Look who fell asleep during a meeting with VP Osinbajo and Emir of Kano (photo)

It is Abdullahi Uma Ganduje, Kano State Governor. The photo was taken during the Vice President's recent visit to the state over the weekend. Photo credit: The Emir Online

Senate ask Amaechi to resign or apologise to Nigerians over issues arising from the controversy surrounding Lagos-Calabar rail project

The Nigerian Senate has asked the Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi, to resign his appointment as Minister or apologize to the Senate and Nigerians over the Lagos-Calabar rail project that has generated a lot controversies in the last 48 hours. Members of the National Assembly and the presidency have been at loggerheads after media reports alleged that the National Assembly members had removed the Lagos-Calabar rail project from the budget presented to it by President Buhari. 

The reports alleged that the National Assembly members diverted the money meant for the said project to the Lagos-Kano project, favoring the Northern region.  Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara and Chairman House Committee on Appropriation Abdulmumin Jibrin, via their twitter handles refuted the claims while the Chairman Senate Committee on Transport, Gbenga Ashafa, in a statement he released, said although the project was not included in the original budget forwarded to the National Assembly by Buhari, Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi approached his committee to include the said project. 

 

Read the senate's position on the matter below...

The Senate today (Monday, April 11) advised the Presidency to come clean with Nigerians on the 2016 Budget and stop engaging in surreptitious campaigns of calumny against the Senate in order to cover up its serial errors.

Reacting to claims in the media credited to the Executive arm of government on the 2016 budget, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, in a statement in Abuja, said the National Assembly had bent backwards to wring a coherent document out of the excessively flawed and chaotic versions of the budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly.

He said : "while the executive is mandated to prepare and lay before the National Assembly a proposed budget detailing projects to be executed, it should be made clear that the responsibility and power of appropriation lies with the National Assembly. If the presidency expects us to return the budget proposal to them without any adjustments, then some people must be living in a different era and probably have not come to terms with democracy."

"We make bold to say however, that the said Lagos-Calabar rail project was not included in the budget proposal presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari and we challenge anyone who has any evidence to the contrary to present such to Nigerians."

Since the beginning of the 2016 budget process, it is clear that the National Assembly has suffered all manners of falsehood, deliberate distortion of facts, and outright blackmail, deliberately aimed at poisoning the minds of the people against the institution of the National Assembly. We have endured this with equanimity in the overall interest of Nigerians. Even when the original submission was surreptitiously swapped and we ended up having two versions of the budget, which was almost incomprehensible and heavily padded in a manner that betrays lack of coordination and gross incompetence, we refused to play to the gallery and instead helped the Executive to manage the hugely embarrassing situation it has brought upon itself; but enough is enough."

"This latest antics of this particular minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, is reckless, uncalled for and dangerously divisive. Apart from setting the people of the southern part of the country against their northern compatriots, it potentially sets the people against their lawmakers from the concerned constituencies and sets the lawmakers against themselves. This manner of reprehensible Mischief has no place in a democracy. We hereby demand from Mr. Amaechi a publicly tendered apology if he is not able to show evidence that the Lagos-Calabar road project was included in the budget. Otherwise, he should resign forthwith.

"Finally, by the provision of Section 81 (4) (a) and (b) of the constitution, the President is allowed to sign the budget and kick-start the implementation of the other areas that constitute over 90 percent of the budget where there is agreement between both arms, even as we engage ourselves to resolve the contentious areas, if there were any. We therefore maintain that even this contrived discrepancies are not sufficient excuse not to sign the budget into law."

"We therefore urge President Buhari to sign the 2016 budget without any further delay. For every additional day that the president withholds his assent from the bill, the hardship in the land, which is already becoming intolerable for the masses of our people gets even more complicated. Certainly, as primary representatives of the people we shall not vacate our responsibility and watch the people continue to suffer unduly."

Signed

Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi

Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs

Ciara refuses to read out Future's name as she announces Billboard Award nominees

Ciara and Ludacris were on Good Morning America on Monday to announce the nominees for the 2016 Billboard Music award. However, Ciara was not pleased when she saw ex-lover Future's name on her card as she announced the top rap artist category for the Billboard Music Awards on Monday

She read out the names of Drake and Fetty Wap, before she suddenly fell silent, she refused to mention her baby Daddy- Future's name when she saw his name on her card. There was a brief awkward silence before Ludacris stepped in and read out Future's name. After Ludacris helped her out, she continued reading the names of the rest of the nominees on her card.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari Arrives China

Mr President is in China for a week-long of meetings and negotiations to get cheap funds for development.

LAGOS GOVERNMENT: Save Our Soul from Chijioke Franklyn [aka Frajend] In Ibeju Lekki

Ok, so someone from a community in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, called OluFamous.Com to make some serious allegations against a man identified as Franklyn Chijioke. Below are their cries:

We the people of Desa community phase 4 of Onosa in Ibeju Lekki LGA of Lagos write in order to solicit for your support over FRANKLYN CHIJIOKE popularly known as FRAJEND who has used thugs to destroy our houses and erect illegal fence, thereby claiming ownership to our land and houses without any prove of ownership. 

All efforts to get in touch with him has being rejected by him.

HRH Onibeju of Ibeju land has summoned him five times without him showing up at his palace.

He was also summoned by Lagos state police command in Ikeja still he refused to attend. We the owners of lands and houses in the area could hardly walk around or sleep as a result of incessant
harassment from his thugs. 

We are using the medium to appeal to Governor Akinwumi Ambode to use his good office to
mediate on this issue before he takes our land and houses of over 200 occupants. 

Attached here within are pictures of his illegal act. This case had been reported to Oba Onibeju, Oba of Epe and the Elemoro police station.

See President Buhari and VP Osinbajo Scanning The Budget

It was a busy weekend for President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Ministers of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, as they dissect the 2016 Budget, page by page.

...they've already discovered discrepancies and outright deletion of projects by the National Assembly.

Khloe Kardashain Leaving Lamar Now That He's Recovered?

In one of her emotional outburst online over the weekend, Khloe Kardashian wrote:

''It doesn’t matter how loyal you are to someone. You can’t change someone’s heart and bad habits unless they want to themselves... Don't lose yourself by trying to fix what's meant to stay broken." 

Soon after, stories started flying that she's talking about her man Lamar Odom. But hours later, she came back online to deny that she was referring to Lamar, even though the words she used were strong.

Budget Saga: Buhari Rejects National Assembly’s Suspicious Peace Deal

Story flying in NASS is that Bukola Saraki and senators close to him are frustrating the budget in order to force President Muhammadu Buhari to stop Saraki's prosecution and save him from going to jail.

But indications have emerged that the National Assembly’s peace moves with the executive over the 2016 budget crisis had flopped, as President Buhari has insisted he won't stop anybody's prosecution.

According to Punch, Mr President did not accept the suggestion against the backdrop that the distortions in the budget discovered in the document transmitted by the National Assembly were too many.

A minister said both arms of government had been discussing the issue, but the President had been advised by members of his cabinet not to sign the appropriation bill until all projects that would benefit the majority of Nigerians are brought back into the budget.

“The National Assembly has initiated some peace moves. The lawmakers have suggested that the budget should be signed by the President before he will send a supplementary budget to cover the omissions, but he had turned down the proposal,” the competent source revealed.

With the level of distortions noticed in the document sent to the President, there was no way he could have been advised to append his signature to the budget, said a presidency source.

Buhari Now On The Right Path In Economy, says Dangote

Owner of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said that President Muhammadu Buhari administration was now on the right path in the diversification of the nation’s economy.

His assertion followed new policies implemented through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment as well as Ministry for Solid Mineral Development.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Okpella cement in Edo State financed by his group. Dangote hailed efforts of the President in revitalising the solid mineral sector, noting that the sector could provide employment for Nigerian youths and improve non-oil revenue.

Falana tells Buhari: Don't borrow $2bn, Recover Looted $200bn

Respected human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has advised President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government to shelve its plan to obtain $2billion loan from China.

He said instead of “plunging the nation into more indebtedness” the Federal Government should intensify efforts to recover some looted funds totalling about $200bn which were either not remitted to the Federation Account or stolen from the nation’s treasury.

Falana gave this advice in a letter addressed to the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, threatening to sue the Federal Government if his request was not taken seriously.

He said, “In the light of the foregoing, we are compelled to call on the Federal Government to muster the political will and courage to recover the aforesaid withheld or stolen wealth of not less than $200bn belonging to the Nigerian people.

“However, if you refuse to accede to our request we shall have no alternative than to initiate legal proceedings at the Federal High Court with a view to restraining the Federal Government from further plunging the nation into external indebtedness.”