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Buhari seeks additional funding to fight insecurity —-as Senate President says Nigeria’s unity non- negotiable

Eyewitness reporter

President Muhammadu Buhari will later this month approach the National Assembly to solicit for extra budgetary appropriation to fight the rising insecurity in the country.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawal, who disclosed this Saturday in his home town, Gashua, said that Buhari may submit supplementary budget to the National Assembly later this month.
Lawal however assured that the  National Assembly will grant the request of Mr President in their shared desire to ensure that normalcy and security is restored to states faced by challenges such as kidnapping, insurgency, banditry and militancy.

“About the issue of security, I think the National Assembly has done quite a lot in that area working with the Executive arm of government and, recently, on Monday or so, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and I met with Mr. President, and the center of our discussion was the security of the country.

“How do we engage the security of this country? It has been a nagging issue, but it is not an issue that cannot be solved.

“With the appointment of the new Service Chiefs, we have seen newer strategies and Mr. President and the National Assembly will be working to provide more resources in the supplementary budget which the presidency will submit sometime maybe this month to the National Assembly.”

“We (National Assembly) are prepared to give every possible resource to our security agencies to fight and restore normalcy to every part of the country, whether it is insurgency, banditry, militancy or kidnapping.

“We believe that we need to have security before life can be better, because you can’t do anything or attract direct foreign investments, even farming becomes impossible in some states because of the level of insecurity.

“So, security is key. It is essential and a necessity that we have to restore normalcy in this area and, Mr. President gave the security chiefs six weeks to restore security in our rural areas, particularly because the rainy season will come pretty soon – maybe in the next two months and without security in the rural areas, there’ll be no farming.

“And when there’s no farming, our food security will be threatened and our security situation will be further complicated.”

The Senate President  however lambasted  the agitators for self- rule, saying they are in the minority.

He described the agitation as expression of greed by disgruntled elites who are bent on satisfying their selfish personal interests.
He promised that the National Assembly, which he presides over, will not compromise the unity of the country but ensures equity, justice and fairness for every part of the country.
“Nigeria will continue to be one. What we need to emphasize always is equity, justice and fairness to all, for all.

“I think this is one way to go, probably the only way to go to ensure that everybody feels belonged.

“This administration has done quite a lot in that area, if you look at the spread of federal government projects across the country, you will agree with me that the federal government has not favored any part of the country.

“I think the government is doing quite a lot to ensure that there’s that equitable distribution of projects across the country.

“I believe that the unity of this country will continue to be our major focus. From time to time, you hear some people talking of maybe establishing their own country or secession.

“I believe that majority of Nigerians believe that they should stay together – and I mean the ordinary Nigerians. These are people who believe in the unity of this country.

“But the elites is where the problem is, the elites will tell you, no, we have to secede. I believe that we should be fair to the multitude of Nigerians – those ordinary people of Nigeria. What they require is leadership.

“We must give them leadership, a fair leadership. If we have any issues, we should be able to discuss the issues. We should not neglect people when they complain, but that is not likely to be the most popular position of the people from any part of the country. So, I believe that unity of this country is non-negotiable”, Lawan said

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Economy

Buhari, Jonathan, Obasanjo, Babangida, Abdusalami, Osinbajo, Atiku, others to spend N13.8billon from N27.5 trillion 2024 budget 

Tinubu presentation of 2024 budget to the National Assembly

The Eyewitness Reporter

The Federal government has earmarked the sum of N13.8 billion in the 2024 budget as the cost of upkeep of
former presidents, vice presidents, heads of state, Chiefs of General Staff, retired heads of service, permanent secretaries, and retired heads of government agencies and parastatals.

The beneficiaries include former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, ex-vice-presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo and Prof Yemi Osinbajo.

Also expected to benefit from the windfall are ex-military Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and General Abdusalami Abubakar, as well as a former dictator and self-styled military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, and a former Chief of General Staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (retd.).

Also, N1tn was provisioned for the public service wage adjustment for government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (including arrears of promotion and salary increases, and payment of severance benefits and minimum wage-related adjustments).

A breakdown shows that the entitlements of former presidents/heads of state and vice presidents/chief of general staff will cost N2.3bn. At the same time, N10.5bn is proposed as benefits for retired heads of service, permanent secretaries and professors.

The payment of severance benefits to retired heads of government agencies and parastatals is proposed to cost N1bn.

Other allocations include N65bn for the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the reintegration of transformed ex-militants; N1bn for the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Energy; and N108bn for unnamed special projects.

The government is also proposing the sum of N40bn to offset electricity debts owed to power distribution companies by all MDAs.

President Bola Tinubu unveiled the N27.5 trillion budget estimates for the 2024 fiscal year.
The budget was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, where it is currently undergoing scrutiny and deliberation for final approval.

In his presentation, he declared, “The 2024 Appropriation has been themed the Budget of Renewed Hope.

The proposed budget seeks to achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, as well as poverty reduction and greater access to social security.

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Customs

News Alert: Wale Adeniyi revives CG conference, holds 2023 edition December 13-15 in Lagos.

Wale Adeniyi, CGC
The Eyewitness Reporter
After 11 years of interregnum in the annual Comptroller General of Customs conference, Adewale Adeniyi, the Customs boss, has announced the rescucitation of the annual conference which holds December, this year.
In the social media broadcast, Adeniyi said he was delighted to announce that the 2023 CG Conference will hold from December 13th- 15th, 2023 at the Grand Africa Ballroom of the prestigious Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The theme of this year’s conference, according to the CGC, is “Leveraging Data Analytics for Secure and Efficient Trade Facilitation in Customs Operations”.
The Vice President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima, is expected as the special guest of honour while the Governor of Lagos state, Mr Babajide Sanwo- Olu and the Minister of Finance and the coordinating minister of Economy, Wale Edun, are also expected to grace the occasion.
Adeniyi stated that this year’s conference will centre around the discussion on implementing new measures to enhance service operations, championing secure and efficient operations across the federation.
“In line with my efforts and that of my management team to modernize the Nigeria Customs service through leveraging technology-driven Customs to shape the future of our operations, I am inviting you to this year’s Comptroller General Conference scheduled for 13tg to 15th December 2023 at the Grand Ballroom, Continental Hotel, Lagos.
” The theme of this year’s conference is Leveraging Data Analytics for Secure and Efficient Trade Facilitation in Customs Service.
” We are embracing innovation, utilizing the power of analytics to ensure the security and efficiency of Customs Operations.
“This significant event will centre around discussion on implementing new measures to enhance the service operations, championing secure and efficient operations across the federation.
“It will serve as a platform for attracting new business stakeholders to our shore.
” Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of this renewed hope experience as we consolidate on the achievements of the past, collaborate with our stakeholders and of course, bring in innovation to drive Customs Operations.
“The conference will be graced by esteemed guests, including the Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima as the special guest of honour, the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Finance Minister, Wale Edun” the CGC announced.
The CG conference is a platform for interaction where customs reviews its past operations and project for the future.
The last conference was held in 2012 in Katsina state.
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Headlines

Ukraine blocks Russia’s reelection bid at IMO council elections

The Eyewitness Reporter
The world is gradually ostracizing Russia from the comity of nations due to its aggression against Ukraine.
At the council election of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) held Friday, December 1st, 2023, Russia, for the first time since 1958, failed in its reelection bid into category A of the organization
The failure of Russia was masterminded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who told the IMO General Assembly that Russia had no place in the August gathering.
Ukraine, which was not standing for election, had pushed for Russia to be ousted from the IMO Council.
“Russia has no place in the International Maritime Organization nor its governing bodies because no one in recent decades has caused greater harm to free navigation than Russia,” Zelenskiy told the IMO Assembly in a remote address on Monday.
Russia has been a member of Category A of the IMO and has consistently won reelection into the fold of the committee of countries with the largest maritime interests in the world.
But due to its war with Ukraine, the country has lost that revered place.

The outcome is another blow for Russia after it failed in its bid to return to the UN’s top human rights body in October, in an election seen as a key test of Western efforts to keep Moscow isolated.

Last year, Moscow also failed to win enough votes for re-election to the UN aviation agency’s governing council.

The London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) is responsible for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and preventing pollution and comprises 175 member state countries.

Russia has been a member since 1958 and has been consistently re-elected to the IMO Council.

With voting on  Friday, 40 countries were elected by secret ballot to the IMO Council, which supervises the work of the body.

They include China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Norway, Panama, South Korea, Britain and the United States.
Russia’s IMO delegation told the Assembly earlier on Friday that it deserved its place on the Council.”A balancing and constructive role is what our country contributes, not just to this body, but to the Organization as a whole,” Russia’s delegation said in translated comments.

In October, Russia said the IMO was departing from its impartial role due to “external pressure” which it said was impacting the fair treatment of all member countries.

Meanwhile, the IMO  Assembly on December 1st, 2021 elected the members of its Board for the two years 2024-2025.
 Category A, which includes the ten nations that have the highest interest in providing international maritime services, have been China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Norway, Panama, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
In category B of the IMO Council, which is made up of ten nations that have the greatest interest in international maritime trade, representatives of Australia, Brazil, Canada, United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, India, Holland, Spain and Sweden.
Category C, is made up of 20 nations that have a particular interest in maritime transport or shipping, and whose election to the Board will ensure the representation of all major geographical areas of the world, including Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Philippines, Finland, Jamaica, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Qatar, Singapore and Turkey.
After the thirty-third Assembly of the IMO, which will end next Wednesday, the following day the newly elected Council will meet for its 131st session and elect the President and Vice-President for the next biennium.
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