NEWS
Senate committee probes N1.7tr service Wide votes
From John Danjuma
Senate panel on Public Accounts has said it will probe the utilization of over 1.7 trillion Service Wide Votes allocation in the 2017-2021 budgets disbursed to government agencies
Service Wide Vote which is also known as the Consolidated Revenue Fund Charge is more or less the country’s contingency fund in the annual budget.
Service Wide Vote is a huge sum of money which is reserved as contingency against unforeseen expenditures by Government.
The recurrent expenditure aspect of the fund is what is actually referred to as the SWV, while the capital part is called Capital Supplementation. The SWV is domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Finance.
During a meeting of the Committee, its chairman Senator Matthew Urhogbide made the disclosure saying beneficiary government agencies must explain how they utilised the fund.
He added that Service Wide Votes is a disbursement into shortfall in capital and overheads.
The Chairman also ordered the Acting Accountant General of the Federation, Okolieaboh Sylva, who appeared before the Committee to submit details of disbursement of Service Wide Votes as quickly as possible.
According to him, “We want you to submit details of disbursement of Service Wide Votes, let us have it as quickly as possible, please we want speed.
“The other one that concerns you is the disbursement of Service Wide Votes from 2017-2021, you have not submitted the 2021 disbursement, let us have that of 2022 as quickly as possible, the reason is because we have 797 agencies to deal with all the letters, we have decided to put them on hold until we get your report of 2021, so that we don’t start writing fresh letters on 2021 again as soon as possible.
“We need to input it into our report, let be able to know that you have exercise a level of cooperation with us, give us hard copies for our members to study.
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“We have to take you first before any other agency, you will have to appear first week of our resumption.”
Speaking further with journalists, he said the agencies need to explain how the Service Wide Votes collected have been spent adding that the Committee will need to know who authorised the disbursement of funds from Service Wide Votes, who applied for it, the authority to incure the expenditure and the supporting documents.
He said for the first time, the Senate is making inquisition into Service Wide Votes.
It could be recalled that Urhoghide, had complained about the SWV noting that they (his committee) had yet to find out how disbursement for SWV both recurrent and capital expenditure are being utilised.
According to the lawmaker, his committee has made several attempts in the past years to ensure that heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) give account of what they got from the SWV but all efforts have been futile.
Oil marketers have warned that Nigerians may soon pay as much as ₦1,500 per litre for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, as global oil prices surge following the escalating conflict involving Iran in the Middle East.
The National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, issued the warning on Tuesday while speaking on a television programme on the impact of the global crisis on fuel prices.
According to him, the current volatility in the international oil market has already pushed petrol prices above ₦1,000 per litre at the depot level, with the ex-depot price from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery now standing at about ₦1,175 per litre.
He explained that once logistics, transportation, and other operational costs are added, the final pump price could rise significantly, possibly reaching ₦1,500 per litre in the near future.
Despite concerns about the rising cost of fuel, Gillis-Harry noted that steady availability of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery remains a major relief for Nigeria, stressing that consistent supply is better than a nationwide fuel scarcity.
He added that the refinery’s production capacity is helping to stabilize supply across the country at a time when global markets remain highly unstable.
The latest price adjustment by the Dangote Refinery marks the fourth review within two weeks. Petrol prices increased from ₦995 per litre to ₦1,175 per litre, while diesel rose from ₦1,430 to about ₦1,620 per litre.
The development comes amid a sharp spike in international crude oil prices triggered by fears of supply disruptions due to the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Brent crude recently climbed above $102 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose to around $101 per barrel.
Industry analysts say the rising oil prices are already having a ripple effect on Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, forcing depot operators and fuel marketers to adjust their prices in response to the global market trend.
Meanwhile, the management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has stated that although Nigeria introduced a crude-for-naira arrangement to support local refineries, the facility still purchases crude oil at international market prices, leaving it exposed to global price fluctuations.
The United Nations has raised the alarm over a dramatic surge in attacks on schools worldwide, reporting a 166% increase between 2021 and 2024.
The rise highlights the escalating dangers faced by children in conflict zones.
United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, revealed the figures during the annual meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on the rights of the child on Monday.
The session, themed “Mainstreaming the Rights of Children in Armed Conflict: Prevention and Protection,” focused on protecting children amid global conflicts.
Al-Nashif noted that the attacks were particularly concentrated in Sudan, Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, Myanmar, and Ethiopia, where children remain among the most vulnerable victims.
“In 2024, armed conflict directly affected nearly one in six children globally—about 470 million children,” she said. “Years of lost education, trauma, and lasting mental scars shape societies for generations. Long after the fighting subsides, children continue to face deadly risks.”
She highlighted Gaza as having the world’s highest number of child amputees per capita, warning that the impact of war goes far beyond immediate violence.
In Lebanon, government figures show that more than 450,000 people were displaced in less than a week, with at least 394 fatalities, including 83 children, during the 2024 conflict with Israel.
Al-Nashif also stressed the disproportionate risks for displaced children, who are more likely to die from disease linked to unsafe water and sanitation than from direct violence.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a 2025 cholera outbreak killed 340 children, underscoring the long-term consequences of conflict.
She called on states to uphold their international obligations to protect children, insisting that protecting children is “both a legal obligation and a humanitarian moral imperative.”
Also speaking at the council, Vanessa Frazier, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, warned that violence against children continued at extreme levels in 2025.
She urged mainstreaming child protection across peace, security, humanitarian, human rights, and development efforts, emphasizing that children should actively participate in shaping policies designed to safeguard them.
Frazier highlighted her office’s global campaign, “Prove It Matters,” aimed at amplifying children’s voices in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
The UN report underscores the urgent need for coordinated international action to protect children and ensure their safety in conflict zones worldwide.
Portugal officially inaugurated its new president, Antonio Jose Seguro, on Monday, pledging to bring stability to a nation shaken by political uncertainty and natural disasters.
Seguro, the centre-left candidate, won last month’s presidential run-off against far-right rival Andre Ventura, following weeks of catastrophic storms that killed at least seven people and caused approximately €4 billion ($4.6 billion) in damage.
Speaking at his swearing-in ceremony in Lisbon’s parliament, Seguro emphasized cooperation with the minority right-wing government and vowed to end the country’s “electoral frenzy.”
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“I will do everything I can to put an end to this electoral frenzy,” he said, pointing to the inability of previous governments to complete their terms.
Amid global crises, including conflicts in the Middle East and a more isolationist US approach under President Donald Trump, Seguro stressed the importance of multilateralism.
“The force of law has been replaced by the power of the strongest,” he remarked.
Seguro succeeds Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative who leaves office at 77 after serving two five-year terms.
While the Portuguese presidency is largely ceremonial, Seguro’s leadership signals a commitment to political stability and international engagement.
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