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Tag: House of Representatives

  • Constitution Review: Reps pass 27 bills out of 34

    Constitution Review: Reps pass 27 bills out of 34

    The House of Representatives on Thursday reviewed and considered 34 Bills from the harmonised report of the Special ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review.

    At its plenary session, the House passed 27 of the 34 sections of the constitution listed for amendment in the Fourth Constitution alteration bill.

    The House, however, voted against power devolution to give more legislative powers to states and the removal of the Land Use Act from the Constitution.

    The lawmakers also rejected a bill that sought the appointment of Minister from FCT and change of name of some local government councils.

    The House also rejected the proposal for the separation of office of the Attorney-General of the Federation/State from the Office of the Minister/Commissioner of Justice.

    The Citizenship and Indigenship bill, which is a major recommendation by the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), was also rejected.

    During the electronic voting, 274 lawmakers voted for members of the Council of States to include former Senate Presidents and House of Representatives Speakers as members with six voting against it while two others abstained.

    While 295 voted for the reduction of authorization of expenditure before budget passage from six to three months, 261 supported the reduction of age for election.

    Also the bill proposing financial autonomy for state legislature was approved with 286 votes, 10 voted against and one abstained, while 291 voted in support of financial autonomy to Local Government Areas.

    The bill seeking to alter sections 65, 106, 131, and 177 of the constitution to expand the political space and broaden options for the electorate by allowing for independent candidacy in all elections was approved.

    The lawmakers approved alteration of sections 4, 51, 67, 68, 93 and 109 of the constitution to provide immunity for members of the legislature.

    The immunity is in respect of words spoken or written at plenary or at committee proceedings.

    While the approval for 35 per cent affirmative action for women got 248 votes in the House, the bill was rejected in the Senate on Wednesday.

    I can be recalled that 49 senators had voted in favour of the bill with 43 senators voting against it while two abstained.

  • We must unbundle Nigeria now to achieve progress, says Nwuche

    We must unbundle Nigeria now to achieve progress, says Nwuche

    Former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Chibudom Nwuche, Thursday joined those clamouring for the immediate restructuring of the country as the only way to reposition Nigeria to make progress.

    Nwuche told reporters in Abuja that the structure of Nigeria must be reworked to engender sustained growth and development.

    He noted that those blaming the problems of the country on bad leadership missed the point as the past leaders of the country cloud not all have been deprived of ideas.

    The problem of the country, he insisted, is faulty structure that must be reworked to move Nigeria forward.

    He said that it is obvious that the subsisting Nigerian structure does not bring out the best in Nigerians.

    The former Deputy Speaker who said that he was intervening as statesman asked the National Assembly to take steps to rework the country as major stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

    He also strongly canvassed dialogue on structuring to “calm nerves, allay fears, reassure ourselves as  well as re-emphasize our unity in diversity based on justice and equity.”

    He lamented that Nigeria has “fallen back in almost every index because the structure is wrong and I believe that Nigeria’s future is not even in oil, it is in solid minerals.”

    Nwuche said, “I think we should find a way to rework our structure and the National Assembly can start the process in the constitution Amendment engagement and begin to unbundle the centre.

    “I have always been clamouring for some sorts of structural adjustment of the country’s governance or mechanism for many years. Nigeria gained independence in 1960 and between that time and 1966, the country enjoyed stability and under the 1966 constitution regions were autonomous as it were and pay taxes to the centre and kept most of their revenues.

    “That was how companies in the South West could develop cocoa house, the North had groundnut pyramids and the East had palm oil due to some structures under Dr. Michael Okpara.

    “But after the interregnum and the coup that occurred and civil war that came, Nigeria became more unitary where resources from the states were brought to the centre and the slide to underdevelopment and poverty began effectively.

    “I believe that our structure can be made more efficient, we can unbundle the centre and revert back to old structure that appeared to have worked under which Nigeria knew progress, under which we were at par with countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore who have today left us far behind. Those who argued that what Nigerians need is good leadership and not a restructuring.

    “My answer is simple, are they saying that from Balewa, Azikiwe, Ironsi, Gowon, Muritala, Shagari, Obasanjo in his first coming, Buhari in his first coming and the second coming, Yar ‘Adua, Goodluck, Shonekan, Abacha, Abdulsalami that nobody has been good.

    “If these leaders are perceived as having in some degree not done well, I think that the problem is not good leaders, I think it is the restructure and if you bring an angel to govern Nigeria under this structure he will still fail. No matter the level of failure, woeful or average failure, they will still fail because the structure cannot work.

    “The structure does not bring out the best in Nigerians. If Nigerians believe that we have justice and equity and we address these issues, Nigerians are creative people, they are very industrious, they can build this economy in multiples in a short time but they need to bring government near the masses.

    “The structure we have currently where the centre is responsible for everything where Lagos State has to tell the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to repair the road to their own airport and where the federal government owns the airport in Kano and owns the water ways in Rivers State and the federal ministry of water resources runs Abuja river basins when Kano State can do that by themselves as they did effectively under Bako. It is obvious that this structure is not working.”

    On the issue of state police he said, “Look at the Police Force that is still centralised they are doing their best and they are still fighting crime but they could do better if there was some introduction of states enhancement of the structure where the states have a strong responsibility in maintaining security within their own domains, where they can engage the locals who know the terrain very well to assist in crime prevention.

    “You know at times policing is most effective when it prevents THE crime not when you fight the crime before it happens. For instance in England the policemen before terrorism came into the picture hardly carry gun but crime was managed because they have information and they knew the locality very well where they have informants in the localities and they could prevent crime before it even occurs. We want proactive policing and there must be a state component of it to assist the central police.

    “The fear of some is that the governors may use it oppressively against their enemies but even with what we have governors who want to oppress their enemies can still do so. I think what we could do is to have central oversight to ensure that there is no abuse of that structure. So I believe that the structure we have clearly produced deficient infrastructure, poverty, high maternal mortality.”

  • Reps hunt informants over Patience Jonathan’s property raid

    Reps hunt informants over Patience Jonathan’s property raid

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday asked National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for identities of informants whose tip-off led to raid on former First Lady, Patience Jonathan’s property.

    The House’s Committee on Public Petition gave the order on Wednesday in its session on a petition on incessant harassment of herself and family sent to it by the former first lady.

    The committee also summoned the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Police to appear as defendants in the petition.

    A Director in the NDLEA, Mr Femi Oloruntoba, had told the committee at the hearing that the agency got a tip-off from an unnamed source that the property located at Igbeti Rock Street, Maitama, Abuja, was being used for illicit drug activities.

    “Based on the information, eight officers of the agency visited the premises after surveillance was conducted on it. It is not true that 50 officers from my agency visited the premises,” he said.

    According to Oloruntoba, the officer who met two occupants of the premises provided them with a search endorsement form, which they endorsed indicating that the search was conducted without any damage to the property or loss of items.

    He said that the agency was not aware that the premises belonged to the former first lady, adding that a letter was written by a solicitor on behalf of a man who claimed to be the owner of the premises.

    Consequently, the committee requested NDLEA to provide it with the identity of the claimed source before the next adjourned date.

    The legal team from Granville Abibo & Co. led by Mr Sammie Somiari, who petitioned the lower chamber on behalf of Mrs Jonathan, had earlier told the committee that it would adopt the initial petition as its brief in the matter.

    Somiari added that additional documents were available to substantiate whatever they had raised in the petition.

    He said the respondents, including the mentioned agencies, had engaged in wanton attacks on the former first lady and her relations.

    He cited different media reports and newspaper headlines as pointers to the allegation of attacks on Jonathan.

    He said “the EFCC has serially orchestrated a design to freeze the personal accounts of Mrs Jonathan, her siblings and other relations and associates

    “A case in point is one Aridolf Jo Resort Wellness and Spa Ltd off Okota Estate and Finchley Top Homes Limited which were all shut down without any justifiable reason by the EFCC with their accounts frozen.”

    The committee asked its secretariat to send reminders to all agencies joined in the case that were yet to appear to provide documents regarding their role in the matter.

    It adjourned its session to Sept. 19, 2017.

  • Gbajabiamila volunteers to teach

    The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has promised to explore the recess of the National Assembly to teach in secondary schools.

    He spoke at a Town Hall meeting with principals and parents in his constituency in Surulere, on Sunday.

    The lawmaker said the objective was to have a feel of the learning environment in order to know how he could intervene.

    He praised the Lagos State government, principals and teachers for the job they were doing to improve the lives of children put in their care.

    He also distributed 500 free forms for the November/December West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates to indigent students across the 23 senior secondary schools in his constituency.

    Gbajabiamila said the distribution of the forms was part of his electoral promise to impact on his constituents. He said education was strategic to human capital development as well as the development of the nation.

    He said the distribution of 501 e-tablets to students in the first quarter of the year was one of the education interventions in the area. He added that he had built new classrooms, facilitated the renovation of schools as well as given scholarships and provided ICT tools in schools.

    “I am passionate about education and I will continue to support education in my constituency. Apart from what we have done so far, much more will follow, “he said.

    He, however, decried rampant street fights involving some pupils of some schools in the area, describing the  attitude as worrisome. The lawmaker urged parents to warn their wards against the act, as the government could not afford any threat to peace in the area.

    In his contribution, a member of the Lagos State  House of Assembly, Mr Desmond Elliot, praised Gbajabiamila for his passion for education. He said it took a politician who could look into the future to give a quantum of education support.

    “I have never seen a politician who has given so much back to the people since my over 40 years on earth.  He has a view of the future with his support for education. Surulere is proud to have him as a representative,” he said.

    A parent, Alhaja Wosilat Abiola, described the House Leader’s  gesture as “impactful”. She said the forms would touch the lives of the beneficiaries.

  • Reps defer consideration of constitution review report

    Reps defer consideration of constitution review report

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday differed  consideration of report of the Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review to test run the electronic voting device.

    Thirty minutes after the closed door session at about 1:35p.m., the lawmakers had to wait for an hour before the device became functional during plenary presided by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

    There was confusion as the manual head count of lawmakers in attendance was 260, but the electronic device recorded 257.

    The development forced Dogara to take a roll call of members in the hallowed chamber of the House in order to ascertain the exact number of lawmakers present.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the House ad hoc committee on the review of the 1999 constitution led by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Yussuff Lasun, had submitted report on the proposed items for amendment on July 20.

    Among the 27 items recommended for amendment are; Composition of members of the Council of States, Authorisation of Expenditure, Devolution of Powers, and Financial Autonomy of State Legislature.

    Others include Distributable Pool Account, Local Government, State Creation and Boundary Adjustment, The Legislature, and Reduction of Age for Election among others.

    At about 2:50p.m, the electronic device recorded 272.

    The situation eventually compelled the speaker to inform the lawmakers who were already agitated to shift further test run of the electronic device till Thursday.

  • Reps investigate alleged brutalisation of workers by  Soldiers

    Reps investigate alleged brutalisation of workers by  Soldiers

    The House of Representatives Tuesday resolved to investigate alleged brutalisation of Nigerian workers in Indorama Fertilizer and Chemical Ltd, Eleme, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by Soldiers and Mobile Policemen.

    To this end, the House has mandated its committee on Privatization and Commercialization Investigate the allegation of Brutalisation by men of the Nigerian Army and the Mobile Police on Nigerians at the instance of foreigners in the company

    The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion brought under Matters of Urgent National Importance by a member, Hon. Babatunde Kolawole (APC Ondo).

    The committee is also to investigate the alleged huge disparity in the salary structure between the Nigerian employees and their Indian counterparts in the company.

    Kolawole while moving the motion told the House that Indorama Fertiliser & Chemical Ltd in Eleme, Port Harcourt produces 4000 Metric Tonnes of fertilizers per day, estimated at $2 million and which is reportedly the highest in the world.

    He said there was a discord between the company and its Nigerian workers over huge disparity in salaries of their Nigerian workers and Indian counterparts.

    He further states: “Cognizance of the allegations that while the Nigerian workers (field Operator) allegedly earn around N46, 000 (Forty- Six Thousand Naira -after tax) the Indian staff (field operator) earns N2, 140,352 (Two Million, One Hundred and Forty thousand, three Hundred and Fifty-two Naira – after tax) for the same job schedule.

    “The workers downed tools in a peaceful protest on the 13th of July, 2017 and the management called in Soldiers and Mobile Policemen to force the workers back to work

    “Aware that in a bid by the Soldiers and Mopol to force the men back to work, they allegedly used tear gas, stun grenades, belts and Horse whips on many of the Nigerian workers who were beaten and brutalized hence sustaining various degrees of injuries.”

    Kolawole who expressed regret that men of the Nigerian Army who are meant to protect the country against external aggression, and their counterparts in the Mobile Police Units are now being used at will by expatriates against Nigerian workers, added that he had video and pictorial evidence of the assault.

    According to the lawmaker, though the case of salary disparity has been reportedly filed with the Ministry of Labour since last year, “nothing has been has been done about it.”

    When the Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Yusuff Lasun called for a vote on the motion, it was passed by members on the floor and subsequently referred to the Committee on Privatization and Commercialisation

    The committee was given two weeks to report back to the House for further legislative action.

  • Reps seeks downward review of electricity tariff 

    Reps seeks downward review of electricity tariff 

    The House of Representatives has decried the rising electricity tariff in the country.

    The lawmakers said the increases were not justified considering the commitment of N213b to the operators that has failed to boost supply to Nigerians.

    In addition, the lawmakers said the increments were not in tandem with the economic realities of the country with Nigerians being confronted with several economic hardships.

    As a result, the House has mandated an ad hoc Committee to interface with the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and other stakeholders to critically evaluate the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) system and re-assess all its inputs and assumptions in order to come up with a realistic tariff regime.

    The Committee has six weeks to carry out the assignment and report back to tell House.

    Sponsor of the motion, Shehu Musa (APC, Bauchi) recalled that in 2008, the NERC adopted the MYTO methodology to regulate electricity tariff and the tariff setting in consultation with industry stakeholders, labour and consumer groups to provide a correct pricing of electricity, taking into consideration the key principles of cost reflectivity, affordability, incentives for efficient operations and other assumptions such as in tertiary rates, exchange rates, inflation, gas prices and subsidies.

    “The new tariff regime continues to increase from an average of N10 per kwh  (RI) in 2007 to an average of N24.20 per Kwh (RI) in 2017 without significant improvement in power supply.

    “We are concerned by the quantum of public outcry over the continuous increase in the price unit of electricity set under this new tariff regime, despite the N213b Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilization Fund provided by the Federal government as subsidy to the industry operators.

    “We should be concerned that even the presently fixed price unit of electricity is said to be underpriced and that plans are underway to gradually increase the tariff to cover full costs

    “Equally of concern is that the increments were not in tandem with the economic realities of Nigeria, coupled with the attendant untold hardships being experienced by Nigerians due to the  collapse of small and medium scale businesses and industries,” he said.

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

  • NiMet boss faults call for creation of climate change agency 

    NiMet boss faults call for creation of climate change agency 

    …Says proposed agency will duplicate role, waste public resources

    The Director General /Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Sani Abubakar Mashi has faulted calls in some quarters for the creation of a parallel Climate Change Agency (CCA).

    His call came on the heels of a proposed bill by the House of Representatives, seeking an Act to create the Climate Change Agency of Nigeria.

    The House is planning a public hearing on the bill.

    He said the establishment of such body would amount to a duplication of functions already being carried out by an existing agency.

    Mashi said NiMet was established by an Act of Parliament in 2003 to provide weather services in marine, environmental and bio-meteorology for climatic and human health activities.

    He said, so far stakeholders are unanimous that NiMet boss faults call for creation of climate change agency has been carrying out its role efficiently, and therefore sees no reason for the creation of a new body with similar functions.

    Fielding questions from reporters in Lagos Tuesday, Mashi setting up another body will be counterproductive at a time government is trying to scale down bureaucracy and save funds as a fall out of economic recession.

    He said: “Since its inception in 2003 NiMet has played, and continues to play crucial, critical and strategic roles in fulfillment of its mandate including the issue of Climate Change hence the major authoritative voice on climate issues in Nigeria as recognized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a technical and specialized Agency of the United Nations (UN).

    “Furthermore, NiMet is the repository of the National archive of climate data in Nigeria. The climate data bank has data spanning over a century from over 60 synoptic stations spread across the nation. There are no meaningful climate studies or policy developments that can be conducted without credible climate data. This climate data can only be found in NiMet. NiMet also has the largest concentration of climatologists in the country and these resources are always used to produce the scientific basis for climate change in Nigeria”.

    Mashi said instead of creating a parallel agency, NiMet should be reorganized and strengthened to enhance the discharge of its responsibilities through the amendment of the enabling Act.

    He opined that areas that require amendment include, but not limited to the elevation of Climate Services to a Directorate of Climate Services status to “better handle issues relating to climate and climate change”.

    “It is rather surprising that at a time when the country is experiencing an economic recession and is literally fighting the battle of its limited resources people are proposing the creation of a parallel agency that will merely duplicate the functions of an existing body.

    Even at the best of times when resources do not pose any significant bottleneck, such obvious duplication is counterproductive and may lead to conflict of interest and unnecessary rivalry”, the DG remarked.

    He said: “NiMet should be strengthened to build on existing gains, infrastructural development, reputation and soaring stakeholders’ confidence as it has the capacity, capability and a pool of highly trained and experienced professionals to discharge its responsibilities” rather than unnecessarily expand the bureaucracy by the creation of the proposed Climate Change Agency (CCA).”

  • Nigeria loses N7tr to insecurity in high seas annually – Dogara

    Nigeria loses N7tr to insecurity in high seas annually – Dogara

    The Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, on Monday said Nigeria lost about N7 trillion annually to insecurity and revenue leakages in the waterways.

    Dogara said this at a public hearing on a Bill to amend the Maritime Operations Coordinating Board Act organised by the House of Representatives.

    The Bill seeks to ensure the repositioning of the board for effective control of maritime operations in Nigeria’s territorial waters and create the Maritime Security Fund.

    Dogara insisted that security in Nigeria’s territorial waters must be strengthened and urged the Nigerian Navy and other relevant agencies to ensure greater collaboration to stem the tide of piracy and other coastal attacks.

    He assured Nigerians that the House would embark on holistic review of extant maritime legislations with a view to halting the loss in the sector.

    The Speaker said, “it is even more disturbing to note that Nigeria is said to be losing about N7 trillion annually in the maritime sector due to leakages in revenue generation and insecurity in the water ways.

    “Between January and March, 2016, several attacks were reported off Nigeria’s coast. This was said to involve pirates stealing cargoes of crude oil and petroleum products.

    “Reports had it that no fewer than 44 ship crew members were abducted and in the first half of 2017, over 20 commercial vessels were attacked in Nigerian waters.

    “The increasing level of attacks and violence in the Gulf of Guinea has given Nigeria and other countries in the sub-region very damaging and negative image.

    “This is in addition to an estimated monthly loss of 1.5 billion dollars to the country.

    “As I said recently, prevalence of insecurity in our waters resulted in the loss of 1.3 billion dollars annually to illegal unregulated fishing in West Africa alone.

    “The only way to promote intra-African trade in our water ways is to ensure safety and security of navigation in our waters.

    “Thus, the onus is on the Nigerian Navy to stem the tide of pirate attacks and secure our territorial waters in cooperation with other agencies of government.’’

    He added that in the absence of enabling laws stipulating stiff penalties and adequate funding, the Navy might not be able to perform its responsibility effectively and efficiently.

    Dogara said that the importance of the maritime sector and its capacity to take Nigeria out of recession could not be undermined.

    “The importance of making Nigeria’s maritime sector safe and secure cannot be over emphasised given that the bulk of our trade and commerce come through our waters.

    “This will greatly boost government revenue, increase our foreign reserve and ultimately provide jobs to millions of our youths.

    “Our water ways and even the Gulf of Guinea have been witnessing increasing level of piracy and kidnapping of expatriates and Nigerians alike,’’ he said.

    He assured that bills that would address insecurity in the sector, especially piracy, would receive urgent passage in the House to restore order to the marine sector.

    The Speaker added that establishment of Maritime Security Fund would provide the Navy with needed funds to effectively discharge its sub-regional duties of patrolling the joint development zone between Sao Tome and Principe and Nigeria.

    The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas, at the hearing, confirmed the recovery of over N420 billion stolen oil fund in 2016.

    Ibas said that the recovery was aside from stolen oil worth N6. 7 billion destroyed in various illegal refineries between January and June, 2017.

    He cited the report of study conducted by Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) data, saying estimated oil production in Nigeria plummeted by more than 25 per cent in 2009, as a result of piracy and sea robbery.

    He, however, reiterated Navy’s commitment toward combating criminality ranging from vandalism, kidnapping, environmental pollution, maritime terrorism, illegal bunkering and poaching.

    Other anti-economic growth vices, the naval chief said, included smuggling, proliferation of arms, waste dumping and oil pollution.

    He noted that such colossal loss to piracy and sea robbery was avoidable, but added that intense efforts were being made to drastically reduce the menace over the past 18 months.

    Ibas said “according to the Oil Producers Trading Section (OPTS) report, annual crude oil loss due to COT for 2014 amounted to about 36,162 barrels per day’’.

    He, however, said that the intervention of the Nigerian Navy had led to increase in national crude oil production from less than a million barrels per day in early 2016 to over two million barrels per day in April, 2017.

    On his part, Chairman, House Committee on Navy, Rep. Abdussamad Dasuki, lamented that while incidences of sea piracy had reduced in other territorial waters due to effective coordination, “it is increasing in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.

    “This is apparently disturbing given repeated warnings by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) that attacks by sea-borne bandits off the West African coast are on the rise in Nigeria.

    “To compound the problem, the United Nations Security Council reported that Nigeria was losing about 1.5 billion dollars monthly due to piracy and other activities,’’ Dasuki said

     

  • House of Rep loses another member

    House of Rep loses another member

    A member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammad, (APC-Kware/Wamakko) is dead.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Muhammad, who was born in January 1967, died on Friday at an Abuja Hospital after a brief illness.

    Until his death, he was the Vice Chairman of the House Committee on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency(FERMA), apart from membership of several House Committees.

    The Chairman of Wamakko Local Government, Alhaji Ahmed Kalambaina, said that the remains of the deceased would be buried in his home town, Wamakko, later on Friday.

    The deceased who was a younger brother to the former governor of the state, Sen. Aliyu Wamakko is survived by a wife and five children.