.Replaced by another Borno Senator, Monguno
.Narrowly escapes suspension
.President asks Senate to approve additional N6.2trn for 2024 budget
.Targets banks FX revaluation gains with windfall tax
.As Reps approve NDDC’s N1.91tn budge
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Chief Whip of the 10th Senate, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno South) was Wednesday removed from office for recently criticising the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
He was immediately replaced by another senator from Borno State, Tahir Monguno.
It’s the second time Ndume will suffer a such fate as he was sacked as Leader of the 8th Senate in January 2017
Senator Ndume’s removal as Whip of the 10th Senate during plenary on Wednesday was sequel to request made to that effect by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) .
The APC NWC in a letter co – signed by the National Chairman of the party , Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru , sought for Ndume’s removal as Chief Whip of the Senate being a position meant for a member of the party but seriously abused by Senator Ndume through unguarded utterances and outbursts against the federal government and Senator Bola Tinubu in particular.
The NWC in the letter read in plenary by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, said Ndume is more of a mole in the party and advised him to honourably resign his membership .
The letter reads : “We write on behalf of the National Working Committee of our great party to express our displeasure, our outrage and our deep disappointment at the unbecoming, unfounded and baseless criticism of the government and the party, the APC by your Majority Whip of the Senate, Sen. Ali Ndume as a member of the ruling party.
“We expected a much more responsible and decorous behaviour from him. But this has not been the case. His uncouth and rabid outbursts against the government, before the international and before the global community is not only harmful to the government’s image alone but also undermines the party’s unity and cohesion and in addition, undermines the government’s effort to bring in foreign direct investments to Nigeria.
“As he is a ranking member of our party, his actions are unbecoming of a senior member of the Senate and sets a very poor example for others in future to follow.
“His latest tirade on air, during a programme on Arise Television where he referred to the government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, commander-in-chief as being run by thieves, portrays Ali Ndume as a person who is bent on running the country down and running the party aground through incitements and propaganda.
“We have reviewed that Sen. Ali Ndume should honourably resign the membership of APC and join any opposition party of his choice formally instead of hiding behind the veil of crass activism to decimate the hard earned cohesion and goodwill that our party, the APC, is enjoying within and outside the country.
“His utterances which are sheer propaganda are not based on verifiable facts and are unbecoming of any member of the APC caucus of the Senate of the National Assembly. And it therefore behoves on the APC caucus to bring this to the attention of its members for necessary actions to curtail his deliberate mission to undermine the government and the party and the progress of Nigerians particularly those appointed by Mr President to work against his administration.
“We therefore urge the Senate caucus to take appropriate steps to address this issue and ensure that members of the Senate, particularly those within the All Progressives Congress, hold and maintain decorum in their public utterances.
“Accordingly, we realise that the position of the Whip of the Senate belongs to our party and we are not opposed to whatever position the members of the APC caucus in the Senate may have, but we are of the opinion that distinguished Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno should immediately replace distinguished Sen. Ali Ndume who is bent on bringing down the country as the Majority Whip of the Senate”.
Consequently, the President of the Senate after reading the letter put the NWC request to voice vote among the APC Senators which they all accepted .
Aside removing Ndume as Chief Whip of the Senate , his Deputy Chairmanship position of Senate Committee on Appropriations , was also removed by reducing him to Chairman of Committee on Tourism .
Senator Monguno who replaced Ndume as Whip, also replaced Ndume as Deputy Chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
The Senate however gave Ndume soft landing when Senator Cyril Fasuyi ( APC Ekiti North ) , moved a motion for Ndume to face Senate Committee on Code of Conducts , Ethics and Privileges on allegation of kleptomania against them .
In an apparent move to save Ndume from suspension , the President of the Senate in his remarks on Fasuyi’s motion , said since the APC NWC had requested for his removal as Whip and approved , he should be forgiven for now .
Efforts by Daily Champion to reach out to the embattled Senate and spokesman of the Senate, Senator Yemi Adaramodu failed as Ndume’ was said to have traveled to Maiduguri while Adaramodu left office to attend to committee meeting for hours.
Tinubu seeks injection of N6.2tn into 2024 budget
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has forwarded to the Senate for consideration and approval the injection of N6.2 trillion into the N27.5 trillion 2024 budget.
The President, in the request via a letter read on the floor of the Senate by its President, Godswill Akpabio, during plenary on Wednesday, specifically sought for withdrawal of N3.2 trillion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, for capital expenditure.
The President in the second leg of the request sought for withdrawal of another N3 trillion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for additional recurrent expenditure for the year ending on December 31, 2024.
According to the letter, Tinubu is also seeking an Act to amend the Finance Act of 2023, to impose and charge windfall tax on banks and to provide for the administration of the tax and matters related thereto.
For expeditious consideration, the Senate had already listed the two requests on its Order Paper as Executive bills for consideration.
If the requested N6 2 trillion is injected into the N27.5 trillion 2024 budget, the budget size will increase to N33.7 trillion.
.As Reps approve NDDC’s N1.91tn budget
Similarly, the House of Representatives on Wednesday, considered and adopted the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC’s 2024 Appropriation Bill of N1.91tn.
The decision of the House followed the consideration of a report of the Committee on NDDC, chaired by Mrs Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu during Wednesday’s plenary.
While defending the commission’s 2024 budget before the House Committee on NDDC earlier in July, its Managing Director, Samuel Ogbuku, stated that the commission would source funding of its proposed spending from loans to the tune of N1tn.
“We have strategically made provisions towards diversifying our sources of funding as we intend to source an aggregate sum of N1trillion to fund ongoing legacy projects of the commission in 2024. The sum will be outsourced from development and commercial banks, “Ogboku said, stressing that “Investing in critical infrastructure is a key component of our fiscal strategy under the 2024 budget proposals”.
Justifying the need to pass the budget, Ibori-Suenu gave a breakdown of the financial expenditure and sources of funding, saying, “We urge the House to consider the report of the Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission on the issue from the Statutory Revenue Fund of the Niger Delta Development Commission the total sum of N1.911tn, out of which the sum of N38.55bn is for personnel expenditure, while the sum of N29.25bn only is for overhead expenditure.
According to the Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker, “N8.79 bn only is for internal capital expenditure, the sum N835.22bn only is for development projects, while the sum of N1tn only is for legacy projects funded by borrowing for the year ending April 30, 2025.”
A breakdown of the budget shows that the head office of the commission and the nine states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers will spend a total sum of N1.84tn on development projects.
Staff welfare gulps N531.78 bn, severance benefits N2.3bn, medical insurance N92 billion and staff housing scheme N800. 52bn.
Others include promotion arrears N1.7bn, voluntary retirement benefit scheme N1.8bn, pension N750m, and recruitment services N825.54m, among others.
President Tinubu recently approved NDDC’s request to borrow additional N1trn to fund its developmental projects in the 2024 fiscal year.
Tinubu, who was represented by the Senate President, Godswil Akpabio, at a Niger Delta Stakeholders Summit last week in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, pledged the commitment of his administration to bring lasting development to the oil-rich region.
“Mr President is very committed to ensuring the development of the Niger Delta. The Bayelsa-Rivers-Akwa Ibom Road called East-West Road will be tackled.
“The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road started by the President will not only start from Lagos, Mr President has also agreed that it must also take root from Niger Delta simultaneously, then it will get up with the one in Lagos.
“The Niger Delta Development Commission has never had the kind of budget that they are having in 2024. The President has approved that they can go ahead and get a soft loan of N1tn to complete all the other projects that they have in mind to bring quick development to this region. So the MD of NDDC is no longer going to lack funds, it is going to be the issue of commitment.
“We will not have people from Abuja coming here to stay in the hotel and requesting to be in NDDC to collect money and take it back to other states of the federation. We are going to spend the money of NDDC right here in the Niger Delta region, ”Akpabio was quoted as saying on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief.”
Following the adoption of the committee’s recommendations, it is expected to be gazetted for Third Reading by the House Committee on Rules and Business ahead of the third reading and passage.
