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Tag: legislate

  • National Assembly to legislate on consolidation of revenue collection

    National Assembly to legislate on consolidation of revenue collection

    The National Assembly says it is considering a legislation to consolidate revenue collection into a single agency.

    The initiative is to curb duplication, tackle corruption and ensure seamless transactions by taxpayers, it said.

    This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the 3-day Retreat for Senators of the 10th National Assembly on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform at Four-point by Sheraton hotel, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State .

    It also.noted that “it would simplify the tax system, reduce duplication of efforts, and make it easier

    for taxpayers to comply with the law.”

    According to the communique, lots of tax policies, for instance, the Stamp Duty Act of 1939 shall be reviewed to conform with the present realities of doing business in the country.

    It said that there is “need to enhance public spending efficiency, by tackling

    corruption in Government spending in order to provide commensurate fiscal exchange to citizens and boost tax morale.”

    The communique reads: “The situation where many agencies of government are involved in collecting taxes and new laws continue to make it the responsibility of these agencies to collect taxes should

    be halted, through a legislative resolution.

    “Bills on taxes should be presented as Executive Bills and not

    as private member Bills.

    “There is a need to review the tax waiver policy to ensure it is aligned with the revenue mobilization drive of the

    government by making the waiver process more transparent and accountable.

    “Review the Stamp Duty Act of 1939 and other obsolete and anachronistic laws in conformity with present realities.

    “To address exchange rate management issues, challenges

    of inflation, address poverty, and create jobs, there is a need to consider and approve the Emergency Economic

    Intervention Bill from the Executive as a proposed legislation from the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy

    and Tax Reforms.

    “Establish clear and transparent guidelines for revenue

    retention. The government should establish clear and

    transparent guidelines for the amount of revenue that revenue-generating institutions are allowed to retain.

    Read Also: Wike: Reports of killing of 100 people in Abuja false, exaggerated

    “These guidelines should be based on objective criteria, such as the

    institution’s verified operating costs and investment needs

    by the relevant authorities and committees of the National

    Assembly.

    “Need for effective management of resources by adopting

    technology in expenditure management, driving adherence

    to fiscal rules and benchmarks, establishing a national fiscal

    risk framework for revenue, debt, and expenditure.

    “Nigerian government should consolidate revenue collection

    into a single agency like the FIRS. This would simplify the

    tax system, reduce duplication of efforts, and make it easier

    for taxpayers to comply with the law.

    “Work with the Executive to review the National

    Development Plan to integrate the 8-point Agenda of the

    President and consider legislating aspects of the Agenda for

    holistic implementation.

    “There is a need to consider relevant constitutional

    amendments to pave the way for a 5-year development

    plan to cater for projects and ensure continuity while

    limiting abandoned projects.

    “Enforce consequences for violations of any provisions

    of the law regarding monetary and fiscal matters. This will

    require amendments to the relevant laws to ensure

    effective oversight and enforcement of the consequences,

    as the case may be.

    “Need for legislation that clearly defines the taxing

    rights of the three levels of government.

    “Need for legislative intervention to promote the

    optimization of revenue from non-oil sources, especially in

    the solid mineral sector.

    “Enactment of an Emergency Economic Intervention

    Bill. This will address critical socio-economic issues

    concerning foreign exchange management, tackling

    inflation, stimulating economic growth, and creating more

    jobs,” it added.

  • Do not legislate against suicide, experts tell National Assembly

    Do not legislate against suicide, experts tell National Assembly

    Experts in Psychiatry have urged the National Assembly to pass a law to tackle the rising wave of suicide in the country.

    In separate interviews, they said this became imperative because of the rise in suicide cases.

    The Nigerian 1958 Lunacy Act criminalises suicide. When the same person attempts suicide and does not succeed, the experts said the best way to assist the person is not to imprisonment, but treatment in a hospital.

    According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), health is a state of physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

    Former Medical Director, Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr Harry Ladapo, said it was time the National Assembly passed the Bill on the review of the 1958, 132 Lunacy Laws of Nigeria. This is because, he said, the rate of mental health disease has gained global attention.

    Ladapo said mental health contributed about 12 percent of world diseases and Nigeria was not an exemption.

    “Although considered as one of the countries in 2007 with lower prevalence of mental disorders as documented in a report by the WHO’s Mental Health Atlas Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, recent statistics show that the prevalence of mental health issues in the country remains unabated.

    ‘’A study by the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, said mental health issues ranked 20 percent among other health problems, yet the country is slow in meeting  global treatment standards adopted by United Nations on mental health policy as pointed out by the WHO in its ‘Mental Health: New Understanding New Hope in World Health Report’. Yet, the colonial law still governs mental health in Nigeria, he lamented.

    According to the Lunacy Law, anyone caught attempting suicide should be arraigned.

    Ladapo said the National Assembly should scrap the mental health legislation.

    The Bill, first introduced in 2003, laid fallow in the Senate until it was withdrawn in April 2009. At the moment, it is back to the Upper House.

    Ladapo said though suicide is criminal, “For somebody who has committed suicide and succeeded, there is nothing anybody can do. But if it is not complete, it is called para-suicide. This entails injuring oneself by overdosing on drugs, chemicals, sharp objects or resorting to other injurious acts that left him being rescued or brought back to life in, that is when he can be charged to court. This is different from suicide where a life is lost. The dead cannot be charged to court. So, the issue at stake is, why would anybody want to take his life?’’

    He continued: “One, when a person feels that life is not worth living, maybe as a result of a chronic sickness, terminal disease, and zero condition – for instance, the elderly or disabled, who can no longer add value to the society but sees himself as a burden may end his life, especially if he cannot do daily activities, such as bathing, brushing teeth, dress or writing without being aided. They can become depressed and keep asking  about  the essence of living.

    ‘’That brought the Principle of Euthanasia in Europe, where people ask a doctor to terminate their lives. So, how does one describe that? Is that a suicide or para-suicide? There, the government decided to legalise it. Meaning that as one is getting  old and cannot cope with daily living, one can request for termination of life.”

    He said in Nigeria, there are socio-economic reasons which push people into suicide. Recession per se is not responsible for it, “but it is surrounded by factors, such as debt, shame, loneliness, isolation, frustration, unfulfilment, not meeting set goals or substance abuse.  I must call attention to the fact that suicide is not new but the rate is escalating and must be halted. Among the Yoruba, we have seen monarchs who committed suicide because of shame, giving credence to the saying, “Emi … a tii gbo’ (Me … how come?). Even when subjects are not satisfied with rulers, they ask them to take the exit (Won sigba fun),” he said.

    He added that civilisation has played a major role in how sucide cases are handled. “The task is to be our brother’s keeper. Let us engage people in discussions. Find out what people are going through at their workplace, worship or residence. Be highly observant in your surroundings. If you notice in your office that despite being gaily dressed, or an extrovert becoming a recluse or somebody who is highly enthusiastic with his job  suddenly complaining of ill health; do not brush him aside and conclude he is being lazy or finding excuses, you may have a suicide candidate in your hand,’’ he said.

    “Signs of suicide include loneliness, withdrawal or isolation – all these can lead to weight loss, depression or oversleeping. Jumping into the lagoon is just a tip of the  iceberg because there are many reported cases  which take place at home. The way out is to improve the mental status of Nigerians, and the sector. Psychiatric health workers should  find out the  causes, and proffer solution.

    ‘’Do you know that lack of money is not the only cause of suicide? Some who  stole public money do it too. The money is there, but cannot spend it and they ask of the essence of life. It is high time the mental health team was encouraged. Recession and war should not make people to commit suicide. But there are circumstances beyond their control that prompt them to do so,” he said.

    Acting Head of Clinical Services, Federal Neuro-Psychiatry Hopsital, Yaba, Lagos, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, said the criminalisation of suicide was predicated on the Lunacy Law made by colonial leaders.

    Owoeye said: “That is the law the government is still operating. Until it is repealed and a new one put in place, the country may not get out of the problem. The truth is that those who died of suicide or attempted it are mentally sick. It is when the mental state of an individual is not altered that such an individual will not consider suicide  to solve the problem. But when someone is mentally sick, he will not reason productively and may want to end it. So, suicide is a sickness and not a crime.

    “In other countries, when people are seen contemplating suicide, they are referred to the hospital for treatment. Once they are treated, the problems go, and life continues. So, it is wrong for us to criminalise suicide. By so doing, one is driving sufferers into further withdrawals and may attempt a suicide. This is based on the view, “Once I don’t succeed, I will be treated like a criminal, so I must succeed in ending my life. Or I attempted once but did not succeed, so the next attempt will kill it. I must succeed in this one. This is improper.”

    He said: “Our lawmakers should review the Mental Health Law in line with what obtains in other countries, especially developed nations. The bill is already with the Senate. They should make provision for the treatment of those who attempt suicide rather than get them arrested. As the law is being repealed, the government should also fund the psychiatry hospitals. There are fewer than 500 psychiatrists nationwide to take care of 170 million people. We even have fewer  clinical psychologists and psychiatrist nurses. These are not enough to take care of the psychiatry need of the nation.”

    Owoeye said, “More personnel should be trained. It is high time urgent attention should be paid to the mental need of Nigerians, instead of being considered as the least in the health services required nationwide. This is because out of every 100 Nigerians about 20 percent will have diagnosable mental health conditions, so there is the need for us to make adequate preparation to address the mental health issue. Counseling centres can also be set up nationwide so people can go to and un-bottle their minds. The recession going on also should be quickly addressed.”

  • National Assembly ‘ll not legislate against any religion, says Saraki

    National Assembly ‘ll not legislate against any religion, says Saraki

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has assured Nigerians that the Senate will not pass any law against their right or freedom of religion.

    Saraki, who spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State, at the close of the 31st National Qur’an Reading Competition, urged religious leaders to use the word of God to spread love, unity and peace.

    He said: “We should tolerate and cultivate harmonious relationship and understanding among ourselves.”

    The Senate president enjoined Nigerians to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari’s quick recovery.

    Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed said the use of religion to perpetrate violence was unfortunate, given the emphasis on peace and justice by Christianity and Islam.

    He said it was the responsibility of Nigerians to resist, through peaceful means, those bent on misrepresenting religion and fomenting conflict.

    Ahmed said: “As a government focused on sustaining peaceful co-existence, we will ensure peace and harmonious relations based on the principles of justice, fairness and equity.”

    He said he was committed to distribution of infrastructure and implementation of socio-economic programmes, adding that no community will be excluded from the benefits of prosperity on account of its religious or political inclination.

    The Sultan of Sokoto and National President of Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, hailed the Lagos State government for the judgment on the use of hijab in public schools.

    He said religious leaders should prioritise “what will unite us rather than what will divide us.”

    The Sultan advised the National Assembly not to pass any legislation that prevents anyone from practice of his religion.

    He prayed for President Buhari’s quick recovery.

  • ‘National Assembly has powers to legislate for Kogi’

    ‘National Assembly has powers to legislate for Kogi’

    A member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Zakari Mohammed, in this interview with ADEKUNLE JIMOH, says the National Assembly has the constitutional right to take over the functions of the Kogi State House of Assembly, pending the resolution of the crisis.

    How is the House of Representatives handling the crisis over the crude oil swap?

    In the month of January, this year a colleague of ours brought up a motion on the alleged misconduct in the handling of the crude oil swap. At some point, Nigeria had issues with the provision of fuel for its citizenry and became cash-trapped. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), according to the narrative we got, was owing marketers and it must provide premium motor spirit (PMS) and other related products for the usage of Nigerians. That was when the swap arrangement came. The crude oil swap is like trade by barter arrangement. We have crude and give it to marketers; they take it outside Nigeria and return it as a refined product.

    Worldwide, it is not a misnormer. Countries do it when there are issues. The other alternative is what they call crude in exchange of refined products. At any rate they adopted the oil swap and there was a lot of anomalies. One of the companies called Duke Oil, a subsidiary of NNPC got the contract to do swap and it used to collect 445,000 barrels of crude oil daily. The company believed that it did not have the technical capacity to handle such a transaction and it decided to involve some other marketers. At some point, it was going on very well. Between 2012 and 2014, the agreement expired; and when the agreement expired, the sane thing to do it to renew it. We discovered that, between that period, the crude of Nigeria was taken away without a valid agreement. Even though they said that they had written to the then petroleum minister for the approval of either president or federal executive council, but unilaterally, she approved an extension.

    For now, we have interrogated former GMDs, the former petroleum minister, former PPMC’s heads, former MDs of Duke Oil, oil marketers and the only people we have yet to take on are customs, ports authorities and Prince Haruna Mommoh, who was in charge of PPMC between the time Dizeani Alison-Madueke was the petroleum minister.

    We are expecting them, at least, we have dispatched letters to them. With that, we will be winding down so that we can compile our report. The committee has set out that it will not witch-hunt anybody, but where we find out that there are infractions, we will definitely make sure that we recommend appropriately. So far so go we have been getting on well. We have seen the reactions of Nigerians on what we will do with that. The assurances I have for them is that we have a mandate by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to investigate and expose corruption.

    For the purposes of investigation, the dramatis personae must make themselves available for us to interact with them to know the rationale behind certain decisions they took while in office.  As we saw so far the crude oil agreement was skewed more in favour of the marketers as against Nigerians. Any how we will not say anything that is judgmental now.

    Why the shortfall in the allocation to the education sector in the 2016 budget?

    There are certain sub-heads such as the Unity Schools that the meal subsidy was slashed down. We have 104 Unity Schools and of the number, we have a population of 19,000 students. The meal subsidy’s proposal should be N450 daily- that means N150 per meal amounting to over N11 billion but it was reduced to about eight billion Naira. The implication is that their food might be reduced to about N80 per meal. How much will N80 do with what we have today? We at the level on the committee on basic education in the House of Representatives have approached the appropriation committee to make provisions for that shortfall.

    Why these misconceptions about the budget?

    I think some people are not doing their jobs very well. I cannot explain for them as I am not a member of the executive. But the story we heard is that civil servants were already working on the budget before ministers were appointed. When the ministers came in they brought some version and consultants engaged at some levels.

    The President has started taking steps to ensure that he goes into the crux of the matter. Budget is not a day’s job. It is there you will know whether certain heads are implementable or not. Padding is a relative term. For us in the parliament if a budget is brought to us we should be able to detect all these infractions. If it were the case of garbage in garbage out we wouldn’t have detected that. We want to bequeath an implementable document to Nigerians beyond our long grammar. Because a lot of things are calling for attention; the roads are in very terrible state; power supply shaky; education sector is in shambles. We definitely must make hay while the sun shines.

    Our case in Nigeria is like a patient in the emergency ward. He needs all the consultants available to revive him.

    What gave the NASS the effrontery to expose this anomaly in the budget based on the fact that the ruling party also has the majority in the assembly?

    Our parties are vehicles for us to get to the National Assembly. When you get into the National Assembly your people are more paramount than the parties and there is a country called Nigeria. For us we believe that we are a separate arm of government. When we see things that are not right we point them out, because keeping quiet would be a conspiracy of silence that would not help anybody. For instance, I don’t think the president will be happy if he eventually knows that certain things have taken place and we allowed them to go without raising eyebrows. It is not an effrontery we are just doing our jobs. NASS has three responsibilities of representation, over sight and the budget and of course the budget is our core responsibility. If we fail to do that we will be failing in one of our responsibilities. I can tell that the NASS is a very liberalized body. Unlike what people think, we have people who had paid their dues in their different endeavours before going to the National Assembly.

    Recalling each time there is interruption of the democratic setting it is the legislature that is the whipping boy. The judiciary will be there; the powers of the executive and the legislature would be fused together by the military heads. The only representation that you have is the legislature. In the executive the people only elect the president and vice president, others are appointees, who owe no allegiance to the people.

    What is the position of the House of Representatives on the Kogi State House of Assembly crisis?

    Kogi Assembly is a-25 member House. Five members have gone to revalidate their terms as they have issues in the court. So we have 20 members; five members sat and said they have sacked the speaker. Fifteen others are in the same place. I don’t want to dwell on technicalities. I am a member of the committee of the House of Assembly that went to Kogi State recently. We met with the Governor, Commissioner of police, director of DSS and the 15 members, but of course the other five refused to meet with us.

    But, the Nigerian Constitution is very clear, Section 11 (4) says when a state House of Assembly cannot sit for whatsoever reasons, the House of Representatives is empowered to take over the responsibilities pending the time the house can sit and make laws. Kogi state House of Assembly has not sat for three or four weeks and it is very obvious from our interaction that they are not ready to sit. And we cannot keep governance static.

    I heard some people went to court. I think some lawyers too, I sorry to say, don’t understand the provisions of the Constitutions. I watched one of their lawyers on television and I am totally disappointed. The lawyer even went further to say they stop the House of Reps from exercising their constitutional responsibility. I see that as a huge joke.

    One thing that is clear without any iota of ambiguity is that the NASS has the powers to take over the functions of the state house of assembly. We did that in the seventh assembly by taking over the Rivers state House of Assembly when a similar scenario happened.

    I appeal to elected representatives to be accountable to our people. Like I told them that we should leave the election mood and face governance. The fact that APC has not issued a statement should not be mistaken that the party is not ready for governance. May be the party wants the forces to play themselves our naturally. We are running fiscal federalism and Kogi state is an integral part of the country.

    What is your reaction to the alleged  question mark on card readers

    What we are going to do is to amend the Electoral Act to include card readers? I think that is what the Supreme Court is saying. They are talking law but you and I know that card reader was able to curb election violence in a greater deal. The Evidence Law we are using in Nigeria till about three years ago was the one of 1930s. Until we amended it in the last Assembly; the law is saying electronic evidences are not admissible in court. But we changed that in the last assembly saying that electronic evidences are admissible.

    Card readers for me, that is where the world is going. It is an issue for academic exercise. I think the judges want it in black and white that for the purposes of elections in Nigeria card readers should be used.

  • Group urges senate to legislate against cybercrime

    Group urges senate to legislate against cybercrime

    THE Chairman of Senate Committee on ICT and Cybercrime, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, has been urged to get his colleagues to come up with legislation to curb cybercrime in the country.

    The United Forum for Osun Youth said cybercrime has become a menace that has placed the country on the economic blacklist of several nations.

    The group also congratulated Buhari who is representing Oyo North senatorial district on his birthday. In a statement by the publicity secretary Saka Kikelomo, they lauded the senator for standing by the decision of his party APC in the leadership tussle of the National Assembly.

     

  • Our Girls; Media vs military; FRSC checkpoints; Legislate against ‘Insult the Citizen Month’

    Our Girls are missing since April 15th 2014. Intelligence is vital for their recovery. This is usually from a debriefing interrogation of freed captives and captured Boko Haram fighters. Are they and kidnap victims debriefed to identify their captors, locate hideouts, analyse modus operandi, trace cellphone numbers and locations and track the money trail?  Some intelligence requires to be paid for leading to opportunities for fraud among security personnel. We pray that the new offensive works. However, it is unethical of the press to prematurely reveal military strategies which must be kept under wraps until after the incident. Boko Haram follows the news giving them an opportunity for ambush, evasion and diversion. Nigeria is at war. Such details cost our soldiers their lives and can cost us the war.

    The Amnesty International Report about military atrocities is another media frenzy matter which the President will study. Human rights are the right of all Nigerians. It is difficult to justify or enforce the human rights of a suicide bomber apprehended only because the bomb failed and who promises to do it ‘properly next time’. However we Nigerians also know that our Human Rights are threatened by everyone in ‘authority’ or uniform, including the police who have again stopped checkpoints, saving the population N12-24billion/year.  The police still swoop on traffic outside their police stations and along major roads in spite of the order.

    Into the gap created by the IGP to stop checkpoints, the FRSC deserves high praise[??] as it has repeatedly proven its uninvited ability to replace the police having abandoned its primary role of ‘keeping traffic moving safely’  at traffic jam areas like on the expressway due to construction and inadequate supervision. Instead the FRSC prefers to jump into the middle of the road, at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Ijebu/ Benin turn and a point at Ogere where the FRSC can truncate your human rights to reach your destination merely by stopping you for no offence other than ‘being on the road’. Thereafter they seek an arrest-able or fine-able offence- trumped up or otherwise. There are bad eggs in the FRSC and their actions kill local and international tourism. Why should I be afraid of the FRSC every time I travel? Indeed I cut down travel not because my papers are not intact but because the FRSC has lost its way and will attempt to embarrass anyone. Travellers beware. FRSC ‘checkpoints’ are alive and well and hungry. It seems it is now a detainable offence ‘to be on the road’. The FRSC needs a new direction and requires to be reined in by President Buhari. I am tired of being stopped at Ogere. I always see three or four cars stopped by FRSC at Ogere and Ijebu turn-off.  I cannot understand why I have been stopped more than seven times by FRSC. What is this your experience?

    The Chinese are building a 57-storey building in 19 days. Our 120km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is under construction in a four years contract. President Buhari must resist the temptation to ignore this vital road, made problematic by the withdrawal of the road from World Bank contractors with an undisclosed probable ‘breach of contract’ payment by Obasanjo who passed it to Babalakin where it stagnated till Jonathan awarded it to two contractors –Julius Burger and RCC. This four-year contract, too slow, too long and too expensive, has crippled life and ‘enjoyment of the journey’ for millions frequently ‘on the road’. Uncaring contractors create malicious bottlenecks and diversions- a nightmare on Saturdays and Sundays.

    After the ‘please vote for me, I beg, I beg’, it will soon be ‘Insult The Citizen Month’ led by Internally Generated Revenue ‘Consultants’ –the time when the drive for IGR will turn politicians into rude arrogant and often stupid animals as they alienate their voters with stupid ‘No U turn’ and parking laws and excessive fines and taxes. Have you had a really outrageous bill or an insulting ‘Demand Notice’ from an agent, private or government insisting that you pay a maliciously and fictionally high figure, with too short payment times seven days to 28 days –as if you are a thief or robber; backdating for several years –before the politian even came to power; and threats of ridiculous sanctions- cumulative interest rates or sealing of premises or eviction? All these are typical in normal Nigerian customer client/ official relationships. This government must change this and REDUCE TAXES IN LAGOS. Such letters and bills deliberately destabilise you and cause you anger and anxiety from the arrogant unsupervised officials. The Nigerian citizen is not a prisoner and deserves to be treated with better respect and compassion by estate agents, tax officials, and organs of government.

    The legislature must introduce ‘Citizen/Client Protection Laws’ making it a punishable offence for government and private agencies to send stupid, insulting and enraging ‘Demand Notices’ for unimaginable ridiculously high fees, rents, etcetera. Instead they should opt for more civilised and respectful ‘Request Letters’ or ‘Expectation Letters’. ‘Anti-Outrageous Bill’  Legislation is required to enforce accountability, supervision and self-discipline in tax bodies and utility companies and thus stopping outrageous, inflated, unrealistic bills, sent to force the receiver to be corrupt, steal or  die from annoyance or blood pressure. Legislation must prevent litigants from naming ludicrous sums as damages and perhaps demand that if the litigant loses a libel case, the litigant must pay the person-sued a sum equal to 1-10% of the sum sued for defamation of character.

    ‘The Chinese are building a 57-storey building in 19 days. Our 120km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is under construction in a four years contract. President Buhari must resist the temptation to ignore this vital road, made problematic by the withdrawal of the road from World Bank contractors with an undisclosed probable ‘breach of contract’ payment by Obasanjo who passed it to Babalakin where it stagnated till Jonathan awarded it to two contractors –Julius Burger and RCC’

  • Fed Govt urged to legislate against small arms

    Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has urged the Federal Government to enact laws that will check the proliferation of small arms and light weapons now circulating across the country.

    The governor advised the Federal Government to monitor the nation’s border towns for such weapons.

    Orji spoke in Umuahia, the state capital, at a sensitisation programme organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The programme was in conjunction with the ECOWAS Commission and West African Action Network Against Small Arms (WAANASA) on: Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation, Insecurity and Integration in West Africa.

    Participants at the one-day programme included security agents, legislators, traditional rulers, youths’ leaders, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders.

    Orji, who was represented by his deputy, Sir Emeka Ananaba, wondered what constitute small and light arms.

    He asked if bow and arrows, which are used by the insurgents to perpetrate crimes across the country, could be classified with those weapons.

    The governor said the proliferation of small and light arms has become a security challenge that can result in a civil war, if left unchecked.

    Orji noted that people without proper training on the use of arms should not be allowed to carry them.

    The governor advised security agencies to always share information with one another in the fight against proliferation of small and light arms than the undue rivalry that exists among them.

    He stressed that such rivalry would divide them.

    Orji said: “There is need for the security agencies in the state to have a synergy between them, as it will help the various arms of security to cooperate to combat crime in Abia State in particular and country in general.”