Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo has explained what his government will be doing with the N100 billion he is borrowing. 

Speaking after assenting to the 2022 Revised appropriation budget of N170 billion on Friday July 22, Soludo said the loan would be used for critical infrastructural development particularly in building roads, bridges and others. 

Signing the budget tagged “Building Off From The Blocks” at the Government House, Awka, the Governor said Anambra people cannot wait for results that would be achieved.

Promising that there will be absolute prudence in making sure Anambra gets value for the money that will be borrowed, he added that the whole amount won’t be spent this year.

The money according to Soludo, would be judiciously used to create wealth for the benefit of the people of the state.

Calling for stronger synergy between the legislative and other arms of government for greater Anambra, the Governor commended members of the House of Assembly for being diligent, responsible and responsive to their job as lawmakers and representatives of the people of Anambra State.

He said; 

“The patriotic and  responsive manner the budget was passed by the State House of Assembly was not only commendable but signalled the birth of a new partnership for a greater Anambra.”

Recounting how he said that N250 billion was estimated as the amount required to build critical infrastructure towards the realisation of the livable and prosperous homeland in the state that every Anambra person yearns for during his campaign, Soludo insisted that there’s no underhand dealings in signing the budget as the process was conducted with integrity, patriotism and responsiveness.

Lamenting that the resources at the government disposal are abysmally lean, the Governor said they had no option but to draw up multiple strategies including taking a look at the trajectory of expenditure, introducing prudence in spending, among others.

As part of the measures to improve government finances, Soludo said efforts are being made to digitize the Internally Generated Revenue of the state to eliminate leakages.

He specifically  thanked the Speaker and the House members for understanding the exigencies to approve the planned loan.

The Governor said; 

“I promised Ndi Anambra the money will be spent on critical infrastructure, particularly on roads, bridges, flyover, among other strategic places.

“I thank Ndi Anambra for their support and sacrifices through payment of their fair share of taxes and others. For people who have violated public order such as indiscriminate building of illegal structures, we say enough is enough. These are necessary, painful steps that we must take to rescue our state.”

The Peoples Democratic Party, on Friday, claimed that with the outcome of last weekend’s governorship election in Osun State, the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, should withdraw from next year’s election.

This is as the party alleged that the former Lagos State governor’s effort to “frustrate” the outcome of the election won by its candidate and Governor-elect, Ademola Adeleke, was rejected by stakeholders in Abuja.

The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, made the allegation during a press conference in Abuja on Friday.

“Asiwaju Tinubu’s humiliating rejection in Abuja, where he had reportedly rushed to in a desperate bid to frustrate the smooth conclusion of the Osun State Governorship election is a clear testimonial that the APC presidential candidate has been roundly deflated.
 
“Our party is privy to reports of how doors were locked against APC leaders in Abuja and how their frantic telephone calls and corrupt offers to truncate the Osun election were turned down,” Ologunagba alleged.

The PDP’s spokesperson noted that the party was also “appalled by the nauseating, blasphemous and unpardonable act by APC in hiring street artisans, fraudsters and touts and criminally dressing them in bishop’s vestments to orchestrate an endorsement for its collapsing presidential campaign”.
 
“The PDP, in the strongest term, condemns this profane and highly provocative act of desperation by the sinking APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the face of APC’s collapsing leadership, membership and followership structure across the country.
 
“Nigerians were sickened by videos and pictorial evidence of known mechanics, bus conductors and fraudsters sacrilegiously being dressed in fake bishop vestments and paid to endorse the unveiling of Asiwaju Tinubu’s widely rejected running mate, Sen. Kashim Shettima.
 
“Such action is unacceptable and unbecoming of any individual aspiring to a leadership position at any level let alone, the office of the President. This is an embarrassment to leadership.
 
“With this scandalous act, Asiwaju Tinubu, who is still battling with issues of alleged perjury, non-existent certificate and allegations of extortions has become more ethically challenged and lost all moral standing to seek election as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
 
“More sickening is the outcry by the hirelings that they were defrauded by agents of the APC Presidential candidate, who paid them sums ranging from N30,000 to N40,000 as against the N100,000 they were earlier promised.
 
“It is therefore ludicrous that instead of being remorseful and asking for forgiveness, the APC Presidential Campaign is shamelessly posting lame denials and excuses in the face of hard and verified evidence of its involvement in the shameless venture.”

On Osun election, Ologunagba said, “It is now crystal clear to Nigerians why the people of Asiwaju’s ancestral State of Osun and the South West geo-political zone which ought to be his natural stronghold outrighly rejected him and his APC in the July 16, 2022 Governorship election in Osun the State.
 
“PDP’s sweeping victory and the spontaneous jubilation across our country are direct statements by Nigerians on their resolve to stand on the platform of the PDP to free themselves from the agonizing stranglehold of the lying, cruel and life-discounting APC and its presidential candidate.”
 
He added, “The APC Presidential candidate and his party should know that it is in his own interest to withdraw from the race as it will be futile to go into an election in which the Will and aspiration of the people are manifestly against him and the APC.
 
“Asiwaju has no political fighting chance in the face of the soaring popularity of PDP’s very competent, candid, transparent, people-oriented and much more prepared Presidential Candidate, His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar at the poll.
 
“The PDP is poised for a winning campaign and as always, our Party is open to suggestions and further collaborations with well-meaning Nigerians as we collectively march to liberate our nation in the 2023 general elections.”

The January 6 House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021, revealed at Thursday’s primetime hearing unseen raw footage of President Donald Trump on the day of, and day after, the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump recorded and released a video message from the White House Rose Garden while the riot was underway on Capitol Hill, urging the mob to disperse and telling his supporters, “We love you. You’re very special.”

The hearing was held to find out what Trump did and didn’t do in the 187 minutes before he finally called off the attack, after hours of pleas from his inner circle. 

“I know your pain, I know you’re hurt,” Trump said in the footage that was eventually released. “But you have to go home now, we have to have peace. We have to have law and order, we have to respect our great people in law and order.”

The next day he recorded another video from inside the White House. Outtakes of both videos were shown during the hearing on Thursday.

“The staff that remained at the White House on Jan. 7 knew the president needed to address the nation again and they had a speech prepared for him that morning. But he refused for hours to give it,” Rep. Elaine Luria, a Virginia Democrat and former Navy officer who sits on the Jan. 6 panel, said at Thursday’s hearing.

Luria said the committee heard testimony that Trump was finally convinced to deliver the message later in the evening of Jan. 7 by advisors who warned of “concerns he might be removed from power under the 25th Amendment or by impeachment.”

The outtakes, Luria said, were taken more than 24 hours after the video filmed in the White House Rose Garden.

After a few takes, Trump is seen saying, “This election is now over. Congress has certified the results,” before stopping himself and saying on camera, “I don’t want to say the election is over. I just want to say Congress has certified the results without saying the election is over, okay?”

His daughter and former senior advisor, Ivanka Trump, can be heard off camera coaching the president on the precise words to say in the video.

In a later moment of footage, Trump stumbles over the word “yesterday” and asks for it to be taken out of the prepared remarks.

In another video shown during the hearing, he smacks the presidential podium while repeating the line: “My only goal was to secure the integrity of the vote.”

Thursday marked the last in a series of televised hearings the committee scheduled this summer.

Ahmed Idris, the suspended Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) has been remanded in Kuje prison by a High Court sitting in Abuja, over his alleged involvement in the illegal diversion of public funds to the tune of about N109 billion.

Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Idris on a 14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.

The anti-graft agency which alleged that Idris and his co-defendants were indicted on a 14-count charge of stealing and criminal breach of trust to the tune of N109.5 billion, further revealed that the former AGF allegedly received gratification from one Olusegun Akindele, worth N15.1 billion, in exchange for accelerating the payment of 13% derivation to the nine oil-producing states in the federation.

One of the charges read; 

“That you, Ahmed Idris between February and December, 2021 at Abuja in the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, being a public servant by virtue of your position as the Accountant General of the Federation accepted from Olusegun Akindele, a gratification in the aggregate sum of N15,136,221,921.46 ( Fifteen Billion, One Hundred and Thirty Six Million, Two Hundred and Twenty One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty One Naira and Forty Six Kobo) which sum was converted to the United States Dollars by the said Olusegun Akindele and which sum did not form part of your lawful remuneration but as a motive for accelerating the payment of 13% derivation to the nine (9) oil producing Sates in the Federation, through the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 155 of the Penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 and punishable under the same section.”

Justice A.O. Adeyemi Ajayi who presided over the case on Friday July 22, ruled that Idris who was arraigned alongside Godfrey Olusegun Akindele and Mohammed Kudu Usman, and Gezawa Commodity Market and Exchange Limited, be remanded in Kuje prison. 

This came after Rotimi Jacobs, EFCC counsel, asked the court to grant the prosecution leave to prefer a criminal charge under section 109 of ACJA against the defendants.

Idris’ counsel, Chris Uche however orally asked the court to grant bail to his client. He said the bail should be granted pending when he files a written bail application.

Uche also said his client had to take the next available flight from Kano just to be able to make it for trial.

Justice Ajayi however ordered that Idris and others be remanded in prison.