The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kogi House of Assembly

  • Kogi House of Assembly extends tenure of LG administrators

    Kogi House of Assembly extends tenure of LG administrators

    The Kogi House of Assembly on Wednesday approved a six-months tenure extension to local government administrators in the state.

    The Wednesday extension is the second this year after the law makers gave a similar approval six months ago.

    The approval followed the adoption of a letter from Gov Yahaya Bello requesting the extension of the tenure, after it was read on the floor of the House by the Speaker, Prince Matthew Kolawole.

    Bello, in the letter, cited paucity of funds and insecurity as responsible for the inability of the state to conduct elections into the local government councils as provided for, in the 2017 budget.

    The tenure of the local government transition committee had earlier expired on May 5, but was extended by the House to Nov. 5, following the adoption and approval of a similar letter from the governor.

    The latest approval extends the tenure of the administrators to April 5, 2018.

    Deliberating on the matter, Kekere Sanni (APC Okehi), who supported it, explained that reasons adduced by the executive were enough to endorse the request, in view of its necessity.

    However, John Abba (APC-Ibaji), reminded his colleagues that N450million was appropriated for the conduct of local government polls in the 2017 budget, and wondered why the executive failed to conduct the exercise.

    Sani urged his colleagues to promote and protect democracy at all times, saying that the appointment of  caretaker committees to lead local governments was an illegality.

    “We should approve this request but make it clear to the executive that it will be the last; we must tell the executive that we can no longer continue in illegality. No more extension.

    “We must sound it clear to everyone that election must be conducted within the period,” he said.

    In their separate contributions, the Majority leader, Bello Abdullahi-Hassan (APC-Ajaokuta) and Linus Eneche (APC-Olamaboro), urged their colleagues to approve the request to avoid a vacuum in the running of local governments.

    Mr Sunday Shigaba (PDP-Bassa) in his contribution, challenged the legislators to always strive to avoid illegality.

    “It has become practically impossible for the state government to conduct election; but whether we like it or not, we cannot continue like this. We must strive to install democratic governance in the local governments,” he said.

    NAN

  • Excessive heat, faulty generator stall Wednesday Kogi Assembly sitting

    Kogi House of Assembly was again forced to adjourn sitting on Wednesday due to the excessive heat and faulty generating set to power the air conditioners at the chamber.

    A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) covering the proceedings at the Assembly reports that the problem was compounded by lack of regular powerful supply in the area.

    The Assembly could not sit on Tuesday due to the same challenges.

    The Majority Leader of the House, Matthew Kolawole (PDP-Kabba-Bunu), moved a motion for the adjournment of sitting.
    He urged that the three items on the Order Paper for the day be stepped down for deliberation another day.

    The items were; a Bill for a law to provide for the revenue expenditure for all the 21 Local Government Areas for 2017.
    The House was also billed to discuss a motion calling on the state government to complete the construction of Dekina Township road to forestall further loss of lives.

    There was also motion urging the Surveyor-General of the Federation to resolve the boundary dispute between Abaji Area Council in FCT and Kogi Local Government in Kogi.

    The motion for adjournment was, thereafter, seconded by the Minority Leader, Hassan Bello (APC-Ajaokuta).
    The Speaker, Alhaji Umar Imam, ruled on the motion by adjourning sitting to Thursday.

    “In view of the malfunctioning of the generator and the excessive heat in the chamber, the House stands adjourned till Thursday, March 16,”the speaker said.

    Besides the development at the Assembly, investigation by NAN also showed that many residents of Lokoja have resorted to sleep outside their houses in the night due to the excessive heat that hit the area

     

  • Kogi Assembly calls for sustenance of JTF in crisis areas

    Kogi Assembly calls for sustenance of JTF in crisis areas

    The Kogi House of Assembly has urged the Kogi Government to sustain security through the Joint Task Force (JTF) which comprises of the army and other security agencies’ personnel in order to secure lives and property in crisis areas in the state.

    The call is part of the resolution of the House following the adoption of a Motion of Urgent Public Importance which urged the government to curb unwarranted killings and destruction of property raised by Mr Sunday Shigaba (PDP-Bassa) at plenary on Friday.

    The motion was sequel to the eruption of communal clashes between Bassa-Kwomu and Egbura-Mozum both of Bassa Local Government in Kogi where many lives were lost and properties worth millions of Naira were destroyed.

    Presenting the motion, Shigaba said that the crisis which erupted between the hours of 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Nov. 27 in Kpanche village claimed more than 10 lives, according to official report.

    The lawmaker said that a corpse was discovered in the bush following sprout of smell, adding that the casualty figure was not exhaustive as corpses of victims caught up in uninhabited places could still not be found.

    He said that the crisis, casualty figure of which was put at over 40 by unofficial reports, came at a time when people were passing through economic hardships resulting from recession which was taking its toll on the people.

    Shigaba described the consequences of the crisis as “colossal self-imposed loss and socio-political and economic imprisonment” that was avoidable if only the key actors in the crisis had accorded themselves mutual respect.

    Most disturbing of the crisis, according to him, is the fact that the security personnel (the Joint-Task-Force) in the race to quell the crisis got involved in an auto crash which left eight personnel injured and are presently hospitalised in Dekina and Lokoja.

    He commended Gov. Yahaya Bello and security agencies for the swift and timely response “which substantially helped in bringing the crisis under control” and commiserated with the army and the police for the injured personnel.

    Shibaga in his prayers, however urged government to sustain the presence of the task force team in the area pending the return of normalcy and urged that similar gesture be accorded all crisis-ridden areas in the state.

    Seconding the motion, Mr Godwin Osiyi (PDP-Ogori-Magongo) described the situation as a sad one, saying it was not healthy for communal clashes to become a recurring decimal in an area as it would retard development.

    The Speaker of the House, Alhaji Umar Imam, condemned the bloody clash between the two sister communities, saying that the loss of lives and property was unfortunate and commended the timely intervention of the governor and security agents.

    Imam thereafter put the question and following overwhelming support of members, adopted the motion along with the amendments.

  • Reps asks Kogi Assembly to maintain status quo

    Reps asks Kogi Assembly to maintain status quo

    The 10-member House of Representatives fact-finding committee on the Kogi State House of Assembly crisis has commenced work with a charge to all parties in the dispute to maintain the status quo.

    The chairman of the committee, Hon. Pally Iriase who said this to newsmen in Lokoja on Thursday after a meeting of the members with the state governor, noted that the mission of the committee was to look into the alleged crisis and find a way forward.

    He directed all parties in the leadership crisis to allow the provisions of the constitution to prevail, pending the final resolution.

    Iriase also dismissed a report that a court had restrained the committee from sitting, saying that the House of Representatives was not aware of such a court order.

    According to him, the committee, which will sit in Lokoja for days, has concluded arrangements to meet with the two factions in the house and other stakeholders.

    Also speaking with journalists on the matter, the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello described the crisis currently rocking the house as a minor misunderstanding.

    He said that the issue of leadership was a mere nomenclature, saying that all members were equal.

    Bello said that the leadership crisis preceded his inauguration as the governor of the state on Jan. 27, and that it would be wrong for anybody to say that he was behind it.

    The governor promised to invite the two factions for amicable resolution of the misunderstanding and thanked the House of Representatives for the timely intervention.

  • Kogi Assembly confirms Achuba as deputy governor

    Kogi Assembly confirms Achuba as deputy governor

    The Kogi state House of Assembly Tuesday confirmed Mr. Simon Achuba as deputy governor of the state.

    Achuba, a former two-time member of the Kogi House of Assembly, was unanimously confirmed by members of the house, following a motion for his confirmation by Hon. Sunday Shugaba (Bassa).

    The motion was seconded by Hon. Friday Sani (Igalaneka/Odolu).

  • PDP threaten to deal with erring Kogi assembly members

    PDP threaten to deal with erring Kogi assembly members

    The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to sanction any member of the Kogi State House of Assembly that indulges in anti-party activities.

    The party in a statement also resolved that that the status quo be maintained, with Hon. Momoh-Jimoh Lawal as speaker.

    Media Adviser to the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Mr. Felix Udebu said that the national working committee at a reconciliation meeting held in Abuja on Thursday which had all the PDP members in Kogi House of Assembly in attendance, noted that since PDP formed majority in the house, members must “avoid conniving with other political parties to run the assembly down”.

    It warned that any member that works against the interest of the party will be sanctioned.

    The statement added that after the resolution of the dispute, the speaker and the factional leader Hon. Godwin Osiyi embraced.

    The leadership tussle in the Kogi State House of Assembly has lingered for more than two months, before the Abuja meeting was summoned to broker peace among the two factions within the PDP in the house.