The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) has claimed that its auditors have uncovered a N3 trillion increase in the N28 trillion 2024 budget signed by President Bola Tinubu.
They are demanding an explanation for the increase, amid claims that the budget is skewed against the north in particular.
The chairman of the forum, Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), stated this during an interview aired on the BBC Hausa Service on Saturday.
Ningi said, “For the past three months, we have engaged consultants to review the budget for us. We have some experts who are working on it line by line.
“We have seen the huge damage that was done not only to the north but to the entire country in that budget. We are supposed to sit with the Senate President to inform him about what we have observed.
“We want to show him what we have seen in the budget that is not acceptable; we will not accept them, and we don’t want the country to continue spending money on those things.
“Apart from what the National Assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground, which we didn’t know.
“The new things we have discovered in the budget were not known to us. We haven’t seen them in the budget that was debated and considered on the floor of the National Assembly.”
Speaking about the revelations made by the consultants, Ningi noted: “For example, it was said that there was a budget of N28 trillion, but what was passed was N25trillion. So there is N3 trillion on top.
“Where are they? Where is it going? So, we need to know this. There are a lot of things. We are coming up with a report, and we will show the president himself and ask him if he is aware or not.”
Source – Daily Post
Troops kill suicide bomber, two others in Sambisa forest
Troops of the Nigerian Army killed three terrorists during a raid on Sambisa forest in Borno State.
The troops equally destroyed terrorist hideouts in the forest.
Sambisa forest was earmarked by the colonial government as a game reserve but it has become the stronghold of both Boko Haram and the Islamic State for West Africa Province terrorists.
Despite several clearance operations carried out by the military in the forest, the terrorists still operate from there.
A statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, noted that after destroying the camp of the terrorists in the forest, two AK-47s and a suicide vest were recovered.
The statement read, “Nigerian Army troops deployed to the North-East as part of the ongoing counter-insurgency operations on Friday, March 8, 2024, conducted a successful raid operation on a terrorists’ camp in the Arra area of Sambisa forest.
“During the operation, the troops gallantly neutralised three terrorists, including a suicide bomber, and destroyed their enclave in the area. After a thorough search, troops recovered 2 AK-47 Rifles and a suicide vest.”
Onyema also said in another operation conducted in the Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno, one terrorist was killed and their enclave destroyed.
He said, “In another operation, troops conducted a clearance operation in the Buluwa Area of Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, where they uncovered and destroyed another terrorists’ camp.
“In the encounter, troops killed one terrorist and recovered one AK-47 rifle, 14 rounds of 7.62mm (Special), a bicycle, foodstuff, a grinding machine, and other sundry items.”
Onyema said the Nigerian Army was committed to eradicating terrorism and insurgency in the region, adding that it would continue to conduct operations to ensure the safety and security of the populace.
Source – Punch
