








Loading banners
Loading banners...


NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s leading online newspaper. Published by Africa’s international award-winning journalist, Mr. Isaac Umunna, NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s first truly professional online daily newspaper. It is published from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic and media hub, and has a provision for occasional special print editions. Thanks to our vast network of sources and dedicated team of professional journalists and contributors spread across Nigeria and overseas, NEWS EXPRESS has become synonymous with newsbreaks and exclusive stories from around the world.

The International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety) has demanded that President Muhammadu Buhari should explain how he spent the N741.462 billion or $3.7 billion, which which the group said is the Federal Government’s share of the Federation Allocations for the months of May, June, July and August 2015.
“Nigerians are firmly demanding for whereabouts of N741.462 Billion or $3.7 Billion, which amounted to the Federal Government’s shares of the Federation Allocations for the months of May, June, July and August 2015,” Intersociety said in a statement issued in Onitsha to mark Nigeria’s 55th independence anniversary.
According to the frontline rights group in a statement signed by Board Chairman Emeka Umeagbalasi and Head, Democracy & Good Governance Programme, Chiugo Onwuatuegwu, Esq., “In the month of May 2015 block allocations shared in June; the Buhari’s Presidential Sole Administratorship got N151.8 Billion out of N418.4 Billion shared among the Federal, States and Local Governments. In June, the Federal tier got N218.92 Billion out of N518.54 Billion shared. In July, it got N202.11 Billion out of N511.79 Billion shared and in August, it got N168.62 Billion out of N422.60 Billion shared. That is to say that the Buhari’s Presidential Sole Administratorship had in the past four months of May, June, July and August received from the Federation Account a total of N741. 46 Billion or $3.7 Billion, out of N1.871 Trillion or $9.37 Billion shared.
“Therefore, the Buhari’s Presidential Sole Administratorship inexcusably owes living and ancestral Nigerians moral and legal explanations as to the whereabouts of the whopping sum under reference. This is in view of the fact that there is no government known to the 1999 Constitution, constitutional democracy and its pluralistic composition as well as living and ancestral Nigerians that is presently in operation.”
Intersociety lamented Nigeria’s ordeal under Buhari’s watch, expressing bewilderment that he has been unable to form a cabinet since assuming office on May 29.
“Buhari’s Presidential Sole Administratorship has spent 120 days in office without government,” Intersociety said, adding: “It is extremely important to state here that formation of government under a constitutional democracy means legitimising electoral power and authority derived the electoral populace. In Parliamentary system, government is in place when there is a council of ministers. In Presidential system laid upon constitutional democracy, government is in place when there is executive cabinet or Federal Executive Council.
“Sadly, the Presidential Sole-Administratorship of Retired Gen Muhammadu Buhari has defiantly and impeachably spent 120 days without a Federal Executive Council or Ministers. Also important to mention is that nomination of ministerial names or transmission of their list to the National Assembly does not translate to formation of a government or inauguration of the Federal Executive Council. Apart from this presidential belligerence qualifying Retired Gen Buhari as Africa’s latest Presidential Sole-Administrator, it also means that he is only in office but not in government, power and authority. Whatever power and authority he feels he is presidentially exercising presently is totally antithetical to constitutional democracy and its hallowed principles. He is also exercising such power and authority in negative and democratic contradictions.
“The most shocking of the foregoing is the fact that ‘the 120 days without government’ in Nigeria has coincided with the country’s 55th years of independence Statehood and has made mockery of the costly efforts and successes of the country’s independence nationalists that won the country independence in 1960.”
•Photo shows President Buhari.