Again, Reps demand revenue details from NNPC, others




Latest blog entries - Eloti tV





Again, Reps demand revenue details from NNPC, others



The House of Representatives on Thursday asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to submit the details of revenue performance from 2011 till date to its Committee on Finance.


It also ordered an investigation into the “true state of the nation’s economy” within six weeks.


Other agencies directed to produce their revenue details were Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigerian Customs Service, Department of Petroleum Resources and the Budget Office of the Federation.


The resolution of the House followed a motion moved by a Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker from Taraba State, Mr. Ibrahim El-Sudi‎.


Our correspondent recalls that in December last year, the House had opened a similar probe of the economy by raising 50 questions for the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to answer.


The minister had replied the House, dismissing most of the questions to the amazement of lawmakers.


A scheduled public hearing on the state of the economy in February was later stalled, as Okonjo-Iweala and the Committee on Finance resorted to a media war.


The hearing was eventually stalled before El-Sudi came up with a fresh motion on Thursday to revisit it.


El-Sudi had argued that it was important to ascertain the state of the economy because poverty, unemployment and deprivation were high in the country in spite of its latest rating as Africa’s leading economy.


He also observed that amid a steady rise in the global price of crude oil, the country had consistently run a deficit budget with a combined domestic and foreign debt burden of $65.2billion.


The lawmaker spoke further, “Nigeria’s debt profile has gradually started rising with the country’s external debt (federal and states) standing at $9.1bn and Nigeria’s total debt burden, including all domestic debts, rising to N10.32trillion ($65.2bn) according to the Debt Management Office.


“The House is aware that not only is the debt over-hang on Nigeria increasing, the domestic debt and the excruciating cost of servicing same, is really hurting the economy.


“About N2tn had been spent between 2011 and 2013 in servicing domestic debt and a whooping N712bn budgeted to service same in 2014, at an interest rate said to be the highest in the world.


“The House is concerned that the share of recurrent ‎expenditure in the budget was only marginally reduced from 74 per cent in 2011 to 71 per cent in 2012 and to 68 per cent in 2013 and has now risen to 76.3 per cent in 2014.


“Withdrawal from the Excess Crude Account to pay for petroleum subsidy claims, which increased sharply in recent years from N291bn in 2007 to about N2.188tn in 2011 and the 2012‎ and 2013 subsidy claims have more or less averaged over N1tn.”


In another resolution, the House directed its Committee on Works to liaise with the Ministry of Works with a “view to reviving the weigh-bridges” and installing new ones on highways ‎in the country.



Read More






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

INEC to issue permanent voter cards in 10 states

Latest blog entries - Eloti tV INEC to issue permanent voter cards in 10 states The National Independent Electoral Commission says it will commence the issuance of the permanent voter cards in 10 states of the federation. The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue, Alhaji Baba Yusuf, told journalists on Tuesday that the issuance of the cards would be between May 23 to May 25 while the continuous voters’ registration would hold between May 28 and June 1. He said the commencement of the two exercises were a prelude to the 2015 general elections. Yusuf explained those eligible to register in the CVR included those who were not up to 18 years as at 2011 and those who were unable to register during the last exercise. “Those who had problems with the direct data capture machines and were not captured during the 2011 registration exercise as well as those who could not register in 2011 for one reason or the other can also register this year,” he said. The REC advised vot...
Read more

October 1: You are free to live in any part of Nigeria, FG reassures Nigerians

By CALEB AYANSINA ABUJA – FEDERAL Government, Friday, reassured every Nigerian not to panic but to live freely in any part of the country without fear of molestation. The assurance was coming on the heel of growing tension in the country, barely 24 hour to the expiration of the October 1 deadline quit notice issued by the coalition of Arewa youth groups. The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo also challenged religious bodies and other relevant stakeholders in the project Nigeria to leverage on their influence to jettison every divisive groups and their actions in the country. Osinbajo, who was speaking at the public lecture to mark the 57th independence anniversary of Nigeria organised by the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) in Abuja, reiterated the government resolve to achieve just and equitable society. Represented by the Minister of Mine and Steel, Kayode Fayemi, the VP explained that in a society like Nigeria, there is bound to be differences, therefore...
Read more

Donna Karan Apologizes (Again) After Defending Harvey Weinstein

Image
Designer Donna Karan says she didn’t know the extent of the accusations against Harvey Weinstein before she spoke out to defend the disgraced movie mogul. “I heard a whisper, but there were whispers all over,” Karan, 69, said of the sexual misconduct allegations during an interview with ABC News which aired Monday on Good Morning America . “It wasn’t until a day and a half after the I truly heard about it.” She added: “That’s my honest truth. I didn’t know.” The fashion industry vet sparked outrage earlier this month after calling Weinstein a “wonderful” person in a  Daily Mail  interview and suggesting women may be “asking for it” by dressing provocatively. She backtracked days later, issuing an apology and declaring that her statements did “not represent my actual views.” She apologized again in the recent interview, declaring, “I made a huge, huge mistake.” She admitted, “what I said is so wrong and not who I am.” “I was exhausted. I had just come from a 1...
Read more