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Senate issues 48 hours ultimatum to Pantami to account for N13.9 billion

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The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has been issued a 48-hour ultimatum to account for N13.9 billion Service Wide vote collected from 2017 to 2021.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Mathew Uroghide handed down the ultimatum at an investigative hearing on Tuesday in Abuja.

The directive followed the inability of the Permanent Secretary, William Alo to effectively defend the expenditure of a whopping N13.9 billion before the panel having appeared on behalf of the Ministry.

Alo could not produce documentary evidence, leaving the panelists bewildered on the impunity going on in the Ministry.

Midway into the investigation, the Permanent Secretary and the Director of Finance in the Ministry pleaded for more time to produce supporting documents.

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The request infuriated the lawmakers who disclosed that the Committee battled to have the Ministry’s officials appear before it for the past four months.

Senator Uroghide said: “Based on records made available to the committee from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, a total of N13.9 billion was disbursed to the Ministry from the Service Wide votes for special capital projects execution from 2017 to 2021.”

The lawmaker stated that the Committee has written several letters of invitation but the officials keep reneging.

“Only for you to come here today along with the DFA of the Ministry to beg for more time which would not be granted beyond Thursday this week because the committee must submit report to the Senate on how your Ministry and many of the other MDAs are running away from explanations on spendings made from the Service Wide Votes,” he said.

Uroghide said an investigation by the committee showed that government officials spent Service Wide Votes recklessly and insisted that the Ministry of Communications must explain how the fund was spent.

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The committee, however, granted the embattled Permanent Secretary another appearance before it on Thursday.

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Tinubu in high-level security meeting with service chiefs, others at Aso Rock

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President Bola Tinubu is currently in a crucial security meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, with key figures including the service chiefs, Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, Director-General of the State Security Service, Oluwatosin Ajayi and DG National Intelligence Agency, Muhammed Muhammed are also in attendance.

While the specific agenda remains unclear, the President regularly receives updates from security chiefs to assess the national security situation.

Notably, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio the Speaker Tajudeen Abass and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele were spotted arriving at the villa, though it is uncertain if they participated in the security meeting.

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JUST IN: Explosion rocks Trans Niger pipeline in Rivers

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Trans Niger pipeline

An explosion has rocked the Trans-Niger Pipeline at Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The explosion occurred late on Monday night near the Bodo-Bonny Road under construction.

The affected section of the major pipeline is currently on fire, though the exact cause of the explosion remains unknown at this time.

It is not yet clear whether the incident resulted from human interference, especially amid recent threats by militant groups to attack oil installations in the state .

Details to follow….

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Hardship: House of Reps members donate N705m to Tinubu

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House of Reps

Members of the Nigerian House of Representatives have donated 705 million naira, amounting to 50% of their basic salaries from July 2024 to December 2024, to support President Bola Tinubu’s initiative to assist vulnerable Nigerians.

The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, made this known during the breaking of Ramadan fast with the President and the Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa on Monday.

According to him, this was to show Nigerians that members of the House of Representatives also felt the hardship and understood what they were going through.

Gatekeeper reported that following reports of an impending nationwide mass protest by youths, to express displeasure about the hardship in the country, reflected in the high cost of living, food scarcity, unemployment and so on, members of the House of Representatives agreed to donate 50 per cent of their salaries for a period of six months.

They said the donation was to assist the Tinubu administration in addressing the economic situation in the country.

The resolution of the House was sequel to a motion of urgent importance for “An appeal to the proponents of the proposed nationwide protest, to maintain peace, eschew violence and open windows for meaningful engagements with the governments at all levels in order to address their issues.”

The motion was sponsored by the member representing Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency, Ogun State, Ibrahim Isiaka, during plenary.

Speaking at the Presidential Villa on Monday, Abbas announced that the money was ready to be handed over to the Presidency.

“The House decided on our own that we need to do something symbolic to show our concern to the entire people of Nigeria that the predicament they were in, we also felt it.

“And because of that, we took a resolution that from July 2024 to December 2024 will sacrifice 50% of our basic salaries so I will now set that money aside and contribute and donate to you, so that you can also use it to look at the targeted areas in Nigeria where we have vulnerable people who I need of food, shelter, accommodation, clothing and what have you.

“We leave it to you to decide on where and where you want to intervene. But it is a symbolic contribution from the house to show you, as well as show the whole entire nation, that the passage of that particular period was being felt by each and every one of us.

“Your Excellency, I’m happy to inform you that the House contributed the sum of 705 million naira, being the 50% of our monthly salary for the for a period of six months,” he said.

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