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Tag: House of Representatives

  • PDP rep protests intimidation by PDP caucus over defection

    PDP rep protests intimidation by PDP caucus over defection

    Cracks appeared in the caucus of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the House of Representatives Tuesday as a negative emerging trend in support or otherwise of motions or bills  along political party or ethnic lines in the House of Representatives was vehemently condemned by a member of the caucus.

    Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma (PDP, Edo) protested being intimidated by his colleagues in the PDP caucus for opting not to join a walk out over the defection of a PDP member to All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Agbonayinma at a press briefing said his colleagues promised to defeat (negative)  his motion on Digital Switch Over (DSO) for refusing to join the caucus’ walkout over Nnenna Igbokwe  (Imo), who decamped from PDP to APC.

    The lawmaker said the behaviour of his PDP colleagues was unfair and contrary to the feeling of togetherness with which members have always voted on motion and bills, irrespective of party affiliations.

    Saying that the national interest has always been an overriding factor on the floor of the Green chamber, Agbonayinma regretted that it was jettisoned by his own caucus when his bill on the DSO was introduced.

    He expressed disappointment that his reason for not joining the walkout was not acceptable to his colleagues.

    He said: “I did not join the walk out and it was because I have a motion of urgent public importance to move.

    “For Speaker Yakubu Dogara to allow the motion to be moved showed the national importance of the motion because it is against the rule to move such motions and debate it same day.

    “I’m disappointed because I was promised by my caucus that my motion will be defeated if I don’t join the walkout and it was defeated.

    “For the love of Nigeria, we don’t have to be partisan when issues of national importance are on ground and it is such a surprise and disappointment because they used to stand by me but partisan politics played out today.

    “With what happned today, are we setting a precedence on passage of motions based on partisanship?

    “The fact of Tuesday action by the PDP caucus is that it is a conspiracy not against me but against the people of Nigeria.

    “We should not forget that it is our duty to help President Buhari to succeed in his fight against corruption and moving this country forward because if he succeeds, Nigeria succeeds.

    “What can be more important than for us standing by the resolution of the House that the Federal government should comply with the recommendations of the White paper on it.

    “That the Information Minister should not commission the Kwara Switchover because one of the signal distributors supplied obsolete equipment.

    “The company was paid N1.7b but what do we have on ground? Outdated equipment that cannot offer what is required for the switchover.

    “The same company was also not registered which means that the country is losing millions over its non-registration”.

    The aggrieved lawmaker opined that rather push members out of the party, the PDP caucus should encourage people to stay back.

    “Today I’m a PDP member but should not push me out, they should encourage people to stay, they should not ridicule me.

    “That someone decamped doesn’t mean we should be enemies but my feelings about what happened on the floor is that  individuals are the problems of this country and not the parties and we need to move above that for the love of this country,” he added.

  • Rep faults Ogbeh on Director’s removal 

    Rep faults Ogbeh on Director’s removal 

    The House of Representatives may intervene in the withdrawal of the appointment of Napoleon Aisueni as the Director/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Institute for oil Palm Research, Benin city, it emerged Monday.

    Aisueni, who was in acting capacity for three month was removed as substantive  Director after one month in office with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh allegedly claiming the ‘appointment was made in error’.

    A member of the House of Representatives, Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma (PDP, Edo), at a media interactive session Monday said the Minister need to explain to Nigeria what constitute the error in the appointment.

    Saying that the withdrawal was suspicious, the lawmaker said the House might intervene because due process was followed in the initial appointment.

    He said: “The Minister, following a memo from the office of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry directed the appointment of Directors of 13 institutes, including Dr. Aisueni, who was duly appointed on the 9th of November 2017.

    “But following a frivolous petition, the Minister came out with the opinion that the appointment of Dr. Aisueni was done in error.

    “From the establishment Act and the interpretation of public service rules on tenured appointments of serving public officers and a memo from the office of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, the appointment of Dr. Aisuene and the 13 others followed due process.

    “It is disheartening that the Minister is prejudiced by his action following his affinity to one of the petitioners. I sincerely request the Minister to adhere to the rules of the land.

    “This is not about ethnicity or tribalism, it is about justice. We should not allow anything that will jeopardise what this government is trying to do about corruption.

    “The House of Representatives is about justice and under the leadership of Yakubu Dogara; it will not allow this injustice to prevail.”

     

  • Dogara mourns emir of Katagum

    Dogara mourns emir of Katagum

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has described the death of Emir of Katagum, Alhaji Mohammed Kabir Umar, as “”a big loss”.

    In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan, on Saturday in Abuja, Dogara, stated that the late monarch was a father and mentor to many including himself.

    “We have lost one of our finest and highly revered Royal Fathers. A patriot and an elder statesman.

    “He was a man of integrity and impeachable character who dedicated his life to service of humanity, development of Katagum emirate and Bauchi State.

    “I condole with his immediate family, all sons and daughters of Katagum emirate as well as Bauchi State.

    “May God grant us all the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.’’

  • 2019: INEC fixes presidential, National Assembly polls for Feb 16

    2019: INEC fixes presidential, National Assembly polls for Feb 16

    The 2019 presidential election is only 423 days away,the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced yesterday.

    Nigerians,according to the time table released by the commission,are expected to elect the president on February 16,2019.

    Also scheduled for the same day is the election into the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    News of the election dates was broken by INEC chairman,Professor Mahmood Yakubu, at an induction  retreat for Resident Electoral Commissioners in Uyo,Akwa Ibom State.

    The governorship, state assembly and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory will follow on  March 2, 2019, Yakubu said.

    The implementation of the 2019 Election Project Plan is to begin on   January 1, 2018.

    He said an additional 3,630,529 voters were registered in the recent continuous registration.

    ”This is an important development in our efforts to ensure that electoral services offered to Nigerians are better, more frequent and easier to access than ever before,” he said.

    This exercise will continue until 60 days to the 2019 general elections, as a provided by the Electoral Act.

  • 2019: INEC fixes Presidential, NASS elections for Feb.16

    2019: INEC fixes Presidential, NASS elections for Feb.16

    The 2019 Presidential election is only 423 days away, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Friday.

    According to the time table released by the commission, Nigerians are expected to elect the president on February 16, 2019.

    Also scheduled for the same day is the election into the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    News of the election dates was broken by INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, at an induction retreat for Resident Electoral Commissioners in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

    The Governorship, State Assembly and Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory will follow on 2nd March 2019,” Yakubu said.

    The implementation of the 2019 Election Project Plan is to begin on   January 1, 2018.

    He said an additional 3,630,529 voters were registered in the recent continuous registration.

    “This is an important development in our efforts to ensure that electoral services offered to Nigerians are better, more frequent and easier to access than ever before,” he said.

    This exercise will continue until 60 days to the 2019 General Elections, as a provided by the Electoral act.

    The INEC Chairman said the commission was “working assiduously to ensure 100% performance of the Card Readers. That is why there is an ongoing pilot to upgrade it by enhancing its features including new superior processors.”

    He added: “At the same time, the Commission is exploring ways of improving the integrity of the collation and results transmission processes and has begun to deploy the electronic result collation and transmission platform on a pilot basis.

    “Our ultimate aim, learning from the pilot and consequential improvement of the supporting infrastructure, is to deploy the system for all forthcoming off-season elections and, ultimately, the 2019 General Elections. The Commission is working to ensure that this goal is achieved.”

    The commission said it has conducted 175 elections across the country in the last two years.

    These include 79 Court-ordered re-run elections, 73 end of tenure elections and 23 bye-elections.

    Yakubu said that even where electoral tribunals overturned two of the elections conducted, the commission was never asked to do a fresh election.

    He also noted that to the credit of the commission, outcomes of most recent elections were not challenged in court.

  • Libyan slavery: Reps’ panel rues lack of  inter-agency collaboration 

    Libyan slavery: Reps’ panel rues lack of  inter-agency collaboration 

    The House of Representatives has identified lack of inter-agency collaboration as largely responsible for the migration of Nigerians abroad through illegal routes.

    According to the lawmakers, the spate of illegal migration through the desert eventually encouraged the slavery incidence recently uncovered in Libya.

    At a meeting between Committees on Foreign Affairs and Human Rights and stakeholders Wednesday, the lawmakers said the situation in Libya has made it imperative to find ways of addressing the situation.

    At the meeting were the Nigeria Head of Mission, Libya, Iliyah Fachano as well as officials of Department of State Services (DSS), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The joint Committee was mandated by the House to unravel circumstances that led to the death of 26 Nigerian girls at the Mediterranean Sea.

    Chairman of the joint Committee, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje said following the disturbing report from Libya, the country must find ways of addressing the situation.

    Saying that lack of inter-agency collaboration among the various security agencies in the country was a major reasons for illegal migration of Nigerians to other countries, Elendu-Ukeje noted, “A situation where many of them either end up been killed or enslaved such as the recent revelation in Libya as reported by the Cable News Network (CNN) which has drawn worldwide condemnation.”

    Deputy Chairman of the joint Committee, Edward Pwajok, said security agencies in the country have to come out with a lasting solutions to the menace of human trafficking and illegal migration.

    In his remarks, The Head of the Nigerian Mission in Libya, Fachano said that the Libyan situation was not new, that it had long been in existence.

    The role of some Nigerians who were living in Libya was described as despicable as they were found culpable of being actively involved in selling off their kinsmen.

    They also said being a State with an unstable government contributed largely to the situation

    While the committee continues its findings, it requested more submissions on the situation in Libya by the various agencies.

  • Reps to Adeosun: Maintain status quo on SEC

    Reps to Adeosun: Maintain status quo on SEC

    The House of Representatives has asked the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun to reinstate the suspended Director General ( DG ) of the Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ), Munir Gwarzo.

    The House directed that status quo be maintained until the outcome of its investigation to be carried out by its Committee on Capital Market & Institutions within two weeks.

    The decision of the House followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance by Diri Duoye (PDP, Bayelsa), who noted that the conflict between Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun and the suspended DG, Munir Gwarzo over Oando Forensic Audit and corruption allegation were major factors in the events that led to the suspension.

    He said: “The conflict has led to the suspension of the DG, SEC alongside Head Legal Department and Head Media on the 29th November, 2017. It has also led to the setup of an Administrative Panel of Inquiry and appointment of Ag DG by the Minister of Finance.

    “It worthy of note that the conflict has been allegedly lingered for several months between Ministry of Finance and Securities and Exchange Commission but the matter of disagreement brought it into the public domain.

    “It is however observed that there are allegations of interference by the Ministry of Finance in the discharge of responsibility by SEC particularly, the Oando Forensic Audit matter, which was largely responsible for the DG’s suspension

    “In addition to that, the intervention by the House will put the matter into proper perspective and amicable resolution of the conflict in order to protect the image of the Securities and Exchanges Commission in the interest of both local and foreign investors”.

    In his contribution, Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu) said whatever us happening now was reminiscent of what happened before the collapse the sector in the past.

    “What is happening in SEC is symptomatic of the collapse of capital market. I wouldn’t know why infractions should be swept under the carpet.

    “The Nigerian people should be told why the infractions of Oando will be swept under the carpet. Nigerians should know why the minister cannot be investigated.

    “Nigerians should know why the DG was sacked. A total panel of inquery is needed in SEC”, he said

    Sani Kaita (APC, Katsina) said: “SEC is very sensitive and very important to Nigeria and international community. Should we allow the investigation to go on without knowing what happened?”

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

    However, in a statement by SEC’s Head of Corporate Communications, Bagudu Waziri, an audit forensic exercise into the activities of Oando Plc would be conducted.

    Waziri made this known in a letter dated December 5, addressed to Oando Plc, stating that, “The Commission wishes to assure the general public of its zero tolerance to infractions in the Nigerian Capital Market”.

  • Reps adopt 2018-2020 MTEF document

    Reps adopt 2018-2020 MTEF document

    The House of Representatives was in total agreement with the Executive on the set parameters in the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework ( MTEF ) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

    This was despite an attempt by Betty Apiafi (PDP, Rivers), to divert attention towards the status of recovered looted fund in funding the 2018 budget.

    Though the House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila reminded the House that the consideration was about MTEF report, the Chairman Committee of Supply, Speaker Yakubu Dogara nonetheless said it has become necessary for the House to investigate the state of independent revenue of government.

    “It is safe to say the 2018 budget will not be funded by recovered looted funds but it is necessary to investigate the independent revenue of government by way of a motion,” he said.

    The consideration went on and the report was adopted without a dissenting voice.

    Before the consideration and rhe adoption of the report of the Committees on Finance, Appropriations, Aids, Loans and Debt Management, Legislative Budget and Research and National Planning and Economic Development on the 2018-2020 MTEF and FSP, the  2018 Appropriation Bill  had scaled second reading on the floor of the lower House without a dissenting voice.

    Following the referral of the document to the joint Committee last week, in his opening remarks Ibrahim Babangida (APC, Katsina) said the Committees took cognizance of the economic realities on ground in relation to global events.

    In consideration of the recommendations, the House resolved that benchmark for crude oil production of  2.3 million barrels per day be retained as proposed by the Executive for the 2018 Budget.

    The House however reviewed upward from $45 per barrel to $47 per barrel as the benchmark for the fiscal year 2018. “This is in consideration of the current positive outlook in the global oil market and expectation that OPEC and other allied oil partnership countries will sustain oil production “cuts deep” into 2018,” Babangida said.

    The ₦305/US Dollar as proposed by the executive for the 2018 Budget was  adopted. Babagida explained that,  “It is also advised that CBN should adopt measures to close the gap between the parallel market and the official exchange rate”.

    The House also adopted projected ₦5.279 trillion for non-oil revenue in 2018, “In addition, revenue generating agencies should intensify efforts on collections and measures that would reduce revenue loss. Specifically, Pioneer status and Tax incentives must be beneficial to the economy,” Babagida said.

    The ₦1.699 trillion new borrowing for 2018 as proposed by the Executive was also adopted. “However, borrowing must be project-tied. In borrowing more, government must remain focused and ensure it is used to fund critical projects that will increase productivity and contribute to financing such debt,” Babangida said.

    The House also adopted the recommendation that a 3.5 percent  growth rate be adopted, especially with the latest figures indicating a doubling of growth rate to 1.4 percent  in third quarter, 2017.

    Furthermore, the National Assembly was also directed to amend the relevant Sections of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and other extant laws.

    The House also approved the$350m borrowing plan for the Kaduna bye pass after being presented by Chairman, Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management, Ajayi Adeyinka.

    The borrowing plan was presented to the House though President Muhammadu Buhari.

  • House to investigate alleged corruption against suspended SEC boss

    House to investigate alleged corruption against suspended SEC boss

    The House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to probe alleged corruption in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which led to suspension of its Director-General, Mr Munir Gwazo by Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.

    To this end, the House asked the parties in the matter to maintain status quo, pending the outcome of the investigation.

    The resolution followed a motion under Matters of Urgent Public Importance by Rep. Diri Douye  (Bayelsa-PDP) on “need to intervene on the conflict between Minister of Finance and suspended Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission.’’

    Moving the motion, Douye said there were allegations of interference by the Ministry of Finance in the discharge of responsibilities by SEC, particularly the Oando Forensic Audit matter which was largely responsible for Gwarzo’s suspension.

    According to him, it has also led to constitution of Administrative Panel of Inquiry and appointment of acting SEC director-general by minister of finance.

    Douye explained that the conflict had allegedly lingered for several months between Ministry of Finance and SEC but the matter of disagreement brought it into public domain.

    Read also: Why FG suspended DG SEC, 2 others over alleged corruption

    The lawmaker said “there were allegations of interference by Ministry of Finance in the discharge of responsibilities by SEC, particularly the Oando Forensic Audit matter, which was largely responsible for the DG’s suspension.

    “The intervention by the House would put the matter into proper perspective and amicable resolution of the conflict to protect the image of SEC in the interest of both local and foreign investors.’’

    He, therefore, urged the House to investigate the matter to ascertain the true situation in the commission.

    Contributing to the motion, Rep. Toby Okechukwu (Enugu-PDP) said that the rot in SEC apparently contributed to the collapse of the capital market in Nigeria.

    He said “what is happening in SEC is symptomatic of the collapse of capital market. I wouldn’t know why infractions should be swept under the carpet.

    “The Nigerian people should be told why the infractions of Oando would be swept under the carpet. Nigerians should know why the minister could not be investigated.

    “Nigerians should know why the SEC DG was suspended. A total panel of inquiry is needed in SEC,’’ he said.

    Also in his contribution, Rep. Sanni Kaita (Katsina-APC) said that the commission was too sensitive and important to be left unattended to.

    He said “SEC is very sensitive and very important to Nigeria and the international community. Should we allow the investigation to go on without knowing what happened?”.

    The motion was unanimously adopted by members when it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, who mandated the Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to investigate all allegations.

    The committee was asked to report findings to the House within two weeks for further legislative action.

    NAN

  • Reps move to protect Interests of Nigerians others, in defunct Etisalat

    Reps move to protect Interests of Nigerians others, in defunct Etisalat

    The House of Representatives Thursday mandated its Committee on Telecommunications to conduct an investigation into reasons for the collapse of Etisalat Nigeria (now 9mobile).

    According to the lawmakers one of the reasons for the probe is to protect the Interests of Nigerian subscribers and other stakeholders:

    The resolution of the of the House was sequel to the adoption of the prayers of a motion by a member, Hon. Saheed Akinade-Fijabi

    The Lawmaker while arguing the motion noted that Etisalat Nigeria (now 9 mobile) commenced business in Nigeria in 2009 after acquiring the unified access license spectrum in the GSM 1800 and 900 MHZ bands from the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in January 2007

    He said it thus became Nigeria s fourth largest telecommunications network operator with over 21 million subscribers and controlling about 12.9 per cent of the country’s telecom market share.

    He further states: “Etisalat Nigeria was formerly owned by three shareholders, namely Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (40 percent), Mubadala Development Company, Abu Dhabi (45 percent) and EMTS Holding BV (15 percent);

    “Aware that Etisalat Nigeria obtained a loan of $1.2 billion (377.4 billion Naira) in 2013 from thirteen (13) Nigerian banks which involved a foreign-backed guaranteed bond to finance a major network rehabilitation, upgrade and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria;

    “Etisalat Nigeria had so far paid about half of the initial loan amounting to about 504 billion Naira with total outstanding sum of about 574 miliion dollars but had reneged on its debt servicing obligations after the intervention of the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria to restructure the loan and new repayment deadline.”

    Fijabi expressed concern that the failure of Etisalat to meet its debt servicing obligations with the banks since 2016 resulted in its foreign major shareholders pulling out and eventual take-over of the company by the banks.

    He however said that the take-over of Etisalat Nigeria which was renamed 9mobile by the banks is a clear violation of Section 38 (1) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003

    According to him, the act  provides that “the grant of a license shall be personal to the licensee and the license shall not be operated by, assigned, sub-licensed or transferred to any other party unless the prior written approval of the Commission has been granted”;

    When the motion was put to a vote by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, it was passed by a majority support of lawmakers and referred to the House committee on Telecommunications.

    The committee is to report back in eight weeks for further legislative action.