The Nation Newspaper

Tag: assembly

  • Assembly probes whereabouts of N5b SURE-P fund

    The Plateau State House of Assembly has begun the probe of over N5 billion suspected to be missing from the state government’s account.

    The money is the state’s share of the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P), which the Jonah Jang administration reportedly received from last January till date.

    The probe, the lawmakers said, became necessary following public outcry that the funds might have been misappropriated by the government.

    It was learnt that the SURE-P has not taken off in Plateau State, despite the monthly disbursement of the funds to the state.

    Speaker John Clark Dabwan set up an Ad Hoc committee to investigate the state’s SURE-P funds.

    The eight-man committee, chaired by Dalyop Mancha, submitted its report to the Assembly last week.

    The committee decried the refusal of the government officials, who appeared before it, to give details of the bank accounts of the SURE-P funds.

    But it hailed the Commissioner for Finance, Davo Mang, for admitting before the committee that the state had been receiving N218 million monthly, since last January as its share of the SURE-P funds from the Federal Government.

    The accumulated funds the state has received is believed to be over N3 billion.

    The Ad Hoc committee also reportedly discovered that the state government has been receiving N146 million monthly on behalf of its 17 local governments from last January year. The funds have accumulated to over N2 billion.

    The state and local governments’ shares of the SURE-P funds, according to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr. Paul Wai, as well as the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) State Chairman Emmanuel Loman, have been channelled to the state government through the Federation Account Committee (FAC) on a monthly basis.

    The state’s and local governments’ shares have been put at over N5 billion.

    Mancha noted that despite several requests by the committee, Mang and the Accountant-General, Mr. Boyi sauka, failed to speak on the details of the account.

    He said: “The government officials, who appeared before us, claimed that the funds have not been misappropriated by the state government and that the funds are intact. But they failed to provide us with the bank’s statement and details of bank transactions to substantiate their claims.

  • Assembly orders ministry to erect zebra crossing signs

    The Lagos State House of Assembly has directed the Ministry of Transportation to ensure that Zebra crossing signs and signal lights are erected in designated areas to give effect to the rules guiding pedestrians crossing the roads.

    The Ministry of Information and Strategy was also mandated to intensify enlightenment campaigns on the need for motorists and pedestrians to comply with the signs, while the Commissioner of Police is to ensure that motorists comply with the provision of the Highway Code and Lagos State Traffic Law, 2012.

    These were among the resolutions of the House at plenary last week.

    A motion moved by Ahmed Ipoola Omisore, representing Ifako Ijaiye Constituency II and others, praised the commitment of the state government towards ensuring the safety of pedestrians on Lagos roads by marking longitudinal stripes (zebra crossing) on roads in high human and vehicular density areas in the state.

    Omisore cited Part 1 Section B (II) of the Nigeria Highway Code which states inter alia that a “pedestrian is a person who is walking on the road, especially in an area also used by vehicles. Drivers share the road with many other road users among who are pedestrians who are part of exposed road users.”

    Going by this, Omisore, in the motion, observed that a zebra crossing by law gives rights of way to pedestrians, but most motorists are either ignorant of or disregard the existence of these important safety signs.

    This, he said, was worrisome as innocent Lagosians have died due to the carefree attitude of the motorists.

    The motion after presentation and deliberation was later adopted as resolution of the House to be communicated to the concerned agencies.

     

  • National Assembly overhauls chambers over e-voting

    The House of Representatives has said the building of the third phase of the National Assembly has become more urgent following the failure of the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) to deploy an electronic voting platform (e-voting) for the report of the review of the constitution.

    The lawmakers denied awarding the installation of a new electronic voting system to the space agency at N50 million, adding that a number of factors were responsible for bringing in NigComSat to fix the problem.

    The Chairman, House Services and Welfare Committee, Yakubu Dogsra, was responding to questions at a media interactive session yesterday. He said the contract has been awarded to Julius Berger.

     

     

     

     

  • National Assembly and its controversial pensions

    National Assembly and its controversial pensions

    The National Assembly is proposing life pensions for its principal officers. AUGUSTINE AVWODE examines the controversial proposal and its implications for the polity.

    THE decision of the National Assembly on the life pensions for the Senate President, his deputy, the House of Representatives Speaker and the Deputy Speaker has continued to generate controversy.

    Many Nigerians believe that the move smacked of egocentricity and insensitivity to the mood of the polity. And it has attracted so much condemnation.

    If the proposal becomes law, then, the principal officers will be entiled to a pension for life at a rate equivalent to the annual salary of the incumbent President and the Deputy President of Senate, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives.

     

    Life pension for what?

     

    But since the Senate voted overwhelmingly in favour of the recommendation, Nigerians have been seething with anger. Speaking with The Nation, Lagos lawyer Chief Fred Agbaje chided the lawmakers for “awarding” life pension to their principals. He questioned the rationale and morality behind the decision. He wondered whether they appreciated the full implications of the decision for the economy and the social divide.

    “Life pension for what? Anyway, don’t you know that our lawmakers love us so much? Have they not represented you well enough? You have constant light, good roads and the best security ever. What else do you want from them? Shouldn’t our lawmakers, who made these possible, be given life pension for such a good job? What else do you want?”, he queried.

    Agbaje said the beneficiaries are comfortable Nigerians, adding that they do not deserve the benefits.

    “What type of life pension are you going to pay to the likes of Senator David Mark, who apart from collecting pension from the military as a retired General, a one-time state governor and a former minister, who also has a Golf Club? Is a Golf Club a poor man’s business?”, he asked.

    A political scientist, Prof Kimse Okoko of the University of Port Harcourt, described it as a demonstration of impunity. He said that it is immoral and unacceptable.

    “The decision of the National Assembly is a demonstration of the culture of impunity that we have come to know in this dispensation. It shows a lack of sensitivity to the feelings of Nigerians. Approving life pension for the leadership of the National Assembly is condemnable, especially when the majority of Nigerians are struggling to get food to eat. It is immoral, especially when you consider the obscene salaries and allowances they had approved for themselves,” he said.

    Veteran unionist Chief Frank Kokori, the former Secretary General of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) Workers, attributed the decision by the lawmakers to self-aggrandisement. He lamented that the Labour, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other pro-democracy groups have failed to gavalnised the people to resist the move.

    “No sane person would support it, except, of course, the lawmakers themselves who are the same. In a situation where there is no cogent opposition to this type of development, they win easily. If it were to be our time, they dare not think of it, not to talk of endorsing it”, Kokori said.

    Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) shared Okoko’s sentiment. He argued that the life pension for an elected individual, who holds an office for four or eight years is undesirable.

    He said the lawmakers were selfish.

    His words: “They are not there to look after the country and Nigerians, but themselves. You don’t get a pension for being elected for few years as a political operator. Pension is meant for life service with an organization.

    “So, for them to add pension to the enormous salaries and other allowances, show how insensitive they are”, he said.

    Another Lagos lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, said that it is condemnable. He maintained that the next generation of lawmakers will likely do anything to become the principal officer of the National Assembly because of the anticipation of earning a life pension.

    “This is one clause that I think Nigerians should condemn in the strongest term possible. After serving for four years, with the emoluments and the benefits that are outrageous, all paid for by the taxpayers, why still subject the taxpayers to servicing you after you have left the office? With this type of clause, why won’t people kill to get to the National Assembly? Why won’t people do all kinds of despicable things to become one of the principal officers of the House or Senate? I think we should condemn it and call on them to rescind it. By the way, what exactly do they need it for,” he asked.

     

    Smuggled clause

     

    It has been alleged that the clause was smuggled into the items for consideration. A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the Southsouth who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Nation that life pension for lawmakers was not debated at the public hearings.

    “This is not fair. The senators have not been fair to Nigerians. They have the power to amend the constitution and they have abused it. No wonder, people say if men were God, they would do whatever they want. It is bad. It is unfair and wicked”, he said.

     

    Implication for the polity

     

    Many Nigerians believe that the legislators are competing for the control of public funds with the executive.

    Currently, only the President and the Vice President are entitled to life pensions. There is also a limitation. Any President or Vice President impeached by the National Assembly is excluded from the benefit.

    But in the present instance, no such limitation or check exists. The implication is that, if it becomes law today, all those who had held the positions from 1999 to date will automatically benefit from it.

    The amount to be paid to all the former Presidents of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Representatives and their deputies, that are still alive would be enormous. In a country where experts are calling for a reduction in the cost of governance, this clause, analysts say, is economically unwise.

    Besides, nobody can say with precision the number of leaders that will preside over the affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives within a four year term. The polity is susceptible to unpredictable change.

    The implication is that there could be as many Speakers of the House and Presidents of the Senate as possible within four years. Ambitious legislators may orchestrate a change in the leadership of the House or the Senate in a way that the provision would become an albatross for the nation.

    Will it scale through or not? If it does, how will it benefit Nigerians and what value will it add to the democratic practice in Nigeria?

     

     

  • Our pampered, weeping and ignorant senators

    Last week, this column intervened on the constitution amendment programme undertaken by the National Assembly, and the indeter-minate quality of the avowed conscience of our distinguished senators; and to some extent, the Representatives, in that process. That exercise has now been temporary suspended, as the legislatures take a holiday, to enable most of them make haste to Europe and America with their clear conscience to enjoy the tranquil environment and the sun, otherwise called summer break. Few may, however, stay home for their Ramadan. Never mind that the sun is in abundance in this part, summer holiday gives the senators and other privileged Nigerians the opportunity to holiday in saner climes, as against our degraded environment and the challenges of underdeveloped infrastructure. Unfortunately, Nigeria is the haven, where the senators rake in unconscionable resources with which they travel to pamper themselves abroad.

    In that piece, I had warned: ‘Regrettably, the conscience of our distinguished senators has proved inadequate in the circumstance … Either that their conscience is so blurred that it is incapable of conscientious exercises or that it is so stunted that it is incapable of conscious reasoning’. Within the past week, a distinguished senator from Ondo State, on the platform of the Labour Party, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, furthered the debate over his colleagues’ inadequacies, as he claimed that he voted in the so called underage-marriage constitutional provision in error. To show that he thoroughly regrets his error, he was reported to have wept profusely when he was summoned by his constituency to a caucus meeting in Akure, Ondo State, to explain his preference.

    In essence, the distinguished senator has confirmed that like the rest of us, emotions, are also part of the challenges of our senators. Now that it has been evidenced by The Economist of London in its recent edition that our lawmakers are the highest paid, among their contemporaries across the world, shall we say that our lawmakers made the enabling, but clearly unconstitutional act to over-pay one another out of sheer emotion? Again, with that exposure that our legislators are earning way too higher than the job they are doing, shall we see our legislators like Senator Akinyelure go back to their constituencies and openly weep for that misconduct and ask for forgiveness; and immediately take recourse to common sense and the constitution? As I have persistently argued on this page, our national legislators, with the dubious self-awarded income they forcefully appropriate to themselves, have little moral authority to exercise their constitutional prerogative of oversight. As a legal maxim posits: Nemo dat qui non habet: No one gives who does not posses. So, the men and women at the National Assembly with jaundiced moral authority can’t enforce much.

    Last week also, the Senate President, Senator David Mark, under pressure over the constitution amendment process, added another dimension to the challenges of the legislators. He was reported to have claimed that most of his colleagues were blackmailed and that they acted ignorantly, during the amendment process. In naming the blackmailed senators, I guess Mr. Senate Preident may rank number one. After all, the senate had already voted to delete Section 29(4b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, before Senator Ahmed Yerima of Zamfara State took the stand to blackmail the Senate President to call for another round of voting on the same issue. Following the second round of voting, ignorance entered the mix, as Senator Yerima dubiously used religion to garner the required number of nay voters to kill the amendment. So, the requisite number of ignorant and blackmailed senators voted to retain that provision; which apparently delighted all the pedophiles.

    Now with ignorance and blackmail named by the Senate President as the further challenges of his colleagues; it is our collective responsibility to educate our legislators over the on-going constitution amendment exercise and other matters of national importance. It is commendable that the Gender and Constitution Reform Network, made up of very distinguished women, including Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education, has thrown their weight, into the ring, in the arduous but very important task of educating our legislators and shielding them from blackmail. Again it is also important that our senators are guided to shun unlawful appropriation of our common resources, whether as a result of blackmail by the tempter or ignorance of the law or both.

    To help the legislators work against ignorance, especially the type that has resulted in unconstitutional conduct, it is important that I yet again remind them to read paragraph 32(d) of the third schedule to the 1999 Constitution as amended. That section provides that the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission shall have power to: “determine the remuneration appropriate for political office holders, including the President, Vic-President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Commissioners, Special Advisers, Legislators and the holders of the offices mentioned in section 84 and 124 of this constitution….” In my view that provision is clear enough, and our distinguished senators can not fool us that they have acted ignorantly to allocate to themselves, more remuneration by whatever name called than their contemporaries across the world.

    Let me say that in the constitution amendment process, the House of Representatives so far, appear to be more clear-headed than the Senate as to what new provisions should be put in the constitution to help our country far better. They have voted among other innovations to separate the office of the Attorney-General from the Minister of Justice, the Auditor- General of the Federation from that of the Federal Government and the grant of autonomy to state legislatures. However in granting autonomy to local governments, they failed to create constitutional rights over economic activities, which is why many of the existing states are technically insolvent.

  • Lagos Assembly applauds S’ West governors over integration

    Lagos State House of Assembly has com-mended the governors of the six South West states of Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Ekiti for taking the bull by the horn to demonstrate their commitment to regional integration agenda through the inauguration of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission in Ibadan, Oyo State last week.

    Speaking in his office on Friday, the spokesman of the House and Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy, Security and Publicity, Hon. Segun Olulade, stressed that the formal inauguration of the DAWN Commission would, no doubt, fast track the implementation of the earlier launched Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) document, which is a blueprint that articulates the socio-economic policies and programmes envisioned for the rapid growth and development of the six states in the region.

    Olulade maintained that regional cooperation for commerce, agricultural, infrastructural, research, cultural, tourism, security and technological development have proved to be the most reliable and potent approach to sustainable growth, as well as the desired leap in the living standards of the people within the region.

    According to Olulade, “The most laudable benefit of regional integration is that it does not only transform hitherto existing cities to global commercial hubs and tourist destinations, but also lead to job explosion, improved purchasing power, sustainable economic growth, greater security, the maximisation of human and material resource potentials and better livelihood among the citizens of the states within the region.”

    The lawmaker pointed out that many great cities of the world are products of regional integration efforts, adding that regional cooperation among states usually breeds the mutual understanding, greater sense of belonging and the spirit of brotherhood and patriotism among the people involved.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Ogun Assembly approves N2b loan

    Ogun Assembly approves N2b loan

    The Ogun State House of Assembly yesterday approved Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s proposal to obtain N2 billion real estate development loan from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.

    The loan would enable the State Housing Corporation provide affordable housing for the people and improve infrastructure.

    The approval followed a resolution passed to that effect on the floor of the House by the legislators, headed by the Speaker, Suraj Adekumbi.

    The motion for the approval of the loan request was moved by the Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Mr. Olusola Bankole, after an amendment by the Minority Leader, Mr. Job Akintan and seconded by Mr. Babatunde Edunjobi.

    Bankole said the loan would be used to upgrade infrastructure in existing housing estates, adding that this would improve the standard of living and boost the morale of workers.

    Mr. Adeyinka Mafe, Olusola Sonuga, Olakunle Oluomo and Babatunde Edunjobi said the loan would give civil servants, who are contributors to the housing scheme, an opportunity to own houses.

    They said the passage of the resolution was one of the 13 conditions to be met, adding that Ogun would be among the states to get the loan.

    With the approval, the government can now obtain the N2 billion loan to provide low cost housing and the issuance of an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) by the Accountant-General of the Federation in favour of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.

     

  • Assembly confirms Osun CJ’s nomination

    The Osun State House of Assembly yesterday confirmed the nomination of Justice Oyebola Ojo as the State Chief Judge.

    Governor Rauf Aregbesola, in a letter to the House, requested her confirmation.

    The Leader of the House, Mr. Timothy Owoeye, moved the motion for his confirmation and it was seconded by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Akintunde Adegboye.

    The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam, said the House resolved to re-screen and confirm Justice Ojo’s nomination because issues of litigation and seniority about his nomination had been cleared.

    Salaam said facts that court cases against the State Judicial Commission had been discontinued and a correspondence from the National Judicial Council (NJC), indicating Justice Ojo’s seniority at the State High Court, had been presented to the Assembly.

  • ACN demands elections into Oyo Assembly

    ACN demands elections into Oyo Assembly

    More than 90 days after a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, approved the creation of eight additional constituencies in the House of Assembly and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections into the constituencies within 90 days, nothing of such has happened.

    The Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state, Mr. Dauda Koala, accused INEC of ignoring the court order.

    He said: “Ninety days have elapsed and INEC is yet to conduct elections into those constituencies as ordered by the court. We do not know why the body is silent over the matter. But what we do know is that this is a flagrant disregard of the rule of law.”

    Also yesterday, the ACN Alhaji Abdul Lateef Owoade as the Director of Finance and Administration, following the approval of the executives.

    Owoade was a pioneer member of the Alliance for Democracy(AD) and became the party’s administrative secretary in 2003.

    INEC’s spokesman, Mr. Ayodele Folami, disagreed with the ACN’s position, saying the time given by the court was 180 days and not 90.

    He said the electoral body has respect for the rule of law, especially the judiciary.

    Folami said: “When we receive judgments like these, we forward them to our headquarters in Abuja, which would come out with a decision soon.

    “We are yet to be informed by the headquarters. Once it gets back to us, we will communicate with the parties.”

    Reacting to INEC’s claim of 180 days, Kolawole said the electoral umpire was being economical with the truth.

    He said: “Where did he get 180 days from? The court said 90 days and you know all papers reported 90days. What is INEC talking about? I believe this is just a ploy to distort information and frustrate the development that the state will achieve through the creation of those constituencies.”

    The Accord expressed optimism that INEC would follow the rule of law.

    The party’s Chairman, Mr. Lawal Bashiru, said: “I think they are still collating data and the population in the eight constituencies.”

    He however urged the body to ensure that it conducts the elections before 2015.

     

  • Mini-bus owners, drivers protest at National Assembly

    Scores of mini-bus owners and drivers yesterday staged a protest at the National Assembly over the proposed stoppage of their buses in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) metropolis.

    The FCT Transport Secretariat had expressed the intention restrict the operations of the mini-buses to the satellite towns.

    The new policy, which was initially thought to have been postphoned indefinitely, is to become effective from June 3.

    But the protesters, under the aegis of the Owners and Drivers of Mini-Buses Association in the FCT, described the new policy as an “obnoxious policy on transport” and that it is “not mass-friendly.”

    The association added: “About 62,000 drivers and conductors will be denied of their daily bread as a result of this inhuman government arrangement.”

    The protesters carried various placards bearing various inscriptions, such as: “We are Nigerians, give us our right to work please”; “We are not in military regime; we are in democracy, hear our cry”; “We’re part of the organised labour, we are not touts. Live and let live”; “SOS, SOS, save our jobs, don’t throw us into starvation and death. Save our jobs”; “Nass save our families.”

    Others read: “We are legitimate drivers and conductors, NASS stop this impending slavery”; “Is government afraid of competition? Live and let live”; “Create jobs not joblessness.”

    A member of the association, Prince Paul Omeire, explained that the objective of the protest was to make the National Assembly appeal to the FCT Transport Secretariat to change the policy.

    Omeire said: “We are member of the Owners and Drivers’ Association and we operate the town service. We own the buses and drive them. Our problem is with the Transport Secretariat of the FCT.

    “The new transport policy is that we should stop operation in the city on June 3. This means thousands of drivers and conductors as well as their families and other extension will suffer. We create jobs and we don’t know why they want to create joblessness.”

    On why they were protesting at the National Assembly, the union spokesman said: “We are here to see our people at the National Assembly and see if we can get the FCT Transport Secretariat to change the policy.”