The Nation Newspaper

Tag: House of Representatives

  • Reps move to revive public library services in Nigeria

    The House of Representatives on Thursday moved a motion to revive public library services in the country.

    This was sequel to the unanimous adoption of the motion by Rep. Joseph Edionwele (Edo-PDP), at the plenary on Thursday.

    Moving the motion earlier, Edionwele said that the National Library Act, 2004 provides for the establishment of the National Library Board.

    He explained that the board was saddled with the responsibility of establishing and maintaining the national libraries and also provides services that would promote the library culture.

    According to him, most public libraries in Nigeria were established in the 1980s or earlier when many of the existing states of the Federation had not been created.

    Edionwele, however, said due to under-funding and poor maintenance, most of the reading materials therein had become outdated and the buildings dilapidated.

    The lawmaker said most public libraries in the country were not digitally compliant as was the global best practice.

    Edionwele observed that low income families needed the services provided by public libraries in order to have access to expensive books and other educational needs.

    According to the legislator, the current state of public libraries does not encourage reading culture among the citizenry, especially among the youths and called for urgent funding to upgrade the facility.

    He called for the modernisation of the existing National Library and establishment of new offices in cities across the country.

    In his ruling, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, mandated the Committee on Basic Education and Services to interface with the Federal Ministry of Education to revive the library culture and report to the house within eight weeks.

  • Dogara to push for settlement of pensioners’ entitlements

    Dogara to push for settlement of pensioners’ entitlements

    The Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara on Wednesday said the House will meet with the Executive to work out a definite plan towards offsetting N200 billion pension due to retired public workers.

    Dogara said this when he received a delegation from the Nigeria Union of Pensioners at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

    He said that the House would invite all key players in charge of pension in the country, to appear before the House next week and explain their plans to off-set the arrears.

    Citing section 173 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, he stressed that it was the responsibility of the Federal Government to ensure that pension earned by the pensioners were paid as at when due.

    “The Right of a person who works in the public service of the federation to receive pension and gratuity shall be regulated by law.

    “Obviously, we have done our own part of the bargain, which is the enactment of the  Pension Reform Act of 2014.

    “If pension is a Right and pensioners must be paid, it means that the Federal Government is indebted and if it is paid, the government is not doing a favour to anybody,” he said.

    Dogara emphasised that the fight against corruption in public service would be greatly enhanced by prompt payment of pensions.

    According to him, this will reduce the temptation to divert public funds by civil servants for use after retirement.

    Earlier, The National President of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Dr Abel Afolayan, had appealed to the National Assembly to ensure that sufficient funds were provided to cater for pension liabilities in the 2017 budget.

    Afolayan also appealed that pension should be put on’ First Line’ charge, just as he solicited the assistance of the Speaker to facilitate the payment of outstanding 18 months arrears of the 33 per cent pension increase.

    The House had last week passed a resolution urging the Federal government to offset all pension arrears owed pensioners since 2014

     

  • Reps investigates DPR over oil block licenses, signature bonuses

    Reps investigates DPR over oil block licenses, signature bonuses

    …To investigate FMBN over non-remittance of N5.6b tax

    The House of Representatives began its investigation on leakages within the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) with a warning against attempts to derail it by affected organizations.

    This followed the disclosure of an ad hoc mandated to investigate the agency that DPR has failed respond to its queries.

    The panel was mandated to investigate and ascertain the ownership, distribution and authenticity of Oil Mining License (OML), Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPL), relinquishment, signature bonuses and bidding process.

    The Committee said it will not hesitate to invoke relevant laws to compel compliance by recalcitrant public and private entities because of time constraint.

    Chairman of the Committee, Agom Jerigbe (PDP, Cross River) at the inaugural meeting of the panel said queries were sent to a list of affected government agencies and oil companies but the DPR has refused to respond.

    “Some of them have responded, some asked for time to make available their presentations but DPR did not respond. This is a surprise to us because this attitude is least expected of a government agency.

    “We don’t have all the in the time in the world considering the fact the economy is under some constraints right now, as such all hands must be on deck to put it back on the right track for the betterment of every citizen of this country,” he said

    Similarly Committees on Finance, Housing and Urban Development and Regional Planning have been mandated to investigate alleged non-remittance of N5.6b tax by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to the Federal government.

    Sponsor of the motion, Nicholas Ossai (PDP Delta) said between 2011 and 2015, the Bank generated a total revenue of N44.073b with N13.17b  of it having been generated in 2015 but the Bank defaulted in the remittance of the Value Added Tax (VAT) collections of N2.2b  to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

    He also observed that the Bank also defaulted in remittance of Withholding Tax deductions to FIRS amounting to N3.4b during the same period.

    “Due to poor management by successive managements of the Bank, there had been unimaginable high volume of non-performance of 70 percent of the Bank’s risk assets and loans, thus resulting in sharp erosion of its Capital Structure and the National Housing Fund deposits.

    “The mismanagement of the Bank has led to huge administrative expenditure to the extent that its annual average of staff maintenance is N4b, while Directors fees and expenses are on the average of N200m annually

    “However, Section 40 of the FIRS Act specifies a penalty of 10 percent on withheld or unremitted tax by any defaulter after 30 days from the date of default,” he said.

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote.

  • Leadership crisis: Rep urges PDP members to shun sentiments

    Leadership crisis: Rep urges PDP members to shun sentiments

    A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Johnson Agbonayinma (Edo-PDP), said the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could be resolved if members dropped sentiments.

    Agbonayinma said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

    He said that was no problem without solution and the ability to look beyond issues without being passionate would go a long way in bringing peace back to the party.

    “So, I align with Gov. Seriake Dickson’s recommendations on ways to restore peace to the party.

    “I must appreciate him and I believe his efforts will never be in vain.

    “I think Dickson’s report and recommendation is the only way forward and that is what Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, Chairman of PDP, has been saying.

    “We must stop the impunity in our party; we must give the party back to the people. When you say, `PDP, power to the people’, we must exhibit that; we must show to the world that we really care for the people.

    “It is not about being selfish but about selflessness. Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff is not on trial, those that are on trial are those trying to blackmail him, castigate him and paint him black,’’ he said.

    The lawmaker said that some people did not mean well for the party and therefore called on all members to ensure that the party bounced back.

    “Some people who don’t mean well for our party are being used by some external forces to cause crisis for PDP because they are financially buoyant.

    “I tell you the truth, Nigerians are wiser than what they think and they are watching too,” he said.

     

  • Reps suspend bill seeking punishment for sexual harassment in tertiary institutions

    The House of Representatives on Thursday suspended deliberations on a bill seeking to make provisions for the prohibition and punishment of sexual harassment of students in educational institutions.

    The bill, sent to the House for concurrence from the Senate, was suspended because it is restricted to higher institutions only.

    Presenting the bill for second reading, the House Majority Leader, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos-APC) said the Bill needed to be expanded to accommodate other forms of sexual harassment beyond higher institutions.

    “The way the bill is now is restrictive. It restricts its enforcement to only higher institutions of learning. What about secondary schools and the work place?

    “I have concerns over this bill before we concur to it because it did not talk about sexual harassment in the banks, churches and homes.

    “We should look for a way to widen its scope to encompass sexual harassment in other places.

    But Rep. Aminu Shagari (Sokoto-APC) urged the House to go ahead with the concurrence while other aspects could be accommodated later.

    Rep. Ayo Omidiran (Osun-APC) in her contribution said:  “As a woman, I know sexual harassment can take place anywhere be it in market, church or work place; sexual harassment is sexual harassment anywhere.

    “And women too harass men not only men harass women so there should be different segments of harassment and it should be accommodated in the bill.

    Ruling on the matter, the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, said there might be a need to write the Senate to inform them about what should be included or not.

    “And for that reason we shall adjourn this debate pending when we have done proper consultations on the bill,” Dogara added

  • Reps urge CBN to withdraw mutilated currency in circulation

    Reps urge CBN to withdraw mutilated currency in circulation

    The House of Representatives, on Thursday urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to urgently withdraw and destroy mutilated naira notes in circulation.

    The house also charged the National Orientation Agency to carry out sustained public enlightenment to educate Nigerians on the need to handle the naira notes cautiously with care.

    The resolutions followed a motion by Rep. Adekola Alexander (PDP- Ekiti).

    Moving the motion, Alexander said that the alarming rate of mutilated currency notes in circulation had become a national embarrassment.

    He added that banks were issuing torn, mutilated and unhygienic currency notes through ATM machines and across the counter.

    “I observe that in spite of arrest and subsequent prosecution of the culprits, there is still a cartel in CBN and commercial banks, which make brisk business recycling old naira notes meant for destruction.

    “They enrich their bank accounts, acquiring properties through these illegal proceeds by converting the equivalent of the mutilated notes into their accounts and selling printed mint meant for customers, to touts and hawkers.

    “Section 21(4) of the CBN Act of 2007 makes it a punishable offence for any person to hawk, sell or trade in naira notes, coins or any other issued by the apex bank,” he said.

    The lawmaker expressed worry that most of the mutilated currency notes in circulation harboured pathogenic micro organisms hazardous to human health.

    He said that the mutilated notes also harboured infectious disease such as diarrhea, food poisoning and respiratory problems which could be spread through the notes.

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

    The house, therefore, mandated the Committee on Banking and Currency to conduct an investigation into the activities of the cartel by beaming searchlight on the CBN, commercial banks and other allied institutions.

    The committee was given six weeks to carry out the assignment

     

  • Reps move to check smuggling, illegal emigration

    The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to come up with stringent polices that would check illegal smuggling and emigration in the country.

    In a unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Rotimi Agunsoye (Lagos-APC) at plenary on Tuesday, the chamber said it was worrisome that the country’s land and sea borders had become quite porous.

    In the motion earlier, Agunsoye said that it was regrettable that the borders allowed unlawful goods and immigrants into the country.

    According to him, shops, markets and stores are adorned with smuggled goods, including clothing materials and food items.

    “Roads in the country have been taken over by smuggled cars and the anti-smuggling unit and other formations of the Nigerian Customs Services (NCS) are not able to stem the tide.

    “The NCS has failed in its duty to stop smuggled goods into the country.

    “The organization now resorts to harassing innocent citizens who have purchased vehicles and other goods off the shelves,” he said.

    The lawmaker said that the failure of government agencies to check smuggling of substandard and harmful goods was posing socio-economic threat to the existence of the country.

    He listed some of the smuggled goods as plastic rice, Genetically Modified Foods, expired drugs and high radiation mobile phones.

    The legislator regretted that foreigners who had gained entry into the country without immigration papers or whose visas had expired, were still in the country competing with citizens and enjoying tax payers money.

    He said that it was imperative for the country’s borders to be guarded and monitored to reduce the spate of smuggling.

    He also said that the NCS and the Nigerian Immigration Service were operating below expectation.

    Contributing, Rep. Emmanuel Orker-Jev (Benue-APC) pointed out cases where Nigerians had been killed by foreigners.

    He said that the herdsmen unleashing mayhem in the country had always been referred to as foreigners.

    Orker-Jev called for documentation of movement of persons across the borders in spite of the ECOWAS free trade zone policy.

    Rep. Nicholas Ossai (Delta-PDP) said that there was need to ascertain if the NCS and other services were well funded to do their job.

    He said that the Government of United States of America was committing enough funds to build border walls to enable security agencies checkmate movement of hoodlums.

    “What is the budgetary allocation for border monitoring?

    “If the executive has failed to do that, we are the representatives of the people and I move that this 8th Assembly should make provision of N1 trillion in the 2017 budget to guard our borders,” he said.

    The Deputy Speaker of the House, Rep. Yussuf Lasun (Osun-APC) described Nigeria as a very unique country.

    He said that the Yoruba race, for instance, had their kinsmen in Cotonou, Ghana, Liberia just like the Fulanis in Niger and up to Libya.

    According to Lasun, building walls will amount to disconnecting the people from their kinsmen in the neighbouring countries.

    He, however, advocated deliberate policies that would protect the economy and clearly differentiate between foreigners and citizens of the country.

    In his ruling, Speaker of the house, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, mandated the Committees on Customs and Excise and Interior to organise a public hearing on the matter and report to the house for further action.

     

  • March 30 deadline for passage of 2017 budget not sacrosanct — Reps

    March 30 deadline for passage of 2017 budget not sacrosanct — Reps

    The House of Representatives says the March 30 deadline set for the passage of 2017 Appropriation Bill by the National Assembly is not sacrosanct.

    Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Rep. Abdulrazak Namdas, made this known on Thursday in Abuja.

    Namdas said that the new software used in the process was slowing down the work of the Appropriation committee.

    “I want to say that the March 30 deadline, just for the purpose of records, may not be actually sacrosanct because of the new development that has risen.

    “We have new budget software and it is different from what we used to have before.

    “It is slowing the process of the appropriation committee down a bit.’’

    He, however, said that there was need for standing committees that had yet to submit their reports to the Appropriation Committee to do so in order to hasten the process.

    “The speaker, Yakubu Dogara just urged the various committees to submit their reports to the Appropriation committee by Friday because it has been realised that most of the committees have not submitted their reports.

    “These are some of the issues slowing the process. But I think from the discussion with some of Chairmen of committees, I am optimistic they will submit their reports by tomorrow (Friday),’’ Namdas added.

     

  • Reps summon oil company’s chief over diversion of $9.1 forex

    The Managing Director of Total Nigeria Plc has been invited by the House of Representatives to explain the position of the company over alleged  diversion of $9.1m Foreign Exchange (forex).

    Total was alleged to have collected as part of the Federal government special intervention fund through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) for avoidance of scarcity of the product in the country.

    This emerged Thursday at the continuation of a public hearing by the Nnana Igbokwe – led ad hoc committee on the review of petrol pump price.

    The committee expressed concern over the discrepancies in the presentation and documents of the oil company that were at variance with those presented by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) among others.

    Total’s N2.1b indebtedness to Pipeline and Product Marketing Company  (PPMC) also became a subject of controversy as the 14 days credit sales agreement that does not give them room to default in payment appear to have been jettisoned.

    “Forex collected by you was on the 22nd June, 2016, but I want to draw your attention to products consummed by you before collecting forex to pay”.

    “How come you are owing this huge sum when you are to pay for any product received from PPMC on or before 14 days.

    “It is even more worrisome that the document before us shows that the N2.1b reflects that the indebtedness I arising only from Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK).

    “So we stand by the decision that the transaction you are doing with PPMC is opaque, your through-put documents are not included here; neither is your credit sales.

    “The entire process of your acclaimed reconciliation with PPMC is fraught with irregularities”, Igbokwe said.

    Total’s representative, Funmi Ogunmade, in his response said dispute with the DPR over certain transactions with PPMC had made reconciliation of records difficult.

    “I will crave your indulgence to step down the decision as taken by your committee due to the irreconcilable differences between us and PPMC”, Ogunmade said.

  • Reps move to give Customs independence

    Reps move to give Customs independence

    … investigate N1trillion loss of revenue

    The House of Representatives Thursday passed a bill for an act to repeal the Customs Service Board Act and re- enact The Nigerian Customs Commission Act.

    The bill sponsored by Hon. Jerry Alagbaoso was meant to give the NCS more financial, administrative and operational latitude as the second largest revenue generating agency in the country.

    He said: “it is evident that one of the factors militating against innovation and efficiency in the Nigerian Customs Service is the lack of autonomy in the formulation and execution of its operational policies without recourse to the Ministry of Finance.

    “Hence the agreement with service providers is always entered on behalf of the Nigerian Customs Service by the Federal Ministry of Finance and not by the Nigerian Customs Service itself.
    “This always led to unnecessary delays in Customs’ operations. In the ports, for example, in the event of scanners’ breakdown, or failure, the Nigerian Customs Service does not have direct access to the suppliers of the scanners because the service providers still retained the franchise of their repairs and ought to service or maintain them according to their agreement and understanding with federal Ministry of Finance.”

    Alagbaoso said the situation in which the Minister of Finance is the Chairman of the Board of Customs does not give room for the effective monitoring of the affairs of the Agency.

    “Hence the need to reduce the burden on the Minister by providing through this bill a robust management structure through a Customs Service Commission which would ensure discipline and promote accountability in line with both Customs and Excise Management Act and the change mantra of the present federal government.”

    When the Speaker. Yakubu Dogara called for a voice; the bill passed without dissent and was referred to the relevant committee for further legislative input.

    In a related development, the House also yesterday mandated its committee on Customs and Excise to investigate reasons for banning the auction of seized goods by the NCS and to determine if the decision has caused the country any financial loss.

    The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion sponsored by a member Prestige Ossy with the title: ‘ Urgent need to investigate the failure of the Nigerian Customs Service to auction confiscated goods”

    The lawmaker while presenting the motion noted that in 2015, the Nigerian Customs banned the auction sale of goods seized by the Service and legally forfeited to the Federal Government.

    “Since the imposition of the ban, there has not been any form of auction sale by the Service and this has ultimately resulted in the proliferation of seized goods at the various formations of the Nigerian Customs Service,” the lawmaker said.

    According to him, “the list of seized goods include vehicles , trucks, containers of assorted household goods, clothing materials, consumables etc, and a large number of these goods have been gazetted and forfeited to the federal government on the orders of various courts in the country.”

    He said the failure of the NCS to set up a website for auctioning the goods as earlier promised is ” denying the federal government of resources worth over N1 trillion which ought to have accrued to it from the auctioning of those goods.”

    Members also supported the passage of the motion sequel to a call for voice votes by the Speaker. Yakubu Dogara.