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Tag: national assembly

  • Budget: National Assembly set to tackle Presidency in Supreme Court

    Budget: National Assembly set to tackle Presidency in Supreme Court

    THE last may not have been heard of the 2017 Appropriation. The Presidency is planning to approach the Supreme Court to challenge the National Assembly’s power of appropriation.

    The lawmakers said yesterday they are ready to face the Executive in court over the issue.

    It was learnt that the Presidency has concluded arrangements to file a case at the apex court against the National Assembly over the controversy surrounding the Budget of Economic Recovery and Growth.

    A case to inquire to what extent the National Assembly can alter the Appropriation Bill as prepared and submitted to the National Assembly by Mr. President, may be filed at the Supreme Court between today and tomorrow.

    A source close to the leadership of the National Assembly said both chambers were aware of the move by the Presidency to challenge the National Assembly’s power to tinker with the Bill sent to it for approval.

    The source said: “The fact is that the National Assembly has been monitoring developments on the budget and gathered that the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo is seeking legal opinions from all the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) in the cabinet.

    “Remember that the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, recently came out with his own opinion where he said that the National Assembly went beyond its powers in certain parts of the budget.

    “Prof Itse Sagay has also expressed his opinion. All these men have been directed to produce their opinion as a memo to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo through his Chief of Staff, Mr. Ade Ipaye.

    “Also, the Acting President is contacting some other constitutional law experts. These moves are known to the National Assembly and they are believed to be preparatory to filing a suit at the Supreme Court.

    “The National Assembly does not want to be caught unawares or ambushed. So, they are monitoring events and the leadership has decided to respond appropriately to any move by the Executive.

    “They believe such a move will strengthen the Presidential system, separation of powers and the rule of law. The Supreme Court verdict will also settle the lingering issue once and for all.”

    Acting President Osinbajo had questioned the extent of changes made to the 2017 Appropriation Bill by the National Assembly.

    The lawmakers insisted that the the National Assembly acted within the law.

    In an interview, Fashola also said that some aspects of the 2017 Appropriation Act violate the constitution.

    The minister said that the judiciary may have to explain how far lawmakers can go in altering the budget.

    Fashola said that there may be need for judicial interpretation to lay the controversy to rest.

    According to him, some of the projects inserted into the votes of his ministry were a violation of the constitution.

    Fashola was quoted as saying: “In a federal example like ours, nobody should be scared to have a judicial interpretation of the limits of the power the parliament can exercise during appropriation.

    “It is the law that affects our day-to-day developmental expectations. My view is that I don’t think parliament has the power to increase the budget because parliament does not collect taxes.

    “Budget has expenditure as it has revenues, and if the executive has formed the view about earning and borrowing subject to the approval of the parliament, I think it is only fair to say we won’t push you beyond what is reasonable.

    “If the executive says it is unreasonable, there is room for consultation but to unilaterally increase the budget is not something that lies in the power of the parliament, although they can reduce it.”

  • Adams hails National Assembly’s move on confab reports 

    Adams hails National Assembly’s move on confab reports 

    The National Cordinator of Oodua People’s Congress,Otunba Gani Adams, has commended the National Assembly for its decision to examine the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, with a view to adopting them.

    According to Adams, who is also the Convener of Oodua Progressive Union, the future of Nigeria is in the hands of the lawmakers. He said: “We should stop deceiving ourselves, the future of Nigeria as an entity can only be guaranteed if the various yearning of all components of the Nigeria union have their agitations met”.

    “It is only wise for the Federal Lawmakers to critically look into the set out recommendations of the Confab which I have the honor to participate so as to pacify everybody. Aside assurance of national peace, it will also aid the rapid development of the nation”.

    By this action, the 8th National Assembly is on the verge of writing down its name in gold as the savior of the unity of Nigeria. They should move beyond paper talks and be proactive and adopt the needed agitations which will assure all to want to remain under the union called Nigeria.”

    Adams said the recommendations have addressed the needs of the country, the judiciary, executive, local government and stakeholders.

    He added: “The conference recommended that each state of the federation should have its Supreme and Appeal Court to fast track judicial process, it is therefore necessary that the lawmakers should take critical look into all the recommendations.”

    He said the composition of the Conference was the best so far in Nigeria.

     

  • Nwabueze: only National Assembly can save democracy

    The National Assembly is the only institution that can save constitutional democracy from emasculation in Nigeria, eminent lawyer, Prof Ben Nwabueze, said yesterday.

    According to him, due to the tendency of the Supreme Court to have “special interests”, the Judiciary could no longer be trusted with that role.

    It was during the public presentation of a book by Prof. Nwabueze titled: “Save Our Constitutional Democracy From Emasculation’, in Abuja yesterday.

    The octogenarian constitutional lawyer urged the lawmakers to tighten the loopholes exploited by the Supreme Court to disregard section 141 of the Electoral Act that sought to remedy the decision in ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s case.

    Amaechi was replaced as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Rivers State governorship candidate in the 2017 election. The party won the election and its candidate Celestine Omehia was sworn in. But the Supreme Court nullified Omehia’s candidacy and pronounced Amaechi the candidate. Ameachi was then sworn in as governor. He spent eight years in office.

    House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara assessing an aspect in the book that refers to the Amaechi case, described it as a situation where the judiciary elected a governor who did not participate in the elections. He then asked: “Who can save our constitutional democracy from emasculation. Is it the Executive or Legislature or the Juduciary?”

    Dogara said politicians, players and stakeholders must study the Constitution for democracy to succeed, saying: studying the constitution would  allow them to understand the limits of their powers.

    “To be candid, majority of us do not even know what constitutional democracy means or entails.  Some of us in the system have not even studied the Constitution.”

    According to the Speaker, governance in Nigeria will be more effective when every player in the three arms of government are clear on what powers the Constitution grants to their offices and where those powers end.

    He said: “We come to Nigeria, where, for instance, the executive, or the President determines the priority of the nation or of his government but parliament can say no as representatives of the people,

    “And we have seen some of these contradictions played out in a country like the United States. We borrowed almost everything in our Constitution from the United States but there, the President ran for election on the premise that he was going to build a wall, it was one of his cardinal promises. As a matter of fact it was one of the basis for which he had appeal. On the Healthcare bill introduced in Congress, most members said, well, that may be the priority of your government but we don’t think that is the priority of our people, and it stalled.

    “And he promised that from day one, he will repeal and replace ObamaCare, if not the same day, if not the same hour after taking office but Congress sat and said no, that may be the priority of your government but it isn’t the priority of the people we represent, and the bill has not been passed. If it were in Nigeria, imagine the kind of discussion it would have generated such as parliament is frustrating the President, they don’t want him to succeed and so on and so forth.”

  • 188,580 Kogi West electorates signs to recall Melaye

    188,580 Kogi West electorates signs to recall Melaye

    Indication appeared Monday that 188, 580 electorates from Kogi West have signed the recall register form to oust Senator Dino Melaye from the National Assembly.

    The returning officer for the recall of the lawmaker, Adamu Yusuf claimed that out of 360,098 of the total registered voters from the seven local government areas that make up the senatorial district: Yagba, Mopa-Muro, Kabba Bunu, Yagba East, Koton Karfe, Lokoja and Ijumu, 188, 588, signed the recall register constituting 52.3 per cent of the voters in the district.

    He stated that the breakdown of the recall exercise for Yagba East – out of 35,331 registered voters, 18, 374 (52 per cent) signed the recall register.

    Others are Mopa-Moro, 18,356 voters (9,186 signed – 50.04 per cent), Kabba/Bunu 60,522, voters (28,277 – 46.7 per cent) and Yagba West, 35, 966 registered voters, 20,029 signed – 55.7 per cent.

    Lokoja LG, 63, 736 (54.8 per cent) out of 116, 296 registered voters.

    For Koton-Karfe 24,703 (52.77 per cent) and Ijumu, 46,819 registered voters, 24, 238 representing 51.8 per cent.

    He added: “Going by the above figures, it is important to let Nigerians know that we have met the constitutional requirements of 51.1 per cent. Senator Melaye has failed to represent Kogi West so we are calling him back home”.

    All the seven council administrators from Kogi West were present at the event which held at the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat, Lokoja.

  • 2018 budget: FRC advises FG to stick to ERGP

    2018 budget: FRC advises FG to stick to ERGP

    The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) has advised the Federal Government to stick to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) in processing the 2018 Appropriation Bill to boost the nation’s economy.

    FRC Acting Chairman, Mr Victor Muruako, gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

    He said that the ERGP was a very important and compact document that would help set the right stage for the nation to get back on the path of growth.

    “That well-articulated plan is a roadmap to boost our economic growth.

    “It is a very bold statement on which most of the 2018 appropriation requirements or plans will have a foothold and there must be strict adherence to this roadmap.

    “With this plan, the nation is on the right path,” he said.

    Muruako, however, said although it was not the first time that the nation had come up with a very good master plan or roadmap, it must stick to the plan to benefit from it.

    He commended the Federal Government for coming up with measures to ensure that the nation returned to the usual January to December budget cycle.

    He said that the 2018 budget calendar was already out and the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, had issued executive orders to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure that the nation gets back on track.

    “There are three executive orders issued by the acting president and order number two clearly specifies that all financial transactions relating to the national budget and appropriation must adhere strictly to time.

    “There is a new wave of commitment to stick to financial plan, particularly the ERGP 2017-2020 and this has set the right tone for the nation to return to the usual budget cycle of January to December.”

    According to him, the order specifies that every MDAs must, before July 31, submit its budget details to the Minister for Budget and National Planning who will then work on it.

    He said that there was a firm commitment by the Acting President and the economic team to submit the budget proposal of 2018 to the National Assembly within the first week of October 2017.

    Muruako said that this would give the National Assembly the necessary time to work on it and for the President to study and give assent before Dec. 31.

    He said that with this, the financial life of the nation could begin on Jan. 1.

    He, however, said that the 2017 Appropriation Bill that was recently signed into law by the acting president may encounter some challenges in implementation because its late passage.

    “It is coming a bit late, so obviously, there may be some challenges in the full implementation of the budget.”

    He also advised that henceforth, more stakeholders should be involved in the budgetary process to get it right.

  • ANJET, others decry proposed NIHOTOUR bill before NASS

    ANJET, others decry proposed NIHOTOUR bill before NASS

    Travel and tourism writers in the country have joined other stakeholders to decry unfolding moves by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) to push through a bill presently before the National Assembly which seeks to confer on it the sole authority to regulate the industry.

    The writers under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Journalists and Editors of Tourism (ANJET), also an affiliate of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) who said ‘Nihotour has completely gone beyond its brief and what is expected of it’ described the proposed bill as ‘death knell of hospitality and tourism.’

    Tagged the; ‘Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism for Training of Personnel and Regulation of Professional Personnel Practices and Services of Hospitality and Tourism Activities in Nigeria and other related matters,’ the document seeks to effectively extend the control of the institute in industry practice.

    The proposed NIHOTOUR Bill which comes up for Public hearing, June 15, has continued to generate contempt within the tourism industry in the country as stakeholders flay the move by NIHOTOUR to establish the institute as regulatory and registration body for tourism establishments across the country.

    The tourism writers, who joined other stakeholders from travel agents, tour operators, park and leisure services providers, maintained that the proposed bill further compounds the precarious situation of tourism regulation in the country, as the agency itself should rather be seeking to grow its capacity in the field of training of industry practitioners.

    “If it is a training institute then it should restrict itself to that regardless of the NOC/NOS/NBTE provisions. What it is seeking to be with the full provisions of this bill is become omnibus body and ombudsman of tourism, which shouldn’t be.

    “If the bill is allowed to scale through, what then becomes the function of the NTDC and other agencies in the Culture, Tourism and Information Ministry, and by implication the value chain of tourism and other training institutions in the country?”

    According to ANJET, in the Hospitality and Tourism Establishment (Registration, Grading, and Classification) regulation bye-law enacted by the Federal Government in 1997, Section 1, Sub-Section 3 of that bye-law provides that no person shall operate a hospitality or Tourism establishment ‘unless he has obtained and in possession of a current certificate of registration from the Corporation,’ which by implication confers on the NTDC the duty of a regulator.

    “We also believe that the issue here should be about the National Assembly clarifying on the Supreme Court ruling of 19 July 2013 which validated both the Hotel Licensing Law of Lagos State (as amended) and the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Law of Lagos State, while the offending sections of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) Act rendered null and void.

    “We recall that the Supreme Court in dismissing the case filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and upholding the contention of the Attorney General (AG) of Lagos State Mr. Ade Ipaye, held that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (CFRN) 1999 as amended, only empowers the National Assembly (NASS) to regulate tourist traffic, a term which does not extend to hotel registration or licensing,” ANJET posited.

    It was the view of the Supreme Court that the NTDC Act went beyond its powers as stated in the Exclusive Legislative List of the Constitution which is to regulate “tourist traffic”. This effectively challenged the constitutionality of the NTDC’s powers to unilaterally regulate and control of hotels and tourism in Nigeria. The court therefore validated the respective laws of Lagos State.

    According to ANJET, this issue of a recognized regulator should preoccupy the National Assembly members into quickly moving to resolve the issue rather than creating another platform for the emergence of another controversy within the industry, as there still remains grey areas in the law that needed to be sorted out to ensure proper growth and development in the industry.

    For instance, under the ‘Powers of the Institute,’ the institute wants to ‘set conditions and standards for institutions or organizations offering courses in hotel, catering, travel and tourism management or skill in Nigeria.’

    This, ANJET believes this segment is ‘as ambiguous as it is conflicting,’ considering that other agencies also perform the same function, just there is a vast divide separating all four sub-sectors of tourism practice, as well as its practitioners.

    While the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN), described the move as ‘obnoxious,’ the Institute of Tourism Professionals, on its part, said the proposed bill negates the tenet of the Federal Government’s recently signed Executive Order which seeks to ease the process of doing business in the country, by creating ‘bottlenecks for tourism professionals.’

    “We must do all what is possible to stop this obnoxious bill. We should also be present at the public hearing to vehemently oppose the bill,” said ATPN.

    “The bill seeks to negate the new Executive Order of the Acting President on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria as it seeks to great Bottlenecks for Tourism Professionals Distinguished Senators are therefore urged not to support illegality,” said the Institute of Tourism Professionals.

    Also reacting, the Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) said; ‘the proposed bill is an attempt to ‘corner and colonize Nigeria Tourism by a training school and should be discouraged wondering why an institute wants to overreach itself.’

    Similarly, a hospitality expert and scholar, Dr Wasiu Babalola called for the outright rejection of the proposed NIHOTOUR bill by the National Assembly.

    The outgoing Managing Director – Africa, Swiss International Hotels and incumbent Honorary Secretary, Institute of Hospitality UK in Nigeria said: “The bill should be rejected for the agency aiming beyond its mandate. Why should it try to define who a professional is?

    “When did government starts deciding who should be president / chairman of council of professional bodies? Why should the agency want to take over the powers of NUC and NBTE? The proposers of the bill are surely ill informed.”

    NIHOTOUR, an agency in the Ministry of Culture and Information, has two campuses has for some time come under heavy fire, as industry watchers insist the agency is challenged in its statutory role as a training institute established to boost capacity in the industry.

    The institute has two campuses located in Lagos and Oshogbo, the Osun State capital.

     

  • Sun Trust Bank denies withholding National Assembly aides’ salaries

    Sun Trust Bank denies withholding National Assembly aides’ salaries

    The management of Sun Trust Bank on Wednesday denied reports that it  withheld  the salaries of legislative aides in the National Assembly salaries.

    Mr Usman Abdulqadir, Executive Director for Finance and Risk, made this known at the press briefing in Lagos.

    Abdulqadir said the bank had executed all mandates given to it with respect to making payment on behalf of its customers promptly.

    “In this vein, as banker to some of the NASS accounts, the bank has received the mandate to make payment to various beneficiaries and those payments have since been relayed, some via REMITA, to the relevant banks.

    “We advice that persons who are yet to receive payments executed by us should have first checked with his/ her bankers to trace where such payments are held.

    “We categorically restate that we do not fail to honour any obligation to our clients,” he said.

    The executive director said the bank deeply regretted report that an individual lost his life.

    “We extend our deepest condolences to his family and the entire NASS family,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that legislative aides at the National Assembly protested the nonpayment of their salaries on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The protest was due to the death of one of the legislative aides, Hassan Abiodun, over a ruptured appendicitis because he could not pay N165,000 medical bill for the recommended surgery.

    The deceased, who died on Friday, June 9, was a legislative aide attached to the Deputy Speaker, Honourable Yussuff Sulaimon Lasun.

    The aides, who all dressed in black attire, met Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is also the Chairman of the National Assembly Commission.

    Dayo Fadugba, the spokesman of the aides, accused the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Sani Omolori, of having an ulterior motive over his preference for a new bank to pay their salaries.

    According to him, “From all indications, it is manifest that the bank does not have the capacity and infrastructure to handle the volume of transaction the Clerk has foisted on it.

    “Indeed, we are convinced that the decision is motivated by ulterior motive aimed at bolstering the financial standing of the micro finance bank masquerading as a commercial institution.”

    Abdulqadir said Sun Trust Bank Nigeria Ltd., is a commercial bank duly licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

  • Budget: National Assembly can’t introduce projects,  says Osinbajo

    Budget: National Assembly can’t introduce projects,  says Osinbajo

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday  declared that the National Assembly had no right to introduce new projects during consideration of national budgets.

    Osinbajo, who signed the 2017 budget into law on Monday, said that the National Assembly could only allocate funds for projects in the budgetary proposals submitted by the Executive.

    Osinbajo spoke on Tuesday during the flag-off of the 2018 budget and ERGP Implementation Plan Development Process organised by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

    He also harped on the need for all ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies to pay attention to the details of the budget.

    Noting that this year is very crucial, Osinbajo said President Muhammadu Buhari was very much concerned with the budget and its full implementation.

    He said: “Now there are these two broad issues about who can do what. When you present budget to the National Assembly, it is presented as a bill, an appropriation bill. Firstly, the National Assembly has the right to allocate funds to projects in the budget proposal.

    “And secondly, do not introduce entirely new projects and all of that or modify projects. This is something that we experienced this last year and again. It now leaves the question about who is supposed to do what.”

    He also pointed out that it was quite disappointing that the 2017 budget that was presented by the President last December and with assurances of passege by February,  was not passed until May.

    He said: “As it turned out we were quite disappointed that it spent a bit of time before it was approved.

    “And thereafter we had to go into negotiations with the National Assembly in order to get it right.”

    According to him, there is an agreement that the executive will be engaging with National Assembly members from the moment budget proposal is submitted.

    Osinbajo said that there was no need to wait for disputes to occur before the two arms of government start working on a budget.

    The Acting President spoke of efforts to return to the January – December life cycle for national budgets.

    To this end, Osinbajo said the 2018 budget proposal will be presented to the National Assembly by October so that it can be passed latest by December.

  • Budget: NASS has no right to introduce new projects – Osinbajo

    Budget: NASS has no right to introduce new projects – Osinbajo

    …Says Buhari concerned with 2017 Budget implementation

     

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday declared that the National Assembly has no right to introduce new projects during consideration of national budgets.

    Osinbajo, who signed the 2017 Budget into law on Monday, said that the National Assembly only has the right to allocate funds for projects in the budgetary proposals submitted by the Executive arm of government.

    Osinbajo spoke on Tuesday during the Flag-off of the 2018 Budget and ERGP Implementation Plan Development Process by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning at the old Banquet Hall of the State House Abuja.

    He also harped on the need for full attention by all Ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies to the details of the budget.

    Noting that this year is very crucial, he said that President Muhammadu Buhari is very concerned with the budget and its full implementation.

    Details Later…

     

  • Legislature has lived up to expectations – Dogara

    Legislature has lived up to expectations – Dogara

    The Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, said the legislature had kept its promise to Nigerians with transparent deliberations and passage of the 2017 Appropriation Bill.

    He assured that the bill would be signed next week.

    Dogara stated this in his address at the opening of a “Special Session’’ to mark the second anniversary of the 8th Assembly on Friday in Abuja.

    According to him, the house carried out significant budget reforms “for the first time in the history of Nigeria’’.

    He said that a public hearing was conducted at the National Assembly to get the input of Nigerians in the budgetary process.

    He said that reforms introduced included the details of the Appropriation Bill being made available to all members before passage at the plenary.

    Also introduced, he said, was requirement that members of committee should sign report of their committees before it would be sent to the Committee on Appropriations.

    “All these novel measures are unprecedented in the history of our parliament.

    “These proactive measures ensured that the debate and consideration of the 2017 budget by the house was evidence-based and geared towards galvanizing the economy for greater growth.”

    Dogara said that a total of 126 Bills were passed by the House during the period and that others were at various stages in the legislative mill.

    He said that 27 Bills had received presidential assent, adding that each of the “achievements highlighted above is unsurpassed by any previous Assembly.

    “The sheer volume of these Bills attests to the vibrancy of the House in its attempt to legislate on key areas of our national life at a very trying time in our history”.

    The speaker also said that the lower chamber received no fewer than 500 public petitions during the period.

    He said that the Committee on Public Petitions conducted hearing on petitions “almost every week’’ to ensure that citizens had access to the legislature.

    He also said that the house considered and passed bills designed to stimulate economic growth and promote competition.

    Dogara said that the bills included “Bill for an Act establishing Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’’.

    According to him, this legislation has the potential to engender innovation and efficient allocation of resources, eliminate barriers to entry and restrictive trade practices in the market.

    He said it would have positive impact on the quality of goods and services and their prices in the interest of the Nigerian consumer.

    On workers’ welfare, the speaker said that the house had introduced a Bill on new minimum wage aimed at promoting the welfare and well-being of workers, especially in the light of changing economic realities.

    “For us, it is unacceptable that the average Nigerian worker is shut out from the promise of democracy, which is “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

    “Our democracy must be made to work for all Nigerians, including our workers, who must have the tools with which to pursue happiness while in active service or in retirement.’’

    On the legislature’s part in the fight against corruption, Dogara said that the house was working in tandem with the executive in the effort to stamp out corruption in the country.