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REVEALED: NIGERIAN SENATORS, REPS YET TO COLLECT AUGUST SALARY
The economic down turn being experienced in the country has hit the National Assembly with attendant cash crunch which has resulted into non payment of August salary of the 469 federal lawmakers as at today, September 18, 2015.
The cash crunch as disclosed by one of the senators, is also largely responsible for crippling of oversight activities of already set up committees across the two chambers according to Leadership Newspapers
Making reference to the cash crunch being experienced in the National Assembly two days ago, a member of the Senate’s Ad- hoc committee on power, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa ( PDP Abia North), in an interview with journalists on the activities of the committee, disclosed that the much expected public hearing on power sector cannot hold for now due to non availability of funds to run it.
He said the cash crunch has no doubt prevented them as lawmakers over the months from carrying out their legislative functions effectively saying ” we cannot carry out our functions effectively because there is no money in the system”.
He, however, added that the problem of funding being faced by the National Assembly presently may perhaps be due to the expensiveness of bi- cameral legislature and Infact, presidential system of government , the country is running.
His words: ” Part of the problems we are facing now, is the problem of funding. I want to tell you outright because he who wears the shoe , knows where it pinches, our major problem now, is funding.
“There is no money in the system. Isolate the running of the parliament from parliamentarians . Isolate the cost of running of parliament from the parliamentarians in it. Running the parliament is expensive, presidential system of government in particular with bi- cameral legislature is an expensive part of democracy , so you can’t eat your cake and have it.
“So, now people keep saying how much is the budget of the parliament , amount of salaries of the lawmakers etcetera , forgetting that there are several sub- heads in the parliament . Infact, now, we cannot do our job effectively . We cannot do our functions effectively because there is no money.
“For example, we supposed to start the public hearing on the power sector on the 11th of this month, but we couldn’t because of lack of money. The idea was to have stakeholders meeting , the just ended interactive session for 2, 3 days from 8- 10 September , then 11th, we start the public hearing which supposed to end on the 15th day of September, 2015, but unfortunately we cannot do that because there is no money in the system to run the committee and perform our functions effectively.
“So what we have decided for now is to mellow down a bit till when the senate resumes for plenary sessions and see how we can raise money but before then, we believe money must have been released into the system.
“Infact , as it is today(Wednesday ), we have not collected our August Salary as federal lawmakers and by extension, the entire legislative staff of the federal lawmakers .
“Look at me here , I’ve not had August salary and this is 16th of September, 2015, but we don’t cry because we represent the people but that is the truth, am not telling you day by moonlight story, am telling you what is actually on ground”.
Apparently feeling the financial insolvency rocking the National Assembly more, are the 2,500 legislative aides of senators and members of the House of Representatives who are yet to be paid a single month salary since June this year when their various principals employed them , many of whom are even yet to get their severance gratuity after serving in the 7th National Assembly.
A disturbing situation that made them to make a mild protest at the central lobby of the National Assembly two weeks back over the N7billion worth allowances.
The unpaid allowances according to some of the legislative aides who spoke on condition of anonymity covers both severance gratuity and duty tour allowances which ranges from N1.5 to N3m per aide depending on grade levels and steps.
They alleged that based on information at their disposal, the N7billion meant for the payment had been released to management of the National Assembly by the Federal Ministry of Finance last month without any sign of readiness for payment from them.
“Our protest is all about prolonged delay we are experiencing in the payment of our severance allowances by the management of National Assembly, even weeks after payment of similar allowances to all the 469 federal legislators who served in the 7th Assembly.
“We believe that the protest, though aborted, has sent the needed message to them that we are ready for showdown with them any time from now if we are not paid the money in this month of September”, they said.
But in an internal circular later issued from the office of the Director, Personal Management of the National Assembly, the management said the money was not yet released from the Ministry of Finance as claimed by the aggrieved aides.
The Acting Director, M. A Abubakar, who issued the circular on behalf of the Clerk to the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, said: ” I am directed to inform all Legislative Aides to exercise more patience regarding their payment of severance gratuity and duty tour allowances as the management is making assiduous efforts to get the monies released from the ministry of finance.
“I also urge you to maintain the existing good working relationship between National Assembly Management and the Legislative Aides for an enduring welfare of the legislative aides. I wish to assure you that as soon as the monies are released, payment will commence without delay as all preparations have been concluded”.
Source : News Najiriya
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Mazangari Decries Prolonged Silence Over Unresolved EFCC Bank Draft Allegations
Years after a petition alleging abuse of office, intimidation and institutional misconduct was submitted against operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Hajia Mazangari has drawn public attention to the matter once again, expressing concern over what she described as prolonged institutional silence and the absence of any known resolution.
The controversy arose from a bank draft transaction involving a sum running into several millions of naira, reportedly issued in the name of “EFCC Clients Account” and handed over to one Habibu Aliyu.
According to the account contained in the petition, Hajia Mazangari was later contacted by her bank and informed that an EFCC operative allegedly approached the bank, requesting that the draft earlier issued by her be cashed into another personal account.
The bank reportedly declined the request, insisting that the draft could only be re-issued in the name of a new beneficiary in compliance with established banking regulations. Attempts by Hajia Mazangari, through her solicitor, to retrieve the original bank draft allegedly resulted in hostility from Habibu Aliyu and Ruqqaya Ibrahim, with the situation escalating into what the petition described as sustained malice, intimidation and humiliation.
“It is as a result of this unending malice, torture and humiliation that we passionately plead to you, sir, to save our client who has been run aground by people with personal vendetta disguising as public officers,” the petition read.
In a further petition dated 14 January 2020 and addressed to the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, through her counsel, Ibrahim Salawu, Esq., Hajia Mazangari alleged that Habibu Aliyu (a former staff of the EFCC), Ruqqaya Ibrahim (a serving EFCC staff), Mohammed Goje (a serving EFCC staff) and one Mustafa Gadanya (a former staff of the EFCC) had, on various occasions, stormed her family residence in Kaduna.
According to the petition, copies of which were obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, the individuals allegedly accused her, her son and his associates of being involved in a pension scam, insisting that they were “neck-deep” in the alleged fraud and would be dealt with and made to face prosecution.
Hajia Mazangari maintained that the accusations were unfounded and that the repeated visits amounted to intimidation and abuse of authority.
In a related development at the time, counsel to Ahmed and Fatima Mazangari, Barrister Ibrahim Salawu, also wrote to the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court seeking the reassignment of their case to another court, following the elevation of the presiding judge to the Court of Appeal and the resultant irregular sittings of the court.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations contained in the petitions, efforts to obtain an official response from the EFCC at the time reportedly proved abortive.
Years later, Hajia Mazangari maintains that the institutional silence that greeted her complaints has persisted. She faulted the former Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, for allegedly failing to address the concerns raised in the petitions.
She further accused the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, of failing to intervene or cause a review of the matter despite being formally notified.
According to her, the situation has not changed under the current leadership of the EFCC, which she claims has continued in what she described as the same pattern of silence and inaction, leaving the issues raised unresolved several years after the petitions were submitted.
She also raised concerns over the continued service of an officer identified as Mohammed Goje at the EFCC office in Gombe, noting that other officers of similar standing were reportedly dismissed in the past for corrupt practices. She questioned why no publicly known disciplinary or investigative outcome has emerged from her complaints.
Hajia Mazangari stressed that her decision to speak out again is not based on any fresh incident, but on the need to draw public attention to an unresolved matter which, in her view, underscores broader concerns about institutional accountability. She called on relevant authorities and oversight bodies to revisit the petitions and ensure that the issues raised are conclusively addressed in accordance with the law.
When contacted for comments on the allegations and the renewed public attention surrounding the matter, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had not responded as at the time of filing this report.
However, the Commission is hereby afforded the right of reply and is free to present its position or clarifications on the issues raised.
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The 2026 Nigerian Bank Recapitalization: Where Does Your Bank Stand?
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How Primate Ayodele Foretold Collapse Of School Building In Ikorodu, Lagos
Residents of the Odo-Kekere Community in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, on Thursday evening, were thrown into panic following the sudden partial collapse of a structure in a local public school in the area.
According to a source, a section of the school building gave way late Thursday with a thunderous sound that drew neighbours to the scene.
First responders from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, and the Lagos State Building Control Agency LASBCA, raced to the scene promptly and cordoned off the area for safety purposes.
This development has no doubt fulfilled the prophecy of Nigerian prophet, Primate Elijah Ayodele, which he shared in his annual prophecy book titled Warnings To The Nations (2025/2026) edition.
On page 108 of the prophecy book, Primate Ayodele warned against collapse of any school building in Nigeria.
“Schools in Nigeria: Let us pray so that no school will be attacked in Nigeria and that a school building will not collapse.”
Also, in his 2026 prophecies, he asked Nigerians to commit Lagos schools into God’s hands.
“Let us commit schools in Lagos to God’s hands against all attack” (Page 5).
Furthermore, in a video shared on his social media page, Primate Ayodele specifically mentioned that Nigerians should pray not to see a building collapse in Lagos.
“Let us pray not to see a school building collapse in Lagos state, Oyo, Abuja, Ogun state. Let the government go around schools and quickly demolish deplorable school buildings.”
All these have fulfilled the prophecy of Primate Ayodele.
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