CHECKOUT HOW MUCH FG, STATES AND LOCAL GOVTS GOT AS ALLOCATION FOR JUNE 2016 BY FAAC

For the first time in the 2016 fiscal year, the monthly allocation from the Federation Account crossed the N500bn threshold with the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee distributing a total sum of N559.03bn to the three tiers of government on Thursday.

This is even as the gross revenue accruing to the federation increased by N301.32bn, the highest in a long time.

Addressing journalists shortly after the FAAC meeting, which was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance in Abuja, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, attributed the increase in revenue to efficiency in collection by the revenue generating agencies.

Specifically, she said there was an increase in non-oil tax collection by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, as the agency recorded an increase of N165bn in tax collections, while the Nigeria Customs Service raised its revenue by N12.6bn

Adeosun said, “The big cause of the increase is the improvement of non-oil revenue from the FIRS. The FIRS improved its performance between last month and this month by N165bn. And that accounted for the change in revenue; and also, there was an improvement of N12.6bn by the Nigeria Customs Service, as well as the exchange rate gain of N79.2bn

“This is a significant improved performance, especially by the Customs that was able to do so despite the scarcity of foreign exchange and the restrictions on the 41 items. So, we are quite encouraged by that because it means that some of the reforms that we have started around collection improvement are beginning to bear fruit.”

This increase in revenue, according to her, led to an improvement in the amount allocated to the three tiers of government from N305.12bn in May to N559.03bn for the month of June.

Giving a breakdown of the amount shared, the minister said:
N412.3bn was distributed under statutory allocation;
N67.4bn under Value Added Tax revenue;
the balance of N79.27bn was allocated from the gain made from exchange rate differentials.

Out of the N412.3bn shared under statutory allocation, Adeosun said that after deducting the costs of collection to the Customs and the FIRS, the Federal Government received N199.75bn; the states, N101.3bn; local governments, N78.11bn; while the sum of N17.12bn was shared to oil producing states based on the derivation principle.

For VAT, she said Federal Government received N9.7bn; states, N32.35bn; and local governments, N22.67bn.

The minister said, “The gross statutory revenue of N538.78bn received was higher than the N237.46bn received in the previous month by N301.32bn. The average price of crude oil increases from $32.26 in February to $38.64 in March, resulting in $92.99m increase in federation export revenue.”

“There was an outstanding increase in Companies Income Tax and Petroluem Profit Tax with complementary increases in import duty and royalties.”

Adeosun put the balance in the Excess Crude Account at 3.94 billion dollars as at July 20, indicating an increase of 1.68 billion dollars over the the 2.26 billion dollars in the previous month.

When asked about plans to stimulate the economy away from the looming recession, the minister said that there was no need for panic as the fundamentals of the economy were still strong.

Meanwhile the Chairman, Commissioners of Finance Forum, Mr John Inegbedion, said with the improved revenue for the month, all 36 states would be able to pay salaries for the month.

Also, the Commissioner of Finance, Cross River, Mr Asuquo Ekpenyong, said the state would start processing May and June salaries for payment.

SPEAKER DOGARA TRIED TO PAD N30 BILLION INTO BUDGET – SACKED HOUSE APPROPRIATION CHAIRMAN

The former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has spoken of what he claimed were the real reasons for his removal on Wednesday.

Mr. Jibrin, a former ally of the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, had said that he chose to step down for personal reasons.
In a statement he released late Thursday, Mr. Jibrin raised a humongous allegation of fraud against Mr. Dogara.

He accused the speaker of attempting to pad N30 billion into the controversial 2016 budget.

Read his full statement:
I am obliged to make further statement after listening to the full statement of Speaker Yakubu Dogara on why I had to leave as Chairman Appropriation. It is a fact I went up to the Speaker and told him clearly I wanted to leave. He confirmed this in his statement but it appeared he wished he had fired me instead of my personal decision to step down.

Thereafter I proceeded to my office. I was therefore not surprised when an aide of mine walked into my office to inform me that the Speaker had announced my departure. I was relieved and went straight to address the press and released a statement. It was only later in the evening while monitoring the news that I watched the full statement he made on the floor. Speaker Dogara’s statement was a complete misrepresentation of the facts, false, mischievous, unfair and a calculated attempt to bring my name to disrepute, blackmail, silence and use me as a scape goat.

The plan is to execute it just before the recess so that by the time we return I would have been buried and the issue forgotten. Mr Speaker, this issue will never be swept under the carpet. We are closing for recess with it and we shall commence the next session with this issue. This was the last option they had after every attempt to find something to nail me failed. It is a known fact that I am a very blunt person by nature. I don’t know how to pretend. I don’t do eye service neither will I ever be a sycophant. I don’t give returns. I just do my job faithfully and dedicatedly. My offence was asserting my independence and insisting that we do the right thing at all times and expose corrupt people in the House.

Lately I openly disagreed with some principal officers on the issue of immunity for Lawmakers and budget issues. I still maintained I will never support immunity. I strongly believe with every conviction that in cleaning up the budgeting system and considering what transpired during 2016 budget which I have all the facts documented, Speaker Dogara, Deputy Speaker Lasun, Whip Doguwa and minority Leader Leo Ogor should resign. These members of the body of principal officers were not comfortable with my independent disposition and my refusal to cover up their unilateral decision to allocate to themselves 40billion naira out of the 100billion allocated to the entire National Assembly.

The four of them met and took that decision. In addition to billions of wasteful projects running over 20 billion they allocated to their constituencies. They must come out clean. My inability to admit into the budget almost 30 billion personal requests from Mr. Speaker and the 3 other principal officers also became an issue. I have every documented evidence to this effect. After the submission of the first version of the budget which was returned by Mr. President, I briefed members in executive session and told them as agreed at our pre budget meeting with chairmen and deputy chairmen of standing committees, we simply adopted their reports with little amendments. No body faulted my submission.

Members insisted they must know how the N100 billion was allocated. I told them the truth. Since after that meeting, Mr Speaker with the suport of the three other principal officers effectively blocked me from briefing members, ensured I was not at the last executive session and refused to investigate issues I raised that I believe must be addressed if we intend to build a better budget system for the House. I gave Mr. Speaker statistics of 2000 new projects introduced into the budget by less than 10 committee chairmen without the knowledge of their committee members he did nothing about it because he was part of the mess yet he is talking about improving the budget system. I did nothing wrong. I worked within the rules of the House and instructions of Mr. Speaker. During the budget period, Mr. President graciously granted myself and Sen. Goje audience.

It was a very good meeting. Speaker Dogara took it extremely personal that we saw the president without his knowledge and went on to scuttle all our efforts to help the president during the budget process because he wanted to be seen by the president as the only good man. He forgot that he sees heads of MDA’s daily which he enjoys doing more than his job as Speaker for reasons best known to him anyway, without Mr. President’s knowledge. That is how petty and narrow minded Dogara can be. A coward, hypocrite and pretender of the highest order. Mr President must be very careful with him. He wines with Mr. President and dines with Mr. Presidents enemies. I am glad that I am finally free from his emotional blackmail of constantly trying to make me see my appointment as appropriation chairman as a favour.

He has failed to realise that I came a long way and even attained chairman finance when he was chairman House services before this appointment. Seeing as the Speaker claimed that they have taken the decision or were going to take decision to replace me, he now has a responsibility to tell the world why they took or were going to take such decision. I challenge them to tell the world why? I will be releasing a more detailed statement in due course.

Meanwhile, I intend to explore all internal avenues of the House to brief my colleagues in detail and testify against Speaker Dogara, Deputy Lasun, Whip Doguwa and Minority leader Leo Ogor on why they should resign. If I am not allowed to exercise my privilege, I shall consider legal options. I can no longer bear the brunt of abuses and baseless allegations keeping quiet all in the name of “confidentiality” expected of an appropriation chairman. I will not allow anybody no matter how highly placed to destroy my life as intended by the full statement of Speaker Yakubu Dogara. Now Nigerians will see clearly the ulterior motive behind the desperate moves for immunity for principal officers of the National Assembly.
However, the speaker has denied the allegations via a
statement by the spokesperson for the house, Abdulrazak Namdas, and dismissed Mr. Jibrin’s claims.

FULL STATEMENT:
Our attention has been down to media statements made by the former Chairman of House Appropriation Committee, Hon Abdulmumuni Jibrin wherein he made wild allegations against the House of Representatives and its leaders.

We wish to say that it is the prerogative of the Selection Committee of the House to appoint and remove Committee Chairmen. That power has been so exercised in the case of Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin as chairman of Appropriation Committee.

Most of the allegations on the 2016 budget process and his opposition to immunity of Presiding officers are non-issues and mere afterthought manufactured simply because the House relieved him of his position.
If he had all these ‘facts’ before, why didn’t he make them public? Why is he doing that now?

Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, like any other member of the House knows that there are conventions and precedents as it relates to budgets and projects for principal officers of the National Assembly. Why is he making it an issue now? In any case, he is entitled to his opinion as a Nigerian and as a legislator while acting within the laws of Nigeria and rules of the House.

We must make it abundantly clear that he was not removed because of his support or otherwise on immunity bill. After all he is not the only one who opposed the bill.

The bill is still pending before committee on review of constitution and it has to be voted upon by each and every member of the House, get Senate concurrence, endorsed by two-third of the 36 State Houses of Assembly and be assented to by the President. It is a cheap blackmail on the part of Hon. Jibrin to even insinuate that he was removed because he opposed immunity bill.

He should not distract the House from giving legislative support on important issues facing the government concerning the revival of the economy, insecurity in the country, pursuit of anti corruption measures, poverty alleviation, infrastructural development etc. The Nigerian people are simply not ready to waste their time on personal issues and personal egos of our leaders. We should face the urgent tasks before us for which we were elected.

UCHE OGAH ARRAIGNED FOR FORGERY AND FRAUD

The Nigeria police on Thursday arraigned the President of an oil firm, Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited, Uche Ogah, and an ex-employee of the United Bank for Africa, Deji Somoye, before a Tinubu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, for alleged fraud.

The said oil firm and the bank were also joined in three counts bordering on forgery and conspiracy proferred against the defendants by the police. According to the police, Uche Ogah allegedly forged a Memorandum of Understanding between Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited and Mut-Hass Petroleum Limited sometime in March 2011. He and some other persons said to be at large were also accused of forging the signature of one Mrs. Bridget Adeosun. The alleged forgery was reportedly committed in Ikeja, Lagos.

The police also alleged that the bank aided Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited to open an account in the name of Mut-Hass Petroleum to perpetrate a fraud without applying its internal control procedures in the opening of the account.

The police had claimed that UBA allowed the said account to be opened sometime in 2011 at its regional office in Palmgrove, Lagos, in breach of the provisions of the Financial Institutions Act 2004.

The defendants were brought before a Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Kikelomo Ayeye, by a police prosecutor, ASP Henry Obiazi.

Obiazi told the court that the offences contravened sections 363 (3)(u), 408 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The charges read in part, “That you, Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited, Uche Ogah, and others at large sometime in March 2011 at Ikeja, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to wit: forgery. “That you, Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited, Uche Ogah, and others at large, on the same date, time, place and in the aforementioned magisterial district, did forge the signature of one Mrs. Bridget Adeosun and a document known as MoU between Mut-Hass Petroleum Limited and Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited, with an intent that it may be in any way used or acted upon as genuine.

“That you, Deji Somoye, United Bank for Africa and others still at large, sometime in August 2011, at UBA regional office, Palmgrove, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did knowing that Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited design to commit an offence, failed to use all reasonable means to prevent the commission or the completion of the crime.” The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and were admitted to bail in the sum of N200,000 each with one surety each in like sum.

The case was adjourned till August 4, 2016.

MOB TIES CABLE THIEVES TO TRANSFORMER PROTECTOR.

An angry mob tied two cable thieves to the fence of a transformer in a village at the Gwagwalada area council. The dramtatic incident occurred on Wednesday night after the two men were caught stealing cables from a tranformer which had just been installed on the outskirts of the village.

Unfortunately for the cable thieves, a security guard alerted passersby as a mob quickly gathered at the scene of the crime. The mob then decided to tie both men up at the scene of their crime before handing them to men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) at Gwagwalada.

DISCOs ARE DISTRIBUTING DARKNESS TO NIGERIANS –Senator Sani blasts Babatunde Fashola

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Domestic Debt and Loans, Shehu Sani has expressed deep concern over the darkness being experienced across the country.

He stressed that no excuse by power stakeholders was cogent enough to substantive hardships that Nigerians were passing through.

Describing the drop in power supply as unacceptable and embarrassing, he called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rethink his way towards appointing a Minister who is not only an electrical engineer, but who has the knowledge of the industry. 

“We are in a state of paralysis, and there is urgent need to appoint a reputable electrical engineer to manage the affairs of power, independent of other responsibilities”, he said.

Sani added: “Distribution Companies (DISCOs) were now distributing darkness despite increment in electricity tariff; private power investors have failed the nation by moving manageable power epilepsy to a complete paralysis”.

He called for a review of defunct Power Holdings Company of Nigeria assets, noting that privatisation of power regime had brought untold hardship to Nigerians.

While suggesting for the setting up of energy task force responsible for immediate technical and financial intervention in generation, transmission and distribution, he urged government to invest in renewable and non renewable energy.

"INFORM POLICE 24HRS BEFORE HAVING SEX WITH A WOMAN OR YOU SPEND 5YRS IN JAIL", UK COURT TELLS MAN:

A man cleared of raping a woman has been ordered to give police 24 hours' notice before he has sex, reports BBC.

The man, in his 40s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was acquitted in 2015 at a retrial after claiming the alleged victim had consented.

 An interim sexual risk order, initially imposed in December, has been extended by four (4) months in Northallerton,  North Yorkshire in the UK by a magistrate court.

It requires the man to disclose any planned sexual activity with a woman to the police or face up to five years in prison.

The order - which was drawn up by magistrates in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, and extended in York - reads: "You must disclose the details of any female including her name, address and date of birth.

"You must do this at least 24 hours prior to any sexual activity taking place."

It also contains restrictions on his use of the internet and mobile phone devices and requires him to inform officers of any change of address.

A further court hearing in May will decide whether the interim order should be made into a full order, which has a minimum duration of two years and can last indefinitely.

Sexual risk orders were introduced in England and Wales in March last year and can be applied to any individual who the police believe poses a risk of sexual harm, even if they have never been convicted of a crime.

They are civil orders imposed by magistrates at the request of police.

ZIKA VIRUS, A GLOBAL EMERGENCY –WHO

On Monday (01-02-16), the World Health Organisation declared the Zika virus as an international public health emergency. This of course will send a great signal to anyone that, this virus is not something anyone should take for granted. As a matter of fact, it is very crucial that before anyone travels, especially to other countries, one must really take into account, the level of this Zika virus transmission in such places before embarking on such journey. Having said this, nobody needs to panic about this virus, what everyone needs to do, is just to know certain things about it, and also take some necessary precautions, which when taken, will really help to prevent one from contracting this virus.

THE ORIGIN OF ZIKA VIRUS

It was first identified in a monkey in the Zika forest of Uganda in 1947, after which it was also isolated from a mosquito in the year 1948. This virus was not known to be capable of infecting humans, and is therefore believed to have mutated. The first human case was detected in Nigeria, and the effective isolation of Zika was first published in 1954.

MODES OF TRANSMISSION

Though Zika virus can also be transmitted through sex, and pregnancy(mother-to-child transmission),it has been observed to be more transmitted through Aedes mosquitoes. Unlike the Anopheles mosquitoes that spread malaria,these mosquitoes are more active during the day. Zika virus is transmitted to Aedes mosquitoes whenever they bite an infected person, which by biting someone else transmit it to that person too. While this virus is believed to be transmitted from the mother to the child through the amniotic fluid

SYMPTOMS

The possibility of having a severe complication after contracting the virus is very low. Most times, the symptoms are mild, and sometimes a person who has been infected does not even know, which can be very dangerous in the case of a pregnant woman. However the following symptoms can be observed: Headache, Rashes, Fever, Joint Pain, Red eyes, MICROCEPHALY

 This virus has been suspected of causing Microcephaly, in which a baby is born with a small head and a damaged brain. This baby’s head size is always much smaller when compared to other children of same age. Such child may also experience vision and hearing problems, and ultimately death depending on the function of the part of the brain that is underdeveloped. So many of such death have been recorded.

GUILLAIN-BARRE SYNDROME

Zika virus has also been linked to a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which one’s immune system attacks the nerve, thereby causing weakness and numbness in the limbs. It may begin with weakness of the legs and gradually spread up the body. In the worst cases the patient may become totally paralysed.

TREATMENT

Though certain drugs can be used in treating some symptoms such as headache and pain, unfortunately, there is no vaccine to prevent Zika, or medicine to treat the infection. Infected people are always encouraged to have enough rest. Scientists are really working hard in order to create a vaccine for preventing Zika, and medicine to cure its infection.

PREVENTION

Zaki virus can be prevented by avoiding being bitten by mosquitoes, which can be achieved by using insect repellents, closing all doors and windows, and wearing of long-sleeved clothes. Experts have also advised against travelling to affected areas.