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Budget Padding: Federal Lawmaker Want Udo Udoma Sacked

Published

10 years ago

March 14, 2016

Member representing Egor / Kpoba Okha Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Ehizogie Agbonayinma has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to only sack junior officers for errors in the 2016 Appropriation Bill but also the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma who coordinated the planning.
Hon. Agbonayinma stated this at the PDP Congress in Ikpoba Okha local government area of the state where he said the National Assembly is working with the presidency to ensure the budget is passed on March 17.
The PDP stalwart expressed disappointment at the attempted fraud in the budget and noted that while President Buhari has sacked erring junior officers in the ministry, the Minister in charge of coordinating the budget should also be sacked.
According to him, “Where you are using almost N800.000 million to update a website of the federal ministry of solid minerals, so that for me a monumental fraud and I told my colleague in the house, and that has been rectified now and many other areas where we found so many errors.
“President Buhari has already sacked some people and he has also promised to sack more people but I will say what about that the minister who suppose to be the one to do the right thing. You can’t be sacking junior officers when the head is still there. You must talk to the head that coordinated the budget for the president”, he said.
He continued, “So it is a disgrace to the head of the ministry and it is a disappointment for the nation and I am happy that the president has done the right thing by correcting them. And we must join hands with the president because if everything goes well in Nigeria, all of us will celebrate and rejoice. Only the president can’t solve the problem of Nigeria alone, it will require the effort of every good citizen of the country to move the nation forward so we must join Mr. President to see that Nigeria succeeds”.
“I think the budget will see the light of the day soon and Nigerians will celebrate. A lot of errors did occur; I don’t think it is Mr. President that did it. It is his trusted people and they disappointed him”, he reaffirmed.
He however faulted president Buhari on the payment of N5000 to unemployed Youths in the country which he said he would rather invest in infrastructural development.
He said, “If you look at the budget, the youth are not taking care of and we must put the youth in the budget, we must care for them and at least put the Nigerian first so if you say you don’t have anything for the youth, what are we talking about they are the future of tomorrow. If you don’t create something for them, they will create something for us. If we don’t want to engage them positively, they will engage us negatively. So we must start now by putting the youth first”.
Reacting to the non provision of vehicles for members, Agonayinma who decried the mobility challenges faced by members in the course of discharging their committee and oversight functions effectively said the 8th national Assembly is not under trial as presently projected by some persons
He therefore called for a renewed synergy between the media, judiciary, executive and the national Assembly to move the nation to an enviable height and delivered the dividend of democracy to the Nigeria people.
“We asked the executive to give us car loan and therefore deduct the money as source from our salaries. We have already applied if they cannot buy us vehicle. We are yet to hear from them.
“On the vehicle issue even when the local government elected executives have brand new vehicles, councilors; State Houses of Assembly members have brand new vehicles. Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has about 5- 6 vehicles in their convoys such as Prado, land cruiser Jeeps, Lexus Jeeps, Toyota Camry among others in additions to Hiluxes even their Personal Secretary (PS) have vehicles brand new and now you are talking about members of the National Assembly up to the Speaker and say we should not have vehicles. This is nothing but an agenda to protract us in bad light against Nigerians. It is sad and it is absolutely sad”, he lamented

News

Zimbabwe considers controversial presidential term-extension bill

Published

22 hours ago

June 2, 2026

milcah

Zimbabwe’s justice minister introduced to parliament Tuesday a controversial constitutional amendment bill that would extend the term of the president, but faces fierce opposition and court challenges.

Parliament has to vote on sweeping changes to the constitution approved by the cabinet in February that include a provision that would extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term until 2030.

The measures would also do away with general presidential elections, giving parliament the power to appoint the president, and extend the terms of lawmakers from five to seven years.

The amendment has become one of the most contentious political issues in Zimbabwe, where Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party enjoys an overwhelming majority in parliament.

After introducing the proposal, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told journalists the government was determined to push the measure through a parliamentary debate.

He said a 90-day public consultation process was successful and widely supported.Related News

Opponents say the consultations were marred by intimidation and violence, with anti-amendment activists assaulted by suspected state agents or arrested.

Several legal challenges seeking to stop or invalidate the amendment process are before Zimbabwe’s courts.

Critics say the bill would entrench the Zanu-PF, which has governed the resource-rich country since independence in 1980, overseeing crippling economic crises and accused of corruption and repression.

Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 in a military-backed coup that ousted Robert Mugabe, president for 30 years.

He was elected for two five-year terms, in 2018 and 2023, which is the constitutional limit for a president.

AFP

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National Governance Index Showcases Best-Performing States

Published

2 days ago

June 1, 2026

milcah

Top 10 Performers:

Kaduna State 73%
Delta State 70%
Anambra State 65.5%
Niger state 65.1%
Ekiti State 64.5%
Akwa Ibom State 64%
Lagos State 64%
Oyo State 61%
Enugu State 56.5%
Borno state 54%

Middle 10 Performers:

Kwara State 53.5%
Abia State 52%
Ondo State 51%
Nasarawa State 50.5%
Osun State 49.5%
Ogun State 48.5%
Kano 48.5%
Kogi State 48%
Edo State 47%
Jigawa State 46.8%

Worst 10 Performers:

Bauchi State 44%
Ebonyi State 42%
Katsina State 41.5%
Gombe State 40%
Kebbi State 34%
Plateau 33.5%
Rivers State 30%
Benue State 25%
Yobe State 22%
Taraba State 20%

These rankings are based on the CIAPS Governance Performance Index (CGPI) report, which evaluates states’ performance in areas like e-governance, transparency, and accountability.

The CIAPS Governance Performance Index (CGPI) is an initiative of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies, CIAPS. CGPI was conceived as a catalyst for benchmarking, documenting, measuring and encouraging good governance in Nigeria.

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RUN Set to Mobilize Millions of Youth for Tinubu/Akpabio Ahead of 2027

Published

3 days ago

May 31, 2026

milcah

Following the conclusion of party primaries, Rising Up for a United Nigeria (RUN) as a civil society group championing the cause of all youths and middle age citizens has congratulated His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his landslide victory in the presidential primaries recently held.

RUN also congratulated Senator Godswill Akpabio for emerging unopposed and the wild jubilation that greeted his victory as the Senator representing his constituency, the good people of Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria at large.

In a press release signed by Amb. Solomon Adodo and made available to journalists, a copy of which was sighted by our correspondent, the group described the win of the duo as beam of hope for Nigeria beyond 2027.

According to him, “the win of Asiwaju and Akpabio signals a beam of hope for Nigeria that beyond 2027, we shall be consolidating on the gains of synergetic partnership between the legislature and the executive as a precursor for rapid development.

“The support extended to Mr. President by the Senate President has yielded significant strides in fasttracking development across all parameters that affect national productivity”

The group therefore called on all Nigerians to come out in their numbers to support the president while outlining series programs with potentials to foster national unity across regional and religious lines.

“As a group representing the interests of Nigeria youths, we are determined to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President towards improving the skill set of Nigeria youths towards increased productivity and an end to unemployment”, the release stated.

The group expressed confidence in the possibility of a new Nigeria of our dreams with the victories of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Godswill Akpabio who will definitely be handed a second term as the Senate President “to continue synergizing with Mr. President for a better Nigeria”.