The main headlines of the mainstream Nigerian newspapers for Thursday, May 24, are focused on President Muhammadu Buhari's allegation that the administration of former president olusegun Obasanjo spent $16billion on power without any positive result.
The Nation reports that former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration spent about N1.2 trillion on the controversial National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) report has said.
But only N360.7billion had been paid to the contractors — as at 2007 when Obasanjo exited power.
The administration also spent N273.65billion on Power Holding Company of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007.
According to the report, which was compiled using the naira, 27 companies got the contracts for transmission lines.
The Nation Newspaper
Vanguard reports that strong evocations of political indiscretion overflowed yesterday as supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari and former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo took positions against one another.
READ ALSO: How $16b Obasanjo power deal was reportedly shared (Breakdown)
Supporters of the incumbent and former president spoke as the House of Representatives distanced itself from President Buhari’s assertions of indolence by legislators, saying the President only asserted his opinion.
However, stakeholders in labour and civil society welcomed the face-off between the two generals, saying it could bring about the much-needed probity and accountability in the power sector.
Vanguard Newspaper
The Punch reports that the Senate on Wednesday, May 23, grilled heads of security agencies over the spate of killings and insecurity across the country. The meeting, which lasted four hours, was held behind closed doors.
The lawmakers asked the security agencies to forward their requests for special funding within two weeks for approval. The funding, the Senate said, was different from the annual budget of the agencies.
The Punch Newspaper
The Guardian reports that Senate President Bukola Saraki, who made the disclosure, said the meeting also discussed the lack of coordination among the security agencies, blaming the situation for the failure to quell killings and kidnappings across the country.
Saraki said the Senate also resolved to accord priority to bills that would strengthen the nation’s security architecture.The requests would be in the form of a supplementary budget. It would, however, be different from the $1 billion recently released by President Muhammadu Buhari to the military to combat insecurity.
The Guardian Newspaper
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This Day reports that the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Wednesday declared that but for the immunity enjoyed by the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, he would have been a guest of the law enforcement agents by now.
Mohammed, who made this remark while responding to a question after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wike’s allegation that the federal government was plotting to kill him, said immunity was the reason Wike was not already answering questions over the allegation.
This Day Newspaper
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Source: Naija.ng