Today's Headlines: Reps to Get N54bn for Constituency Projects; APC Sponsoring Expelled Rebels to Cause Confusion —Labour Party
Reps to Get N54bn for Constituency Projects
Members of the House of Representatives in the 10th Assembly are set to receive a total of N54 billion for constituency projects, with each member allocated N150 million.
A lawmaker, who preferred to remain anonymous, mentioned that these constituency allowances provide legislators with a means to directly impact their respective constituencies. Constituency or zonal intervention projects in Nigeria involve the establishment of developmental projects within the constituencies of state Houses of Assembly members, House of Representatives members, or Senators. These projects are funded through various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies and often bear the lawmaker’s name.
Controversies have long surrounded the salaries and allowances of lawmakers, often due to their secretive nature. In the ninth assembly, it was disclosed that each House of Representatives member received N100 million, while Senators received N200 million for constituency projects. The current increase in constituency allowance by N50 million aligns with the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s call for resilience amid hardship and anticipation of better times.
APC Sponsoring Expelled Rebels to Cause Confusion —Labour Party
The Julius Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the Labour Party has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of sponsoring dissidents to destabilize the party. The National Secretary of the LP, Malam Umar Farouk, held a press conference at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja yesterday. He explained that the party is well aware of the ruling party’s desperate plot to create confusion within the Labour Party. This is an attempt to undermine the party’s chances in the upcoming Governorship Election in Imo State.
He clarified that the press conference was organized to address the ongoing efforts of expelled party members who have rebelled against the LP. These members have subsequently spread misinformation about the party’s progress to the public.
Abducted Pastor Mistaken as Kidnapper Killed in Ogun Forest
The family of Pastor Adeniyi Adisa, a chartered accountant, is demanding justice for their son, alleging that he died at the hands of some youths and the police in Ogun State.
According to sources, Adeniyi Adisa, a father of five and General Manager of VGC Water in Lekki, Lagos, was kidnapped on June 24 after visiting a friend in the Yotomi area of Owode Egba, Ogun State. His abductors held him captive for several days until his body was discovered near a morgue in Ogun State. He was laid to rest in Ibadan on July 8, 2023.
However, his younger brother, Musiliu Adisa, revealed that Adeniyi was allegedly murdered by irate youths in the Abule-Ori community and security personnel who wrongly accused him of being a kidnapper.
Reportedly, due to a delay in ransom payment after his abduction, the kidnappers brought Adeniyi to a bush near a church they were planning to attack. They left him there and proceeded to target the church, where they killed the pastor during a mid-year night vigil. The police and the state’s So-Safe Corps, responding to a distress call from church members, arrived at the scene.
Musiliu contended that the police and the So-Safe Corps mistakenly identified the frail Adisa in the same bush as one of the kidnappers, leading to his death. The Adisa family pointed out that a press release from the State Commander of So-Safe Corps implicated the police and the Corps as potential causes of Adeniyi’s demise.
Musiliu expressed his sorrow to Saturday PUNCH, lamenting that even in death, his brother’s body wasn’t treated with respect by the authorities.
Murtala Mohammed Backed Coup Against Gowon For Appointing Igbo Man NNPC GM—Clark
Former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has stated that one of the reasons for the overthrow of the government of former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, was the appointment of Engr. Odoh, a Kalabari man from Rivers State, as the General Manager of the Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNOC), which later became the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
Clark, who highlighted this in his 688-page autobiography titled “Brutally Frank,” mentioned that the late former Head of State, along with the Federal Commissioner for Communications in Gowon’s government and some others, were unhappy with Odoh’s appointment. They perceived him as an Igbo man and thus a security risk to the country. Clark shared that when Gowon announced Engr. Odoh as the new General Manager, which was accepted by a majority of Council members, Brig. Gen. Muhammed immediately left without a word, taking his case and swagger stick with him.
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