The Nation Newspaper

Tag: national assembly

  • It is time we storm this bastille

    For those who may not know, I did not start writing about the National Assembly, the senate in particular, only after Senator Bukola Saraki sold off his party’s victory in the 2015 legislative elections and bastardised every known democratic ethos by gifting  the  opposition PDP  that which rightly belongs  to the party  with the majority in the Red chamber, that is, the Senate Deputy Presidency. The article below, which will be the penultimate one of  the articles I promised in my column of Sunday, 22, April 2018, was first published, Sunday, June 12, 2011. It read as follows:

    In what will tantamount to a  contradiction of no mean  proportion, it is time Nigerians storm the National Assembly if its  members chose to continue  in their practice of  what Chief  Wole Olanipekun, former  NBA Chairman, recently. appropriately described as a ‘criminal dehydration of the country’s economy’. But first, a word about the original storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789, and why it will be such a shame were the National Assembly to  let it happen here in Nigeria. The Storming of the Bastille occurred in Paris, 14 July 1789. The medieval prison, known as the Bastille, typified royal authority in the heart of Paris,  comparable to the National Assembly at Abuja. While the prison had only seven inmates at the time of its storming, its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution for which reason, Le quatorze juillet (14 July) is celebrated annually in France as a  public holiday.

    During the reign of Louis XVI, France faced  a major economic  crisis arising out of her  intervention in the American Revolution  but was exacerbated by a regressive system of taxation. On 5 May 1789, the Estates- General convened to deal with  the issue but was held back by archaic protocols of the Second Estate,  consisting of  the nobility which was only 2% of France’s population at the time. On 17 June 1789, the Third Estate, with its  representatives drawn from the middle class, or the bourgeoisie, reconstituted themselves as the National  Assembly; a body whose purpose was the creation of a French constitution. The king initially opposed it, but was forced to acknowledge  the authority of the assembly  which subsequently renamed itself the National Constituent  Assembly on 9 July. The storming of the Bastille and the subsequent Declaration of The Rights of Man was the third event of the opening stages of  the French revolution, the first being the revolt of the nobility, refusing to pay taxes, the second, the formation of the National Assembly and  third,  the Tennis Court Oath. The  crowd, on the authority of the Assembly, broke open the prisons of the Abbaye  to  release some grenadiers of the French guards who had been imprisoned for refusing to fire on the people. That event, which was instigated by the National Constituent Assembly, the equivalent of our gluttonous National  Assembly, gave mankind the now rhapsodized Storming Of

    The Bastile. Our  National Assembly members are, therefore, standing history on the head by their anti – people actions, rather  than being on the side of the hoi polloi.

    Nigerians must,  therefore, be seized of the following facts. They must know, exactly, what the National Assembly is doing to poor Nigerians who are pleading to be paid, timely, a meager N18, 000.00  for 30 days’ grueling work. When, during  the past week, the EFCC finally caught up with Dimeji Bankole, the erstwhile Speaker of the  House, Nigerians came to know that together with the House leadership, the House of Representatives has been borrowing, illegally, for  un-appropriated purposes. In their defence, we learnt that  the following new  allowances were approved  at an executive session on  March 30, 2010 : Speaker, N100m ,Deputy Speaker, N80m, House Leader, N60m,  Deputy House Leader, N57.5m, Chief Whip, N55m, Deputy Chief Whip, N54.5m, Minority  Leader, N54.5m, Minority Whip, N50m, Deputy Minority Leader, N50m Deputy Minority Whip, N50m’.

    For what job,  Nigerians should  ask?

    They also agreed payment of outstanding allowances dating back to 1999 – 2007, all from un-authorised funds .To  meet these unilaterally approved emoluments, since the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, knew nothing about them, the leadership of  the House resorted to borrowing. First it was a  N2.5billion loan from  the  National Assembly, then another NI.5 billion from the Senate  Committee on Appropriation, followed by N6 billion from  diverse sources; all by a body  well aware that nobody is authorized to spend unappropriated funds  and in spite of protests from the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly -impunity, if ever there was one.  The  Clerk’s negative reaction caught no ice with the House leadership which  further sourced the N6 billion loan all of which they decreed should be  included in the 2011 budget as if that was the norm in civilized climes.  Very  deliberately, this House of cards was luxuriating in illegality with their  eyes wide open just because they must live big. (In retrospect, this, incidentally,  is the same National Assembly now grandstanding, claiming it wants to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari for spending some money from the Excess Crude Account, as if any PDP President ever approached the National Assembly before dipping their itchy hands in the Excess Crude Account, withdrawing billions of dollars  most of which ended up being stolen)

    Much earlier, The NIGERIAN VILLAGE  SQUARE had commented on the huge salaries and allowances which  the  kleptomaniacs allocated to themselves . “Comparative analysis, it said, reveals the scale of the legislators’ unrealistic  earnings. While an Indian lawmaker earns $23,988 (N3.7m) , a Nigerian senator  earns about $1.2m (N182m)  and a  House  member, N127m per annum. Nigeria has a meagre per capita income of  $2,249 compared  to  America’s $46,350, yet that did not stop the Nigerian  legislator from earning more than his American counterpart.  A U.S congress man earns $174,000 per annum. But the last known Nigerian senator’s pay was N240m, while a House  member earned N203.8m.  These have since been revised upwards”. Continuing, the Nigerian Village Square observed further that “the  national minimum wage of N18,000, being rebuffed by many states for  no  fault of theirs but because of  an iniquitous revenue  sharing formula, is difficult to pay because our  Abuja fat cats must literally take everything”. The minimum wage, says the web site, represents  just 0.13 per cent of a senator‘s salary.  Using their old earnings as  the bench mark, a  minimum wage earner will need to work for at least  777 years to earn a senator‘s N182m annual pay. Further breakdown indicates  that a senator earns N498, 630. 137 a day, N20, 776.28 per hour and N346.270 per minute.  In other words, a senator’s daily pay is  twice the annual  pay of the minimum wage earner.  A senator’s hourly pay is also more than the monthly pay of the minimum. Similarly, minimum wage is just 0.18 per  cent of a member of the House of Representatives’ pay. A minimum wage earner  will need to work for at least 542 years to earn the N127m annual salary of a  member of the House of Representatives”, it concluded.

    And how many  Nigerians are we talking about?  469  out of 140 million. Nigerians have written and spoken more than enough on this  and it is time the people take the bull by the horns.  With PDP’s huge numerical superiority in the assembly but being mostly,  a booty-sharing rally of rent seekers, Nigerians would have to checkmate this  policy of ‘monkey dey work, baboon they chop’, by themselves. Concerned individuals must now call attention to this unbelievable aberration just like Chief Olanipekun has done, and stop it by whatever means possible. Students, market women, professionals, artisans and ordinary Nigerians  must spring up eternal, to draw needed  attention to this totally abhorrent behaviour. Failure to get any respite by  the legislators drastically reducing their  earnings,  Nigerians may have to call on the Nigerian Labour  Congress to take the lead on behalf of the people.

    We must chase them out.

     

  • NASS to work for improved welfare for workers – Saraki

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki Tuesday saluted the resilience, dedication and contributions of Nigeria workers to national development.

    Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja, also described workers as the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.

    “They (workers) form the bedrock on which the building blocks of any sustained national development can be laid,” he said.

    He called on the Workers to continue to put in their best in any sector they find themselves, saying that their efforts shall never be in vain.

    Saraki also promised that the National Assembly under his leadership will support all efforts aimed at ensuring workers are adequately rewarded and well catered for.

    “There can be no economic growth without the contribution of workers and there can be no national development without economic development,” Saraki said. “Our workers play crucial roles in all we attain as a nation and that fact needs to be recognized always.”

    He added: “On this Workers’ Day 2018 celebrations, I salute all Nigerian workers for their sacrifice and resilience in the face of dwindling economic fortunes.

    “What they put in daily to ensure that the ship of state continues to run is tremendous when considered holistically and I want to urge them not to relent in their efforts to help grow the economy in particular and the National in general. The National Assembly will always support all efforts geared towards improving their remuneration and General conditions of service and living.

    “Workers represent the mainstay of our economy because without them there could be no economic activity of any kind, whether online or offline, digital or manual.”

    He however called on workers’ unions to always toe the path of peace and dialogue in making their demands, as both employers and employees need one another to succeed.

    “There can be no development without peace and anything done in the pursuit of peace is often good in the national interest,” he said.

    Read Also: ‘NASS to overhaul security arrangements’ – NASS Spokesman

  • Workers to FG: Prioritise review of minimum wage

    A cross section of workers in Abuja has called on the Federal Government to prioritize the upward review of the national minimum wage, to promote productivity and national growth.

    The workers made the call in separate interviews with our reporters on Tuesday in Abuja, on the sideline of activities to commemorate the 2018 Workers Day.

    May Day or Labour Day is observed as public holiday in many countries worldwide, including Nigeria, in celebration of workers.

    They said that the call for the government to prioritise the minimum wage review had become necessary because of the delay in the implementation of the new minimum wage.

    A worker, Mr Sunday Onojah, said that the national minimum wage law prohibited employers to hire workers for less than a given hourly, daily or monthly take home pay.

    Onojah, a staff of the Ministry of Trade and Investment, said that workers would be grateful to President Muhammadu Buhari, if he fulfilled his promise on the issue of minimum wage.

    According to Onojah, if the president can consider workers’ plights and ensure upward review of the minimum wage, it will go a long way to ameliorate the suffering of workers.

    “If that is done, we will be very grateful to him and continue to pray for him.”

    A female worker, who pleaded anonymity, urged the government to harmonise workers take home pay, to ensure equal opportunity for them across the country.

    “I want the government to pay us what it pays staff of the National Assembly (NASS) because they are not using their own money,” she said.

    Similarly, Mr Christian Ojabo urged the government to honour its promise to implement a new minimum wage by September, to boost productivity in the work place.

    He said the N18, 000 minimum wage was long overdue for review and urged the government to act promptly to improve the economic well-being of workers.

    Ojabo urged the government to keep to its promise and ensure prompt review before the end of the year.

    “We will be very happy if that is done, because it will reduce our sufferings with the lingering economic and domestic challenges.”

    Also, Mr Ibahim Olatunji commended the government for agreeing to pay a new minimum wage, but advised that concrete steps should be taken to achieve the target.

    He said that although the government had promised to review the national minimum wage by the third quarter of the year, it should put measures in place to ensure effective implementation and curb inflation.

    According to Olatunji, the government needs to do the needful, since the agreement was that every five years the minimum wage will be reviewed.

    “It is over five years since the minimum wage was reviewed to N18, 000, therefore, if workers are asking for upward review, the government should not drag feet, but implement the policy.”

    Also speaking,  Mr Abdulwaheed Omar, a former President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), urged the government to always implement the law on regular review of the national minimum wage to promote national growth.

    He recalled that the minimum wage was due for review in 2015 and urged the government to put measures in place to achieve the desire goal.

    According to him, the law provides that the minimum wage should be reviewed every five years; the law was established to address issues faced by workers.

    “I think the cause for review of the national minimum is welcome; it is just that it is almost belated, the issue of minimum wage is an aspect of our law; it is now part of our law in Nigeria.

    “It is not something that government should wait until NLC threatens to embark on strike before it sets up committee; it is about the law that should be respected,” Omar said.

  • This  8th National Assembly

    So much has happened in the National Assembly these past two weeks that you are again  reminded that had President Buhari  not invested unbelievable faith in the integrity of  politicians, thereby believing he could work with just about anybody since ‘he was for everybody’ and believed, rather naively though, that everybody was for him; has Senator Bukola Saraki, crushed up for hours in the smallest of cars on the National Assembly premises all in a determined effort to selfishly sell off his party’s victory to the opposition, and had the Oyegun –led NEC of APC  not played sissy, allowing a  man who should have been promptly expelled, ride roughshod over the party,  the storm in a tea cup presently consuming the national Assembly could never  have happened.  The National Assembly has proved completely rudderless. When its members are not disrespecting the judiciary, ‘tearing to pieces’ the decision of a court of competent jurisdiction which said it has no powers to suspend a member, thus denying his/her constituents representation in the national assembly  against the provisions of Nigerian constitution, they are sabre rattling, claiming they want to impeach the President.

    And why would they do that? They will because, taking advantage of a window of opportunity  from the U.S, the President, concerned and worried about the crippling insecurity in the country,  decided to quickly buy some helicopters which the Americans have flatly refused to sell to Nigeria in the past 5 or more years. To do that, the President had spent from the 1B U.S dollars which the council of state had supported to be withdrawn from the excess crude account to facilitate the army’s war against Boko Haram.  But our almighty lords, the kabiyesis of the National Assembly, would hear none of this having become, in every sense, a bastion of the PDP – no thanks to Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    Granted that it is the function of the National Assembly to appropriate expenses, a serious legislature, concerned with the state of  insecurity in the country, would only have  merely drawn the President’s attention to this lacuna and move on. But for them this otherwise simple matter  must  be given a life of its own since most APC members  are  now believed to be practically out of the party but lacking the decency, and the guts, to quit right away.

    These shenanigans naturally reminded me of a series of articles I did on these pages, a long time ago, predicting that rather than cooperate with the President Buhari government, the Saraki- led National Assembly is guaranteed to constitute the greatest albatross to the President’s efforts to fulfill his promises to Nigerians.

    I shall be publishing some of the articles commencing from today.

    The Saraki – APC Fiasco and its implications for Buhari’s anti-corruption war (First Published 18 June, 2015)

    A fiasco is defined as a humiliating failure; some effort that went quite wrong or a wine bottle in a straw jacket. For me this is precisely what the shebang at the National Assembly represents for the APC.  Truth be told, my initial reaction to Bukola Saraki emerging the Senate President was: Yes, if a Tambuwal, why not a Saraki? Nor was that a flight of fancy because I believe, and still do, that he was as qualified as any member to  be the Senate President considering his contribution to the emergence of the party. It should not be difficult to remember who heads the political camp to which Abubakar Kawu Baraje, who led the walk out from the PDP Abuja mini- congress on Saturday, August 31, 2013 belongs, nor the fact that Senator Saraki brought a whole state with him into the party.  However, all these thoughts were shredded when it became known that out of desperation, he allegedly permitted his coronation to be, not only instigated, but funded,  by  a gang of  PDP  treasury looters and their cousins, the oil subsidy rogues, all of who are eager to hamstring the anti-corruption war President Buhari promised Nigerians so they can again escape justice through the  machinations of the  now totally rudderless Efcc.  They have since been on a celebration binge. It is galling, if not puke-inducing,  that in his political alchemy, Saraki thought nothing of selling his party cheap by accommodating Ike Ekweremadu, a PDP senator, as Deputy Senate President.

    The Saraki shenanigan becomes more nauseating the more we come to learn of the horrendous corruption of the Jonathan administration. For instance, President Buhari is expected to meet the leading global watchdog on corruption, the Oslo-based, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI),  very soon to see how billions of dollars in the Nigerian oil revenue leakage can be curbed. According to Zainab Ahmed, the Executive Secretary of its Nigerian arm, over $7.5 billion is yet to be recovered from oil and gas companies since 1999, while the agency’s audits show that  $11.6 billion of dividends between 1999 and 2012 from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) company were not remitted by the NNPC whose oil swap deals have been discovered to be more of scams.

    And that is only in the oil sector.

    As you read this, millions of Nigerian workers, in at least 23 of Nigeria’s 36 states, have not been paid their salaries for over six months. It therefore becomes extremely agonising that Bukola Saraki, a leading light of a party elected almost solely on its promise to fight corruption could, out of overaching ambition, go into an unholy alliance with these mandarins of corruption. Nigerians must now brace up for all manner of opposition from the National Assembly to the Buhari government’s efforts to kill corruption  a demonstration of which we may soon see during the President’s attempt to re-energise Efcc. Saraki, of course, knows that something must give but if he thinks he would succeed in thwarting the hopes of Nigerians,  then I have news for him. It’s even nice that he showed his hands, and what manner of National Assembly  he intends to lead, early.

    In the article: ‘It Is Time We Storm This Bastille’, (Sunday,12th June, 2011), I wrote as follows on then immediate past Bankole-led House of Representatives: “When in the past week the EFCC finally caught up with the erstwhile Speaker of the House, Nigerians came to know that the Speaker, together  with the House leadership, had been borrowing illegally for un-appropriated purposes. In their defence we came to learn that the following new  allowances were approved  at an executive session on March 30, 2010 : Speaker N100m, Deputy Speaker N80m, House Leader N60m, Deputy House Leader N57.5m, Chief Whip N55m, Deputy Chief Whip N54.5m, Minority Leader  N54.5m, Minority Whip N50m, Deputy Minority Leader N50m, Deputy Minority Whip N50m’.  For what job you would you say!  They also agreed payment of outstanding allowances dating way back to 1999 – 2007; all from un-authorised funds.”

    Not only  are these allowances probably much higher today, with Saraki as Senate President, President Buhari is guaranteed a monstrous fight to reduce this highest pay to political representatives anywhere in the world, Britain and the U .S inclusive. I then concluded by saying that we, the people, must storm the National Assembly and chase them back to their villages or to gaol. Already, even before the ink on the signatures of members  of the 8th Assembly could dry, they are  now expecting alerts from their banks announcing their respective share of a humongous N8.4 Billion ward robe allowance as if they have been going naked all their lives.

    How unconscionable can they get?

    No wonder a highly perceptive Dr DAVID KURANGA has suggested that “ if President Buhari  is going to have any success in unravelling the complex and heavily entrenched corrupt interests in Nigeria, he is going to have to successfully tackle and overcome far more difficult opponents than the Saraki allies who just bested his party in the National Assembly”. This is very true because their ambition to eat Nigeria raw is collective and party blind.  Therefore, for President Buhari to succeed, and for Nigerians to be free from these predators – the Deputy House Speaker, Lasun Yusuff, is already quoted as defending their utterly callous N150 Billion budget in a dying economy – Kuranga concludes that President Buhari, and of course, the party, should treat the senate leadership as a political insurgency until they surrender and resign from their positions and that Nigerians just must say no to a political class riding roughshod on their well-being.

    Otherwise, it will be a promise of change deferred.

  • APC may wade in Buhari, NASS feud

    Shifts National Convention

     

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) is to wade into the feud between the Executive arm of government and its members in the National Assembly in the interest of the nation’s nascent democracy and in the interest of the party and the nation.

    Although the party said it does not have any position yet in the motion moved on Thursday by Senator  Mathew A. Urhoghide to impeach the President, National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said that it will continue to play its role to ensure that whatever needed to be done to ensure stability of the system is done.

    He said “The party has no position at this time because it is a party thing. So, the party does not have a position on that. Don’t forget that the National Assembly is not, are up of APC alone.

    “Our role is that we will have to continue to ensure that whatever we need to do to maintain stability in the system will have to be done.

    “That is the role we have continued to play and in the context of this development as well, we will immediately begin to make initiatives to lease between our own caucus in the National Assembly and the Executive to ensure that whatever is the issue between the two arms of government and our party members are concern are immediately resolved in the interest of stability, in the interest of the country and in the interest of the party as well as in the interest of our democracy.”

    Meanwhile, the part has shifted its elective national convention which is supposed to

    Produce a new leadership for the party to a yet to be announced date, but which the party says will be in July.

    The convention was earlier scheduled to hold in Abuja on 14th May and the shift in date may not be unconnected with the observations made by the governors of the part that the timetable for the party congresses and national convention was too tight.

    Also affected in the shift in date is the party congress from the ward to the state level.

    Abdullahi said in a short statement made available to newsmen in Abuja that ward congresses will not hold on the 5th of May, while local government and state congresses will now hold on the 12th and 19th May respectively.

  • Court voids reordering of elections sequence by National Assembly

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has voided a new provision in the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

    The bill was recently passed by the National Assembly to reverse the sequence of the conduct of the 2019 elections earlier announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In a judgment on yesterday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed held that the powers to organise, conduct and fix dates for elections resides only with INEC by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution.

    Justice Mohammed said the passage of the bill, seeking to alter the election time-table was a breach of the constitution and the doctrine of separation of powers.

    The judgement was on the suit by the Accord Party (AP), challenging the legitimacy of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018, to which President Muhammadu Buhari declined to assent.

    The judge resolved the sole issue he identified for determination in favour of the plaintiff.

    The AP approached the court to determine: “Whether the 1st defendant was justified in law in passing the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, which Bill sought to reverse the sequence or time table of the 2019 general elections already issued and published by the 3rd defendant.”

    The judge agreed with the plaintiff’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), that it is the sole responsibility of the 3rd defendant to conduct elections into the various offices mentioned above.

    He added that in doing so, the 3rd defendant has the power of determining the sequence of the elections including fixing date for same.

    The judge said: “I am left with no doubt that, in passing the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, the 1st defendant was in clear breach of the provision of Paragraph 15(a) of the 3rd Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    “In this regard, I find comfort in the interpretation of Paragraph 15(a) of the 3rd Schedule to the Constitution given in the case of NDP vs. INEC (supra) to the effect that INEC, the 3rd defendant in this case, has the constitutional responsibility of organising and conducting an election, and to that effect, it can issue time table and it can also decide when election will hold.

    “Now, since the 3rd defendant has already fixed the dates for the 2019 elections, it is the only body that can change the dates.

    “The attempt made by the 1st defendant in passing 2xhibit 1 (the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018) after the 3rd defendant has issued Exhibit 2 (the time table earlier released by INEC for the 2019 elections) in clear and obvious breach of Paragraph 15(a) of the 3rd Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

    “I find the decision of the Court of Appeal in Musa vs. INEC (2002) 11 NWLR Part 778 page 223 and 296 paragraph C.

    “Flowing from the above pronouncement, the power given to 3rd defendant in Paragraph 15(a) of the 3rd Schedule to the Constitution to organise and conduct. Elections in Nigeria, including fixing dates for such elections cannot be taken away by amendment purported to be done by the 1st defendant in the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018.”

    Justice Mohammed said his court has the power to set aside or nullify any Act or Bill of the 1st defendant that contravene the provision of Constitution.

    He noted that as at when the National Assembly purportedly passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018, INEC had issued and published the time table and schedule of activities for the 2019 elections.

    The judge explained: “In issuing the time table, the 3rd defendant was carrying out an executed function. By trying to stop or reverse the decision of the 3rd defendant, the 1rts defendant was clearly in breach of the principle of separation of powers embodied in sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Constitution

    “Furthermore, the 1ts defendant’s conduct, being in breach of Section 1(3) of the 1999 Constitution, it follows therefore that Section 25 of the 2l electoral Act Amandment Bill 2018 which is the section that contravened the Constitution is hereby declared a nullity.”

    Justice Mohammed answered all the questions raised the suit for determination in favour of the plaintiff and granted all the reliefs by the sought plaintiff, except 11(1) which sought to restrain President Muhammadu Buhari from asserting to the Bill.

    The judge noted that granting such prayer was no longer necessary since the President has already declined signing the Bill.

    “I hereby resolve all the questions formulated in the originating summons in favour of the plaintiff. Consequently, I hereby grant reliefs 1 to 10 and 11(2 of the plaintiff’s originating summons,” the judge said.

    Before determining the main suit, the judge earlier dismissed the preliminary objection filed by the National Assembly (1st defendant) in which they argued among others that the suit was not justiciable, that the plaintiff were without the requisite locus standi and that the suit was academic.

    Justice Mohammed disagreed with the 1st defendant on all the grounds raised in the preliminary objection.

    The reliefs granted by Justice Mohammed include:

    • A declaration that the 3rd defendant is the only body and or institution constitutionally vested with powers, vires and duties to organise, undertake and supervise elections to the offices of the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governor and Deputy Governor of a state, membership of the Senate and House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each state of the federation, including fixing or assigning days for the elections and the sequence of same.
    • A declaration that the legislative powers vested in the 1st defendant by the Constitution do not empower or imbue it with the right, liberty or authority to pass or purport to pass any Bill into law, which attempts to interfere with or undermine the independence of the 3rd defendant as guaranteed by the content, spirit and tenure of the Constitution.
    • A declaration that the legislative powers vested in the 1st defendant by the Constitution do not empower or imbue it with the right, liberty or authority to control or dictate to the 3rd defendant the way and manner it should organise, undertake and supervise elections to the offices of the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the governor and deputy governor of a state, membership of the Senate and House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each state of the federation, including fixing the sequence and dates for the elections.
    • A declaration that the Electoral Act Amendment Bill (2018) passed by the 1st defendant, particularly Clause 25 thereof, which directs, commands and mandates the 3rd defendant to follow a particular sequence for the conduct of elections into the offices the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the governor and deputy governor of a state, membership of the Senate and House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each state of the federation, as provided in the said amendment, is unconstitutional, illegal, ultra vires, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
    • A declaration that the 3rd defendant is under a duty to organise, undertake and supervise the 2019 general elections to the offices of the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the governor and deputy governor of a state, membership of the Senate and House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each state of the federation, including announcing the sequence of the same election only as dictated and mandated by the clear provision of the Constitution and not in any other way or manner, particularly as directed or mandated by the 1st defendant in Clause 25 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill (2018).
    • A declaration that by Section 153(1)(f) and Item 15(a) of the 3rd Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) the order or sequence of holding the general elections is already prescribed such that elections to the offices of the President and Vice President come first while elections to other offices follow in the same prescribed order.
    • A declaration that having regard to the exercise of the 3rd defendant of its constitutional powers, and in furtherance of its functions and duties to organise, undertake and supervise all elections to the offices of the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the governor and deputy governor of a state, membership of the Senate and House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each state of the federation as prescribed by sections 76(1), 116(1), 132(1), 153(1)(f), 178(1) of the Constitution and sections 25 and 26 of the Electoral Act 2010, and having come out with or announced a schedule or time table for 2019 elections, the 1st defendant cannot legitimately make a law to reorder or prescribe the sequence/schedule inconsistent with the schedule or order earlier made by the 3rd defendant.
    • A declaration that the amendment to the Electoral Act 2010, just passed by the National Assembly, prescribing the sequence or order in which elections into the offices of the President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the governor and deputy governor of a state, membership of the Senate and House of Representatives and the House of Assembly of each state of the federation should take place, coming after the 3rd defendant has released or published its time table and order of election into the offices aforesaid, cannot apply to the 2019 general elections.

    *A declaration that, having regard to the fact that: (a): the provision of 76(2), 116(2),132(2) and 178(2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which mandatorily prescribe that holding of elections to the various elective offices to the National Assembly, state Houses of Assembly, President, Vice President, state governors and deputy governors respectively, to be held on a date not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of that office.

    (b): Current National Assembly and the various Houses of Assembly were constituted on 9th of June 2015 and their tenure would expire and stand dissolved on the 8th of June 2019.

    (c): The current President, Vice President, governors and deputy governors of all the states of the federation, except Anambra, Bayelsa, Kogi, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti

  • Melaye recall process to begin Saturday in 560 polling units

    More trouble appears to be in the offing for the embattled member representing Kogi West at the National Assembly, Senator Dino Melaye, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Wednesday in Lokoja, announced that it will conduct the signature verification exercise for his recall in seven local councils on Saturday.

    Addressing media in Lokoja, during the “Stakeholders Meeting on the Process of the Recall (Verification) of the Senator Representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Kogi State”, the INEC National Commissioner Supervising Kogi, Kwara and Nassarawa states, Mohammed Haruna, assured that the electoral body has no interest in the process, other than to ensure that the process is followed through as spelt out by the law.

    “INEC has absolutely no interest in who wins or loses”, he explained.

    He urged all concerned to adhere strictly with the laid down process as spelt out by the laws guiding the process.

    Highlighting the process so far undertaken, the Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. James Apam, explained that more than 50 percent of the constituents of the senatorial district, “plus at least one person”, must affirm that their signature or thumbprint must be verified by INEC national n the 560 polling units in the Kogi West Senatorial district.

    According to him, the process will be undertaken across the 560 wards of Kogi West, between 8am and 2pm on Saturday.

    He said that the Card Reader Machine will be employed for the exercise, adding that those who did not append the recall petition in the first instance, cannot partake, while polling units where malfunction is experienced, will be cancelled and/or redone, if the number involved will substantially affect the outcome.

    “All I want to tell you is that we are ready to commence on April 28, from 8am-2pm, in the seven LGAs of the senatorial district. What we are doing is in compliance with what the law says”, he explained.

    He added that applications from local observers will be entertained in Lokoja, the state capital, till Friday, April 27, 2018.

    Outcome of the signature verification exercise is expected to be made public on the following day (Sunday, April 29, 2018).

    Read Also: Police stop Melaye from travelling out of the country

  • National Assembly fails to pass 2018 budget

    The National Assembly yesterday failed to pass the 2018 budget as announced by House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara on behalf of the leadership.

    President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the budget to the lawmakers on Novenber 7, 2017 with the appeal for its passage latest in January to enable the government to return to the January to December budget cycle.

    However when ut was being delayed, the lawmakers accused heads of soe government agencies and some ministers of failing to defend their proposals, forcing thepresodent to direct their appearance before the lawmakers.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki also accused some committees of delaying work on the document.

    It was learnt yesterday that reports of subcommittees were still being collated by the Appropriation Committees for onward submission to the Senate and House in plenary.

    The source who said that a lot of work still needed to be done on the submissions by subcommittees noted that “I am sure that the Appropriation Committees of the two chambers are working round the clock to effect their submissions.”

    With the failure to pass the budget yesterday, it is not clear the new date that would be chosen to clear the fiscal document.

  • National Assembly fails to pass 2018 budget

    The National Assembly on Tuesday failed to pass the 2018 budget as promised.

    The leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives had promised that the 2018 budget would be passed by the two chambers on April 24.

    The promise was not to be following what a source called the refusal of heads of ministries, departments and agencies to appear for their budget defence.

    The source also said that the late appearance of some heads of MDAs to defend their budget proposals made subcommittees of both chambers to also submit their budget reports late to the Appropriation Committees.

    Findings showed that reports of subcommittees were still being collated by the Appropriation Committees for onward submission to the Senate and House in plenary for passage into law.

    The source who said that a lot of work still needed to be done on the submissions by subcommittees noted that “I am sure that the Appropriation Committees of the two chambers are working round the clock to effect their submissions.”

    With the failure to pass the budget on Tuesday, it is not clear the new date that would be chosen to clear the fiscal document.

    If the information that the two chambers of the National Assembly were not taking kindly to alleged onslaught on the parliament and its members by the Presidency is any thing to go by the passage of 2018 budget may further be delayed.

  • Melaye set to surrender to Police

    Senator Dino Melaye has announced his resolve to surrender to the Police Tuesday.

    Melaye who represents Kogi West senatorial district in the National Assembly made the announcement via his Twitter handle around 7:11am on Tuesday.

    The post reads: “I will make myself available to the police today. My resolve to speak the truth and defend the poor masses of NIGERIA is Total. We shall overcome!!!

    It is however unclear whether the Senator would surrender himself to the Kogi State Police Command in Lokoja or the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

    The police had laid siege to his residence in Abuja on Monday after he was stopped from travelling to Morroco by personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service.

    His tweet was later followed by another one which was posted around 8:04am.

    It reads: “A man without arm, no security yet you mobilise 150 policemen to invite him. And those who committed Treason are free. We shall not be intimidated or cowed. Struggle continue.”

    Read Also: Police at Melaye’s Abuja residence