Tag: Ndume

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, has explained the difference between corruption by politicians and other people.

Ndume said corruption in Nigerian politics is people-driven and should not warrant any serious punishment.

The senator admitted that politicians “steal and share with the people”.

He stated this on Tuesday when he featured on a Television programme while speaking on the death penalty as the deterrent for those caught with drugs.

He said when politicians’ corruption is compared to others, it is a “small one’

Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, disclosing that the Nigerian government benefits from the dollar-to-naira increase.

Senator Ndume, in an interview with Channels Television today, analysed how the government is not losing out from the naira depreciation against the dollar but is gaining more revenue to fund its 2024 budget.

According to the senator, the 2024 budget presented last November by President Bola Tinubu is a ‘dollarized’ budget in terms of income, and most of the government’s revenue comes from crude oil exports, which are priced in dollars.

Ndume further explained that as the dollar’s value increased, the government would have more naira to spend on its expenditure, denominated in naira.

He said, “Don’t forget that this budget is a ‘dollarized’ budget, especially in terms of income. And when it comes to the terms of the expenditure, it’s in naira.

“So if we are getting our money in dollars and the value of the dollar is up, that means we will have more naira in terms of what we spend because we are not spending in dollars, we are spending in naira, while we are getting our revenue in dollars.

“Truly, the value of naira against the dollar has fallen but we are selling our major product that generates income in dollars. And that means any dollar we get now will also be valued at the current dollar-to-naira exchange rate.

“So if you do the analysis critically, it may mean if you balance it up, we may have more money to fund our budget. So technically, Nigeria is even benefiting from the dollar-to-naira hike.”

The Chief Whip to the Senate, Ali Ndume, has asked the Federal Government to abolish tax credits given to companies operating in Nigeria.

Ndume, a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, made this known on Wednesday during an interactive session between the committee and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.

In September, the Chairman of the Presidential Tax Reform Committee, Taiwo Oyedele, said tax incentives gulped N6tn annually.

According to the lawmaker representing Borno South Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly, the President Bola Tinubu administration must take bold decisions including yanking away tax credits given to big companies in the name of pioneer status.

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume has revealed that the deal for the presidential yacht included in the supplementary budget has already been signed and delivered.

Ndume made this revelation in an interview with Arise Television on Friday.

He said, “The deal has been signed and delivered, but not paid, and that’s what brought the inclusion of the amount (N5 billion) in the supplementary budget.”

Recall that the House of Representatives rejected the federal government’s plan to buy a presidential yacht, which is expected to cost N5 billion in the supplementary budget.

The controversial presidential yacht has been met with public outrage as Nigerians have criticized the plan as a waste of money on luxuries considering the economic situation in the country.

President Tinubu had tabled a supplementary budget in the National Assembly for approval, with the planned purchase of the yacht listed under the Nigerian Navy’s proposed capital expenditure of $53 million.

Meanwhile, the presidency has claimed the item named ‘Presidential Yacht, as found in the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill, is not for Tinubu’s personal use.

The presidency said the naval boat bears such a classification “because of the high-level security features.”

“What was named as a presidential yacht in the budget is an operational Naval boat with specialized security gadgets suitable for high-profile operational inspection and not for the use of the President.”

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement on Thursday.