The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Reps

  • 2015 poll: Reps to probe Dokubo, Kuku’s utterances

    2015 poll: Reps to probe Dokubo, Kuku’s utterances

    The House of Representatives on Tuesday mandated its Committees on Police Affairs and National Security to liaise with the Inspector-General of Police on the comments allegedly made by Asari Dokubo and Kingsley Kuku on 2015.

    It urged the IGP, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar to invite Dokubo and Kuku for thorough investigation on their statements on President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election.

    The House also condemned the statements credited to the duo.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Dokubo and the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Kuku, had said at different fora that unless Jonathan was returned as president in 2015, there won’t be peace in Nigeria.

    This resolution followed a motion by Rep. Ali Madaki (PDP-Kano), which was unanimously adopted.

    According to him, if left unchecked the utterances credited to Dokubo was capable of creating disunity and disaffection among Nigerians.

    He said that while Nigerians were praying for peace, some were already out sowing seed of discord.

    Madaki said that since the country became independent in 1960 and a republic in 1963, all differences had been buried.

    He said that for over three years now, security had become a challenge in the country as the Federal Government was partnering relevant stakeholders to arrest the situation.

     

  • Reps: grounding of aircraft is dictatorship

    Reps: grounding of aircraft is dictatorship

    The House of Representatives yesterday came down hard on the Federal Government for the grounding of a plane belonging to the government of Rivers State by the National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

    The House described the grounding of the Bombardier B700 Global Express private jet as a witch-hunt of perceived political opponents.

    It mandated its committees on Justice and Aviation to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

    According to the House, the two committees should “extensively investigate the justification and circumstances surrounding the grounding of the Rivers State aircraft and report back to the House within two weeks”.

    The action is “detrimental to any democracy and tends towards dictatorship and draconian tendencies typical of the military era”, the lawmakers noted.

    The incident, according to the House, “raises serious issues as to the abuse of powers by the executive and the use of state machinery to with-hunt perceived political opponents”.

    The resolution of the House was sequel to the adoption of the prayer of the motion by a member and Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Character, Ahmed Idris, under Matters of Urgent National Importance.

    Idris, representing Wase Federal Constituency in Plateau State, presenting the motion, said the agency’s action smacked of “impunity, lawlessness and political vendetta”.

    The BD 700 Global Express aircraft was last week grounded by NAMA for what the agency called non-compliance with aviation regulations .

  • Reps probe delay in accessing N100b dead customers’ funds

    Reps probe delay in accessing N100b dead customers’ funds

    The House of Representatives has mandated its joint Committee on Judiciary and Justice to convene a stakeholders’ meeting within two weeks to investigate delays associated with accessing funds of deceased persons by their beneficiaries.

    The decision of the House followed the adoption of the prayers of a motion sponsored by a member, Mr Abiodun Abudu-Balogun, on the need to stop the pains that beneficiaries of such funds usually go through.

    According to him, while official figures put the funds of deceased persons lying in Nigerian banks at N100 billion, unofficial statistics put the figures between N400 billion and N1 trillion with the banks.

    He said obtaining a letter of administration usually lasts over a year.

    Abudu-Balogun said it was time Nigerians were saved from the harrowing experiences.

    He said: “While the banks continue to trade with the money, beneficiaries of the deceased person’s accounts are living in penury and unable to feed.

    “Anytime the beneficiaries show up to access the funds, as the next-of-kin to the deceased, the banks usually place official and unofficial hurdles to frustrate them.”

    The lawmaker noted that obtaining letters of administration by such bereaved families at probate divisions of State and Federal High Courts was cumbersome and corruption-ridden, “thereby adding to the frustration of the already traumatised beneficiaries”.

    Abudu-Balogun explained that even the beneficiaries of bereaved contributors to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) are being frustrated to claim the entitlements because of the cumbersome process for getting Letters of Administration.

    “This inability to access the funds of deceased breadwinners is discouraging people from saving with the banks and may lead to the collapse in the saving culture in Nigeria.”

    Members who supported the motion include Peter Akpatason, Forte Dike, Tobi Okechukwu and Abubakar Momoh.

    Akpatason said it was unfortunate that family members, whose lives have been made miserable by death of their breadwinners, would be subjected to more pains by undue bottlenecks in courts and banks.

    Samson Okwu noted that the alleged bottlenecks in the banks are safeguards to prevent the funds from falling into the wrong hands.

     

  • Reps, North’s leaders call for inquiry into Baga invasion

    Reps, North’s leaders call for inquiry into Baga invasion

    •ACN cautions JTF against extra-judicial killings

     

    There was outrage yesterday over the military invasion of Baga in Borno State in which no fewer than 185 people died.

    Northern leaders, the House of Representatives, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), rights activists and lawyers condemned the action. They called for a commission of inquiry into the matter.

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) cautioned the Joint Task Force (JTF) against extra-judicial killings.

    In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the security agencies must respect the relevant rules of engagement in their ongoing onslaught against Boko Haram in order to spare the lives and property of innocent civilians.

    The statement reads: “Without jumping to any conclusion on what really transpired in Baga, we hasten to say that the military, in fighting an asymmetric war against insurgents, must ensure a strict observance of its rules of engagement to avoid the kind of deaths that were recorded in the border town.

    “No matter what defence the military may put forward, the mass deaths and destruction in Baga during the JTF-insurgents’ clash portray the Nigerian military as having little or no respect for human rights and the sanctity of lives. This is not a flattering portrayal for a military that has made its mark in global peacekeeping.”

    The ACN also criticised the Federal Government’s handling of the matter, saying it is slow and disrespectful to the sanctity of human lives.

    The party said: “In the first instance, it took the government almost 48 hours to comment on the killings, as the Presidency only issued a statement on Monday evening over the clash and the deaths which reports said started on Friday.

    “Secondly, even the tone of the statement amounted to further victimising the victims of the clash. Saying that the death toll was ‘grossly exaggerated’, as the Presidency statement claimed, is simply wrong, because the killing of even one innocent person is one killing too many.”

    It expressed the hope that the probe ordered into the tragedy by President Goodluck Jonathan would not be another window dressing, as allegations of killing of civilians by the military in some parts of the North have continued unabated, despite previous claims by the government to ensure that such killings do not recur.

    The House demanded an inquiry following the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance raised by Mohammed Monguno (ANPP, Borno).

    Monguno said most of those killed were “innocent civilians”.

    He said: “There is a need to set up the judicial commission of inquiry because the soldiers have rules of engagement and being professional, they are supposed to know how to react to situations like this when civilians are involved.

    “With this incident, it should not be a surprise if Nigerians become more sympathetic to the sect rather than the soldiers because of the number of civilians involved and that is not good for the security challenges we are facing in this country.

    “It is my opinion that the soldiers should be more concerned with winning the hearts and minds of the people rather than jettisoning professionalism and rules of engagements. They should be more cautious in situation like this”.

    The lawmakers advised members of Boko Haram to embrace the amnesty offered by the Federal Government.

    Northern Elders also urged Jonathan to institute a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the massacre.

    Speaking when he led a group of northern elders on a visit to the secretariat of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), former Presidential Adviser on Food Security, Prof. Ango Abdullahi blamed the President for allowing military men to take over peace keeping, adding that soldiers are trained for war and not to deal with the civil society.

    He said: “We elders of the North came to ACF to exchange ideas and views on the state of the nation generally and the state of the North in particular.

    “When we saw the president in March, we presented him with a document on what we saw in the nation, particularly in the area of instability and insecurity and other details in terms of what should be done to mitigate it or to stop it completely.

    “We have insecurity problems in various parts of the North with different antecedents and background. Some are ethno -religious, some cattle rearers and farmers we have been living with this for quite some time.

    “But the latest addition to the insecurity situation is the Jama’atul Alhalus Sunnah lilda’awati wal Jihad otherwise known as Boko Haram and we address that in details because it is the current subject of insecurity. We did recommend to the president at that particular time that we did not think full force will bring an end to the violence in this particular sect.

    “Full force will not solve the problem and so they should think of how to deal with it. The danger we saw in full force, particularly where soldiers are involved is that soldiers are not trained to deal with civil society. They are trained for war and wherever they are, the mentality is that of war and at a smallest provocation, they act like they are in a state of war.

    “This is what led to the considerable amount of violence that has been taken place particularly in Yobe and Borno states. We did recommend to the president that he should try and re-evaluate the use of soldiers as peace keeping machines. Soldiers are not good peace keepers. This country is not at war and it couldn’t be at war with its own citizens.

    “So, we said some other device should be used but the most important device is to incorporate in this peace move a willing support of the population. If you are a peace keeper, your first need is the population, particularly in terms of intelligence report to advise and so on.

    “This is because most of these soldiers that are posted to these areas are not only raw as solders, but they are coming from totally different backgrounds. If you want a peace keeper in Borno, you need a person who can speak Hausa, somebody who can speak Kanuri, somebody who can speak Shuwa and most of the solders that are there cannot even communicate in pidgin English.

    “They are put together and posted to these areas as peace keepers and this is why so far they have failed and we have thousands of people being killed at the slightest provocation. Take the latest one for example. The Commandant himself said they lost a soldier. Is it because one soldier was lost that 200 people should be killed? If you are wearing a uniform, you are wearing it to die in the line of duty.

    “And the fact that a soldier died on duty does not justify the excessive force used at night. Shooting people as they move into the bush and virtually razing their houses. You drove them out of their houses and while running into the bush, you shot them like animals. This is certainly a failure on the part of the so-called security apparatus that are supposed to keep peace in Borno and Yobe states.

    “We advised against it much earlier. The fact that the president is saying there should be a probe does not mean he said more than what he has said before because there are so many people who might have been mercilessly killed in their sleep while their houses are ransacked in the name of searching for Boko Haram members.

    “This certainly is not the way an operation like this should be conducted. That is why we believe the president needs not just a probe. We need a judicial commission of inquiry to unravel what has happened in Baga. The commission of inquiry should have expanded term of reference for people to come before it to raise issues that have been happening in Borno and Yobe states.

    “It is important for me to say that when you are trying to set up a committee to reconcile people, what is required from both sides is mutual confidence and mutual trust. It is the lack of mutual confidence and mutual trust that led to the failure of the first attempt to engage the group in dialogue.

    “What we recommended is for the government to set up a committee. In fact, what we recommended was that reconciliation amnesty commission should be set up and this is usually a creation of law and once they are created by law, they acquire certain independence from those who created them.

    “But where you the government has one of its ministers as chairman of the committee and the secretary of the committee coming from the government, this will not give the kind of confidence one expects to get because the other side was saying they don’t need amnesty because it was the government that offended them.

    “The only worry in some quarters is about the independence and neutrality of the committee because of its chairman and secretary. I hope it will work but a lot of efforts must be put in place to make sure that it will work so that the modus operandi are sufficiently worked out.”

    The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) also condemned the invasion, asking Jonathan to explore the peace option to the insurgency problem.

    It also asked the Federal Government to rebuild the over 2,000 houses destroyed by soldiers.

    The CPC, in a statement in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, said: “The CPC, as a party, is outraged by the unfortunate incident of the wanton destruction of lives and property that attended the face-off between insurgents believed to be Boko Haram and soldiers of the Joint Task Force in Baga, Borno State.

    “The attendant ecological disruption and huge humanitarian calamity had attracted so much attention (international and local) that clearly obviates the need for the continuous passing of the buck.

    “True, the president has called for the probe of this needless carnage, which euphemistically means stalemated action on the matter. The houses destroyed must be rebuilt by the Federal Government whilst massive rehabilitative efforts are put in place for the displaced victims of the combatants’ rage.

    “We recall that it was a PDP-led Federal Government that authorised the invasion of Odi on 20th November, 1999 on the pretext of redressing the killing of some policemen in the community. We have equally noted that this template of excessive force that falls far short from internationally-accepted rules of engagement for internal peace enforcement – which successive PDP-led administrations have stridently followed – is no longer fashionable in the civilised order of human governments.

    “We remind the Federal Government to ensure that peace is the pre-eminent watch-word for military engagement within the nation-space. “Finally, we commiserate with the families of the deceased of the unfortunate incident, while praying for the speedy recovery of the wounded.”

    The Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Najeem Salaam, condemned the killings.

    Salaam described the killings as unacceptable, barbaric, ungodly, and nauseating. He urged the Federal Government to halt the carnage.

    In a statement issued by his Press Secretary, Mr. Goke Butika, the Speaker said the incident painted a picture of the country as a jungle, where life is cheap.

    He said: “Our nation is bleeding seriously, corruption used to be on top of the chart, but insecurity seems to be challenging the menace now, for wanton killings appear to be normal in the country now, our strategies are malfunctioning, and as a nation, we must re-strategise, because Baga people in Borno State are human beings who must be kept safe in their country like any other part of the territory.”

     

  • Reps to investigate banks for tax evasion

    Reps to investigate banks for tax evasion

    •Committee to meet CBN, FIRS, bank chiefs next week

    The House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance has said it will probe tax evasion by commercial banks.

    It has invited the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), banks’ chief executive officers and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The apex bank will be at the event as an observer.

    The Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Abdulmumin Jibrin, told The Nation that the N1 trillion deficit in the 2013 budget “is unacceptable” and that if the legislature looked inwards, it would find it.

    His words: “The determination to go all out and look at the remittance records of government agencies and other business organisations was borne out of the fact that the over N1 trillion budget deficit is unacceptable.

    “It is the belief of this Committee that if we look inward, we will find this money hidden somewhere, and that is why we started with the internally generated revenue (IGR) of government agencies and we have all seen the positive result we got so far, except for few, like the Nigerian National Corporation of Nigeria (NNPC) that are proving difficult.

    “The issue that will occupy the Committee’s attention in the next two weeks, is the issue of bank compliance, there is no exception.

    “Now we have resolved in a week or two, the exercise will commence with a meeting with FIRS, of course we have notified the CBN to pick interest in the matter even though they do not have any special role to play, theirs is just to observe,” he said, adding that thereafter, the bank chiefs would be invited to Abuja.

    “We have a knowledge of what is involved in terms of how much, but we want to avoid unnecessary debate. We want those directly involved to present the figures with their own hands.

    “We are going to invite the Federal Inland Revenue Service to make presentation on projections and receipts, actual collections and remittances from banks, that will help us now to see if the banks have been meeting the targets set out for them by the FIRS.”

    He said the Committee had been gathering data on the issue since last year, and was armed with information that would enable the House to take decision.

    Jibrin explained that the Committee has developed a template that will be attached to the letters being sent to the banks so that all figures would emanate from the real sources, adding that the Committee’s desire is for transparency to be a watchword in private and public transactions in the country.

    He said when the forms sent to the banks are filled, the Committee will do the computation and compare with figures presented by the FIRS and other data at the lawmakers’disposal.

    “It is from there that Nigerians would start to know the situation of things. This is important because the banking sector is critical to the economy because every day, they announce huge amount of money on their balance sheet. So, we need to know how they are contributing to the revenue of the country in terms of tax remittances,” said.

    Jibrin, however, regretted that the Committee and its members have been under pressure since the idea was broached.

    “Well, we are coming under severe pressure from the banks already just like during the government agencies’IGR probe, like many people said then that we couldn’t push it through but we did it.

    “Already, there is pressure and panic everywhere in the industry, but we are not out to embarrass anyone. We are just doing our work and we just have to do it.

    “We are prepared going by past events, which we have learned from and we have the capacity to work and surmount the pressure.

    “The other aspect of the pressure is that some people would want to put it in the mind of Nigerians that what we are about to do is targeted at the government and aimed at collapsing the economy, which is not true,” he added.

     

  • National Theatre: House of Reps orders stay of action

    Lawmakers have asked the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Mr. Edem Duke, to stay action on the controversial plan to convert the National Arts Theatre into a hotel.

    The House of Representatives directed the minister to stop the planned ejection of three agencies from the Complex.

    Besides, the minister is to appear before it on April 18, with 35 copies of documents relating to the proposed concessioning arrangement.

    Stakeholders have praised the House Committee on Culture and Tourism for stepping into the controversial concessioning of the 37-year old edifice.

    All the stakeholders in the Arts industry will meet today at the Arts Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos on the proposed plans.

    The House decided to intervene in the matter through its committee on Culture and Tourism.

    A letter, dated April 8, 2013 and signed by the Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Tourism, Chief Ben Nwankwo, said the House ought to be briefed on the inherent public interest in the planned development of the National Arts Theatre.

    The letter, which was obtained by our correspondent, reads in part: “The attention of the House Committee on Culture and Tourism has been drawn to your intention to develop the National Theatre Land at Lagos under a concessioning arrangement, a move which we understood started since last year.

    “ There is no doubt the Committee supports any good initiative to develop the country’s tourism sector, using cultural and heritage assets, especially when such arrangement is in the overall best interest of the economy and the people of Nigeria.

    “It is, however, sad, indeed very sad that despite the demonstrable eagerness of the Committee to play its legislative role in enhancing the sector’s performance, you chose to isolate it from knowing the strategic direction or intent in order for it to exercise due legislative diligence upon such action or plan.

    “I am constrained to state in the strongest term that the Parliament by the Constitution is the centre of accountability of the public administration system and through it, all MDAs, including the subject ministry and the parastatals therein are accountable to the people.

    “We, therefore, owe it a duty under this guise to guard the process, actions and intentions of the government on its integrity, due process and transparency, being the scrutiny mechanism and watchdog over processes and procedures of delivery of public goods and services.

    “In furtherance of the forgoing therefore, Sir, I am to request you to brief the Leadership of the Committee with appropriate documents on the approvals of the development, scope and extent of the plan, the platform under which you will secure investors, outcome or benefits to the sector, the impact or effect of the planned development in the operation of the National Theatre, Lagos, including its workforce, evidence of due process in the appointment of Advisor including his or her credentials, work plan of the planned development, and of course a presentation of the subject master plan, showing the extent of the land earmarked for concessioning and what will be left of the National Theatre.

    “The briefs including the documents should be submitted in 35 copies on or before the meeting slated for Thursday, 18th April, 2013 at Room 1.33, House of Representatives by 2.00pm. This scheduled meeting will precede the proper briefing of the entire Committee on a date to be announced later, please.

    “It will be only expedient you agree with me, to stay the quit notice already served on the tenant parastatals until the Committee is fully brought in the picture of the public interest inherent in the planned development, which has regrettably generated confusions and controversies in certain quarters.

    “I crave your full cooperation and understanding of the purpose of this communication and comply in the overall interest of the Sector and our country at large. Please, kindly accept the assurances of my esteemed regards.”

     

  • Reps, CBN alleged deal stalls BOFIA Act amendment

    Reps, CBN alleged deal stalls BOFIA Act amendment

    There are indications that the bill to repeal and re-enact the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) may not be passed in the seventh House of Representatives. There are allegations that the House leadership has been compromised over it.

    The House was alleged to have sold the soul of the BOFIA amendment to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for an undisclosed amount. There appears to be a consistent and orchestrated attempt by the House leadership to bury the BOFIA Act, or at best to ensure that it was not passed during the Seventh House, The Nation gathered.

    It was learnt that February 18, a day to the presentation of the BOFIA amended Act for consideration at the Committee of the Whole House by its sponsor, Betty Apiafi, the CBN was sent a copy to enable it to remove aspects that are offensive to the financial sector’s regulator.

    Though independent sources at the CBN confirmed receiving the bill on the eve of its consideration, the apex bank authority denied any passage of money- for -non-passage of the bill.

    The bill entitled: “An Act to Repeal the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2004 and to Re-enact the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2010, and for Matters Connected Therewith” in its current form, whittles down the powers of the CBN Governor and bars directors from collecting loans in banks where they work. It also revises upwards the outdated penalties for various offenses in the banking sector.

    The repeal and re-enactment of the BOFIA bill is also aimed at improving regulatory regime as well as protecting depositors from losses in situations where banks fail.

    The consideration of the bill on the floor on February 19, 2013 was stalled by the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha and the Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Currency, Mr Chukwudi Jones Onyereri, to the amazement of members.

    Since then, only three clauses were considered in the bill and that was at the instance of the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, on a day he presided over plenary.

    The Speaker, who is said to be unaware of the deal, called for the consideration of the bill and three clauses were subsequently considered.

    Every other attempt to continue the presentation has been continually frustrated, as the House allegedly await the CBN version of the bill.

    There are allegations that the CBN was promised by some members of the House leadership that the presentation and consideration of the bill would be delayed by whatever means to ensure the non-passage untill the CBN makes its input.

    Efforts to initially present the bill was rebuffed by Ihedioha who always refused to mention the bill when it is listed. The Rules and Business Committee also ensures that the bill comes last on the few occasions it was listed so that members never get to it at plenary.

    But Oke Epia, Chief Press Secretary to Ihedioha, said he would not speak on the issue and referred the reporter to Onyereri.

    Onyereri said the allegation is not true, adding that the new BOFIA bill, “ is the best thing that has happened to the country,” no one would be allowed to truncate it. He further stated that the bill is at the Committee of the Whole for consideration and that at that level, “no one, can stop it.”

    The committee chair, while applauding Apiafi, said the House was going through the bill and that at the end of the day, “ the country will applaud the BOFIA we will present.”

    The spokesman of the CBN,Ugochukwu Okoroafor, told The Nation that people who are insinuating that the CBN is stalling the BOFIA Amendment Act “are mischievous.”

    His words: “The bill is a public document and there are many copies flying around . People saying that CBN is trying to stall the process are mischievous. When we come to public hearing CBN makes presentations.

    “Amendment of BOFIA is not a CBN issue but what do we want as a country, is what we have different from other countries, The BOFIA is not such a big deal. What if Sanusi steps down, will the bill be stepped down?

    “The bill might send wrong message. In a country where people know that the laws can be fiddled with, it will drive away foreign investors. Why should they hid it from CBN, we proposed some bills ourselves.”

  • Reps summon Access Bank over tax evasion

    Reps summon Access Bank over tax evasion

    The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has summoned the management of Access Bank Plc over the bank’s tax records.

    According to the Chairman of the committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin, who said the committee has already forwarded letters of invitation to Access Bank and other affected institutions ahead of the investigative hearings, the bank is to be investigated for tax evasion.

    The investigative hearing would commence after the two-week break that commenced last Thursday.

    “After preliminary investigation, we have been able to establish that Access Bank Plc has a lot of inconsistencies in its tax remittances over several years. There is a huge inconsistency in their annual returns, audited accounts and financials.

    “As a matter of fact, in some instances they were found to have concealed their balance sheet and even doctored it to evade taxes,” Jibrin said.

     

  • Reps to probe pipeline protection contract

    Reps to probe pipeline protection contract

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday ordered a probe of the N5.6 billion, which the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation spends yearly on oil pipeline protection in violation of the NSCDC Act.

    The house gave the directive in a resolution following a motion moved by Hon. Robinson Uwak (PDP-Akwa Ibom), which was adopted without debate.

    The three committees charged with the investigations are those of Petroleum Resources Upstream); Interior; National Security and Intelligence.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the report of the investigation is expected to be presented to the house within four weeks.

    According to Uwak, the NNPC spends N5.6 billion yearly on the protection of oil pipelines in violation of the NSCDC Act, which empowers the corps to protect the pipelines.

    Section 3 (1) e states that: “The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps shall maintain 24 hours surveillance over infrastructure, sites and projects of the federal, states and local government;

    “The NSCDC has powers to arrest without a warrant, detain, investigate and institute legal proceedings against any person who is reasonably suspected to have committed an offence under this Act.

    “Or is involved in any power transmission lines, or oil pipelines, Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) cables, equipment, water board pipes and equipment vandalism.”

    He said that the amount of money being spent on pipeline contract could be further invested in the corps.

     

  • Reps want FG to immortalize Achebe

    Reps want FG to immortalize Achebe

    … Say, ‘Name National Library after literary giant’

    The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Federal Government to immortalize the late Prof. Chinua Achebe who died last Thursday in Boston, United States, by naming the headquarters of the National Library after him.

    This followed the adoption of a motion put forward by Hon. Charles Odedo (ACN Anambra).

    Odedo while presenting his motion after a minute silence was observed in honour of the literary icon said Prof. Achebe brought honour to Nigeria with his literary works that included the novel “Things Fall Apart.”

    He said,”The novel which was written in 1958, over 50 years ago has been translated into over 50 languages and has sold over 12 million copies worldwide.

    “Prof. Achebe has authored over 20 novels and has won many awards and prizes including the Nigerian National Merit Award, Man Booker International Prize 2007, Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 2010.

    “He has also received honourary degrees from more than 30 universities around the world. In 1992, he became the first living writer to be represented in the Everyman’s Library Collection.

    The lawmaker said that he was mindful of the fact that one of Achebe’s books “The trouble with Nigeria” identifies bad leadership and bad governance as the problem with Nigeria.

    “Prof. Chinua Achebe through his literary works has relentlessly fought against corruption, oppression, injustice and bad governance. A fight we are glad to continue in the 7th Assembly as outlined in our Legislative Agenda,” he said.

    Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, while making comments on the motion said he was given one of the books of late Achebe with the title: “Arrow of God’ as a gift when he came tops in the English Class while at Teacher’s Training College.