Senate clears National Assembly of budget padding
Protesting its innocence, the Senate yesterday declared that it could not have been complicit in the alleged padding of the N6.06 trillion 2016 budget by the House of Representatives when the National Assembly is the authority statutorily empowered to produce the nation’s fiscal plan.
Senate Majority Leader, Ali Ndume who made the assertion at a press conference in Abuja, also said the Senate cannot impeach the president because impeachment is not a one- man-show as the procedure will involve both chambers of the National Assembly and the Judiciary. Guadian
Any corrupt APC member will face trial – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has said he will not hesitate to prosecute party loyalists and those who supported his Presidency bid during the 2015 presidential election if any of them was involved in corrupt practices.
He also said that some unnamed persons pressurised him to contest the 2015 presidential election which he won.
He said the pressure mounted on him was too enormous that he could not resist it.
Buhari spoke in an interview he granted a magazine, The Interview. Punch
Padded Budget: Obasanjo, Lawmakers in war of words
Sequel to the allegations of corrupt practices in the National Assembly, especially with regards to the padding of the 2016 budget in the House of Representatives, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, said the National Assembly was filled with rogues and armed robbers. Obasanjo’s comment elicited caustic responses from the legislators, who accused him of running a corrupt and killer regime that attempted tenure elongation, which they lawmakers scuttled. Vanguard
Fuel scarcity looms as truck owners withdraw services
Barring any last minute change in plans, truck owners would suspend transportation of petroleum products across the country, beginning from today.
The truck owners had last week, issued a seven-day ultimatum within which to withdraw their services over alleged unpaid bridging claims and reduction of freight rate paid to its members by the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, PEF. At a joint press briefing addressed by the leaderships of the National Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO, and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, the groups threatened to withdraw their services at the expiration of the seven-day. Vanguard
Osinbajo: PDP Campaign Funds Under Probe Because Party Diverted Public Money
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has explained that the reason the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating some of the stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is because the party diverted money meant for public services to fund political campaigns or other questionable purposes.
The explanation by the vice-president came just as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that it has received 41 new applications from political associations seeking to be registered as political parties in the country. Thisday
Jibrin: If Buhari knew the real Dogara, he would ban him from Aso Rock
Abdulmimin Jibrin, former chairman of the house of representatives committee on appropriation, says President Muhammadu Buhari would ban Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house, from the presidential villa if he had an idea of his real nature.
Also to be banned, according to Jibrin, are Yusuf Lasun, deputy speaker; Leo Ogor, minority leader; and Alhassan Doguwa, chief whip of the house.
Jibrin is involved in a battle with the leadership of the house, and he has accused the four of them of mind-boggling scandals.
On Monday, he demanded that the leadership of the house give room for investigation into the allegations laid against them. The Cable
Business News
Nigeria, S’Africa, others need $600b to meet SDGs
African governments have been charged to seek alternative ways of addressing the increasing debts accruing to them due to global economic recession.
Besides, the governments are also enjoined to add new revenue sources to finance their development, such as remittances, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and a clampdown on illicit financial flows, warning that debt looks unsustainable in some countries.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in a report, while governments should be vigilant of the borrowing risks, it observed that PPPs have also started to play a more prominent role in financing development. Guardian
Stock market investors gain N1.461tn in three months
Stock market investors (equities only) in the country recorded an appreciation in value of N1.461tn on their investments in the second quarter of this year.
Compared to the first quarter of the year, the Nigerian Stock Exchange market capitalisation closed at N10.165tn on June 30 from N8.704tn on March 31.
The NSE All-Share Index also moved to 29,597.79 basis points from 25,306.22 basis points in the same period.
Between January and March, the equities market had depreciated by 10.79 per cent, according to available data from the NSE. Punch
‘Raising Tax May Further Erode Purchasing Power’
The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) Chairman Shettima Gana recently called for Value Added Tax (VAT) to be increased from five per cent to about 7.5 per cent to shore up Nigeria’s revenue base.
According to the CSL report, while Gana’s call seemed reasonable given the declining oil revenues, made worse by production constraints in the oil-rich Niger Delta, “we are of the view that tax rate hikes at present, would not only be premature, but will have more negative economic implications than positive.” Thisday
Naira stable at 378/$1 ahead of CBN monetary policy decision
The naira remained stable on Monday at the parallel market, ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policy committee (MPC) decisions on the economy.
The Nigerian currency, according to NAN, maintained N378 to the dollar at the close of trading on Monday afternoon, keeping same value as at Friday.
Also, the naira traded at N495 to the pound sterling, but weakened further against the euro, exchanging for N415, from N407 posted on Friday at the bureau de change (BDC) Segment of the market.
The naira continued a downward slope at the interbank segment of the market, hitting a spot rate of N309.84 to the dollar from about N300 posted on Friday.
Currency traders continued to rain counter accusations against dollar scarcity as explanation for the week performance of the Nigerian currency. The Cable
The post above and its ensuing comments, if any, is purely the opinion of the writer(s). It therefore should never be considered as an investment advise of any sort. If required, readers should please consult a competent professional financial adviser for any investment decision.