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Budget Padding: Why Suspended NSITF ED, Kemi Nelson Accused Ngige Of Fraudulently Inserting #1.2bn As Commission.

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6 years ago

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The suspended Executive Director of Operations at the Nigeria Social Investment Fund (NSITF), Kemi Nelson, has written to President Muhammadu Buhari over the management crisis rocking the agency.

In the letter, Nelson accused the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, of fraudulently inserting N1.2 billion “as commissions to contributors” of the Fund while also inserting 5 SUVs in the 2020 budget of the NSITF.

Nelson wrote to Buhari after the recent suspension of NSITF’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer and three Executive Directors by Ngige over allegations of corruption. The suspended ED in the letter dated July 9, urged President Buhari to order an independent investigation of allegations levelled against the management of the agency.

Nelson described the allegations as unfounded, adding that their suspension was because they opposed fraudulent activities of the minister.
“It needs to be revealed that the minister, single-handedly amended the 2020 budget of the NSITF in connivance with his stooge who is the board chairman, and inserted N1.2 billion as commissions to contributors, who do not require any commission, because their contributions are statutory. This is clear evidence of corrupt practice and budget padding. (We have documentary evidence of this.)

“The Minister on his own also inserted Five (5) number SUVs into the budget of the NSITF besides the Four (4) number Trust Fund vehicles already in his custody. This represents the type of reckless, unaccountable and corrupt expenditure that that the minister engages in and for which we are now being punished because we opposed such misapplication of public funds.”

Nelson added that, “Appointing a stooge as the board secretary is against the Act establishing the NSITF, as only the board itself can appoint a professional as the board secretary. The Minister blatantly disregarded the Act while claiming it was the president who approved such decision and in clear violation of the law insisted on handpicking a board secretary all in fulfilling a personal agenda.”

Meanwhile, in a statement announcing the suspension of the NSITF top management staff, Ngige had claimed that a preliminary investigation against the management established prima facie infractions on the extant Financial Regulations and Procurement Act. and other acts of gross misconduct. The minister had said, “During the period of their suspension, the officers will face a Joint Board and Audit Investigative Panel that had been set up to look into the financial and procurement breaches, as well as gross misconduct in the NSITF from 2016 to date.

“The gross misconduct has invariably put the contributions of stakeholders in a perilous state. The affected officers have also been directed to hand over to the most senior officers in their respective departments.”

Source: Ivory NG.

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Rivers Crisis: Full List Of 8 Misconduct Allegations Against Governor Fubara

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3 days ago

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January 9, 2026

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The Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, has initiated impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Ngozi Odu, issuing them a seven-day notice to respond to allegations of gross misconduct.

 

The Assembly cited eight specific allegations of gross misconduct as the basis for the move.

This is the third time Fubara and Odu would be facing impeachment proceedings from the Assembly since coming to office in 2023.

Attempts to impeach them in 2023 and 2025, amid political feuds between the Governor and his predecessor and erstwhile political god-father, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, had been halted by presidential intervention.

Here are the allegations below:

1. Reckless and unconstitutional expenditure of public funds

2. Unconstitutional misappropriation of public funds

3. Hindering the Rivers Assembly from performing its constitutional duties

4. Illegal appointments of persons without screening by the House of Assembly as provided by the Constitution

5. Seizure of salaries and funds meant for Assembly members

6. Seizure of salaries of the clerk of the Rivers House of Assembly, Emeka Amadi

7. Refusal to implement provisions of the Constitution on financial autonomy of the legislature and the judiciary

8. Withholding of funds meant for the running of the Rivers House of Assembly Service Commission and hindering its activities

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2027: SDP Will Defeat APC and Tinubu, Declares Lilian Adebayo

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2 months ago

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October 30, 2025

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Lilian Adebayo, the wife of the 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, has said that the party will unseat the ruling All Progressive Party at the 2027 election if Nigerians are true to themselves.

 

Mrs Adebayo made this assertion known on Wednesday during an interview with journalists after an event in Abuja.

 

According to her, the opposition party has overcome its crisis after the expulsion of its former chairman, Shehu Gabam and others.

 

She said Nigerians should vote the APC out in the 2027 general election due to the hardship the party has plunged citizens into.

 

“There is always a crisis in the party; the SPD has been able to handle its own. The problems in the party have been resolved.

 

“He has a great chance of winning the election if Nigerians are honest with themselves. If Nigerians think that the ones they consistently vote for would move the country forward, they live in denial,” she concerning the husband.

 

Recall that SDP recently expelled Gabam and other party executives.

 

The party’s state chairmen on Wednesday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the police to investigate Gabam over alleged misappropriation.

SOURCE

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Enugu Governor Peter Mbah Dumps PDP For APC

Published

3 months ago

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October 14, 2025

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In a significant political move, Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.

 

Mbah announced his decision during a televised broadcast in Enugu after weeks of speculation.

 

He said, “Today, after a long reflection, we have made the decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party and join the All Progressives Congress.”

 

Mbah explained that his decision to join the PDP was informed by the need to reshape Enugu and reorganise the politics of the state.

 

“Today, I stand before you to announce a break from the past and to share a decision that will shape the road ahead. This concerns our values, how we organize ourselves politically and how we secure the future of our project and our people.

 

“Leadership sometimes demands painful decisions in the service of higher principles and goals. And there comes a time, when everyone must make a bold choice to determine their destiny.”

 

Ahead of the governor’s defection, all members of his cabinet had on joined the ruling party.

 

Governor Mbah’s Senior Media Aide, Dan Nwomeh, confirmed the mass defection in a video posted on his social media handles on Monday. In the video, several government officials were seen openly declaring their allegiance to the APC, chanting praises for President Bola Tinubu and affirming their commitment to the new party.

 

“Enugu State Cabinet Members join the APC with full chest along with Governor PN Mbah,” Nwomeh stated.

 

The officials, including commissioners and top aides, could be heard in the video declaring, “We are now in APC; tomorrow is here; it is APC all the way; it is Jagaban all the way; from top to bottom.”

 

The collective defection marks a significant political shift in Enugu State, which has been a PDP stronghold since 1999.

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