France Honours Bella Disu with Prestigious National Honour

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday challenged the President Muhammadu Buhari government to lead by example by publishing details of its spending and financial transactions as an impetus to enforce its financial reporting directives on Ministries, Departments and Agencies

France has honoured the Executive Vice Chairman of Globacom, Mrs. Bella Disu, with the prestigious national honour of “Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres.”

The award, which is in recognition of Mrs. Disu’s remarkable support for arts and culture, especially her coordination of the construction of the iconic Alliance Francaise Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos, was presented to her at a formal ceremony held at the centre and presided over by the French State Secretary for Education and Youth, Ministry, Gabriel Attal.

The French minister, who is the youngest minister in France, said he was delighted to present (MDAs).

The main opposition party also called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) to come clean on revelations in the public space that the N40 billion taxpayers’ money allegedly siphoned from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) was used to finance its 2019 election campaigns.

But in a swift response, the APC described the statement the honour to Mrs. Disu as the youngest recipient of the French national honour.

The minister said the unique national honour is reserved for icons who have supported the sustenance and growth of French culture.

He described the Mike Adenuga Centre as magnificent and the most beautiful of all Alliance Francaise centres in the world. He also described the equipment, sound, lighting and technology at the centre as first class, adding that the project is a cultural revolution.

Facing the Chairman of Mike Adenuga Group, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr. who witnessed the ceremony along with the Lagos State Governor, Mr. from the PDP alleging that the sum of N40 billion was released to the party by the FIRS to prosecute the 2019 election political campaigns as hogwash and baseless.

The PDP in a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, also tasked the presidency to publish details, including the beneficiaries, the purpose and the amount

Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other eminent dignitaries, the French minister said, “Who could have imagined that it was possible to build such a cultural centre in just a few months? From the very first minute, dear Chairman, you wished that your daughter would lead the project that would facilitate cultural collaborations between French speaking countries and Nigeria.

“The team worked relentlessly under the attentive but firm supervision of Bella to deliver the building in a record time. It is one of the most exceptional projects of our cultural network and one of the most outstanding examples of arts and culture sponsorships in Nigeria. of each payment, in line with the presidential directive to the MDAs.

The PDP said it is not enough for Buhari to issue spending directives to MDAs without his presidency, which received billions of naira in budgetary allocation, leading by example.

According to the PDP, “Nigerians deserve to know how much is allocated to the presidency; the various expenditure subheads, process of award of contracts, the contractors, the beneficiaries, amounts paid and the payment system.

“Perhaps such would explain why certain individuals who are close to the presidency live in ostentatious opulence and flaunt very expensive lifestyle in the same country where millions of citizens wallow in abject poverty, hunger, homelessness and disease.”

The PDP alleged in the statement that there are several ‘ugly scenarios around the presidency, including the arrest in October of a suspected scammer, Abdulrauf Illyasu’, who even enjoyed an office accommodation within the safety and cover of the presidential villa.

This, the party said, was in addition to the arrest of a said confidant of the president, Nasir Danu, at Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom, for alleged international passport scam and money laundering while allegedly ferrying currencies for persons said to be close to the presidency.

Meanwhile, the PDP has called on the APC to come clean on revelations in the public that the N40 billion taxpayers’ money allegedly siphoned from the FIRS was used to finance its 2019 election campaigns.

The party said in a statement by Ologbondiyan that the revelation, which has reportedly unsettled certain persons in the Buhari presidency, has further exposed the APC as a decadent lot and a gathering of treasury looters who thrive in cheating and deceit at a very high level.

Meanwhile, the APC has described the statement from the PDP alleging that the sum of N40 billion was released to the party by the FIRS to prosecute the 2019 election political campaigns as hogwash and baseless.