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Tag: national assembly

  • Buhari and the National Assembly

    There is this common tale that many young Nigerians,who enrolled at the Nigeria Defence Academy in the late 1980’s and1990’s,did so with the hope that one day they would participate in a coup, and then they can be appointed a military governor or to other political office. Such was the belief then,that military rulewas routine in Africa, and considering the corrupt enrichment of many military officers serving in political positions then; military career was considered one surest way of securing financialsecurity. However, with the collapse of the cold war, military adventure in politics turned an international pariah, and Nigeria like the rest of Africa, has no option than to behave itself.

    Now, it is believed that such Nigerians who nurse the ambition to get-rich-quickly,by raiding the public treasury, have turned to politics as the route to that Eldorado. Probably because the elective executive positions are limited in number, there is the likelihood that the preponderance of the gold diggers, now aggregate in the legislature. So, while the executive may have direct control over the application of public funds, and could help themselves more than the legislature, there is a higher number of elected legislative officials chasing after public funds, for bad.

    So, the fact that there are many elected officials angling for a kill in the legislative arm,makes dealing with them a lot more difficult and unwieldy. In the states for instance, once the executive governor is happy, he has the powers to whip the rest of his executive gang into line. The same is also applicable to the presidency. On the other hand, to get the legislature on one’s side for any deal, a minimum of half of the number of the legislators, plus one, is needed. In the case of the Senate made up of 109 members, to have a deal, one needs at least 55 senators. For the House of Representatives which has 360 members, the deal breaker, is 181 legislators.

    Of course, each senator or representative has his or her own idiosyncrasies, weaknesses and strong points, among other variables.To wield those variables to achieve any goal, is the challenge of any political actor, who must under the law, deal with the legislators in a democracy. Most likely because of this plurality of interests in context, the legislature is acknowledged as the bastion of democracy and the common will of the people. This philosophical underpinning, may well be the reason why the legislature is consideredsuperior to the other arms of government, in any constitutional democracy.

    Under the 1999 Constitution, the legislature is therefore given pre-eminence over the other two arms of government – the executive and the judiciary.It is the legislature that makes the laws that the executive, executes, and which the judiciary, interprets. Again, it is the legislature that has the control over public funds, which include the power to determine expenditure from the consolidated revenue fund, as provided in section 162 of the constitution. The legislature also has the powers to oversee executive performance, monitor the public expenditure and where it considers it expedient, to sack the executive.

    Considering the enormous powers of the legislature, the executive authority whether at the state or the federal level, usually get interested in what goes on in the legislature. That interest includes, influencing the legislators, in their choice of who leads them. This was particularly noticeable under former President OlusegunObasanjo’s regime, from 1999 to 2007. The result was a high turnover of senate presidents as well as speakers of the House of Representatives. In practice, many support that interference, while others consider it as disastrous for democracy.

    With the ubiquitous powers of the legislature,the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the President-elect, Mohammadu Buhari,considering the high expectation from the electorate, should be interested, in who heads the two arms of the National Assembly. But how can the President-elect successfully do that, without giving himself away as dictatorial, or one who has no respect for the doctrine of separation of powers; which is fundamental in presidential democracy. Again, if he gets involved and his preferred candidate fails, he would be a target for blackmail, each time he disagrees with the leadership of the Senate or the House that he never supported.

    Considering the austere involvement of the President-elect as a wheeler-dealer in the past 16 years of our democracy, he may also find it difficult to surreptitiously influence the choices, without clearly showing his preferences.But the President-elect needs all the support from the national assembly, if he hopes to make a success of his tenure; even when many of the legislators see their election as an opportunity to deal with their personal poverty, foisted by past corrupt and ill-mannered politics. Where the President-elect and his party are unable to gain their preferred candidate as heads in the senate and the house, the challenge would be how to convince the legislators to amend their financial expectations as legislators.

    I guess the option open to the President-elect is to exploit his national anti-corruption stature, in dealing with whoever emerges as the President of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Representatives.He must set the minimum standard of engagement from day one, and insist on that template without any waiver. If he does, he may lose a few weeks of paralysis in the dug-out; but gain a standard for the rest of his tenure. Of course, the members in the two houses would not have the courage to contemplate an impeachment, in the early months. The alternative is for Buhari to learn to be a wheeler-dealer for the next four years, with its disastrousconsequences, for our country.

  • National Assembly: Ita Giwa challenges lawmakers on leadership

    National Assembly: Ita Giwa challenges lawmakers on leadership

    Former Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita Giwa, has called on the eight National Assembly to be independent minded in their choice of leadership.

    In a statement, Senator Ita Giwa underscored the need for cordiality between the legislators, it’s leadership and the executive in other to strengthen democracy and the rule of law.

    She said that irrespective of the lawmakers’ different political leanings, they should ensure that they work together as an entity without undermining the dignity of the institution.

    She added that the Assembly  have to hit the ground running and do the right thing and avoid distractions and unnecessary altercations with the executive arm in other to legislate excellently for the nation.

    The statement reads in parts:”I urge the 8th national assembly that will be inaugurated on June 4 to be independent minded. They should put the nation first ahead of their personal interests.

    “This should be reflected in their choice of leadership. The upper and lower house are symbols of pride and dignity. Nigerians look forward to them to make people oriented laws and to partner seamlessly with the executive arm of government.”

  • National Assembly gazettes amended Constitution

    National Assembly gazettes amended Constitution

    The controversial Fourth Alteration of the 1999 Constitution has been gazetted, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    A source close to the leadership of the National Assembly told our correspondent that a clean copy of the Fourth Alteration Bill 2015 (Constitution Amendment) was gazetted yesterday.

    The gazetting of the amended Constitution is coming despite the ruling of the Supreme Court that all actions on the review of the Constitution should be suspended.

    The apex court also mandated parties to the suit on the alteration of the Constitution – the National Assembly and the Presidency – to maintain the status quo pending the ruling on May 17.

    President Goodluck Jonathan declined assent to the alterations, citing alleged neglect of due process by the National Assembly in amending the Constitution.

    The Presidency also took the matter to the Supreme Court to stop the National Assembly from overriding the President’s assent.

    But the source said that gazetting the document was the first step to bringing back the amended Constitution to the floor of the two chambers of the National Assembly to override the President.

    He noted that “when the document is brought back to the floor of the two chambers of the National Assembly, the Bill will be passed into law by two-third majority”.

    Asked the likely implications of overriding the President’s assent when the Supreme Court order is that the National Assembly should maintain the status quo, he said that the apex court lacked the powers to stop the parliament from its constitutional duties of law making.

    Moreover, he said that most of them “suspect that by fixing  May 17, as date of hearing in the suit challenging the alterations of the Constitution, the Supreme Court was not mindful that the life of the Seventh National Assembly that amended the Constitution would have elapsed”.

    He added: “We are not disobeying the Supreme Court. We are merely carrying out our legislative duty, which included amending the Constitution when necessary.

    “By gazetting the alterations, we can now go ahead to override the President’s assent pending the ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter.

    “The Supreme Court itself knows that it cannot stop the National Assembly from carrying out its constitutional duties.”

    He said that the feeling of majority of members of the National Assembly is that the withholding of assent by the President is in bad faith.

     

  • Politics of National Assembly leadership

    Politics of National Assembly leadership

    As the intrigues over the emergence of the leadership of the next National Assembly peaks this week, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo and Sunday Oguntola report on the politics of the National Assembly leadership since 1999

    The office of the Senate President is the third most important elective position in the country and as such, has always been a subject of interest among politicians and their political parties.

    Besides presiding over the upper chamber, the Senate President is the chairman of the National Assembly and the head of the legislative arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    Given this reality, power brokers have always seen the occupation of that exulted office as vital in the power balancing act. This is why the politics of who would succeed the out- going Senate President, David Mark, in the new government, and who would head National Assembly, has become a major political concern in today’s Nigeria. The intrigues has reached its peak as interest groups and political stakeholders mount pressure on the powers that be to zone either the office of the Senate President or that of the Speaker to them or their people.

    Considering the traditional factors that had over the years helped to determine who presides over the legislature in the country and the unique realities of today’s polity, where a major tripod, both the South-East and the South-South, did not have a single ranking senator that may be considered; it remains to be seen how the emerging riddle would be resolved.

    The traditional tripod

    At independence, the country’s political system naturally rested on a tripod that evolved from the original three regional governments and the three largest tribes: Hausa/Fulani in the Northern Region; Igbo in the South Eastern Region and Yoruba in the South Western Region. Since then, notwithstanding the political developments that led to creation of states and change from regional government to federal system of government, the importance of the traditional tripod remained entrenched in the sharing of offices in Nigeria.

    So, after the long period of military dictatorship, upon the country’s return to civil rule in 1999, the political class, across party lines, in an unwritten but generally accepted resolution opted to re-adopt the principle of zoning in determining which sections of the country should produce the leadership of the then troubled country.

    Consequently, the presidency was ceded to the South-West geo-political zone perhaps in a widely accepted position that the ‘region’ should somehow be palliated for its many losses to the June 12, 1993 crisis.

    So, with General Olusegun Obasanjo from the west and Atiku Abubakar from the North-East, emerging as President and Vice President respectively on May 29, 1999, the position of the Senate President was zoned to the South-East geo-political zone by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to complete the age-long “North-West-East” tripod on which the politics of the country had always rested.

    With the regional issue easily settled, the politics of who should occupy the position of Senate President was left to the political dynamics within the ruling party in the South-East zone. Eventually, Senator Evan Enwerem, who was elected to the Nigerian Senate in 1999 to represent the Imo-East Senatorial Zone became the first President of the Nigerian Senate during Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Enwerem beat his chief rival, Senator Chuba Okadigbo, from Anambra State, to the Senate presidency race on June 3, 1999.

    Enwerem’s emergence was not without some intrigues. Obasanjo backed Enwerem for the position against Okadigbo. With the support of the Obasanjo’s allies in the governing parties, plus supports from senators elected on the platform of the two opposition parties, Enwerem defeated Okadigbo with 66 votes to Okadigbo’s 43 votes in a keenly contested election.

    Enwerem did not hold the post of President of the Nigerian Senate for very long. As his problems started when there were discrepancies on his real name of Evan with or without an ‘S’ as written on his academic qualifications and also the alleged falsification of his true biological age.

    Barely months into his presidency, a senate committee started investigating him for corruption. Out of utter frustration and pressure, he resigned from office on November 18, 1999, in an ouster spearheaded by allies of Sen. Chuba Okadigbo and thus, the journey of periodical changes in the leadership of the Senate, began.

    Okadigbo, Enwerem’s earlier rival, became his successor in year 2000. His emergence, still based on the principle of zoning respected by the ruling party, was without much contest as the South-East PDP caucus was left to decide who would succeed Enwerem.

    But because he didn’t enjoy the confidence and support of the Obasanjo-led presidency, he was in turn removed from office on August 8, 2000. On allegation of some federal contract scams associated with the Senate, he was promptly probed and impeached as the senate president.

    Following Okadigbo’s 2000 ouster, Enwerem briefly expressed interest in again assuming the presidency of the Senate. However, Enwerem withdrew from the race in favor of Senator Anyim Pius Anyim at the shadow election conducted by PDP Senators in Senate Hearing Room One.

     Anyim, an Ebonyi State indigene, was soon also accused of alleged gross corrupt enrichment. This soon became a source of investigation by the ethics and privileges committee of the senate. Because of this, he eventually resigned and returned to the floor as a senator.

    In 2003, Senator Adolphus Wabara, representing Abia Cental Senatorial District, also from the South-East, became Senate President, the fourth in a space of five years. But less than two years in the saddle, he was accused of of bribery in collaboration with some senate members.

    Senator Ken Nnamani, a senator from Enugu State, became the fifth senate president in 2005 and he went on to lead the hallowed chamber till the expiration of the 5th session in June 2007.

    So, all through this period, the singular factor that determined which geo- political zone would produce the Senate President was zoning, based on the traditional tripod. No one challenged it and no extraneous factor came up to alter it. The accompanying intrigues that led to the very senator that seats on the plum seat was largely left in the hands of the other senators from the zone.

    Obasanjo’s factor

    As hinted earlier, President Olusegun Obasanjo’s influence also loomed high both in the emergence and removal of most of the Senate Presidents in that era. Obasanjo, accused of being dictatorial and powerful was largely instrumental to Enwerem’s defeat of Okadigbo in the 1999 Senate Presidential race.

    Okadigbo was considered more influential but Obasanjo, it was alleged, saw in his popularity and attitude, a potential threat to his authority and therefore went all out to ensure Enwerem’s victory.

    Even when the tide turned against Enwerem and Okadigbo emerged his successor in 2000, Obasanjo would not let go. It took barely eight months of high wired politics to dethrone the late Okadigbo.

    National Assembly leadership (2007-2015)

    From 1999 till 2007 when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo called the shots as Nigeria’s president, the zoning policy of his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was held sacrosanct by the leadership of the party and the government of the day.

    Within this period, the top four positions in the country, the President, the Vice President, Senate President and Speaker of the House were zoned to the South-West, North-East, South-East and North-West respectively.

    With the expiration of Obasanjo’s tenure in 2007, and the return of the Presidency to the North, the ruling PDP reviewed its zoning policy without much controversy.

    Thus, the late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from the North-West became the President while the South-South produced the Vice-President in the person of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Senator David Mark from the North-Central became the Senate President, while Hon. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh from the South-West was elected by her colleagues as the Speaker to succeed Hon. Aminu Bello Masari.

    Mark and senate stability

    Until his election as Senate President, the politics of the National Assembly leadership was largely focused on the Red Chamber where high wired intrigues led to the emergence and fall of many Senate Presidents. Known more for its instability then than for any other legacy, the Senate produced up five Senate Presidents just between 1999 and 2007.

     But the election of Senator David Mark as the Senate President in 2007, which came with little or no opposition from his colleagues in the Senate, changed the politics of the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly as he stabilized the hitherto unstable Senate.

    His choice was allegedly at the behest of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had implicit trust and confidence in him, though he was far his junior colleague in the army.

    His critics allege that the stability that came with the emergence of Mark may have been a mere coincidence even as they trace the instability to Mark himself, claiming that he was more or less the author of the instability and has since his election conveniently packed away the “banana peels” that at one time caused the regular fall of his predecessors. His supporters however described Mark as the harbinger of peace, insisting that it was that attitude that brought peace and stability to the legislative chamber.

    The debate apart, most observers said the stability brought to the Senate under Mark and the collective experience of the leadership of the Senate that includes his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) is an obvious advantage for the country’s democracy.

    The relative peace in the Senate within 2007 and 2011, analysts argue, could be attributed to the principles of rotation, zoning and power shift in spite of its imperfections.

    But while the Red Chamber recorded led intrigues, associated with leadership tussle or power show with the presidency or the executive, the politics in the House of Representatives has remained intriguing.

    Etteh’s election and removal

    The election of Hon. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh as the Speaker of the House of Representatives in June 2007 did not come to many Nigerians as a surprise.

    Weeks before the formal inauguration of the House, speculations were rife in the media that she had been endorsed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the PDP national leadership.

    But unknown to many PDP members, Etteh was not a founding member of the PDP. In 1999, she was elected into the House to represent Ayedaade/Isokan/Irewole Federal Constituency in Osun State on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).

    But early in 2003, she later defected to PDP and won a re-election. She was elected to the position of Speaker unanimously in June 2007, the only woman to have held this position in the country.

    Corruption scandal

    But no sooner had Etteh assumed the speakership position than it was rumoured that some young turks in the House were not comfortable with her leadership style and were plotting to remove her from her exalted seat.

    There were unconfirmed reports that Etteh was imposed on her colleagues, some of whom were uncomfortable that she was allegedly loyal to Obasanjo, her godfather.

    The opportunity presented itself following the allegations that Etteh allegedly approved the sum of N628 million for the renovation of her official residence and that of her deputy, in addition to the purchase of 12 official cars meant for the House of Representatives.

    From this moment, activities in the House became charged, with many of the members calling for Etteh’s removal or resignation, while her supporters led by Hon. Dino Melaye, now Senator-elect,  backed her to the hilt.

    The polarisation of the House led to the formation of the Integrity Group led by Hon. Farouk Lawan. Other members include Halims Agoda, Lynda Ikpeazu, Mercy Almona Isei, Igo Aguma, Ikechi Nwogu and Abike Dabiri.

    The group cut the image of a group seeking an ideal National Assembly where decorum and integrity reign among members and in which legislators conduct themselves in a responsible, dignified and transparent manner.

    Within weeks, the Integrity Group swelled in ranks and became very dominant in the proceedings in the House.

    And in September 2007, Etteh faced a committee to answer charges that she acted inappropriately for the N628 million scandal.

    Even as it was obvious that she had lost the confidence of majority of her colleagues, the leadership of PDP continued to back Etteh, although some members, such as Isyaku Ibrahim, criticised this stance, while former President Obasanjo continued to support her.

    On October 30, 2007, following weeks of pressure, Etteh resigned her position as Speaker. Her deputy, Babangida Nguroje, also resigned. Interestingly, at the last sitting of the 6th session of the House of Representatives in 2011, it was agreed that “there is no record or proceedings of the House where Hon. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh was ever indicted.”

    Bankole steps in

    The three-month crisis in the then 6th Assembly of the House of Representatives ended with the election of Hon. Dimeji Sabur Bankole, also from the South-West, as the new Speaker. He represented Abeokuta South Federal Constituency in Ogun State.

    From the South-West like his predecessor, Bankole’s election conformed with the power sharing formula of the PDP, which had zoned the speakership to the region.

    Also, Hon. Usman Bayero Nafada, a two-term lawmaker from Dukku/Nafada Federal Constituency in Gombe State, emerged as the new Deputy Speaker through acclamation. No member from his North-East zone opposed him.

    Bankole, who was first elected to the House in 2003, defeated his only opponent, Mr. George Jolaoye.

    The election was conducted by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Nasiru Arab.

    Bankole polled 304 votes as against 20 votes by Jolaoye. Four lawmakers abstained from voting. The election was conducted through the calling of each of the names of the 328 legislators that voted.

    Each member of the House was directed to mention the name of the candidate he or she wanted to vote for.

    Bankole’s nomination was made by Hon. Sampson Osagie, a lawmaker from Edo State. The nomination was seconded by Ms. Lynda Ikpeazu.

    Current puzzles

    The result of the last National Assembly election, where the All Progressives Congress (APC) capped its victory of the presidential election with clear majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives has made it necessary for the new ruling party to produce the next Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Since 1999 when PDP controlled the federal government, it has produced all the Senate Presidents and Speakers of the House.

     But at the soon-to-be inaugurated Senate, APC has overwhelming majority of 60 against PDP’s 49 members. For the House of Representatives, APC is also in control with a comfortable 214 members out of the 360 members. This clear majority should, on the surface, mean that APC will find it easy to produce the next Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, including the other majority principal officers of both the Red and the Green chambers.

    But two factors seem to have made the permutation rather tricky, thus resulting in intricate politicking and agitation from various zones and political stakeholders. The factors are zoning and the fact that South-East and South-South geo-political zones did not produce a single ranking senator on the platform of APC, who may be made the Senate President in order to achieve what many term the usual balance. With General Muhammadu Buhari, the President-Elect from the North-West and the Vice-President-Elect, Prof. Yomi Osinbajo, from the South-West, it would have been tidier to pick the Senate-President or at least the Speaker from either the South-East or the South-South.

    Given the development, the search within the APC, according to reports, has been shifted to the North-Central and the North-East zones, where some historical realities have made the task even more complex and intriguing. Our investigation, for example, shows that the North-East geo-political zone, which has since 1999 been in the opposition and has therefore never produced a Senate President is  insisting that the zone should be compensated with the position of Senate President and made to feel be part of the Nigerian project. Their demand, according to some political stakeholders, “is made more persuasive both by the current devastation of the zone by the Boko Haram insurgency and by the fact that the zone delivered the second largest number of votes to APC.”

    So, today, though many influential APC senators-elect are interested in the plum position, it seems the search has been narrowed to three leading contenders from the North-East and North-Central geo-political zones.

    They include Senator George Akume, a former governor of Benue State in the North-Central zone, Senator Bukola Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State also from North-Central and Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan from Yobe State in the North-East zone, who has been in the National Assembly since 1999, first at the Green Chamber before moving over to the Red Chamber in 2007.

    These frontline runners are however not the only contenders from the two zones. From the North-East zone, for example, the likes of former governor of Gombe State, Danjuma Goje; Ali Ndume from Borno State and Binta Garba Maasi from Adamawa State are also in the race. From the North-Central zone, Abdullahi Adamu is also mentioned as a frontline contender.

    The race for the Speaker of the House of Representatives is also eliciting equal interest. Virtually every geo-political zone, excluding the North-West where the president-elect hails from has been reported to show interest in the Number Fourth Citizen’s position.

    Dr. Francis Uko, commenting on the current debate over which zone should be favoured and who will wear the crown, said, “this task of electing the Senate President and the Speaker, including their deputies, is very crucial for the survival of General Buhari’s government. Most Nigerians are worried but informed observers know that the seeming confusion arises from the fact that APC, being a new ruling party may not have established its zoning policy. The leaders of the party will need to be careful, fair and firm and must in addition be open on how they arrived on whatever choices they will make. If they do this, governance will be easy for Buhari and his team. As a Nigerian, I am more interested in the quality of the emergent leader than the zone he or she comes from. This is an era of change and we must all be willing to change from our mentality of tribe and zoning. If you ask me, merit and equity are better than less noble criteria for zoning.”

  • Memo to 8th National Assembly

    SIR: The new National Asembly (NASS) is coming after turbulent government and assembly of men and women who, by any standard, cannot be said to have performed credibly well in terms of people-oriented projects and programmes and in the making of corresponding laws that improved living standard and fasten development.

    The National Assembly is a constitutional locomotive for any purposeful democratic government; it provides checks to the government of the day and a legal basis for the system in general. This basically accounts for the high respect usually accorded and, of course, the attendant high expectation placed on it.

    It has been a genuine cause for worry for Nigerians that, despite our series of experimentation with democracy, our legislators have performed far below expectation. Their handling of national issues has fallen short on constitutional decorum given the experience required of people in that exalted status.

    As wise men and women of integrity, we expect them to use reason and persuasion rather rancour in discharging their legislative duties. It is equally expected that they will live above board and their conduct would be devoid of fruitless witch-hunt as we saw in the past. The truth is that the coming of Buhari/Osinbajo administration offers Nigerians the carrot of change, hence the new National Assembly is also expected to not only clean this stigma for good , but also to give our democracy the vision and definition befitting our status as Africa’s leading nation.

    We expect the new NASS to start by addressing issues of relevance to the lives of Nigerians which were either left unaddressed or wrongly addressed in the last legislative term.

    Given that the budget provides the economic framework upon which a nation’s activities are organised, we expect the incoming lawmakers to accord it top priority.

    It’s my belief that the measure of its success lies in how well it remains steadfast and minds its constitutional role of law making. Given the prevailing mood of the country, the replacement of majority of members of the NASS by new ones is to be interpreted as a clear demand by citizens for a new beginning for the legislature and the country at large.

     

    • Ahmad Muhammad Danyaro

    Kano

     

  • ‘Presidency, National Assembly must cut expenses’

    ‘Presidency, National Assembly must cut expenses’

    MEMBER-elect of the House of Representatives from Kano State Abdullahi Mahmud Gaya has called on the incoming administration of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to slash the expenses of the Presidency and National Assembly by 50 per cent.

    Gaya said this would allow enough resources to be made available to cater for the nation’s capital expenditure.

    In an interview with reporters at his residence in Kano yesterday, Gaya, who was elected from Gaya/Ajinge/Albasu Federal Constituency, urged his colleagues and the President-elect to consider his advice.

    Until his election as a House of Representatives’ member,  Gaya was the state’s commissioner for Finance.

    “In my opinion, I think it will be better for all the elected representatives,  beginning from Mr. President to members of parliament,  to ministers, other advisers and special assistants,  to agree that what we will be receiving is slashed to 50 per cent,” he said.

    “Since we believe the country needs positive change, we should therefore accept it as such. The slash in the expenses should continue till when our dear nation gets to execute capital projects. The sacrifice should start from May 29, for two years,” he added.

  • 8th National Assembly must be proactive to meet Nigerians expectation

    8th National Assembly must be proactive to meet Nigerians expectation

    Godwin Obla is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He is a prosecutor for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and has conducted several high profile cases. In this interview with John Austin Unachukwu, he speaks on  election  petitions, Judges appointment  and judicial reforms.

    The much awaited change is here, what are your expectations in the justice sector?

    First and foremost, Nigerians are very expectant now, they are very expectant because they believe that things have not been going the way they expected. But I think that the expectations should be reasonable because the usual thing is that when a new government comes in,  the populace expect a magic wand, but life is not about magic, life is about reality. The justice sector to which I belong is a sector that has had a lot of challenges over the years. These challenges are not new but what the populace are looking forward to is a reform that will  enhance speedy dispensation of justice without affecting the quality of justice that is dispensed. In criminal matters, especially in matters involving politically exposed persons, the public expects speedy justice.

    However, I think that it will be unfair to pigeon hole these expectations in relation to particular category of persons. Politically exposed persons deserve speedy justice, people involved in other  forms of crime deserve speedy justice, the business man deserve speedy justice, the banker who lends out money to  people desires  that his matter be tried on time so that he can recover his money and move on. The person having  a land crisis also needs that his situation  be dealt with, so also those involved in matrimonial issues or those that have issues of  inheritance. So, it is a complete overhaul that we need. May be our procedural laws have been too inhibiting, if they have, then what do we do.

     

    What kind of transformation do we then expect?

    It is not an overnight transformation that we are expecting,  but the Chinese said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step. So, there will be a lot of interventions in the justice sector. Incidentally, the incoming Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has also cut a niche for himself in the area of Justice Sector  reforms, the reforms that the Lagos State Judiciary is experiencing today is substantially traceable to him, so I think that he will work hand in hand with the new Attorney-General and Minister of Justice whoever that may be to bring some serious sectoral reforms in the Justice sector.

    A lot  of Justice Sector Bills that started their journey in the 6th National Assembly could still not be passed into law by the outgoing 7th Assembly.  Naturally  such bills will start fresh legislative journey to be passed into law in the forthcoming 8th Assembly, how do we checkmate this unnecessary waste of time and resources in the legislature?.

    We need to be realistic with ourselves, most times, blames are heaped on the executive arms of government,  and people forget that the system of government that we operate, involves the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Executive arms of government. We also forget the fact  that the three arms are to work in synergy and the failure to work in synergy affects the quality of governance that we all experience. A lot those bills you mentioned will never be passed into law because of the diverse interests that are involved in them, like the Non Conviction bills, Assets Recovery bills,  people are looking the fact that some of these bills, when passed into law will impact on them personally, or their businesses later on. So, they actually put their feet down and frustrate it.

    Corruption  has also affected the activities of the National Assembly, those are not bills that hold any potential for of actually impacting on the members so there is no incentive for the members to pass this bill into law. They are not like the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), or like any other bill  that has any serious commercial  interest.

     

    So, how do we get over this?

    I believe that until the members of the incoming National Assembly change their attitudes, their work ethics and do what is right for the country,  no matter how well intentioned the incoming executive may be, you will find out that they will achieve very very little because our laws are the basis upon which they will operate effectively. So, if you don’t have good laws, no matter your good intentions, will definitely meet obstacles on the road.

     

    Law has always been a catalyst for economic development, what is your advice to the incoming National Assembly in this respect so that we can have good governance in the country?

    I think that the incoming National Assembly should first and foremost have a proactive perspective of development all over the world and to reflect this perspective on the nature and character of  laws we make. Let me give you an example, commerce now, has largely been influenced by telecommunications and the internet. We are doing a lot of the things that  Europeans  and Americans are doing here,  but do we have the legal framework to support the transactions that we are doing, most times they ask you to pay for items over the internet in Nigeria, you pay for Joint Admissions and Matriculation (JAMB) forms,  Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) forms, conference forms over the internet, what is the legal framework  that support these payment platforms that we are using. The world has substantially changed, there is so much cyber related crimes and offences now, what has the National Assembly done, how far have gone to bring our laws in tandem with all these developments. So, the next National Assembly needs to be very proactive and speed is required in everything that they do. They may think that four years is  a long time, but it is a very short  period indeed for them to articulate this bill, bring them out, conduct public hearings, then go back  clean them up and then send them to the executive for signature. So, they have to hit the ground running and do the right thing, all these distractions and unnecessary altercations with the executive arm should be a thing of the past.

     

    The race for Senate Presidency  is getting hot, your zone, the North Central Zone is contesting for that and your state Benue is in the frontline for it,  what is your take on this?

    My zone which is the North Central Zone of all the geo-political zones in the country, has been the most dynamic  in this election. I say this because it was  the zone that changed the equation; it was the zone that was essentially in the  mainstream Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Kwara State was in the PDP, Kogi  State was there , Benue State was , Plateau State was there too as well as Niger State . All these states made a 360 degrees turn  and moved in favour of the opposition party, that was the zone that determined the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in that election. So allowing the Senate Presidency to stay there is not a big deal for a zone that ensured victory, it is just an acknowledgement of what they have done and I strongly believe that the zoning should be left there. Don’t forget that Nigeria is a religious and politically sensitive contraption. I heard that bsome people have said that they want to move it to the North Central Zone, that will be a most unwise decision for the party. I am not a religious fanatic neither am I an extremist canvassing a position that  is not realistic.

     

    What do you mean by this?

    Don’ forget that the incoming President is from the North West,  Katsina. North East just moved two hitherto PDP  states into the  main APC but the North Central moved five states into the APC, that number is not a number  that you can ignore. The North as it used to be has two religious positions, the Christian minority of the North and then the Muslim majority of the North. Gen. Buhari is from the Muslim majority of the North, the North Central is essentially the Christian belt of Northern Nigeria. As a President, he is already a Muslim and is from the Northwest,  there is no Christian member of the incoming government that I know that is a Senator. So if you are moving it to the North East, it is going to be Muslim Muslim thing again from the north. Those of us from the North Central that are Christians, we  feel that the history of marginalisation of our people that has always led to rebellion is being made manifest again and that we  have been used as guinea pigs in a political laboratory and that we are no longer needed. Of course, we are a very patient people, we are hopeful that it will not come to that but if it does, we will still take a look at ourselves, don’t forget that government is an ongoing thing and that when you get to the National Assembly and all that, we will still be required for purposes of the various permutations that will take place, so it is just a question of time, but I think that the best thing to do is to leave it in the North Central Zone.

     

    This the era of election petitions, how do you think our laws, especially the 180 days rule will affect the expeditious determination of electoral disputes?

    Well, a lot of the election petitions have just been filed and  I don’t think any of the respondents have filed processes in rebuttal of what most of the petitioners have filed.

    It all depends on the nature and character of the case, if for instance the Petitioner said that he is going to call 300 witnesses and the Respondent in rebuttal said that  he is going to call 600 witnesses, it is within his right. Do not also forget that the right to fair hearing is a fundamental aspect of our constitution and everybody, the Petitioner and the Respondent has a right to be heard. So if  in  the course of hearing 180 days elapses, well, that is it, the law has not been changed.

     

    What lessons did we learn along this line from the 2011 experiences, how did the law affect the determination of electoral disputes then?

    We ought to have learnt lessons from the 2011 elections and the related petitions that arose there from.  My expectation is that may be the National Assembly having regard to the lessons learnt, would have taken appropriate steps to make certain amendments if need be, well they just over looked it and as far as we are concerned it our  law, a good law and  we are stuck to it.

     

    The process of  appointing our  Judges has  been blamed for most of the ills bedevilling the Judiciary  including  the quality of Judgments delivered at our Courts, what is your reaction to this?

    Well, I think that there is always room for improvement in the conduct of human affairs, but the area that I am most worried about is the area of the perceived secrecy of the process. If our procurement process  for the purpose of  contract award has been  made so open that the entire public participates in it, I don’t actually understand why the appointment of Judges should be like a matter involving the appointment of the Pope where people are secretly locked up somewhere  to conduct the process, I don’t really understand this. If Judges need to be appointed, there should be an advertorial, just the way the rank of Senior Advocates of Nigeria is also appointed, would-be judges should be made to pass through a filtering process that is rigorous.

  • Senators who will not return

    Senators who will not return

    For some Senators, last Saturday’s election signalled an end to their membership of the National Assembly. Assistant Editor Sina Fadare takes a look at those who will be missing when the Red Chamber is inaugurated for legislative business in June.

    With the results of the last Saturday’s National Assembly election, some incumbent senators will not be returning to the Upper Legislative Chamber when the lawmakers resume for duty in June. Those who will be missing include:

     

    • Smart Adeyemi

    Smart Adeyemi is one of the chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State. Before his foray into partisan politics, he was the President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) between 1999- 2006. He worked with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), where he made his mark as a seasoned reporter and a unionist.

    He was elected into the National Assembly in 2003 to represent the Kogi West Senatorial District. Adeyemi was returned to the Senate in 2007 and 2011. The three-time senator, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was defeated in the last Saturday’s election by a former House of Representatives member Dino Melaye of the All Progressives Congress (APC). With this defeat, the Ijumu-born politician will bow out of the Senate at the expiration of the Seventh National Assembly to face his hospitality business.

     

    • Chris Ngige

    Chris Nwabueze Ngige, a medical-doctor turned politician, began his political sojourn when he joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He served as the party’s National Secretary between 2000 and 2003 and was a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP between 2001 and 2003. He contested the governorship seat of Anambra under the auspices of the ruling party and won in 2003 before he was removed in 2006 through a judicial process.

    Dr. Ngige was ejected from the Anambra State Government House by a judicial pronouncement, which arose from an election petition instituted by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Peter Obi. Against this backdrop, Ngige had a running battle with the PDP which later accused him of anti-party activities. He eventually defected to the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which later teamed up with two other parties and a faction of another to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    In April 2011, Ngige contested the Anambra Central Senatorial seat on the platform of the ACN and defeated a former Minister of Information & Communications, the late Prof Dora Akunyili of APGA. He polled 69,765 votes against the late Prof. Akunyili’s 69,292.

    Ngige, who is the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Science and Technology, will be taking a bow from the National Assembly on the eve of May 29. He was defeated by a House of Representatives member, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife of the PDP.

     

    • Femi Lanlehin

    Ibadan, Oyo State-born Femi Lanlehin trained as lawyer. As a legal practitioner, he had made an impact in civil litigation, commercial and land law before venturing into partisan politics. He served as a Commissioner for Special Duties and a Special Adviser to the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.  He was elected on the APC ticket in 2011 to represent the Oyo South Senatorial District.

    Lanlehin is the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on National Planning, Economic & Poverty Alleviation.  He later dumped the APC for the Accord Party. But his ambition to return to the Senate on the platform of his new party was truncated at the weekend when he was defeated by the APC candidate, Soji Akanbi. His tenure ends in May.

     

    • Hosea Agboola

    Ayoola Hosea Agboola has been a grassroots politician since 1999. He was the Supervisory Councilor, Works, Isehin Local Government Area of Oke Ogun, Oyo State. He capped his political feat when he was appointed the Commissioner for Local Government in the Pacesetter State and he served between 2003 and 2010.

    The estate management expert, politician was a Senator on the platform of the PDP in 2015. He is the Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Drugs Narcotics & Financial Crime. With the electoral loss he suffered at the weekend, Agboola will not be returning to the Legislative Chamber at the expiration of the Seventh National Assembly.  He lost his seat to his APC challenger Fatai Buhari, who was a Commissioner in the administration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

     

    • Olubunmi Adetumbi

    Olubunmi Adetunmbi, an Agricultural Economist, who veered into politics in his Ifaki Ekiti country home contested and won the Ekiti North Senatorial District seat of Ekiti State in 2011. His election into the Senate was his first public service. He is the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Interior Affairs. With his defeat by a former House of Representatives member, Duro Faseyi of the PDP, Senator Adetunmbi will not be returning to the Senate after serving out his term on May 28.

     

    • Ahmed Makarfi

    Trained as an accountant, Ahmed Markafi began his career with the Universal Bank where he rose to the position of Assistant General Manager. He was introduced to the public service as the Commissioner of Finance and Economic Planning, Kaduna State in 1994. He later became the governor of the state for two consecutive terms between 1999 and 2007.

    He is representing the Kaduna North Senatorial District at the National Assembly for the second term after his election in 2007. He has served as a member of various Senate Committees including; Agriculture & Rural Development, Appropriation, Aviation, Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institution & the Chairman Senate Committee on Finance.

    He was trounced at the poll by his APC challenger on Saturday.

     

    • Abdul Ahmed Ningi

    Abdul Ahmed Ningi could be given the sobriquet ‘veteran Lawmaker’ after spending about 16 years in the National Assembly. From 1999 to 2011, he was in the House of Representatives. He was the Majority Leader of the Lower Legislative Chamber between 2003 and 2007.

    Ningi, a graduate of Sociology had his first public service experience when he was employed as a social welfare officer in the state civil service. He has a brief stint with the First Bank in 1986 before he ventured into private business as the Chairman/ Chief Executive  of NAJ Resources Limited.

    His activities in politics has been rich and robust. He has served on  various committees of the House of Representatives during his 12-year sojourn in the Green Chamber. The articulate and veteran lawmaker is the Chairman, Senate Committee on National Population & Identity Card.

    Ningi will in May bow out of the National Assembly after 16 unbroken years following his defeat in the last Saturday’s election.

     

    • Anthony Adeniyi

    Anthony   Olumuyiwa Adeniyi is a member of the APC, a platform that took him to the National Assembly to represent the Ekiti South Senatorial District. The legal practitioner  ventured into partisan politics as a unionist and human right activist. He was the former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Akure branch between 1990 and 1992.

    The Ikere-Ekiti born lawyer was a former Chairman, Omega Bank. He is the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market.

    The Tsunami of the PDP that swept through Ekiti State last Saturday, denied Adeniyi the opportunity to return to the National Assembly on the platform of the APC.

     

    • Ayo Adeseun

    He was elected into the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP in 2003 and was reelected in 2007 to represent the Ogbomoso Federal Constituency. In 2011, Adeseun dumped the PDP for the ACN and was elected into the Senate to represent the Oyo North Senatorial Zone. He later defected to his former political platform – the PDP but his attempt to return to the National Assembly was scuttled on Saturday, when he was defeated by  Fatai Buhari of the APC. Adeseun will be returning from the National Assembly after 12 years as a lawmaker.

     

    • Adegbenga Kaka

    Adegbenga Kaka was deputy  to former Governor Olusegun Osoba between 1999 and 2003 under the AD/ACN platfom. His shot at the Ogun State governorship under the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) in 2007 failed. He returned to the progressives fold in 2011 and was elected to represent the Ogun East Senatorial District  at the Senate. Kaka, followed Chief Osoba out of the APC to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP), under which he sought reelection into the Senate but he was defeated by the PDP candidate, Prince Buruji Kashamu. Kaka is expected back from the Senate after the expiration of his  tenure in May.

  • APC clears National Assembly seats in Bauchi

    APC clears National Assembly seats in Bauchi

    ONE of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidates in Bauchi State, Isa Hamman Misau, has stopped Senate Leader Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi’s bid to return to the Senate.

    The Collation Officer for the Bauchi Central, Dr. Mohammed Salisu Yakubu, while declaring the results yesterday evening, said Misau scored 208, 741 votes while Senator Ningi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 57, 172 votes.

    The results of the Bauchi North Senatorial zone showed that Senator Nazif Suleman Gamawa defeated Alhaji Faruq Mustapha of the PDP to secure the Senate seat.

    The INEC Collation Officer for the  Bauchi North election, Dr. Muhammed Adamu, who  declared the result in Azare, headquarters of the senatorial  headquarters  yesterday at about 7.40pm, said Gamawa polled 197, 919 votes, to beat Mustapha, who scored  97,047 votes.

    Also, Ahmed Yerima of the APC, who contested for the Misau/Dambam Federal Constituency, scored 59,359 votes to emerge winner.

    INEC Returning Officer Dr. Abdullahi Abdulhamid announced that Yerima defeated the candidates of the PDP, Abdullahi Gwaram, and Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) Ibrahim Makama, who scored 13,153 and 2,457.

    Also yesterday, Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammed-Baba of the APC won the Katagum Federal Constituency House of Representatives election.

    Returning Officer for the House of Representatives election in the constituency, Darazo/Ganjuwa, Mohammed Mohammed, declared in Azare that Muhammed-Baba of the APC polled 38,151 votes, to win his opponent, Alhaji Auwalu Gwalabe of the PDP, who scored 23,535 votes.

    The  INEC Returning Officer for Darazo/Ganjuwa  Dr. Sabo  Hamma  has declared that APC candidate Haliru Jika scored 78,243 votes to beat PDP candidate Mustapha Hassan to win the Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency seat.

  • National Assembly raises its budget by N5b

    National Assembly raises its budget by N5b

    Contrary to the report that the statutory  allocation of the National Assembly had been cut to N115 billion, the Senate yesterday adopted the proposal that the fund should be increased to N120 billion.

    The Conference Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives made the recommendation that the fund should be increased from N115 billion to N120 billion.

    This is contained in the report of the National Assembly Conference Committee on 2015-2017 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) adopted yesterday by the Senate yesterday.

    The increment was initially proposed by the House of Representatives.

    The House proposal, which was adopted by the conference committee and the Senate states: “That the Statutory Allocation to the National Assembly be increased from N115 billion to N120 billion.”

    The Statutory allocation of the National Assembly over the years had been N150 billion.

    The dwindling economic realities of the country forced the Budget Office to cut the allocation to N115.

    While some National Assembly members welcomed the cut, others vehemently opposed the measure vowing to fight the cut.

    Senate President, David Mark, mildly rebuked the conference committee for setting a new oil benchmark of $53pb for 2015.

    Mark said that it was wrong for the conference committee to disregard the $52pb and $54 set by the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively and chose $53pb benchmark that was not proposed by either the Senate or the House.

    He added that though the anomaly would be allowed to pass, in future the conference committee should adopt either the Senate or the House proposal.

    Observers said that the implication of what the conference committee did was to arrogate to itself the power of the Senate and the House to set a new oil benchmark.