Buhari to Slash His Salary, Allowances and Reduce Cost of Governance

There are strong indications that in fulfilment of his campaign promise to reduce the cost of governance, President Muhammadu Buhari may have concluded plans to slash his salary and reduce his personal emoluments. It was learnt that the President expected the Vice-President and other political appointees to take a similar decision. Sabi-Sabi gathered in Abuja on Friday that the President would have made his decision public but chose to consult with his close associates on how best to approach the issue without being seen as dictatorial. According to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, President Buhari will earn a monthly salary of N3, 514, 705. He is also entitled to a regular hardship allowance and 50 per cent of the basic salary, which is N1,757,350.50. There is however no information yet as to what percentage of Buhari’s salary and emoluments will be slashed. But it was reliably learnt that the President would also reduce State House budget. Other areas being considered by the President included appointment of aides and the possibility of implementing the report of the Stephen Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies. Buhari, had on Tuesday sought the approval of the National Assembly to appoint 15 special advisers, unlike former President Goodluck Jonathan, who had 23 special advisers and scores of special assistants. It was gathered that the President, who in his inaugural speech, said the Nigerian economy was in deep trouble, might not increase the number of special advisers from 15 as part of the measures to cut down cost of governance. It was also learnt that the President might look into the report of the Oronsaye committee and the White Paper on it. The committee had said that out of the existing 541 MDAs in the country, only 163 deserved to exist. A top member of the APC, who confided in Sabi-Sabi, said that the President had also concluded plans to submit some bills to the National Assembly for the implementation of some of these cost-saving measures. But President Buhari had, at various fora, faulted the budgetary process adopted by successive Peoples Democratic Party-led administrations over the past 16 years. A close confidant of the President, Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, had in his inaugural address to the people of the state, announced a fifty per cent cut in his salary and that of the deputy governor. One of the President’s acolytes, and South East Zonal Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress, Osita Okechukwu told Us that, left to him alone, President Buhari would not bat an eyelid before taking such a decision. He, however said, “But you see, the circumstances now are different, he has to do a lot of consultations because the composition of the National Assembly means he has to consult across party lines. “From the little I know of him, his desire like he said during the campaigns and afterwards, is to reduce the cost of governance across board and this cannot be done without consultations. “We can’t have a situation where he will be seen as trying to make other party members look bad by taking a salary cut while others are not carried along.” He also said, “He is committed to cutting cost across board and I see him reducing the pecks of that office to an acceptable level and this becomes even more compelling because of the economic mess we have found ourselves in.” Another associate, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, also said that another area likely to take a hit is the Presidential Air fleet which is reported to have about 10 aircraft. He explained that the cost of maintaining this number of aircraft is one area that is likely to attract the President’s attention. According to him, the President who has experienced governance at the highest level is not one to do things in a hurry without consultation and thinking them through. Fashakin noted that critics may accuse the President of not acting fast enough without putting things in perspective. He said, for example, “The President has not taken any definite action. Ordinarily, people will not even expect the service chiefs to still be operating now, but because of the exposure and maturity that we are having in government; with a person of President Muhammadu Buhari’s stature, he studies a situation before taking action “He won’t just appoint ministers to fulfil all righteousness, he will do a thorough job and this is a democracy which he has subscribed to. “He promised to cut the cost of governance to an acceptable level and this is even more so when the economy like every other aspect of our national life is in tatters.” We are making attempts to get a reaction on issues raised from the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu. It may be recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration had made a provision of N348, 342,741 as its proposal for honorarium and sitting allowance for the State House in the 2015 budget. The breakdown of the expenditure on travel and transport showed that the president will be spending N1, 306,834,350 on local travels and transport and the sum of N621, 067,913 on international travel and transport. The travel bill of the president for 2015 was higher than the provision for 2014. The 2014 budget made a provision of N2, 378,862,017 for the office of the president for local and international travels. For food stuff/catering materials supplies, a provision of N142, 472,537 was made for the office of the president. The 2015 budget proposal included a provision of N131, 911,315 for fuel and lubricants for the State House. The breakdown showed that plant/generator fuel will consume N35, 344,855; motor vehicle fuel will consume N85, 843,802 while cooking gas/fuel will consume N10, 102,858. For 2014, the State House received lesser provision of N122, 855,267 for fuel and lubricants. This was broken down into motor vehicle fuel, N79, 950,407; plants and generators, N33, 476,963 and cooking gas/fuel cost, N9, 427,898. A provision of N60, 847,647 was made for the office of the president for advertisement and publicity. For the State House, N287,514,283 provision was made for welfare packages; N174,537,975 for refreshment and meals; N215, 635,715 for food stuff and catering services; N31,582,475 for medical expenses; and N35,495,233 for publicity and advertisement. These provisions are likely to be reviewed downwards.Buhari

46 bills in 10mins is Unacceptable! Says Saraki

Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology and one of the leading contestants for the Senate Presidency in the 8th Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki has faulted the passage of 46 bills in less than ten minutes. Senator Bokola Saraki Senator Bokola Saraki But the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang has said that there was nothing wrong in legislative reciprocity as according to him, the House of Representatives followed all the necessary legislative procedures in the passage of the bills. Senator Enang also said that the House of Representatives also concurred to the bills sent to it from the Senate, stressing that adopting legislative reciprocity had caused no injury. “There are times you apply legislative dexterity to solve legislative problem,” he stated Saraki, in a statement in Abuja, to mark the end of the Seventh Senate, decried the passage of 46 bills in 10 minutes. According to him, “The new Senate must now learn and show that it has the vigour and drive to work harder through enriched deliberations to pass important bills that form the core of its agenda rather than be seen as a last minute assembly where important bills are rolled through the process in 10 minutes.’’ “My view is that it was important that we pass those laws but I have my reservations on the railroading of over 46 bills in 10 minutes. History will not be too kind to us on this count. “This is made even a little steeper by the commentary that must follow that after another four years, the National Assembly was not able to pass such watershed bills like the PIB, the Federal Competition Bill and the NOSDRA Bill amongst many other bills that have the regulatory potential of changing the way our economy operates.” He also faulted the poor handling of the ill-fated Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment exercise by the leadership of the Seventh Senate, expressing regret that the the senate did not act on the report of the probe instituted by the Senate on the unfortunate incident during which many young Nigerians lost their lives. He said, “I remember sadly, the events of some of our youths who went to seek employment from government and lost their lives, needlessly, in a government arranged employment test. “We missed at this occasion, the opportunity of that ill-fated occasion to show leadership and properly set a new standard of responsibility in the conduct and attitude of our public office-holders.” Saraki therefore urged the incoming Eighth Senate to develop and promote a coherent national agenda which it would pursue in order to support and the direction of Nigerians and the government. He, however, noted that the Seventh Senate had done well in a number of areas but would also have done better. He said, “We have to tell ourselves the home truth; we have missed the cut on the level of our effectiveness, especially so with regards to amending laws that impact on the revenues and expenditures of the state, budget reforms, infrastructure financing and deployment, accountability instruments and agency laws. “The Senate, also, has not carried its integrity far enough to secure its independence which may have emboldened the police on the 20th of November 2014 to invade the precincts of the Assembly, desecrating it in a manner never seen before within the precincts of the Assembly. “The Seventh National Assembly allowed itself to be enmeshed in fights and political wars that only served selfish purposes and party politics with little general public good. “The result of which was the further dilution of public perception of the Assembly and the weakening of its general influence and authority.” The senator explained that one critical role that the parliament, all over the world is expected to play is the role of balancing power and checking that the executive is not allowed to use its overbearing influence to deny citizens their rights and limit their freedoms. He said, “We have had several opportunities to cause the executive to implement our resolutions and ensure full implementation of budgets but never took any. “As a policy defining institution, the Seventh Assembly did not do much to advance responsible governance.’’ In the last four years, Saraki continued, the Senate had had far reaching oversight investigations to secure the constitutional directives of government, protection of rights and freedoms, reduce corruption, and engender accountability in public office. Some of the watershed moments of the last Senate, he added, included the investigation into the fuel subsidy management regime which led to the exposure of monumental corruption in the running of the regime which may have caused Nigeria over one trillion naira due to over invoicing and criminal collusion. Saraki said, “Looking back, we can pat ourselves on the back in the way we had handled some of the thorny moments but we must also look back and agree that in certain respects we need the incoming Senate to make amends. “Why Nigerians all over the country and beyond still question the effectiveness and efficiency of the National Assembly as a legislative body that can help deliver democratic dividend and rule of law in Nigerian today is because in their assessment, the activities of the National Assembly has not fully converged to their expectations. “Nigerians are unanimous in pointing to the fact that the level of accountability, transparency, certainty, competitiveness, continuous improvement, efficiency, innovation, integration, evidence-based decision-making at the National Assembly still leaves much to be desired.”Saraki

120 Aero Passengers Escaped Death Yesterday

Over 120 passengers, including the Director, Muslim Rights Concern, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, on Friday evening escaped death as an Aero Contractors Airline Flight 180 from Lagos to Kaduna developed technical fault mid-air. The aircraft was said to have suddenly lost altitude, 20 minutes after it departed the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, forcing the aircraft to wobble in the air for over one hour before it was eventually diverted to Abuja. Akintola, who broke the news to New Mail, said the flight took off from Lagos at exactly 6.30pm. He said 20 minutes into the flight, the aircraft lost altitude and the passengers had to make use of the oxygen masks as the plane continued to wobble, while dropping steadily. ADVERTISEMENT Akintola said, “The plane lost altitude 20 minutes after takeoff. We had to make use of the oxygen masks. We saw smoke outside the plane, probably coming from the engine compartment. “At this time, the whole plane was thrown into commotion. Many passengers screamed and some fainted. Prayers upon prayers were offered. Some shouted Allah, others Jesus.” Akintola said it was in the midst of the commotion that the crew, whom he commended for their professionalism and unusual calmness, announced that the plane would be diverted to Abuja. He said, “While the pilot was making the announcement of the flight diversion, I noticed that his voice was trembling. He told us that Abuja was 120 miles away and that we would land in 25 minutes. But we were not sure we would make it. “In fact, I quickly recited the Kalimah (the Quranic invocation of the oneness of Allah), believing that the end had come,” Akintola added in messages to New Mail. He said that the plane finally touched down in Abuja at about 9.00pm and upon landing in Abuja, the officials of the airline told the devastated passengers that the fault would be hurriedly repaired and that the plane would proceed to take them to Kaduna, their original destination. As of the time he spoke with New Mail at about 9.30pm, he said he was already in a taxi taking him from Abuja to Kaduna as he could not risk being “flown in the same aircraft that was divinely saved from crashing.” Akintola said, “As I am talking to you, I am now in a taxi taking me to Kaduna. They said they wanted to repair the plane and that we should wait so it takes us to Kaduna. Allah forbids. They asked how many of us wanted to disembark and almost everybody came out.” When Saturday PUNCH called Akintola at about 11pm, he confirmed the incident and said he was about entering Kaduna. He said, “When the aircraft wanted to land in Abuja, the tyres failed to come out on time and that again caused more commotion among passengers. At last, we landed at about 7.35, about 50 minute of trauma mid-air.” A statement by the airline read, “Aero confirms that there was depressurisation in the aircraft cabin leading to the dropping of oxygen mask. And since Aero has a maintenance facility in Abuja, the flight to Kaduna was diverted to Abuja this evening to fix the problem.” The General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, said he had yet to be briefed on the matter.

Two Suicide Bombers Killed by Millitary

wo suicide bombers, leading a band of terrorists, were among scores that were repelled and killed by troops at Shetimari, Borno State on Thursday. Over 12 rifles and one machine gun were captured from the attackers, including Rocket Propelled Grenades and bombs. A statement by the Director, Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, in Abuja on Friday, said troops, conducting mopping up operation, were still combing the area while others were in pursuit of those who were on the run. It said suicide bomb attacks were also recorded in Jimeta, Yola and Maiduguri, adding that details of the incidents would be released later. Meanwhile, the offensive operations in Sambisa and other forest enclaves of the terrorists were continuing with intelligence activities, aerial surveillance and highly coordinated air bombardment backed by ground assaults.

Amodu Sherrif Spend 2nd Day with EFCC

Former Borno Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff spent his second day with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, trying to explain all that he knew about the alleged siphoning of over N300 billion under his watch. The operatives, who started questioning Sheriff at 6pm on Wednesday merely allowed him some breathing space on Wednesday night and ordered him to report on Thursday for more grilling, a directive, he obliged. Ali Modu Sheriff Ali Modu Sheriff An EFCC source confirmed to us last night that he would not know when the former governor would be freed by his interrogators, who really wanted to establish the veracity of the story relating to the N300 billion. “The former governor was asked to go home on Wednesday night and he returned to us at 10 am on Thursday and he is still with us as I speak to you,” a senior official of the anti-graft agency said. The former governor walked into the hands of his interrogators at the commission’s head office in Abuja at 6pm on Wednesday and was immediately taken by his interrogators. A top source at the commission confirmed to Blaze Media that Sheriff was quizzed over the sum of N300 billion taken from the coffers of the state without any work done with it as claimed by his administration. “We want the former governor to also explain to us how the sum of N13m which was taken from local government joint account in the state was used and what it was used for,” the source said. Sheriff is alleged to have claimed that his administration used it.

President Buhari attends a Jumat Prayer in honour of Late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Dr. Ado Bayero

Earlier today, Friday, June 5, President Buhari attended a Jumat Prayer in honour of Late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Dr. Ado Bayero. Prayers were said in one year remembrance of the Late monarch. The president was accompanied to the prayers by Governor of Zamfara State, Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, Lt. General Dambazau Rtd. amongst others.

Fuel Scarcity to End Next Week

The Federal Government and petrol marketers on Friday agreed to put an end to Nigeria’s fuel scarcity problems before the close of business next week Saturday. Federal Government met with the marketers this Friday in a bid to address the prolonged fuel scarcity problems. The meeting, which was well attended by stakeholders in the sector, had top officials from the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Others were heads from the Department of Petroleum Resources, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Petroleum Equalisation Fund and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Reading out the resolution reached after the meeting which lasted for several hours at the headquarters of the petroleum ministry, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Taiye Haruna, said it was agreed that the PPMC, as well as marketers, should increase the level of product supply across the country. “We have also agreed that efforts be made to clear these long queues before the end of June 13, 2015, that is next week,” he said.