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Tag: Shehu Sani

  • Senate Invasion: Presidency may be next – Shehu Sani

    The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has described that the invasion and the snatching of the mace from the upper legislative chambers as an attempted coup d’etat and an assault to democracy.

    Thugs suspected to be loyal to the suspended Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial district, Ovie Omo-Agege on Wednesday, invaded the red chambers and forcefully taken away the mace.

    They stormed the chambers when plenary was going on, thereby creating serious confusion and tension.

    Sani had immediate after the incident on Wednesday revealed how he stopped the plenary from being adjourned.

    In series of tweets, the Senator said what happened to the upper legislative chamber yesterday could also happen to the Presidency if not checked.

    He tweeted, “The armed invasion of the senate stands condemned. Its treasonable, an attempted coup d etat .Its an assault on democracy and a desecration of an institution of democracy.

    “Those who sanctioned, organized and supported this will someday do that to the Presidency or the judiciary.

    “I salute the courage of those senators who heed to our call to stand firm and defend the parliament and democracy.

    “We appreciate the solidarity of members of House of Representatives. We salute the courage of supporting staff of the senate chambers who fell victims of the armed invaders.”

  • Police name Sen. Shehu Sani suspect in murder case

    The police in Kaduna have named Senator Shehu Sani as a suspect 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 is in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide transferred to this office by 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, alongside with exhibit audio CD in which your name was mentioned by the principal suspect,” Iwar said in a letter to Sani, who represent Kaduna Central at the red chamber.

    “This is to enable us fairly and timely conclude investigation into the matter, Mr Iwar said,” Iwar said in the letter addressed to Sani through the Clerk of the National Assembly.

    A copy of the letter was also forwarded to Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
    Reacting, however, Sani claimed there was a plan to frame him up for murder by his political opponents in the state.

    The lawmaker pointed accusing fingers at the Kaduna government, with which he has been having a running battle.

    “They want to frame me the same way they frame Senator Dino Melaye in Kogi on allegation of arming thugs,” Sani, who claims not to have seen the letter said.

  • Senator Sani calls for publication of ‘Saints’ List

    Senator Shehu Sani has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) to release ‘List of Saints.’

    The lawmaker’s comments comes as a reaction to the publication of‘looters list’ by both the APC and PDP.

    According to the Sani, who spoke on Tuesday, “The two sides entertained the nation with their ‘List of Looters’. Now it’s time for them to publish their ‘List of Saints’ who have never sinned and can confidently throw the first stone.”

    On the recent killings in his state, the Kaduna Central lawmaker added that, “The wave of inter gang violence, bloodshed and thuggery in Kaduna state has never peaked to this level in the history of our state.

    “Those supporting, sustaining and encouraging these acts of criminality for their political or economic advantage should know that there will be consequences in the future even if they enjoy protection today.

    “I condemned this atrocities in totality and call on security agencies and the general public to harmoniously work together to end this menace.”

  • Senator’s takehome: Who to believe, RMAFC or Shehu Sani?

    The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has come forward to clarify its position on the unending controversies surrounding the actual remuneration figures of members of the National Assembly.

    In a statement signed by RMAFC’s Spokesperson, Mr Ibrahim Mohammed, the Commission stated that the clarification is become imperative in view of the recent revelations by the Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani.

    TheNewsGuru reports Senator Sani recently disclosed that each Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria collects a monthly running cost of N13.5 million in addition to the monthly salary of N750,000.00 prescribed by the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.) (Amendments) Act 2008.

    According to Mohammed in the RMAFC’s statement, the Law on Salaries and Allowances of Public Office Holders is very clear and as such it is only the management of the National Assembly Service Commission that can explain the N13.5 M running cost allegedly being enjoyed by each Senator as the Act only covers Salary and Allowances but not running cost.

    “A closer look at the monthly entitlement of Senators reveals that each Senator collects salary and allowances of the sum of N1,063,860:00 consisting of the following: basic N168,866.70, motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance allowance N126,650:00,

    “Personal Assistant N42,216.66, Domestic Staff 126,650.00, Entertainment N50,660.00, Utilities N50,660.00, Newspapers/Periodicals N25,330.00, Wardrobe N42,216.66, House Maintenance N8,433.00 and Constituency N422,166.66.

    “It is instructive to note that some allowances are regular while others are non-regular. Regular allowances are paid regularly with Basic Salaries while Non-Regular allowances are paid as at when due. The payment of running cost is not part of RMAFC mandate, therefore only the NASS can explain it,” the statement read.

    The statement adds that auditing does not fall within the purview of the Commission.

    “Thus, RMAFC also wishes to use this opportunity to state that any other payments enjoyed by any political, or public office holders outside those provided in the Remuneration Act of 2008 is not known to the Commission and the chief accounting officer of the agencies concerned should explain it.

    “To avoid misinformation and misrepresentation of facts capable of misleading citizens and members of the international community, the Commission considers it most appropriate and necessary to request Nigerians and any other interested party to avail themselves of the opportunity to access the actual details of the present remuneration package for political, public and judicial office holders in Nigeria published on its website,” the statement added.

     

  • Why I exposed N750,000 salary, N13.5m monthly running cost of Nigerian Senators – Sani

    Senator representing Kaduna Central on the floor of the senate, Shehu Sani has explained why he exposed the hidden N13.5m monthly running cost and other emoluments of Nigerian senators.

    He said he did it to burnish the image of senators.

    Recall that the Senate in response defended the pay as “nothing new”, adding that Sani only revealed what had been in existence.

    But many Nigerians and civil society groups have been angry at what they consider to be an outrageous pay.

    Speaking in an interview programme aired yesterday on an Ibadan-based radio station, Fresh FM, “Political Circuit”, Sani, who ran a civil rights group before his election into the senate in 2015, said he saw the need to break the culture of secrecy surrounding the activities of the National Assembly because it had given the parliament a bad name, despite being peopled by by successful professionals and businessmen.

    He said: “The National Assembly is made up of distinguished personalities – doctors, lawyers, engineers, academics and all who have made it in life. But because of this culture of secrecy and silence, people who found themselves in the National Assembly are criminalised and stigmatised.

    “The dome of the National Assembly is being seen to house people of questionable character and integrity. So, what I did was to rescue the honour and credibility of the parliament by removing the veil of secrecy to bring it once and for all to an end.

    “ It has been 19 years of civil administration and it has been 19 years of secrecy, of people not wanting to speak out.

    “We have reached a point where people speculate and say so many bad things about the National Assembly. You see all sorts of figures of what senators are collecting. Some say N50 million, some speculate N100 million. But whatever people say, naturally, others will believe because there is no counter information, no truth coming from the other side.

    “So, I said, ‘I know it is painful, I know that I will lose friends and colleagues within the very establishment that I serve’. But I need to speak because I was part of those who fought and struggled for the restoration of this democracy.

    “I went to jail and was in the forefront of the protest against military rule. It is not possible for me to speak against the military rule and now I cannot. And, as such, I say it is temporary pain.”

    Sani said he pointed out early that the money was huge but that the parliament did nothing about it, hence he continued to collect it along with his colleagues.

    The senator said following his revelation, he expected Nigerians to ask questions about what members of the executive, judiciary and state lawmakers were earning..

    “Now that Nigerians know what the senators are earning, it is time for them to also ask what is happening in the Presidency, the Judiciary and the other arm of government.

    “Since I have come out to speak, we should also ask people to ask the members of their houses of assembly who also collect this money to speak. I know things are not going to be easy because when I made the disclosure, there was explosion, even right in my own house.

    “I will appeal to Nigerians to now shift focus to the governors, the ministers, those in the Presidency, the SGF, the Chief of Staff to the President, and NNPC GMD, to ask them to say publicly say what they earn monthly.

    “So, I know very well that it comes with a lot of price. But in the long run, our people will not be focusing on the senators. They will now be focusing on other areas and other people who refuse to come out and speak.”

    Sani justified the lawmakers’ bid to reorder elections, saying it is aimed at preventing the usual bandwagon effect of the presidential election where the party of the elected president coasts home to victory in the states.

    The senator pointed out that the National Assembly felt that federal lawmakers needed to stand on their merit in elections to enable Nigerians elect only those they truly believe in.

     

  • 2019: Sen. Sani speaks on crises in APC, other national issues

    Sen. Shehu Sani (APC-Kaduna) says the All Progressives Congress(APC) must put its house in order to emerge victorious in the 2019 elections.

    He disclosed this while speaking on Saturday at the 5th Olalekan Olomide Platform for Development held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, Iyanganku in Ibadan.

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, said the ruling party had been enmeshed in various crises at different levels since 2015, and such cracks need to be addressed for the party to emerge victorious in the 2019 election.

    “I believe that the reconciliatory committee led by the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has started a good job and I believe it can achieve a lot.

    “Some of the critical areas that need to be seriously addressed are the crises between senators and governors and the gap between the party and National Assembly (NASS).

    “There is also the seeming cold war between NASS and the executive,” Sani said.

    He said the APC must get its house in order for it to confront various challenges bedevilling the nation.

    Sani said the APC-led administration in the country had achieved some successes, particularly in the area of insurgency and the image of the country which is presently on the positive side.

    “On the economy, there is drastic reduction in corruption, but the mindless killing in some parts of the country is mind-boggling; this is a serious threat to the peace of our nation,” he said.

    According to him, the killing is unacceptable and the president must stand up firmly against it.

    The lawmaker described the South West region as the heartbeat of the APC, saying when the party suffers a stroke in the region it would lead to devastation.

    Sani categorically opposed the call for creation of state police.

    “Our crisis in Kaduna is an APC affair; the crisis got to this stage because our party failed to resolve it till it got to the stage of demolishing party’s secretariat.

    “Imagine, if such a governor is now given the right to create state police, what will be the fate of those who disagree with him?”

    The lawmaker said his recent revelation on the salaries of lawmakers was to save the dignity and integrity of the National Assembly that had been stained.

    He urged Nigerians to brace up and demand to know the running cost of the presidency and the judiciary for accountability.

     

  • Monkeys invade, cart away N70m in senator’s farm house – Shehu Sani

    Senator representing APC Kaduna Central in the Senate, Shehu Sani on Wednesday explained how and why a fellow senator, Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa-APC) was removed as chairman of the Northern Senators Forum.

    Sani said about N70 million belonging to the group was claimed to have been carted away by monkeys in a farmhouse.

    Recall that Adamu’s removal was announced in a letter read by the presiding officer, Ike Ekweremadu, shortly before the end of the plenary on Wednesday.

    The letter signed by the forum’s Public Relations Officer, Dino Melaye, noted that Adamu was removed for ‘financial mismanagement and misadministration.’

    Responding to questions on why the senator was removed, Mr. Sani said the financial mismanagement borders on a N70 million belonging to the forum.

    He said the money was rumoured to have been carted away by monkeys in a farm house.

    In his words: “There are some things some of my colleagues will not say but I’m not used to holding back. When we assumed office, Senator Ahmed Lawan tendered the sum of N70 million to the 8th Senate. That N70 million was money gathered from the 7th Senate. It was handed over to northern senators of 8th Senate. The rumours going round, which I don’t know whether it’s true but I believe other senators know, is the fact that there were allegations that some monkeys raided the farm house of some of the executives of the northern senators forum and carted away some of these money.

    “I think, this country is becoming a huge joke. First of all, it was the rodents that drove away the president and then we now have snakes consuming about N36 million and now we have monkeys raiding farm house. So, they don’t want this to be said but I believe that we should be very clear.”

    He, however, didn’t mention whose farm house it is among the executives.

    Speaking on the change, Dino Melaye said the decision was that of the majority in the forum.

    “All I will just say is simply that the decision of the majority of the Northern Senators Forum is that they want to have a change of leadership. The allegations investigated and found out to be true is that there was financial mismanagement. Monies were spent without the consent of members or the excos. The organisation is becoming moribund and we need to inject some vibrancy in the organisation,” he said.

    He declined to comment on the N70 million allegation.

    The embattled senator also declined to speak on the allegation. He told journalists he would speak at an appropriate time.

  • Doom awaits APC if Tinubu fails – Senator Sani

    Sen. Shehu Sani has said that avoidable doom awaits the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the 2019 polls, should Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu fail to reconcile aggrieved members.

    Sani, a chieftain of the APC who represents Kaduna central in the Senate, stated this on Sunday in Abuja in an interview with newsmen.

    It was his own reaction to Tinubu´s recent appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the APC team of consultation, reconciliation and confidence-building.

    Tinubu’s assignment, among others, is to forge cohesion within the APC ahead of the 2019 general election. It involves resolving disagreements among party members and leaders.

    It also involves reconciling political office holders in some APC-controlled states and addressing crises in the party`s chapters in Kano, Kogi, Kaduna, Bauchi and other states.

    ´´It is going to be a tragedy if he fails. This is what I know and I can speak in parables,´´ said Sani who has not been in a good relationship with Governor Ahmad Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state.

    According to him, the Kaduna state governor has pocketed the party and wants to impose his will and unleash terror on members, by exploiting his proximity to the President.

    He said Tinubu´s appointment has halted, for now, the defection of most APC members to other political parties.

    Sani said it is no more news that the APC is faced with crises in some states where it holds sway, adding that the crises have defied solutions for over two years.

    The Senator noted that efforts made in the past have failed to address the multi-state crises.

    Sani while confirming that the Kaduna state chapter of the party is now having a parallel executive, said it was left for the Tinubu team to address the situation before it gets out of hand.

    ´´It is left for Asiwaju to build the bridges. Lagos is known for bridges; therefore we hope that there will be Seventh Mainland Bridge to connect the divide, but we are not sure of this.

    ´´Right now, the party is already divided in Kaduna and it is for the national secretariat to note this and we have said it in clear terms.

    ´´The problem has defied solution for two years, but we believe that Asiwaju can do a lot of reconciliation.

    ´´We hope that he will be able to achieve a lot, because if he fails, it is going to be doom for the party.

    ´´In the process where reconciliation is taking place now, I think it is in our interest to put our ambitions in our pockets according to what Mr President said and wait for Asiwaju to address the problem,´´ he said.

    Sani advised the Tinubu reconciliation team not to take sides but to give equal treatment, especially as far as Kaduna state is concerned, in the interest of the party and its members.

    He expressed confidence that Tinubu´s appointment could most likely address the fundamental issues that were confronting the party at both the national and state level.

    The Senator, however, maintained that nobody could have solved the party´s many problems other than President Buhari through Tinubu.

    This according to him, was especially so because APC state governors, Senators and members of House of Representatives could not solve the problems because they were all parties to it.

    He added that even the party at the national level could not solve the problem because there had been disrespect and disregard for the party´s leadership in the last two years.

    Sani noted that the very fact that the APC had been inhibited with lack of funds and other challenges, made it impossible for it to bring to order the situation.

    While noting that the APC crisis started earlier, the Senator said addressing the situation would prevent more damages that could affect its fortunes in 2019.

    ´´It is of concern that a party that came to power with so much goodwill, and hope has found itself in a civil war with itself.

    ´´Right now, the APC is both the government and the opposition, because most of the criticism and opposition that is going on in the country is within the APC itself,´´ he said.

    Sani blamed the situation in the APC to lack of party supremacy and internal democracy which he said was evident in South Africa and Ethiopia as was recently displayed.

    ´´In Nigeria, there is no supremacy of the party because people holding position of executive power think that the party should be under them and not them being below the party.

    ´´Political parties in the Nigerian setting, seem to be parastatals of the state governments and that is totally unacceptable. There is also the syndrome of ‘the party is our own’.

    ´´If a clique of people believe that they founded the party and other people are strangers, then the recipe for crisis has been set,´´ he said.

    The Senator warned that if all party members are not treated equally and fairly, there would be problem.

    He recalled that the PDP was not destroyed from the outside, but from the inside, adding that it was the marginalised and oppressed elements within the party that became the final nail on its coffin.

     

  • JUST IN: Senator contracts snake charmers to retrieve missing N36m from JAMB office

    The Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Sen. Shehu Sani on Tuesday stormed the headquarters of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board in Bwari, FCT with snake charmers.

    Sani said, the visit, was with a view to getting to the bottom of the issue surrounding the reported case of missing N36 million from the JAMB office in Makurdi, Benue.

    One Philomena Chieshe, a sales clerk in the JAMB office, Makurdi, told JAMB registrar and his team that “she could not account for N36 million she made in previous years before the abolition of scratch cards.

    “In the course of interrogation, Philomena denied the allegations that she stole the money but confessed that her housemaid connived with another JAMB staff to spiritually (through a snake) steal the money from the vault in the account office”, the report said.

    According to Sani, his visit to JAMB is in response to the story that a snake swallowed N36 million.

    He lamented that it was of concern that such a huge sum of money was reported to have been swallowed by a snake.

    “I believe that the contribution I can make is to bring snake charmers from my constituency to the JAMB office and to help them fish out the snake and weed out snakes from their premises.”

    Sani further said that if a snake could actually swallow N36 million, one day Nigerians may wake up to say that a snake had swallowed the country’s foreign reserve.

    “I believe that my contribution to JAMB will help them fish out snakes within the office.

    “Even if it is a spiritual matter, we believe that these people I brought, they are some of the best snake charmers in the country and they will help in arresting both physical and spiritual snakes if there has been any in the JAMB office.”

    He explained that it was very clear the incident did not happen doing the tenure of the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.

    “We are very proud of him. We believe he is someone who should continue to man this agency and he is acting in the right direction.

    “It is good for Nigerians to know this is what has been happening before he came into office. I believe the best thing we can do is to continue to support him.

    “People should understand the story which is very clear and if that is the case, if people, civil servants could have used the opportunity to have been in office to enrich themselves using snake stories.

    “It is high time for all Nigerians to know that there may be even dirty things happening in other places but this place has exposed it for us to see the truth and I’m very much happy about that.

    “We will continue to support him. And as far as we are concerned the story that public funds could be taken away by some people in the name of snake, it is virtually unacceptable.

    Sani thereafter presented cartons of snake repellent and chemicals to the agency.

    In his response, the Spokesperson for JAMB, Mr Fabian Benjamin explained that on assumption of duty, the present registrar discovered that there were a lot of loopholes in the sale of scratch cards.

    “Before the registrar resumed duty, what we were using to register candidates and all other services was scratch cards.

    “We discovered a lot of loopholes, we discovered that staff were exposed to cash and then he stopped the use of scratch cards.

    “The registrar thereafter introduced pin vending. After introducing pin vending, it was natural for him to call for audit or stock taking.

    “After taking stock it was discovered that in some offices they could not account for what they sold, or the card that was left.

    “Ms Philomena Chieshe was entrusted with a number of scratch cards which she sold and N36 million could not be accounted for, when asked she actually said she sold them at the said amount, kept the money in the public vault.

    “According to her, a snake swallowed the money.”

    Benjamin further explained in the spirit of transparency, inclusiveness and openness the agency felt that Nigerians should know what was happening.

    He said Chieshe had been queried and has appeared before a disciplinary committee.

    “A report has been written and sent to the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu and as soon as that report is approved, she will either be dismissed or handed over to the security agency for proper profiling.

    “At the moment she has been interjected,” Benjamin said.

    He also noted that there was a case in Nasarawa State where the staff claimed on his way to submit the cards, he had an accident and the cards got burnt.

     

  • 2019: Why NASS changed order of elections – Senator Shehu Sani

    Shehu Sani, Senator representing Kaduna Central, on Thursday disclosed why the National Assembly changed the order of the 2019 general election.

    The All Progressives Congress, APC, lawmaker said the order of the 2019 general election was changed to allow all political parties a level playing ground.

    In a post on his Facebook page, the lawmaker explained that the change in the electoral timetable would help prevent “mass trial, mass conviction, mass acquittal and mass burial of candidates.”

    Shehu wrote: “We changed the sequence of elections so as to give all political parties a level playing ground during elections.

    “The new sequence will arraign each candidate, alone in the dock before “Justice Electorate”. The new sequence will prevent mass trial,mass conviction,mass acquittal and mass burial of candidates or politicians.”

    The National Assembly had recently amended the Electoral Act to change the order of 2019 general elections’ time table.