ABUJA — Senate President Ahmad Lawan in Abuja Monday said members of the National Assembly receive N17bn annually as running costs. Lawan disclosed this at a ‘Distinguished Parliamentarians’ Lecture Series’ facilitated by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies. According to him, the amount covers the costs of their local/international travel, consultancy services, medical services, office stationery/computers, consumables, books, newspapers, magazines, maintenance of motor vehicles and office equipment, among others. “The quarterly office allowance...

ABUJA — Sharon Ikeazor, minister of state for environment, has said making government officials suffer the consequences of their action will create room for significant change in the country. According to her, such action will make a difference in the country, spurring it to greatness. Ikeazor said this on Saturday at the public presentation of ‘The Arc of the Possible,’ a memoir of Waziri Adio, former executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative...

ABA — An Abia State chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Isaac Nkole, has cautioned the party against re-admitting the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Uzor Kalu. This call came on the heels of a visit by a high-powered PDP delegation led by the incoming National Secretary of the party, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, at his Aso-Villa, Abuja home. Nkole alleged that Kalu, “Is in a desperate move to return to the PDP having discovered that...

PORT HARCOURT — Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has said it was doubtful if the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), will assent to the Electoral Act, as amended by the National Assembly. He expressed this reservation while speaking on an African Independent Television programme, monitored in Port Harcourt, on Thursday. Wike wondered why the president would be seeking advice from the Independent National Electoral Commission on a law that has been passed by the...