The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Five men get death penalty in Bangladesh over 1971 war crimes

    By Agency Reporter

    A special tribunal in Bangladesh capital of Dhaka on Tuesday sentenced five men to death for crimes against humanity during the country’s war of independence in 1971.

    The International Crimes Tribunal, led by its Chairman, Justice Md Shahinur Islam, found the suspects Abdul Jabbar Mondol, and his two sons, Jachhijar Rahman, and Abdul Wahed Mondol guilty.

    Others are Ranju Miah and Montaz Ali Bepari also found guilty of the charges brought against them.

    The charges include killing, abduction, confinement, torture, arson and looting.

    One of the convicts Miah was taken to the tribunal for verdict delivery at 10:30 a.m. local time Tuesday as the rest are on the run.

    Bangladeshi police chief was asked for immediate steps to arrest the fugitives.

    Read Also: Concerns over rising crimes in Gulf of Guinea

    In line with law, the death row convicts have the opportunity to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court within a month of the verdict.

    After returning to power in January 2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangladesh’s independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, established the first tribunal in March 2010, almost 40 years after the 1971 war.

    Muslim-majority Bangladesh was called East Pakistan until 1971.

    The government of Hasina said about three million people were killed in the independence war.

  • Court grants bail to lecturer accused of sexual harassment

    By Agency Reporter

    A Kano Chief Magistrate Court has granted bail to a lecturer standing trial over alleged sexual harassment of his female student.

    The 36-year-old lecturer, Ali Shehu, was granted N200,000 bail with two reliable sureties in like sum by Chief Magistrate Muhammad Idris.

    He said one of the sureties must be a Senior Lecturer of Kano State School of Technology and the second shall be the village head of where the accused person resides.

    “Both the accused and sureties shall deposit two recent passport photographs,’’ he ordered on Tuesday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the court had earlier fixed Oct. 15, for sentencing after the accused pleaded guilty, but during Tuesday’s hearing, his counsel requested for a fresh trial.

    The counsel, Mr Abdullahi Ibrahim, told the court that when the accused person was first arraigned on Oct. 8, he admitted the content of the First Information Report without understanding it.

    “We humbly apply that the content of the FIR to be read and explained to the accused person again to give his plea in line with section 36 of the Constitution of Nigeria for fair hearing,’’ Ibrahim said.

    When the plea of the accused was again taken, he pleaded not guilty, and his counsel urged the court to grant him bail.

    Read Also: Sexual harassment: NGO, Ford Foundation partner to develop app

    “If granted bail, he will not jump bail nor will he commit another offence and he is ready to comply with the court order.’’

    Shehu, a lecturer of Kano State School of Technology, is facing trial on a two-count charge of breach of official trust and attempt to commit an offence, contrary to Sections 95 and 98 of the Penal Code.

    The Prosecutor, ASP Badamasi Gawuna, had earlier told the court that the accused committed the offence on Aug. 19, in Kano.

    Gawuna said this followed a sting operation conducted by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.

    He said that on the same date at about 11.00 a.m., the accused, took one of his female students (name withheld) to Ummi Plaza in Kano, to help him mark his students final semester examination scripts.

    “In the process, the accused admitted to touching the said victim’s private part,’’ the prosecutor said.

    The chief magistrate has adjourned the case until Nov. 7, for hearing.

  • 2.37 million voters, 25,813 ad-hoc staff for Kogi, Bayelsa guber – INEC

    By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said a total of 2.37 million voters will have access to voting during the November 16 governorship election in Bayelsa and Kogi states.

    The Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who disclosed this recently, while briefing the Senator Kabiru Gaya-led Senate Committee on INEC on the Commission’s preparations for the Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections, in Abuja, also said a total of 25,813 ad-hoc staff would be engaged for the task in both states.

    Professor Yakubu, who was in the company of National Commissioners of the Commission, also revealed that voting will be taking place in 2,244 polling units across Bayelsa’s 105 electoral wards in its eight council areas, just as it will be taking place in 3,508 polling units across Kogi’s 239 wards in its 21 council areas.

    Giving a breakdown of the number of eligible voters in both states, the INEC Chairman explained that though a total of 2,569,432 persons got registered in both states (923,182 for Bayelsa and 1,646,250 for Kogi) and since only those with Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) will be allowed to vote, the number of those who would be eligible on election day would be just 2,375,136, as that is the figure of the PVC already collected.

    “In terms of the number of local governments, Bayelsa has 8 local government areas. Kogi has 21. Bayelsa has 105 electoral wards, Kogi has 239. For the Polling Units including the Voting Points, Bayelsa has 2,244 polling units and voting points while Kogi has 3508.

    “In terms of the registered voters, Bayelsa has 923,182 registered voters, whereas Kogi has 1,646,350 registered voters. Since 2015, it has been the practice that where citizens have no PVCs (permanent Voters’ Cards) they can’t vote.

    “In Bayelsa, 889,308 PVCs have been collected, representing 96.3 percent of the total number of registered voters. In Kogi, 1, 485,828 PVCs have been collected representing 90.2 percent. What about the uncollected PVCs? In Bayelsa it is 33, 874, representing 3.7 percent of the total number of registered voters. Whereas in Kogi it is 160, 522, representing 9.8 percent of the total number of registered voters.

    Read Also: APC, INEC planning to rig Kogi guber election – APM candidate

    “We’ll require lot of ad-hoc staff to conduct the elections in the two states. In Bayelsa, we’ll require 9,945 ad-hoc staff. In Kogi, we’ll require 15,868 ad-hoc staff. In all, for the two states, the Commission will require about 26,000 ad-hoc staff to conduct the elections. But in addition to the governorship elections, we also have other elections, essentially bye-elections.

    “But in addition to the governorship election in Bayelsa state, there is also the pending supplementary election into the Brass II State Constituency in six Polling Units. We planned and prepared to conduct the election shortly after the general elections, but for the protracted legal battle that went up to the Supreme Court.

    “It is only recently that the Supreme Court determined the case. So, we are going back to conduct that election in six Polling Units and make a declaration for the Brass II State Constituency. We are going to combine it with the governorship election,” the INEC boss said.

  • UNESCO donates N53m to establish Smart Classroom in ABU

    By Agency Reporter

    Prof. Ibrahim Garba, the Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, says the institution had secured over N53 million from UNESCO-ICHEI for the establishment of Smart Classroom.

    Garba disclosed this at the 2nd International Conference of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE) at the main campus of university in Samaru, Zaria, in Kaduna.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two-day conference was organised by IEEE Nigeria, Computer chapter, in collaboration with the Department of Computer Engineering of the institution.

    The theme of the conference is: The Role of Computing in the Evolution and Development of Emergent and Alternative Technologies.

    Garba was represented by the Head, Department (HOD), Computer Engineering, Prof. Mohammed Mu’azu.
    According to him, it is understandable that the emergence of some of the disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications can be developed to facilitate blended or online teaching and learning.
    “We look forward to such outcomes from this conference.

    “The university is committed to this kind of initiative and has recently secured over N53 million intervention fund from UNESCO-ICHEI for the setting-up of Smart Classroom in the university,” he said.

    This, according to him, holds very important infrastructure for the development of online content, adding that the university will also sign partnership with the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE).

    He said it was an initiative of the UNESCO-ICHEL and the Centre for Higher Education Research (CHER) of the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, China.

    While appreciating the decision of the institution’s Computer Engineering department to host the conference, the vice chancellor also said it was a welcome development and a boost to the department.

    Garba observed that the theme of the conference was very apt as the university was keen on exploring the full potentials of ICT in enhancing teaching and learning experience.

    Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), said the commission was collaborating with Nigerian universities on funding telecommunication industry-focused research and innovation.

    Danbata, who was represented by Alhaji Abubakar Maina, office of the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, said the NCC through its Department of Research and Development, which is a creation of the present CEO, is extensively collaborating with the academia.

    “This collaboration is in the area of development of emergence and alternative technology by promoting and funding telecommunication industry-focused research and innovation.

    “This year alone, the commission received a total of 63 research proposals from the academia all over the nation and these proposals are currently being evaluated by a competent committee for possible funding,” he said.

    Danbatta assured the academic community that the commission would gladly welcome more telecommunication industry-focused innovation and research proposals in the area of emerging and alternative technology.

    Dr Tunde Salihu, the Chairman, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE) Nigeria, Computer Chapter, said the choice of the theme was conceived to reflect relevant modern trend and technology in the practice of computer engineering.

    He also said it was also relevant to Computer Science and Information Technology toward national development.
    He debunked the saying that IEEE had not been active in the North, noting that the maiden edition of the institute’s international conference was held in Ilorin, Kwara, in Nov. 2016.

    Salihu lauded members of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and others who contributed to the success of the occasion.

    The chairman said IEEE is the largest professional body worldwide with about 430,000 members, adding that the institute controlled over one-third of all the information in relation to electrotech in the world.

    “Here I am talking about standard, I am talking about proceedings, I am talking about any information in electrical engineering.

    Read Also: EdoJobs, UNESCO, Google train 200 Edo children

    “And some-how, we have not been collaborating enough with ABU; however, I stand here as one of the two active IEEE heads in Nigeria that we are going to be working with ABU more than what we have done in the past.

    “One of the easiest ways to be working with you is to have more of your members joining IEEE. I invite both students and lecturers to come and join us,” he said.

    Earlier, the HOD, Computer Engineering, Mu’azu commended the IEEE, the ABU management and NCC for the support and confidence reposed on the department to host the conference.
    He pledged the department’s commitment to offer students and the entire community the benefits of its knowledge and skills to ensure that they became competitive in the 21st century workplace.
    “This is reflected in the content of our programmes and the support system in place to encourage students with innovative ideas.
    “We produced two of the three students that were in the team that came 3rd in the Huawei local ICT Skills Competition finals that took place in Shenzhen, China in May.

    “We also produced one of the 10 students that represented Nigeria at the `Seeds for Future’ training tour of China last year orgnised by Huawei,” he said.

    NAN reports that the conference also featured exhibition where recent research findings in computer engineering were displayed.

  • Bayelsa Guber Poll: REC says satisfied with PVC collection rate

    By Agency Reporter

    The Bayelsa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Monday Tom, says INEC is satisfied with the percentage rate of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection, promising that the body is adequately prepared to conduct the Nov. 16 governorship election in the state.

    Tom made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital.
    The REC said only about 33,000 PVCs remained uncollected out of the 923,000 for eligible registered voters in the state, representing over 90 per cent of distributed PVCs ahead of the governorship election.
    “We actually extended PVC collection to between Sept. 2 and Sept. 30, just to ensure that electorate have their PVCs.

    “And during the exercise, the response was high because out of about 47,000 PVCs with INEC over 15,000 were collected, leaving a balance of about 33,000 unclaimed PVCs,” he said.
    He also said that so far, the commission had concluded training for INEC staff and distribution of non-sensitive materials.

    Read Also: Dickson urges Bayelsans to reject ‘ticket, criminals’

    “As far as the commission is concerned, we are doing the best to get totally prepared for the Bayelsa gubernatorial election.
    “We’ve concluded on most of the training for officers, we have trained the Senior Polling Officers (SPOs), we have done all levels of non-sensitive materials received, batched and set for onward distribution to the racks.

    “Due to the difficult terrain in Bayelsa with about 70 per cent water component, we adopted to use the racks system and not the Local Government Areas, this is to ensure prompt and easy access to the polling units.
    “So far, we have got all our non-sensitive materials for the election, we have harvested the SPOs and by next week we shall be training the Polling Officers (POs) and the Assistant Polling Officers (APOs),” he added.

    Tom said finances required for the conduct of the election were already secured at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
    According to him, planning an election is like climbing a ladder, adding that so far, the commission was almost done with the entire process.

    “Today, we are handing over registers to 45 political parties that will participate in the election and this exercise represents almost the concluding part of every election plan,” he said.

  • Applicant in court charged with stealing church property worth N408, 000

    By Agency Reporter

    The police on Tuesday arraigned an applicant, Yusuf Magaji at an Upper Area Court at Mpape in Abuja for allegedly burgling a church and stealing properties, all worth N408, 000.

    Magaji, 25, who resides at Karmajiji Village, Abuja, is facing charges of Criminal conspiracy, house breaking and theft.

    The Prosecution Counsel, Mr Edwin Ochayi told the court that the case was reported at the Wuye Divisional Headquarters, Abuja by Mr Elejah Odukwu, the complainant in the suit.

    He alleged that on Oct. 8, the defendant with one Dogo, now at large, criminally conspired and burgled the Deeper Life Church at Karmajiji and stole items worth N408, 000.

    The items stolen include: plasma tv valued N75, 000, musical keyboard valued N40, 000, DvD valued N8, 000, stabilizer valued 10,000, projector valued N35, 000, generator valued N160, 000, two Ox fans valued 30, 000.

    Other items are DSTV decoder valued N18, 000, three microphones valued N25, 000, and standing fan valued N7,000.

    Read Also: Man bags six months jail term for stealing phone

    Ochayi said that during Police investigation the said standing fan, amplifiers, ox fans, generator, microphones, DSTV decoder, keyboard, DVD player were recovered.

    The defendant, he prosecutor said, was an habitual offender.
    According to him, the offences contravened the provisions of sections 96, 347, 287 of the Penal Code.
    However, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The Judge, Hassan Muhammad, deferred ruling on the bail application and ordered that the defendant should be remanded in prison custody.

    He adjourned the case until Nov. 27 for continuation of hearing.

  • Gaddafi’s son has right to run for president, says Libya’s army chief

    By Agency Reporter

    Saif Islam Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has every right to run for president, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), said.

    Haftar told Sputnik in an interview that there was no enmity between the two of them.

    When asked about Saif Islam Gaddafi’s plans to run in the upcoming presidential election, the army chief said: “He is a Libyan citizen. If the legal conditions are met, it is his natural right (to participate in the elections).”

    The field marshal added that it was not his concern “if he (Gaddafi) is in the country or abroad”.
    He added: “I do not know where he is now and there is no communication between us, but this, of course, doesn’t mean any disagreement or enmity.

    Read Also: Buhari seeks peaceful Libya for Africa’s benefit

    “Our enemies are the terrorists, and everyone who carries arms against the citizens, attacks the sanctity of the people, preys on their dignity, loots the wealth of Libyans and jeopardises the safety of the country.”

     

    Haftar’s LNA, which controls the east of the country, has emerged as one of the major forces in Libya after Muammar Gaddafi’s government was toppled and the Libyan leader himself was killed in 2011.

     

    The UN-backed Government of National Accord led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj controls the west of the country.

  • FCTA shuts Unity Fountain for maintenance

    By: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Malam Muhammad Bello has ordered the closure of the Unity Fountain.

    The development, according to the FCTA, is temporarily for maintenance and to also upgrade the facility between 60- 90 days.

    A statement on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, Anthony Ogunleye said: “The FCT Administration in its resolve to provide adequate and modern recreational facilities within the Federal Capital City (FCC) has viewed with concern the state of several parks and gardens including the “Unity Fountain” along Shehu Shagari Way, Maitama.

    Read Also: Drama as Abuja beggar, translator receive N2m cash gift

    “It is against this background and the symbolic nature of the “Unity Fountain” as a location symbolizing the oneness of the Nigerian people, that the FCT Administration has deemed it expedient to upgrade this facility.

    “As a result, the “Unity Fountain will be closed for this upgrade for between 60-90 days to allow for construction work which will include the provision of a car park, landscaping and perimeter fencing.

    “The FCT Administration therefore solicits the support and cooperation of members of the public in this regard with the assurance that the “Unity Fountain” will be opened to the general public on completion of this upgrade”.

  • Adamawa senator laud Buhari’s suspension of foreign trips for cabinet members

    By Agency Reporter

    The Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Sen. Binos Yaroe (PDP-Adamawa), has lauded the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari suspending foreign travels by ministers and heads of agencies to enable them appear for their budget defence.

    Yaroe, who gave the commendation Tuesday in an interview with newsmen in Yola, said the measure would facilitate speedy passage of the budget.

    He also commended the president for his timely presentation of the 2020 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.

    “I would also like to commend Mr President for submitting the budget on time,” Yaroe said.

    The senator also supported the introduction of VAT and measures taken by government to ensure that it did not adversely affect small businesses.

    “A lot of people are not happy with the VAT, but for me, it is a good thing, ” Yaroe said.

    Read Also: 2020 budget: Entitlements of Obasanjo, IBB, Jonathan, entitlements to gulp N2.3 billion

    The senator, however, expressed concern over the 57 dollar per barrel benchmark for the budget saying it did not seem feasible because of unsteady fuel price.

    He also expressed his fears on the 2.3 million barrel daily expected to be produced as captured in the 2020 budget proposal, when the 1.9 million for 2019 had not been achieved.

    “I don’t think it is wise to use that high number. It’s unlikely we will achieve that because of the fragile peace in Niger Delta.”

    He also said that the allocation of 23 per cent of the 2020 budget to capital projects was too low.

    Yaroe said that the nation needed to be giving more allocation to capital projects for the needed growth.

    The lawmaker called for one exchange rate for the Dollar, pointing out that the present dual exchange rate promotes corruption.

    “Let’s have one single exchange rate to prevent people taking advantage of the system to enrich themselves,” he said. (NAN)

  • Reducing Cost of Governance and Clamour for Unicameral National Assembly

    By Agency Reporter

    Although the heavy cost of maintaining Nigeria’s 469 federal lawmakers has always been a source of concern, “sitting politicians’’ have joined in the campaign for the reduction of the number of federal legislators.

    In fact, one of the converts even suggested the scrapping of the Senate, as according to him, it is the House of Representatives that represents.

    The converts: Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti; Sen. Rochas Okorocha, former governor of Imo and Chief Osita Chidoka, former Minister of Aviation, made their suggestions at different fora.

    Chidoka who advocates for a unicameral legislature, made the suggestion after President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2020 budget.

    “In Nigeria, we need a unicameral legislature with six members each from the 36 states and two members from FCT.

    “The legislature with 218 members will be less than 50 per cent of current members and term limit of three terms.

    “The 2020 budget for the National Assembly (NASS) is N125bn, higher than the combined budget of Education N48 billion (excluding UBEC and TETFUND), Health N46 billion and Social Investment N30 billion.

    “Reducing National Assembly members by half will provide over N60 billion annually for the social sector, that will be 600 billion over 10 years.”

    Chidoka said the new National Assembly would be both efficient and economical.

    He described the budget of N125 billion for the National Assembly as “hugely extravagant,” in an economy adjudged to have over 100 million poor people with gross infrastructure deficit.

    The former Minister of Aviation said that funds saved from the contraction would be available for investment on policies and projects that would serve the common interest of the greater number of the population.

    On his part, Fayemi advocated for the scrapping of the Senate in order to save cost and reduce financial burden on the government.

    He also advocated for the adoption of Stephen Orosaye’s report which recommended the merging of federal government’s agencies that perform similar functions.

    Fayemi said the type of legislative system that would be more productive for Nigeria in this current economic situation is a unicameral legislature.

    “As it stands, the country’s legislative arm consisting of 109 Senate members and a 360-member House of Representatives, on yearly basis gulps millions of Naira.

    “We do need to look at the size of government in Nigeria, and I am an advocate for a unicameral legislature.

    “What we really need is the House of Representatives because that is what represents.

    “You have three senators from little Ekiti and you have three senators from Lagos State, I guess the principle is not proportionality, but that if you are a state, you get it automatically.

    “But I think that we can do away with that. There are several things that we can do away within the government,” he said.

    Okorocha, the immediate past governor of Imo, now the Senator representing Imo West, on his part called for the reduction in the number of federal lawmakers representing a state.

    He suggested that a Senator and three members of House of Representatives should represent each state.

    “I want one senator and three House of Representatives members per state, which will cut expenses.

    “A Senator and three House of Representatives members can do what many have been doing.’’

    He said that the reduction in the number of representatives from the states would help cut cost and ensure effective representation.

    While advocating for ways to cut cost and ensure effective representation, Okorocha said he would sponsor a bill that would seek for the reduction of the number of Senators and House of Representatives members for each state.

    Read Also: National Assembly set to receive 2020 budget

    The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), has endorsed the suggestions for the reduction of the number of federal lawmakers.

    The CNPP via a statement from its Secretary-General, Willy Ezugwu, said Okorocha spoke the truth concerning the need to reduce cost of running the National Assembly.

    “The former governor simply told Nigerians the truth when he said what three Senators from a state can do; one lawmaker is capable of handling the same.

    “Like Sen. Okorocha asked, what is too sacrosanct that Senators and House of Representatives members are doing that only a Senator per state can not do?’’

    Also, two professors of political science at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Jonah Onuoha and Aloysius Okolie, agreed with the advocates for unicameral legislature, which they reiterated would reduce the cost of governance.

    Onuoha, who is the Head, Department of Political Science, said bicameral legislative system is not cost effective, especially in a country like Nigeria, where federal lawmakers receive bogus salaries and allowances.

    “It takes huge amount of money to maintain bicameral legislative system, especially in a country like Nigeria where federal lawmakers receive bogus salaries and allowances monthly.

    “Bicameral legislative system is not only costly but delays legislative processes of passing bill into law, since the bill will pass through the two chambers.’’

    Onuoha, who is also the Director of American Studies in UNN, urged the country to adopt unicameral legislative system as it is cost effective.

    “If the country settles for unicameral, the extra money it could have spent in paying salaries, allowances and maintaining the two chambers which runs into billions can be used to carry out capital projects,” he said.

    He said if the country insisted on running bicameral legislative system, the number of lawmakers should be reduced.

    Okolie in his contribution said that it was as result of bicameral legislative system that every year the budgetary allocation to the National Assembly had remained the highest.

    “I subscribe to opinions in some quarters that the country should adopt unicameral legislative system as it will reduce the cost of running government as well as quicken legislative processes.

    “The country is spending much to pay salaries, allowances and maintaining the two chambers — 109 Senators and 360-members of House of Representatives,’’ he said.

    Okolie, former Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, UNN branch, also said that as part of measures to reduce cost of running the government, the country should return to the regional structure.

    “If we have one federal parliament and one regional parliament in each of the six geo-political zones, it will go a long way in cutting down cost of running the government,” Okolie said.

    However, a legal practitioner, Mr Dele Igbinedion, said that people should not clamour for unicameral legislature just for cutting cost, adding that the issue is not whether or not a bicameral legislature is good or bad.

    “I believe the bicameral system should remain because it has been proven to be sustainable and necessary. The process of law making is a very serious business which cannot start and end within a short time.

    “The problem with the unicameral system which we have at the state level is that a bill can be introduced and passed the same day and sent to the governor for assent.

    “This is not the case in the National Assembly; the two chambers must meet and possibly form a joint committee to look at the bill before sending it for presidential assent.

    “The rigorous process a piece of legislation has to pass through forms part of the beauty of democracy.

    “I think Nigerians should stop looking at the legislature each time there is a slight challenge and asking if we really need that arm of government.

    “The judiciary often doesn’t respond to executive excesses, except there is a case it initiates, but in the legislature, a member can raise it as a matter of urgent public importance, national importance or ethics and privileges, and the attention of the parliament can be brought to it.’’

    Apparently, Igbinedion was surmising that many state assemblies have become rubber stamps because the governors could easily “conquer’’ them, because it is only a single chamber.

    Stakeholders say that unicameral and bicameral legislature have their advantages, but the country should settle for an option that cuts costs and wastages.