The Nation Newspaper

Tag: national assembly

  • Students to Reps: Transfer LAUTECH to FG

    Students to Reps: Transfer LAUTECH to FG

    Students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho are demanding that Federal Government take over the ownership of the school.

    Students of the school took their pleas to the National Assembly with a protest where they informed the lawmakers that the over nine-month closure of their institution is taking a toll on them and their future by extension.

    The prolonged closure of the school followed an industrial dispute between staff of the institution and the government of Oyo and Osun.

    The leadership of the House of Representatives has however assured them that a coordinated appprach would be employed to actualize the demands of the students.

    The protesting students were addressed by the Leader of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila in company of the House Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuma Onyema; Akeem Adeyemi; Dapo Lam-Adesina and Olusumbo Olugbemi.

    He said: “When we received your petition to the House, we hurriedly left the chambers to listen to you because we understand your plight.

    “Education is a priority for us in the National Assembly and we will look into this matter but let me bring to your attention that Hon. Segun Odebunmi from Oyo state brought a motion up on the floor of the House and a resolution was passed for the House Committee on Education to look into this matter and come up with recommendations that will guide the House because there are many unintended consequences that can come out of students absence from school.”

    Gbajabiamila said despite the rigorous process involved in transferring the ownership of their institution the House will apply a coordinated approach to resolve the crisis.

    “You are not fatherless or an orphan, you have a government with your interest at heart but there are complications here because we run a constitutional democracy, your institution was established by two state governments and from your request it’s not that easy for the federal government to take over a state-owned institution because we run a democracy but there are ways we can come in  because the welfare of citizens is our primary responsibility and issue of education is shared among the tiers of government.”

    “I apologize on behalf of government because we must all take responsibility, since it’s about funding to improve learning environment we will urge the federal government to work on possible ways to step in”, Gbajabiamila said.

     

  • Civil societies urge NASS to repeal Biosafety Act

    Civil societies urge NASS to repeal Biosafety Act

    A group of civil society organisations on Wednesday, urged the National Assembly to repeal the National Biosafety Management Act, insisting it was not in the best interest of the country.

    In a peaceful protest at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, the group said the Act permitted the use and consumption of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) which was injurious to human and animal health.

    GMO refers to organisms whose genetic materials have been intentionally altered by introducing foreign genes using genetic engineering method to enhance output.

    One of the protesters and Convener of Nigerians against GMO, Mr Rhodes Gbadebo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that the technology was a threat to life of citizens and the economy of the country.

    “It is a technology that harms the body; it is a technology that harms the economy, and it is a technology that is not in the interest of Nigerians and the citizens on the long term.

    “We want the National Assembly to look at the National BioSafety Act because it does not assure the safety of Nigerians.

    “This is because the regulatory agency that is supposed to regulate the technology has on its board, a promoter of the technology; there is a conflict of interest, we are not sure that these people are working in the interest of Nigerians,’’ he said.

    He urged the National Assembly to look at the Act from the perspective of other countries such as France, Germany and Japan, to understand the measures put in place to ensure the safety of their citizens.

    As against the view that GMO would ensure food security, Gbadebo argued that people were hungry not because there was no food, but because there was lack of access to food.

    He blamed the situation on lack of infrastructure to move food from the farm to the plate as 60 per cent of food was often wasted from the point of harvest.

    According to him, ensuring infrastructure that would enable timely movement of food from the farm to the market would reduce post-harvest losses and boost food production.

    Gbadebo explained that moreover, GMO did not self-proliferate, meaning that when it was planted, its seeds could be replanted in the next planting season.

    He said that farmers would have to annually depend on foreign seed companies for seeds to plant which were priced in dollars.

    He said adopting such a technology was tantamount to giving up the food sovereignty of the country and urged the government to support farmers with farm inputs and research and extension services to attain food security.

    Gbadebo said that GMOs were already in the country, noting that the people must take interest and defend the local food system and ensure their health was not compromised.

    He said a lot of studies had shown that GMO had negative effects on cells, recalling that in 2016, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Glyphosate, one of the main chemicals in GMO food, was carcinogenic.

    Receiving the protesters, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, Sen. Bukar Ibrahim, assured the group that the National Assembly would revisit the Act.

    “We are all Nigerians, we are all concerned, we believe in what is best for Nigeria and this is the beginning of something which is likely to happen in the future.

    “Let us all put our heads together, work together if it is a question of changing the law in its entirety or modifying it, we will do what is necessary,’’ Ibrahim said.

  • Reps, stakeholders differ on constituency development fund

    Reps, stakeholders differ on constituency development fund

    The House of Representatives Committee on Constituency Outreach and some civil society groups on Wednesday differed on necessity of establishing constituency development fund to finance constituency projects undertaken by lawmakers.

    While the lawmakers held that the fund would enhance even distribution and execution of constituency projects across the country, the civil society believed that the house was trying to usurp the constitutional responsibility of local governments.

    Both positions were canvassed at a public hearing in Abuja on a bill for an Act to establish the Constituencies’ Development Fund organized by the House Committee on Constituency Projects.

    Declaring the event open, the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, said the intendment of the bill was to streamline the management and implementation of constituencies’ development fund.

    This, he said, would be by entrusting the execution of such projects in the hands of the rural development department.

    Dogara explained that the decisions on the projects to be implemented remained with the various constituencies through the constituency development project advisory committee set up for each Federal constituency and senatorial district.

    He said that the essence of the bill was to put in place a mechanism that would enhance the participation of citizens in the judicious utilization of funds that would bring about accountability and socio-economic development.

    Dogara, who was represented by the Chief Whip, Rep. Pally Iriase, said “of critical importance is that the bill will also encourage grassroots participation in governance”.

    Earlier, Chairman of the Constituencies Outreach Committee, Rep. Lawal Abubakar, said in spite of legal and constitutional controversies surrounding constitutional projects by federal legislators, its implementation through constituency development fund had grown by convention.

    He maintained that it had also grown by practical exigencies to become critical element of delivering development services and infrastructure to the people.

    “It is important to provide a robust legal framework and mechanism to promote greater transparency, accountability, effectiveness and sustainability in the use of CDF as instrument of development fund and advancement of collective public good,’’ he said.

    Mr Idayat Hassan, representing the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a Non-Governmental Organisation, argued that the proposed legislation “is a usurpation of the local government administration under the executive arm.

    “CDD is of a strong opinion that the approach of this bill circumvent the strictly oversight role of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

    Hassan contended that ascribing the project approval role to the National Assembly would create a dependent role for local government executives.

    He said that it would also open a risk for patronage and clientele corruption with their legislative counterparts.

    According to him, the National Assembly has arrogated excessive powers to itself in the bill.

    “There is a duplication of roles of members, which will seriously undermine democracy, transparency and accountability of the fund.

    “This role duplication contravenes all fundamental rules of accountability.

    “The National Assembly passes the Act and sits on the advisory committee as ex-officio member contravenes public meeting for the nomination of members of the committee.

    “It has a final say on the project approval and of course the implementation, and is responsible for the oversight of the fund.

    “This duplicity of roles makes CDF a de facto legislative fund and will lead to another era of constituencies’ project contestation,’’ he said.

    He argued that though the Act provided for clear guidelines on how to manage the fund, the governance structure was poor.

    This, Hassan said, would lead to political interloping on the implementation of CDF projects and increase graft and projects manipulation.

    In its own presentation, the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) submitted that in view of the need to strengthen the manner of administering constituency projects of the members of National Assembly, the bill was desirable and worth considering by the legislature.

    Also supporting the bill, Rep. Timothy Golu (Plateau-PDP) argued that the proposed law was very important in the even distribution of projects because most lawmakers did not have any federal representation in their constituencies.

    He said that the enactment of the law would enhance their reach with the grassroots.

    Similarly, Rep. Beni Lar (Plateau-PDP) allayed fears of stakeholders that the development fund might engender corruption in the system, saying that the bill could be streamlined to give it good law.

  • Saraki harps on govt, private sector partnership for development

    Saraki harps on govt, private sector partnership for development

    The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said that nation can only develop if there is co-operation between government and the private sector.

    Saraki stated this during a dialogue session to mark the first anniversary of the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) in Abuja.

    Commenting on efforts by the federal legislature towards making impact on development, Saraki said, “For us in the 8th National Assembly lawmaking is not about the number of bills, it is more about impact and we will continue to focus on quality and impact on our people over any other considerations.

    “This is what makes the 8th National Assembly unique as we are determined to only make laws that will have positive impact on our people”.

    He noted that for the first time in the history of the country, the National Assembly, in partnership with the private sector, through the NASSBER, initiated a research study to review the legislative instruments impeding doing business in Nigeria and received a report detailing the necessary legislative action required to begin the process of changing the unsupportive legal structures, weak institutional base and obsolete regulatory frameworks in the nation’s business environment.

    “We want to see that these bills can actually help us create jobs, mobilize private sector investment and promote made in Nigeria goods. We would expect that the breakout sessions will offer us a new set of legislative interventions that will help further to cement the impact the first tranche of our work is having”, Saraki added.

    The Senate President thanked the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Department for International Development (DFID), ENABLE project, and the Nigerian Bar Association – Section on Business Law (NBA, SBL) for their steadfastness and commitment to the vision and purpose of NASSBER, which is to facilitate constructive engagement and collaboration between the National Assembly and the Private sector.

    Also speaking at the event, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuf Lasun, noted that the NASSBER initiative was a right step in the right direction towards the enhancement of the economy.

    Dogara said, “A little over a year ago when NASSBER was inaugurated, we were very confident it was the right step to take if we were indeed committed to bringing our economy out of recession, and stimulating long term economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable for the shared prosperity of all Nigerians.

    “For the National Assembly, it was a road not travelled before, but we were willing to embark on this journey, not minding the risks, considering the promises it held. Looking back the last 12 months, NASSBER is but a success story of novel synergy, dialogue and engagement between the legislature, development partner, the private sector, the bench and citizens.

    “The National Assembly will continue to play a central role not only in governance but also ensuring that we deliberate and act on frameworks that will improve Nigeria’s business environment through the review of relevant legislations and provisions of the constitution.

    “As a result of this effort, I am more confident that our economy would attract ‘agile private sector that can innovate and respond to global opportunities’, as contemplated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this government”.

     

  • Presidency has no plans to reject 2017 Budget – Enang

    Presidency has no plans to reject 2017 Budget – Enang

    Sen. Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), says there is no plan to reject the 2017 Budget by the presidency.

    Enang made this known in a statement he issued on Saturday in Abuja, insisting that the presidency was working within the constitutional time-frame required to process details of the budget.

    “There is no such plan by it to reject the 2017 budget passed by the National Assembly as alleged in some reports.

    “The presidency can only assent to the budget or withhold assent as the case maybe.

    “However, should there be areas needing input, the presidency would engage the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives.

    “As such, any report suggesting a rejection of the 2017 Budget by the presidency is incorrect,’’ he said.

    Enang noted that the presidency was currently subjecting every detail of the budget to scrutiny using the available systems at its disposal.

    He said it was to ensure that figures appropriated to ministries, department and agencies were consistent with the realities on ground.

    “When the budget was presented to both chambers of the National Assembly for consideration last year by President Muhammadu Buhari, both chambers subjected the document to legislative processes, using internal systems at their disposal.

    “This, exactly, is what the presidency is actually doing at the moment to ensure that the budget, when assented to, sufficiently addresses the nation’s present realities.

  • Bill seeking to address Biafra agitation suffers setback  

    Bill seeking to address Biafra agitation suffers setback  

    A Bill seeking to address Biafra agitation with the establishment of Development Commission for the Sputheast geo-polical zone suffered a setback  on the floor of the House of Representatives Wednesday.

    The sponsors of the Bill  failed to present it for second reading.

    The general principles of the bill, sponsored by Chukwuka Onyema (PDP, Anambra), Uzoma Nkem-Abonta (PDP, Abia) and Henry Nwawuba (PDP, Imo) was listed for debate Wednesday but had to be stepped down.

    When it was time for the bill to be debated and the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara noticed that the lead sponsor Onyema, who is also the Minority Leader was not on the floor, he asked the Chairman, Rules and Business Committee, Emmanuel Oker-Jev to step it down.

    At this point, voices were heard around the floor indicating that one of the sponsors,  Nkem-Abonta was on ground.

    The Speaker then asked Nkem-Abonta to take it.

    On his feet, the lawmaker stated that he could not present the bill because it was agreed between them that the Minority Leader will present it and take the lead debate.

    The bill was eventually stepped down with the leave of the House.

    According to the snippets of the  lead debate, the bill that seeks to establish the South East Development Commission would be charged with the responsibility among other things to receive and manage fund from allocation of the Federation Account for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses and other infrastructural damages suffered by the region as a result of the effect of the civil war as well as tackle the ecological problems and any other related environmental or developmental challenges in the South East States.

    The objectives of the Bill with the establishment of the South East Development Commission is help to tackle the infrastructure deficit in the South East.

    “The creation of SEDC may help to end agitation for Biafra. It will be noted that the lack of Federal Government presence in South East geopolitical zone is the main reason for the current agitation for the creation of Biafra Republic.

    “If there is strong federal government presence in the zone, our youth will not see Biafra as an alternative while fortune and fame seekers will not capitalize on that to hoodwink our gullible youths.

    “The Bill will bring hope and employment in the South East region.

    The synopsis further revealed the background of the bill stating that “The Civil War that ended in 1970 saw lots of destructions of roads, houses and other infrastructures in the South East region.

    “Arising from the massive destruction of infrastructures and gruesome bloodletting that arise from the war, the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon proclaimed the three Rs. Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation, which he heralded his policy of “No Victor” No Vanquished”.

    “These policies were meant to quickly heal the gaping wounds of the gruesome bloodletting, forget the horrors and evils of the war and quickly reintegrate the South East regions into the society.

    “The question one will ask today is: have these South East regions of Nigeria been reconciled, rehabilitated, reconstructed and integrated into the mainstream of Nigeria Society. The answer is NO.

    “This bill if passed into law will strategically accelerate the economic emancipation of the marginalized people of the South East who are still suffering from the shackles of the Civil War amongst other forms of deprivation.

    “The bill will address the Three Rs, proclaimed of Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation abandoned over 40 years after the war, as to give hope to the South East Region”.

    Being stepped down, the bill stands the chance of being presented at another legislative day.

     

  • Senate to confirm appointment of CG of Customs Service

    Senate to confirm appointment of CG of Customs Service

    The Senate has passed a bill that would make it mandatory for the President to seek confirmation of the appointment of the Comptroller General for the Customs Service.

    The bill also makes it mandatory for the President to appoint the Comptroller General from officers within the Customs Service. The present CG, Col. Hammed Ali was appointed from outside the service.

    Introduction of the new bill has caused a repeal of the existing Customs and Excise Management Act, Cap. C45, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

    It has scrapped the Customs Governing Board and replaced it with the Customs Service Commission.

    The upper legislative chamber argued that “The office of the Comptroller General of Customs is sufficiently sensitive to warrant scrutiny by the Senate and thus ensure that the best possible candidates occupy that position”.

    Senators also inserted a clause that makes it mandatory for the federal character law to reflect in the appointments of Deputy Comptrollers General, Assistant Comptrollers General.

    A provision in Clause 13 Subsection (2) makes it mandatory for the Customs Service Commission to determine the numbers and duties of Deputy Comptroller General and Assistant Comptroller General.

    The Commssion is to be headed by a chairman, who would be a retired career Comptroller General or Deputy Comptroller General, who would be appointed by the President an initial tenure of four years.

    The appointment of the chairman of the commission is also subject to confirmation by the Senate, and the tenure is renewable once.

    The bill, entitled, “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Customs and Excise Management Act, to Establish the Nigeria Customs Service, Reform the Administration and Management of Customs and Excise in Nigeria, was passed following the adoption of the report of its Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff.

    Section 13 of the Bill made it clear that only a serving officer in the Customs Service should be qualified to be appointed CG

    The section stated in parts, “The President shall appoint from the Customs Service, subject to the confirmation of the Senate, a Comptroller General who shall be responsible for the over all management of the Customs Service.

    According to the bill, the Commission would be responsible for managing policies of the Customs Service or matters pertaining to administration, assessment, collection and accounting for revenues, as may be directed by the Minister of Finance from time to time.

    It would also be responsible for managing all issues relating to employment, training, welfare, and discipline of officers of the Customs, with the approval of the appropriate authority of the Federal Government.

    The bill consolidated into a single reference document, the Customs Service legal authority, which is embodied in multiple enactments, with the view to bringing the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) 1958, in line with modern day reality and international best practices.

    Chairman of the Senate Customs committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma explained that the service would also be financed from a seven percent cost of collection of import duty, excise and fees, special levies, revenues derived from assessment and collection of cost based user fees, and from budgetary provisions.

    Uzodinma said, “The new bill will substantially enhance revenue generation and facilitate trade through full implementation of modern customs procedures that will evolve consistent, transparent and predictable environment for international trade in line with internally accepted norms and practices”.

    The senator added that the bill would also ensure pre-shipment and post shipment inspection at point of origin and destination, to reduce the incidence of illegal importation of weapons and other lethal items.

    “It strengthens the full implementation of pre-shipment laws of the country through the provisions for screening as a prerequisite for clearing goods into the country, not only adds to the expedited clearing system, but empirically improves the security of the nation by minimising the unfettered access into the country of illicit goods, prohibited narcotics, proliferation of small arms and toxic cargoes”, Senator Uzodinma added.

    The bill also made provisions for the use of modern Information Technology (IT) platforms and systems, including electronic documents, signatures and electronic payments, as well as application of Risk Management and other IT related issues.

    It also provides for the publication of a tariff handbook, subject to approval of the National Assembly, with the view to curtailing arbitrary tariff reviews.

     

  • Dogara: NASS will raise teachers’ retirement age to 65

    Dogara: NASS will raise teachers’ retirement age to 65

    …To upgrade working conditions

    The National Assembly will increase the retirement age of Teachers in the country from 60 to 65 years to retain more experienced teachers in public schools, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said.

    Dogara who spoke when he received a delegation from the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in his office, he said the House supports an upward review of teachers’ retirement age for Nigerian children to benefit from.

    His words: “We have done it for the tertiary institutions and the judiciary, so nothing should stop us from taking the bull by the horns. They say that wine gets better with age, it was the same consideration that motivated us to raise that of university lecturers, raise that of judges. So this is something we can pursue.

    “Thankfully, it doesn’t require constitutional amendment; it is something we can achieve by amending the existing law. That is the responsibility of the parliament and we assure you that we will do something about that so that the benefit that comes with experience and wisdom will not be lost,” he stated.

    According to him, the welfare and working condition of teachers must also be upgraded to enable Nigerian citizens compete with the global world and produce citizens that can achieve development that the country seeks.

    He said: “If we don’t have people who will sacrifice their time and energy to impart knowledge on our children, then like I said, we have lost the future. This government which is a government of change must be prepared to change the narrative by ensuring that teachers are motivated and the condition in which they work are conducive at all levels, so that they can deliver on their professional calling.”

    The union’s request for salaries of teachers to be handed over to state governments or paid from first-line charge from the federation account, the Speaker said, should be channeled through the Universal Basic Education Commission to the Constitution Review committee of the House of Representatives for consideration.

    The National President of NUT, Comrade Micheal Alogba Olukoya, earlier in his speech, appealed that the union prefers such an arrangement.

    He said: ” We want the responsibilities of paying the salaries of Teachers be handed over to State Governments in which case the salaries component of the revenue allocation of the Local Governments will have to be transferred to the states and restructure the fiscal allocation of our national resources in favour of the states to guarantee uninterrupted and unfettered primary education in Nigeria.”

    The union also requested that teachers’ salaries be paid from first-line charge from the federation account through the Universal Basic Education Commission.

    “We teachers of Nigeria in primary and secondary schools do seek and demand that our retirement age be raised to 65 years to increase the teacher retention rate in our schools. This will help to check the rate at which experienced teachers are being lost in the school system whereas younger and prospective teachers are not recruited to take their place,” Olukoya said.

  • Senators raise alarm over herdsmen rampage in Edo

    Senators raise alarm over herdsmen rampage in Edo

    …Two women killed, four women raped

     

    The Senators representing Edo Central and Edo North Senatorial Districts, Clifford Ordia and Francis Alimikhena, Wednesday raised the alarm over the rampaging activities of herdsmen in Edo State.

    While Ordia told the Senate that suspected Fulani herdsmen attacked two villages in Edo Central where they raped and strangulated two women to death, Alimikhena informed his colleagues that the ravaging herdsmen raped four women in his constituency.

    Ordia said that the women were killed in community called Ewu, Edo Central on May 22, 2017.

    The lawmaker in a motion entitled “Need to curtail the activities of Fulani Herdsmen in Edo State,” lamented that the Federal Government appeared to have left the people to their fate.

    Senator Ordia said: “These ravaging herdsmen entered into a farmland located in Ewu Community, Esan Central Local Government of Edo State raping two women, Mrs. Martina Emoyon and Mrs. Ariu and strangled them to death, destroyed crops and sacked a lot of persons from their various farmlands.

    “Consequent upon these criminal activities of the Fulani herdsmen, the youths of Ewu engaged in a peaceful protest to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the problem.

    “Sadly one Ehimen Donald Abuya was shot and the victim is presently lying critically ill at Irrua Specialist Hospital.

    “Since this destructive attack, it has been observed that no farmer in the communities have engaged in farming activities for fear of being killed.

    “I am concerned about the heinous and criminal activities being perpetrated by Fulani Herdsmen who in the violent act of ravaging communities, depriving persons of right to life and prosperity, raping, defiling women and destroying farms crops amongst other criminal activities across the country.

    “Despite the public outcry and previous resolutions of the National Assembly as regards the criminal activities of herdsmen, there seems to be no visible action on the part of government to curtail, abate or totally stop the criminal activities of these criminal elements among Fulani Herdsmen.”

    The lawmaker who quoted section 33(1) of chapter (iv) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Senator Ordia said “every person has a right to life and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in the execution of a court sentence in respect of criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.

    “The Africa Chapter on Human and Peoples Right of which Nigeria is a signatory also provides for Right to Life and Respect for Integrity of Persons, Freedom from Slavery, Torture, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading treatment

    “Section 43 of the constitution provides that every citizen shall have a right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria.

    “The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) in section 14(b) clearly provides that the Security and Welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

    He warned that the situation might get worse if drastic action was not taken to curtail the activities of Fulani herdsmen.

    He said, “We cannot continue to live like this in the country. The herdsmen did not only rape the women but went ahead to strangulate them. The Federal Government, should as a matter of urgency, step in and curb the criminal activities of these herdsmen.

    Senator Alimikhena on his own said that the four women were raped in a community in his Senatorial District.

    The Edo North lawmaker lamented that the herdsmen have taken over highways and farmlands in the area making vehicular movement difficult.

    He appealed to the Senate to intervene and stop the carnage in his area.

    The Senate asked security agencies “to halt, apprehend and bring to justice the criminal elements posing as herdsmen who derive pleasure in destroying lives and properties across Nigeria.”

    An ad-hoc committee already set up by the Senate and chaired by Senator Kabiru Gaya, to investigate activities of Fulani herdsmen in the country was mandated to include recent attacks in Edo State.

     

  • Kogi forum meets over National Assembly seats

    Stakeholders in Yagba Federal Constituency in Kogi State, under the aegis of Yagba Political Forum, a non-partisan group, have met in Isanlu, Yagba East Local Government Area, “to chart an all-inclusive political roadmap” for the constituency ahead of the 2019 elections.

    At the end of the meeting held in Isanlu Town hall, and attended by political gladiators from the area, the forum resolved to unite and mobilise Yagba people to ensure that the federal constituency produces the next senator of Kogi West Senatorial District. The meeting recalled that based on the existing rotation principle in Kogi West zone involving the three federal constituencies of Lokoja/Kotonkarfe, Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu and Yagba,” it is the turn of Yagba to produce the senator in 2019″.

    The forum also debated on the next election into the House of Representatives for Yagba Federal Constituency, comprising of Yagba West, Yagba East and Mopamuro local government areas.

    Consequently, it was resolved that the next representative should come from one of Yagba East and Mopamuro local government areas, exempting Yagba West local government area alleged to have done three terms since 2007. However, the senate seat was declared open for contest among the three local government areas with a caveat that no single local government shall produce both senate and Rep at the same time.

    Convener of Yagba Political Forum, Chief Frank Aiyedun, who read the communiqué at the end of the summit, said the forum which had been moribund was resuscitated to ensure that Yagba attained its rightful place in Okun, Kogi and the country as a whole.