Presidency Insists FG Has Credit Balance of N1.194tn in TSA Obinna Chima Contrary to the allegation by a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor and Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, that the account of the federal
government domiciled at the central bank had been overdrawn to the tune of N4.7 trillion by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, information obtained by THISDAY yesterday from the presidency revealed
that the net credit balance of the federal government in the Treasury Single Account (TSA) as of December 2, 2016, was N1.194 trillion. Sanusi had said last week that the CBN’s claims on the federal government now
topped N4.7 trillion — equal to almost 50 per cent of the FGN’s total domestic debt. This, he stated, was in clear violation of the Central Bank Act of 2007 (Section 38.2), which caps advances to the federal government at
five per cent of last year’s revenues. However, a breakdown of the figures obtained from reliable sources at the presidency showed that as of December 2, the actual credit balance in the TSA
was N2.662 trillion. In another account, the federal government had overdrawn the account to the tune of N1.468 trillion through ways and means Continued on page 8
Crude Oil Tops $55 for First Time in 16 Months… Page 9 Tuesday 6 December, 2016 Vol 21. No 7901. Price: N250
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Rivers Rerun: State Govt Raise the Alarm of ‘Plot to Assassinate Wike’ Police withdraw CSO from governor, Fayose condemns action Amaechi urges law enforcement agencies to deal with trouble makers
Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt
As the December 10 date for the rerun of federal and state legislative elections in Rivers State looms, the state
government has expressed concern that Governor Nyesom Wike might have been earmarked for assassination following the sudden removal of his chief security officer (CSO).
This came as the state police command also announced the withdrawal of police orderlies from all political office holders in the state during the rerun polls. Wike has also accused
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of overheating the polity by what he claimed were the commission’s actions that portrayed it as working for specific political interests.
In a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Austin Tam-George, said the sudden withdrawal
of Wike’s CSO yesterday came in the aftermath of the governor’s interview on Channels Television on the same day. Continued on page 6
Obasanjo Gives Condition to Support New Mega Party Insists Atiku cannot be presidential candidate Former VP, Tinubu say they have no plan to leave APC Olawale Olaleye in Lagos and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The proposed mega party by some aggrieved opposition politicians of major political parties in the country may already have run into a hitch, following the stringent condition allegedly handed down by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to support the new party. THISDAY learnt that when the notion of the mega party
was brought to Obasanjo’s notice, the former president, who was not averse to a new formidable opposition party, was quick to give a condition that his former deputy when he was in office, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, should not by any means whatsoever become the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 elections. Continued on page 6
FG Bans Importation of Vehicles Through Land Borders… Page 10
FASHOLA DEFENDS FERMA…
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN (right), and President of the Senate, Dr. Olubukola Saraki, at the public hearing on the bill to repeal the Federal Roads Maintenance Act (FERMA), 2007, and the re-enactment of the Federal Roads Authority Bill, 2016, at a Senate Committee Room, National Assembly complex, Abuja… yesterday