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Senate To Probe Buhari Govt, Emefiele Over N30tn CBN Loans

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Senate To Probe Buhari Govt, Emefiele Over N30tn CBN Loans....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The Senate on Tuesday resolved to probe how the N30tn Ways and Means loans of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were obtained and spent by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari………CONTINUE READING

Ways and Means is a loan facility through which the CBN finances the government’s budget shortfalls.

The senate stated that the reckless spending of the overdraft collected from the CBN under Godwin Emefiele largely accounted for the food and security crises the country was currently facing.

The red chamber then resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate what the N30tn overdraft was spent on by the immediate past government, noting that the details of the spending were deliberately not made available to the National Assembly.

The ad-hoc committee which will be constituted on Wednesday (today) will also probe the N10tn expended on the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, the $2.4bn forex transaction out of the $7bn obligation made for that purpose as well as other intervention programmes.

The development came as biting food crisis, rising inflation, naira depreciation, and worsening insecurity continue to take tolls on Nigerians.

President Bola Tinubu and his economic team have come under intense criticism after his last year’s fuel subsidy removal and exchange unification policy unleashed harsh economic conditions on citizens.

Tinubu’s cabinet members have continued to argue that the current crises were exacerbated by the gross mismanagement of the Buhari regime, arguing the current reforms were meant to right the wrongs of the past administration.

The latest move by the Senate is expected to unravel the ways the country and its resources were allegedly mismanaged by the Buhari administration.

Buhari had in a letter to the National Assembly in January 2023 requested that the N22.7trn Ways and Means loan should be converted to a 40-year bond with a moratorium of three years.

He also requested approval to borrow an additional N1trn to fund the N819.5 billion 2022 supplementary budget which the lawmakers approved last December.

Following the request, the House of Representatives on May 4, 2023, approved the conversion of the N23.7trn loan to a long-term bond for 40 years at the rate of nine per cent per annum.

The bond has a moratorium of three years.

The lower chamber approved the consideration of the report presented by the House Committees on Finance, Banking and Currency, and Aids, Loans, and Debt Management.

But the 9th Senate was thrown into a chaotic session after some lawmakers opposed Buhari’s request to approve the CBN loan as they demanded the details of his proposal.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Adeola Olamilekan, attempted to present the report of the president’s request when Rivers senator, Betty Apiafi, raised a Point of Order and said the president’s request was not constitutional.

She was, however, ruled out of order by the then Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who asked that Olamilekan present the report before contributions are made.

Citing relevant laws from the Constitution, the CBN Act, and the Senate Standing Rules, Rivers senator, George Sekibo, argued that the request was not in line with the Constitution.

‘’It will be a disservice that we have spent that money on behalf of Nigerians. It will be an abuse of our personal sense and against our privileges if we approve this request without details of the expenditure,’’ he insisted.

Many lawmakers who opposed the president’s request either said it was against the laws or wondered why the National Assembly was not notified when the amount was taken from the Central Bank.

Senate’s New Probe

However, the Senate’s resolutions on Tuesday followed the consideration of the report of its Joint Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Finance, National Planning, Agriculture, and Appropriation on the State of the Economy after interactive sessions held with the Federal Government economic management team.

But the consideration of the report during the plenary was stormy with accusations and counter-accusations by Senators on how the N22.7tn Ways and Means was passed by the 9th Senate in May 2023.

The lawmakers were also miffed by the passage of N7.2tn on December 30, 2023, by the 10th Senate.

Specifically, the Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume (APC Borno South), in his contribution blamed the Senate for approving the request without details from former President Buhari.

Ndume said, “When the N22.7trn Ways and Means approval request was brought before the 9th Senate, I insisted that details of spending made with it should be provided before approval but the Senate then went ahead and approved it.”

However, the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, countered that the decision taken then was a collective one with the caveat that the executive should provide details later, which was however not provided.

In his defense, the former Senate President, Lawan, claimed that the Ways and Means were in the past and urged the Senate to focus on the present.

Lawan said, “All of that is in the past, we must focus on the present which is the fact that people are hungry and they are crying. That’s what we should focus on.”

Conclusion

The Senate probe panel is expected to begin to summon some key members of the previous administration’s cabinet members.

The People’s Democratic Party has urged the National Assembly to follow through with the proposed probe and investigate Buhari’s administration.

Meanwhile, attempts to get comments from the former Minister of Information and Culture, Mr L

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‘I Thought We Would Get Married’ – Ruggedman Opens Up On Painful Failed Relationship.

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Veteran Nigerian rapper Michael Ugochukwu Stephens, popularly known as Ruggedman, has opened up about why he remains unmarried at the age of 52, attributing his marital status to the demands of his music career and the collapse of a five-year relationship.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

In an interview with The Cable, the rapper explained that he began his career during a period when Nigerian musicians had to work tirelessly to establish themselves and achieve success in the entertainment industry.

According to Ruggedman, the pressure and commitment required to build his career consumed much of his time, making it difficult for him to settle down.

He noted that some of his colleagues were fortunate to find partners who understood the demands of their profession and were willing to support them throughout their journeys.

The rapper cited fellow musician Innocent Idibia, popularly known as 2Baba, as an example of someone who found partners willing to share the challenges and experiences associated with his career. He, however, said he had not enjoyed the same luck in his relationships.

Ruggedman also disclosed that he was once involved in a five-year relationship that he believed would eventually lead to marriage. However, the relationship ended after an incident he did not reveal during the interview.

He said, “I am one of those who got into the industry back in the day where all we had was our hustle and we faced it and before you know it, time was gone. 2baba was lucky to have found partners who were ready to walk that road with him, I wasn’t that lucky. I had a five year relationship that I thought would lead to marriage but something happened and it crashed.

“Currently, I’m not in any relationship. The only thing I vowed is that I will never have a child out of wedlock. No, I don’t think it’s too late. It’s never too late. As long as you are alive, it’s never too late to get married. I am very straight.”

The rapper maintained that he does not consider himself too old to get married, insisting that marriage remains possible at any stage of life.

He also reiterated his decision not to have a child outside marriage, adding that he is currently not involved in any romantic relationship.

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‘A Huge Calamity Will Befall Me’ – Baba Ijesha Reveals Shocking Prophecy.

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Nollywood actor Baba Ijesha has recounted a prophecy he received before his imprisonment, revealing that he was told he would become a great man after experiencing a devastating ordeal that would leave him in tears.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The actor shared the experience during a courtesy visit to Yoruba Nation activist Sunday Igboho at his residence, according to reports.

Baba Ijesha explained that someone had received a revelation about his future, predicting that he would eventually achieve greatness but would first pass through a period of intense pain and hardship.

He said the prophecy came before he was sent to prison, adding that he now associates his imprisonment with the difficult experience foretold in the revelation.

“Before I went to prison, someone saw a revelation about me that I’ll be a great man but a huge calamity will befall me that’ll make me shed lots of tears before the prophesy will eventually come to pass. It was after then I went to prison,” the actor said.

His revelation comes after his release from prison in November 2025, following his conviction in a case involving the sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child.

Baba Ijesha was convicted by the Lagos State High Court on July 14, 2022, over offences involving the foster daughter of comedian Damilola Adekoya, popularly known as Princess.

The court sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment for sexual assault and three years for indecent treatment of a child. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

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‘I Don’t Want Money Or Contract’ – Former Texas Mayor Gives Tinubu Conditions To Stop Criticising His Govt.

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Former Texas mayor Mike Arnold has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, outlining conditions he says must be met before he will stop criticising the Nigerian government.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Arnold disclosed the conditions in a letter published on his verified X account, according to reports.

The American lawyer said he would end his criticism of Tinubu if the President acknowledged the plight of displaced Nigerians living in at least eight camps within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and took urgent steps to ease their suffering.

He urged the President to provide immediate assistance to the affected families, seek support from international humanitarian organisations and ensure that displaced persons have access to adequate food, clothing, shelter, sanitation, healthcare and education for their children.

Arnold also called on the Tinubu administration to take decisive action to remove Boko Haram and other armed terrorist groups from the ancestral lands of the displaced families, allowing them to return to their homes and live in peace.

In his letter, Arnold wrote: “Acknowledge the tens of thousands of innocent displaced Nigerians, as many as 40,000 or more, living in at least eight horrific camps inside the Federal Capital Territory. Acknowledge that they exist. Acknowledge that they are suffering. Then act.

“I believe I am shaking your table far more than Reno Omokri ever dared. And I’m only getting started. I was the number one target of attack for your $9 million US lobby contract, and it only made me more popular, influential and determined.

“Do you want me to be quiet? I do not want a shambassadorial appointment. I do not want a government position, contract, favour or money.

“Do all I asked, and I will not say another word about you or the presidential election. I will step away knowing that the widows, orphans and displaced families I have fought for are finally being seen, protected and helped.

“No appointment. No payment. No personal benefit. Just mercy. Justice. Action. The choice is yours, Mr President,” Arnold stated.

The former mayor maintained that his demands were focused on humanitarian assistance and security for displaced Nigerians rather than any personal gain from the government.

He challenged Tinubu to take concrete steps to address the conditions in the camps, insisting that meeting the needs of vulnerable families would be enough to bring his criticism of the President and the 2027 presidential election to an end.

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