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Updated: National Assembly passes N28.777 trillion 2024 budget

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The National Assembly, on Saturday, passed the budget for the 2024 fiscal year.

The passed budget by the Senate and House of Representatives was raised from N27.5 trillion presented by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, November 29th to N28.7 trillion.

 

This shows an increase of over N1.2 trillion.

 

The Senate also increased the exchange rate from N750 to N800 per dollar while the 1.78mbpd daily oil production, US$77.96 oil benchmark price and GDP growth rate of 3.88% were approved as proposed by the executive arm of government.

 

The passage of the budget was a sequel to the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriation presented by the chairman, Olamilekan Adeola, APC, Ogun West.

 

Recall that President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday 29th November 2023, presented the budget to the joint session of the National Assembly which he tagged “budget of renewed hope.”

 

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However, the Senate, on Friday 1st December, 2023, passed the N27.5 trillion 2023 budget for second reading.

 

The passage of the appropriation bill for the second reading followed a substantial debate on its general principles which had commenced on Thursday 30th November, 2023. Both chambers immediately suspended plenary, to dedicate their time to the budget defence sessions at committee levels.

 

The budget which is Tinubu’s first budget as the President of Nigeria was based on a non-debt recurrent expenditure of N9.92 trillion, while debt service was projected to be N8.25 trillion and capital expenditure is 8.7 trillion naira.

Breakdown of the approved 2024 Budget

Aggregate – 28,777,404,73, 861

Statutory transfer – N1, 742,786,788,150

 

Debt service – N8,270,960,606, 831

 

Recurrent (non-debt) expenditure – N8,768,513,380,852

 

Contribution to the development of the Capital expenditure – N9,995,143,298,28

 

Adeola urged the executive to ensure compliance and provide adequate funds to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)

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The Senate, thereafter, dissolved into the Committee of Supply, which considered and passed the budget.

 

Meanwhile, the Senate also approved the securitisation of outstanding 7. 388trn Ways and Means following the request of President Tinubu which aims to realise the reduction of debt service cost and to extend the repayment period of the existing loans.

 

The Ways and Means provision allows the government to borrow from the Central Bank if it requires short-term or emergency financing to support delayed government projected cash receipts of fiscal shortfalls.

 

According to the President’s letter to the Senate, the interest rate for the securitized Ways and Means advances has been reduced to 9% per annum, compared to the MPR of +3%.

 

The parameters of the securitisation of Ways and Means advances as gazetted by the Debt Management Office (DMO) entail the Federal Government issuing debt securities with a 40-year tenor to the CBN, with a 5% interest rate and a 3-year moratorium on principal repayments.

READ  Tinubu appoints Kemi Nanna Nandap as immigration comptroller-general

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‘Breach of law’ — Oshiomhole condemns Ododo for ‘rescuing’ Yahaya Bello during EFCC siege

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Adams Oshiomhole, senator representing Edo north, has faulted Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi, for his interference in the saga involving Yahaya Bello and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

 

The EFCC is accusing Bello, immediate-past governor of Kogi, of money laundering and corruption to the tune of N80.2 billion. 

 

BACKGROUND

On April 17, EFCC operatives laid siege to Bello’s Abuja residence in a bid to arrest him for grilling. 

 

While the operatives were at Bello’s residence, Ododo arrived at the scene.

 

Shortly after Ododo left the residence, the EFCC operatives ended their siege. There were reports that Ododo had surreptitiously whisked Bello away in one of the cars in his convoy. 

 

Amid the drama, the Kogi high court delivered judgment in a fundamental rights enforcement suit, restraining the commission from “harassing, threatening to arrest or detaining” the former governor.

 

On the same day, the EFCC obtained a warrant of arrest against Bello from a federal high court in Abuja.

READ  Good morning! Here Are Some Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: President Tinubu to arrive Lagos on Tuesday from London for Eid-el-Kabir celebrations

 

Subsequently, the anti-graft agency declthe former governor wanted, while the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) placed Bello on a watchlist.

 

Bello was also absent for an arraignment that was initially scheduled for April 18, citing fear of arrest.

 

‘WRONG USE OF IMMUNITY’

Speaking on Saturday at the national integration conference, Oshiomhole said Ododo’s “rescue” of Bello and the former governor’s refusal to show up in court constitutes a breach of the law.

 

The conference which had ‘Revisiting the national question: Nigeria’s elusive search for national integration’ as its theme, was organised by the Kukah Centre.

 

The senator also urged citizens to speak up against breaches of the law — irrespective of who is involved.

 

“If you are afraid, given the fact that you are very vocal, you are independent, you cannot be dismissed, you cannot be promoted or demoted… if you are afraid to mention the name of a former governor who breached the law and a sitting governor who used his immunity to cover a governor that lost immunity, where will the courage come from?” Oshiomhole said.

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“This sophistry of saying we can name the child of a poor man who steal(s) a goat but we are afraid to mention the name of a big man who breached the law, that for me is at the root of our problems.”

 

‘ALL CHILDREN MUST HAVE ACCESS TO EDUCATION’

Bello had also allegedly paid $760,910 in advance fees to the American International School Abuja (AISA), for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi state government.

 

The children are in grade levels 2 to 8 at the school.

 

Oshiomhole said during his spell as Edo governor, his colleagues denied children of the poor access to education.

 

“As a former governor, I was a member of the national economic council (NEC) where some state governors argued that they did not have the resources to pay 50 percent subsidy in order to ensure that the children of the poor go to school even when those governors are sending their own children abroad,” Oshiomhole added.

READ  National Assembly sends 2022 budget to Buhari for assent

 

The former Edo governor said leaders must possess the political will to implement laws they enact.

 

“What I consider to be the most important investment, namely, that never should a child be born in this country and be denied access to go to school,” he said.

 

Kogi ranked 27th across states in Nigeria with the highest number of out-of-school children (ages 6–15).

 

 

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PHOTOS: Lagos commuters stranded as fares spike by 50% amid petrol scarcity

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Commuters in many parts of Lagos were on Monday left stranded at different bus stops in the metropolis, amid the lingering petrol scarcity.

 

Fares were hiked by 50 percent as motorists filled up dispensing stations for the scarce commodity.

 

Some filling stations were shuttered, while others still selling petrol were encircled by long queues.

 

Some motorists said they bought petrol at N700 and N800 per litre at filling stations. Roadside dealers now sell the product for N1000 and N1200 per litre.

 

The petrol scarcity triggered a 50 percent increase in fares across Lagos.

From Abule Egba roundabout to Agege, commuters were asked to pay N300, which was previously N150 or N200. From Agege to Alausa in Ikeja is now N400, which cost N300 last week.

 

From Berger to Ikeja, commuters pay as high as N1000 in fares.

In most of the bus stops visited by TheCable on Monday morning, survival of the fittest was the prevailing philosophy as hordes of commuters were seen running after a few commercial buses

READ  N/Assembly passes N2.17trn 2023 supplementary budget

 

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Good morning! Here Are Some Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: VGC chairman found dead inside his car in Lagos

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1. A Lagos-based man, Gihan Mbelu, has reportedly died in his vehicle in the Victoria Garden City area of Lagos State on Friday. It was gathered on Sunday that 42-year-old Mbelu had reportedly parked his car, a Mercedes C300 4Matic, running for several hours while he sat motionless in the car.

 

2. In response to the devastating tanker fire incident in Rivers State, President Bola Tinubu has directed federal agencies to continue providing support to the state government in addressing the aftermath of the tragedy. President Tinubu’s message, contained in a statement issued on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, also extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the fire incident.

 

3. As the demolition of properties along the right of way for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway begins, the federal government has promised to conduct the process with sensitivity, aiming to minimize disruptions to the lives of those affected.

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4. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says two notorious drug kingpins: Uwaezuoke Ikenna Christian and Agbo Chidike Prince have been sentenced to life imprisonment for dealing in cocaine. Director, Media and Advocacy NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, said this brings to an end to their years of criminal enterprise of exporting cocaine across continents.

 

5. No fewer than 40 observers have been deployed by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to Togo, ahead of the parliamentary and regional election. The elections have been scheduled for April 29, 2024. This was revealed in a statement by the regional body.

 

6. Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, on Sunday, April 28, warned petrol stations against hoarding of fuel as scarcity hit the state. Adeleke through his chief of staff, Kazeem Akinleye, who is also the chairman, Petroleum Monitoring Taskforce, warned against creating artificial scarcity.

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7. Former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has tackled Northern governors over their recent trip to the United States. In a Facebook post, he said the trip exposed the governors’ ignorance of the country’s constitution. According to him, security is solely the responsibility of the federal government because it is on the exclusive list.

 

8. The naira has demonstrated signs of strengthening against the United States dollar, appreciating by N125 to reach N1,275/$1 over the weekend. The new rate represents a 9.8 per cent increase when compared to N1,400 to a dollar it traded at the close of trading activity on Friday.

 

9. The immediate-past governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, on Sunday, asked his counterpart in Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to come out of his hiding and answer his case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Speaking at a Redeemed Christian Church of God in Makurdi, Benue State during the thanksgiving service organised by his aides for his 63rd birthday celebration, Ortom advised Bello to come out of hiding.

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10.
The campaign coordinator of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in Supare, Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Alaba Abbey, has been shot dead. Late Abbey was shot dead on Saturday evening at his residence in Supare.

 

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