Today's Headlines: Senate: N70bn is for repairs, furniture, not cash to lawmakers, House of reps to screen service chiefs on Monday

Senate: N70bn is for repairs, furniture — NOT cash to lawmakers

Yemi Adaramodu, spokesperson of the senate, says no member of the national assembly will receive any money from the N70 billion budgeted to “support their working conditions”.

In a statement on Sunday, Adaramodu said the fund is for purchase of furniture and to carry out repairs in lawmakers’ offices.

On Thursday, both chambers of the national assembly earmarked N70 billion for themselves in an amendment to the 2022 supplementary budget.

Many Nigerians criticised the appropriation owing to the fact that President Bola Tinubu sought and got approval to borrow $800 million to be distributed N8,000 each for 12 million households for six months in a bid to cushion the removal of subsidy on petroleum motor spirit (PMS).

The senate spokesperson said the claims that the budget was “padded” to accommodate the N70 billion are false, adding that the lawmakers only fulfilled their constitutional duty.

“Suffice to say that the passage is part of the absolute constitutional duty of the senate,” he said.

“We would therefore, not wish to join issues with the mischief and misrepresentation that a portion of the just passed Amendment Act that appropriated N70 billion naira was a ‘gift’ to the legislators.

TOP STORY: House of reps to screen service chiefs on Monday

The house of Representatives will screen the recently appointed service chiefs on Monday.

The service chiefs — Christopher Musa, chief of defence staff; Taoreed Lagbaja, chief of army staff; Emmanuel Ogalla, chief of naval staff; and Hassan Abubakar, chief of air staff — will be screened by the principal officers of the green chamber.

The principal officers include Julius Ihonvbere, majority leader; Abdullahi Halims, deputy majority leader; Bello Kumo, chief whip; Adewunmi Onanuga, deputy chief whip; Kingsley Chinda, minority leader; Ali Madaki, deputy minority leader, Ali Isa, minority whip; and George Ebizimawo, deputy minority whip.

The committee is chaired by Babajimi Benson, a lawmaker from Lagos and former chairman of the defence committee.

Usually, service chiefs are screened by the house of representatives joint committees on defence, army, navy and airforce.

However, Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, announced the principal officers to screen the service chiefs because the house is yet to constitute the various standing committees.

President Bola Tinubu had, in a letter last week, asked the lawmakers to confirm the appointment of the service chiefs. 

Olubadan suspends Egungun festival as violence mars celebration

Moshood Olalekan Balogun, Olubadan of Ibadan, has ordered the suspension of the ongoing Egungun festival over reported cases of violence, arson and looting of shops in the capital city of Oyo state. 

The Egungun festival is a communal ceremony held annually in south-west Nigeria to honour Yoruba ancestors. Egungun is the Yoruba word for masquerade.

Balogun, in a statement issued on Sunday by Oladele Ogunsola, his personal media aide, said the atrocities were perpetrated by some hoodlums hiding under the cover of the festival in Ibadan.

The traditional ruler also summoned all the leaders of masquerades, known as ‘Alaagbaa’ in Ibadan, to an emergency meeting scheduled for July 17, at the ancient Aliiwo palace, Agodi.

Balogun expressed sadness over the reported cases of violence accompanying the annual festival, describing the development as unfortunate and an affront on his palace.

He had, on Wednesday, condemned the violence recorded during the festival at Alafara area of Ibadan.

“As if the warning was just a blabbing, the same thing was reported on Saturday on a scale that made the previous one a child’s play,” Ogunsola said.

“I warned seriously against what is happening when the festival was to commence and the assurances I got then were that nothing untoward would accompany the festival.

“But the reports coming to me have been at variance with those assurances I earlier got from the masquerades’ leaders.

Illegal firearms charge: Lawyers, activists demand Emefiele’s immediate release

By Innocent Anaba & Henry Ojelu

MORE lawyers and civil society organizations have condemned the continued detention and illegal firearms charges filed by the Department of State Services, DSS, against suspended governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

The DSS charge came a day after a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, declared Emefiele’s arrest and detention an infringement of his fundamental rights and subsequently asked that he be released in two days.

Some senior lawyers who spoke to Vanguard, condemned Emefiele’s continued detention, despite the orders of the court and demanded for his immediate release.

DSS had no justification to arrest Emefiele—PROF ERUGO, SAN

Reacting to the charges against Emefiele, law professor, Sam Erugo, SAN, said: “The charge for illegal possession of firearms is undoubtedly an afterthought; it suggests that the DSS had no justifiable reason to arrest Mr. Emefiele in the first place.

It means that after the illegal arrest the DSS has been searching for a charge to justify the arrest.

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