Tag Archives: Outcome

Outcome Of Senate Investigation On ‘Missing 2016 Budget’ Claim

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The Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges has begun investigation of claims that the 2016 budget is missing from the chamber.

This was disclosed to reporters by the Chairman of the committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, after Wednesday’s legislative proceedings in the National Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

While addressing reporters, the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, also described as ‘untrue’, the claim that the budget was missing.

A federal lawmaker, Senator Enyinaya Abaribe, earlier at plenary, raised a point of order demanding that the Senate should look into media reports on the whereabouts of the 2016 budget.

After his observation, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, gave the assurance that the budget would be distributed to the lawmakers at the upper chamber on Thursday ahead of the debate on the financial plan on Tuesday, January 19.

While confusion edges the whereabouts of the 2016 budget in the Senate, the clerk of the lower chamber displayed the budget on the floor.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, also maintained that the budget was not removed from the House.

On Tuesday, the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin,  said that there was no truth to insinuations that the 2016 budget document is missing.

He said that the claims may have been inspired by the initial insufficiency of the copies of the budget available to all the lawmakers.

“As far as I am concerned, that story does not hold water. We were expecting copies to be printed and sent to the National Assembly but there was a bit of delay.

“As at yesterday, I can confirm to you that the Appropriation Committee in the House received a lot of copies of the budget. By the time the Clerk counted it today, it was not sufficient to go round members.

“I spoke with the Minister of Planning earlier today [Tuesday] and he assured me that before the end of today he will deliver the remaining copies.

“For the soft copy I also reminded him and he sent it to me and I handed it over to the House,” he explained.

Honourable Jibrin said the rumour of missing budget may have been triggered by the delay in the production of more copies of the budget.

“You should realize that we have a new government in place and I think that there is little issue of communication gap and they are trying to get themselves settled. We should be able to excuse them and support the President wherever there is a bit of limitation from his own side”, he said.

Credit: ChannelsTv

APC Alleges Ploy To Thwart Rivers Appeal Outcome

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) alleged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was colluding with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in tampering with sensitive election material to compromise the probe into the alleged poll irregularities in the Rivers State.

“Faced with a bleak prospect of having no cogent and verifiable evidence of having held elections in Rivers State last March 28 and April 11, the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC], in collusion with the PDP, has now decided to cause further confusion by deliberately mixing up sensitive materials to make it difficult for inspection by the APC legal team and the election tribunal,” Chris Finebone, APC State Publicity Secretary, said.

He said the party recalled that the Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Gesila Khan, and her top Directors had been working in collusion with the PDP to forge a wide range of sensitive documents to support the results the INEC declared in favour of the PDP in the March 28 and April 11 general elections.

Finebone alleged the range of document being forged include result sheets, voters’ registers, thumb-printed ballot papers, incident forms and others.

“Two months after the April 11 elections, the INEC in Rivers State and the PDP are yet to succeed in forging enough numbers of sensitive materials to match what was declared as results of those phantom elections,” Finebone added.

APC is challenging the election of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, the PDP candidate who was announced winner of the governorship poll ahead of APC’s Dakuku Peterside.

Finebone was confident the election tribunal would eventually rule in favour of the APC.

“We believe that the hard journey to retrieve our stolen mandates has started on a promising and sure note. Indeed, it is only a matter of time before justice arrives our beloved Rivers State,” he said.

Credit: CAJ News