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Tag: committees

  • NFF to reconstitute standing committees

    NFF to reconstitute standing committees

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will soon reconstitute its standing committees and judicial bodies, which were dissolved at the end of the 71st Annual General Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday.

    In dissolving the committees and the judicial bodies, NFF President Amaju Pinnick said the objective was to rejuvenate them and reinvigorate the administration of football.

    “The committees and judicial bodies are very critical to the administration of football in the land. They make most of the recommendations that inform all the decisions and policies of the Executive Committee.

    “We dissolved them to carefully reconstitute them, and thereby reinvigorate the administration of football in the country.”

    The NFF has 18 standing committees and two judicial bodies. Among these are the Emergency Committee, Finance Committee, Organising Committee, Football Committee, Technical and Development Committee, Strategic Committee, Ethics and Fairplay Committee, Referees Committee, Match Commissioners Appointment Committee, Youth Development Committee, Media and Publicity Committee and Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee. The judicial bodies are the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeals Committee.

  • Committees without portfolio

    A man in a suitcase often carries the aura of lofty indolence. He sports a nifty suit, brand-name shoes and his wrist glitters with a watch only a few can afford. But he is essentially from nowhere, soars in choice companies of business and the political elite. He has no address, no office. He is haughty, well-spoken and well-spoken of.

    No one loves him, but it is hard not to admire him. Hardball sees a few resemblances in a scenario developing with our lawmakers. We have heard in the past few weeks a phrase that reeks of corruption. It is called juicy committee. Every lawmaker wants not only to work in a “juicy committee,” he or she wants to head one.

    By juicy, they mean the lawmakers will have access to slush money, or to use less indelicate language, they are awash in bribes. So when House Speaker Yakubu Dogara unveiled his self-serving committees, some others felt more than a little unhappy. The committees, verging on a hundred, are really ridiculous. Many of them are believed to even overlap.

    But that is not what bothers Hardball. It is their lack of foresight or understanding of the change era of crimped offices and lack of abundance. For instance, the Buhari government has said it will collapse the number of ministries and agencies. What this means is that we are not going to have that many ministries to supervise or to monitor.

    In the first place, where we had ministers and ministers of state, we are going to have only ministers. And some ministries that stood proudly alone are going fall under the shadows of others.

    The interesting thing is that Hardball and the lawmakers do not know what shape the new ministries and MDAs will take. Yet, some lawmakers are already sitting pretty as heads of committees and they are smacking their lips ahead of the juices that will drop from the plums in the big, fat tree of politics.

    Now, what if you are in charge of, say, a committee that is juicy and you are looking to perform your oversight functions over a ministry. Suddenly, you learn that your ministry has been collapsed under another ministry. Again, what if the collapsed ministry bears the name of your committee and that of another committee and then another committee? And what if all three thought they were severally juicy in their own rights? What will happen to the affected committees and the heads?

    Does it mean we shall have a new scramble for juicy offices? Because the new scene will be ugly. Those who huffed and puffed as heads of committees suddenly find themselves as subordinate to another. In fact, it may turn out burlesque that those who have no juicy committees may become better juiced by comparison than those with so-called juicy committees that have been collapsed.

    They will fall into a Kafkaesque world where light is dark. If they are fighting now over committees that are bound for Golgotha, what will happen when they have to be pruned? The man in a suitcase may even be better. At least, his portfolio gives him wealth and dubious honour. What shall we say then of committees without portfolios? Because that is what is about to happen.

  • Dogara defends creation of more committees at inauguration

    Dogara defends creation of more committees at inauguration

    •House Leader Gbajabiamila shuns event

    THOSE WHO RESIGNED COMMITTEES’ MEMBERSHIP

    • Garba Mohammed Datti (APC Kano) Chairman, Committee on Solid Minerals Development
    • Sunday Adepoju (APC Oyo), Deputy Chairman, Committee on Special Duties
    • Hassan Saleh (PDP Benue) Deputy Chairman, Committee on Local Content
    • Chika Adamu Deputy Chairman (APC NIGER), Committee on Legislative ComplianceHOUSE of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara yesterday inaugurated 96 committees in a special session. But, the session showed more of the division in the House than the unity.

      The face-off over distribution of Committee between Dogara and Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila came to a head yesterday as the latter shunned the inauguration of the committees.

      Gbajabiamila’s absence was conspicuous at the event witnessed by the Senate President Bukola Saraki, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachri David Lawal, former presiding and principal officers of the House, representatives of the Service Chiefs and former legislators among others.

      Gbajabiamila’s duty of presenting the opening remarks was taken over by the Deputy Majority Leader, Buba Jubril.

      However, after some goodwill messages and keynote address by former Deputy Speaker Chibudom Nwuche, the Speaker delivered his speech and defended the creation of additional committees.

      There were 89 standing committees in the Seventh House of Representaives which the Speaker raised penultimate week when he announced chairmen and deputies for 96 committees.

      Dogara yesterday downplayed public perception of ‘juicy and non-juicy committees’, saying all committees have equal importance.

      His words: “Some commentators have decried the large number of committees as being unwieldy and not cost effective. This criticism, even though, apparently well-intentioned, misses the point.

      “Experience gained from the operation of committees since 1999, shows that some committees’ functions and mandates are very wide indeed and cannot be effectively supervised and over sighted by a single committee.

      “For instance, the House split the Committee on Education into two, namely: Basic Education and Services and Tertiary Education and Services.

      “The old Committee on Education had a mandate to oversight the budget and policy issues of the following institutions – 104 unity schools; 22 federal colleges of education; 36 federal universities and 24 federal polytechnics.

      “There is no way a single Committee can adequately oversight all these agencies with House members also attending to other issues in Plenary Sessions, like lawmaking and other representational responsibilities.

      “For instance, the United States (U.S.) Congress has about 22 standing and select committees but about 100 sub-committees.

      “This reasoning also informed the splitting of other committees, like Health which has about 150 institutions. Agriculture Committee was also split for the same reason. There is merit sometimes in setting up specific committees to handle specific problems.”

      He said the reasons given above informed the creation of the new committee on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Refugees, and Initiatives on the Northeast.

      Dogara reiterated further that the multiplicity of committees was to check corruption and impunity in government, saying, “undoubtedly the legislature remains the only institution with appropriate constitutional and statutory powers to check the executive arm and ensure that it discharges its mandate to the full benefit of all Nigerians”.

      He said, there was nothing like juicy committee, as all committees have equal importance.

      Dogara said: “The media has been awash with how some members got ‘juicy committees’ and some didn’t. Let me use this opportunity to restate that there is nothing like juicy committee or non-juicy committee. I personally do not understand what is meant by that.

      “If it means opportunity to contribute, we can assure you that every member of a committee would enjoy ample and equal opportunity.

      “Every committee of the House is very important and is designed to handle specific functions for the House and on behalf of the Nigerian people who elected us.”

      Saraki, who was given a rousing ovation before and after reading his goodwill speech, assured Nigerians of the readiness of the lawmakers to discharge their responsibilities with diligence.

      He noted that it is incumbent on the lawmakers to find solutions to the nation’s plethora of challenges.

      The Senate President said: “As the highest law-making body in the country, we have a huge task ahead of us, to find answers to our numerous problems.

      “The committee system is the veritable tool that helps to organize the most important works including considering, shaping, and passing our laws. They remain the most potent system for oversight and therefore anti-corruption.

      “In this vein therefore, may I enjoin the new committees to operate above board. This has become necessary as we seek to re-engineer our economy and introduce a new regime of openness, efficiency, probity and institutional integrity.

      “We cannot afford to fail Nigerians. Our citizens have demanded for change and we must give it to them through cooperation and diligence. The legislative agendas of both chambers converge in so many ways, I wish to use this opportunity to also solicit that we speedily dispatch issues for which we have consensus and reduce the time taken to pass critical legislation before us.”

      The Chief Whip, Ado Doguwa, admitted the existence of a wide crack in the House.

      In his vote of thanks, the lawmaker pledged solidarity of the nine principal officers to the Speaker’s leadership.

      “We stand by what you have done. We stand by the position of the leadership. Nine of us are religiously behind you Mr. Speaker,” he said.

      Responding to a question on the absence of the House Leader, the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media & Publicity, Jonathan Gaza, said: “I do not know why he was absent, but I believe it was for a good cause.”

      He described Gbajabiamila’s absence as unfortunate and added that the country should be bigger than one.

      His words: “Time has been wasted on several things…when you walk into that Chamber; it’s not about party anymore. We swore allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, not to our respective parties. It is therefore about the progress of Nigeria. The wheel of governance is spinning and Nigeria would begin its upward move.”

      Speaking for all chairmen and deputies at the close of the event, Abdulmumin Jibrin, who is the chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, prayed for patience for Dogara.

      He said: “We will pray that God almighty increase your patience and humility even when it is tested. May God almighty increase your courage to always stand to the truth and for what is right. May God almighty guide you, protect you and increase your wisdom as you continue to preside over the affairs of this House. You are Speaker ordained by God and He alone will continue to protect you and us until the end of these four years and beyond.”

      There was a rash of resignations by members who were uncomfortable with the constitution of the committees prior to yesterday’s inauguration.

      The Deputy Minority Whip in the Seventh House and a member of the APC, Garba Mohammed Datti, was the first to resign as Chairman, House Committee on Solid Minerals Development.

      He was followed by Sunday Adepoju (APC Oyo), who resigned as deputy chairman, Committee on Special Duties.

      Another member from Benue State, Hassan Saleh (PDP) formerly communicated his rejection of the deputy chairmanship of the Committee on Local Content to the Speaker.

      Also Chika Adamu resigned his committee position as deputy chairman of the House Committee on Legislative Compliance.

  • Committees: Trouble returns to Dogara’s House

    Committees: Trouble returns to Dogara’s House

    The last may not have been heard about the tension generated in the House of Representatives by last week’s appointment of standing chairmen and their deputies. This is because there are indications that more Legislators may be planning to announce their rejection of positions given to them in protest of what many of them have described as the lopsided nature of the appointments.

    The announcement of House Committee and Deputies by the Speaker Yakubu Dogara on October 22, caused a lot of furore in the National Assembly. Tempers rose, accusations and counter accusations trailed the list which was considered unfair by the APC lawmakers in the House.

    Tension boiled over during the week when Garba Datti Muhammed, representing Sabon Gari Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, and Sunday Adepoju representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal constituency of Oyo State publicly rejected  the committee positions given to them by the Dogara-led lower House of the national assembly.

    While Muhhammed had been named the chairman of the Committee on Solid Minerals Development, Adepoju was named the deputy chairman of the committee on special duties. Dogara announced the names of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of 96 of 97 Standing Committees penultimate Thursday.

    Though the House leadership, in a swift reaction, reportedly replaced Datti with another lawmaker from his state, Suleiman Samalia, it is yet to comment on Adepoju’s decision to toe the same line. Both members, it was gathered, are loyalists of the House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, who was Dogara’s main challenger for the Speakership position.

    Muhammed, while announcing his resignation, said he wasn’t consulted before his appointment. “I feel as a former principal officer, I should have been consulted before my name was announced. I just heard of it on the floor. And I have my own principles. I have decided on my own to withdraw as the chairman of that committee,” he said.

    Resigning his appointment, Adepoju at plenary said, “It’s nothing personal but we have a duty to ensure that the party we all fought for and succeeded in taking this far should not fail. Conceding key committees to the opposition is another way of ensuring that the programmes APC has for this country are truncated.”

    The Nation also gathered that more lawmakers, especially those in the camp of House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, may announce their rejection of committee positions in a move that is meant to express the group’s rejection of alleged attempt by Dogara to sideline APC lawmakers in the day to day running of the green Chamber.

    The  grievances

    Giving an insight into what may befall the House under Dogara in the days to come Muhaammed said it is unacceptable to APC members, being the majority party in the House, to have PDP lawmakers manning the most sensitive committees as announced by the Speaker.

    “I’m a bit worried with the composition, about how the committees were shared. This is a government of change and we have been in the opposition for the last 16 years and the National Assembly has been controlled by the majority party, the PDP. Even in the last House in the 7th Assembly, we supported Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to emerge as Speaker, but at the end of the day, all the critical committees he shared it to his own party members -the PDP, people that did not even vote for him.

    “But we were not worried because we knew they were the majority party and it’s the practice all over the world. In the US, we have 16 standing committees and these 16 standing committees, the Republican Party are in the majority. And all the 16 committees are headed by members of the Republican Party. It’s only the deputy committees that are given to the minority. You cannot as a party give all the sensitive committees to your opponent.

    “If you can recall, just yesterday the National Publicity Secretary to PDP, Olise Metuh came out to say that all the members of the PDP should brace up and oppose this government. So, if you’re giving them such committees, what is the implication? So these are some of our fears and it portends a lot of danger to this our democracy,” Muhammed said.

    According to a reliable House source, a fresh crisis may be looming in the House as anti-Dogara forces in the chamber are regrouping with the sole aim of forcing the House leadership to review the committee appointments which they claimed is skewed against the majority party.

    The Nation reliably gathered from a ranking House member elected on the platform of the APC that Gbajabiamila has been inundated with complaints even as he said members have also made their views known to the leadership of the ruling party.

    “However, we have learnt a big lesson from what happened during the tussle for the Speakership. We are not going to wait endlessly on the party to reject this anomaly; we have decided to move against this obvious impunity. I can reliably tell you that the Majority Leader was not properly carried along in the constitution of these committees. This is against the spirit of democracy.

    “As the majority party in the House, and the party in government at the federal level, we must not make the mistake of being pushed to the position of minor partner in this government. If we do that, then the change we promised the people is threatened. That is why we have resolved to resist this attempt to sideline us in our own government,” our source added.

    Another source told The Nation that the APC caucus in the House will meet by the weekend to review the development and take a formal position. “We are meeting by the weekend to discuss the development. We want to hear what actually happened from the principal officers. It is after that we will take a formal position. But as we speak, the popular position is that many of us will toe the line of those rejecting their committee positions.

    More  complications

    But the Speaker’s camp has consistently defended Dogara’s granting of 46 seats to the opposition PDP against the ruling party’s 48 slots. The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Abdulrazak Namdas, noted that it was normal that some people would raise issues after any appointments whether at the legislative level, or in any sector.

    “We are called the National Assembly, and what the Speaker has done is a pan-Nigerian thing, we have to balance everything, and we have done our part. But on the overall, it was done catering for all interests,” Namdas said.

    Responding to questions on why APC lawmakers are posed for a showdown over the matter, Adepoju said there is no way the majority party or its members will be comfortable with the arrangement as it is capable of derailing the programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    All over the world, the majority party takes over government, likewise, Committees that will drive the policies of the government are given to party members. The reason is simple, it is to enable effective execution of the manifestos of the government. In our own case, when the list of headship of Committees was read out, it was a different case altogether.

    “This is because key Committees that can drive the change agenda of President Buhari were conceded to the opposition. Now, without being biased, how do we go about influencing policies that will drive the change we craved for if those in charge are our opponents,” he said.

    To further heighten the tension in the House, Gbajabiamila, on Friday, told reporters that contrary to the lower chamber’s rules, he was not consulted in the selection of Committee chairmen by Speaker Dogara. This is contrary to claims by the Speaker’s camp that all principal officers of the House were carried along in the selection.

    Noting that he only saw the final list at the meeting, the House Leader said, “The list speaks for itself. I saw it for the first time at 10a.m., a couple of hours before the announcement was made. This falls short of the consultation with Principal Officers required and mandated by our House rules.”

    The Nation also gathered that the Majority Leader is expected to make a public pronouncement on the development soon. Lawmakers close to him said he is as upset as any of his party men about the treatment meted out to APC lawmakers by the Speaker. “I can tell you that the leader will make an official statement on the matter quite soon,” our source said.

    But Namdas insist there is no reason for Gbajabiamila to be aggrieved as he was part and parcel of the decisions that led to the composition of the committees. “I want to tell you that Gbajabiamila was carried along in this process. This is the position, he was carried along. When he became a leader, and the first APC House Caucus held its meeting, Gbajabiamila and the Speaker both embraced themselves and we all agreed that all differences have been put aside,” he claimed.

    This is just as reports have it that some PDP lawmakers are also angry with the Speaker over the committee appointments. According to House sources, some of them are displeased with the positions given them while some caucuses are accusing the Speaker of short changing them in the number of Committee chairmanship allotted to them.

    Reports have it that the Minority Leader of the House, Leo Ogor, met with the aggrieved Ekiti State Caucus in the House to assuage their feelings over the single slot granted the state by the Speaker. Ekiti State secured the Chairmanship of the Committee on Youth Development which was given to Segun Adekola Alexander.

    “We are displeased with such treatment after our caucus gave the Speaker 100% support in his bid to lead the House. To be given just a single chairman position is to be short changed. Even our leader, Governor Ayodele Fayose, is disappointed by the development. We intend to protest this seriously,” a House member from the state told The Nation on Friday.

    The committees according to Dogara

    The committees and their chairmen include Agricultural Colleges and institutions, Linus Okorie; Airforce, Samson Okwu; Army, Rima Shawulu; Aviation, Nkiruka Onyejeocha; Banking and currency, Jones Onyereri; Capital markets and institutions, Tajuddeen Yusuf; FERMA, Jerry Alagaoso; gas resources, Agbedi Frederick; health institutions, Betty Apiafi; NDDC, Nicholas Mutu, petroleum resources (downstream), Akinlaja Joseph; petroleum (upstream) Victor Nwokolo.

    Others are committees on ports, harbours and waterways, Patrick Asadu; power, Daniel Asuquo; public procurement, Busayo Oluwole Oke; works, Tobi Okechukwu; Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, foreign affairs.

    Other committee chairmen include Ibrahim Babangida Mahuta, finance; Abdulmumin Jibrin, appropriation; Zakari Mohammed, basic education and services; James Abiodun Faleke, customs and excise; Aminu Suleiman, tertiary education and services; Mukhtar Betara, defence; Herman Hembe, FCT; Ahmed Idris Wase, federal character; Aminu Shehu Shagari, federal judiciary; Jagaba Adams Jagaba, interior; Razak Atunwa, Justice and Amin Sani Isa, land transport.

    Also listed are maritime safety, education and administration, Mohammed Umar Bago; navy, Abdulsamad Dasuki; pensions, Hassan Adamu Shekarau; police affairs, Haliru Dauda Jika, privatization and commercialization Ahmed Yarima; Nasiru Baballe Ila, House services; Mustapha Bala Dawaki, housing; Aliyu Bahago Ahmad-Pategi, water resources.

    Other committee chairmen and their deputies are Kingsley Chinda (PDP) public accounts, Ibrahim Baba (APC) deputy; Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC), agricultural production and services, chairman; Mukhtar Chiromawa, deputy; agricultural colleges and institutions, Linus Okorie (PDP), chairman; Abdullahi Idris Garba (APC), deputy.

    Other committee chairmen include Adeyinka Ajayi (aids, loans and debts management), Safana Dayyabu, deputy; Akinloye Hazeez (anti-corruption), Amiru Tukur Idris, deputy; Peter Akpatason (civil societies and development partners), Williams Samuel Olusegun, deputy; Samuel Onuigbo (climate change), Kunle Akinlade, deputy; Sylvester Ogbada (commerce), Aminu Ashiru Mani, deputy; Lawal Abubakar Garba (constituency outreach), Debe Eke Uchenna, deputy; Kingsley Ibenyi (cooperation and integration in Africa), Tasir Raji, deputy; Ihama Omoregie (culture and tourism), Shadaffi Adamu, deputy and Rita Orji (diaspora matters), Shehu Aliyu Musa, deputy.

    Others are Simon Arabo (delegated legislation), Babajimi Benson, deputy; Eucharia Azodo, (drugs and narcotics), Samaila Suleiman; Aishatu Dukku (electoral matters), Zakari Angulu, deputy; Satumari Jibril (emergency and disaster preparedness), Ali Isa JC,deputy; Obinna Chidoka (environment and habitat), Boma Goodhead, deputy; Ossai Nicholas Ossai (ethics and privileges), Emma Egwu, deputy; Zaphania Jisalo (FCT area councils), Kabiru Shuaibu, deputy; Yunusa Ahmad Abubakar (FRSC), Solomon. Maren, deputy; Oladele Kayode (financial crimes), Goodluck Opiah Nnanna, deputy and Idu Emeka (FOI), Garba Ibrahim, deputy.

    There are also Husseini Suleiman Kanagiwa (governmental affairs), Isiaka Ibrahim, deputy; Chike Okafor (healthcare services), Mohammed Usman, deputy; Emmanuel David Ombugadu (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria control), Saidu Yusuf Miga, deputy; Pwajok Gyang (human rights), Moyeed Alabi, deputy; Mohammed Sani Zorro (IDPs, refugees and northeast initiatives), Adaji Awulu, deputy; Abubakar Hussaini Moriki (industry), Jerome Amada Eke, deputy; Odendum Olusegun (information, national orientation, ethics and values), Lawali Hassan Anka, deputy; Mohammed Ogoshi Onawo (information technology), Ahmad Garba Bichi, deputy; Olufemi Fakeye (insurance and actuarial matters), Daniel Henry Ofongo, deputy; Samuel Okon Ikon (inter-parliamentary relations), Diya Babafemi, deputy and Ezenwa Francis (labour, employment and productivity), Munnir Babba Danagundi, deputy.

    The breakdown further showed other committees’ chairmen to include Sabo Garba (Lake Chad); Timothy Golu (legislative budget and research), Ochiglegor Idagbo, deputy; Abiodun Adiola (legislative compliance), Abubakar Chika Adamu, deputy; Emmanuel Okon (local content), Hassan Saleh, deputy; Abdulrazak Saad Namdas (media and publicity), Gaza Jonathan, deputy; Jephther Foingha (national planning and economic development), Bashir Baballe, deputy; Mohammed Abdulkadir Mahmud (population), Akinjo Kolade Victor, deputy; Mohammed Ali Wudil (poverty alleviation), Sid Yakubu Karasuwa, deputy; Uzoma Nkem Abonta (public petitions), Abubakar Hassan Fulata, deputy; Aminu Sani Jaji (public safety and intelligence), Shiddi Usman Danjuma, deputy; Gogo Bright Tamuno (public service matters), Sani Bala, deputy; Orkey Jev Emmanuel (rules and business), Olabode Ayorinde, deputy and Ladi Adebutu (rural development), Anaya Edwin, deputy.

    Others are Beni Lar (science and technology), Onyeamaechi Joan, deputy; Garba Datti Mohammed (solid minerals development), Adamu Entonu, deputy; Nasiru Sani Zangon-Daura (special duties), Sunday Adepoju, deputy; Goni Bukar Lawan (sports), Anayo Nnebe, deputy; Idrisu Lawal Muhammad (steel), Lawal Maina Mahmud, deputy; Tijjani Abdulkadir Jobe (sustainable development goals), Ukoete Emmanuel, deputy; Saheed Akinade Fajiba (telecommunications), Chukwuemeka Ujam, deputy; Balogun Yakub Abiodun (treaties, protocols and agreements), Aliyu Danladi, deputy; Olatoye Temitope Sugar (urban development and regional planning), Mohammed Fagen Gauo, deputy; Princess Uchenna Stella (women affairs and social development), Owodigha Ime, deputy; Evelyn Oboro (women in parliament), Asabe Vilita Bashir, deputy and Segun Adekola Alexander (youth development), Iboro Asuquo Ekanem, deputy.

     

  • Insurgency: FCTA to establish emergency committees

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced a plan to set up an emergency management committee in each of the six area councils to immediately cater for vistims of insurgency.

    Director Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Emergency Agency, Alhaji Abbas Idriss explained that officials of the local emergency would be the first responders.

    Public Relations Officer, FCT Emergency Agency Josephine Mudasiru revealed this in a statement.

    The statement quoted Idriss as saying that the first responders at the recent bomb blasts would have been officials of the local emergency agency if they had been set up by then.

    She also stated,”Referring to the recent bomb blast in Kuje Area Council, the Director said that if the LEMCs had been in place they would have been the first people on the scene before the arrival of FEMA and other stakeholders.

    “Alhaji Abbas Idris reiterated the importance of the local Emergency Committee in risk reduction; pointing out the fact that LEMCs are resident at the scene of disasters, they respond promptly thereby reducing the number of casualties against waiting for assistance from the city.

  • Committees on sector revitalisation submit report

    The four National Committees on the revitalisation of the sector have submitted their reports.

    The committees included the Resuscitation of Cotton, Textile and Garments, Strategic Action Plan for the Development of Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes Nationwide and Revitalisation of Agricultural Extension Services in Nigeria.

    For instance, the Committee on the Resuscitation Cotton, Textile and Garments (CTG) called for the injection of N37.20 billion in the sector between 2016 and 2019 as well as the exploitation of the existing N100billion CTG fund domiciled with the Bank of Industry(BoI), which has been converted to equity.

    This, the committee said, would support as working capital/retooling of textile mills and resuscitation of about 80 closed mills as well as 23 closed ginneries.

    The N37.20billion, the committee said, should be used to support all sections of the cotton, textile and garments sector.

    It emphasised the improvement of cotton production through financial support for the Institute for Agriculture Research of the Ahmadu Bello University to upgrade its facilities and build the staff capacity.

    It also recommended financial support for the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) to enable it deploy Biotechnology (BT) Cotton at confined fields at trial level while the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) Introgress BT Protein in varieties as well as produce of double haploid cotton.

    On Cotton seed multiplication and seed supply, the Committee recommended a breeder foundation and certified seed regeneration system, mandating the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) to regulate the industry.

    Part of the recommendation of the committee on ginnery development was for ginneries to work with the Nigeria Incentive Based Risk sharing system for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and Bank of Agriculture (BOA) through the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES) to boost seed cotton and lint.

    On seed cotton marketing, the Agriculture Ministry (FMARD) and Ministry of Trade and Investment (FMITT) called for the establishment of the Cotton Corporation of Nigeria (CCN) to revive Cotton Production and Competitiveness.

    The committee on Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes Nationwide observed the enormous challenges, including urbanisation, lack of right to land, increased livestock production activities which have limited the success envisaged from the various interventions, called for the establishment of a National Programme on Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes development; strengthening of existing conflict resolution and prevention mechanisms.

  • Endless committees, no white paper

    Endless committees, no white paper

    Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the committees set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to study many problems confronting the country and the implication of dumping their reports into the waste bin.

    Nigerians are sceptical about President Goodluck Jonathan’s proposed National Conference. They hinge their suspicion on the inconsistencies and the ad-hoc approach of his administration to sensitive issues. The government has set up many committees to study critical national problems. But it developed cold feet in implementing the reports.

    As the Acting President in 2010, Dr Jonathan set up a 26-member Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) headed by Gen. Theophilius Danjuma to advise on policy issues. PAC, in its report, urged him to reduce the size of government so that money can be saved for the development of the infrastructure.

    The committee’s recommendation was ignored by the President, who initially, created the impression that he was averse to bloated and wasteful government. The number of committees/task forces that have, so far, been set up calls to question the sincerity of the administration to genuinely cut down the cost of governance.

    Observers contend that, rather than conserve resources and plug all the loopholes in the system, the government is opening up more leakages that are bound to impact negatively on the polity and the economy. It has piled up over 20 extra-ministerial committees, in addition to the huge number of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    The plethora of committees and task forces, whose reports are gathering dust in the cabinet include the Police Reform Committee, Presidential Advisory Committee on Constitution Amendment, the Ibrahim Bunu Project Assessment Committee, Restructuring of Government Agencies Committee, Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission and Pension Fund Reform Task Team. Others are Task Force on Management control within Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Committee on Transparency in oil sector, Committee to Monitor Oil Export, Presidential Committee on Road Infrastructure, Food Fund Raising Committee, Committee for Abuja Park and Zoo and Presidential Committee on Security Challenges and Amnesty for Boko Haram insurgents.

     

    Will conference report be

    implemented?

     

    The fear of many Nigerians is that the report of the Committee on National Conference and the recommendations of the National Conference may end in the waste bin.

    The Chairman of the Transition Monitoring Committee (TMG), Mr Moshood Erubami, said the motive of President Jonathan in organising the national conference has failed because it was not well intentioned.

    Erubami said: “The National Conference is not well intentioned. Planning conference now when the general election is due in 2015 is a master stroke for tenure elongation. It will take the planning committee, at least, three months to conclude its preparation and turn in its report. This government, known for its tardiness in implementing reports, may take another two or three months to come out with its position on the committee’s recommendations.

    “The deliberation in the National Conference itself may take another six months. If there are issues of sharp disagreement among delegates, the conference will be deadlocked as it happened when the Obasanjo regime organised a constitutional conference. By the time you know what is happening, it will be too late to organise 2015 elections.

     

    Strategy for tenure elongation

     

    “We won’t have time to arrange for election. The President will now decide when to hold election. They are using the national conference as a shield against 2015 because they know Nigerians are fed up with the lacklustre performance of this administration.

    “National Conference is the brain work of the political strategists in the Presidency. They believe it will be stalemated and that will make it impossible for election to hold in 2015 so that the President’s party will have more time to put its house in order.”

    The President, according to Erubami has exposed his diabolical intension by saying that he will send the conference report to the National Assembly for approval. The final authority on the outcome of the conference is the people, who will through a referendum accept or reject the report, he said.

    “If the National Assembly is doing well, there will be no need of national conference. The National Assembly is a conference on its own that ought to give us a new constitution.”

    Erubami said the conference will not hold and it will not serve the interest of the people. Nothing positive will come out of the conference and that is why people like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu described it as a distration, he said.

     

    Diversionary tactics

     

    Civil rights activist Shehu Sani shared Erubami. He said that the proposed national conference will produce reports that will not see the light of the day.

    Sani said: “It will amount to self deception for anyone to think that Jonathan’s government will embrace and implement critical views of Nigerians from the conference, given his failure to tolerate dissenting views within his party-the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He added: “The national conference is another diversionary circus aimed at setting the North against the South in a war of words that will only overheat the polity. It is blackmail and a mischievous political chess game meant to hang the fate of the nation on the continuity of the Jonathan regime.

    “It is technically impossible to organise a meaningful and orderly conference at a time when the President, members of the National Assembly and governors are out on re-election campaigns. Thus, it will be a waste of time and resources on the part of those who will take the pain to write and submit their volumes of memoranda to the conference.

    “This government, like its predecessor, has not implemented any committee report and undoubtedly, this conference will meet its fate of dust. The conference will only be embraced and attended by people who have enough time to waste and government protégées.”

    The Director-General, Electoral Institute of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Abubakar Momoh, faulted the appointment of the planning committee by the President. It is a misnomer, he said.

     

    Faulty composition

     

    Momoh said what is is on the ground is the Presidential National Conference and not people-driven conference. According to him, the President has set the tone of the conference report because the committee put in place by him would ensure that the report reflects his thinking.

    “By setting up the committee, the President has pre-determined the outcome of the report. We should not expect a report that would re-shape the country from a national conference holding at the initiative of the President.

    “The President assumed that the national conference is the prerogative of his office, hence, we should expect that the outcome will reflect the thinking of the Presidency, Momoh added.

    Erubami examined the composition of the Okunrounmu committee and concluded that it is made up of PDP members, the Afenifere and The Patriots who are sympathisers of the Jonathan administration. The Afenifere, according to him, has lost political influence in its regional base, the Southwest. Afenifere is now seeking relevance, in view of the fact that the emergence of the new political party, All Progressive Congress (APC), has drowned its image . Hence, it has become an unrepentant supporter of the Jonathan administration.

     

    History repeating itself

     

    A lawyer, Emeka Ngige, said nothing would come out of the national conference or dialogue because the composition of the planning committee were made up of the President’s party men or political allies. The terms of reference were tailored to serve the President’s interest.

    Ngige said history is repeating itself. He recalled how former President Olusegun Obasanjo organised a constitutional conference headed by Justice Nikki Tobi, which was intended to legitimise his third term bid. The conference collapsed when the Northern delegates pulled out. Jonathan may be playing out similar script, he said.

     

    Pre-determined conference

    report

     

    Analysts say the report of the committee is easy to predict, going by its terms of reference. According to observers, the agenda for the proposed conference will reflect the president’s interest and his party while the delegates will be made up largely by government appointees. Despite the fact that one of the committee’s term of reference was to advise government on the legal procedure and options for integrating the decisions of the national conference, President Jonathan has pulled the carpet off the feet of the committee, when he said unequivocally that the conference report would be referred to the National Assembly for ratification and incorporation into the constitution.

    A social critic, Bernard Briggs, said the setting up of the Okurounmu committee was faulty. “I am yet to understand the rationale for the numerous committees that are springing up every day at a time the Jonathan-led government should be thinking about running a slim government and save for the country.”

     

    Job for cronies

     

    Briggs was furious with the composition of the committee which, he said, is made up of the President’s men. For instance, he said, Tony Uranta is Jonathan’s friend, Dr Mairo Ahmed Amshi is a PDP stalwart from Yobe State, Alhaji Daiuda Birma is Bamanga’s childhood friend, Dr Akilu Indabawa was former PDP National Youth Leader, Dr Femi Okurounmu is an ally of President Jonathan while Col. Tony Anyiam is a pro-Jonathan campaigner.

    “What kind of report do we expect from this President’s foot soldiers? The conference foundation is built on sand. We don’t need a soothsayer to tell us that it will collapse. President Jonathan is using the issue of national conference to divert the attention of Nigerians from 2015 general elections. He and his party-PDP-will fail just like his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo failed in his tenure elongation bid.

    “The committee is not coming out with anything spectacular. The Presidency has drawn up issues to be discussed by the delegates at the conference. The delegates list is a foregone conclusion. The contraption is deliberate. It is intended to cause more confusion and over heat the polity as issues to be discussed are likely to divide the delegates and the conference will end abruptly, Briggs added.

     

    Legitimacy crisis

     

    Momoh’s main concerns are the issues to be discussed, the quality of delegates and the outcome. If people are not going to make in-puts in reshaping the country, I don’t think there is anything to expect from such gathering, he said,

    “If you don’t invite the right persons, if the real issues are not deliberated upon, then we are wasting time on trivialities. The quality of discussion and the outcome are very important. If the outcome failed to address the issues that will reshape the nation, the whole exercise is diversionary and a waste of time and resources”, he concluded.

    Briggs said the planning committee may likely remain in office after submitting its report in order to guide the conference delegates in their assignment.

    According to him, the planning committee will set up its own office or operational base and recruit ad-hoc staff that will also draw some remuneration. The committee and delegates will procure vehicles for mobility and also enjoy some allowances amongst other financial considerations.

  • APC sets up state interim committees

    APC sets up state interim committees

    The National Interim EXCO of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved the establishment of the State Harmonisation Committees (SHC), in order not to create a vacuum and also to regulate the activities of the party at the state level and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the decision to set up the SHC followed the adoption of the report of the Masari Committee by the National Interim EXCO, which met last week in Abuja.

    According to the party, the SHC shall comprise President/Vice President, past and serving, who are members of the legacy parties; Governors/Deputy Governors, past and serving, who are members of the legacy parties; serving and former Senators, who are members of the legacy parties; serving Members of the House of Representatives, who are members of the party and Speakers or Minority Leaders of the Houses of Assembly, who are members of the party.

    APC listed others as former Ministers, who are members of the legacy parties; immediate past National EXCO members of the legacy parties; immediate past governorship candidates of legacy parties, and their deputies where APC does not have a sitting governor, who are still members of the legacy parties; nine persons comprising three elders, three youths and three women, with one of each being from each of the senatorial districts of the state; state chairmen and the secretaries of the legacy parties; members of the National Interim EXCO and federal commissioners, who are members of the legacy parties.

    The party said these persons shall be recommended to the National Interim EXCO for their approval and inauguration by the National Vice- Chairmen in conjunction with members of the National Interim EXCO from their Zone.

    It listed the functions of the SHC as including to harmonise and fuse the structures of legacy parties into one united, strong and vibrant APC in an atmosphere of peace and harmony; organise and hold meetings of the party at all levels in the state (that is polling units, wards, LGA, area council and state); and to embark on massive mobilisation, coordination and consolidation of members into the party in accordance with the stipulated guidelines issued by the National Interim EXCO.

    APC said the SHC shall also take inventory of the existing assets of legacy parties across the state, harmonise same for the effective establishment of the party structure in all polling units, wards, local government and state in accordance with the directive and guidelines from the National Interim EXCO and ensure effective implementation of the registration process, such that all persons desiring registration into the party are afforded the right to be so registered in accordance with the directives from the National Interim EXCO.

    “This committee shall be answerable and report to the Interim National EXCO of its decisions and steps taken in the performance of the assignment through the National Vice- Chairman of the zone,” the party said.

  • Southwest PDP reconciliation committees submit reports

    The reports of the reconciliation committees set up by the Southwest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been submitted to the Zonal Caretaker Committee chaired by Chief Ishola Filani.

    Filani, who confirmed this to reporters in Lagos, said the reports from the six states have been submitted to another review panel, which has submitted a final recommendation to the zonal interim leadership.

    He said the party set up the panel to enable the aggrieved chieftains air their grievances, adding that the move has assisted the leadership in conflict management.

    Filani said: “We have worked hard to identify the areas of conflict in the different state chapters. Towards this end, we have sent visitation panels to the six states in the zone and I am happy to say that not only have the reports been submitted, a review panel has worked on them and submitted its report. We are set to implement the recommendations. I am confident that when implemented, our party will witness the rebirth, which we badly need.”

    A PDP source said the committee for Lagos State expressed concern about the disunity in the fold as manifested by the caucuses working at cross-purposes.

    It added: “The committee suggested that only internal democracy can restore the party to the path of honour and this is what we will employ to elect new executive committee next time. The committee seems to be impressed by the way the Chairman, Capt.Tunji Shelle (rtd), is managing the affairs of the party, but real power and influence are wielded by the likes of Bode George, Adesheye Ogunlewe and Musiliu Obanikoro. If these three leaders work together in harmony, the party will be repositioned. This is what the committee noted in the report.”

    In Ekiti State, the committee attributed the crisis in the chapter to the rancorous congress, which led to the emergence of the zonal chairman, Mr. Segun Oni, who has been shoved aside by the national leadership. The committee also acknowledged that the State Executive Committee is not supported by some key leaders, who have an axe to grind with former Governor Ayo Fayose, whose supporters form the bulk of the state officers.

    According to the sources, the members of the committee also said the chapter is preparing for next year’s governorship election as a divided house. They canvassed consensus candidature, stressing that the move would prevent post-primary crisis.

  • Wamakko inaugurates agric loans’ committees

    Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State yesterday inaugurated nine-member committees for the 23 local governments to disburse N2billion joint CBN/Fidelity Bank, BOA and Sokoto State Government irrigation farming loans, without involving party chiefs and state assembly members.

    He said the composition of the committees was based on merit and aimed at de-politicising the scheme, which was targeted at practising farmers at the grassroots with a view to realising its objective for the state and national economic growth.

    The governor, who vowed to observe and monitor the transparent, just and equitable nature as well as the modality of repayments, which the loans would take, said: “We want to insulate the purposeful scheme from any political colouration to achieve results.”

    Wamakko, while inaugurating the committees to be headed by commissioners at the Government House, said the loans were in two categories for practising and small scale farmers.

    He said N1.150billion had been earmarked for disbursement to practising irrigation farmers, with each receiving N50million, adding that N850million under a partnership agreement between the government and Bank of Agriculture would be disbursed to small scale farmers.

    “The scheme is aimed at strengthening dry season farming with a view to boosting the agricultural potential of the state through mass production for food security,” Wamakko said.

    He said government was interested in mass production of tomatoes, garlic, melon, onions and cassava to strengthen the economy.