News

Buhari Was Servicing Debt With 96% Nation’s Income – Oshiomhole

Published

9 months ago

August 15, 2023

Editor

Senator Adams Oshiomhole on Tuesday revealed that the President Bola Tinubu’s administration inherited an economy in which the nation’s national revenue was barely enough to service the debt burden, spending 96 percent of the income.

Senator Oshiomhole also said that there was no quick fix measure for the nation’s economy by the President Bola Tinubu’s administration because what he inherited was a precarious situation.

The Senator representing Edo North Federal Constituency disclosed this after a meeting with the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa.

Oshiomhole, who said he paid a friendly visit to the Vice President, said he did not discuss the nation’s economic issues with him but claimed that the government was working.

According to him, “The issues of the economy is work in progress. There is no quick fix. The government inherited a terrible economic situation. The government inherited an economy in which our total national revenue was barely enough to service our debt burden, spending 96%, which is to say every N100k Nigerian earn, 96k is going to repay debts, to service debt. So, you have only 4k left to pay all the salaries. So, nothing can be worse.

“But they came determined that they will have to do business unusual; to arrest the drift; stabilize the economy and then begin to move forward. Some painful decisions are necessary.

“Already, the executive—the president and vice president—they’ve shown courage in terms of the decisions they have taken, a radical movement away from one in which if you are well connected you could make billions without adding value to one in which if you want to make money, you have to work. We move away from a situation where CBN can favour you and you become a billionaire; of which they can pauperize you and your business collapses.

“Yes, it has created its own challenges, but I don’t know of any drug without side effect. Doctors will always tell you that every drug might cure your ailment but it will have a side effect. So, in taking it you have to do cost and benefit analysis.

“On the whole, I believe that the broad economic, specific macro economic policies that have been put in place so far both in terms of monetary policies and in terms of fiscal policies is the best way to start.

“You remember just recently a Minister of Finance distanced herself from the monetary policies of a CBN Governor and they were not talking. If the hand and the leg are not walking in harmony, then there is no way you can get to your destination. So, I think we are in a better situation now.”

Continuing , he said, “But my plea to Nigerians is, when I say I will bail you out, I will fix a complicated system that is malfunctioning, I believe everyone knows that the more terrible the situation is, the more time I will require to take the right decision.

“Given the paucity of data and all the other basic infrastructure you need to take some quick decisions that are not pleasant but decision has to be taken.”

News

LG Poll: Voter Apathy As Makinde Votes In Ibadan

Published

16 mins ago

April 27, 2024

Editor

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Saturday, urged residents of the state to come out en-masse to perform their civic responsibility in the ongoing Local Government election.

Our correspondent, who monitored the election, observed that eligible voters refused to come out to participate in the ongoing election.

The governor made this appeal while speaking with journalists shortly after casting his vote at Ward 1, Unit 11 in the Ibadan North East Local Government Area of the state.

Makinde reminded them of the need to take part in choosing their leaders.

He, therefore, appealed to residents to come out to exercise their civic responsibilities.

The ongoing local government election is expected to end by 3:pm.

Details later…

News

Late Actor, Junior Pope’s Funeral Arrangement Released

Published

25 mins ago

April 27, 2024

Editor

The funeral arrangement of late actor, Junior Pope has been released.

Recall that the actor drowned on April 10 along with four crew members, while travelling by water for filmmaker Adanma Luke’s film “The Other Side of Life”.

According to Junior Pope’s family, the actor will be buried on May 17th at his hometown in Nsukka, Enugu state.

News

Yahaya Bello: Abuja American School Refunds $760,000 To EFCC

Published

2 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Editor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has confirmed the receipt of the refund of $760,000 paid as advanced school fees by a former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello for his children at the American International School, Abuja.

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, confirmed the development to our correspondent in Abuja on Friday.

“The school has refunded the entire $ 760, 000 to the EFCC’s recovery account,” he said.

Earlier, the American International School of Abuja had asked the EFCC to provide “authentic banking details” for the refund of fees paid for the children of the former governor.

Bello allegedly paid $720,000 in advance as fees for five of his children from the coffers of the Kogi State Government.

The children are in Grade Levels 2 to 8 at the school.

On April 17, EFCC operatives laid siege on Bello’s residence in Abuja in an attempt to arrest him over an alleged N80.2 billion fraud.

While the operatives were at the house, Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi, arrived at the property and reportedly whisked Bello away.

In a letter addressed to the Lagos Zonal Commander of the EFCC, the school said the sum of $845,852 has been paid in tuition “since the 7th of September 2021 to date.”

AISA said the sum to be refunded is $760,910 because it had deducted educational services already rendered.

“Please forward to us an official written request, with the authentic banking details of the EFCC, for the refund of the above-mentioned funds as previously indicated as part of your investigation into the alleged money laundering activities by the Bello family,” the letter reads.

It added, “Since the 7th September 2021 to date, $845,852.84 in tuition and other fees have been deposited into our bank account.

“We have calculated the net amount to be transferred and refunded to the State, after deducting the educational services rendered as $760,910.84.

“No further additional fees are expected in respect of tuition as the students’ fees have now been settled until they graduate from ASIA.”

The school said it would draw the attention of the anti-graft agency if there were any further deposits by the Bello family.

In a statement signed by Greg Hughes, AISA also said, “Ali Bello contacted the school on Friday 13 August 2021 requesting to pay the family school fees in advance until the students graduate from High School.”

The Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, had earlier revealed that the former governor transferred $720,000 from the government’s coffers to a bureau de change before leaving office to pay in advance for his child’s school fee.
Olukoyede revealed this during an interview with journalists on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said, “A sitting governor, because he knows he is going, moved money directly from government to bureau de change, used it to pay the child’s school fee in advance, $720,000 in advance, in anticipation that he was going to leave the Government House.

“In a poor state like Kogi, and you want me to close my eyes to that under the guise of ‘I’m being used.’ Being used by who at this stage of my life?”