I don’t care if Amaechi Emerges minister – Wike

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday, dismissed the claims that his administration was attacking the immediate past governor of the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, in order to deprive him (Amaechi) of a ministerial appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Wike explained that rather than worry about the possible appointment of Amaechi into President Buhari’s cabinet, he was interested in how the state’s funds were managed under the former governor.

He pointed out that a situation where nothing was left in the state’s treasury on his assumption of office as governor was annoying, worrisome and unacceptable.

Wike, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Opunabo Inko-Taria, told newsmen in Port Harcourt that it was illogical for anybody to claim that his complaint about corruption in the immediate past administration had any link with Amaechi likelihood of getting a federal appointment.

“So, what is he (Ameachi) going to do to him (Wike) as a minister or Federal Government appointee? Wike has not told anybody that he does not want President Buhari to appoint Amaechi as a minister. He has never said it; these are just insinuations and innuendos.

“If Mr. President, known for his mantra of zero tolerance for corruption; is saying that he is not going to appoint anybody with a stained image as a member of his cabinet and Rivers people are saying that Rotimi Amaechi is not qualified for an appointment, there is no problem with that.

“But the truth is that paint Amaechi black, if he (Buhari) does not want to appoint him (Amaechi), he will not. Paint Amaechi white, if the President is not interested in him, he will not appoint him.

“The talk about whether Amaechi should be appointed into Buhari’s cabinet is just the feeling from Rivers’ people and not the governor himself. He has never discussed the issue of whether Amaechi should be appointed by Mr. President or not.

“The governor is more interested in how the funds of Rivers State were spent; whether they were judiciously spent or they were just frittered away. That is the interest because it is annoying that when we took over, we met an empty treasury,” Wike said.

He expressed worry that those responsible for emptying the state’s treasury were the same people accusing him of taking N30bn loan within a month.

He said, “They forgot that you are supposed to pay salaries; you are supposed to open the judiciary. The governor gave the judiciary N300m for takeoff and he also had to pay some of the students abroad who were owed allowances. Civil servants, pensioners and footballers, who were owed salaries, were paid.

Senators reject pay cut recommendation by panel

The Senate in session

 The Senate on Wednesday suspended consideration of the report of its Finance committee following sharp disagreements among members over the pay cut recommended by the panel.

Our correspondent learnt that the senators during a two-hour deliberation behind closed doors, resolved to reject the reduction of salaries and allowances as recommended by the Senator James Manager’s committee.

The senators, according to one of them who confided in our correspondent, said it was not possible to accept pay cut with other beneficiaries of the N120bn National Assembly annual budget not doing same.

The senator said that his colleagues accordingly resolved to reject the report because the recommendations were not practicable.

Some other senators who also spoke to OLODODOZONE on condition of anonymity said further consideration of the finance committee report was stepped down because many of their colleagues rejected the contents of the report.

On what transpired at the closed- door session, Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP Edo South), said senators told themselves the truth at the session on the need to be very cautious on accepting reduction of salaries and allowances.

Urhoghide said that majority of the senators agreed that “funny allowances” like the monthly N42,000 wardrobe allowance should be cut off completely.

He said, “Yes, as recommended by the committee, all senators agreed that there must be openness in Senate budget and by extension, that of the National Assembly.

“At the same time, many reasoned that why should we further reduce our budget when already, N30bn has been reduced from the traditional 150bn that it used to be for all the seven different organs of the National Assembly.

“All of us have people in our constituencies and financial requests from them keep piling up on a daily basis, the reality of which made steps to be redirected, otherwise, some of us may stop coming here.”

The committee, it was learnt, also recommended the publication of all the payments accruable to each senator on a quarterly basis.

However, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at plenary, explained that “Senate in closed session deliberated on the report of the finance committee but agreed to stand it down for further legislative input.”

Addressing journalists after plenary, Senate spokesperson, Senator Dino Melaye, said further action on the report was put on hold because the senate budget was an integral part of the National Assembly budget being jointly shared by seven bodies.

Melaye said, “The Senate today, in closed-door session, discussed the report of the ad hoc committee on finances of the senate.

“After due deliberations by the senators, we came to the conclusion that since the budget of the Senate is not independent of the budget of the National Assembly, the budget of the House of Representatives is also inclusive.

“We have the management; we have the National Institute for Legislative Studies; we have even the Public Conduct Commission; the National Assembly Civil Service Commission, and over 3, 000 legislative aides, that are beneficiaries of the N120bn annual budget.

“Therefore, we have agreed that we should consult amongst other arms that share the budget of the National Assembly, before we would draw a conclusion on the report.

“So, the resolution is that we are going to interface with the House of Representatives so that we can be on the same page on the report as presented. This is the resolution of the Senate today in a closed-door session.”

Melaye denied reports that the National Assembly had been experiencing cash crunch despite the fact that some senators confirmed last week that they had not received salaries since their inauguration on June 9.

“I am not aware of any cash crunch, and for me, it is news from you, and I don’t think it is true,” he said.

He said that the senators had the power to reduce their own pay just like the President, the Vice President and some governors had done.

Melaye said, “It is the responsibility of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission to stipulate how much you would be paid. But you can sacrifice, as a public officer, to say: I am taking half of my salary, and then taking half back to the treasury.

“It means that it would be returned to the treasury, where it would be used for other developmental programmes.

“We would make wider consultations with the House of Representatives on the report because we have one National Assembly and whatever is going to affect the Senate, the House of Representatives should also be carried along and I am sure that after this consultation we will get back to the public.”

Meanwhile, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Mr. Abdullahi Kaugama as the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Jigawa State following the death of the former REC, Alhaji Abdullahi Minkaila, who was burnt to death with other members of his family.

Oba Sijuwade’s Place In History Is Assured, Says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says he has received with sadness the news of the transition of one of Nigeria’s foremost traditional rulers, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II.

“President Buhari extends sincere condolences to the late Ooni’s family, his friends, associates and subjects, as well as the government and people of Osun State on the departure of the First Class Monarch,” a statement by his special adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina read.

“The President joins them in mourning the revered traditional ruler who will be long remembered and celebrated for his worthy service, over more than three decades, as the Chief Custodian of the traditions of the Yoruba's and his invaluable contributions to the sustenance of the cultural heritage of his people within and outside Nigeria.”“Buhari believes that Oba Sijuwade’s place in posterity has already been assured by his long and worthy service to his people and country as well as his notable contributions to the development of his community, state and country as a leading businessman, administrator and inspirational traditional ruler.

”He urged the Ooni’s family, friends, associates and subjects to be consoled by the knowledge that he lived a very fulfilled life, and has left worthy legacies for his successors to build upon.”He prayed that God Almighty will comfort all those who mourn Oba Sijuwade and bring forth a worthy successor to to take his place on the ancient throne of Ile-Ife.

steady electricity is Must in Nigeria, says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari said Wednesday in Abuja that his administration will give the fullest possible attention to boosting power supply in Nigeria because it was convinced that steady electricity will launch the country into faster socio-economic development.

Speaking after being briefed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali, President Buhari said that his administration had already identified the critical problems in Nigeria’s power sector and was taking appropriate actions to address them.

The President said that his administration had also prioritized certain measures in its action plan to boost electricity supply in Nigeria. “The problems besetting our power sector are not difficult to identify. Therefore, priorities can be easily set in order to tackle them.

“The problems are more with transmission than generation, and we equally need to secure the power infrastructure round the country.

“We will address all these issues,” the President assured.

Ambassador Igali told the President that power generation in Nigeria which was 1,750 MW in 1999, had now peaked at 4,600 MW.

He added that gas was available to take generation to 5,500 MW in a short time, but that the country needed to expand its electricity infrastructure to accommodate additional power generation.