Author: straightnewsng.com

The 2019 Appropriation Bill of N672.984 billion into law by the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel has become an Act. Emmanuel who spoke on Wednesday after the brief ceremony at the Executive Chambers of Government House, Uyo thanked the House members particularly the speaker for the speedy deliberations and passage of the bill into law. He pledged to implement the budgetary provisions accordingly to benefit Akwa Ibom people, but called for cooperation of the people in all spheres. Earlier, members of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly led by Mrs Felicia Bassey, the Deputy Speaker,  and Dr.…

The Nigerian parliament secretly spent over N1.752 trillion in 17 years, a civil society organisation, which deals with budgeting and open governance, has said. The group, BudgIT, released the figure in a statement Wednesday, with a breakdown of the cash the National Assembly had allocated and spent between 2003 and 2019. In the statement by Signed Shakir Akorede, Communications Associate of BudgIT, the group noted with dismay the failure of the NASS leadership to honour its promise to make the process transparent and open to Nigerians. It said: “That Nigeria’s National Assembly, an arm of government that supposedly upholds accountability,…

The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has dismissed media reports quoting its Chairman, Mr. Tunde Fowler, as suggesting an increase in the rate of Value Added Tax, VAT, from five per cent to 50 per cent. Various media outlets on Wednesday, quoted Fowler as recommending a hike of that proportion during a meeting with members of the members of the Senate Finance Committee at the 2019-2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper, PSP, on Tuesday in Abuja. In a statement by its Communication Unit, the FIRS said what Fowler recommended was an increase in the number of…

The Senate was Wednesday, thrown into a stormy session when senators discussed the alleged militarization and rigging of the 2019 polls. Nigeria held her Presidential, and National Assembly polls on February 23; and governorship, state Houses of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory, FCT Area Council elections on March 9. The governorship polls were declared inconclusive in six states and suspended in Rivers. So also were a host of senatorial, House of Representatives and state assembly polls declared inconclusive, while the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, will conduct make-up polls in the affected constituencies on March 23. Currently, the outcome of…

Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, Wednesday, said the value the N30, 000 new minimum had already been eroded before implementation by rising inflation. The umbrella body for senior staff associations in the country, however, commended the Senate for aligning with the House of Representatives in endorsing the N30, 000 monthly National Minimum Wage as recommended by the Tripartite Committee set up by the Federal Government. TUC in a statement by its President and Secretary General, Bobboi Kaigama and Musa-Lawal Ozigi, said never the less, the new wage would in no small measure give the workers a sense of belonging.…

Former Vice President and the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the just concluded Presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, Wednesday, expressed optimism that he would claim what he described as his stolen mandate at the tribunal. Atiku who reaffirmed his rejection of the outcome of the presidential election and his decision to challenge it at the court, expressed confidence that there will be justice and the Judiciary would live up to expectation by giving him the mandate as the rightful winner of the election. Speaking yesterday in Abuja when he paid a thank you visit on the leaders…

Former U.S President, Bill Clinton has congratulated an eight-year-old Nigerian chess champion and invited him and his parents to his office for personal introduction. The young Nigerian, Tanitoluwa Adewunmi recently won the New York State Chess championship for his age bracket. The New York Times reported that Adewunmi had won seven chess trophies including the state tournament, where he outwitted other children. According to the New York Times, the young chess champion’s family are taking asylum in a homeless shelter in Manhattan after they fled the Boko Haram insurgency since 2018. Adewunmi, went undefeated at the state tournament, outwitting children…

The acceleratory approval granted the Governor Udom Emmanuel administration by assemblymen to raise N1.728 billion loan to purchase and install Closed Circuit Television cameras (CCTV) in Uyo metropolis has continued to generate ripples from some members of the public. During the plenary session of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, on Wednesday, March 14, 2019, Governor Emmanuel’s letter was granted acceleratory approval by the assemblymen to obtain the loan. Since its inception on May 29, 2015, the administration has collected loans amounting to N50 billion for various purposes, investigation has shown. However, Franklyn Isong, the state Chairman of Civil…

Christopher  Ekpenyong, the Senator-elect for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District, has acknowleged receipt of a copy of the petition by Senator Godswill Akpabio to appear before the election petition tribunal. Ekpenyong acknowledged the receipt of the petition from the tribunal’s secretary on Tuesday at his EEMJM Hotel, Uyo, the state capital. However, Ekpenyong, the former Deputy Governor, had last Thursday collected a Certificate of Return (CoR) from INEC in Abuja, maintained he won the poll through a free, fair and credible process, urging Akpabio to accept defeat in good faith. According to him, ”I am not perturbed by Akpabio’s…

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has assured its supporters across the country that the votes they freely gave to its candidates in the 2019 general election will not be in vain. It also expressed optimism that its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar will reclaim the mandate of the Nigerian people in court. National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, in a statement by Kola Ologbondiyan, the party’s spokesperson, Tuesday, made the pledge while on a solidarity visit by the leadership of the party to the Sokoto State governor, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, ahead of Saturday’s supplementary elections. Prince Secondus said that…