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BIG STORY

REVEALED: How NASS Padded 2016 Budget With N481billion

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Buhari Budget Large

Documents have revealed how top officials of the National assembly padded the 2016 budget to the tune of N481billion.

According to Vanguard newspaper, the national assembly also unilaterally jerked the votes meant for constituency projects from N60 billion to N100 billion.

Recall that the sacked chairman of the House of Representatives committee on appropriation, Abdul Jibrin had said the Speaker allowed 10 committee chairmen to insert projects worth N284 billion in the budget.

The report said lawmakers removed some key projects proposed by the executive or drastically reduced their costs and introduced many others not contemplated by the Presidency which prepared the budget.

Among the projects which votes were surreptitiously jerked up without the knowledge of the executive, were Nigerian railway modernization project: Lagos – Kano standard gauge rail line project, which cost was raised by N32.5 billion and the consultancy dredging and river training works (N609 million) under the Ministry of Transportation.

Others are the Code of Conduct Bureau which had N4.4billion added to its vote, provision of broadband Internet Service to National Assembly by Nigcomsat, N318 million, Training and Consultancy for Nigcomsat 2 Project, N3.5 billion etc, in the Ministry of Communications.

Most scandalous, according to the document, is the case of Ministry of Works, Power and Housing where 82 new projects, principally roads, with a total provision of about N50.63 billion, were inserted in the budget.

Quoting documents seen by the newspaper, the Presidency, which reviewed the budget, said: “A large number of these projects are outside the mandate of the relevant Ministry (e.g. the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Works, Power & Housing); or statutorily outside the FGN’s mandate (like intra-city and state road projects); or cannot be implemented as there are no designs or costings made for them.

“The amounts proposed for some MDAs’ projects were increased significantly without due consultations on implementation capacity or additional financing needs for the projects. This amounts to tying down resources that could have been applied to more impactful projects in other areas.

“In addition, hundreds of new projects that have no relationship to the MDA’s were introduced and simply cannot be implemented. Among these are the construction of town halls, township street lights, procurement of transformers and tricycles under the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and the building of classrooms under the Ministry of Agriculture etc.”

Also, the executive proposal of N4.06 billion for the provision for test kits, vaccines and anti-retroviral drugs under the Federal Ministry of Health was reduced to N1.01 billion.

“As a result of this reduction, there shall be vaccines stock-out by October 2016 and, among other things, the gains of polio eradication will be lost, and the government will be hampered in the battle against HIV.

“Very large cuts have been made to proposals for many important projects in several MDAs and the sums applied to fund hundreds of new projects. “The Bill (2016 budget) cannot be implemented in its current form because some of the figures in the Bill passed do not correspond with the figures in the budget details accompanying the Bill.

“The aggregate expenditure as contained in the budget details as passed, is higher than that in the Appropriation Bill by about N481 billion, compared to the Appropriation Bill.

“The executive made provision for the sum of N60 billion to be used by members of the National Assembly in funding their constituency projects. This was increased by the National Assembly to N100 billion.

“It is, therefore, unclear why, in spite of this increase, the National Assembly felt it necessary to divert funds from line Ministries for their constituency projects, having already provided for same in the Service Wide votes.

“The amounts allocated to a number of important projects in a number of key ministries have been so reduced that they cannot be implemented. The savings from these reductions have been re-allocated to hundreds of new projects which have not been designed or costed and so cannot be implemented.

BIG STORY

Music Band Boy Commits Suicide After Boss Tortured Him For Stealing “Sprayed Money” [VIDEO]

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A Lagos young guitarist identified as Lekan, has allegedly committed suicide after being tortured for stealing money from the leader of a music band group in Ogun State.

Lekan, who was pronounced dead by medical experts at a private hospital in Ifo Local Government Area of the state, was found lying lifeless inside his room after drinking an insecticide liquid, “sniper,” to get away from the trauma that trailed the allegations from his boss who was identified as Sam Omo-Oba.

It was learnt that the deceased was tortured and recorded alongside Ayo, another member of the band, for stealing the money realized from their performance at a Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) anniversary celebration where they entertained guests and worshippers.

The development has thrown the entire Oke-Aro community in Ifo Local Government into mourning, considering the circumstances surrounding the demise of the 26-year-old guitarist who lived in their community but operated often in Lagos.

On Wednesday, a close member of the family told our correspondent that Lekan was pronounced dead by medical experts on Monday, less than 24 hours after they left the church show on Sunday. The source, who identified himself as Kola, narrated that the family, even after seeing him lifeless still rushed him to hospital with a commercial motorcycle popularly called “Okada.”

“He was rushed to a private hospital to save him but the medical facility rejected the family request which prompted the move to another healthcare facility where the doctors pronounced him dead”.

Kola explained that the theft allegation, which was linked to the young artist’s demise, started after Sam Omo-Oba asked that members of his band who could not go home spend the night in his house.

“But they could not spend the night in his house because he was not allowed into the estate, so they decided to lodge at a hotel close to the community.

“While in the hotel, we heard that Sam and the band members drank and slept in the same room. In the morning, the band boss raised an alarm that Lekan and Ayo had stolen money inside his pocket, demanding they return it immediately”.

It was gathered that the deceased guitarist maintained the innocence of the crime he was being linked to during the torture. In the video making rounds online, Lekan was seen being allegedly tortured over the theft despite denying any link to the alleged crime perpetrated.

In the less than one-minute video, Lekan and Ayo were seen being questioned about who took the money and their responses attracted torture after the answers failed to meet expectations of the band leader.

In another video, a voice, suspected to be that of Sam Omo-Oba, was heard announcing that some notes had been discovered where the deceased and Ayo allegedly hid them.

Analyzing the videos, a resident of Oke-Aro who identified himself as Micheal told The Guild that the deceased was wrongly accused of theft, saying, “I know Lekan, rather than steal would prefer to work to earn his pay daily. And since our paths crossed, I have not earned that he stole from people”.

He added, “The torture and recording may have affected him psychologically that he considered suicide as the next option. I say this because, on his body, there were bruises on him which indicated that the torture was too much for him.

“I know him since he started playing drum under Kehinde Carlos and I have no record of theft linked to him. You can see it that the video showed the deceased insisting that he never took the money from his boss even when he was beaten to accept the allegations.

“The entire issue is sad and I can’t believe that Lekan is gone. I wish that this whole scenario could be reversed to avoid this tragedy. This is a young man with aspirations in the music industry. I know how he aspired to handle musical instruments for the big artists in the country. But now, all the dreams have been shattered”.

Efforts to get the Ogun Police Command spokesperson, SP Omolola Odutola, to confirm the sad development proved abortive.

 

Credit: The Guild

 

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BIG STORY

Doctor, Three Nurses Die In Same Hospital Within 72 Hours In Saki, Oyo State

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A doctor and three nurses have been reported dead in a hospital in Saki West Local Government Area of Oyo State within 72 hours.

According to Vanguard News, this has created panic among residents of the ancient town, particularly around the hospital.

The hospital has been identified as Almusharaf Hospital, Oke Sunah.

A resident of the area, Adekunle Lawal, told Vanguard News: “Three days ago, one nurse died and on Monday another nurse died and yesterday, the doctor and another nurse died.

“We are afraid because we don’t know what caused their deaths.

“The doctor is a quack doctor.

“Maybe all of them treated a patient who has a contagious disease, which, I think, was not well handled.

“It’s a very big hospital.

“They carry out minor surgery on patients and at times they invite doctors from elsewhere to join them.

“If it’s a contagious disease, how come that no patient died but the staff?

“People are also speculating that it could be food poisoning.

“Maybe one of them ate food and gave it to the others to eat.

“We don’t know.

“All these are mere assumptions until those responsible for monitoring these hospitals carry out an autopsy on the deceased.

“None of the patients died.

“It’s only the staff of the hospital.

“All of them have been buried.

“You know they are Muslims.

“Please, the Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies should step in.”

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BIG STORY

President Tinubu Determined To Eliminate Bandits, Terrorists — Nuhu Ribadu

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The National Security Adviser, “Nuhu Ribadu,” has warned that obstructing security under President “Bola Tinubu’s” administration will not be tolerated.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ribadu made this statement at the Comptroller General of Customs Conference in Abuja on Wednesday, emphasising the President’s determination to eliminate bandits, terrorists, and other security threats.

According to him, the government’s high-level strategies had led to the killing of hundreds of bandits daily, forcing many to flee to Chad.

“This prompted the Chadian president to declare war on them.”

“We will secure this country, we will fix it, we are not jokers,” he said.

“Ribadu” assured that the government was working tirelessly to achieve a secure environment, which is crucial for the country’s development.

He cited the improved security situation in the Niger Delta region and the significant increase in crude oil production, which had reached 1.8 million barrels per day.

“Many parts of our country today are living in peace. Go to the Niger Delta, things have changed,” he added.

The NSA urged Nigerians to be patient in the face of the current challenges, as the government’s policies were designed to sanitise the system and improve the economy.

He noted that the “Central Bank of Nigeria” was being reformed, adding that “Naira” would be stabilised.

“Ribadu” also commended the achievements of the “Nigeria Customs Service” and encouraged career officers to aspire to leadership positions, stressing that opportunities for growth were now available to them.

The NAN reports that the conference, which began on Tuesday, is scheduled to end on Friday.

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