The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ahmed Lawan

  • No crisis in Senate over Ndume’s removal – Saraki

    No crisis in Senate over Ndume’s removal – Saraki

    Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday said there is no crisis in the Senate over the removal of Senator Ali Ndume as Senate Leader.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus in the Senate in a letter to the Senate President on Tuesday had replaced Ndume with Senator Ahmed Lawan.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Saraki said the institution is bigger than every senator.

    He said: “There is no crisis in the National Assembly, things like this do happen and as you said the institution is bigger than everybody and I am sure that he and everybody else will always work for the interest of the institution and for the interest of the country. Everything is calm, solid and fine.”

    Reminded about Ndume’s remark that he knew nothing about it, Saraki added: “I am sure you have not read his statement today. He has made a different statement today.”

    Asked to react to belief in some quarters that Ndume was sacrificed, he laughed and said: “Do I look like someone that does things like that?”

    On the purpose of his visit to the Villa, Saraki said: “You know getting the government going, getting the National Assembly moving and as you know there is nothing more important to us now than the budget process and the work we need to do in those areas.”

  • Burying party supremacy

    Burying party supremacy

    Aminu Tambuwal, now Sokoto State governor, was re-elected member of the House of Representatives in 2011. His ambition was to be Speaker. His then party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saw no sense in his aspiration. The party’s reason was premised on the fact that the party had zoned the office of the Senate President to the North central and as such it would be unfair to have the Speaker also from the North. The party zoned the position to the Southwest and endorsed the candidacy of Mulikat Adeola-Akande. It was as though Adeola-Akande was coasting home to victory.

    But, Tambuwal was able to rally the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) members and with their block votes, he defeated his party’s choice and emerged Speaker.

    Fast-forward to 2015. The governing party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), did not use zoning but it endorsed candidates for the offices of Senate President, Speaker and others. Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara disagreed with their party and with the support of the opposition PDP, they carried the day. It was a major blow on the party on whose shoulder Nigerians have placed a lot of baggage.

    In search of peace, the party licked its wound and accepted Saraki and Dogara. It feels the best way to balance the equation and move forward was to allow its choice for Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, to become the Senate Leader. It also proposes Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, who ran against Dogara, as House Leader.

    From fillers, Dogara has chosen to toe the Tambuwal path by accepting the party’s decision. Tambuwal, in deference to the party after initially rebelling against it to emerge Speaker, accepted his main challenger Adeola-Akande as House Leader.

    But, unlike Dogara, Saraki seems hell-bent on defying the party. To him, party supremacy can as well be dead. Yesterday, his actions showed clearly that he was not willing to buy the party’s idea that Lawan should be the Senate Leader. His supporters argue that the Senate rules do not say the party should decide who occupy principal offices.   They say a provision in the rules only says the principal officers will be from the ruling party and not dictated by the party.

    Today, Saraki is expected to unfold his choices for the positions. Chances are high that he will not go by the party’s decision. May be only one of the four recommended by the party will have his blessing. If that happens, then party supremacy, which APC governors argue in favour of yesterday after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, may be on its way to the morgue. Dead.

    The consequences? They seem better imagined.

  • Senate: APC adopts Lawan, Akume

    Senate: APC adopts Lawan, Akume

    Senator Ahmed Lawan has emerged as the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for Senate Presidency.
    He emerged along with Senator George Akume as Deputy Senate President at the mock election of the party to choose its candidates, held in Abuja on Sunday following boycott of the exercise by the Senator Bukola Saraki.
    The Saraki’s group had on Sunday afternoon signed an agreement with the Lawan’s group to abide by the outcome of the election.
    The Saraki group reportedly failed to secure a request to postpone the election.

  • Senate seeks financial autonomy for AGF

    Senate seeks financial autonomy for AGF

    If a bill which seeks to alter relevant sections of the Constitution sails through the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly, the Auditor General for the Federation and the Auditor General for State Governments may become financially autonomous.

    The bill specifically seeks to place the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation and Offices of the Auditor General for State Governments on the First Line Charge of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

    Sponsored by Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North), it also seeks to empower the Auditor General for the Federation and the Auditor General for State Governments to audit the accounts of statutory corporations, commissions, authorities and agencies in the country.

    Apart from financial autonomy, it wants timely release of funds and enhanced funding for the Office of the Auditor General at both the federal and state levels.

    Lawan in his lead debate noted that a significant impediment to the performance of the AGF is the system and level of funding over the years.

    He said, “In other climes, the office of the AGF is funded by direct appropriation by the parliament.

    “In those jurisdictions, the AGF submits his annual financial requirements to the parliament and the parliament approves what it deems necessary for his operation.”

    He noted that the task of providing adequate funding for the office of the AGF lies squarely with the parliament because “the Executive Arm of Government is an entity and therefore would logically prefer an underfunded, weak and inefficient office of the AGF.”

    He said the same thing applies to the states.