The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Alhaji Umar Imam

  • Thugs invade Kogi Assembly, assault lawmakers

    Thugs invade Kogi Assembly, assault lawmakers

    The Kogi State House of Assembly was on Tuesday invaded by hoodlums, who disrupted its plenary and beat up members.

    The Speaker of the House, Umar Imam, narrowly escaped when the hoodlums attacked the lawmakers.

    A member representing Igalamela-Odolu state constituency, Friday Sani, was however unlucky as the hoodlums beat him and inflicted serious injuries on him.

    Oluwatoyin Lawal (APC-Yagba West) narrowly escaped being hit by one of the big chairs hauled from the gallery into the chamber while some journalists covering the sitting were also attacked and beaten as they scampered for safety.

    Vehicles belonging to the lawmakers were also vandalised.

    The gate of the complex was locked against the speaker and this enabled the hoodlums to pelt his vehicles with stones and other objects.

    Imam expressed shock at the incident, saying the House did not see the attack coming.

    However, the speaker said he relaxed when policemen deployed to the House assured him that they were in the assembly complex to maintain peace and order.

    Imam, who told journalists that the House had adjourned indefinitely, expressed reservation at the conduct of the policemen during the attack on the assembly.

    He said: “We have been witnessing crises in assemblies but it had always been in-house. But this one coming from outsiders makes it news. The hoodlums came in and took over in the presence of the policemen.

    “The business of the day was carried out with the assurances from the commissioner of police but the hoodlums had a free day in the presence of the policemen.”

    NAN

  • Nigeria cannot afford to break up – Kogi Speaker

    Nigeria cannot afford to break up – Kogi Speaker

    Speaker of Kogi House of Assembly, Alhaji Umar Imam said on Friday that Nigeria cannot afford to break up because the nation’s advancement is tied to its unity.

    The speaker stated this in Ido-Osun, Osun State when he was conferred with a chieftaincy title of “Atona’’- Torch Bearer – by Oba Adedapo Aderemi, the traditional ruler of Ido-Osun Kingdom.

    “As a nation, we really need unity and we cannot afford to break up.

    “We should learn a lesson from the South Sudan’s breakup which turned sour against the envisaged social, economic and political freedom and advancement, he said.

    The speaker noted that the conferment of the chieftaincy title on him in a state as far as Osun is an indication of the indivisible entity, Nigeria.

    He thanked the Ido-Osun monarch and his council of chiefs as well as the Speaker of Osun House of Assembly, Mr Najeem Folashayo-Salam and other members of the House who were at the ceremony.

    Speaking in same vein, the royal father said the conferment of the title on the speaker was to foster the unity of the country against agitations from some quarters for disintegration.

    He said Imam was also chosen for the honour in recognition of his giant strides in bringing development and succour to his people, even before going into politics.

    The monarch called on Nigerians to work assiduously for the unity of the country.

    “What we are doing here today is to further strengthen the unity of this country.

    “Many have died in their bid to unite the country, we should not allow their death to be in vain,’’ he said.

    He said the nation had longed for the good governance and leadership qualities President Muhammadu Buhari is providing now.

    Folashayo-Salam thanked the Oba for joining to strengthen the unity of the country through the choice of Imam for the chieftaincy title.

    He enjoined other traditional rulers in the country to go beyond maintaining peace in their domains to enhancing national cohesion.

  • Six Kogi PDP legislators defect to APC

    Six Kogi PDP legislators defect to APC

    Six members of the Kogi House of Assembly, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The members, in a joint notification letter to the Speaker, Alhaji Umar Imam, cited “factional squabbles” in the PDP, as responsible for their action.

    Imam, while reading the letter on the floor of the House on Thursday, named the defectors as John Abah (Ibaji), Adoke Bello (Adavi), Kolawole Atthew (Kabba-Bunu), Ahmed Mohammed (Ankpa 1), Victor Omofaiye (Ijumu) and Kekere Sani-Abdulkareem (Okehi).

    The legislators said that they were forced to move to a more stable political group because the factional squabbles, both at the national and state levels, had torn the PDP into shreds.

    “The PDP has two National Chairmen – Sen. Ali Modu-Sheriff and Sen. Ahmed Makarfi- whose existence for over 10 months has left us uncomfortable, politically.

    “In view of the unfortunate division and its negative implications, we have no option than to defect to the APC to be able to accomplish our missions of bringing government closer to our people,’’ the letter further stated.

    Reacting, Godwin Osiyi (PDP, Ogori-Magongo), warned the defectors against moving away from their new political abode anytime it was faced with similar disagreements.

    Osiyi advised that the defection should not be allowed to affect the peace and unity among members.

    The Speaker, while congratulating the defectors for their decision, assured his colleagues that their action would  not affect the unity in the House.

    “What is important is the peace and unity that we enjoy. The House remains one. We are all gentlemen and have to be focused toward what we can do in the remaining period,’’ Imam said.

    Speaking with newsmen shortly after the session, Mr Friday Sani (PDP-Igalamela-Odolu), described the defection as a `child’s play’, and claimed that the members did not follow due process as enshrined in section 109 of the constitution.

    “Votes belong to the party and not individual candidates; the defectors will lose their seats because we shall challenge their action in court,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that with the defection of the six members, the PDP, formerly the majority party in the House, has become the minority with nine members to APC’s 16 in the 25-member Assembly. (NAN)

  • Excessive heat, faulty generator stall Wednesday Kogi Assembly sitting

    Kogi House of Assembly was again forced to adjourn sitting on Wednesday due to the excessive heat and faulty generating set to power the air conditioners at the chamber.

    A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) covering the proceedings at the Assembly reports that the problem was compounded by lack of regular powerful supply in the area.

    The Assembly could not sit on Tuesday due to the same challenges.

    The Majority Leader of the House, Matthew Kolawole (PDP-Kabba-Bunu), moved a motion for the adjournment of sitting.
    He urged that the three items on the Order Paper for the day be stepped down for deliberation another day.

    The items were; a Bill for a law to provide for the revenue expenditure for all the 21 Local Government Areas for 2017.
    The House was also billed to discuss a motion calling on the state government to complete the construction of Dekina Township road to forestall further loss of lives.

    There was also motion urging the Surveyor-General of the Federation to resolve the boundary dispute between Abaji Area Council in FCT and Kogi Local Government in Kogi.

    The motion for adjournment was, thereafter, seconded by the Minority Leader, Hassan Bello (APC-Ajaokuta).
    The Speaker, Alhaji Umar Imam, ruled on the motion by adjourning sitting to Thursday.

    “In view of the malfunctioning of the generator and the excessive heat in the chamber, the House stands adjourned till Thursday, March 16,”the speaker said.

    Besides the development at the Assembly, investigation by NAN also showed that many residents of Lokoja have resorted to sleep outside their houses in the night due to the excessive heat that hit the area

     

  • Kogi Assembly calls for sustenance of JTF in crisis areas

    Kogi Assembly calls for sustenance of JTF in crisis areas

    The Kogi House of Assembly has urged the Kogi Government to sustain security through the Joint Task Force (JTF) which comprises of the army and other security agencies’ personnel in order to secure lives and property in crisis areas in the state.

    The call is part of the resolution of the House following the adoption of a Motion of Urgent Public Importance which urged the government to curb unwarranted killings and destruction of property raised by Mr Sunday Shigaba (PDP-Bassa) at plenary on Friday.

    The motion was sequel to the eruption of communal clashes between Bassa-Kwomu and Egbura-Mozum both of Bassa Local Government in Kogi where many lives were lost and properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed.

    Presenting the motion, Shigaba said that the crisis which erupted between the hours of 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Nov. 27 in Kpanche village claimed more than 10 lives, according to official report.

    The lawmaker said that a corpse was discovered in the bush following sprout of smell, adding that the casualty figure was not exhaustive as corpses of victims caught up in uninhabited places could still not be found.

    He said that the crisis, casualty figure of which was put at over 40 by unofficial reports, came at a time when people were passing through economic hardships resulting from recession which was taking its toll on the people.

    Shigaba described the consequences of the crisis as “colossal self-imposed loss and socio-political and economic imprisonment” that was avoidable if only the key actors in the crisis had accorded themselves mutual respect.

    Most disturbing of the crisis, according to him, is the fact that the security personnel (the Joint-Task-Force) in the race to quell the crisis got involved in an auto crash which left eight personnel injured and are presently hospitalised in Dekina and Lokoja.

    He commended Gov. Yahaya Bello and security agencies for the swift and timely response “which substantially helped in bringing the crisis under control” and commiserated with the army and the police for the injured personnel.

    Shibaga in his prayers, however urged government to sustain the presence of the task force team in the area pending the return of normalcy and urged that similar gesture be accorded all crisis-ridden areas in the state.

    Seconding the motion, Mr Godwin Osiyi (PDP-Ogori-Magongo) described the situation as a sad one, saying it was not healthy for communal clashes to become a recurring decimal in an area as it would retard development.

    The Speaker of the House, Alhaji Umar Imam, condemned the bloody clash between the two sister communities, saying that the loss of lives and property was unfortunate and commended the timely intervention of the governor and security agents.

    Imam thereafter put the question and following overwhelming support of members, adopted the motion along with the amendments.