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Tag: Peter Azi

  • Lalong presents N145.4 bn budget for 2018

    Lalong presents N145.4 bn budget for 2018

    Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau has presented the 2018 Appropriation Bill of over N145.4 billion to the state House of Assembly for approval.

    The governor presented the bill tagged “Budget of Rescue and Consolidation” to the house on Thursday in Jos.

    According to him, “the budget seeks to consolidate on the gains and achievements of the administration since inception of the rescue mission in 2015’’.

    Lalong said the budget was made up of N69.6 billion capital and N75.8 billion recurrent expenditure.

    “The budget has a total size of N145. 4 billion; N75. 8 billion which represents 52.13 per cent of the budget is for recurrent expenditure while N69.6 billion, representing 48.87 per cent is for capital expenditure.

    “As part of our rescue mission, we shall continue to accord priority to the welfare of civil servants through timely promotions and payment of salaries and allowances, pension and gratuities of our retirees and the release of running cost for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    “Mr Speaker, with your timely scrutiny and passage of this budget, the confidence to consolidate on what we have started will be further strengthened,” he said,

    The Speaker, Mr Peter Azi, assured that the house would expeditiously process, scrutinise and pass the appropriation bill.

    Azi said that the 8th Assembly in the state had put in place stringent mechanism that would checkmate loopholes and mismanagement of budgets my MDAs.

    “It is our collective resolve as members of the house in line with the administration’s determination for effective service delivery to the people, to expeditiously pass this budget into law.”

    NAN

  • Plateau Assembly Speaker calls for legislature autonomy

    Plateau Assembly Speaker calls for legislature autonomy

    The Speaker, Plateau House of Assembly, Mr Peter Azi, has called for autonomy for the legislative arm of government in Nigeria.

    Azi made the call on Tuesday in Jos when Mrs Martial Mato-Nembot from the Headquarters of Korad Adenauer Stiftung, a German based organization paid him a courtesy visit.

    The speaker contended that democracy in Nigeria would be near perfection only when the legislative arm does not depend on the executive for its finances and other necessities.

    He insisted that lack of financial autonomy for the legislature had hindered the arm of government from performing its statutory functions effectively.

    “The legislative arm is mostly constrained in performing some of its functions because it is at the mercy of the executive to release funds for it.

    “This is why we have been agitating and yearning for autonomy, especially in terms of finances to enable the legislature perform its duties effectively.

    “If we want our democracy to be perfect in Nigeria, we must ensure that the legislative arm operates independently in all ramifications,’’ he said.

    Azi commended the Korad Adenauer Stiftung for the efforts the organization had put in place to ensure democracies in Africa works and grows.

    Earlier, Mato-Nembot said she was in Nigeria and Plateau on assessment tour of her organisation’s programmes.

    She lauded the peace initiative of the state and Federal governments that ensured the return of peace in the country and called for intensification of such initiatives to regain total peace.

    “What I saw when I arrived Abuja, before driving to Plateau is in variance with media reports we hear back in Germany.

    “I see Nigerians as polite, peaceful, accommodating people and I am amazed,’’ she said.

  • Bill for Plateau penal code passes second reading

    A bill seeking to enact the Plateau Penal Code on Tuesday scaled through the second reading on the floor of the State House of Assembly.

    Presenting the bill for deliberation at Plenary, Majority Leader of the House, Mr Henry Yunkwap, said that the bill, if passed into law, would capture penalties for contemporary crimes.

    He said that Plateau needed its own penal code because the penal code of  Northern Nigeria, being used in the state, had become “out-dated and obsolete”.

    He further explained that the bill, which contained 398 clauses and 31 chapters, would address primary, secondary and tertiary crimes in the state.

    “Mr Speaker, considering the new dimension of crime in our present day, the need to have our own penal code law in the state is long overdue.

    “The existing one, adopted from Northern Nigeria, was enacted since 1963 and has become obsolete.

    “There is the dire need for us to have our own penal code so as to capture new crimes that go with our globalised world”, he said.

    Contributing, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr Yusuf Gagdi, said that the bill was apt “especially since it is seeking to address the problems of jungle justice and administration of bad customs by some communities”.

    He noted that the bill, if passed into law, would reduce petty crimes, stressing that “a lawless society is a hopeless society”.

    He, therefore, called on his colleagues to give the bill an accelerated hearing and passage into law.

    On his part, the Chief Whip of the House, Mr Joshua Madaki, said that the dynamism of the present society called for the enactment of the law, and declared that its importance to societal growth could not be over-emphasised.

    “The bill seeks to review some existing fines to match present realities. Some fines are still N5; some N2o or N50. Such fines are certainly not realistic,” he said.

    After much deliberations, the House committed the bill to its standing committees on Judiciary, Finance and Security for further scrutiny and legislative inputs.

    The Speaker of the House, Mr Peter Azi, directed the to committee to ensure that a public hearing was held so to gauge the acceptability of the bill, and to also receive inputs from members of the public.

    The committees are expected to present their reports within two months.

  • PLHA to consider executive bill for state pension scheme

    The Plateau House of Assembly announced on Tuesday that it had received three bills from the executive arm, for consideration.

    The Speaker, Mr. Peter Azi, who announced the development to his colleagues in Jos, said that one was for the establishment of a pension scheme for the state’s civil servants.

    “The second bill is for a law to enact a penal code for Plateau, while the third is for the establishment of Plateau State Information and Communication Technology Agency,” he said.

    He reminded the legislators of a meeting held on February 22, during which it was resolved that a penal code be created for Plateau.

    Azi explained that a penal code had become necessary in Plateau because the penal code of Northern Nigeria, currently in use, had become obsolete.

    “New forms of crime are emerging and we should be able to capture them in out statute books,” he said.

    He also argued that there was an urgent need for civil servants to have a pension scheme which would be in tandem with the National Pension Scheme.

    “The scheme is very crucial to addressing challenges workers face after retirement,” he pointed out.

    Azi also emphasised the need for an information and communication technology agency to aid the quest to position Plateau to meet the dynamics of technological advancement, and urged members to support government’s efforts toward a better Plateau with opportunities for all.

    The House fixed March 15, 16 and 21 respectively, for first hearing on the three bills.

  • University of Jos seeks PLHA’s support to rebuild burnt library

    University of Jos seeks PLHA’s support to rebuild burnt library

    Prof. Sabastian Maimako, Vice Chancellor (VC), University of Jos, has solicited the support of the Plateau House of Assembly toward rebuilding the institution’s burnt library.

    Maimaiko Made the appeal on Thursday in Jos, when he led the school’s management team on a courtesy visit to the Speaker, Mr. Peter Azi.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the library complex, which houses faculties of social sciences and management sciences, was gutted by fire on Oct. 8, 2016.

    Maimako described the fire disaster as “very devastating”, and disclosed that the destruction was “very massive”.

    He said that it would cost the school “a huge fortune” to rebuild the burnt edifice.

    Maimako further expressed fears that the university might be forced to stop running some courses because the fire created infrastructure deficit.

    “Two whole faculties, with a total of six departments were lost to the fire; with such a big structure no longer standing, you will agree with me that academic activities will suffer.

    “Mr Speaker, we have come to solicit for the support of the assembly in whichever way you can. We want to rebuild the burnt library and shall appreciate any kindness that will facilitate that,” he said.

    Responding, Azi said that the visit was timely, and promised to support the institution.

    “University of Jos remains one of the pride of Plateau; we shall go to any length to support it to thrive because its fate is tied to our future,” he said.

     

  • Union accuses Plateau government of disregarding terms of agreement

    The Joint Union of Plateau Tertiary Institutions (JUPTI)  has accused the state government of not keeping to the terms of agreement reached with the union in 2015.

    Chairman of the Union, Mr. Paul Dakogol, said this when the union executives paid a visit to the State House of Assembly Speaker, Mr. Peter Azi, on Monday in Jos.

    According to him, the union and government in 2015 had an understanding on the five-month salaries owned the members by the immediate past government of the state.

    He said that a modality on how the outstanding salaries would be paid was drawn, but that nothing has been done till date.

    “You will recall that in 2015, we went on strike for over five months to drive home our demands on some issues we felt the government should address.

    “The then government initiated the “No work, No pay policy” and we took our matter to the court.

    “Upon assumption of office by the new government, the governor pleaded with us to withdraw the matter, which we did base on certain conditions.

    “Mr. Speaker, we are worried because it is two years already and nothing is being done about it. We are still being owned the five months outstanding salaries.

    “So, we have come to share our plight with you so that it will not be when things get worst that we begin to seek your audience,’’ Dakogol said.

    The union chairman also lamented the poor funding of state-owned tertiary institutions as most of them were currently experiencing infrastructural deficit.

    Dakogol said that the most of the institutions, if not all, were facing serious brain drain as most members of staff were moving elsewhere for greener pasture.

    “Most of these institutions are understaffed because salary difference have made a lot of them to move to some other places for better remuneration

    “Sir, there is serious need for government to employ more hands to man these institutions and to give our children a better academic future

    “Education is the bedrock of any society, so our government must make it a priority by giving it the desired attention’’, he said.

    Responding, Azi, said the visit of the union leaders was timely.

    He said the state government has priotised the interest of workers and since government was on a rescue mission, it would address the plights of all workers.

    He assured the union of the Assembly’s unflinching support toward any move that would uplift the standard of education in the state.