From Ahmed Rufai, Dutse
Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu has commended the examplary achievement of Dangote Oil and Gas Limited, in reducing the gantry price of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), also known as diesel.

The Group recently reviewed the gantry price of AGO, downwards from ₦1,650 to ₦1,000 per litre for a minimum of one million litres of the product, as well as providing a discount of ₦30 per litre for an offtake of five million litres and above.
The price review represented a 60% drop, which will, in no small measure, impact the prices of sundry goods and services.
A statement signed by Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Ajuri Ngelale, on Wednesday, said the president affirmed that Nigerians, domestic businesses, and the transportation sector, will benefit enormously from the price reduction.
Tinubu noted that partnerships between public and private entities were essential to advancing the overall well-being of the country
The federal government currently has a 20% stake in Dangote Refinery.
The president then called on Nigerians and businesses, to, at this time, put the nation in priority gear while assuring them of a conducive, safe, and secure environment to thrive.

The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi has again uncorvered lopsided allocations in the 2024 federal budget

Obi in his previous remarks on the budget called for a total review of the budget

He insisted that there were various misplacement of priorities tilted against poor and vulnerable Nigerians

Obi expressed dismay that the National Assembly Hospital was receiving whooping N15b for one year, the amount which he said is five times more than that allocated to the National Hospital and six other premier Teaching Hospitals in the country.
The former Anambra Goverrnor made his observation his verified X handle on Tuesday

In his words ‘I will remain persistent in my expressions of deep concern about the 2024 budget because of its critical importance to the lives of the citizens especially the poor in our midst.
“I will continue to do so until the end of the year as a matter of patriotic engagement. This is because the many negatives of the budget have far-reaching implications for the development of our dear nation and the well-being of our citizens.

“It is evident that there are items in the budget that do not align with our current circumstances, and it is imperative to call for a review and appropriate virement. Allocating our scarce resources to high-priority areas of need is essential for the well-being of the nation.

“For instance, allocating N15 billion solely for the National Assembly hospital is unacceptable, especially when it exceeds five times the budgetary allocation to the National Hospital or the combined capital vote of our six major teaching hospitals across the nation, namely; University College Hospital, Ibadan; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife; Jos University Teaching Hospital and University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.
He said the disparity reflects a low level of care for the rest of society.

“Similarly, justifying a budgetary allocation of N15.3 billion for the National Assembly library project and procurement of books, including the e-Library, in a country without a National Library is very disappointing.
“The National Library has been under construction for the past 20 years, and its budgetary allocation for 2024 is less than 1B Naira, which makes the National Assembly Library budget 15 times more.

“Again the National Assembly Library budget is more than the combined budget of the top national universities’ libraries that desperately need the Libraries for research, teaching and learning purposes.

“Furthermore, allocating N10 billion for the Senate’s and House of Representatives car parks and the National Assembly Recreation Centre, while allocating less to the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, is concerning. In an era where science, technology and innovation are crucial for the nation’s future, such allocations demonstrate a lack of foresight and basic awareness of global trends and urgent national priorities.

“This level of insensitivity to the present situation and challenges faced by the people should not be tolerated by any development-minded nation.

“Every scarce resource must be directed towards productive sectors of the economy. It is time for our nation to reassess its priorities, revisit the budget, eliminate frivolous expenditures and channel our resources properly for the benefit of the people.

“No great nation is built on a foundation of waste and frivolity.”

**Says N3000 toll fee is exorbitant

The General Secretary, Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Peter Ameh has aligned with the ascertion of Former vice president Atiku Abubakar that Lagos Calabar highway contract as high way to rob the Nigerian people.
The CUPP scribe said it is high way to fraud saying that the cloud hovering over the award of the contract have all the trappings of corruption and abuse of power
In a statement he issued in Abuja on Friday Mr. Ameh said the process lacks transparency and due process, as the contract was awarded without proper oversight and competitive bidding process.
According to him, the cost of building the road per kilometer is outrageous and unacceptable.
“We are already worried that due process was not followed in both the selection and award of the contract for the project.”
He said, the intention of Federal government that vehicles would pay an average of N3,000 per toll is not acceptable and should be rejected by all Nigerian citizens as it will further increase the burden on the Suffering masses of our country.
“Anything above 300 Naira will create a lot of hardship but worst case scenario 500 Niara will be totally intolerable. Let the people breath.

“We all know that there are institutions and bodies, agencies that are created by law to take care of matters of this nature, ranging from the Federal Executive Council, which sits to consider the economic imperative of this kind of gigantic project, the National Assembly which has been constitutionally mandated to apprropriate the funds, Bureau of Public Procurement which looks at the entities that will execute the contract without the federal government spending above and beyond what the project would ordinarily have cost, and etc.

According to him, constitutional democracy which we practice, funds are not arbitrarily expended without the authorisation of the legislative arm, which controls the purse of the nation and the president ought not to have doled out a trillion naira plus to his friends without authorisation.

“But in the event that the coastal highway is a build-operate-transfer-project, due process must also be followed with the aforementioned institutions and agencies which ought to have put in their knowhow with their input taken into consideration.
“If President Tinubu, as reported in the dailies and social media, has awarded the contract to the Chagourys who are alleged to be his bossom friends and business partners without due process and due consideration to the constitutional and statutory provisions, the National Assembly (that is if we have a functioning and responsible parliament that is not beholden to the Executive Branch) is obligated to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate and possibly call the president to order because doing what he is alleged to have done is a breach of the Constitution which he has sworn to uphold and protect.
“APC government has failed to deliver on the promises of open government and has decided to use government to reward their friends and cronies at the expense of tax payers.
All government contracts must follow open and competitive bidding process.