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Reps declines consideration of Foreign Affairs budget over Constitutional breach

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Reps asks Nigerian Army to secure its FOBs HQ of 2nd Division Garrison in Ibarapa, Oyo State

By John Danjuma

For allegedly abusing the provisions of the Appropriation Act 2022 and the 1999 Constitution (As amended) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has turned down the consideration and defense of the 2023 budget of the Ministry

Reps to Mount Diplomatic Pressure for Ekweremadu

Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Femi Gbajabiamila

Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Buba Yakub, gave the indication when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and his team appeared before committee for the defense of the ministry’s budget.

Yakub insisted that the committee will only consider the budget if the infractions observed are remedied by the ministry.

Read also>>>Senate sets aside Defence Ministry’s budget over minister’s refusal to honour invitation

He said according to Section 80 (1-4) Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(As Amended), the National Assembly possesses the powers to authorise the expenditure of all revenue receipts, including those that have gone into the Consolidated Revenue Fund and to oversight how these funds are spent.

Buba said all funds appropriated to MDAs like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others, must be accounted for before such ministry is able to come to request for another such appropriation, hence, the budget defense session.

He however said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has continued to direct Missions to retain and spend monies in their capital accounts without any waivers from the National Assembly in breach of Section 7 of the Appropriation Act 2022.

“It beats every logic that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has deliberately refused to abide by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and by other statutes of the land, including the Standing Orders of the House.”

“The question this Committee is asking the Minister of Foreign Affairs is: Is he bigger than Nigeria and its laws? Or how else will one explain the constant flagrant abuse of the laws of the land even when we have continued to write letters to the Ministry reminding it of relevant provisions of our laws that demand abiding by.

“According to Section 10 of the Appropriations Act 2022 (as Amended), Missions and Embassies have been empowered to constitute their Tender Board for the purpose of the procurements they need to make.

“We have called the attention of the Minister to this Act, but he has continued to direct the Missions not to obey this law in spite of receiving about four letters on the issue, including the latest one of 6 September 2022.

“In addition to the above, Section 7 of the Appropriations Act 2022 (As Amended), captures, inter alia, that “The Minister of Finance shall ensure that funds appropriated under this Act are released to the appropriate agencies and or organs of government as and when due, provided that no funds for any quarter of the fiscal year shall be deferred without prior waiver from the National Assembly”.

“In total disregard for the above, the Ministry has continued to direct Missions to retain and spend monies in their capital accounts without any waivers from the National Assembly.

“A 23rd September 2022 letter by this Committee that was sent to the Ministry, as a reminder to earlier ones, still did not stop the Ministry from flouting the laws of the land.

“Being aware that administrative charges have been approved at the Missions by Mr President, this Committee, in line with Section 80 (3 and 4) CFRN (As Amended) has also observed that in total disregard to what the law says, the Minister has continued to authorise the spending of monies generated through administrative charges at the Missions without being appropriated by the National Assembly.

“In conclusion, it is important to note that this Committee has continued to draw the attention of the Ministry to the above noted infractions, but all to no avail”, he said.

He therefore ruled that for the committee to consider the 2023 budget, the Ministry must direct all Missions to abide by Section 10 of the 2022 Appropriations Act (as Amended) and furnish the National Assembly with the 2023 budget proposals in respect to targeted revenues from administrative charges at the missions and embassies.

He also ruled that the ministry should furnish the committee with the list of unspent funds under the capital component of the Missions’ allocations for the necessary waivers of the National Assembly.

In his response, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama denied the allegations that the ministry has been flouting the constitution and the provisions of the Appropriation Act 2022.

“I did not in anyway tell them to disregard these requirements regarding the administrative charges we are also in the process of explaining to them what they have to do to send it for appropriation before spending, not just spending anyhow.

“Also, on unspent funds under capital seeking wavers for them to be able to apply it under other heads again, we have brought this to their attention and again, we are in the process of developing template for all the missions to follow.

“I would like to beg Mr. Chairman that contrary to your assertion, the ministry is in no way trying to flout the laws of the land and trying to appropriate to itself powers that it does not have. We have here and we can submit to this committee evidence of directives we have given to the missions”, he said.

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NCDMB’s Exec Sec, Ogbe Bags NSE’s Fellowship

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The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe was on Wednesday inducted into the Fellowship of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).

Biztellers reports that the investiture was performed by the President/Chair-in-Council of the NSE, Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, FNSE at a ceremony in Abuja.

Oguntala congratulated the 63 new inductees and urged them to uphold the values of their new position in their field of engineering. She highlighted that engineers have been at the forefront of driving progress and development across various sectors of the economy, notably in the oil and gas industry.

She particularly lauded the ES of NCDMB for his excellent leadership and expertise through the strategic development of local content and in-country value retention, which is a testament to his brilliance in the field of engineering.

Oguntala also applauded the strategic partnership between the NSE, the NCDMB and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.

Similarly, the chairman Board of Fellows/College of Fellows, Engr. Kamila Maliki, FNSE, commended the new inductees for their resilience, dedication, and contribution to the field of engineering.

He added that it was not a small feat to be chosen for the investiture due to the rigorous and thorough nature of the selection process.

The ES later was joined by the Managing Director of Setraco Nigeria Limited, Engr. Ziad Mouannes and Senator Patrick Ndubueze for the unveiling of the very first edition of the 2024 NSE Quarterly Magazine.

Some senior officials of the Board who accompanied the ES to the event included the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Abdulmalik Halilu, Director, Project Certification and Authorization, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, and the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Esueme Dan Kikile, Esq.

Before he was appointed the ES of NCDMB, Engr. Ogbe had nearly 30 years top-level career in the field of engineering in the employment of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), before retiring voluntarily to set up his private firm.

His last position at Chevron Nigeria was Construction Services Group Superintendent, and he oversaw 200 personnel, including Nigerian nationals and expatriates.

Other notable positions he held at the company included Offshore Projects Manager, Construction Manager (Lagos, Escravos -Warri), Construction Engineer (San Ramon) in California, United States of America.

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Soldiers Shut Down Banex Plaza After Clash With Traders [Video]

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On Saturday evening, armed soldiers shut down the popular Banex Plaza in the Wuse 2 district of Abuja after a clash between traders and three soldiers over a phone sale dispute.

According to eyewitness Okechukwu Daniel, the incident began on Saturday afternoon when a young military man returned to a phone shop, claiming a phone he bought about a month ago was faulty.

Daniel, also a trader at Banex Plaza, stated that the seller refused to accept the phone back due to the lengthy period that had passed since the sale.

He said “When the phone seller refused to collect the phone back, the young guy threatened him that he will shut down his shop for refusing to collect the phone, and the seller told him to do his worse.

“That was when he got angry and went to one of the barracks close by and brought two soldiers to come and harass the phone seller for him to collect the phone back.

“When the two soldiers got to the phone shop to threaten the seller, he still refused to collect the phone. The soldiers got angry and wanted to use force on him, that was when other traders came to the rescue of the phone seller and beat up the two soldiers.”

Daniel added that after the soldiers were assaulted, they went back to the barracks to gather reinforcements.

When they returned to Banex Plaza to confront the phone seller and other traders, the traders had already fled from their shops.

He added “When over 50 soldiers who were visibly angry got to the plaza, they could not find the traders that beat up their colleagues, so they decided to shut down the plaza by asking everyone to leave. Anyone found around the plaza was asked to do frog jump and other punishment,”

See videos below:

 

 

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EFCC Returns $22k Recovered From Fraudster To FBI

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed the transfer of $22,000, recovered from a convicted internet fraudster, Hakeem Olanrewaju, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

Dele Oyewale, the commission’s spokesperson disclosed on Saturday that the handover took place in Lagos State on Friday.

Acting Director of EFCC Lagos Zonal Command, Michael Wetkas, expressed appreciation for the collaboration and assured of EFCC’s continued efforts in combating financial crimes.

During the event, FBI’s Legal Attaché Charles Smith praised the EFCC for its action.

He said “The EFCC and FBI work collaboratively together, and it is thanks to the EFCC that we can recover funds of this nature, especially from Business email Compromise, BEC.

“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified.

“We hope our relationship continues and fosters a more cohesive partnership between the two agencies. If there’s anything the FBI can do to support this investigation, we will do so. We appreciate this on behalf of the FBI and thank the EFCC.”

On August 15, 2023, Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, mandated that the funds retrieved from Olanrewaju, serving a two-year prison term for identity theft and impersonation, be returned to his victim in the US.

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