FG May Begin 2018 Capital Releases This Week Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja About two months after President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the Appropriation Act, the federal government may begin the release of funds for the implementation of the
capital component of the N9.12 trillion 2018 budget this week. The 2018 budget provides N2.01 trillion for debt service, N3.51 trillion for recurrent expenditure and N2.87 trillion for capital expenditure, an
increase over the N2.36 trillion provided for in 2017. Feelers indicate that the monetary committee of the Ministry of Finance, which is saddled with the responsibility of releasing funds to various ministries, departments and
agencies (MDAs), is meeting to take stock and decide on the first tranche of the capital vote to be released this week. A top government official told THISDAY that besides procurement issues, the major cause of the delay in
commencing the release of the capital vote centred on the recurring controversy over the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) vis-à-vis remittances by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into the Federation
Account. Remittances by the NNPC had ignited a major disagreement among the FAAC members, with the 36 states of the federation represented by Continued on page 6
Despite Improved Rainfalls, Power Supply Remains Below 4,000MW … Page 6 Tuesday 7 August, 2018 Vol 23. No 8512. Price: N250
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PDP Fixes N12m as 2019 Presidential Nomination Form Fee Restates APC, presidency plotting to remove Saraki, Ekweremadu by force Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Ahead of the 2019 general election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has fixed N12
million for the expression of interest and nomination forms for its presidential aspirants. The party also accused President Muhammadu
Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of using blackmail to undermine the conduct of 2019 general election, saying they are apparently
afraid of losing the polls. It further restated its claim that the presidency was bent on removing Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy,
Says Akpabio yet to resign
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, by force. According to the approved schedule for sale of forms for the party's primaries obtained
yesterday by THISDAY, expression of interest form for the presidency costs N2 million, while nomination form Continued on page 6
FG May Shutdown Unless National Assembly Reconvenes, Warns Presidency Says passage of supplementary bill crucial to implementation of 2018 budget Legislature’s leadership meets today Deji Elumoye, Omololu Ogunmade, James Emejo in Abuja The presidency yesterday in Abuja warned that the refusal of the National Assembly to reconvene to approve presidential requests before it could result in imminent shutdown of government activities. The presidency's alarm was the fallout of a meeting among Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, behind closed doors in the Presidential Villa. Speaking with journalists at the end of the meeting, Enang
restated calls for the leadership of the National Assembly to reconvene and consider presidential communications, stating that only the reopening of the federal legislature could save the country from imminent shutdown. According to him, the 2018 budget was conceived to be largely financed by foreign loans, pointing out that the exact amount to be borrowed to finance the budget was not clearly stated as stipulated by the extant law. However, he argued that details were contained in the recent requests submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly before it proceeded on vacation, Continued on page 6
US Investors Pledge Full Revitalisation of Nigercem ... Page 8
70 HEARTY CHEERS TO A MEDIA GURU… L-R: Former Ogun State Governor, Chief Segun 0soba; Publisher, Vanguard Newspaper, Mr. Sam Amuka; the celebrant, Mr. Ray Ekpu; his wife, Uyai; and former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Obong Victor Attah, during Ekpu’s 70th birthday colloquium in Lagos... yesterday MUBO PETERS