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Budget Padding: APC Moves To Save Dogara, Meets Speaker, Jubrin.

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Dogara-Jibrin

The All Progressives Congress has intervened in the crisis rocking the House of Representatives over alleged padding of the 2016 budget.

The APC was said to have made the move to prevent the party from being “brought to dishonour.”

The APC National Working Committee, at the party’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, separately met with the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara; and a former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jubrin.

It was gathered that the meetings were aimed at addressing the crisis and preventing the removal of Dogara.

A leader of the party, who confided in The PUNCH, said, “We are making moves to resolve the crisis. Dogara is a loyal party man.”

The national executive of the APC had, through a letter, summoned Jubrin to appear before leaders of the party at 2pm on Tuesday.

The party leadership had earlier on Tuesday met with Dogara.

In the letter by its Deputy National Chairman (North), Lawal Shuaibu, the party decried the media war between the two APC lawmakers without consulting the party for resolution.

The letter read in part, “As a disciplined party, the constitution of our party has made adequate provisions on ways of resolving any issue among members. It behoves the party to take all necessary steps to ensure that no member of our family brings dishonour on the party.

“You are, therefore, by this invitation, expected to appear before the undersigned at the APC national secretariat on Tuesday, August 2, at 2pm.

“Kindly note that failure to and/or refusal to honour this invitation will amount to a decision you have made not to submit to the party.”

Jibrin arrived at the APC headquarters in Abuja in a Toyota Land Cruiser with number plate, BWR 768 AM, around 2.10pm and immediately went into a closed-door meeting with Shuaibu.

It was observed that the meeting was attended by the northern caucus in the party’s executive.

Other officers who attended the meeting are the National Secretary, Mai Bala Buni; and the National Vice Chairman (North-West), Inuwa Abdulkadir.

Both Jibrin and Dogara, who are at the centre of the budget-padding scandal, are from the North.

The Deputy National Chairman of the APC, Segun Oni, who was sighted around the party’s headquarters, did not attend the meeting.

The meeting, which was held in Shuaibu’s office, lasted till around 5pm.

Shuaibu, who later addressed journalists, said the meeting was a consultation among party members.

He said, “This is strictly a consultation between a very great member of the party and party officials in respect of what is going on in the House of Representatives.

“There is nothing like passing any judgment against any member of the party; we will play our role as an umpire in this matter to see how we can restore peace and unity among our members.”

Shuaibu said there was no truth in the information that the meeting was called to discipline Jibrin.

“But when certain things go off course, the party needs to call its members to know how best to reunite them. That is exactly what we did. We heard his side of the story. We earlier heard from the Speaker,” he added.

The APC chieftain further said the meeting with Jibrin was to get “a better briefing” because the party had to be carried along as the Speaker and Jibrin were members of the APC.

“We should know directly from them what is really going on,” he added.

When he was asked if the crisis had been resolved at the meeting, Shuaibu said, “I said we are discussing with them and the discussions are not concluded.

“We will continue to consult. We are not done with them. We sat with the Speaker earlier. We just finished talking with Jibrin. If the need arises, we will have a round-table discussion with both of them.’’

Jibrin also told journalists that he and the party leaders discussed “extensively” at the meeting on the crisis in the House.

He said, “We will continue to discuss. I will continue to honour the invitation of the party, respect the party, and I am sure that whatever it is, you will know in due course.”

When our correspondent asked Jibrin why it took him so long before coming out on the alleged padding of the 2016 budget, he said, “I want to restrict my discussion to the party’s invitation.”

Jibrin, from Kano State, had on Monday submitted a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission and the Nigeria Police Force against Dogara and some leaders of the House.

A party source, who spoke to our correspondent after the meeting, lamented that the crisis in the House was embarrassing the party.

The source, who was privy to the details of the Tuesday meeting, said Jibrin was warned against seeking out-of-party ways to air his grievances with Dogara and other leaders of the House.

The source said, “Although the issue is a legislative matter, what is going on in the House of Representatives is denting the image of the APC. The party should have been invited to mediate between the warring sides rather than involving the police, the ICPC and the EFCC.”

 

 

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BIG STORY

BON Awards Hosts Memorable Book Reading Of Do As You’re Told Baji

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On November 24th, 2024, the Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards organized a captivating book reading of Do As You’re Told, Baji, authored by the renowned writer Lola Shoneyin. The event, held at 11 a.m. in Kwara State, celebrated the power of storytelling and the importance of fostering a culture of reading among families.

Among the distinguished attendees were the First Lady of Kwara State, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq, alongside notable figures such as Wole Ojo, Cynthia Clarke, Chioma Okafor, Segun Arinze, and Kemi Adekomi, who added prestige and insight to the event.

In her remarks, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq highlighted the vital role of parents in fostering a love for reading among children. “Parents should cultivate the habit of reading with their children,” she said. “It’s not just about education—it’s about creating lasting memories and strengthening family bonds.”

The reading of Do As You’re Told, Baji showcased Lola Shoneyin’s vibrant and relatable storytelling, leaving participants inspired to embrace literature as a means of cultural and personal enrichment. The event also featured engaging discussions about the book’s themes, celebrating the depth and diversity of Nigerian literature.

This initiative reinforces the BON Awards’ dedication to promoting the arts, literacy, and the celebration of Nigerian creative talents.

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BIG STORY

An Aspirant Gave Each Delegate $30,000 During PDP Primary In 2022 — Dele Momodu

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Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation Magazine, says he regrets spending about N50 million to buy the presidential nomination form of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2022.

Momodu spoke in a recent interview on Eden Oasis, published on Sunday.

The journalist and politician said the primary was heavily monetised, with a particular aspirant doling out $30,000 to each of the 774 delegates who voted during the election.

The politician stated that he would not vie for any party’s presidential ticket unless he is adopted as a consensus candidate.

“Experience is the best teacher. I have come to realise that there are powers that you can describe as principalities that control Nigeria,” he said.

“Unless a major political party decides to adopt me — where you have a consensus of people who say Dele Momodu is best suited to change and to lead Nigeria. Then I will consider it.

“But if I have to pick my money to buy a presidential nomination form of about N100 million… I spent about N50 million to buy the form for the last one.

“N50 million would have bought me a property. It was a waste. I didn’t get even one vote because everything was monetised.

“One of the candidates paid as much as $30,000 per delegate, and we had 774 delegates.

“So, how do you want to compete with them? They have stolen the country blind and are doing all kinds of deals to make money, especially those in the oil-rich areas.

“It is not easy. You can’t compete with them. That’s why they insult Nigerians anyhow because of the amount of money available to them in raw cash. There’s no country where people buy raw cash like Nigeria.

“The bulk of their money is not in any bank. So, they are not traceable to any bank. So, they have the money. If today you say to some politicians that you need $500 million to become a president, they will find it.

“So, people like us, where will I start from?”

Momodu was one of the presidential hopefuls of the PDP at the time. He did not secure any votes during the exercise.

Atiku Abubakar clinched the presidential ticket with 371 votes to beat his closest challenger, Nyesom Wike, now minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), who polled 237 votes.

Abubakar was defeated by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election.

Bukola Saraki, former senate president, scored 70 votes; Bala Mohammed, Bauchi governor, got 20 votes; Udom Emmanuel, former governor of Akwa Ibom, secured 38 votes; while Pius Anyim, former secretary to the government of the federation, polled 14 votes.

Sam Ohuabunwa, a businessman, alongside Momodu and Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti, received zero votes.

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BIG STORY

Nigeria Has Saved $20bn From Subsidy Removal, Naira Float Policies — Finance Minister Edun

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Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says Nigeria has saved $20 billion from “petrol” subsidy removal and market-based pricing of the foreign exchange rate.

Edun spoke at a ceremony recently held to mark the first 100 days in office of Esther Walso-Jack, head of civil service of the federation, in Abuja.

“An amount of five per cent of GDP is what those two subsidies were costing when there was a subsidy on “PMS”; when there was petroleum product generally for a long time and when there was a subsidy of foreign exchange. Between them, they were costing five percent of GDP,” he said.

“If you say GDP was on average, let’s say $400 billion. We all know what five percent of that is – $20 billion of funds that could be going into infrastructure, health, social services, education.”

Edun said these flows now return into the government’s coffers for further deployment to the aforementioned sectors.

“The real change that has happened with the measures of Mr. President is that nobody can wake up and their target for the day or for the week or the month or the year is to get access to cheap funding, cheap funding exchange from central bank, which they can now flip,” Edun said.

“And overnight, they become wealthy from no value added for doing virtually nothing, except you know the right people. Similarly, they can no longer try and be part of a new peak market and very inefficient “petrol” subsidy regime as a way of making money overnight.”

On May 29, President Bola Tinubu said the “petrol” subsidy regime was over.

Three months later, TheCable reported that Tinubu was considering a “temporary subsidy” on “petrol” as crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates soared.

After several denials of the return of “petrol” subsidy by the authorities, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, on August 19, said the federal government owes it N7.8 trillion for under-recovery.

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