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2018 Budget: Senate Moves To Expose Buhari …President Lacks Capacity To Implement Budget -PDP …Says APC Bent On Stifling Opposition

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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.

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Group Doles out N13m To Market Women In Isiama 

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The peaceful Town of Isiama in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State was at the weekend agog with activities following the donation of over N13million to market women by Engr. Justus Ngerebara in partnership with Fast Track Development Initiatives, a non-governmental organization, as part of its first phase empowerment programme.
According to Justus Ngerebara, who is also the Executive Director of the organization, the women, numbering 108, will receive various sums based on their business proposal.
He stated that the organization will carry out an annual review of the performances of the beneficiaries, with a view to rewarding those who put the money into good use.
According to him, the initiative was a collaborative effort between himself and his wife, Dr. Unyime Ngerebara, in partnership with Fast Track Development Initiative (FDI), an organization committed to youth capacity building and community development.
He said the family believe deeply in the transformative power of women’s empowerment as a catalyst for economic growth, especially in rural communities.
“As the saying goes, when you empower a woman, you empower a community. This truth resonate strongly with us, knowing that empowered women uplift households and inspire generational change”, he stated.
Ngerebara described the programme as the beginning of more things to come and urged the beneficiaries to view the gesture “as a reflection of our deep love for the community and our commitment to easing the burdens of economic hardship.
“We encourage you to invest wisely, channel these resources into your business not frivolities.
“We will continue to follow up with each participant to monitor progress and Offer guidance.
“It is our goal to see thriving business, creative solutions to households hunger and a ripple effect of prosperity through Isiama.
“We also call on the men to stand beside their spouses, offering support and encouragement to ensure these resources are maximized for growth”, he said.
In an interview, Ngerebara said the second phase of the empowerment programme will start very soon, stressing that since inception the organization has done so much for the community.
He listed some of the programmes carried out by the group in the community to include the installation of solar powered lights, and solar powered water.
While declaring the event open, a former coymmissioner for Works in Rivers State, Engr. Sampson Ngerebara, described the event as the first of its kind in the community.
Engr. Ngerebara said the programme will go a long way to improve the conditions of not only the beneficiaries, but also the entire Isiama Community.
He also charged them against wasting the resources on frivolities, adding that their success will attract more of such empowerment programme to Isiama community
Giving a brief talk on women empowerment, a lecturer at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Dr. Awajimogobo Felix MacLean, warned the beneficiaries to justify the effort of the donor by avoiding wastages.
Dr. MacLean also urged them to be consistent in their line of business as well as avoid unnecessary competition.
She also stressed the need for them to network among themselves, while working out ways of helping the community to develop.
Guest of Honour at the occasion, Professor Uriah Oboada Alafonye, said Engr Justus Ngerebara, the initiator of the programme, has set a standard for present and future generations of leaders both in the community and the rest of Andoni to follow.
Prof Alafonye who is of the department of Arts Education, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, also appealed to the beneficiaries to seize the opportunity provided by the programme to reduce poverty in the community.
Speaking, one of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Hebron Mercy Fyneface, a crayfish seller and an interior designer, said it was the first time she was receiving such gesture from any organization or government.
She thanked Engr Justus Ngerebara for remembering the women of Isiama and urged others to emulate him.
By: John Bibor
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Fubara’s Return Excites NCSU … As Hope Rises For Civil Servants 

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The umbrella body of civil servants in Rivers State, the Nigeria Civil Service Union(NCSU) has expressed delight over the lifting of emergency rule in the State and the return to office of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Prof Ngozi Nma Odu and members of the State House of Assembly, saying, the development portends good omen for workers, the people and the State.
The Rivers State Chairman of NCSU, Comrade Chukwuka Richman Osumah, who gave the indication in an interview in Port Harcourt, said the return of the Governor to office portends good omen and better days for civil servants in particular, stressing that the union heartily welcomes the Governor back to office, to resume his good works in the State, after six months of the emergency rule, as well as his deputy and members of the House of Assembly.
He noted that civil servants in the State are not only elated over the development but are also full of hope that the Governor would start from where he stopped in attending to their welfare needs.
He contended that the political crisis that recently engulfed the State and the six-month emergency rule had for over one year pulled the State backwards, but expressed delight that a permanent solution has been found to stem further political upheavals in the State, and thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for making this possible; the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and leader of the State, Chief Nyesom Wike; Governor Fubara; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Martin Amaewhule; members of the House; and other stakeholders for agreeing to amicably resolve all contending issues.
The labour leader said this is the right time for all political gladiators in the State to bury the hatchet, work together and embrace peace and genuine reconciliation in the overall interest of the State.
He described as too hasty the resolution of the House, mandating the Governor to present a supplementary budget to it, and pleaded with members of the House to be calm, to tread with caution, and harmoniously work with the Governor.
He said the return of democratic governance in the State would fast-track progress and development in the State, and enjoined the people of the State, particularly civil servants to continue to give their support and cooperation to the Fubara administration.
Osumah expressed optimism that Governor Fubara would give prompt attention to challenges facing civil servants in the State, being a former civil servant himself, stressing that the workers truly have hope, now that the Governor has returned to office, and knowing the kind of Governor he is.
According to him, he is going to look into the controversial and contentious contributory pension scheme; rehabilitation of the State Secretariat Complex; recruitment into the state civil service; extension of service and retirement years for civil servants; provision of vehicles to industrial unions; as well as provision of befitting staff quarters for civil servants; among others.
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NDDC Organizes ADR Capacity Building for Staff

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The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has organized a one-day sensitization program for its personnel on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) approaches to promote workplace compliance on transparency and due process.
The workshop, themed “Promoting Transparency and Due Process in the Workplace using ADR Approaches in Building a Culture of Accountability and Integrity,” aimed to equip staff with the skills to resolve disputes effectively.
Declaring the event open on thursday in port Harcourt,The NDDC Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, emphasized the importance of using ADR mechanisms to resolve conflicts in the workplace.
Dr. Ogbuku  represented by his chief of staff,Rev Omeya Oworibo,noted that ADR approaches can encourage a culture of honesty, fairness, transparency, trust, and reduce conflicts among staff, ultimately promoting efficiency and productivity.
He averred that those disputes and quarrels if not proper resolved can derail the vision and objectives of the commission to the people, noting that the commission must as a team and unity as service provider in order to render a profitable service delivery to the people.
 “ADR approach will encourage culture of honesty,fairness, transparency ,trust  and reduce back bitting and the workforce, noting that such tendency would in turns promote efficiency and increase results in workplace.
 when integrity and honesty becomes the operandi of an organisation and employees begins to trust that their matters will be handled with fairness it will breed team work and increase in productivity.”he stated
He commended the department of DCR for organising the workshop and urged the participants to make good use of the opportunity and imbibe the culture of tolerance, integrity and teamwork in workplace.
Also speaking,the NDDC acting director of DCR ,Mr Godwin Ayewumi Ogedegbe noted that the theme of the captures the core of what the commission seeks to achieve a workplace where every action is expected to be guided by openness, fairness, and a steadfastness commitment to due process, where conflicts are not merely resolved, but prevented through structured,principled processes , and where accountability and integrity are not aspirational ideals but every day practice.
In his  keynote presentation on the theme “workplace Ethics and alternative Dispute Resolution Correlation,
Prof. Sylvester Odion Akhaine of the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, delivered a keynote presentation on “Workplace Ethics and Alternative Dispute Resolution Correlation.” He stressed the importance of due process, transparency, integrity, and accountability in the workplace, noting that these values are essential for productivity and organizational goals.
The workshop aimed to promote a culture of accountability and integrity in the NDDC workplace. By equipping staff with ADR skills and promoting transparency and due process, the commission can build a more efficient and productive work environment.
By: Akujobi Amadi
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