Tag: Senate

Tinubu seeks Senate’s fresh $516m loan approval for Sokoto–Badagry superhighway

Aminu Imam
Tinubu seeks Senate's loan

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve a fresh external borrowing of $516,333,070 (approximately ₦700bn) to fund sections of the proposed Sokoto–Badagry superhighway, a flagship project under his administration’s infrastructure drive. The request, contained in a letter addressed to the President of the 10th Senate, Godswill Akpabio, was read during plenary yesterday, setting the stage for legislative consideration of the financing plan. According to the President, the loan—expected to be sourced from Deutsche Bank, Germany —will support the construction of Sections 1, 1A and 1B of the 1,000-kilometre…

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Defections rock NASS, as 6 H’Reps. switch parties

Aminu Imam
Defections rock NASS

…Nwoye emerges Senate Minority Whip A fresh wave of defections has swept through Nigeria’s 10th National Assembly, with six members of the House of Representatives switching party allegiance, while the Senate minority caucus announced a new Minority Whip following similar developments. At the House of Representatives, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas read resignation letters from six lawmakers during yesterday’s plenary, confirming their exit from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to either the African Democratic Congress (ADC) or the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Four lawmakers…

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2027: Yahaya Bello to contest Kogi-Central Senate seat against Sen. Natasha 

Aminu Imam
Yahaya Bello to contest

The immediate-past Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has declared his intention to contest the Kogi-Central Senatorial seat in the 2027 general elections. Bello made the declaration during a recent visit to the palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, where he met with traditional rulers, religious leaders and community stakeholders from the senatorial district. He also shared the video of the visit and declaration on his verified Facebook page on Monday. “I accept to run for the Senate in 2027,” the former governor said, while addressing the gathering. The seat is…

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2yrs after, Tinubu sends 3 Ambassadorial nominees to Senate

Aminu Imam
Tinubu Amb. nominees

President Bola Tinubu has officially forwarded to the 10th Senate a list of three ambassadorial nominees for confirmation, the first such submission since he recalled Nigeria’s entire diplomatic corps nearly two years ago. The three names submitted by Tinubu are: Kayode Are (Ogun State), Aminu Ɗalhatu (Jigawa State) and Ayodele Oke. The move was announced yesterday during plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who told senators that “the list contains three names for now,” suggesting that further nominations could follow in due course. Until now, the country has operated…

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Senate: APC gains clear 2-thirds majority, as Enugu senator defects from LP

Aminu Imam
Senate APC gains

The ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC), has strengthened its control of the Senate following the defection of Senator Kelvin Chukwu, representing Enugu-East senatorial district from the Labour Party (LP) to the APC. Senate President, Godswill Akpabio announced Chukwu’s defection during Wednesday’s plenary, bringing the APC’s tally in the upper chamber to 73 seats — a clear two-thirds majority. Chukwu, who replaced his late brother, Oyibo Chukwu, after the 2023 general election, attributed his defection to the lingering crisis within the Labour Party. He said, “The protracted crisis rocking the LP,…

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Alleged misconduct: Senate removes CCT chairman, ?anladi Umar

Aminu Imam
Senate removes CCT chairman

The Senate has removed the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, (CCT), ?anladi Umar, over alleged gross misconduct. This decision was made pursuant to Section 157(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, (as amended), which empowers the Senate to remove key public officials following due process. The sacking followed a closed-door session lasting over one and a half hours. Upon resumption of plenary, the Senate announced that more than 84 lawmakers supported the decision. The Motion leading to Umars removal was sponsored by the Senate…

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Senate postpones resumption till April 23

Aminu Imam

The Senate has announced a postponement of its resumption date from the ongoing Easter and Sallah break by one week. The Senates resumption date earlier slated for Tuesday, April 16, 2024, has been shifted to Tuesday, April 23, 2024. A statement to this effect by the Clerk of the Senate, Chinedu Francis Akubueze, did not give any reason but simply said that it was due to unforeseen circumstances, and any inconvenience this may cause was highly regretted. The statement read, Distinguished Senators are hereby invited to note that the resumption…

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Senate plenary disrupted, as power outage hits NASS

Aminu Imam

The Senate plenary has been delayed as a power outage hit the National Assembly in Abuja. The outage, described as a technical glitch, occurred yesterday, as senators gathered for the scheduled proceedings. The development threw the Red Chamber into partial blackout, as the lawmakers awaited the restoration of power supply. Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, would later commence plenary after power was restored later. This comes as the country grapple with epileptic power supply. The power problem in Nigeria had been made worse with the removal of fuel subsidy which escalated…

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Why they said I collapsed – Akpabio

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

President of Senate, Godswill Akpiabio, has faulted media reports on his alleged collapse at a colloquium marking his 61st birthday on Thursday. Akpabio said this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday. He said that he felt a bit uncomfortable at the colloquium, partly due to exhaustion, caused by stress.I have been reading on the social media the propaganda about my collapse, but Im happy the Senate Press Corps did not join in the show of propaganda.I went home and I called my doctors and I was told that…

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2024 N26tr Budget: Federal Govt. targets N7.8tr loan

Aminu Imam

The Senate yesterday passed the 2024 2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP). This followed the Senates consideration and adoption of the report of the Joint Committees on Finance, Appropriations, National Planning and Economic Affairs and Local and Foreign Debts on the MTEF/FSP. The report was presented by the Committee Chairman on Finance and Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Sani Musa. The Senate approved N26 trillion aggregate expenditure for 2024. The sum comprises N10.2trillion for recurrent expenditure, including personnel costs for ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs)…

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