Senate knocks IGP, NPF, over 3,907 missing assault rifles

The Senate came down heavily on the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, at the National Assembly complex over 3,907 missing assault rifles, as revealed in the 2020 report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, AuGF.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, apologised to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts for failing to honour previous invitations to explain queries raised against the police regarding alleged financial infractions in the 2019 audit report.

After his apology and oath-taking, Egbetokun nominated Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG, in charge of Public Accounts and Budget, Suleiman Abdul, to respond to the eight queries issued against the police by the Auditor-General’s office.

The committee, chaired by its Deputy Chairman, Senator Peter Nwaebonyi (APC, Ebonyi North), vacated the first query, which concerned N1.136 billion in contract splitting, and stood down the second, which related to the alleged non-execution of a N925 million contract. However, it sustained the third query regarding the alleged disappearance of 3,907 assault rifles, many of which were AK-47s.

Trouble arose for the police when a representative of the Auditor-General read the query aloud to committee members and AIG Suleiman Abdul. According to the 2019 audit report, as of January 2020, a total of 3,907 assault rifles were unaccounted for.

According to the Auditor-General’s representative, “The total number of lost firearms as of December 2018 stood at 178,459, out of which 88,078 were AK-47 rifles.

“However, as of January 2020, based on a thorough audit, 3,907 assault rifles and pistols across different police formations could not be accounted for.”

He further broke down the missing firearms as follows: 601 from 15 training institutions, 42 from 23 police formations, 1,514 from 37 police commands, 29 from Zones 1 to 12, and 1,721 from the Police Mobile Force, PMF, units 1 to 68.

Irked by the report, committee members bombarded the police team with questions about why the queries had remained unanswered for so long.

In response, neither AIG Suleiman Abdul nor any of his lieutenants could provide the committee with a convincing explanation for the missing 3,907 assault rifles.

Apparently overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, AIG Abdul requested a closed-door session, but the majority of the committee members—including Deputy Chairman Nwaebonyi, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, and Senator Joel Onawakpo-Thomas—rejected the request.

Rejecting the request outright, Senator Nwaebonyi stated: “This is a public accounts committee that has no room for closed-door sessions. In the United States of America, proceedings of Public Accounts Committees are televised live. So, whatever response the AIG wants to give on the missing assault rifles should be made in full view of everyone, particularly journalists.”

Senator Oshiomhole also rejected the request, saying: “The police are known for arresting and parading thieves of rats and rabbits, so we expect the same level of diligence regarding the missing assault rifles.

“The AIG should let Nigerians know what steps the police have taken over the years concerning the missing rifles, who was involved, and the extent of any recoveries made.”

In his feeble response, AIG Abdul could only account for 15 out of the 3,907 missing rifles—14 of which, he claimed, were lost when personnel were killed in active service, while one went missing in 1998. This response further infuriated the committee members.

For a soft landing, the committee resolved that the AIG and his team should return with a more thorough response to the query, stating that the matter would not be swept under the carpet.

The committee consequently directed them to reappear on Monday next week at 12 noon and suspended consideration of the remaining five queries.

4,834 UI Students benefit from Federal Gov’t Loan Scheme – VC

No fewer than 4,834 students of the University of Ibadan (UI) have benefited from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to the tune of N735.8 million.

This was disclosed in a letter addressed to the Managing Director of NELFUND by the institution’s Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof. Kayode Adebowale, on behalf of the school management.

The letter, acknowledging the disbursement of the funds, was confirmed by the institution’s Director of Public Relations, Mrs Joke Akinpelu, in Ibadan on Tuesday.

The VC described the loan as President Bola Tinubu’s significant step toward alleviating students’ financial burden.

“The loan scheme, as a commendable effort of the Federal Government under the leadership of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is a significant step toward alleviating students’ financial burdens in furthering their education,” said the VC.

According to the VC, the loan was disbursed in three tranches, with the school receiving the first tranche of N201,114,250 for 1,370 students on Aug. 7, 2024.

On Sept. 5, 2024, it received the second tranche of N9,797,450 for 69 students, while on Nov. 6, 2024, it got the third tranche of N524,955,200 for 3,395 students.

Adebowale said the university had set up modalities for the beneficiaries to utilise the loan through an e-wallet system.

He noted that students had been further sensitised about the benefits of the funds in several fora.

“This includes an interactive session in collaboration with NELFUND and a page on the university website (https://ui.edu.ng/uinelfund-support) was dedicated for enhanced support,” the VC said.

He appreciated the timely responses from the NELFUND Operations office through the processes, adding that the institution looked forward to the disbursement of the last tranche for the current academic session. (NAN)

See Full list; Achievements recorded by Tinubu’s Administration listed by Fed Govt

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, on Tuesday in Abuja reeled out the achievements of the Bola Tinubu administration.

The minister, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, focused on the achievements recorded in the areas of fiscal, macroeconomic and legislative reforms.

Idris said that the removal of fuel subsidy had helped plug leakages amounting to hundreds of billions of Naira annually.

He further said that various measures, including the introduction of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System, resulted in unprecedented stability of forex.

“Oil and gas reforms made Nigeria the most attractive destination for oil and gas investments in Africa as well as attracting over $5 billion in signed investment commitments known as Final Investment Decisions.

“President Tinubu signed into law the 2024 Electricity Act which is now serving as a framework for state governments to roll out their own regulated electricity markets.

“The efforts of Tinubu’s administration in July 2024 saw the Supreme Court issuing a landmark ruling empowering local governments with a level of financial autonomy hitherto unseen in the history of our country,” Idris said.

On targeted interventions, Idris explained that the Students Loan Fund, NELFUND, had disbursed N32.8 billion to more than 169,000 students.

This , he said, including N20 billion in school fees and N12.8 billion in upkeep allowances.

He added that the president had signed bills establishing development commissions for the North-Central, South-East, and North-West Zones.

The minister said the president also assented to the bill establishing the Federal University of Environmental Technology in Ogoniland and the Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta.

He said the Federal Government through the National Health Insurance Authority was introducing targeted subsidies for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in Nigeria.

The minister said each patient was benefiting up to a value of N400,000.

“A year ago, Tinubu approved the upgrade of key health infrastructure and equipment across all six geo-political zones, starting with the establishment of oncology and nuclear medicine centres in six teaching hospitals, ” he added.

Idris also said a backlog of over 200,000 international passports was cleared within a three-week period in 2024.

“On Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), the Tinubu administration has directly invested over $450 million in the development of Nigeria’s CNG value chain through the Presidential CNG Initiative.

“We now have over 150 Conversion Centres across the country and counting,” he said.

The minister said the National Values Charter as approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2024 would mark the beginning of a reset of national attitudes and values in Nigeria.

According to him, the Federal Government is determined to achieve a fundamental restructuring of the social contract empowering citizens to give their best to Nigeria while also demanding the best.

On infrastructure, Idris described Nigeria as a vast construction site now, adding that the Federal Executive Council had approved over N2.5 trillion worth of road infrastructure projects.

He further said a lot had been achieved in defence and security as well as food security sectors.

“In 2024, our security forces neutralised more than 8,000 terrorists and bandits, and arrested 11,600 others, with more than 10,000 weapons recovered.

” Our forces are gaining ground against the bandits and terrorists,” he said.

He said Nigeria with its Ministry of Livestock Development would harness a multi-billion-dollar agricultural opportunity that could transform rural communities, enrich and empower millions of Nigerians.

According to him, there is now greater fiscal headroom at all levels of government and a reformed and less burdensome tax regime.(NAN)