Folarin Kehinde

The N607.962bn 2022 proposed budget by the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja has passed for second reading at the Nigerian Senate.

The appropriation bill was passed on Wednesday after several objections over the lateness of the presentation of the 2022 budget.

The Senate, consequently ordered the authorities of FCT  to make available the  2023 budget proposals latest by next week or risk zero allocation for the fiscal year.

The N607.962bn 2022 budget for FCT ran into trouble waters in the Senate after presentation for second reading  by the leader, Senator Ibrahim Gobir.

Senator James Manager repeatedly reminded the senators that the year the budgetary proposals were meant for was fewer than three months to roll away and subtly called for its rejection.

Manager said, “Mr President , if I heard the Senate Leader right, the N607billion appropriation bill  presented for second reading is for FCT and to be implemented in  2022 fiscal year, which is less than three months to roll away .

“To me, this is very unfortunate and must be stopped. What are the people saddled with drafting of the proposals doing since January? Are they aware that we are already in the 10th month of the year?”

In preventing rejection of the proposals, the senator representing the FCT, Philip Aduda, hurriedly rose to tender an apology on behalf of the FCT Minister for late submission of 2022 budget proposals.

Aduda, in his intervention, said: “ Mr President, it is very unfortunate that the 2022 FCT budget is submitted for consideration in October  but I seek the indulgence of this Senate to consider it by passing it for second reading as moved by the leader. “

But the President of the Senate, in his remarks, said submitting the 2022 budget proposals in October was not only unfortunate but unacceptable.

Contrary to rumors circulating yesterday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has denied rumours that it suspended its presidential campaign due to the strife between Atiku Abubakar and Governor Nyesom Wike.

This statement was made by Muhammad Bello, the spokesperson of the Presidential Campaign Organization (PCO) director general, Aminu Tambuwal.

He said the campaign train will continue Monday in Kaduna state.

Mr Tambuwal, the Sokoto State Governor, dismissed the reports in Lagos on Thursday as he expressed shock at the claims.

The governor was reacting to reports that claimed the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, decided to halt campaign activities to reconcile with the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and other aggrieved members of the party.

That is far from the truth,” he told journalists. “In fact, it is fake news. People are looking forward to our coming to states, capitals and villages because PDP is the party to beat in 2023.

“Other parties are afraid because they have not started (their campaigns). None of them have composed their campaign councils, not to even talk of starting. They are trying to throw spanners at our works,” the governor said.

He described the report as one of those shenanigans when a party is doing well and its candidate is better.

“What you begin to do is to cause mischief. It is not going to work. We’ll run our campaign, as I said before, it is going to be issue-based.

We believe there are sufficient problems bedeviling our country. I believe in the candidature of Atiku and Okowa.

I also believe that when we get there we shall do better for Nigeria; and, we hope we are able to convince Nigerians to vote for Atiku/Okowa come February 2023.”

Mr Tambuwal assured that the campaign team will replicate the kind of scenario it had in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State where thousands of party supporters turned up for the kick off of its presidential rally last week Monday.

The Federal Court of Appeal, Abuja has on Thursday ordered the discharge and acquittal of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the secessionist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group.

In a ruling heard by the court yesterday, they upheld the appeal of Nnamdi Kanu in his case against the Federal Government.

A three-member panel of the Appeal Court, struck out all seven charges against Mr Kanu.

It followed an earlier ruling of the trial judge, Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, in April dismissing eight of the 15 amended counts filed against him by the federal government.

In a judgement on Thursday, the Court of Appeal panel led by Jummai Sankey struck out all remaining charges against Mr Kanu, ruling that the lower court “lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.”

The court held that Mr Kanu’s extradition from Kenya in June 2021 to Nigeria without following the extradition rules was a flagrant violation of Nigeria’s extradition treaty and a breach of the IPOB leader’s fundamental human rights.

It held there was no denial by the Nigerian government’s lawyer, David Kaswe, in the appeal as to the submissions of Mike Ozekhome, Mr Kanu’s counsel, that the separatist leader was “extraordinarily renditioned from Kenya.”

The appellate court held that the failure of the federal government to adequately respond to Mr Kanu’s arguments gave merit to the appeal.

The court further said also the Federal High Court failed to examine the findings of the prosecution as it would not have tried Mr Kanu on the grounds that the IPOB leader was not “illegally brought into the country.”

The charges struck out include the ones instituted against Mr Kanu before he was brought back to Nigeria last year.