The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Reps

  • Senators, Reps give Buhari conditions to avoid impeachment

    The conditions

    • Killings should stop
    • End to harassment and humiliation of lawmakers
    • Adherence to rule of law
    • President’s appointees must be held accountable for actions
    • Anti-corruption battle should not be selective
    • Prosecution of those who stole senate mace
    • Lawmakers to take case to international community
    • Lawmakers to collaborate with Labour CSOs
    • President must contain unemployment, poverty
    • Lawmakers won’t hesitate to invoke Constitutional powers
    • Vote of confidence in Saraki, Dogara
    • Vote of no confidence on IG Idris

    The fragile relationship  between the Presidency and the National Assembly may have collapsed, following yesterday’s emergency joint session of the National Assembly.

    The lawmakers  issued President Muhammadu Buhari a 10-point condition, otherwise they would “invoke constitutional powers”.

    A flurry of activities culminated in yesterday’s session.

    On Sunday, the police invited Senate President Bukola Saraki to defend his relationship with the April 5 Offa robbery suspects, who killed 33 people, including nine policemen.

    Some of the suspects claimed that they were thugs being used and armed by the Senate president and Kwara State Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed.

    On Monday, after a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and some security chiefs, including Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris, Saraki was told to send his explanation within 48 hours without appearing before the police.

    Yesterday’s National Assembly joint session was described as an emergency executive session on the state of the nation.

    The Senate president, accompanied by House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, read the resolutions.

    No timeline was given for compliance with the resolutions.

    The resolutions include: “The security agencies must be given marching orders to curtail the sustained killings of Nigerians across the country and protect life and properties of Nigerians as this is the primary duty of any responsible Government.

    “The systematic harassment and humiliation by the Executive of perceived political opponents, people with contrary opinions, including Legislators and Judiciary, by the police and other security agencies must stop.

    “There must be strict adherence to the Rule of Law and protection for all citizens by the President and his appointees.

    “The President must be held accountable for the actions of his appointees and must be ready to sanction those that carry out any act which will ridicule or endanger our country and democracy.

    “The Government should show sincerity in the fight against corruption by not being selective and also prosecute current appointees that have cases pending against them.

    “The sanctity of the National Assembly should be protected and preserved by the Federal Government of Nigeria by not interfering in its business and prosecuting those who invaded the Senate to seize the mace.

    “National Assembly should liaise with International Communities through the IPU,  APU,  ECOWAS,  CPA,  Parliament,  Pan African Parliament, EU,  UN,  US    Congress and UK Parliament to secure our democracy.

    “Democratic elections must be competitive and inclusive by removing the present reign  of fear and intimidation particularly as we approach the forthcoming 2019 elections.

    “The National Assembly will work closely with Civil Society Organisations, Trade Unions and NGOs to further deepen and protect our democracy.

    “The President must take immediate steps to contain the growing level of unemployment and poverty in Nigeria, especially now that we have advantage of the oil price having risen to $80 per barrel.

    “Both chambers of the National Assembly hereby pass a vote of   confidence on the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the entire leadership of the National Assembly.

    “We reaffirm our earlier resolution of vote of no confidence on the Inspector General of Police who does nothing other than preside over the killing of innocent Nigerians and consistent framing up of perceived political opponents of the President and outright disregard for constitutional authority, both executive and legislative.

    “Finally, the National Assembly will not hesitate to evoke its Constitutional powers if nothing is done to address the above resolutions passed today”.

    Signs that all was not well became apparent immediately the Senate reconvened for plenary and went into an Executive Session around 11am.

    The closed session ended around 12.30 pm.

    Saraki announced after the closed session that they discussed National Assembly and Senate issues in particular.

    He added that they resolved to hold a joint executive session with the House of Representatives.

    Saraki mandated Senate Leader Ahmed Lawan to move a motion for the Senate to go to the House of Representatives chamber for the emergency joint Executive Session.

    Lawan did.

    The motion was seconded by Minority Leader Godswill Akpabio.

    Members of the upper chamber were also said to have held a “strategic meeting” on Monday night to articulate issues for discussion.

    While the Executive Session in the House of Representatives lasted, activities in the National Assembly were grounded.

     

    162 oppose impeachment plan at stormy session

    Senate President Bokola Saraki briefed yesterday’s executive session  on issues “that are mainly personal” and House Speaker Yakubu Dogara did not speak., according to sources at the session.

    An impeachment move against President Muhamadu Buhari was made during the stormy joint session with the circulation of a register. A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member from Kogi State, it was learnt, initiated the impeachment move, which many lawmakers kicked against.

    A group of 162 lawmakers from the North, according to Hon.Mohammad Gudaji Kazaure (Jigawa), quickly came together to oppose the impeachment move. Rep Abdulmunini Jibrin (Kano), in a statement on behalf of the pro-Buhari Parliamanetary Support Group (PSP), said commendably, Dogara “tactically refused to make any comment at the session even after the Senate President took time to explain the issues which are mostly personal”.

    “That almost all the members and senators that spoke at the Executive session are of the PDP while members of the APC declined joining the discussion to avoid a rowdy confrontation as the entire session could easily pass for a PDP Executive session.

    “That it is disturbing and raised many questions of pre determined intentions that a known ally of the Senate President from Kwara State, Hon Rasak Atunwa, drafted what was adopted as the resolution and without voting on it in accordance with standard parliamentary practice.”

  • Reps fail to veto Buhari on Peace Corps’ Bill

    MAJORITY members of the  House of Representatives yesterday thwarted attempt to override the refusal of President  Muhammadu Buhari to assent to a bill setting up the Nigerian Peace Corps.

    Buhari refused to sign into law the bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Peace Corps to develop, empower and provide gainful employment for the youth, facilitate peace, volunteerism, community service, neigbourhood watch and nation-building.

    The President cited issues of funding and the responsibilities of the Corps.

    Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business Emmanuel Orker-Jev (APC, Benue), who sponsored a bill to override the President’s veto, said the two reasons cited by President Buhari for withholding his assent were not enough.

    Saying that the reasons were not germane, Orker-Jev said: “Apart from the jobs that would be created through the establishment of Peace Corps, it will complement the activities of other security agencies like Police and Civil Defence to maintain law and order in the country”.

    Opposing the motion, Majority Whip Ado Doguwa noted that  such paramilitary organisation would expose a lot of youths to weapons, considering the level of crimes and criminality in the country owing to unemployment.

    According to him, some Nigerians alleged that the N50,000 collected from each of the applicants were to settle members of the National Assembly, as such, the bill should be defeated.

    The bill was defeated after it was put to a voice vote by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

    Musa Adar (APC, Sokoto) questioned the integrity of the Peace Corps bill.

     

  • Reps condemn lottery operators for N1.5 tr loss

    • Threaten licence withdrawal

    The House of Representatives has expressed disappointment with the inability of the Nigerian Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to regulate the sector effectively.

    There are 21 licensed operators  currently running the sector in the country following the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The lawmakers blamed the loss of over N1.493 trillion by the country on the failure of the Commission to carry out its responsibilities diligently.

    The House has consequently threatened lottery  operators found culpable of non remittance of their dues with the withdrawal of their licenses.

    The Commission has however cited lack of effective regulation in the industry as a major contributory factor for the abysmal revenue drive.

    The acting Executive Secretary of the National Lottery Trust Fund, Bello Maigari, while appearing before House Committee on Inter-Governmental Affairs regretted that the sector has over the years failed to meet its set revenue  target.

    According to him, of the estimated revenue target of N1.5 trillion, the sector could only generate N7b in 13 years.

    Noting  that lottery and gaming businesses have continued to flourish without proper regulation in the country, Maigari said the Nigerian lottery market according to industry experts is the most attractive market in Africa.

    He said: “The industry is worth over N1.5 trillion as we speak. Lottery has significantly contributed to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of many countries across the continent and about 7.5 million and 22 million Nigerians engage in lottery and sport betting daily.?

    “Records at our disposal indicates that cumulative returns of about 5 years stood at about 7.2 billion and this is unacceptable in a nation with so much potential like Nigeria”.

    He however regretted that conflict of interest, sharp practices, sabotage among others as factors are militating against the revenue growth from the industry in Nigeria.

    “This has giving dubios businessmen and agents the latitude to undermine government interest,” he added.?

    On his part, the Director General (DG) of NLRC, Lanre Gbajabiamila said outdated lottery laws has contributed to the stunted growth of  the sector in the country.

    He however explained that his commission is poised to raise the sector to international standard, “A lot has been said about the sector  which I concur with, and we still have lots of work to do, as our laws are outdated and need to be rejigged.”

    “We need this House, especialy the committee to help us in updating the lottery and gaming laws, they are outdated and a lot of things are going on out there that need to be tapped into using enabling legialtions.”

    “However, as regulators, we are putting some checks and balances in place as the way the industry was run before wasn’t proper,” he noted.?

    While declaring open the hearing, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, in terms of income generation rated the country’s lottery sector higher than other sectors after oil and gas, Customs and Excise and the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

    The Committee assured that all necessary legislative action would be taken to bring to book all operators found culpable to have shortchanged the country.

    Committee Chairman, Oseni Kangiwa said the responsibility to ensure the robustness of the sector lies on NLRC for effective regulatory framework and standards  for the operators.

  • NLC, Reps condemns attack on court in Port Harcourt

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and House of Representatives have condemned the attack by hoodlums on the court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

    NLC President Ayuba Wabba, in a statement  yesterday in Abuja, said the attack represented the primitive instincts of the hoodlums and the desperation of their promoters.

    “But beyond this, an attack on the court, any court for that matter, constitutes a violation of the sanctity of the judiciary and an invitation to anarchy.

    “In light of the fact that the court is the last hope of the common man, no explanation is good enough for this level of primitive violence,‘’ he said.

    The House of Representatives, following a motion by Betty Apiafi (Rivers-PDP), urged security agencies to fish out those behind the attack.

    Apiafi expressed concern about the invasion of an arm of government, noting that it is to an assault and contempt of the judiciary.

    She described the violence carried out by hoodlums allegedly aided by some security operatives, as an infringement on the Constitution.

    Apiafi said the incident led to the destruction of equipment and furniture, and ransacking of court buildings.

    She noted that if nothing is done about it, the country’s democracy could be affected.

    The lawmaker urged the House to constitute an ad hoc committee to investigate the matter to forestall fa recurrence.

    The motion was adopted by members when it was put to a voice vote by Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun.

     

     

     

  • Reps demand justice for alleged killing of 22-year-old

    The House of Representatives has said it will ensure that a policeman, who allegedly killed 22-year-old Ifeanyi Okafor, over bribe, is punished.

    Okafor dropped out of school and became a motor boy on the advice of his indigent parents, to raise money to complete his education.

    He was allegedly killed in February during an encounter with a police team.

    The House has mandated its Committee on Police Affairs to investigate the alleged killing.

    Condemning extortion and harassment by policemen, the House mandated the committee to ensure that the Okafor family gets justice.

    Its decision followed the adoption of a  motion by Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (PDP, Abia).

    Onyejeocha said for refusing to give a N500 bribe, the 22-year-old was allegedly shot dead by a policeman attached to Okwelle Police Station in Onuimo Local Government of Imo State, on February 9.

    She said: “He couldn’t finish school, so he was forced to drop out in year two, with the knowledge of the school authority. As a result, his father asked him to join a lorry driver to work as a conductor, so that he could save from whatever he made to enable him return to school.

    “He was one of the three boys who followed the lorry that conveyed sand and stone that day, and then near Okigwe, the lorry was stopped at a checkpoint about 5 am.

    “The policemen demanded that they be given money before the lorry could proceed, but the boys said they didn’t have money, as it was early in the morning.

    “The policemen demanded N500. The driver asked the boys if any of them had money. Okafor said he had only N100 and as he brought it out, the next thing was the sound of a gunshot at the boy.

    “The most pathetic thing is that the deceased was the eldest son. A very poor family. If you see their condition, you won’t need anybody to tell you how pathetic their situation is.

    “The husband and wife are peasant farmers, struggling to survive. I was there and I can confirm that their situation is pathetic.

    “As for the officer responsible, what I heard was that the matter is with the Imo State Police Command, but I don’t have the details. This is why I’m calling for investigation because this incident occurred in February and I got to know about it in first week of May. If by May, the police have not done anything, how do we know that justice will be done?

    “One can only imagine the trauma the boy’s parents will be going through. The boy has not been buried. The body is still with the police.

    “It is my belief that with the involvement of the House of Representatives, things will hasten up since the identity of the alleged killer is not in question.

    “There have been reports of violation of this all-important right by security agents in Nigeria, especially the Police, and extra-judicial killings by security agencies are on the rise across the country.

    “There was public outcry against similar extra-judicial killings by men of the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and this has eroded the confidence of Nigerians in the police, with an adverse effect on the cooperation between the police and the public to combat crime.”

    The motion was unanimously adopted after a voice vote.

  • Reps threatens to arrest Buhari’s panel on stolen public property

    The Aliyu Pategi-led ad hoc Committee investigating the legality of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP) has said it would not hesitate to invoke the necessary constitutional provisions if the  members of the panel failed to appear before it on May 8, 2018.

    SPIP Chairman Okoi Obono-Obla, the Secretary of the panel, Akinbola Adeniran and the other  three  members of panel, Salihu Abubakar, Obinna Ogwuegbu and Monday Agbonika risked being arrested after repeated failure to honour the invitation of the House of Representatives.

    Since the beginning of the  investigative public hearing on April 19 on the legality and modus operandi of the panel, none of the panel members has appeared before the committee.

    However, after the third sitting, Pategi said the non-appearance of the members of SPIP before the committee was an affront on the legislature.

    A member of the committee, Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu), who  moved the motion to summon the SPIP members, said it was within the  constitutional role of the legislature to oversight the executive.

    “Following this continuous refusal to appear before this committee, I move that you evoke the relevant sections of section 89 of the 1999 Constitution and summon the chairman of the panel and its members.

    “They are to appear here on May 8, 2018 unfailingly, without which we shall exercise our responsibility to issue a warrant of arrest for them to appear”.

    In his submission,  the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF), Anthony Ayine, said there was no audit report of financial activities of the panel since its inception in 2017.

    On his part, Emmanuel Akisa, the Legal Adviser to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), explained  that the panel was set up as a special one to cure some existing defects.

    He said: “This includes where a public officer and private citizen is engaged in corrupt practices or unjustly enriched himself.

    “This is with the sole aim of recovering stolen public property.”

     

     

     

     

  • Insecurity: Senate aligns with Reps, seeks joint session with Buhari

    The Senate on Thursday aligned with the House of Representatives on the invitation to President Muhammadu Buhari to address a joint session of the National Assembly on the spate of killings in Benue, Taraba, Plateau, Adamawa and other states across the federation.

    To this end, the leadership of the Senate would be meeting with that of the House of Representatives to agree on a date for the President to address a joint session on the matter.

    The House of Representatives, had on Tuesday, invited the President to address the House on the security situation in the country.

    This followed an overwhelming vote of no confidence passed on the nation’s security chiefs by the green chamber.

    It was Senator Obinna Ogba (Ebonyi Central) that mulled the idea of a joint session with the President, with the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, asking him to table it through a motion within motion.

    Ogba’s motion was seconded by Senator Binta Garba Masi (Adamawa North). The motion was overwhelmingly carried.

    At Thursday’s plenary, gloom and despair enveloped the hallowed chamber of the Senate as the lawmakers took turns to bemoan the spate of senseless killings in some parts of the country.

    More disturbing to the senators was the nature and pattern of the attacks and the attendant heavy casualties. More so, when the attackers have been carrying out the heinous crimes unchallenged without being arrested.

    The original motion was moved by Senator George Akume, which opened the floodgate of lamentations on Tuesday’s killing of two Catholic priests and 18 parishioners at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, Ukpor-Mbalom, in Gwer West local government area of Benue State.

    Akume, who represents Benue North West district, was particularly alarmed that the killings took place in a church, which is generally regarded as a sanctuary.

     

  • Reps to summon Buhari over security situation

    The House of Representatives resolved yesterday to summon President Muhammadu Buhari to appear before it to tell lawmakers how he had been handling the nation’s security.

    Though no date was fixed, President Buhari will be expected to face lawmakers’ questions, if he agrees to the summon, on why he had not sacked military and security chiefs having failed to secure lives and properties.

    The lawmakers passed a vote of no confidence in the Service Chiefs.

    The House  also suspended legislative sittings for three days in solidarity with victims of the killings in the country.

    The House requested that killer herdsmen should be declared as terrorists, while all cattle rearers should undergo security profiling.

    The decision of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Mark Gbilah  (APC, Benue), who said the Federal Government failed in its primary responsibility of welfare and  security of lives and property  to the people of his state.

    Citing the killing of two clergymen and others on Tuesday, Gbilah said killing of people in their homes at night had not stopped.

    According to him, army personnel deployed from the 72 Army battalion in Makurdi to quell the incessant murder in Gwer East, Gwer West and several other Local Govermemt Areas (LGAs) by armed herdsmen took the law into their hands in a blatant display of brigandage and criminality and attacked Naka town in retaliation for the alleged murder of one of their colleagues.

    He expressed regret that security agencies did not employ a proactive strategy to preemptively attack the locations or carry out continuous surveillance of identified flash points.

    Another Benue lawmaker Dickson Tarkighin (APC) said the people of Benue had lost faith in Nigeria.

    Edward Pwajok (APC, Plateau) said the security chiefs should be summoned to face the lawmakers and be interrogated  in the full glare of the world.

    Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta) said the President has breached the constitution by failing  in his primary responsibility to the nation and that the House should not be afraid to activate the relevant provision for such breaches.

    Kehinde Agboola (PDP, Ekiti) said: “It is like the leadership of this country is confused, if the President cannot resign, he should sack the Service Chiefs”.

    Deputy Minority Leader Chukwuka Onyeama urged his colleagues to be decisive in their decision.

    Aliyu Magaji (APC, Jigawa) said though he belonged to the ruling party but President Buhari has not shown enough capacity to convince Nigerians that he is capable of tackling the many challenges facing the country.

    “Enough  is enough, this beyond sentiment,the Service chief must go, if there is no Nigeria, we cannot be here,” he said.

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

  • NEMA DG: Senators, Reps at distribution of relief materials

    Director-General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Mustapha Maihaja yesterday said some Senators and members of the House of Representatives witnessed distribution of relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in  many states.

    He said members of the National Assembly were involved as part of the transparency of the Federal Government.

    He faulted allegations that relief materials were not distributed to states in the North-East  since his assumption of office last year.

    He also said a sub-committee, headed by Minister of Budget and National Planning Udoma Udo-Udoma,  held meetings with Borno, Yobe and others where the issue and distribution  was discussed.

    He said the materials were distributed under a Presidential Intervention Programme, which was coordinated by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    He submitted the list of shared materials and photographs of the delivery processes  to the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness led by Hon. Ali Isa.

    Maihaja  cleared the air during the continuation of the hearing  on the activities of NEMA in the last one year.

    He said contrary to accusations that neither state governments nor officials of State Emergency Management Agency  (SEMA) were involved, the Federal Government held series of meetings with the beneficiary states.

    He said: “We were transparent, we ensured fairness in the distribution of relief materials. I have the list of the items, how the distribution was done  and photographs to confirm the deliveries.

    “ This is a presidential intervention conceived  by the Vice President. “The issue at stake was a Presidential intervention. By the time I took over,  I was  invited on 26th May, 2017 to join the team.

    “A sub-committee headed by Minister of Budget and National Planning held meetings with Borno, Yobe and others where the issue and distribution  was discussed.

    “They were part of the programme. We moved to site together with them. There’s perfect collaboration  with the states right from the onset.

    “This is not an issue of telling lies, the problem here could be communication gap. We worked together and the materials got to the right place”.

    “The governments of Yobe and Adamawa were invited at the inception of the programme. They made input into where and how many quantity of items to be distributed.

    “There was collaboration with the states. We visited the governors to the best of my understanding. The states were part of the distribution from day one .

    “There could be issue of breakdown of communication. The Vice President was the one who conceived it.  Officials of Gombe and Yobe states were involved in the process of distribution of these items. They went with us and ensured that these items were distributed to the right destinations.”

    At a point, a member of the Committee, Abdulraham Shaibu  said the DG changed the system of distribution by not involving lawmakers in the distribution.

    “Why were our members not involved in the distribution? In 2016, we were asked to nominate members for the distribution, we were involved and every ward in the three Local government in my Constituency got the materials”.

    Responding,  the DG said besides visiting several IDP camps, several Federal lawmakers participated in the distribution of the materials.

    He added: “Senator Bukar and Honourable Karasuwa   participated in the distribution in Yobe State and other lawmakers in other states too. The problems might be communication gap”, he added.

    Representatives of State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) from Yobe, Bauchi, Taraba and Gombe had denied awareness of distribution of relief materials to their States.

    Bauchi confirmed knowledge of the distribution of the materials but regretted that the State government was not involved in its distribution.

    Taraba SEMA claimed to be involved in the planning but excluded from the distribution.

    Gombe claimed that it has no Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and had no use for relief food materials but prefer restoration of its infrastructures.

  • Presidential special panel sues Reps over planned probe

    THE Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has sued the House of Representatives over the green chamber’s plan to investigate the legality of the panel’s operations.

    A copy of the summons served on the House was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.

    The other plaintiff in the matter is the panel’s chairman, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla. The defendant is the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on the panel’s activities.

    The suit, which was instituted by Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), raised five questions for the court to determine.

    They are: “Whether the resolution passed by the House on March 22 to set up the ad hoc committee to investigate the modus operandi of the panel is not tantamount to exercise of executive/supervisory power over the plaintiffs.

    “Whether the resolution passed by the house to investigate the legality of the panel is not tantamount to the exercise of judicial powers over the panel and its chairman.

    “If the answer to the first question is in the positive, whether by the provisions of Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution, the house and the committee are legally empowered to exercise executive/supervisory powers over the panel.

    “If the answer to question two is in the positive, whether by provisions of Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution, the house and the committee are legally empowered to exercise judicial powers over the panel and its chairman.

    “And, if the answer to questions three and four is in the negative, whether the letter written to the chairman of the panel on March 28, compelling him to forward certain documents to the committee is not illegal, null and void.”

    The panel, therefore, urged the court to declare that the House’s March 22 resolution to set up the ad hoc committee to investigate its “modus operandi” was tantamount to exercise of executive/supervisory power over it.

    The panel also asked the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the House from further taking any step against the plaintiff in respect of the resolution to investigate it.

    The panel also wants the court to declare that by provisions of Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution, the house and the committee are not legally empowered to exercise judicial powers over it and its chairman.

    Keyamo has, however, written the House’s ad-hoc, through the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, drawing its attention to the pending suit and advising the committee to stay action pending the determination of the case.

    Keyamo’s letter, written on behalf of the SPIPRPP and its chairman, was in response to an earlier letter by the House’s ad-hoc committee, informing them (SPIPRPP and its chairman) the planned probe.