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Tag: Reps

  • Tambuwal, Reps seek support for bio-safety law

    Tambuwal, Reps seek support for bio-safety law

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal has expressed optimism about the advantages of Bio-safety bill to the growth of the Nigerian economy, of passed into law.

    The speaker said the law would prevent indiscriminate dumping of genetically modified products (GMOs) in Nigeria by the industrialised world.

    Tambuwal, who spoke at the weekend in Abuja while declaring open a one-day sensitisation workshop on the need for a bio-safety law in Nigeria, noted that the nation’s quest to attain food security and economic development by the year 2020 would be assured with the law,

    Represented by the House leaser, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, the speaker said, “This is very timely in the sense that bio-safety is the hallmark of agricultural revolution with regards to increased crop yield which benefits and compositions should be known by the people to build confidence.

    “That can only be possible if there is legislation in place to check the abuse of the technology by experts or even the farmers.”

    Earlier in her presentation, the acting director general of National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof. Lucy Ogbadu, said the agency has used the biological processes of microorganism for more than 6,000 years to make useful food products, such as bread and cheese.

    She also said the process has been used to preserve diary products, produce beer, rum, vinegar and more recently in agro-industry, for the micro-propagation of disease-free plants.

    “In medicine, we have used it for the development of pregnancy test kits and the production of insulin, she added.

  • Confab outcome unpredictable, says Reps member

    Confab outcome unpredictable, says Reps member

    The lopsided selection of the delegates to the ongoing National Conference is unpredictable as it is predominantly membered by the old generation of Nigerians, a member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Rafiu A. Ibrahim has said.

    Dr Ibrahim, who represents Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun Federal Constituency also expressed reservation on the selection of delegates with old people taking the large chunk of the membership.

    He therefore, urged the federal government to correct the anomaly in order tackle the multifaceted problems that had plagued the nation.

    The legislator though hailed the appropriateness of the confab, noted that the selection aged people might affect the fortune of the talk-shop.

    The legislator told reporters at the weekend in Offa, Offa local government area of the state shortly after his inauguration as honourary President of Mess Committee of the Nigeria Navy School of Health Sciences, Offa.

    He expressed surprise at the failure of the Federal Government to take cognizance of the best delegates selection process.

    He said “my major reservation is that the confab is skewed to the old age. They are too many. Spent forces cannot decide on how our tomorrow will be. That’s the only problem. I’m not against the confab, I’m not against the intention. That one will be judged by the outcome. I’m not against about anybody’s opinion there because we are all Nigerians.

    “But if we must talk about tomorrow, somebody that has no take in tomorrow, somebody that has taken a fixation or position on issues, most of them are there. They had already taken position. If you see me and my brother whereby we have thought an idea, by the time he talks to me I change. The same thing for him. If he’s thinking of something and I enlighten him on it, he changes, because we have take in the future.

    “Now, we have so many old people at the confab. So, we hope that they’ll allow the young ones there to be able to have something concrete.

    The intention of the president is good. The people that are there are prominent citizens. But the only thing is that it is skewed towards old age.”

    He pointed that inadequate representation and leadership inequality has been partly responsible for under-development being experienced in all spheres.

    The lawmaker, who is a member of the House Committee on Navy and Appropriation, said he was determined to initiate programmes that would better the lot of the people and called for more support from the people to be able to achieve the lofty dreams.

  • Reps, Gemade allege use of chemical weapons in Benue

    The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to probe the alleged use of chemical weapons by Fulani herdsmen in Benue State.

    This followed the adoption of a motion by the Chairman of the House Committee on Women Affairs, Ms. Christina Alaaga.

    The House called on security agencies to ensure adequate security on the Makurdi-Nakka Highway, which has been abandoned due to sustained attacks in the last few months.

    It directed the Department of State Security (DSS), the Army and the Police to arrest the perpetrators.

    The lawmakers called on the Federal Government to compensate farmers, who have lost their crops, and source of livelihood.

    The lawmakers urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to victims of the attacks.

    Ms. Alaaga said a dangerous dimension had been introduced into the attacks, with the alleged use of chemical weapons.

    She said: “If this deadly practice is not stopped, the consequences will be catastrophic.

    “We are presently faced with a humanitarian crisis of internally displaced persons.

    “It is pathetic to see women and children moving enmasse on the roads carrying what little belongings they could salvage.”

    Also, the Chairman, Senate Committee on National Planning, Barnabas Gemade, said there was the need to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons because “injuries caused by such weapons had become widespread” in the affected areas.

    Gemade called on soldiers deployed in the state to abide by their rules of engagement, eschew indiscipline and demonstrate professionalism and impartiality.

    In a statement by his media aide, Benji Ugba Uyeh, the senator thanked the Federal Government for deploying soldiers in the state.

    The statement said the Senate called for an action to curb the activities of the invaders.

    It said the Senate also made a case to “ensure that the victims are returned to their homes and farmlands to forestall famine”.

    Gemade urged affected communities to cooperate with the soldiers to ensure that normalcy is restored in the state.

  • Reps in closed-door session over court ruling

    Reps in closed-door session over court ruling

    Two days after the Monday ruling of Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, the House of Representatives went into an over two- hour closed door session to address the issue.

    The House on resumption Wednesday quickly commenced an executive session in which, according to the Deputy Chairman of House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Victor Ogene (APGA, Anambra) the recent judgement, issues of defections and partisanship were discussed.

    Ogene while briefing reporters after the closed- door session, also denied insinuations that the Speaker was under pressure by either the ruling party or Rep members to declare the seats of the 37 defected lawmakers vacant.

    He said the House during the closed door session agreed to halt action on court cases till they run the full course, adding that the decision was based on precedence.

    His words: “There were no pressures on Mr Speaker, if there were, we would have held this closed door session Tuesday but we decided to wait for all the parties in the case to get served.

    “We agreed to allow different cases in court regarding defections of some members to go through the full course and in arriving at that decision, the House took cognisance of the fact that precedence had been set even before last Friday and Monday judgements.

    “If you recall, a certain member that defected from the Labour Party in Ondo State to the then ACN, that matter is still in court, and that member is still participating in the affairs of the House.

    “There are some other instances that fall in that category,” he said.

    He went further to deny reports that the Speaker, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and his deputy, Hon Emeka Ihedioha filed an appeal against a High Court judgement against 37 lawmakers that defected from the PDP.

    “The two principal officers had no personal or individual interest in the case but were nominal parties to the suit, having been listed as defendants in the case.

    “We noticed that some publications tried to drag the person of the speaker into this. The speaker did not appeal on individual basis. He has no personal interest in the ongoing matter in court.

    Ogene said both the offices of the Speaker and his Deputy ” will address this issue so we shouldn’t try to introduce mischief into the ongoing process, remember that they were made nominal defendants in the two cases.

    “The appeal was filed by the 37 members that defected from the PDP. The National Assembly management as an institution has a right to appeal if they so desire”.

    Aside defection, the lawmaker said members also discussed the growing trend of partisanship in carrying out business of the House during the session.

    Partisanship, he said is tinting the arguments and decisions of members in the floor.

    “We decided to insulate the house from the growing trend of partisanship that is beginning to arise in the House during plenary.

    “We decided that in line with the decision we took during our inauguration, we should keep party aside to make good laws for order, peace and development of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is our core mandate as members of the House of Representatives,” Ogene added.

  • Missing N59.6 billion: Reps issue 24-hour ultimatum to CBN, NNPC, AGF

    Missing N59.6 billion: Reps issue 24-hour ultimatum to CBN, NNPC, AGF

    The House of Representatives Committee on Public accounts Tuesday issued a 24 hour ultimatum to the acting governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sarah Alade and the Executive Director of Finance, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Accountant General to the Federation (AGF), Mr Jonah Otunla to explain their various roles in the alleged missing  N59.6 billion Service Wide Vote in 2006.

    Representatives of NNPC, CBN and AGF has during the investigative hearing held Tuesday denied knowledge about the disbursement of the fund.

    In his submission, the NNPC GM Accounts, Mr Sambo Aliyu presented a letter written by the Budget Office in response to NNPC’s enquiry on the whereabouts of the missing fund.

    He however noted that the budget office responded that the money was released to NNPC.

    But when asked whether the money was released to NNPC, Aliyu responded that “the cash was not released, we did not see any money.”

    While reacting to his submission, members of the Committee insisted that all the relevant agencies should be summoned once again.

    Also when the representative of CBN, Mr Dipo Fatokun was asked to explain what he knows about the missing fund, he simply replied saying “we will need to get the mandates from the AGF.”

    Unhappy with his response, some of the lawmakers declared that Fatokun should come along with his superiors Wednesday as his response so far has not been encouraging.

    Also when queried on the missing fund, Mrs. Tayo Toluwase a director, in the budget office simply said she does not have all the relevant details on the issue.

    While ruling, Chairman of PAC, Rep Olamilekan Adeola, ordered that the AGF should bring all the documents that involved the disbursement of the fund.

    According to him, such documents include all bank transactions between July and December 2006, a copy of the federation account, copies of statements of accounts through CBN for the period under review.

    He explained that “if there was any mandate on the said missing N59.6bn it will show at a glance.

    “We are tired of all the excuses of all the agencies involved claiming ignorant at one stage or the other.”

  • Reps to conduct public hearing over NIS 2014 recruitment test

    Reps to conduct public hearing over NIS 2014 recruitment test

    The House of Representatives has mandated its committees to conduct a public hearing to determine the causes of death of some Nigerians on Saturday at recruitment centres of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).

    The committees are also to invite all relevant stakeholders to find out the remote and immediate causes of the stampede that took place at the centres and suggest the way forward.

    The committees are those of Interior, Labour and Productivity, Public Service Matters and Justice.

    The House on Tuesday in Abuja also commiserated with the families of applicants who lost their lives and also resolved that the relatives of victims be identified and offered automatic employment.

    It further resolved that all mass recruitment exercises into Federal Government agencies must be done through the internet and in more conducive environment than that of Saturday.

    These resolutions followed a motion by Rep. Karimi Sunday (PDP- Kogi) which was adopted when put to vote by the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal.

    The motion is entitled:” Tragedy at 2014 Immigration Recruitment Exercise in Nigeria as one million Nigerian Youths scramble for 4,500 job placements.”

    Sunday, while moving the motion, said that on March 15, many Nigerian youths trooped into all the nation’s state capitals and major cities to participate in the 2014 NIS recruitment exercise.

    According to him, about 70,000 youths showed up in Lagos for the test, 20,000 at Liberty Stadium, Ibadan and the 60,000 capacity National Stadium, Abuja was overcrowded with 70, 000 applicants.

    “This was the same trend in other state capitals on the said date,” he said.

    He said that the “poor” organisation of the exercise resulted in chaos and stampede in all the centres where several persons were reported dead and many injured.

    He, therefore, urged the House to condemn the handling of the March 15 NIS recruitment test and the relevant committees of the House should investigate the matter.

    In their various contributions to the motion, lawmakers agreed that the NIS incident needed to be investigated.

    Rep. Nkoyo Toyo (PDP- Cross- Rivers) said that the Saturday’s incident pointed to a structural problem that could be attributed to the large population of the country.

    “I am in support of the call to investigate the matter,” she said.

    Reps. Chris Etta (PDP- Cross- Rivers), Razak Bello- Osagie (APC- Edo) described the recruitment tragedy as a show of “shame” and “national disaster” which they said had affected Nigeria’s prestige.

    Rep. Abike Dabiri- Erewa(APC- Lagos) said that those saddled with the responsibility of conducting the recruitment must take ” full” responsibility for it.

    In his contribution, Rep. Bitrus Kaze (PDP-Plateau) said that the NIS incident showed that the exercise was not properly planned.

    He said that the reports in some media that immigration slots were given to members of the National Assembly were false and agreed that the Saturday incident should be investigated.

  • N35b unaccounted for by Head of Service, say Reps

    N35b unaccounted for by Head of Service, say Reps

    What happened to over N35 billion sent to the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation from the Service Wide Vote by the Budget Office from 2004 to 2012?

    Why were these funds not in the records of the OHSF? Were the funds received by the OHSF and if not, where did the money go?

    Why could the OHSF only account for the receipt of N17.6 billion out of almost N53 billion?

    These were the questions the members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts laboured yesterday to find answers to, while investigating the disbursement of Service Wide Votes from 2004 to 2012.

    Members of the Solomon Olamilekan- Adeola headed committee were surprised yesterday when the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, OHSF could not account for a total of over N35 billion received from the Budget Office of the Federation over a period of nine years.

    While the Permanent Secretary of the OHSF, Mr. Remi Adelakun claimed they received only N17.6 billion over the period, the Budget Office discounted the assertion by reeling out records of the disbursement of the funds from the Service Wide Votes from 2004 to 2012 and received by the Office of the Head of Service.

    According to the Budget Office, the OHSF received well over N52 billion within the period under investigation.

    The Budget Office, which was represented by Mr. David Eze, said in 2004, the OHSF received N2.7 billion, N9.8 million in 2005, N701.7 million in 2006, N896.3m in 2007, N5.3b in 2008, N612.9m, another N70m in 2009 and N17.6b in 2010.

    Other releases, according to the Budget Office, are N13.6b in 2011 and N8.5b in 2012.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Solomon Adeola-Olamilekan, noted that the OHSF documents only refer to the N17.6b it received in 2010. He said based on the figures given by the Budget Office, there’s a disparity of almost N35 billion and requested for the documents for the rest of the years in question.

    However, following the inability of the OHSF to satisfactorily answer the queries of the committee over Service Wide Votes disbursement, the Chairman of the committee advised the OHSF to return to its archives and if necessary reconcile its records with the Budget Office and return on March 27 to the committee with the relevant records.

  • Rice importation: Reps summon Okonjo- Iweala, Aganga, Adesina

    Rice importation: Reps summon Okonjo- Iweala, Aganga, Adesina

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Trade and Investment Minister, Olusegun Aganga and their counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture, Akinwumi Adesina, have been summoned by House of Representatives committee on customs.

    They are to answer questions pertaining to the Federal Government’s rice importation policy.

    The Federal Government policy introduced last year bans any form of rice importation into the country and has allegedly caused the country to lose over N300 billion late last year alone through actions of rice smugglers.

    Speaking on the issue yesterday, the Chairman of the committee on Customs, Hon. Sabo Mohammed Nakudu (PDP, Jigawa) said the three ministers are to appear before a public hearing to be organized by the committee on the issue.

    Letters, he said, has been written to the three ministers and other stakeholders, by the committee to inform them as well as call for position papers.

    According to the lawmaker, the committee’s decision to have a public hearing was based on a House resolution on the issue which was sequel to a motion by Hon. Nasiru Baballe Ila (APC, Kano) on February 19.

    The committee chair said hearing would ascertain the level of the rice importation policy, “which has caused ripples in the country and indeed cause a high loss to the government revenue.”

    “He cited the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa, which he said was over 103 years old and had remained ANC from inception.

     

  • Reps: Sanusi’s suspension is unconstitutional

    Reps: Sanusi’s suspension is unconstitutional

    The suspension of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by President Goodluck Jonathan is unconstitutional, the House of Representatives said yesterday.

    The issue generated a row on the floor of the House.

    Supporters and opponents of the suspension brought proceedings to a halt at plenary.

    President Goodluck Jonathan early yesterday suspended the CBN governor and replaced him with Dr Sarah Alade in acting capacity.

    At the end of the debate, which divided the House between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the lawmakers mandated the committees on Justice and Legislative Compliance to compile the resolutions of the House which indicted public officers but to which the President refused to act. The House urged the President to act on them expeditiously.

    Trouble started when Minority Whip Samson Osagie, as he moved a motion under Matters of Urgent National Interest, asked that the House declare the President’s action “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.

    The lawmaker noted that the CBN Act 2007, as amended, gives no provision empowering the President or anybody to suspend the CBN governor.

    He said: “Only Section 11(7) of the Act gives the President powers to remove the CBN governor, subject to the approval of two-thirds majority of the Senate.”

    Osagie expressed concern that the suspension “was coming at a time the CBN governor has made allegations of missing funds or funds unremitted into the Federation Accounts”.

    The lawmaker said the allegation of recklessness, for which Sanusi was suspended, did not indicate whether or not the ex-CBN governor was given fair hearing, in accordance with the constitution.

    He noted that “the National Assembly has made numerous resolutions bordering on corruption against certain public officers for which the President has refused to act”.

    Osagie said: “Uncertainty has already crept into the stock market with the dollar immediately appreciating against the Naira. Market stakeholders are worried about the action.

    “In a democracy, the rule of law, and not the rule of man, is the only condition that can guarantee freedom and protection of the rights of the citizen.”

    But Deputy Majority Leader Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta) said the action of the President was in order.

    He said the suspension was a process that would lead to the removal of Sanusi, as stipulated in the CBN Act.

    “For you to remove somebody, there has to be a process. The suspension is the beginning of that,” Ogor said.

    Those in favour of the motion protested.

    Another member, Ralph Igbokwe (PDP, Imo) said Section 11 of the CBN Act empowered Jonathan to suspend Sanusi.

    But Nkoyo Toyo (PDP, Cross River) warned her colleagues that the House should not politicise the matter.

    Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila, in a statement, expressed dismay over Sanusi’s suspension.

    The lawmaker queried the legality of the action of the President’s action.

    He said: “I am concerned about its legality. Whilst it can be argued that an employer has the right to suspend an employee, the question here is whether this is a suspension or a removal in the guise of suspension.”

    Gbajabiamila stressed that the suspension was an attack on CBN’s autonomy as well as a setback to the fight on corruption.

    He said: “For good reasons, a CBN governor the world over is independent and autonomous. To remove him, you need confirmation and buy-in of the Senate. You cannot do it through the back door. If you read carefully the reasons advanced by the Presidency, then it becomes clear that this is a removal and not a suspension. Therefore, it is illegal and unconstitutional.

    “It becomes more worrisome when you consider the timing, based on the fact that the CBN governor has just blown the lid off a monumental scandal involving the disappearance of $20 billion from our coffers. “The message being sent out is not the best. There can be no worse attack on the autonomy of the apex financial institution as envisaged by the constitution. For God’s sake, the man only has three months left!”

    Pally Iriase (Edo, APC) told reporters that President Jonathan should list the allegations of “various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct” he said were the reasons for the CBN governor’s suspension.

    The lawmaker said the suspension was hasty and could reduce foreign investors’ confidence in the nation’s economy.

    He said: “We have been talking about impunity. This is yet another show of impunity by this administration. The suspension is personal and is not unconnected with the recent disclosure of missing money from the NNPC.

    “It is a clear case of ‘if you cannot shut him up, ship him out’. It should be condemned in its totality.”

    Iriase faulted the assertion that Sanusi had been doing the bidding of the APC by embarrassing the government with disclosures of missing oil revenue.

    He said: “If the bidding of APC is to have a robust economy, a responsible government that is corruption-free, then Nigerians should be happy. Sanusi’s suspension is simply a case of the administration shooting itself in the foot.”

  • Reps in rowdy session over Sanusi’s suspension

    The suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, by President Goodluck Jonathan has been declared as illegal and unconstitutional by the House of Representatives.

    The issue generated a row on the floor of the House on Thursday as members argued in favour and against the suspension and brought proceedings to a halt at plenary.

    President Jonathan had on Thursday suspended the CBN Governor and asked him to hand over to the most senior executive director in the apex bank, Dr. Sarah Alade, who will steer the bank’s affair in acting capacity until the appointment of a substantive governor.

    At the end of the debate which mainly divided along the party line of APC versus PDP, the House mandated the committees on Justice and Legislative Compliance to compile all resolutions of the House which has indicted any public officer for which the president has refused to act and request the President to act on them expeditiously.

    Trouble started when the Minority Whip of the House, Samson Osagie, while moving a motion under Matters of Urgent National Interest asked that the House declare the action of the President as “illegal and unconstitutional.”

    According to Osagie the CBN Act 2007 as amended gives no provision empowering the President or anybody to suspend the Governor of the CBN.

    However, the Deputy Majority Leader Leo Ogor (PDP-Delta) said the decision of the President to suspend Sanusi was in order.