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  • Create atmosphere for dialogue, reconciliation- Mark tells Nigerians

    Create atmosphere for dialogue, reconciliation- Mark tells Nigerians

    The Senate President, Sen. David Mark, has emphasised the need for Nigerians to collectively create an atmosphere for dialogue, reconciliation and forgiveness to eliminate violent crimes in the society.

    Mark made the call in his message to Nigerians as they commence this year’s Lenten season at St. Mulumba’s Catholic Chaplaincy in Abuja on Tuesday.

    In a statement by Mr.Paul Mumeh, Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Mark urged the National Conference to make concrete recommendations to the government to provide lasting solutions to burning issues.

    “I will not relent in my call that violence must be stamped out of our society. I strongly condemn the senseless killings of our people, especially innocent children and women.

    “I find it extremely difficult to understand why these violent groups would invade schools and open fire on innocent and defenceless students.

    “This is unpardonable and clearly unacceptable,” he said.

    Mark reminded politicians, ahead of the 2015 election campaigns, to practice politics without bitterness, adding that decency was required in our polity.

    “Campaign rallies must not be turned into battle grounds but rather, opportunities to articulate our programmes.

    “We are to tell our people what we have done and what we intend to do for them. We should be sincere and honest about it,” Mark said.

    He prayed that Nigerians would use the period of lent to fast, pray and be generous with the less privileged in order to make the society a better place.

    He promised that legislation by the National Assembly would always be guided by the yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry, “our legislation would always be people oriented”.

    The statement said that the Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Morro, urged Nigerians to reflect on the significance of the Lenten Season and forgive one another.

    Moro also called on Nigerians to join hands with government to find solution to the lingering security challenges being fuelled by Boko Haram insurgents.

    In his sermon, the Priest of the St. Mulumba Catholic Chaplaincy, Rev. Fr. Innocent Jooji told the congregation that Lent was a period of hope and spiritual renewal.

    “The focus of lent is on the opportunities of deepening our relationship with God and our fellow human beings irrespective of creed, social, cultural, economic and political affiliation,” he said.

  • Yobe killings: Open declaration of war on Nigerians – Mark

    Yobe killings: Open declaration of war on Nigerians – Mark

    Senate President David Mark on Wednesday condemned the gruesome murder in cold blood of students of the Federal Government College, Buni, Yadi, in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.

    Mark in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, in Abuja lamented that the insurgents have no justification to kill students who neither offended them nor committed any crime, saying that “even in war situations, children and women were always spared.”

    He described the killings as an open declaration of war on Nigerians which he said cannot be justified.

    Scores of students were brutally murdered by gunmen believed to be Boko Haram insurgents in the wee hours of Monday while asleep in their hostels.

    Mark said, “This open declaration of war on everybody especially defenseless students cannot be justified. This is inhuman, it is animalistic and barbaric. It is unthinkable that this is happening in Nigeria.

    “It is also curious that under an emergency rule when security operatives should be on red alert. This mayhem still persists. Honestly, this calls for soul searching and I believe the security authorities must rise to this challenge.”

    He sympathized with the government and people of Yobe State especially the families of the bereaved, saying that the terror is not just national but an international threat that calls for bravery on the part of every one to confront.

    Mark also condoled with the government and people of Benue State over the unabating killings in parts of the state on account of clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers.

    No fewer than 10,000 persons are said to have been displaced in Benue as a result of the clashes.

    A Mark in the message to Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam , called for peaceful coexistence and good neighborliness.

    He sympathized with the victims and requested security operatives to take appropriate measures to halt the trend in order to restore normalcy to the affected communities.

     

  • Mark to committee: Conclude work on PIB, Malabu Oil probe

    Mark to committee: Conclude work on PIB, Malabu Oil probe

    Senate President, David Mark, on Wednesday asked the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) to take steps to conclude work on the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the probe of Malabu Oil.

    This followed a Point of Order raised by Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi (Ekiti North) on the undue delay in passing the PIB and investigation into activities surrounding the sale of Malabu Oil.

    The Senate committed the PIB to its committee on Petroleum (Upstream) on March 7, 2013 for further legislative work while the probe of Malabu Oil was assigned to the same committee in July 2013.

    Adetunmbi in his Point of Order told the Senate that he was at a function where the issue of the PIB and Malabu Oil were raised.

    He said that he was asked why the Senate had not done work on the PIB and investigation into Malabu Oil.

    He noted that participants at the function insisted that the massive corruption going in the country’s oil and gas sector was as a result of none passage of the PIB.

    The lawmaker said the participants at the forum believed that the passage of the PIB will go a long way in curbing corrupt practices going on in the sector.

    Adetunmbi added, “On coming back from the conference I had to check my records and I found out that the Petroleum Industry Bill after debate was committed to the appropriate committee on Thursday March 7, 2013.

    “It will be one year next month. As it stands nothing seems to be going on about the bill.

    “The Malabu oil probe was committed to relevant committee in July 2013 about seven months ago.

    “It may interest this Senate that an international extractive agency advocacy group did a letter on July 6, 2013 to the Italian and Netherlands government requesting for public investigation of the role of companies from both countries as part of public accountability in the two countries.

    “The same letter was written to the European Union (EU).

    “The Italian, the Netherlands and EU parliament is about concluding public investigation and the outcome of the investigation will be made public very soon.

    “I think as Senators, it is a privilege that we should know what is going on so that the reputation of this parliament is not called to question.

    “This is because I fear a situation where if the report of European parliaments is reporting issues that affect our economy and our own parliament, the apex parliament in Nigeria is seen not to do what it is supposed to do one year after I believe it will affect all of us collectively.”

     

  • Senate: Attempt to declare Saraki, Abe’s seats vacant fails

    Senate: Attempt to declare Saraki, Abe’s seats vacant fails

    Attempts to declare the seats of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) vacant failed on Wednesday in the Senate.

    Senator Ita Enang (Akwa Ibom North East) through a Point of Order, asked the Senate President to declare the seats of 11 PDP Senators who wrote the Senate to announce their defection to the APC vacant.

    Enang, Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, laboured to convince the Senate President, David Mark, about the need to declare the seats of the affected Senators vacant.

    Senators Enang wanted to vacate their seats in the upper chamber included Abubakar Bukola Saraki, (Kwara Central), Magnus Abe, (Rivers South East), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), Wilson Ake (Rivers West), and Aisha Jumai Al-Hassan.

    The five Senators openly declared for the APC on the floor of the upper chamber on Tuesday.

    Like a rehearsed motion, Enang urged Mark to invoke the powers conferred on him as the Senate President to declare the seats of the defectors vacant.

    A competent source told our correspondent that the resolution to ask Mark to declare the seats of the defectors vacant was taken at the PDP Senators caucus meeting on Tuesday.

    The caucus meeting was summoned after five Senators of the ruling party openly announced their defection to the APC on Tuesday.

    The source who pleaded not to be named said that the threat to declare the seat of the affected Senators vacant was a ploy to intimidate them into dropping their defection bid.

    Enang said, “Yesterday (Tuesday) Senators Abubakar Saraki, Abdullahi Adamu, Aisha Alhassan, Magnus Abe and Wilson Ake declared on the floor of the Senate that they are no more in the PDP.

    “This is the party that sponsored them to the Senate. This is the party that owns the seats that they are sitting on.

    Mr. President I have two judgments of the court to present before this distinguished Senate to show that the seats of Senators Saraki, Aisha Alhassan, Abdullahi Adamu, Magnus Abe and Wilson Ake are vacant on the floor of the Senate and they are strangers on the floor of the Senate.”

    Before Enang could conclude his argument there was uproar in the chamber.

    When the uproar subsided, Mark gave Enang the floor once again.

    Enang continued, “I have the judgment of Justice E.S. Chukwu delivered on the 18th of October, 2013 between the PDP versus INEC, Abubakar Baraje, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and others which had declared that there is no division in the Peoples Democratic Party.”

    Another session of uproar by Senators ensued but Enang was unperturbed.

     

     

  • Saraki, Abe, Adamu, two others openly declare for APC in Senate

    Saraki, Abe, Adamu, two others openly declare for APC in Senate

    Five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators on Tuesday took the bull by the horns on the floor of the Senate.

    The PDP Senators – Abubakar Bukola Saraki, (Kwara Central), Magnus Abe, (Rivers South East), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), Wilson Ake (Rivers West),and Aisha Jumai Al-Hassan openly declared for the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the floor of the upper chamber.

    The open declaration for APC may have been informed by the refusal of the Senate President, David Mark, to read a letter signed by 11 PDP Senators informing the Senate of their defection to the APC.

    It was apparent that the open declaration of the PDP lawmakers for the APC rattled Mark.

    Each of defectors raised Point of Order to announce their defection to the opposition party.

    Proceedings on the floor of the Senate were held up for over one hour as the defectors rose to insist on the enforcement of their privilege to associate freely.

    Mark, however, relied on Senate Order 53(3) to rule the defectors out of Order.

    For Mark, the matter of defection of the Senators is in court and no reference shall be made to it according to Senate rule.

    Senator Saraki who led the group of defectors raised Order 14(a) which deals with privileges.

    Order 14 (a) says: “Privileges are the rights enjoyed by the Senate collectively and the members of the Senate individually conferred by the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act Cap 208 Laws of the Federation 1990 and other statutes, or by practice, precedent usage and custom.

    (b) “Whenever a matter of privilege arises, it shall be taken up immediately.”

    Saraki listed the names of PDP Senators who wrote the Senate to announce their defection to the APC.

    Mark told Saraki that the matter he raised is currently pending in court and the Senate shall not make reference to it.

    Mark noted that “privilege does not apply here because you were the person who went to court.”

    Saraki responded that “Presently, under Privilege I have informed the Senate that I have defected from the PDP to the APC and the matter in court is not about defection but the declaration of my seat vacant.”

    Mark said that his interpretation of the issue in court is not that of declaration of seat vacant.

     

  • Mark almost lost N45m, witness tells court

    Mark almost lost N45m, witness tells court

    An Abuja High Court heard yesterday how three men allegedly attempted to withdraw N45 million from a bank account belonging to Senate President David Mark after forging his signature.

    The three – Emeka Ukor, Anthony Uzonwanne and Babayemi Bukola – were said to have forged Mark’s signature on a former FinBank (now FCMB) cheque, which they allegedly attempted to cash in one of the bank’s branches in Abuja.

    A prosecution witness and official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Benedict Agweye, spoke yesterday when he testified at the resumed hearing in the trail of the three accused persons.

    The EFCC is prosecuting the accused on a seven-count charge of conspiracy and forgery.

    Agweye, who was led in evidence by prosecution lawyer, Shata Jamila, said the FinBank cheque with which the accused attempted to withdraw money from Mark’s account was forged.

    The witness said he arrived at the conclusion after carrying out a series of forensic analyses on the document.

    The EFCC official explained that on receipt of the forged former FinBank’s cheque and the specimen of the genuine cheque, he began a detailed analysis, including the simulation of the signatures to identify the characteristics in the disputed signature and the signature of the original owner of the account.

    Agweye said a stereomicroscopic analysis was conducted on the documents to identify the microscopic characteristics in the signatures not normally observable with the ordinary eye.

    He explained that a spectral analysis was also carried out on the documents using the foster and freeman VSC 5000.

    This, he added, was done to enable side-by-side comparison of the documents under magnification and to also identify areas of obliteration and alteration in the disputed FinBank cheque and the known specimen.

    The result of the analyses, Agweye said, showed that the author of the known specimen signature was not the author of the disputed cheque leaflet.

    The matter was adjourned till March 10 for the continuation of the hearing.

    Emeka, Anthony and Babayemi were arrested following a complaint from the Senate President that the accused conspired and forged a cheque leaflet allegedly belonging to defunct FinBank on August 28, 2009, in an attempt to fraudulently withdraw N45 million from his account.

    A count in the charge reads: “That you, Emeka Ukor, Anthony Uzonwanne and Babayemi Bukola, on or about October 5, 2009, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory fraudulently moved a FinBank of Nigeria Plc cheque No. 00684074 on August 28, 2009, drawn in favour of Aeromagnetic Fishers Limited on the account of Brig.-Gen. David Mark (rtd) N45,000,000 with the intention of taking the said cheque dishonestly out of possession of the said Brig.-Gen. David Mark (rtd), and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 286 (1) of the Penal Code Act cap.532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990 and punishable under section 287 of the same Act.”

  • Mark in a fix as pressure grows over 11 senators

    Mark in a fix as pressure grows over 11 senators

    Senate President David Mark did not read on the floor the letter written by the 11 senators who dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) for six tactical reasons, The Nation learnt last night.

    Mark, who is said to be in a fix, plans to meet with the Senators on Monday to weigh some options on managing the situation . The reason, it was said, is to avoid a crisis in the Senate.

    Mark is under pressure from majority of the Senators and the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to invoke Section 68(1) (g) and (h) of the 1999 Constitution to declare vacant the seats of the senators, until a court decides otherwise.

    According to the PDP camp’s plot, which The Nation reported exclusively yesterday, the 11 vacancies would be declared as soon as the letter is read at the plenary.

    There are also plans to engage the police and other security agencies to prevent the senators from either entering the premises of the National Assembly or participating in the Senate’s activities.

    But there were fears last night that such a drastic action could lead to a serious crisis, which could ground the Senate.

    According to sources, Mark offered to stay action on the letter for six reasons. The reasons are:

    •the yet-to-be considered report of the Ayo Akinyelure’s Senate Ad Hoc Committee on the defection of Senator Ajayi Robert Boroffice from Labour Party (LP) to APC;

    •likely ethnic backlash from the North, which is mostly affected by the defection;

    •pressure from PDP, which would make him (Mark) a partisan leader;

    •attendant disunity in the Senate;

    •the long-standing relationship between him ( Mark) and the affected Senators; and

    •the international implication of wielding the big stick on 11 Senators on democracy.

    Mark is said to have been consulting on available options beyond the brief from the PDP.

    It was learnt that the need to explore all options informed the “tactical method” adopted in managing the letter and in fixing a meeting for Monday with the 11 senators.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Mark is in a fix because he does not want to invoke to invoke Section 68(1) (g) and (h) of the 1999 Constitution to declare the seats of the 11 affected Senators vacant and create a crisis in the Senate.

    “Yet, he is under pressure from PDP and most PDP senators, who are desirous of staving off the heat from the opposition coalition, the APC.

    “What has created a dilemma was the report of the Ayo Akinyelure Ad Hoc Committee on the defection of Senator Ajayi Boroffice from the Labour Party to APC. Some of the defecting Senators condemned Boroffice and agreed in principle that his seat should be declared vacant by Mark.

    “The report, which has been submitted to the Senate is still awaiting consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

    “So, there is agitation from PDP senators to consider the report and adopt the same sanction for the 11 senators. By implication, 12 seats of APC senators would be declared vacant in one day.

    “There is no way APC will take this from Mark and it might lead to different court injunctions which could ground the Senate.”

    Another senator said: “Mark is being careful because if he declares the seats of the 11 senators vacant, it will reawaken North-South conflict in the Senate. Out of the 11 Senators, nine are from the North, including the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Umaru Dahiru.

    “Being from a minority state in the North, Mark might be seen as pursuing anti-Hausa/Fulani agenda or anti-Muslim agenda.

    “Declaring the seats of the Senators vacant would also confirm that Mark is acting President Goodluck Jonathan’s script. With the 2015 polls already assuming the colour of religion, the Senate will be the worst for it.”

    Another Senator expressed fears that a crisis in the Senate might have “fatal consequences” on the nation’s democracy.

    “Once there is commotion in the Senate, which is the livewire of our democracy, the prediction that Nigeria might be a failed state in 2015 will manifest,” he said, pleading not to be named.

    “Those whose seats have been declared vacant would not lie low and anarchy might set in. It will get to a stage that the Senate will now choose which order of the court it will obey.

    “And a crisis in the Senate will go viral internationally. Mark and a few of us are looking at the issue beyond the PDP-APC bitter politics. We are considering the bigger picture,” he added.

    A PDP Senator said: “If Mark declares the seats of the 11 senators, some of whom he respects or relates with at interpersonal level, he will be regarded as partisan and might lose his rating as a national figure.

    “Some of us in PDP do not mind whatever toga Mark is robed because there is a constitutional provision to support his action. A court has pronounced that there is no crisis in PDP; therefore, there is no basis for defection by any senator from the ruling party to APC.”

    An APC senator, however, criticised the arguments to support the declaration of the 11 senators’s seats vacant.

    He said: “It will be subjudice to declare the seat of any defecting senator vacant because there is a case in court. And the Senate has a tradition of respecting the Judiciary by staying action on any matter before the court.

    “To avoid anarchy, Mark should leave the court to determine the fate of the senators. Some people in PDP are deceiving him that heaven will not fall, if the seats are declared vacant, but he should think of posterity.

    “If there is no crisis in PDP, why did the party change its National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur? Why did five governors defect to APC? Even President Goodluck Jonathan admitted in his speech at the PDP NEC meeting that the party was in crisis.

    “The judgment of the court which made a pronouncement that there was no crisis in PDP is also being challenged at the appellate court.”

    It was learnt that the options available to Mark at the Monday meeting with the 11 senators are:

    • read the letter and declare 12 seats (including Boroffice’s) vacant;

    • allow Committee of the Whole to take a decision on Akinyelure Committee’s report before declaring the seats vacant;

    • raise a fresh committee on the defection of the 11 senators to bid time and avoid anarchy;

    • review the status of existing cases on defection in court and defer to the ongoing processes;

    • keep the Senate united by leaving constituents of the affected 11 senators or aggrieved Nigerians to go to court and abide by any judgment; and

    • give a waiver to the APC senators with a commitment to avoid any blockade of Executive Bills or any shutdown of the government.

    One of the 11 Senators said: “We will meet with Mark on Monday and see the options he will table. They have forgotten that the APC is a struggle for change in the country, not a pursuit of personal aggrandisement.

    “If our seats are declared vacant, we will regain them through judicial process, no matter how tortuous. Were governors not impeached under the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo without due process? Didn’t the court reinstate governors like Joshua Dariye and Rashidi Ladoja?

    “It is left to Mark to rise above partisan interest and stand up to be counted at the right moment. If we leave the Senate in February 2014, Mark and others’ tenure will end in May or June 2015. Is there no life outside the Senate? Now that PDP is under heat, it has found solace in Section 68(1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution. There is certainly a battle ahead.”

    Section 68(1) (g) and (h) reads in part: “A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if… “Being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected;

    “Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored; or

    “The President of the Senate or as the case may be, the Speaker of the House of Representatives receives a certificate under the hand of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission stating that the provisions of Section 69 of this constitution have been complied with in respect of the recall of that member.”

  • Service Chiefs’ confirmation scale first hurdle amid protest

    The confirmation of four Service Chiefs nominated by President Goodluck Jonathan almost ran into a hitch on Thursday following observation of alleged procedural error in the nomination.

    Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, had prayed the Senate to consider the request of Mr. President for the confirmation of nominees for appointment as Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs for the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in accordance with Section 18(1) of the Armed Forces Act, cap. A.20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

    Ndoma-Egba ,who read from the Senate Order Paper listed Air Marshall Alex Badeh (Chief of Defence Staff), Major General Kenneth Minimah (Chief of Army Staff), Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin (Chief of Naval Staff) and Air Vice Marshall Adesola Amosu (Chief of Air Staff) as those Jonathan requested the Senate to confirm for their various positions.

    The Senate Leader had hardly sat down when Senator Kabiru Gaya (Kano South) raised a point of Order.

    Gaya said that President Jonathan did not follow due process in the nomination of the Service Chiefs.

    He noted that there was a subsisting judicial pronouncement which mandated Mr. President to consult the Senate before Service Chiefs could be nominated.

    He said that it was obvious that “Mr. President did not consult the Senate before the new crops of Service Chiefs were nominated.”

    The lawmaker added that he was aware that the new Service Chiefs have already assumed duty without any input by the Senate.

    Gaya wondered what would happen if any of the nominated Service Chiefs fail Senate screening.

    The Kano State lawmaker insisted that “this matter is in court and there is a judgment on this matter.”

    Before other Senators could contribute, Senate President, David Mark, said that President Jonathan had merely announced the names of nominated Service Chiefs.

    Mark said that the nominees have neither been inaugurated nor decorated by Mr. President.

    He added that the nominee Service Chiefs could only be decorated when they were screened and confirmed by the National Assembly.

     

  • Mark urges FG, ASUU to implement agreement

    Mark urges FG, ASUU to implement agreement

    Senate President, David Mark, on Thursday urged both the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to respect the agreement that culminated in the suspension of the six months old industrial action in order to avoid a repeat of the unfortunate saga in future.

    Mark spoke when the President of ASUU, Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge, his Vice, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi and his predecessors, Dipo Fashina and Dr. Abdullahi Sule-Kano visited him in Abuja.

    He advised that the N200billion education fund lodged with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the purpose of addressing the ills in the universities should be used judiciously to curb the defects.

    He urged them to do all that is required to return education to its former glory.

    The Senate president restated that education remains the bedrock of any nation that must not be compromised or toiled with.

    Mark was quoted in the statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, as saying that “Education is the foundation of any development. No nation toils with the education of its citizens. We must make our education strong and functional. We must strive to lay a solid foundation for our future.”

    He sympathized with ASUU on the death of its former President, Prof. Festus Iyayi and canvassed for a qualitative education as a mark of respect for the late Iyayi.

    Mark said wide consultation and dialogue remains the best approach to any disagreement.

    Constant dialogue is the antidote to industrial dispute, he said.

    Fagge thanked the Senate for the mediation that led to the end of the strike.

     

  • Mark seeks professionalism in aviation sector

    Mark seeks professionalism in aviation sector

    Senate President, David Mark, on Friday lamented the incessant mishaps in the aviation sector.

     

    Mark spoke when the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, visited him in company of the newly elected President of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliyu.

    He urged the minister and other stakeholders in the aviation sector to rise up to the challenges in the industry and to ensure that the international standard of operation is complied with.

    He noted the challenges facing the Nigerian Aviation sector but pointed out that they are surmountable.

    He added that professionalism must be brought to bear in order to address the turbulence in the sector and make the industry safe and secured.

    Mark said in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, in Abuja said: “Aviation industry in Nigeria must meet international standard. You cannot lead such a global body if your own house is not good enough. The current turbulence in the aviation industry should not be a permanent feature. It should be resolved as quickly as possible so that we can guarantee safety in the industry.

    “In other climes, they also have challenges, mechanical or otherwise, but they have the capability and capacity to resolve them quickly. This is how it should be and not waiting for months or years to resolve them.”

    He specifically charged Aliyu to demonstrate leadership and represent Nigeria creditably because whatever “you do positively or negatively would ultimately affect the nation.”