Buhari Didn’t Sign A Padded Budget – Presidency

The Presidency through the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Hon. Ismail Kawu, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari did not sign a padded budget.

This was disclosed after an over three-hour meeting with the APC leadership, insisting that the budget signed by the President was not a padded budget.

The SSA said: “I am here on the invitation of the leadership of the APC with my colleague to bring answers to issues raised by the party on the 2016 Appropriation and we have been with the party for a little over three hours. We have given explanations to them on every issue and told them that there was nothing, to our knowledge, like padding of the budget.

“The budget as assented to by Mr. President is the budget as passed by the National Assembly and that is the budget being executed.

“But as of now, the party is handling it as a domestic issue, and all of us are enjoined not to make public comment on the details because the matter is still under consideration.

“So, that is what we will want to say for now, we will not want to go into the details of it so that we will not breach the ethics of the party, the directives of the party or pre-empt anything or any outcome of the party investigation.”

He added that “we came here as persons who works as liaison officers on the budget because the party had questions for us and we came to make clarifications on the issues raised.

“We have made those clarifications and would not want to draw any conclusion. Please let us not go too far by mentioning any office. Let it be that the two of us appeared before the party.

“In all our years of legislative engagement, we are yet to find in the legislative lexicon the word ‘padding’. When the budget is presented before the legislature, the legislature is to consider the budget and pass as they deem fit.

“So what the legislature pass becomes the appropriation upon accent. Therefore, any word which is yet to crystallize in legislative lexicon, you cannot hear us mention it.”

Follow us on Twitter @KARIFEST1

It Is Regrettable That APC Has Failed To Provide The Change Promised – Agbaje

Mr Jimi Agbaje, a former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for Lagos state in the 2015 election, has promised that he will lead the party back to winning ways if elected chairman of the party at the Portharcourt Convention.

Agbaje while speaking with journalists noted that PDP gave ''way so that Nigerians can test what other parties have in stock. But it is regrettable that party has failed to provide the change promised. Every youth in Nigeria will like to see PDP reformed, and the reformation has started."

He said: "We accept that mistakes were made in the past in the PDP, especially with our internal democracy. So we have to go back to the position of the founding fathers of our party on internal democracy

"And that means that we have to go back to our constitution. That is very important. We have to be more all inclusive as we have been thus far. It is about bringing people nearer rather than sending them far away from the party. Everybody must feel to be part of this party.

"What I bring to the table is that I am not a member of any faction or any tendencies. I am in a position to talk to everybody, to ensure that if you love the PDP, then it is time to come back to the zone. I will appeal to those who feel very strongly to join us because Nigeria cannot make the progress it deserves without a viable opposition and that PDP is going to provide that opposition as an alternative government and in a responsible manner.

"We must understand what is playing out. The party is very clear, what the party zoned is that the National Chairmanship is to the South. It is the south on its own now that is running to see if it can get some measure of consensus.

"It is already very difficult to get consensus under circumstances where everybody feels that he is qualified. The beauty of democracy is that you must be able, and shouldn't be afraid to contest.

"What matters is that a level playing field is created and we shouldn't bring this idea that we must have consensus. No! It is not even good to have consensus all the time. Let us have robust competition, because competition always brings out a better solution and I think that is important.

"Now it is for those in the south to decide what they want. If they say it is the Southwest, so be it. If you feel you can run against the tide, nobody will stop you. We must continue to go back to the constitution, the constitution does not give you the power to exclude anybody. When you exclude you create tension. If you say look, this is what we think is best, if you do not agree, then, get into the field and let us run this race" he said.

Follow us on Twitter @KARIFEST1

BREAKING: Abia Governorship Tussle: Appeal Court Reserves Judgment Over Ikpeazu’s Sack

The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday reserved judgment in an appeal by embattled Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, where he is challenging the ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which sacked him as governor of the state.

Recall that an Abuja Federal High Court had on June 27 sacked Ikpeazu as governor over tax evasion.

The Justice Okon Abang-led court had also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue Ikpeazu’s challenger in the 2015 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primaries, Uche Ogah with certificate of return which was done, however, Ogah has not been sworn in.

Following Abang’s judgement, the embattled governor had filed an appeal at the appellate court presided over by Justice Morenikeji Ogunwumiju, seeking to overturn the judgement.

Details shortly…

Follow us on Twitter @KARIFEST1

Alleged Budget Padding: Dogara, 3 Others To Appear Before Police Investigative Panel Today

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, his deputy Yusuff Lasun, Chief Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor will today appear before a Special investigative panel set up by the acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris, to probe the allegations of padding the 2016 budget leveled against them by sacked chairman of the House committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin.

Follow us on Twitter @KARIFEST1