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  • State creation: Kwankwaso is confused –Ekweremadu

    State creation: Kwankwaso is confused –Ekweremadu

    •Constitution review panel gets 240 memos

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu yesterday said Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State is confused for accusing the Constitution Review Committee of a hidden agenda to create a state for the South East.

    He asked the governor to withdraw the statement.

    Ekweremadu who doubles as Chairman of the Committee said the governor ought to know that no individual can amend the constitution.

    He spoke to newsmen in Abuja. He said, “My friend, Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, has accused me twice in that direction. My first attitude was simply to ignore him and focus on what I am doing because I believe he was mistaken in the accusation. Secondly, I believe two wrongs do not make a right. We are public servants; we cannot be joining words on the pages of newspapers. And as I said, he is my friend. As the late Chief Awolowo said, if we are related, we would always meet. I am going to meet with him some time and we will be able to talk it over one to one.

    “But on a serious note, we have to understand how things work. This is a civilian regime, this is a democracy. Creation of state is one that requires every hand to be on the deck; it requires the votes of Senators, House of Representatives members and we also have to take it to the states.

    “So, any person who believes that he would sit in one place and decide on any issue, including state creation, does not seem to understand how these things work in the first place.

    “I think my friend Kwankwaso seems not to understand clearly how states are being created. For him to send signal that any person could sit in one place and ensure that states are created. That is the way military created their own states. I am surprised that Kwankwaso does not know that things have changed. This is a civilian regime where nobody will stay in one place and then decide the states to be created.

    “Everybody, every state will be involved in the creation of states no matter where the states will be created, including Kano State. Kano State will also be involved.

    “So, it is unfair to accuse any person, including myself, of having a position on the matter already because mine is to guide the process. The determination of what will happen ultimately is left to the parliamentarians at the national and state levels, not a single person will take that decision.

    “I believe he was completely mistaken in that direction. There is no mindset on any issue. And I have made it clear severally that we do not have any position on anything, our position will be dependent on what Nigerians think about any issue.

    “I have nothing to lose or gain from any of these things, except in my position as a public servant who has been given an assignment and I have to do that assignment as diligently as possible. So, that is just my commitment on that. Beyond that, I do not think that I have any personal interest to pursue a particular agenda.”

    “I consider it as an unfair comment, I should expect him he should have withdrawn that comment by now. But I am sure some day; we will meet and talk things over.”

    He said the National Assembly Constitution Review Committee has received 240 memoranda outside 56 dealing with specific demands on state creation.

    He also said that the committee has no any hidden agenda.

    He expressed confidence that the proposed amendments to the constitution will be ready by July 2013.

    He however added that Bakassi Peninsula matter has not been concluded as issues surrounding the ceding of the place night still be addressed by the Constitution Review Committee.

    Ekweremadu said: “At the last count, I think we have received about 240 memoranda outside the ones dealing with specific state demands which is about 56. We have as much as possible acknowledged these submissions.

     

     

    In July, you will recall that we had retreat in Delta where we looked at all these memoranda and tried to summarize these because most of them are dealing with similar issues. We tried to identify issues which these memos are concentrating on and those were the things we considered as the thematic areas.

    “So, we brought them out during the national public hearing which ended on Friday so that Nigerians will begin as much as possible to make contributions towards so that not just those who sent memos that are entitled to pick on these things, every Nigerian will have the opportunity to say his or her own mind in respect of these thematic areas or the areas from the memos so far submitted.

    “So, we have thrown it to the public and I am happy that for the two days, we had very useful discussions from Nigerians. We intend to take it to the zones so that people who are unable to attend the national public hearing will have the opportunity to say their minds.

    “Beyond that, we intend to engage our constituents at the level of constituency. We intend to take our colleagues to their various districts so that they will hold their meetings with their constituents. Every Senator will be involved in this.”

    On the deadline to complete the review, he said by July 2013 the assignment would have been completed.”

    He hinted that the fate of Nigerians affected by the ceding of Bakassi Peninsula might still be part of the ongoing constitution review.

    He said: “The Bakassi thing, like what you say in journalism, is a developing story. I don’t think it is concluded. We have had one aspect of it which is the ICJ judgment which we were unable to review because of time frame and of course the Attorney-General of the Federation said we did not have issue to canvass.

    “But there are still options available to Nigeria including but not limited to the issue of plebiscite, if you like, for those people to determine where they would want to stay. And of course, you are also aware of the human rights violation that they are tackling in the Peninsula right now which Nigeria is entitled to petition and get Cameroon to answer for those human rights. So, these are some of the things that are still outstanding. It is also likely that one day that peninsula will still become part of Nigeria.

    “I am aware that the money due to that local government every month is sent to Joint Account.”

    Ekweremadu said neither him nor the committee has hidden agenda on constitution amendments, especially state creation.

    He said the committee is vigorously pursuing the demand for state creation.

    He added: “The other aspect which is the issue of state creation. From the memoranda we have got so far and from the contributions of Nigerians at the public hearing so far, I think there is the desire of Nigerians to have state created. And we are representing the people and we are to give meaning to the expression of Nigerians. To that extent, we are going to vigorously pursue the issue of state creation. If it succeeds fine, if it does not succeed, we would have done our job.”

    On INEC, Ekweremadu said its independence as guaranteed by the present constitution is sufficient.

    He said: “I think the most important thing for us is to ensure the independence of the Election Management Body; we have been able to secure that. You know that the President appoints but you also know that the President cannot remove them himself; it would require the resolution of the Senate.

    “So, that is a sufficient check. Besides, the constitution earlier provided that the rules and programmes of the Electoral Commission should be approved by the President but we have removed that from the constitution.

    “So, they don’t need to and they will not revert to the President on the day-to-day running of their affairs. That is what the constitution says presently.

    “Now, they are also sufficiently independent in terms of their funds, they are on the First Line charge. I think that we have secured sufficient independence for the electoral body and this has been amplified in the manner the 2011 election was conducted.

    “I do not think that there is much to look at in terms of further reforms in the electoral process except for us, maybe, to look at the Electoral Act and see if there are some areas we need to strengthen.

    “You will recall, we provided for the period in which electoral matters should be dispensed with but somehow we did not consider that sometimes a matter can be sent back to the tribunal for retrial.”

     

  • ‘My alleged removal, travesty of justice’

    ‘My alleged removal, travesty of justice’

    Last Monday, an Enugu State Chief Judge granted an interlocutory order restraining Chief Victor Umeh from parading himself as the National Chairman of APGA. In this brief encounter with Sam Egburonu, Umeh vows to upturn the order, which he described as a mockery of judicial process

    Early in the week, there was an order from an Enugu High Court against you, restraining you from parading yourself as the National Chairman of APGA. Is that the end of the matter?

    No ofcourse. The Chief Judge of Enugu State granted an interlocutory injunction against me as the National Chairman of APGA. The injunction was to restrain me from parading myself as the National Chairman of APGA until he delivers judgement on the main suit.

    Of course, this suit has been very controversial from the onset. If you have followed our responses over time, you will see that we have been working very hard to stop the man from the set mission which he was procured to accomplish by some people. The Chief Judge of Enugu State threw caution to the wind and departed from normal judicial process in conducting the matters before him.

    One was that on the 25th of July, he restrained me from convening the executive meetings of APGA at all levels-national, state, local government and wards. He based his exparte order on an application brought before him by one Jude Okuli, who claimed to be a former local government chairman of APGA in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. In that suit, Jude Okuli sued me as Chief Victor Umeh.

    The suit is therefore, Jude Ejike Okuli vs Chief Victor Umeh. Nothing more! In the relief he sought in the case, he asked the court to declare that my tenure as the chairman has expired since 2010.

    The fact that he sued me as Chief Victor Umeh, without joining APGA, has made this suit incurably defective.

    When that exparte was served on me, we filed a process of preliminary objection to the suit, based on four principal grounds. One was that the fact that APGA was not joined in the suit made the suit incompetent. The judge made an order restraining me from convening meetings of APGA and APGA was not a party to the suit. You know a preliminary objection is a challenge of the rights of the court.

    On the 31st of July when we came, the judge accepted to hear our preliminary objection and he said that if the court accepts any ground upon which the objection was predicated, the case legitimately comes to an end and therefore, he would take the preliminary objection first.

    That arguement was made by both sides and he adjourned the matter to 17th of September for ruling on the preliminary objection. Strangely too, he refused to vacate the exparte order and extended it to September 17 against the High Court rules of Enugu State which makes it mandatory that the life span of an exparte order shall be 14 days, first seven days, renewable for another seven days. He now extended it without any application from either of the parties which is a requirement for such an extension. He gave another 48 days.

    We put a notice of Appeal against the unlawful extension of that order. That notice of appeal was properly filed but the courts were on vacation. On September 17, we came to court for the ruling on the preliminary objection. But he said he would not deliver judgement on the preliminary objection, that he would take the main suit and deliver the judgement on the main suit and preliminary objection together.

    In all consultations I have made, if a judge makes an order to deliver judgement on a preliminary objection, he is bound to deliver judgement on that either in favour or against any of the parties. He cannot arrest the ruling. That is the practice.

    After reviewing what he had done, I decided to write him a letter, requesting him to transfer the matter to another judge because it was obvious that he has taken sides in the matter. I followed it up with a petition to the National Judicial Council on two principal grounds. He had no right to extend the life span of the exparte order and he has no right to refuse to deliver judgement on the preliminary objection already argued before him.

    One thing that is important to bring to notice here is that on September 17, he refused to vacate the exparte order, giving reason that since it was a matter of appeal, it was the Court of Appeal that could vacate it. That he doesn’t want to be seen as locking horns with the Court of Appeal.

    We wrote him a letter and wrote to the NJC and he was adamant. Knowing that he was bent on continuing to do damage, we filed a motion asking him to withdraw himself from the case. That motion came up for hearing on October 8 and he refused to take the motion and shouted the lawyer down that he would not take the motion.

    That he would want to take pending applications and the main suit and asked the other counsel to move his motions. Of course, the motions are for interlocutory injunction and to prevent me from expelling anybody from APGA.

    After carefully looking at all the issues, I consider this a mockery of the judicial process and a grave travesty of justice.

    I am going to challenge it through lawful means. The good thing about judicial process is that three levels of courts are established- the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. So, the decision of any judge is subject to review.

    It seems the the Judge is acting a script to decimate APGA. He has grounded the operations of APGA for three months now; yet APGA is not a party to the suit before him. APGA is not Victor Umeh. If you want APGA Constitution to be interpreted, you must make APGA a party in the suit. The order he made that I should not expel anybody is also laughable. I have no constitutional authority to expel anybody. The various organs of the party at different levels have that responsibility. He is just chasing me and destroying APGA that is not before him in the court.

    You are alleging that somebody, perhaps a political opponent, was behind the ruling. Who do you have in mind?

    There are other people who have interest in the matter but are hiding themselves. At the appropriate time, they will be unmasked.

    There is no doubt that as the National Chairman of APGA, I am stepping on very big toes by the pronouncements I have been making. I have continued to renew that call on the need for APGA to contest for Presidency in 2015. In APGA as constituted presently, some people that are highly placed are working for President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP. They feel that what I am saying is an affront on their master. I don’t care about that.

  • LG chairman’s aide shot

    The Special Assistant to the Transition Chairman of Etsako Central Local Government Area, Mr. Alfred Nyamanli ,was shot yesterday by unknown gunmen in his compound at Fugar in Edo North..

    According to source, the hoodlums who laid an ambush at his compound launched the attack on him at about 9.30 pm and shot him on his buttocks.

    The Nation learnt that he was immediately rushed to Ogar hospital in Fugar by neighbours who heard him screaming. He is presently receiving treatment in the hospital.

    Speaking on the incident, the chairman of the council, Comrade Suleman Bagudu ,said Mr. Alfred has been transferred to central hospital for proper medication.

    While calling on the security agencies to carry out painstaking investigation about the attack, Bagudu said his aide was ambushed at the gate of his house in Fugar.

    Edo State commissioner of Police, Alhija Olayinka Balogun, confirmed the incident. The commissioner said that the people that shot Alfred are suspected to be cult boys and the command are doing everything possible to get them.

    He however said that the victim is responding to treatment very well.

     

  • Flood: Rotary Club to complement FG’s efforts

    Flood: Rotary Club to complement FG’s efforts

    The Rotary Club International will today meet to discuss the recent flood incident that has ravaged some states in the country.

    A Past District Governor (PDG) of the club, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, disclosed this at the ongoing project fair organised by the club, which was geared towards alleviating the suffering of the less privileged people in Africa.

    At the fair, which is the 8TH edition, Adeluyi disclosed that members of the club would extensively discuss the flood issue with its international partners and come up with initiatives to complement the efforts of government towards finding a lasting solution to the problem.

    Four districts of the Rotary Club International (RCI) in Africa are hosting members of the club from various countries in the ongoing West Africa Project Fair (WAFP) being held in Lagos.

    Also speaking yesterday during a press conference with the theme: Peace Through Service by the organising committee chaired by the Past District Governor (PDG) Deinde Shoga, he said the club would have the opportunity to showcase its various developmental projects to its international partners who were in Nigeria for the event.

    Other members of the club present at the press conference included the Senator representing Lagos West senatorial zone in the National Assembly, Ganiyu Solomon.

    Soaga said the aim of the projects was to address the needs of communities in West Africa through six areas of focus of the club, which included maternal and child health, education and literacy, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, economic and community development, peace and conflict resolution.

    The four districts of the Rotary Club that organised the project fair were Districts 9100, 9110, 9125 and 9140.

     

  • FAAN targets 8.5 million passengers by 2016

    AS part of the new business plan by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), passenger movement at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, is projected to increase from 6.7 million passengers in 2011 to about 8.5 million in 2016, which is a fall out of many factors including ongoing airport remodelling projects as well as the expected increase in the number of domestic airlines.

    According to the regional manager of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, IKeja, Lagos, Mr. Edward Adedamola Olarerin, the airport authority will embark on a continuous programme of infrastructure upgrade, as well innovation and customer focused service delivery, which are expected to drive the development and growth of the sector.

    Olarerin explained that with the anticipated increase in the number of domestic airlines, which will operate into the Murtala Muhammed Airport, the 8.5 million passengers mark will be realisable as government remains focused on improving operational infrastructure at the airport.

    He explained that the airport authority is anticipating increase in its revenue stream from aeronautical sources including retail outlets and other sources, which is a fall out of the ongoing improvement in infrastructure and services.

    He said government remains committed to ensuring that the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos is expected to be not only an investor/tourist destination, but also a key player in the nation’s economic development.

     

  • HIV positive woman wins 12-year-old case

    After waiting 12 years for justice, reprieve finally came the way of Georgina Ahamefule on 27th September, 2012 at a Lagos State High Court.

    Ahamefule is a woman living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), whose employment as an auxiliary nurse at the Imperial Medical Centre was terminated in October 1995.

    Efforts by her, through the Social Economic Rights Action Center (SERAC), to obtain redress received an initial jolt when the HIV-positive woman was barred from entering the courtroom, due to her medical status, by a judge of a Lagos High Court, where her case was to be heard. The judge said she needed “satisfactory expert evidence” to convince her that the judge and others would not become infected with the virus as a result of Ahamefule’s physical presence in the courtroom.

    SERAC appealed the decision at the Court of Appeal, where it was remitted back to the High Court for trial. The suit commenced by a writ of summons filed at the High Court of Lagos State, Ikeja Judicial Division, (General Civil Division) on 14th July, 2012.

    The 27th September, 2012 judgment delivered by Justice Y.O. Idowu, the court made four declarations, and ordered that; 1) Five million naira be paid to the plaintiff for the wrongful termination of her employment, and 2) Two million naira be paid her, being compensation for unlawful conduct of HIV testing without the plaintiff’s informed consent and for the defendants’ negligence.

    Speaking with reporters, Ahamefule, a native of Mbaise, Imo State, said she had to relocate to Port Harcourt while awaiting the outcome of the case. According to her, she knew that justice would surely come her way, especially considering the resilience with which SERAC pursued the case. Before she relocated to Port Harcourt, she had worked with Centre for the Right to Health (CRH) and a medical facility briefly as an HIV counselor. She is currently without a job.

  • Keeping headaches at bay

    Keeping headaches at bay

     In our part of the world, headaches are very common. Rita Ohai writes on the ways it can be avoided or treated naturally.

     

    SOMETIMES, the thought of living in Nigeria alone can hit a person with a searing wave of pain all over the body, with the central throbbing spot at the head.

    The constant bane called fuel scarcity in a land where this natural resource abounds, the resulting hike in the price of goods and services and the never-ending struggle to pay for quality education do not make the lives of many any easier.

    While most headaches disappear on their own or with the help of mild pain relievers, others are so severe that they alter the lifestyle of the affected person temporarily or permanently.

    Explaining the health condition, Dr. Eunice Alegbe says, “A headache, just as the name implies, is a pain in the head. It usually arises when there are stressors within or outside the body that cause the blood vessels to reduce in size such that the blood will have to force its way through the vessels or to expand in such a way that it puts pressure on other organs around it.”

    According to medical experts, headaches come in various forms which could be tension, migraine, sinus, and cluster headaches.

    Shedding light on each of these types of pain, Dr. Alegbe states, “Headaches can be triggered by a variety of factors. The most common cause of headaches is prolonged tension or stress. This arises when the muscles in the scalp, neck, and face tighten, causing spasms and pain. Cases of anxiety or working on a computer for a long period of time can lead to it.

    “Migraines are generally more severe and it can totally render the patient weak to the point where they cannot even move. The cause of migraine is not known but some women complain that they experience it during their menstrual cycle, others say that when they eat certain foods like chocolate or red wine.”

    Continuing, she said, “Sinus or nasal headaches are also now common because of the rainy season and cold, and they usually happen to people who have a runny or stuffy nose, while cluster headaches mostly happen to alcoholics.”

    Research shows that before puberty, headaches are more common in boys, but that trend is reversed after puberty. Adult women experience more headaches than adult men, and they’re often linked to a woman’s menstrual cycle. With advancing age, both women and men tend to have fewer, less severe headaches.

    For patients who are prone to have headaches that are frequent and severe, medical practitioners advice that they try to identify the factor that trigger this condition. Many people have tagged alcohol, meats, hunger, poor posture, stress and the lack of sleep as causative agents.

    However, according to the Medical Association of Nigeria, it is critical that the affected person seeks emergency medical care if the headache;

    •gets worse over days or weeks

    •is accompanied by impaired neurological function (e.g., loss of balance, weakness, numbness, or speech disturbance) and double vision (could signal a stroke)

    •is accompanied by persistent nausea and vomiting is accompanied by seizures, mental disturbances, and loss of consciousness

    •is associated with a fever or stiff neck (could signal meningitis)

    •is different than the usual pattern of headaches you have experienced

    •strikes suddenly with great intensity

    •wakes you from sleep or is worse when you lie down.

     

    Natural ways to get rid of a headache

    THE pain of headaches can range from mild and annoying to severe and debilitating. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to get rid of a headache without medicine. Here they are:

    Step 1

    Control the stress in your life and engage in relaxing activities to ease muscle tension and get rid of a headache without medicine. Yoga, meditation, aromatherapy and tai chi are excellent methods of reducing stress levels and easing muscle tension.

    Step 2

    Massage your neck, shoulders and head using the tips of your fingers to relieve muscle tension and get rid of a headache. If possible, enlist a friend or partner to massage your muscles for you. For frequent headaches, you might want to visit a licensed massage therapist.

    Step 3

    Watch your posture. According to the Mayo Clinic, proper posture can both prevent and treat headaches by supporting your body and preventing strain on your muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. Hold your head high and shoulders back when standing, and make certain to keep your thighs parallel to the ground when sitting. Avoid slumping and slouching.

    Step 4

    Apply ice to your neck, forehead or scalp to get rid of a headache without medicine. You can also try alternating hot and cold. Take a long hot shower, and then follow it with an application of cold compresses to the back of your neck.

    Step 5

    Avoid environmental triggers for your headaches, such as bright lights, loud sounds and hot or cold weather. These triggers can make existing headaches worse in some people and can cause new headaches to develop in others.

    Step 6

    Slow down and cool off. Some people develop headaches after physical activity. This is often caused by overheating, dehydration or low blood sugar. Drinking fluids, eating a snack and cooling off will generally get rid of a headache in these cases.

    Step 7

    Take a nap if you wake in the mornings feeling tired. Even if you are sleeping a sufficient number of hours, the quality of your sleep might be affected by sleep disorders, medications or other health conditions. Lack of sleep is one of the primary causes of headaches, and it is also one of the easiest to fix.

    Step 8

    Get fresh air. Besides escaping a co-worker’s overwhelming perfume/cologne, fresh air can help a headache fade. Just getting out of a stuffy room, thanks to the change in air pressure, can reduce headache pain.

    Step 9

    Exercise gently. A brisk walk can clear the head and relieve a headache. Any regular work-out programme improves health and decreases stress, which increases blood flow and oxygen distribution.

    Step 10

    Finally, take a hot shower. A cold bath causes the veins and arteries to constrict in a process called ‘vaso-constriction’ causing the blood pressure to increase and the pain to worsen. The warmth and steam of a hot shower relaxes muscle tension, thus easing headaches.

  • Rector foresees educational decline

    THE Rector, Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Elder Allwell Onukaogu has warned that the present decadence in the nation’s education sector is capable of truncating the future of Nigerian youths if the Ministries of Education fail to set standards for which schools should operate.

    The rector made this submission while presenting a paper tagged: ‘Re-Inventing Yesterday’s Educational Practices Today for a Better Tomorrow’, in Aba during the maiden edition of a public lecture organised by Believers’ Loveworld (Aka Christ Embassy) as part of its programmes to mark the 52nd anniversary of Nigeria Independence in the city of Aba.

    According to him, academic successes of coming generations will suffer greatly if the standard of education in Nigeria is not properly repositioned to address the fallen standard of education as witnessed in recent times in the country.

    “The rot we see and smell of today will be far better than the decadence, irreversible decadence putrefying decadence which will be the fate of our children tomorrow”, he said.

    Onukaogu, while reeling out the successes recorded during the early post-colonial days in Nigeria when primary and secondary schools were still managed by missionaries, blamed the then Ukpabi Asika administration for taking away schools from people who held morality and good virtue as their watchword, adding that the worsening learning environment many public schools today have has contributed to the decline in Nigerian educational standard.

    He, however, frowned at what he described as the exorbitant fees charged by mission schools, saying this is to the detriment of poor members of the society who cannot afford to pay such fees.

  • Lawmakers task council bosses on development

    OGUN State House of Assembly (OGHA) has urged the elected chairmen of the 20 local government councils in the state to pay more attention to the socio- economic development and empowerment of the rural areas in the respective jurisdiction.

    OGHA said given the peculiar status of the councils as government at the grassroots, those at the position of leadership there should take cognisance of the fact that the rural-folks need potable water, healthcare centres, feeder roads, decent markets and schools for their wards and strive to provide such amenities.

    Speaking through its House Committee Chairman on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon.  Oluomo Olakunle, OGHA noted that such facilities and developmental projects, if provided, would fast-track growth and enhance the people’s access to the dividends of democracy.

    Oluomo, who spoke at the Abeokuta North Local Government Area while inspecting projects being executed there, said the grass-root people need infrastructure borehole, public toilet to feel the impact of government, unlike urban area where they concentrated.

    “We appeal to all chairmen to let the rural level feel the impact of government by grading their roads, constructing public toilet, borehole,” he said.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Between Tambuwal and the President’s media men

    Between Tambuwal and the President’s media men

    Since the presentation of the 2013 budget by President Goodluck Jonathan to the joint sitting of the National Assembly last Wednesday, some members of the President’s media team have come up with what can best be described as hysterical responses to the remarks made by Senate President, Senator David Mark and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

    From innuendos to outright insults, the President’s media managers, led by Dr. Doyin Okupe, sought to denigrate the submissions of the two leaders of the National Assembly who in their estimation, had the temerity to tell their guests gathered at the hallowed Green Chamber that fateful Wednesday that not all things were right with past budgets and that more was expected from the Executive arm of government in the future.

    It worth mentioning here that Mark and Tambuwal’s speeches were made with the best of intentions aimed at finding lasting solutions to the myriad of socio-economic problems confronting the nation.

    Speaker Tambuwal, who gave the vote of thanks in his capacity as the Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly, toed the line of the Senate President and Chairman of the National Assembly, Senator Mark, to lay on the table, the fears of Nigerians and how the National Assembly thinks those fears can be better allayed.

    The Speaker rightly asserted that as elected representatives of the people, the legislators, representing 469 federal constituencies and senatorial districts of the country, have closer interaction with the nooks and crannies of the nation. In essence, the legislature, more than any arm of government, is privileged to feel the people’s pulse more intensely and feel same on behalf and for the benefit and guidance of all the other arms of government.

    It is, therefore, highly incongruous to now turn around and say such views showed disrespect to the person and office of the President.

    It is appropriate to state here that section 81 (1), (4) as well as section 83 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) classify the proposed budget documents by the President as mere ‘estimate’ and therefore only a constitutional amendment can alter this. The phrase ‘mere’ as used by Senator Mark was not intended to demean, rather it only distinguishes between a document of finality and a proposal. It is therefore mischievous to read meanings other than those intended.

    On the oil benchmark which the House made it clear it will set at $80 per barrel, all variables were considered in arriving at the figures. The chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Hon Abdulmumini Jibrin, has since availed the public such superior variables which apparently may not have been countenanced by those who drafted the estimate.

    As for the poor implementation of the capital budget for 2012 which Dr. Okupe brazenly attributed to non-utilisation of already released votes, there could be no better self-indictment, as all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that ought to execute these projects are all under the Executive watch and control.

    The assertion that the National Assembly will not rubber stamp the estimates as stated by the Senate President was intended to clear the erroneous impression created in the minds of the public by military apologists in the corridors of power that the laying of the estimate by the President is akin to budget broadcast by a military dictator which is only a notice and to enlighten the people. But for the avoidance of doubt, by the clear provisions of section 59 subsection 4 of the constitution, the legislature has the FINAL say on the budget document.

    I am sure President Jonathan does not share the overzealous and rather morbid views and sentiments of Dr. Okupe and some of his co-travellers in the President’s media office. If they had cared to carefully study the President’s transformation agenda as it affects the kind of legislature the Number One citizen desires, they will certainly discover their errors.

    As clearly stated in the past and for the avoidance of any doubt, Speaker Tambuwal is not on a popularity contest with any official of government. Instead, he embodies the wishes and aspiration of the Nigerian people, and expresses, at every point, only the position of the members of the House of Representatives.

    On the rather funny issue of alleged Tambuwal’s disloyalty to the PDP which one of the aides raised in a newspaper article, nothing can be farther from the truth. It is safe to say here that Nigerians are tired of worn out sentiments dished out to them at every given opportunity in order to justify unnecessary attacks on the person of the Number Four Citizen of Nigeria.

    As seen during the budget presentation, of all those who spoke at the event, only the Speaker recognised the presence of the PDP National Chairman in his order of protocol while delivering his vote of thanks. As a matter of fact, this loyal gesture to the largest political party in Africa drew the ire of opposition lawmakers who shouted ‘Nay’ repeatedly to show their disapproval at the Speaker’s recognition of his party chairman.

    In conclusion, let me state here that the level of discourse emanating from the President’s public affairs managers is not only unbecoming of the requirement of the highest office in the land, it shows lack of depth in the understanding of public issues and governance generally including even the rudiments of democracy and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    Dr. Okupe especially is proving to have learnt nothing and forgotten nothing from his days of political participation during transition of military dictatorships and into civilian democracy. With due respect, we call on Dr. Okupe and his other attack dogs to change their orientation, they can do this by making friends with the copy of the constitution. In the event they feel that this is cumbersome, they should, in the alternative, subject their opinions to vetting by those who are more conversant with the hallowed document.

     

    •Imam is the Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to Speaker Tambuwal