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Tag: Abdullahi Gumel

  • Ninth Senate: Gumel laments depletion of ranking senators

    A member of the National Assembly, Sen. Abdullahi Gumel, has expressed concern over the decline in the number of Senators returning to the 9th Senate.

    Gumel (APC-Jigawa) told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview on Tuesday in Abuja that the continuous turnover of lawmakers to the National Assembly, particularly the senate had negative implications.

    He said the development had led to loss of experience in legislative activities and waste of the nation’s resources, among others.

    He stressed that the country often spent a lot of money training and retraining lawmakers to master the act of effective lawmaking, only to stay for four years or at most eight years.

    According to him, only few senators have been in the national assembly since the return of democracy in 1999.

    “In developed democracies you see someone spending 30 to 40 years in the parliament, gathering experience and not wasting the nation’s resources.

    “In every set of the legislature the lawmakers undergo capacity building in terms of training within and outside the country and the nation spend a lot to build their capacity.

    “Unfortunately, in every election we lose such talents and we have to start all over again,” he said.

    Gumel hoped that Nigeria would learn from other countries by ensuring that lawmakers won their re-election bids as many times as possible.

    He, however, urged lawmakers to live up to expectations in order to gain the support of their constituents to get re-elected to the national assembly as many times as they wanted.

    On beliefs in some quarters that former governors who are first timers in the national assembly are not novices in matters of legislation, Gumel argued that they might be experienced in governance but not lawmaking.

    The lawmaker pointed out that they still needed extensive training to carry out the mandate of the legislature, which is the second arm of government.

    “The experience they have is executive experience not legislative experience. The legislature is a world of its own and its rudiments must be learnt,” he said.

    Gumel, who lost his reelection bid to return to the senate for the second time, hinted that he was retiring from elective politics.

    “I have paid my dues. I have been in politics for the last 40 years. I am satisfied and proud to say I have been in politics for this length of time.

    “I have reached the pinnacle of my ambition which is to become a senator. I do not have the attraction of being a governor and I will be too old to start seeking to be president.

    So far, only 43 serving senators out of 109, have been cleared to return to the senate.

    With this, not less than 60 new lawmakers will make it to the 9th Senate and it would take them a while, in spite of their experience in various fields of endeavor, to adjust to the legislative environment.

  • Bailout Probe: Senate to visit Osun, other states

    Bailout Probe: Senate to visit Osun, other states

     

    The Senate Committee on States and Local Government Administration said it would extend its Bailout Funds probe to states that accessed the funds from the Federal Government in 2015.

    The Chairman of the committee, Sen. Abdullahi Gumel, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

    He said that the investigation was prompted by allegations that some states that accessed the funds diverted them to other use, leaving a backlog of salary arrears yet unpaid.

    On whether the National Assembly has oversight powers over states, the lawmaker said that the committee was specifically investigating the disbursement of the bailout funds, which it had powers over.

    He said that though state assemblies had oversight powers over the States, the assignment of the committee was based on funds given to States by the Federal Government.

    According to him, the senate has the powers to investigate the bailout because the money belongs to the Federal Government.

    “We will visit Osun and the other states if allowed access.

    “There were lots of misunderstanding as to whether or not the senate has powers to oversight states over the bailout. The senate does have the powers.

    “We are not investigating states; we are carrying out a specific assignment.

    “Those states that accessed the bailout from the Federal Government to pay salaries are the states we are over-sighting.

    “For other monies, it is the responsibility of state assemblies to oversight those ones. This bailout is the Federal Government’s money.

     

    “In fact, it is money got from the bank, with the Federal Government’s guarantee and in the case of default from any of the states; the government has to pay from the Consolidated Revenue Account.

    “So, the national assembly has the responsibility to oversight how it is spent,’’ he said.

    On states that denied access to the committee, Gumel said a comprehensive report would be submitted and names of states involved would be included for further action by the senate.

    However, he said that some of the states that hitherto rejected the committee’s letter of notice had invited it to proceed with its investigation.

    The lawmaker added that states that rejected the committee’s notice of visit misunderstood its assignment, pointing out that its investigation was limited to the bailout funds.

    “This committee did not take up this task on its own. We consulted the leadership of the senate and we were told to go ahead.

    “The executive is even aware that we are embarking on this assignment,’’ he said.

    Gumel denied insinuations that the probe was called off after the committee visited a few states, adding that it would visit all states concerned as mandated by the senate.

    According to him, the committee commenced probe into the matter some months ago, but put it on hold to enable committee members concentrate on consideration and passage of the 2017 Budget.

    “We had to call it off temporarily due to the budget, because most of the committee members are members of the Appropriation Committee, including the Chairman of Appropriation Committee.

    “So, we decided to put it on hold to finish with the Appropriation Bill and once it is passed, we will resume our oversight.

    “After our Easter break, we will pass the budget. So, possibly second week in May we should have resumed our oversight.’’

    On concerns that the committee was not carrying out thorough investigation into the matter, Gumel said the committee was detailed on the assignment.

    He said “the bailout is specific on salaries and pension and in most of the states visited we noticed some defaults and that will come in our report.

    “In the states we visited we met with stakeholders like the Head of Service, Secretary to the State Government, Accountant-General, Commissioner for Finance and Commissioner for Local Government.

    “We also met with banks where the funds were domiciled and disbursed from and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) chapter in the states; so, it was thorough.

    Gumel, also a member of Senate’s Appropriation Committee, said that the committee had concluded work on 2017 Budget and would present the report on resumption from the Easter break

     

  • Rich Nigerians should stop giving handouts to the poor – Gumel

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on States and Local Government Administration, Sen. Abdullahi Gumel says giving of handouts to the less privileged will not alleviate poverty in the country.

    Gumel said this at the graduation of 96 students from the Malam Garba Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation involved in vocational training for the less privileged.

    The lawmaker, who sponsored 36 of the graduates, said it was high time wealthy Nigerians made meaningful impact on the lives of poor Nigerians.

    According to him, if every well to do Nigerian resolves to empower the poor through skills acquisition rather than handing out stipends, the rate of crime, poverty and unemployment will reduce drastically.

    “I want every rich Nigerian to establish a foundation like this. We will not be helping the less privileged by giving them handouts.

     “It is demeaning and shameful. In most cases they do not use the money for anything meaningful.

    “In some cases, it aids crime because some of them use the money to smoke cigarette and take to illicit drugs,’’ he said.

     The lawmaker said he was motivated by the non-relentlessness of President Muhammadu Buhari in assisting poor Nigerians to become independent.

    “I learnt this from the president. He is so passionate about Nigerians depending on themselves rather than depending on the government or other people.

    “I would prefer to be popular at the grassroots with the downtrodden.

    “I also feel this is the time to give back to the society because I was sponsored in school by government.

    “I wasn’t the best at the time but I was lucky to be among the people that benefitted from the magnanimity of the government.

    “We actually applied for more slots  but we were able to get only 36 because of the numerous applications from different parts of the country.’’

    According to him, if I am given more slots, I will train more people. Whenever there are slots I will make sure I enroll my people and see through their training.

    Gumel commended the NGO for the professionalism with which the trainers discharged their duties.

    He said the quality of learning reflected in the quality of graduates so far produced by the foundation.

    “Besides skills acquisition, the foundation did a good job in molding the character of the trainees.

    “Most of them who were unruly before enrolling have been properly shaped by the foundation.

    “They are now disciplined Nigerians, who have jobs to do.’’

    He called for more publicity for the foundation, which was doing everything possible to produce entrepreneurs and self-reliant Nigerians to enable them contribute meaningfully to the development of the nation.

    Gumel urged the graduates to use their tools effectively, so that they too could create jobs for other Nigerians that would work under them.

    Earlier, Ahmed Gumel, the Director of the foundation, said it was non-partisan and non-faith based organisation aimed at empowering the less privileged.

    He said the foundation, which was established about 10 years ago, had impacted positively on the lives of many less privileged Nigerians.

    “It is a non-political, non-religious organisation that is working to drastically reduce unemployment and various forms of crime in the country.

    “In 2016 alone, we graduated more than 4000 students and we do not just train and abandon them. In Niger state alone, we graduated 120 of them same year.

    “We also help them to set up businesses that would make them independent and productive.

    “Besides the head office in Kaduna, we have centres in some parts of the country and the aim is to reach out to as many less privileged as possible,’’  he said.

     

  • NASS inspects FG intervention projects in Bakassi

    The Senate Committee on States and Local Government Administration and the House of Representatives Committee on Special Duties on Tuesday inspected Federal Government’s intervention projects in Bakassi local government area of Cross River.

    The projects, being executed with a N300 million fund, include an international border market in Ikang, healthcare centre with quarters for doctors and a school, both situated in Afiang-Ayong, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on States and Local Government Administration, Sen. Abdullahi Gumel, told journalists at one of the project sites that the inspection of the projects became necessary following allegations of negligence of the area.

    He said the committees were on ground to inspect projects carried out by Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA).

    Gumel said “the Border Communities Development Agency is an intervention agency and having spent about N300 million here, I am impressed with what we have seen on ground.

    “The communities have primary health care centre, border community markets, outpost, schools, water projects and new roads.

    “So, the impression created that our brothers and sisters displaced from Bakassi are abandoned is not true, you have all seen as much too.

    “The Federal Government is working and in line with the change mantra, we are going to do more in this area.”

    Gumel assured that the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, would continue to play its part by way of oversight, enactment of laws and improved funding to ameliorate the sufferings of people living in border communities.