents had already filed responses and appeared in court on several occasions.
Although counsel to the respondents did not oppose the withdrawal of the applications, they strongly urged the court to award costs, arguing that the appellants’ conduct had led to unnecessary delays and avoidable legal expenses. The respondents maintained that the repeated filing and subsequent withdrawal of applications amounted to a deliberate attempt to frustrate the judicial process.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court struck out the withdrawn applications but took a firm stance on the conduct of the appellants, holding that their actions constituted an abuse of court process. The court further noted that the appellants had acted in violation of subsisting injunctive orders earlier issued by the High Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal, a development that weighed heavily in its decision to impose sanctions.
Consequently, the apex court awarded a lump sum cost of ¦ 2 million against the appellants in favour of the 1st to 5th respondents as a punitive and deterrent measure, reinforcing the principle that litigants must approach the court with sincerity and respect for existing judicial orders.
The ruling, however, is strictly procedural and does not resolve the substantive issue of who is the rightful Eze Igbu Akoh II. Rather, it deals only with interlocutory applications that were brought before the court and subsequently withdrawn, leaving the core dispute to be decided at a later date.
The chieftaincy tussle, which has lingered for years, can be traced back to a judgment delivered on March 14, 2018, by the High Court sitting in Ahoada, presided over by Justice T.S. Oji, which reportedly ruled in favour of Eze Godspower Okorobia Okpagi. Dissatisfied with the outcome, the opposing parties pursued appeals, leading to a prolonged legal battle that moved through the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt and eventually to the Supreme Court.
While Eze Okpagi has consistently maintained that he is the only duly elected candidate for the Eze Igbu Akoh II stool, according to the customs and traditions of the Ekpeye ethnic nationality, as well as based on favourable court rulings, High Chief Cassidy Ikegbidi has continued to lay claim to the stool, a situation that has deepened tensions and prolonged uncertainty within the kingdom.
The immediate implication of the Supreme Court’s ruling is that the appellants have lost all pending interim reliefs, having withdrawn their applications, and now have no active motion before the apex court capable of altering the current legal position. More importantly, the injunctions granted by the High Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeal remain valid and binding, as they were neither set aside nor suspended by the Supreme Court.
This effectively places the respondents in a stronger position for now, as they continue to benefit from the subsisting judgments of the lower courts pending the final determination of the appeal. In contrast, the appellants must comply with the ¦ 2 million cost order and face a prolonged wait before the substantive issues in the case are heard.
Following the resolution of all pending applications, the Supreme Court adjourned the substantive appeal to March 19, 2029, a development that has generated mixed reactions among stakeholders, given the already lengthy duration of the dispute. The adjournment means that the final determination of the rightful occupant of the traditional stool will not be made for several more years, further extending a legal battle that has spanned nearly a decade.
Reacting to the ruling, Eze Godspower Okorobia Okpagi maintained that the decision reinforces the validity of earlier judgments in his favour, particularly as the Supreme Court declined to grant any relief that would have altered the status quo. He argued that the dismissal and withdrawal of the appellants’ applications confirm that the orders of the lower courts remain in full effect.
He further alleged that the appellants had taken steps inconsistent with those orders and accused them of employing delay tactics to prolong their hold on the situation, insisting that High Chief Ikegbidi should desist from parading himself as the Eze Igbu Akoh II pending the final determination of the appeal.
Legal observers note that chieftaincy disputes in Nigeria often become protracted due to their sensitive nature and the high cultural and political significance attached to traditional institutions, as well as the frequent filing of appeals and interlocutory applications that slow down the judicial process.
A support group, Peter Obi Our President (PETOOP), has inaugurated its members and state executives from Rivers, Bayelsa and Cross River States in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, with a renewed call to mobilise grassroots support ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The inauguration ceremony, held on Saturday, drew a large crowd of supporters and stakeholders from different walks of life, underscoring the growing political engagement around the group’s activities.
PETOOP said its core objective is to galvanise Nigerians across regions to support the presidential ambition of former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, in the 2027 elections.
Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Okelechukwu Benjamin Okuolu, a former senatorial candidate for Rivers East under the Labour Party, described the group as a broad-based movement open to all Nigerians seeking good governance, stressing that it is not a political party.
Represented by Christian Ojukwu, Okuolu urged members to remain committed and make necessary sacrifices toward achieving credible leadership in the country. He expressed optimism about Obi’s chances in the next election cycle, citing what he described as the former governor’s leadership qualities.
Referring to the 2023 general elections, Okuolu encouraged members not to be discouraged by past challenges, but instead remain resolute and vigilant in future electoral processes.
He also commended the National Convener of PETOOP, Chief Magnus Oraka, for his mobilisation efforts aimed at fostering a better Nigeria.
In his remarks, Oraka called on members to remain courageous and steadfast, linking Nigeria’s economic challenges to what he described as leadership deficiencies.According to him, effective governance requires competence, foresight and experience in managing resources, urging Nigerians to prioritise these qualities in future leadership choices.
Also speaking, the Rivers State Coordinator of PETOOP, Mrs. Becky Napoleon, said the group represents a collective movement driven by conviction and a shared vision for national transformation.
She noted that the initiative is focused on inspiring action and generating practical solutions to the country’s challenges through unity and purposeful engagement.
“Our coming together is based on personal conviction and a shared belief in a better future for our country and generations to come,” she said, adding that meaningful transformation requires collective effort.
The Bayelsa State Coordinator, Mr. Ijaja Alabi, also addressed participants, aligning with the group’s message of unity and commitment to national development.
The event marks a significant step in PETOOP’s expansion efforts across the South-South region as it intensifies mobilisation activities ahead of the 2027 elections.