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  • Presidency, National Assembly working to promote ease of doing business, says Osinbajo

    Presidency, National Assembly working to promote ease of doing business, says Osinbajo

    •Dogara: Nigerians deserve conducive environment  

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has assured that the executive and the legislature were collaborating to promote establishment new businesses in Nigeria.

    He spoke at an Impact Award event at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja organised by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).

    The event was meant to recognise individuals, ministries, departments and agencies that contributed in making Nigeria rise to the position of 145 in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking.

    He said: “We are working hard on the attitudes of bureaucrats and persons who have been charged with the responsibility of making things easy.

    “Whole business of processing pre-investment approvals and all of that should be with the view to making things easy not with a view to becoming an obstacle of sort.”

    The Vice President hailed the improved attitude of bureaucrats, adding that government was working to ensure that continuous progress was made in that regard.

    Hailing the award recipients, Osinbajo informed them that “the next few weeks will involve a lot of doing” and urged them to brace for more challenges in the next plan of action towards achieving greater ease of doing business environment.

    On Nigeria improved ranking by the World Bank, he said: “There is absolutely nothing we cannot achieve as a people if we set our mind to it.”

    He acknowledged the role the National Assembly played in deciding that it was time to create an enabling environment for businesses.

    House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, who spoke to State House correspondents after the event, said the National Assembly followed what he called the Delaware Principle in passing two bills aimed at facilitating ease of doing business in Nigeria.

    “It was contingent upon the National Assembly to do all we can within the shortest possible time we had to support government initiative in order to improve the ease of doing business in this country,” he said.

    The Speaker said the National Assembly owed it as a duty to ensure a conducive environment was improve to attract more businesses and more foreign direct investments into Nigeria.

    On the award given to the National Assembly at the event, he said it was not “absolutely necessary for the National Assembly to be given any award or to be recognised for doing the work they were elected to do”.

    However, he said it would motivate the members and the other award recipients to work harder.

    Other agencies that received the awards were the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS).

    Lagos State was given Impact Award based on Construction Permit and Kano State was given Impact Award based on Registering Business.

     

  • Missing disability bill causes ripples at National Assembly

    Where is the Disability Bill? This is the question persons with disabilities want the National Assembly to answer without further delay.

    The Executive Director, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities, David Anyaele, who addressed journalists in Abuja as part of activities to mark this year’s international week for persons with disabilities, claimed that the whereabouts of the Nigeria Disability Bill, is unknown.

    Anyaele said that the alarm over “the missing bill” became imperative following fruitless efforts to trace the whereabouts of the bill at the National Assembly.

    He said that the quest to get the bill passed started in 2000 and lamented that 17 years after, instead of passing the bill, “we are told that the bill is missing with nobody to say exactly where to locate it.”

    He noted that the bill appears to have become a cash cow for the National Assembly members with every session of the parliament showing interest in it, sponsoring and holding public hearing, only to disappoint at the end.

    Anyaele vowed that this time around, persons with disabilities in the country are determined to ensure that the bill is passed at all cost.

    He said that they have concluded arrangements not only to march round the Eagle Square in Abuja but also to occupy the National Assembly to force the two chambers to fish out the bill wherever it is hidden.

    He wondered why the bill will be declared missing at a time it had been passed by the two chambers and the harmonization adopted.

    He noted that they have been tracking the bill up to December 6, 2016 when the Senate version of the bill was adopted at a conference committee meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    Anyaele also said that on March 3rd 2017, disability advocates visited the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to extract a commitment that the bill would be passed.

    He added, “As I speak to you, the bill is nowhere to be found. We are asking where the Nigeria Disability Bill is. The National Assembly must tell Nigerians where the Disability Bill is.

    “It becomes necessary to call on the National Assembly to locate the bill, pass it and transmit it to the president for assent. Without passage of the bill, the lives and welfare of over 25 million persons with disabilities in Nigeria will continue to be in disarray.

    “It is the duty of the state to protect the vulnerable group in the society. We are drawing attention of Nigerians to the missing bill.

    “We are asking why the bill must last this long. It has turned to a cash cow. Every session that come, they will promote the disability bill, organize public hearing, spend money and there it ends.

    ‘We will hold a warning protest, move round the Eagle Square to draw attention to the missing bill and ask that the bill be located wherever it is.”

    On how he got to know that the bill is missing, Anyaele said that he was at the National Assembly on December 4th only to be told that the whereabouts of the bill was unknown.

    He said that he spoke with relevant individuals who should know and was “shocked to learn that nobody knew where the bill is.”

    He said, “We want to demonstrate that we are serious. The National Assembly should tell us where the bill is. We don’t need a crowd to demand for the bill. We want to benefit from the bill. The pain of living with disability must stop now.”

    Some of the flyers distributed at the brief read: “Disability is not inability; persons with disabilities have great potentials; Support the right of persons with disabilities; Support the passage of the Nigeria Disability Bill now; The society discriminate against us because of our disabilities; Say no to discrimination against persons with disabilities; Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution is silent on prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of disability.”

    Some National Assembly members spoken to expressed concern that the bill has been dragging and now “declared missing.”

    A senator who spoke on condition of anonymity because “I am not the spokesperson of the Senate” promised to take up the matter with the Senate leadership.

  • National Assembly to aid sports sector with funds

    National Assembly to aid sports sector with funds

    The National Assembly has pledged to appropriate more funds for sports in the 2018 budget.

    The vice chairman Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Kabir Marfa Garba made the pledge on Tuesday at the opening of the Sports Summit and Exhibition held at Package B of the Abuja National Stadium.

    “We know the position of sports in Nigeria and we know the value of sports. It is virtually the only thing that unites Nigerians regardless of geo-political or tribal leanings. Once it is sports, Nigerians become one.

    “The National Assembly as the pillar of democracy cannot be left behind. We will do everything possible and the Senate President has asked me to convey on his behalf, to the teeming population, that the National Assembly will give the Ministry and all the contingents all the support that they will need.

    “We will give the Sports Minister all the support he requires. We know the year is coming with a lot of events especially the World Cup in Russia. We will be up and doing and will not let Nigerians and the Ministry down. We will do everything possible to ensure that we don’t just go there as spectators but to win the cup so we will do everything possible to support the players and the athletes.”

    A busy year awaits Nigeria in the sporting calendar as her athletes are due to take part in the Commonwealth Games apart from the FIFA World Cup, the Basketball World Championship and other international competitions.

    The Ministry had appealed to the National Assembly to appropriate more funds in its budgetary allocation to the Ministry to enable it to take care of expenses for upcoming international competitions.

  • National Assembly transmits constitution amendment copies to state assemblies

    THE National Assembly has transmitted copies of proposed amendments of the 1999 Constitution to State Houses of Assembly for concurrence, it was learnt yesterday.

    Findings showed that the transmission of clean copies of the suggested constitution amendments was concluded on Monday.

    A source close to the Office of the Senate President said the transmission of copies of the amendment took some time because of “cleaning up of the copies to ensure that what you have in the Senate is also what you have from the House of Representatives”.

    The source said state assemblies are expected to turn in their resolutions to the National Assembly in the first quarter of 2018 for further legislative work before transmitting same to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.

    Findings showed that state assemblies have been fully sensitised to appreciate the issues at stake and the thinking of Nigerians on all issues slated for amendment.

    Much energy has been devoted to the constitution amendment proposals, which did not scale through the hurdle of the National Assembly.

    Talks and comments have comprehensibly centered on such areas as the failure of the National Assembly to approve devolution of powers to states, removal of the Land Use Act from the Constitution and 35 per cent affirmative action for women.

    The consensus is that the failure of the National Assembly to pass some critical proposals amounted to gross “insensitivity to the aspiration of greater number of Nigerians”.

    In all, the National Assembly constitution review committee formulated 33 bills, 29 passed while four were rejected.

    The four rejected critical proposals included devolution of powers to states, deletion of Land Use Act from the constitution, state creation and boundary adjustment and 35 per cent affirmative action for women.

     

     

     

  • Buhari turns down two bills

    Buhari turns down two bills

    President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to sign two bills passed by the National Assembly.

    The President withheld assent on The Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (Establishment, etc) Bill 2017 and The Federal University of Wukari (establishment, etc) Bill 2017.

    In a letter dated November 8, 2017 addressed to the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, President Buhari noted that in pursuant to Section 58(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) “I hereby convey to the Senate, my decision, on 25th October, 2017 to withhold assent to the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (establishment, etc) Bill 2017.”

    He noted that the rationale for withholding assent are regarding the scope of, and phrase utilized in the Bill.

    He noted for instance that the phrase “treasury management’ is not defined in the Bill.

    The President said that greater clarity may be required regarding the impact of the Bill on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulation of treasury managers in the banks, and the relationship between the proposed Institute and other existing professional institutes that regulate treasury managers in Nigeria.

    On the refusal to assent to the Federal University of Wukari, the president said the ‘Statute” should replace “regulation” throughout the bill for consistency.

    He said that paragraph 9(1) of the 1st Schedule should refer to “the President” and not “the Visitor while paragraph 5 of the 3rd Schedule should refer to sub-paragraph (2) and not sub-paragraph (3).

    Apart from withholding of assent on the two bills, President Buhari sent three other bills to the Senate for consideration and passage into law,

    The new bills are Federal Institute for Industrial research Bill 2017, Nigeria natural medicine development agency (establishment) bill 2017 and the raw materials research and development council (repeal and re-enactment) bill 2017.

  • Reps begin debate on 2018 budget estimates Nov. 28 – Deputy Speaker

    Reps begin debate on 2018 budget estimates Nov. 28 – Deputy Speaker

    The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yussuf Lasun on Tuesday said that members would commence debate on the general principles of the 2018 Appropriation Bill ( budget ) of N8.6 trillion from Nov. 28.

    Lasun, while announcing the date during plenary session, said that the debate would be concluded on Nov. 30.

    He added that it would be followed by a public hearing scheduled for Dec. 4.

    The Deputy Speaker urged the lawmakers to ensure they get copies of the 2018 budget proposal presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the joint session of the National Assembly.

    “Members are to indicate the date they wish to contribute to the debate as there is need for us to participate actively and that the bill is given expeditious attention,’’ Lasun said.

    It can be recalled that the president, while presenting the 2018 budget proposal to the National Assembly, said that it would consolidate on the achievements of previous budgets to improve the country’s economy.

    NAN

    Read Also: FEC okays 2018 Budget proposal

  • Reps panel threatens arrest warrant against Bello-Osagie, Airtel boss

    Reps panel threatens arrest warrant against Bello-Osagie, Airtel boss

    The House of Representatives adhoc committee investigating the operational activities of telecoms operators panel Thursday threatened to issue an arrest warrant against the Chairman of the defunct Etisalat Nigeria, Akeem Bello-Osagie as well as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airtel Nigeria for shunning the panel’s summons.

    According to the Hon. Ahmed Abu- headed committee, Bello-Osagie and the Airtel CEO refused to honour the invitations by the panel to answer questions on alleged tax evasion by Airtel and former Etisalat

    Abu while speaking at the National Assembly during a public hearing Thursday described the behaviour of the two men as unacceptable adding that an arrest warrant would be issued against them should they fail to appear on the next invitation.

    His words: “It’s important that your MD is here. Public interest overrides any other interest. We don’t want anybody to play this card to say people will lose their jobs. Nigerian workers are ultimate.

    “It’s only in Nigeria where what happened in the transition between Etisalat and 9Mobile will happen. We looked into the books, and the balances are annoying. You must bring Bello-Osagie here, else we’ll issue arrest warrant against him.

    He said while speaking on the Airtel CEO:  “when next we do a letter to the CEO of Airtel and he doesn’t turn up, we’ll issue an arrest warrant against him.”

    However, because he was in a meeting at the Presidential villa, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler could not appear before the lawmakers hence the spect of 5 percent Value Added Tax  charges on sales of recharge cards could not be treated.

    Meanwhile, another ad-hoc panel of the House which is probing the various intervention funds by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has summoned the Managing Director of the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru.

    At the same committee hearing, the Director General of the Nigeria Lottery Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila said that while approximately 295 licensed Value-added Service (VAS) providers have generated about N80 billion revenues across the four operators within the past 4 years , MTN alone is grossing about 50 percent of the entire revenue

    He said it is therefore evident that there is need for the revenue sharing formula between Mobile Network Operators and Value-added Service (VAS)/Digtal content and  Mobile- based lottery providers be reviewed upwards in favour of the VAS providers.

    Gbajabiamila, said the sharing formulae should now be 60- 40 in favour of the VAS providers.

    “VAS partners are largely responsible for running lottery/promo services in behalf of the operators. As these initiatives are very resource consuming, it is important that any partner looking to engage in it is well prepared in terms of funding and planning of their expectations and returns.

    ” The resources and creativity the continues to be applied to VAS and digital content generation are the key components to the success of the industries..

    “Over the years, collaborations between MNOs and the VAS partners have seen revenue share continue to take a fall from 60 to 30 percent on the average, to as low as 15 percent to VAS providers in some cases.”

    He said previously, VAS partners who held licenses from the Lottery Regulatory Commission were guided by certain sets of provisional rules which are easily applied according to the type and scale of promo offering being proposed..

    But that the guideline seems to be varying in ways that VAS partners are struggling to comply with. “And this is the basis of the presentation of our position to this honorable assembly.”

    Gbajabiamila said the current lottery ACT 2005 seems to address mostly main stream lottery services, usually based in ticket sales and returns.

    While citing, sections 20, 24, 35 and 57 of the Act he said a minimum of 50 percent of the proceeds of the National Lottery is to be paid to a prize fund, which is dedicated to the payment of prizes.

    He however said that approximately 295 licensed VAS providers have generated about N80 billion revenues across the four operators within the past 4 years “of which MTN is grossing about 50 percent of the entire revenue.”

    Members of the committee agreed that there is need to upgrade the share of the VAS providers adding that the Mobile Network Operators are obviously not treating the VAS providers fairly.

  • SSANU wants agreement with FG implemented, says don’t blame us for renewed strike

    SSANU wants agreement with FG implemented, says don’t blame us for renewed strike

     The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities ( SSANU ), has given indication of a possible threat to Industrial peace and harmony in the nation’s universities following government refusal to implement agreement it entered into with University based unions leading to the suspension of their strike action recently.

    The union asked the government to take immediate steps to implement the agreement saying the unions should not blamed for a breakdown of Industrial harmony in the universities.

    The union also decried what it called mindless and senseless killings of citizens in the Plateau, Benue and other states across the country by rampaging nomadic herdsmen, and the fact that nobody has been arrested by the security agents thus fueling the touted assumption that these marauders are untouchable and above the law.

    Rising from its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, the union frowns at the recent proclamation of “No work, No pay” by the Minister of Labour and Employment and strongly advises the Minister to play his part in removing those impediments that force unions to embark on strike, observing that Unions do not go on strike without reason. 

    It told the Minister that, rather than threatening workers and taking a belligerent posture, he should ensure that the Nigerian labour environment is more worker-friendly and agreements entered with trade unions, which could precipitate strikes, are respected and honored.

    In a communique the end of the meeting, the union regretted the failure of the Federal Government to implement all the components of the agreements it voluntarily entered into with the University based Unions and ask the government to expedite action on the payment of Earned Allowances as the ultimatum period of October 2017 signed in the Memorandum of Understanding has elapsed. 

    The communique signed by the National President of the union, Comrade Samson Ugokwe and the National Public Relations Officer, Salaam Abdussobura said the implementation of the agreement was necessary to forestall the possibility of resumption of another nationwide strike on the same matter. 

    It said the union should not be held liable if at the end of the day, the Memorandum of Understanding is breached by the Government and the Union is forced to resume its suspended strike to press home its demands.

     It expressed concern over the continued defiance of Government to the judgment of the National Industrial Court which unequivocally pronounced that University Staff Schools are integral part of the University System and condemns in strong terms the prolonged delay in producing the necessary circular specifically directing University administrations to include the staff in the University Staff Schools in the personnel payroll systems of Universities. 

    While commending the President Buhari led Government for its effort in ensuring the early passage of the 2018 Budget, the union lamented with great disappointment, the meager allocation of 7.04 % allotted to the Education Sector, adding that the Buhari administration has not departed from the misplaced culture of giving priority to capital projects at the expense of developing its manpower. 

    It said “If the Nigeria of today is to bequeath a legacy of development for tomorrow, Government needs to get its priorities right by ensuring education receives larger allocations. SSANU NEC expresses its disenchantment with the Budget allocation to education and advises that it is not too late for reviews to be made.”

    It also condemned the continued mindless and senseless killings of citizens in the Plateau, Benue and other states across the country by rampaging nomadic herdsmen, saying “more distressing is the fact that no arrest has been made by the security agents thus fueling the touted assumption that these marauders are untouchable and above the law. NEC therefore urges Government at all levels, to immediately check this ugly development by providing adequate security in affected places, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators in order to avoid reprisals and ceaseless killings.”

    The union also expressed the increased proliferation of universities in Nigeria. NEC, while not oblivious of the problem of access, which has continued to be a serious challenge to the sector, noted that the focus on the establishment of universities should not be on quantity at the expense of quality. 

    It accused the Government of giving licenses to establish private universities to the same individuals who had run public universities aground by the obnoxious policies and strangulation of the universities when they were in government, pointing out that many States that can barely manage and properly fund one university, had been given licenses to establish two, or in the cases of Ondo and Ogun states, even three. The union asked the National Universities Commission and the relevant Committees in the National Assembly, to review the policies of establishment of universities which are being bastardized by the day.

  • Dalung urges NASS to allocate more funds to sports

    Dalung urges NASS to allocate more funds to sports

    Solomon Dalung, Minister of Youth and Sports on Wednesday called on the National Assembly to allocate more funds to sports in Nigeria.

    Dalung made the call in Abuja while receiving the victorious Nigeria Scrabble Federation National Team from the World English Scrabble Players Association Championship ( WESPAC ) in Nairobi, Kenya, led by its president, Suleiman Gora.

    According to him, in the last two years, the ministry of Youth and Sports has done better than any other ministry because we have brought glory to the country.

    “Since this is the situation, we need more funds to develop sports.

    “A situation where federations that have made the country proud have yearly budgetary allocation of between N30 or N40 billion, which cannot even fund one trip is unacceptable.

    “We have over stretched the commitment of our people because members of the federation had at all time been contributing their  monies in order to sponsor trips.

    “Let us demonstrate commitment as a government by providing better support so that we can take governance in the federations to the next level,’’ he said.

    Dalung appealed to the private sector to develop interest in the sponsorship of different sports in Nigeria and invest in it.

    “The multinational companies should develop interest in individual athletes, pick and train athletes, this will be better for sports in the country” he further said.

    He, however, pledged to constantly support the federation in all of its activities.

    Earlier, Gora informed the Minster that Nigeria had emerged the best scrabble playing nation for the second time running in the history of the sports.

    “We are making history for the second time. This is the first country in the world and the only Black Country to have won the  championship back to back.

    “In Nairobi, we got 54 countries participating from over the world and we had countries representation of 169 players.

    “In scrabble the top 15 positions are the ones that are considered for winning positions. Nigeria had five of her players in the top 15.

    “We went there as the World Champions in terms of country representation and on individual basis.

    “I am happy to inform you that we fought gallantly for the individual position up to the finals, at the end of 32 games, Moses Peter of Nigeria come second,’’ he said.

    Presenting the trophy, Gora called for more funds to help the federation to win more laurels for the country.

    NAN

  • Falana urges NASS to pass whistle-blowing protection bill

    Falana urges NASS to pass whistle-blowing protection bill

    Femi Falana, a Human Right Activist, has called on the National Assembly ( NASS ) to hasten the passage of the Whistle-blowing Protection Bill to facilitate the fight against corruption in the country.

    Falana made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the National Stakeholders’ Summit on Whistle-blowing, organised by the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy ( AFRIMIL ).

    He said that the bill, when passed, would facilitate the fight against corruption by protecting persons with potential and reliable information on the war against corruption.

    “The bill amongst other things aims at ensuring that persons, who make disclosures about corruption do not suffer reprisals in relation to such disclosures and are duly protected by the law,” he said.

    The activist also called for proper implementation of the whistle-blowing policy, adding that it was the duty of every citizen to report crimes for societal change.

    He decried the attitude of brutal attacks on whistle-blowers and numerous challenges faced by them, which included denial of entitlements, charge to court, attacks and murder.

    Falana, however, appealed that recovered loots should not be channeled towards funding the budget but rather should be a special funding in the country.

    “Unless we convince the government to uphold the protection of fighting corruption, all the suggestions are meaningless,’’ he added.

    Falana tasked whistle-blowers not to limit their monitoring to Independent Corrupt Practices Commission ( ICPC ) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC ) but to spread it to other agencies.

    He pledged to take up any matter concerning harassment of whistle-blowers once reported.

    Earlier, Mr Chido Onumah, Coordination of the centre, said that as part of its accountability and governance initiative, it inaugurated the Corruption Anonymous (CORA) project, which aimed at engaging civil society and Nigerians in tackling corruption.

    “The CORA project, which is supported by ‘The John D and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,’ is aimed at creating awareness about whistle-blowing and making Nigerians see it as a tool for reducing corruption,’’ he said.

    Onumah recalled that the Federal Government in December 2016 announced a Whistle-Blower policy, which could offer financial incentives for citizens who give genuine information that could lead to recovery of loots.

    He noted that the summit with the theme: ‘Fight Against Corruption: Harnessing the Whistle-blowing Opportunity’ was one of its interventions designed for critical stakeholders responsible for its implementation.

    “Whistle-blowing, as an instrument of tackling corruption, can only survive where the safety of whistle-blower is guaranteed ,” he noted.

    AFRIMIL, an NGO, which focuses on media, information, research, advocacy and training is dedicated to providing skills required for social engagement.

    NAN