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Tag: Committee

  • Why we created 137 standing Committee, by House

    Why we created 137 standing Committee, by House

    The House of Representatives has said that it created about 137 standing committees to make oversight function of the legislature more effective.

    While the House initially created 134 standing committees before proceeding on its annual. Vacation, Speaker Tajudeen Abass announced the creation of additional three committees when the House resumes from vacation.

    The House also said it has passed for first reading of about 1800 bills since it was inaugurated in June while 10 of those bills have been passed awaiting concurrence from the Senate.

    Spokesman of the House, Akin Rotimi who spoke at his first media briefing since the inauguration of the House, said rather than fault the creation of more committees, Nigerians should applaud the House for its attempt to bring governance closer to the people through effective oversight.

    Rotimi said the committees were constituted in line with present realities in the polity to create the right structure for its envisioned strengthening of oversight functions and to ensure seamless engagement.

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    He said the House leadership should be commended for taking a bold step towards carrying members of such a politically diverse parliament along, while dismissing the claim that the newly-reformed 70 Parliamentary Friendship Groups were a duplication of both the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and that on Diaspora.

    He disclosed that the leadership of the friendship groups were drawn largely from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, adding that their function was to ease interaction with other parliaments across the world.

    Speaking on the bills that have been passed by the House, Rotimi said one of the most significant bills passed by the House was audit bill which seeks to repeal the 1956 audit act.

    He informed two new members Zango Baba Abubakar (Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency) and Magaji Jaafar Abubakar (Maiha/Mubi North/Mubi South Federal Constituency) have been inaugurated as members of thr parliament following recent judgements by the Court of Appeal on their election petitions.

    The two new lawmakers are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa state.

    Also speaking, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Francis Waive, revealed that over 1,800 bills have scaled first reading while 10 pieces of legislation have so far been passed by the House.

    Waive described the passage of the Nigeria Audit Service Bill which repealed the Audit Ordinance of 1956 as one of such landmark bills, just as he listed a key achievement of his Committee to include innovations in the areas of the Notice and Order Papers in order to enable a seamless distribution process and allow effective contributions by Members during plenary.

    The Delta federal lawmaker further praised the 10th Assembly for its unprecedented feat in the area of motions, noting that over 300 motions sponsored by no fewer than 200 Members have so far been sponsored despite the fact that eighty (80%) of the lawmakers are newbies in the federal parliament.

    He attributed this to the vibrancy among the present crop of Members and the inclusive approach adopted by the House Leadership.

    Chairman of the House Committee on Public Petition, Hon. Like Etaba, lamented refusal of heads of agencies to honour invitations to appear before it to defend petitions against them.

    He said officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration refused to appear before the committee on the three occasions they have been invited to defend the petition by Apo Traders Association, while teleco providers in the country also failed to appear.

    He said the Nigeria Customs Service has. Asked for an additional time to allow them out together a people response to the petition against them.

    Hon. Etaba said of the agencies continue to decline appearance, the Committee will have no option than to report back to the House at plenary to take an appropriate decision.

  • Committee honours DPO for fighting crime

    The Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) in Enugu State has extolled the performance and sterling qualities of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Oji River Divisional Police Headquarters, Mr. Matthew Ezeh. It said he has reduced crime in Oji River.

    The Chairman of PCRC in Oji River Police Area Command, Chief Fabian Okeke, yesterday presented an award of “PCRC DPO of the Year 2018” to Ezeh at Oji River in Enugu State.

    Oji River Police Area Command is one of the five area commands in Enugu State comprising seven divisional police headquarters.

    Okeke, who made the presentation in company of members of his executives, said for over two years that Ezeh had taken over as the DPO, crimes had reduced.

    He said: “The rate of crime, especially armed robbery and shop burglary, has become so low that night life and economic activities have returned.

    “Traders and transporters now do businesses with ease and rest of mind.”

    Okeke said Ezeh is a team player, who has implemented community policing programmes by incorporating members of the community, especially PCRC members, to ensure that Oji River and its environs are secured.

    “One good thing about his character is that he listens and is very responsive to issues concerning or involving people in the division,” he said.

    The chairman said the DPO had made it a duty to leave the divisional headquarters better by attracting the area council chairman through unique inter-personal relations, to renovate the Oji River Divisional Police Headquarters.

    “He did the same thing in two divisions where he had served in the area command before coming to Oji River Divisional Police Headquarters,” he said.

    Enugu State Police Commissioner Mr. Mohammed Danmallam hailed the PCRC for picking an officer among the outstanding officers in the command for honour.

    Danmallam, represented by the Area Commander of Oji River Area Command, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ashu Ottah, said the award was a challenge to other DPOs, knowing that residents were watching how they discharged their duties.

    He said: “I want all DPOs to build solid and enduring human relations to help in community policing as well as information and intelligence gathering.”

    Responding, Eze, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), thanked the PCRC for noticing his modest contributions to protect lives and property in Oji River area.

    He said: “With this award, I assure residents that by the grace of God, I will do more to ensure that enduring peace and security remain in my area of jurisdiction.”

     

  • Committee introduces new events to boost Ikorodu Oga Day

    The Chairman, Ikorodu Development Association (IKODASS), Mr. Ganiu Abiru, said yesterday that the group had introduced new activities to boost the 27th edition of the Ikorodu Oga Day.

    Abiru, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the IKODASS secretariat in Ikorodu, listed the new activities as boat regatta, walk for fitness, raffle draws and mini trade fair to make the event scheduled to hold from November 10 to 17 more glamorous.

    “Every year, we keep improving. Since the current executive has come on board, we have been introducing innovations.

    “We are trying to surpass the Ojude Oba celebration in Ijebu Ode so that our people from home and abroad will enjoy this year’s celebration.

    “We have introduced activities to celebrate this year’s programme, among which is the raffle draw. The winner will go home with a Toyota Corolla with just N200.

    “Registered members of Lagos State Art and Culture and delegates from the ministry will be present to make the occasion a memorable one,” Abiru said.

    He said the boat regatta was introduced to give fishermen among the residents the opportunity to showcase their talents, adding that those who performed well would be rewarded and trained in their professions.

     

     

     

  • SGF inaugurates committee for establishment of National Peace Commission

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr. Boss Mustapha has inaugurated a committee on the establishment of a National Peace Commission (NPC).

    Acting Director-General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) Dr. Bakut tswah Bakut is the chairperson of the committee.

    It has three months to turn in its report.

    In a statement by Mr. Abu I. Michael, the Resident Information Officer (RIO), National Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (NIPCR), Mustapha said the National Economic Council (NEC) recommended the establishment of the commission and peace agencies for states after reviewing the security situation of Nigeria in August 2017, adding that the NEC identified ethno-religious crisis as one of the sources of insecurity, which must be addressed.

    The SGF, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Dr. Amina Bello, urged the committee to take cognisance of the security challenges across the country, citing terrorism in the Northeast; armed banditry, cattle rustling and kidnapping in the Northwest; farmers and herdsmen’s crisis in the Northcentral; secessionist agitations in the Southeast; pipeline vandalism, oil bunkering and theft and cultism in the Southsouth as well as adverse activities of electricity vandals and oil bunkerers in the Southwest and Southsouth.

    Mustapha said the peace index indicated that all parts of the country were engrossed in one security challenge or the other, hence the essence of the committee.

  • Committee advises auditors, accountants on integrity, professionalism

    Chairman, Audit Committee Institute, Nigeria, Christian Ekeigwe has urged auditors and accountants  to carry out their jobs with integrity and professionalism in the interest of the economy.

    He spoke yesterday during a two-day Audit Committee Conference held in Lagos, with the theme: Cultivating the Conscience of Stewards and Gatekeepers: Key to Responsible Governance and Control.

    According to him, the theme of the event was borne out of the realisation that financial crime by accountants appear to be on the rise despite various seminars on it, hence the need to go back to the basics of humanity in curbing it.

    Ekeigwe said conscience can impact on financial reporting if the auditors decide to let it impose on them the obligation to do what is right and override their desire in the face of temptation of enrichment.

    On whether he believes that auditors can ascribe to their conscience while preparing their accounts, he said giving people hope to believe in themselves will trigger a change of heart to do what is right into developing the country.

    Also speaking, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Razak Jaiyeola, who was the guest speaker, said accountants have to be more responsive to how the finance of their organisations are being used and be ready to blow the whistle on anomalies noticed.

    Jaiyeola said the high level of corruption in the Nigerian polity has raised several integrity questions on accountants, especially the auditors and with the country ranking 148th out of 180 nations in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) issued by Transparency International in 2017, it is natural to ask what the role of auditors have been in taming this alarming rate of corruption in the system.

    He said: “With the number of well-trained and technically-competent auditors we parade as a nation, then one is tempted to opine that what it takes to be a good auditor goes beyond technical skills”.

    He said while different theories have been propounded and programmes developed across economies to entrench good governance, the human conscience will still play prominent roles in the success of such efforts, adding that once ethics and morality are removed from any government policies or programmes, what is left is just mere texts on white papers.

    “The absence of trust makes governance and control costly due to unnecessary processes, documentation, verifications, meetings and duplicated activities  with a lot of motions striking the air but producing very little.  To build a high trust society in which empowered people bring their best to work requires cultivation of conscience, a natural instrument of control that is at work with us even when we sleep”, he asserted.

  • The tripartite committee

    By its tripartite nature, the committee is made up of members from the public sector (federal and state governments) and the private sector (the largest private employer group – the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines & Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME).

    It has a former Head of Service and one-time Housing Minister Ms. Ama Pepple as chairperson, the Labour & Employment Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige as deputy chairman and the Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Chief Richard Egbule, as secretary.

    It was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 27 at the Council Chamber of the State House Villa in Abuja.

    In his remarks, the President said: “Government’s decision after considering your final recommendation will be sent as an Executive Bill to the National Assembly for it to undergo appropriate legislative scrutiny before passage into law.

    “As is evident by the membership of the committee, state governors and private sector employers are part of this process. This will ensure ease of implementation of a new minimum wage nationwide.

    “I am hopeful that the principles of full consultation with social partners and their direct participation would be utilised by the committee, bearing in mind the core provisions of the International Labour Organisation Minimum Wage Fixing Convention No. 131 and Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery Convention No.26 (ratified by Nigeria).

    “Accordingly, conditions of genuine social dialogue should prevail in the spirit of Tripartism and Collective Bargaining Agreements. I therefore enjoin you all to collectively bargain in good faith, have mutual recognition for each other and always in a spirit of give and take.”

    Besides Ngige, other representatives of the Federal Government are: Budget & National Planning Minister Senator Udoma Udo Udoma; Finance Minister Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HoCSF Mrs. Winifred E. Oyo-Ita and the Permanent Secretary (General Services) Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and Dr. Roy Ugo.

    The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has governors Rauf Aregbesola (Osun, Southwest); Rochas Okorocha (Imo, Southeast); Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe, Northeast); Nyesom Wike (Rivers, Southsouth); Simon Lalong (Plateau, Northcentral) and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi, Northwest) as its representatives. The NGF’s Forum’s Director-General A. B. Okauru, has an observer status.

    On the trade union side, are: NLC President Ayuba Wabba; Peters Adeyemi (NLC); Kiri Mohammed (NLC); Amechi Asugwuni (NLC) and Peter Ozo-Eson (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) is being represented by Bobboi Bala Kaigama (President); Sunday Olusoji Salako; Alade Bashir Lawal; Igwe Achese and Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) president.

    On the employers’ side are: NECA’s Director-General Olusegun Oshinowo; Timothy Olawale (NECA); Chuma Nwankwo (NECA); Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) Director-General Mrs. Olubunmi Adekoje; Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) Kaduna East branch Chairman Ahmed Ladan Gobir; Francis Oluwagbenro (MAN); Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Kano branch President Hajia Muheeba Dankaka and Nigerian Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (NASME) President Degun Agboade.

  • INEC revives committee

    Ahead of the coming governorship election in Ekiti State and the 2019 general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revived the State Implementation Committee on Voters’ Education and Publicity (SICVEP).

    It said this is part of efforts at ensuring free, fair, credible, acceptable and conclusive elections.

    The committee is made up of representatives of the Federal Ministry of Information, state Ministry of Information, the Ekiti State Office of the National Orientation Agency, Ministry of Women Affairs, the state government owned Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State and the state Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

    Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the revived committee in Ado Ekiti, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Abdul-Ganiyu Olayinka Raji, stressed the importance of passing accurate information on guidelines for the ongoing voters’ registration and other relevant voters’ education towards ensuring the success of the governorship election this year and the general election next year.

    The REC, who spoke through the Administrative Secretary of the Commission in the state, Dr. Omoleke Muslim, expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the voters’ registration exercise, noting that the number of the newly registered voters had exceeded the number recorded in the previous exercise by over 20 per cent.

    He listed the activities lined up for the committee in preparation for the elections to include organising implementation meetings with relevant stakeholders, voters’ education exercise at the grassroots level as well as production and distribution of information, education and communication materials.

  • Assembly sets up committee to investigate crisis

    The Osun State House of  Assembly under the leadership of the Speaker, Najeem Salam, has set up a 15-man ad hoc committee to investigate the account of the state-owned university between 2015 to  date.

    A statement by the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, said the House set up the committee yesterday in Osogbo after a closed door meeting with the management  and non-academic staff unions  of the institution.

    The Speaker directed the committee to look into the crisis of incessant strike by the non-teaching staff.

    Salam said the committee is to report back to the assembly in two weeks.

    He said the House Committee Chairman on Public Account,  Mr Rasheed Afolabi, would be the chairman of the committee.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Committee on underage voting submits report

    THE Committee raised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate the allegations of underage voting during council elections in Kano has submitted its report.

    The committee, according to the  INEC Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, submitted it report to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at the weekend.

    Mr. Ahmed Nahuche, chairman of the committee, said at the event that diligent and wide consultations with stakeholders were made by the committee.

    The committee was inaugurated by INEC in February 2018, to investigate the allegation of underage voting which was maliciously linked to the voters’ register in Kano.

    Nahuche said that in carrying out the assignment, the committee consulted with critical stakeholders through visitations and interactive sessions.

    “The stakeholders’ interactive sessions included civil society organizations, political parties, print and electronic media organizations as well as security agencies.

    “The committee in the course of consultation and interactive sessions received a number of pictures, video clips, reports, documents and presentations from the stakeholders,” he said.

    “It immediately embarked on thorough review and analysis of these materials in order to ascertain the actual connection with KASIEC LGA elections.

    “The committee also examined the social media reports of pictures and video clips that triggered the outrage and the alleged participation of underage persons in the KASIEC LGA elections as a key area of focus for the investigation.

    “The pictures and video clips were thoroughly analysed by the committee,’’ he added.

    Nahuche called for the encouragement of the State Independent Electoral Commission’s (SIECs) and political parties to work towards improving electoral logistics to enhance the credibility of their respective processes and procedures.

    He urged political parties to observe best practices for the sustenance of democracy.

    Receiving the report, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu commended the committee, for discharging the assignment diligently.

    Yakubu reiterated that the commission was committed to ensuring that the voter register was purged of ineligible persons.

    “The credibility of the voter register is very important to the commission; (and) that the outcome of the investigation, in the interest of transparency would be shared with the general public.”

  • On APC’s reconciliation committee

    On APC’s reconciliation committee

    Sir: President Muhammadu Buhari has assigned a very difficult and challenging job to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu- to resolve disagreements among party members, party leadership and political office holders in some states and the centre. The job is a challenging one because internal squabble and scrabble for who gets what are normal in political parties especially in a nascent democracy like that of   Nigeria. But when such games get messy and personal; the ‘hands’ of a leader is needed to put a stop to it. Though, the All Progressive Congress (APC) is a political party that consists of different individuals with diverse ideologies and political backgrounds, harmony amongst members is still possible.

    Tinubu, love or hate him, is a colossus in the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Nigerian politics. He is the right person to head APC reconciliation committee. From 1999 to date, Tinubu has been in the control of the Southwest. As it is now in Nigeria, only Buhari and Tinubu are undisputable regional powers with cult-like followership. As far as 2019 presidential elections are concerned, Tinubu holds some sort of ace, taking into cognizance the current permutations in the politics of the presidential candidate in both the APC and the PDP. Both parties may likely have their presidential candidates from the north.  Whichever candidate secures the Southwest’s nod, will easily win the presidential elections.

    No political party in power can be crisis-free. There are five main problems facing the APC; first, ex-governors who want to control incumbent governors, second, governors in their last terms fighting incumbent senators for senatorial tickets. Third, senators who want to become governors.  Fourth, parliamentarians unsure of a return ticket and fifth, party faithful who feel they have been side-lined by state or federal government. In fact, the current squabble in the APC revolves around 2019 elections. Most of these issues are surmountable. Some bigwigs just need some ego-massage- a simple apology to them will do the trick; other people need an assurance of tickets for their seats while some individuals need government patronage- contracts or appointment.  Tinubu will for sure bring cohesion within the APC as well as reconcile many aggrieved members of the party. He will face some stringent challenges- some of the crisis in the APC has already turned personal and also it has become the only way for political relevance and a source of ‘income’ for some people. This is where President Buhari’s ‘hand’ is critically needed.

    President Buhari’s choice of Tinubu to head the APC reconciliation efforts is based on a known fact: he has gone through the mills of politics, he has laboured enough for the APC; he will do everything possible to keep the party strong. Some of the crises in the APC are normal- they are all about 2019 elections.

     

    • Zayyad I. Muhammad,

     Jimeta, Adamawa State.