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Tag: Rep

  • Rep urges Fayemi to join Ekiti race

    Rep urges Fayemi to join Ekiti race

    A member of the House of Representatives from Ondo State, Friday Olemija, has urged the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to join Ekiti State governorship race.

    Olemija noted that Fayemi set the standard of good governance between 2010 and 2014.

    The lawmaker said the standard had not been matched by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.

    The lawmaker representing Akoko Northeast/Akoko Northwest of Ondo State noted that “the bad governance going on in Ekiti” must end with the enthronement of an All Progressives Congress (APC) government, after the July 14 governorship election.

    Olemija spoke at the weekend when he visited members of John Kayode Fayemi (JKF) Movement, led by their Coordinator, Pastor Ade Kolade, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital.

    The minister is yet to declare his intent.

    The lawmaker hailed Fayemi for attracting some federal projects to Ekiti State, including bauxite and kaolin exploration, the Federal secretariat, Federal Low Cost Housing and extension of rail lines to the state.

    The former Akoko Northeast council chairman said Ekiti State benefited more from the APC-led Federal Government, “despite the endless verbal attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari by Governor Ayo Fayose”.

  • Rep canvasses better funding of NDLEA to win drug war

    Rep canvasses better funding of NDLEA to win drug war

    A member of the House of Representatives from Ekiti State, Mr. Kehinde Agboola, has advocated a better funding of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to win the war against drug abuse and trafficking.

    Agboola, who represents Oye/Ikole Federal Constituency, called for the movement of NDLEA from the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Justice to the presidency to ensure efficiency and better funding.

    The federal lawmaker is the House Committee Deputy Chairman on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes. He spoke with reporters in his hometown, Odo Oro in Ikole Local Government Area.

    Agboola noted that while the Department of State Services (DSS) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which are under the presidency are enjoying better funding, NDLEA under the Justice Ministry remains underfunded.

    He criticised the plan to withdraw $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to tackle insurgency after the federal government had claimed that Boko Haram militants have been defeated.

    Agboola said: “If that was true, why was the president seeking approval for $1b withdrawal from the ECA to fight insurgents? We can infer that this was an evidence of failure in Boko Haram fight, because they had earlier said they have won the battle.

    “So, I align with governors Ayodele Fayose and Nyesom Wike that the deductions from ECA should be deployed to fight hunger in their own states as well.”

  • Club honours Rep, others

    Agege Club of Lagos State has honoured the Representative of Agege Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Taofeek Adaranijo, for his exemplary leadership in politics and development of the council area. Adaranijo was honoured during the sixth anniversary and  fund raising, held at Johnson Agiri Event Centre, in the Oko Oba area of Agege.

    The lawmaker was represented by his senior legislative aide, Mr. Akinleye Edun.

    Other awardees included the Chairman of Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Enforcement, Mr. Saheed Egbeyemi, a Supretendent of Police;  Proprietress, Fitjoy Schools, Agege, Olufumilayo Oyeyinka; Chief Executive Officer, Toy APA Oil and Gas Limited, Alhaja Apanpa Mudashiru.

    In his welcome address, the President of the club, Prince Jamiu Ajiboye said the establishment of the club ”started like a child’s play with overriding need to close ranks, bond more and articulate a common and forward-looking position.”

    Also in attendance were Hon Jubreel Abdulkareem; Olu of Agege, Oba Kamil Isiba and Dr. Mudashir Rahman, among others.

    The high point of the event was the unveiling of the proposed club house.

  • Rep urges IOCs to establish R&D centres in Nigeria

    House of Representatives Committee on Local Content Development Chairman Emmanuel Ekon has asked the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to establish Research and Development Centres (R&D) in Nigeria.

    Speaking in Lagos, Ekon expressed disappointment that after many decades of operation in the country, the research-based international oil companies, including Halli-burton and Schlumberger, have only a piece of land in Port Harcourt, describing the development as a mockery.

    The IOCs have research and development centres in countries, such as India, and Malaysia that don’t have the volume of oil Nigeria has.

    “Does it make any sense for the IOCs to tell us that after 52 years of being in Nigeria, they only have a piece of land in the University of Port Harcourt, while they have built  R&D centres in India and Malaysia that do not have the quantum of oil Nigeria has?

    “So, they need to also help us develop one here, that will also take care of Sub-Sahara need. We should stop talking. We should practise what we are talking about,”Ekon said.

    Ekon said the Local Content Board is in the mission of collaborating with the IOCs and other services’ providers to get research and development centre built in the country. ‘’We are going into a private discussion with them and, hopefully, we will come out with an idea.’’

    “I told them that they need to establish themselves as regulators, not somebody that will go beggarly to the majors. We don’t beg; as regulators, there are certain things that they can do, and people will respect you and do your bidding. There are a lot of things that could be done to cause this to happen, so I believe that we are going to work together,’’ he stated.

    He was confident that with the leadership of the present local content board, in the next one year efforts towards realising this objective would have had visible implementation.

    “By next year, I want to see something concrete. I want us to translate all those visions,  ideas, into reality and I believe that with the people in the content board we are going to see something tangible in the next one year.”

  • Council poll’ll be walkover for APC, says Rep

    Council poll’ll be walkover for APC, says Rep

    A member of the House of Representatives, Jide Jimoh, has said Lagos State Governor  Akinwunmi Ambode’s sterling performance would make it impossible for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to win any seat during the July 22 local government election.

    “The coming council poll will be a walkover in favour of our great party, All Progressive Congress (APC), it will be a no march and it will be just a mere formality,” he said.

    Jimoh, who is representing the Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency, described Ambode’s achievements as, “superlative, outstanding and out of this world.”

    According to him, PDP will have difficulty in persuading the people of Lagos to vote for its candidates with what Ambode has put on ground in terms of infrastructure, job creation, security apparatus and social welfare.

    The governor, he said, also carries all stakeholders along in the running of government.

    The lawmaker urged Lagosians to vote en masse for the APC, reminding them that, “it is through that, that the efforts of Governor Ambode to bring more democracy dividends to the people’s door step will be a reality.

    “It is payback time for the good work he has been doing and which he still does,” Jimoh pointed out just as he wants the Lagos residents to vote for all the APC candidates as a sign of appreciation for Governor Akinwumi Ambode’s satisfactory performance.

  • Restructuring will check lazy governors, says Rep

    A member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Sergius Ogun, has reeled out the benefits of restructuring the country saying it would help to check lazy governors and nonperforming states.

    Ogun, a member of the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content, spoke in an interview in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, when the committee visited the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to perform its oversight functions.

    The lawmaker and stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  who represents Esan North-East/Esan South-East Constituency of Edo State, said most state governors only survived on federal allocations.

    He insisted that only restructuring would make the governors to engage in healthy competition and think out of the box to increase  their revenues.

    He said:  ‘’I agree with restructuring 100 per cent. You tell me, if you don’t have any need to work and you earn a salary, will you wake up in the morning to go to work? That is what is happening.

    ‘’Today, state governors all over the country just send their commissioners to Abuja and at the end of the month, they bring a cheque. Some months back, I went to the North, I had a governor friend, I was trying to see for four days, I could not see him.

    “There were investors that were coming into the country to see him, yet I could not see him. When I went there, I saw fruits just wasting.

    ‘’ I called a friend in the UK; we were talking, he said I should not bother that he was going to call a friend with a production company if they could use some of the fruits for their concentrates.

    “You can imagine, to see that governor to let him know of the investors from the UK, he was unreachable. So, if he was not getting free money from the federation and he had to get that money, would he behaved like that? So, restructuring might just be the future of this country – the answer to  all of these problems.

    ‘’On the handling of the Niger Delta problems, I do not know whether the Federal Government is being honest, that is the honest truth. I don’t know. Now, you are talking of modular refineries, they have said they would do this and that, where is the timeline to finish this?

    ‘’So, that is why it has become a protracted problem. So, they come and say we will do this to get them busy, they take the oil and sell, and then when the guys strike again, they say they will do this and do that. That is not honesty; we just want the solution to the problems.’’

    Despite the gale of defection in the PDP, Ogun said he had never thought of changing his party.

    He stressed that instead of defecting to any other party, he would go back to his business.

  • Ceding Agatu land to herdsmen is invitation to another mayhem, Rep warns

    Ceding Agatu land to herdsmen is invitation to another mayhem, Rep warns

    The ceding of Adapati Island in Agatu Local Government Area to Fulani herdsmen for grazing by Benue State government has been described as callous and capable of leading to mayhem in Agatu land.

    Member representing Apa/Agatu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Ochepo Entonu, said Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, and the Sole Administrator, Agatu Local Government, Michael Inalegwu, had no right to cede any part of Agatu to the Fulani herdsmen in any agreement.

    He therefore implored the federal government for immediate intervention before the herdsmen unleash mayhem in the area again.

    Saying that immediate intervention of security agencies has become imperative, Entonu said the herdsmen have been sighted hanging around the purported ceded island waiting for its

    occupation.

    Entonu while laying a petition signed by 17 community leaders from Agatu on the floor of the House on Thursday said the people have vowed to resist the forceful take-over of their ancestral land by the herdsmen.

    He said: “We have to alert the world early before we witness another mayhem in Agatu land because Agatu Local Government caretaker Committee Chairman and some irrelevant self-acclaimed stakeholders in connivance with Benue State governor recently entered into a despicable transactions to cede our community to herdsmen for grazing purposes.

    “This despicable act of ceding Agatu lands to Fulani herdsmen through the illegal agreement is a dangerous act capable of causing mayhem in the community.

    “It is therefore imperative to state categorically that the entire people of Agatu and the 10 district heads are calling the attention of security agencies and the Federal Government to quickly intervene before this hideously contrived conspiracy to exterminate the people of Agatu becomes a reality.

    Entonu reminded the house that his are yet to recover from the last Fulani herdsmen attack in June last year, warning that the entire Agatu community is agitated and ready to protect its land and people.

  • I’ll not appear before panel, says Rep

    I’ll not appear before panel, says Rep

    Sacked House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation Chairman Abdulmumin Jibrin (APC, Kano) has vowed not to appear before Committee on Ethics and Privileges mandated to investigate him for bringing the House into disrepute with his utterances.

    But Timothy Golu  (PDP, Plateau) said (Jibrin) must be sanctioned. He, however, added that members were ready to forgive Jibrin if he apologises to the House and Nigerians.

    Jibrin said he was willing to appear before the Committee only if its proceedings would be public and witnessed by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), among others.

    Jibrin, in a statement yesterday said what happened on the floor was a script written by the Speaker.

    He urged his colleagues to live above blackmail and deal urgently and decisively with the allegations of individual corruption.

    He said he watched events on the floor carefully and observed that “rather than open up the matter for discussion in view of the public interest it has generated and allow me to brief my colleagues, an opportunity I have been denied for several months, Mr Speaker deployed some legislative tricks and theatrics to save the day.

    “In a move that smacks of abuse of process, Speaker Dogara granted under point of order, an opportunity to the Chairman of Business and Rules Committee who started with a speech then suddenly transited to a motion under privilege – a clear case of manipulation and gross abuse of the House rule. This is the easiest resort since the attempts to secure a vote of confidence had woefully failed.

    “The motion was therefore passed and referred to the Committee on Ethics and Privilege with one week to submit its report.

    “The grand plan is to dilute the ongoing external investigation by the police and EFCC and use the Ethics Committee for a soft landing.

    “But what happened on the floor of the House today is just the end of another beginning.

    “Despite all these and since I can substantiate the allegations I raised with cogency, I will take up the opportunity provided by the Ethics committee to state my case under the condition that the hearing will be public and will allow the press, CSOs, NGOs, NLC, ASUU, NANS, NBA and the general public to witness the entire proceedings.

    “This is the only way that I can have the comfort and confidence that the proceedings, the investigations and the outcome will not be manipulated or compromised.

    “I am ready to appear before the committee even today if the proceedings will be public.

    Predictably, in his speech, Mr Speaker tried to drag the entire House into the matter to give the impression that the entire House is the accused.

    “I wish to state for the umpteenth time that the allegations I raised are against the quartet of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, House Whip Alhassan Doguwa, Minority Leader Leo Ogor and few other members NOT the Honourable House as an institution.

  • $1.5m Dubai Property: Rep backs Buratai

    $1.5m Dubai Property: Rep backs Buratai

    The Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, Solomon Ahwinahwi, has said calls by some that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, to resign or be removed is not in good faith.

    Ahwinahwi, who spoke with reporters at the weekend, said the reason for such call was not weighty enough and  would distract him from winning the war against the Boko Haram insurgents.

    The lawmaker said since the property was declared by Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, the issue of corrupt intention of criminal concealment does not arise.

    His words:  “Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, having spent over 35 years in the military,  held several command positions and served in many international missions, where salaries and allowances were paid in foreign currencies, and was involved in agriculture since his junior officer days. And possibly securing facilities from banks, lend credence to the fact that the property in Dubai may not be a product of corruption.”

    The deputy chair said Buratai delivered on what President Buhari promised Nigerians and that troops continue to rescue hundreds of Boko Haram abductees, adding that under him, soldiers regained the respect they deserve.

    The lawmaker said he has followed the record of Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai since he was appointed that everyone is aware of how well he has done.

    “For instance, local governments in control of Boko Haram have been reclaimed, and the Maiduguri-Dikwa-Gamboru road, shut since 2013, was reopened on July 6; with bombing greatly reduced.

    “That is why I have chosen to come out to say those distractors should please allow this man to work.

    “The achievements of the Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai in containing Boko Haram in the Northeas, including rehabilitating Boko Haram war-ravaged areas and victims ( IDPs) are noteworthy.

    “These are achievements that should call for commendation and award instead of the unpatriotic call for his resignation and removal,” Ahwinahwi said.

  • Court sacks Enugu Rep

    •INEC to issue Certificate of Return to Ozomgbachi

    Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the election of Dennis Amadi, representing Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency of Enugu State in the House of Representatives.

    In a judgment on Friday, Justice Okon Abang held that Amadi was not the valid candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2015 election because he was not elected through a credible primary.

    The judgment was on a pre-election suit filed before last year’s general elections by Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi. The suit had Amadi, PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the first, second and third defendants.

    Justice Abang held that the purported primary election of the PDP, from which Amadi emerged, was “illegal, null and void” because it was held in violation of the party’s guidelines.

    The judge further held that the party’s primary on December 6, 2014, was valid.

    He pronounced Ozomgbachi the winner of the primary.

    Justice Abang ordered INEC to immediately withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Amadi and issue a valid Certificate of Return to Ozomgbachi for him to assume the position as the representative of Ude/Ezeagu Federal Constituency of Enugu State.

    The judge ordered Amadi to vacate his seat with immediate effect and refund his earnings while he occupied the seat “illegally”.

    Justice Abang said: “After a careful reading of the submissions of counsel in the suit, I note that the election of the plaintiff was conducted at the designated venue for the Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency of Enugu State.

    “The plaintiff has shown that the duly appointed electoral officers were present and declared him winner.

    “I find merit in his request to uphold his election and, therefore, hold that he be declared the authentic winner of the primariy held on December 6, 2014, having duly satisfied the party’s guidelines for elections in 2014.

    “Dennis Amadi, who is the first defendant in this suit, shall also return all the money collected by way of salaries, allowances or whatsoever since when he took the seat.”

    The judge awarded N100,000 cost against Amadi.