Nigeria's National Assembly led by Senate President Bukola Saraki and House Speaker Yakubu Dogara paid out N5, 638, 664, 700 to 44 unqualified contractors, PREMIUM TIMES and UDEME can authoritatively report today. The payment was made from the controversial N10billion cash illegally passed to the federal legislature by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, and…

Delta North senator, Peter Nwaboshi, has been in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for days, the anti corruption body says. The EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed that the lawmaker is in the custody of the agency but declined to confirm whether he was arrested or…

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the withdrawal $462 million from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to the United States for the procurement of 12 Super Tucano aircraft, without a prior approval of the National Assembly, This Day newspaper has reported. A new letter by the president to the National Assembly,…

Billboards bearing the inscription; ‘This project was funded by senator/honourable XYZ,’ are familiar sights in Nigeria. Planting those kinds of signboards is the common method federal lawmakers use in communicating how they are supposedly using funds allocated to them under the zonal intervention project system. Such messages, usually left near…

For the first time in the history of the country, hoodlums invaded the Senate chambers making away with its symbol of authority, the mace. The intrusion not fizzle out without reactions from within and outside the Senate. The Senate also stepped down a bill which sought to re-order the 2019…

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has reacted to a PREMIUM TIMES report detailing how her ministry illegally approved N10 billion for the National Assembly. The report, published on Friday, indicated that Mrs Adeosun released the billions to the lawmakers despite the N125billion appropriated for the federal legislature in the 2017 fiscal year for…

Rattled by our report that the National Assembly under his leadership illegally received N10billion from the treasury, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has threatened to sue PREMIUM TIMES over the publication. The story entitled: “EXCLUSIVE: Minister Adeosun, Saraki, Dogara, Accountant General in N10 billion fraud scandal”, unearthed the…

The Senate has resolved to summon the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and the Director-General of the State Security Services (SSS), Lawal Daura, to brief the lawmakers on their investigation of the mace theft witnessed at the chamber on Wednesday. The mace was stolen from the Senate chamber by some…

The mace, which was stolen from the Senate on Wednesday, has been returned. The mace was stolen from the Senate chamber by some hoodlums believed to be working for a senator, Ovie Omo-Agege, on Wednesday. The Senate in reaction to the theft gave security agencies 24 hours to find the…

The senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has described the invasion of the Senate chamber by suspected hoodlums as an attempted coup d'état. Mr Sani was present at the Senate chambers when hoodlums forcefully entered the chamber and went away with the mace. The police early on Thursday said the…

The theft of the Senate mace by suspected thugs was, at best, carried out with the connivance of security agencies, and likely sponsored and carried out by security agents, PREMIUM TIMES can reveal. The robbery, executed in the full glare of lawmakers, journalists and other observers in the Senate Chamber…

The senator who was accused of masterminding the hoodlums invasion of the Senate chamber, Ovie Omo-Agege, has denied any involvement in the incident. The senator arrived the National Assembly premises with about 10 thugs believed to be working for him on Wednesday morning. Despite eyewitness and security operatives' account that…

Some lawyers have reacted to the replacement of the legislative mace after hoodlums stormed the National Assembly on Wednesday seizing the original one. The Senate plenary was disrupted after the suspected thugs invaded the chamber and made away with the symbol of authority. However, after an hour break during which…

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has commended his colleagues for standing in defence of democracy and the rule of law by resisting the invasion of the Senate chamber by hoodlums suspected to be working for suspended senator, Ovie Omo-Agege. Mr Saraki in a statement by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu,…

The federal government has directed security agencies to immediately swing to action to unravel circumstances surrounding the invasion of the Senate chamber by suspected hoodlums on Tuesday. In a statement signed by Segun Adeyemi, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Wednesday evening, the government…

The police on Wednesday afternoon arrested suspended senator, Ovie Omo-Agege, at the National Assembly premises. Mr Omo-Agege was whisked away in a black hilux van at about 1:54 p.m. The arrest is in connection to the theft of the Senate mace, hours earlier. Senate spokesperson, Sabi Abdullahi, accused the senator…

The Senate has accused a lawmaker, Ovie Omo-Agege, of leading hoodlums to seize the mace, which serves as the chamber's symbol of authority. In a statement after the incident on Wednesday, Senate spokesperson, Sabi Abdullahi, said the incident is an act of treason. Read the full statement below: *RESPONSE TO…

The Senate plenary was on Wednesday disrupted after suspected thugs invaded the chamber and made away with the mace. The incident happened few seconds after a suspended senator, Ovie Omo-Agege, entered the chamber. PREMIUM TIMES reporter observed that about 10 suspected thugs who came to the venue with the senator…

The Senator representing Osun West, Ademola Adeleke, has declared his intent to run for the governorship position in Osun State. The lawmaker, who has become popular for his energetic dancing sessions usually posted online, made his intention known in a letter written the Osun State chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic…

A human rights organisation, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to remove all illegal allowances inserted by federal lawmakers in the 2018 budget. The group also wants the president to retrieve from the lawmakers, previous fund collected illegally. PREMIUM TIMES reported how…

The Senate has cautioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) to exercise restraint when dealing with sister security agencies. The recommendation follows the adoption of the report of an ad-hoc committee set up to investigate a face-off between armed operatives of the EFCC, the State Security Service, (SSS) and…

The Senate on Thursday mandated its committee on Petroleum (Upstream) to investigate the contention over the oil producing status of Kogi and Anambra states. The resolution came after three senators from Kogi, Anambra and Enugu states traded of words on the issue. First was Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu) who told his…

The police in Kaduna have identified a serving Nigerian senator as a person of interest in an ongoing homicide investigation. Consequently, Austin Iwar, the police commissioner in the state has written to the senator asking him to appear on April 30 at the Command Headquarters in Kaduna for questioning. "This…

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday ordered the immediate disbandment of a group, Parliamentary Support Group, in the senate It is not clear if Mr Saraki, as senate president, has such constitutional powers to disband a freely formed group, especially as the constitution guarantees freedom of association. However, none…

The Senate on Thursday mandated its committee on police affairs and national security intelligence to investigate a bank robbery in Offa, Kwara State, that led to the death of many. PREMIUM TIMES reported the attack last week on five banks and a police station in the town. The police later…