LIVE UPDATES
The Nigerian Senate is in a heated debate over the N29 trillion 'Ways and Means' funds utilized by the immediate past administration.
The debate began when Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South Senatorial District, raised concerns about the legality of the Senate's approval process for these funds.
While debates on the funds had initially proceeded smoothly, trouble arose when Ndume insisted that the Senate had acted unlawfully by approving funds that had already been expended without prior approval.
According to Ndume, the Senate lacked the authority to approve funds that had already been spent, citing relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. He emphasized that the Executive should provide details of how the funds were expended after the fact.
The dispute intensified during a presentation to the Committee of the Whole by Senator Abdullahi Yahaya Abubakar-led Joint Committees on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Finance, National Planning, Agriculture, and Appropriation. Ndume criticized the lack of detailed information in the report, stating that the approval process was illegal.
In response, Senate President Godswill Akpabio insisted on the provision of detailed information, emphasizing that the 10th Senate would not be a rubber stamp. Akpabio emphasized the need for transparency, stating, "We are where we are today as a result of illegal things, and I think it is necessary that details of Ways and Means be provided."
It should be noted that the 'Ways and Means' funds are overdrafts drawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria to address the Federal Government's emergency and contingency needs.
