Television Nigerian

The official entourage for both domestic and international travel will be reduced by 60%, according to “cost-cutting” measures agreed by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.

This was disclosed during a Tuesday briefing for State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja by Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Advisor on Media and Publicity.

According to Ngelale, the instruction was applicable to all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, as well as the offices of the President, Vice President, First Lady, and Vice President’s wife.

He declared, “President Bola Tinubu has approved that, going forward, he will neither accept nor permit large security delegations to follow him from Abuja, which will result in significant bills for estacode and duty allowances.”

“The President of Nigeria, the Vice President, and the Office of the First Lady have all approved a massive cost-cutting exercise that will affect the entire Federal Government of Nigeria.” The following is how it will be carried out.

“The President has issued a directive allowing no more than 20 people to accompany him on foreign trips. The First Lady’s case will reduce that number to five. Additionally, there will be a five-person entourage accompanying the vice president on official foreign trips. Five is also the number that will be set as a ceiling for the vice president’s wife.

“With regard to domestic travel, the President has authorized a new cap of 25 staff members to go with him.”

Ngelale pointed out that there are currently just ten employees from the First Lady’s and the Vice President’s wives’ offices who are allowed to travel throughout the nation on business.

Only fifteen employees will be allowed to travel throughout the nation on official business with the vice president.

According to the presidential spokesman, chiefs of agencies are now only permitted to travel with two people, while ministers are only permitted to bring four people on international missions.

Ngelale continued, “This regulation will restrict the number of staff personnel that any minister may bring to any event, wherever in the world, to no more than four. CEOs of agencies will only be allowed to travel with two employees wherever in the world.

Four weeks prior, the Tinubu administration faced severe criticism for sending a sizable entourage to the COP28 Climate Change Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This development occurred on Tuesday.

Specifics soon…

Court would not rule on the Plateau governorship contest.
Mr. Mutfwang had pleaded with the supreme court to set aside the Court of Appeal’s ruling.

Governor of the Plateau, Caleb Mutfwang
Governor of the Plateau, Caleb Mutfwang Thank you, Caleb Mutfwang.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court postponed making a decision in a lawsuit brought by Caleb Mutfwang, the governor of Plateau State, in an attempt to regain his authority over the state.

After hearing arguments from the attorneys for both sides in the case, John Okoro, the head of a five-person panel of justices, deferred the decision.

The appeal will expire on January 16th, and the supreme court is expected to rule on the case before then.

The Peoples Democratic Party’s Mr. Mutfwang received 525,299 votes, while Nentawe Goshwe, the candidate for the All Progressives Congress, received 481,370 votes in the state’s governorship election on March 18, 2023.

The Plateau State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in the state capital of Jos validated the results of the governor’s election.

But the Abuja Court of Appeal reversed the decision, forcing Mr. Mutfwang to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

Mr. Mutfwang had pleaded with the supreme court to overturn the Court of Appeal’s decision to remove him from office. The governor claimed that the lower court had denied him and his party, the PDP, a fair hearing in his appeal, which was submitted before the supreme court by an eight-person team of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, led by Kanu Agabi.

On November 19, 2023, a three-person bench of the Court of Appeal, chaired by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, declared Mr. Mutfwang’s election to be void and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to grant Mr. Goshwe, the All Progressive Congress candidate, a Certificate of Return.

According to Section 177(c) of the Nigerian Constitution and Sections 80 and 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the qualifying problem constituted both a pre- and post-election question, hence the appellate court determined that Mr. Goshwe’s appeal was admissible.

The governor, not pleased with the ruling, developed eight grounds for appeal explaining why the Supreme Court ought to uphold his election.

In support of ground one of the APC’s appeal, he contended that the nomination and sponsorship issue is not only a pre-election issue but also falls under the purview of the fourth estate’s internal affairs.

According to him, the PDP did not have the necessary standing to be canvassed by the first and second respondents.

The appellant further argued that the lower court lacked authority to rule on Section 285(2) of the Constitution (above), which rendered its decision on November 19, 2023, egregiously flawed.

He argued that disobedience to a court order is not grounds for filing an election petition under Section 134 of the Electoral Act (above) or for the appellant to be disqualified from running for office under Section 177(c) of the Constitution (above).

The governor further contended that the fourth respondent complied with exhibit G1 by holding a state congress in Plateau on September 25, 2021, in light of the overwhelming oral and documentary evidence, including but not limited to exhibits U and 2RA3.

Additionally, he argued that the lower court erred in primarily relying on the widely discredited and controverted testimony of the 16th prosecution witness against him.

It is absurd for the first and second respondents to claim victory in the same election after contesting the election as invalid due to non-compliance, as they completely failed to meet the burden of proof required of them. As a result, they were not entitled to the reliefs sought in their petition.

“The lower court erred greatly when it determined that the tribunal was incorrect to use PW16, PW24, PW27, and PW28 evidence as a tribunal of first instance and to strike out the objectionable lines of the appellant’s reply.

The interim Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, has been the subject of a “thorough” investigation by Olokoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, following a directive from President Bola Tinubu.

Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu’s spokeswoman, signed a statement that conveyed his instruction.

As per the statement, the direction issued by the President was consistent with his declared intention to maintain the utmost levels of honesty, openness, and responsibility in the administration of the Nigerian republic.

The President also gives the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) instructions to thoroughly look into all facets of financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Humanitarian Affairs, as well as one or more of its agencies.

Additionally, in an effort to reform the relevant institutions and programs in a decisive manner for the sole benefit of impoverished households, the President has charged a panel led by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and the Minister of Finance with performing, among other things, a thorough diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programs.

Ngelale declared, “These orders from the President are effective immediately.”

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation was given instructions by Edu to deposit N585.18 million into a private account held by Oniyelu Bridget, according to records that were previously leaked.

In Ogun, Lagos, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and other states, the Ministry stated that the aforementioned Oniyelu is currently employed as a Project Accountant for Grants for Vulnerable Groups.

Yet, Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein, the Federation’s Accountant-General, disregarded Edu’s order and declined to pay the specified amount.