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I Inherited N3.2bn Debt on Assumption of Office, NAFDAC DG

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Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General, National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says she inherited N3.2 billion as debt  on assumption of office in 2017.Adeyeye disclosed this before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, during an interactive session on the 2022 to 2024 Medium-Term  Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) on Thursday in Abuja.

She, however, said that she had been able to off set N3.
1 billion from the debt, adding that the agency was in near comatose when she assumed office.She said when she  joined the agency, 80 per cent of the equipment were not working, there were no vehicles, laptops and other working tools.
She said that if the agency’s personnel costs were taken care of, NAFDAC would be self- sustaining, adding that the Federal Government could then pull out from funding  the agency.Adeyeye said  that the agency was currently digitising its system to prevent leakages.She said that  that the agency was also building state offices in seven states across the country.However, members of the  committee had earlier asked the NAFDAC DG to  make efforts  to ensure that the agency became self-sustaining.The committee also cautioned the agency to desist from repeating the same budgetary provision for certain projects.“There is a preponderance of this line of issue of repeating budget by splitting project,” the committee observed.Also, the Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority, Sen. Gbenga Ashafa,  told the committee that the agency had not been in the budget  of the Federal Government since 1999.Ashafa said that the agency had been left to generate revenue and resources  to cater for itself, adding that the agency had not remitted N608 million it generated  to the federation account.He, however, said that  all the emolument of workers and salaries had been paid.Ashafa said  that  a committee had been set up a committee to ensure that Nigerians in the Diaspora could have something to call their own back homeHe said that the agency had embarked on a mass housing scheme in Zuba, FCT and  that it was about 90 per cent completed.The committee, however, directed FHA to ensure it remitted the N608 million revenue to t government. (NAN)

POLITICS

Assembly Passes Edo N675bn 2025 Budget for Assent 

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The Edo House of Assembly on Monday passed the state 2025 budget of N675 billion for assent.

The passage followed the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Budget and Project Monitoring at plenary in Benin.

Presenting the report, the chairman of the committee, Sunday Fada, (PDP Esan Central) said the budget was made up of N225 billion recurrent expenditure and N451 billion capital expenditure.

Fada noted that the committee came up with the increase in the budgetary allocation to enable the governor carry out his five points agenda in the state.

The House at the committee of Supply, considered the budget clause by clause and subsequently, approved the increase from N605.

7 billion to N675 billion.

The Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, thereafter directed Mr Yahaya Omogbai, the clerk of the house to forward clean copies of the budget to the governor for his assent. (NAN)

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Poverty, Behind Deadly Stampedes Across Nigeria, says Falana

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Missing N500bn: Probe CBN, Falana, Others Tell PMB
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By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Sunday attributed the deadly stampede that claimedmore than 105 lives in stampedes during food and cash distribution events to “poverty-induced neoliberal economic policies” and “criminal negligence.

In a statement released on Sunday, Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond ASCAB, demanded justice for victims of the tragic events, saying, “These tragic events are a national shame, the victims were not just statistics but human beings driven to desperation by systemic poverty and the gross incompetence of those entrusted with their safety.

On December 21, 12 people died and 32 others were injured in Okija, Anambra State, during a scramble for rice distributed by a philanthropist.

On the same day, a stampede at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja, resulted in the deaths of 10 individuals, including children, as over 3,000 people jostled for palliatives.

Just two days prior, on December 19, 35 children lost their lives in a stampede at a Christmas funfair at an Islamic High School, Basorun. in Ibadan, Oyo State.

“The loss of these innocent lives is heart-wrenching,” Falana lamented.

“It underscores the indignity that poverty imposes on our people.”

Falana also criticized the elite for their treatment of the poor during such events, stating, “No member of the elite invites others to lunch by throwing the food,” and condemned what he termed “class prejudice” in the distribution of humanitarian aid.

He also announced plans to mobilize lawyers to pursue civil suits against the organizers of these events.

“We will ensure survivors and families of the deceased are adequately compensated,” Falana affirmed. “Those responsible for these avoidable tragedies must be held accountable.”

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2025 budget: LP Chieftain Lauds Tinubu for Diving Priority to Security, Others

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Dr Ayo Olorunfemi, National Deputy Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) ,has commended  President Bola Tinubu for giving  priority to security and other key sectors in the 2025 Appropriation Bill .

Olorunfemi gave the commendation while speaking with newsmeon Thursday in Lagos.

NAN reports that the President had on Wednesday  presented  the N47.

9 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill , christened “Budget of Restoration, Securing Peace and Rebuilding Prosperity” , to a joint session of the National Assembly .

The President listed highlights of the 2025 budget allocations to include: defense and security: N4.91 trillion; infrastructure: N4.06 trillion; Health: N2.

48 trillion and Education: N3.52 trillion.

Reacting , Olorunfemi  described security as an enabler of development.

He called on the President to ensure proper implementation ,saying budgets had always been well-crafted but usually lacked monitoring and implementation.

“There is nothing that can happen if there is no security. This is good if the budget is properly utilised for the purpose.

“Our problem is not about policies and budgets, it is about monitoring and implementation.

“There is nothing wrong in bringing a budget proposal forward in terms of expectation, what we want to do, how we want to do it, and how much we want to spend.

“Now, the most important thing is the implementation,, budgets in Nigeria have always been properly crafted,” the LP boss said.

Olorunfemi called on the President to build strong institutions to prevent sabotaging of his policies.

“If this government wants to do anything, it must wake up to the responsibility of monitoring policies and ensure  severe penalty for anyone who attempts to sabotage such policies.

“We need institutions that no one will be able to interfere with. We must allow these institutions to work, that is what we expect.

“Once we have strong institutions, most of our problems are solved,” he said.

He  also called on the President to take steps to address  the problems experienced by Nigerians in the banking sector.

Olorunfemi  decried the inability of many Nigerians to get cash at  bank’s Automated Teller Machines and the high charges paid  to get cash from Point of Sales (POS) operators.

The LP boss also urged the President to devise ways of  ending multiple taxations and high fuel price, describing them as major causes  of  hardship .

Recalled that the President said that the budget was a demonstration of government’s commitment to stabilising the economy, improving lives and repositioning the country for greater performance.

He also said the budget sought to consolidate the key policies instituted to restructure the economy, boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments and bolster oil and gas production. (NAN)

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