The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs

  • Senator advises intending travellers

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu has appealed to Nigerians seeking to travel to other countries of the world to be good ambassadors of the country by shunning all vices and activities that would portray them in bad light as such portrayal would send dangerous signal about Nigeria among the comity of nations.

    The lawmaker representing Oyo Central in the Senate made the appeal as a result of increasing rate of maltreatment and deportation of Nigerians, pointing out that the government at any level cannot stop anybody from travelling abroad, provided the requirements of such visa had been met.

    According to her, instead of stopping people from travelling abroad, what the government would do is to educate and advise any Nigerian travelling abroad to understand the nature, conditions and culture of the country as well as the need to abide by the laws of the land they are travelling to.

    In a chat with reporters, Sunmonu, who was the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly expressed happiness that one of the bills she introduced on the treatment of gunshot victims without police reports has been helping the relevant agencies in their investigations as well as saving many innocent lives.

    She added that apart from legislative functions, she has also attracted and facilitated many projects to her constituency pointing out that, the feats recorded so far and the support of her people were enough to earn her another ticket for the Senate seat in 2019.

    She said: “We cannot stop anyone from travelling. Those in our missions have been told to look after our people abroad. But what we are also doing is to encourage Nigerians not to lose hope in Nigeria.

    “Before you travel to any country in the world, you have to obtain the country’s visa and upon obtaining such visa, there are conditions in those countries. So, if you are being caught working that means you are violating their laws. There are rules for employment visas all over. But when you engage in criminal activities, then you will be arrested and jailed.”

  • Drama as ambassadorial nominee refuses to recite National Anthem

    Drama as ambassadorial nominee refuses to recite National Anthem

    There was drama Wednesday at the screening of an 82 year old ambassadorial nominee, Justice Sylvanus Nsofor, by the Senate committee on Foreign Affairs.

    The ambassadorial nominee vehemently refused to recite the National Anthem as requested by the committee.

    Members of the committee were left speechless as Justice Nsofor (rtd) argued with them.

    The name of the 82 year old nominee was forwarded to the Senate for screening and confirmation by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    A member of the committee, Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East), asked Justice Nsofor a couple of questions which included to recite the National Anthem.

    Apparently exhausted by the argument of the nominee and his seeming determination not to recite the anthem, the committee asked Nsofor to take a bow and go.

    Justice Sylvanus A Nsofor, a nominee from Imo State, was born on March 17, 1935‎ in Oguta, Imo State.

    He was a one-time Judge of the High Court of Nigeria, Justice of the Court of Appeal, and Lecturer in Law, Holborn College of Law, London‎.

    It is not yet clear whether the committee will recommend the confirmation of Justice Nsofor.

    Another ambassadorial nominee, Mr. Adeyinka Olatokunbo Asekun, unlike Nsofor answered all the questions posed to him by members of the committee.

    Asekun’s name was forwarded to the Senate by the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo for confirmation for ambassadorial posting.

    On how Nigeria could strengthen the Naira through its foreign exchange policy, Asekun advised the Gederal Government to embark on rebuilding the country’s export structure in the various countries.

    Mr. Asekun, who had a stint as a retail banker, was educated at the Wisconsin University and California State University, both in the United States of America.

  • FG supports diaspora voting ahead of 2019

    The Federal Government has said it would support “any’’ mechanism to ensure the inclusion of Nigerians abroad in future elections.

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama said this at a seminar on the validation of proposed “National Policy on Diaspora Matters’’ in Abuja on Thursday.

    Onyeama was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Amb. Sola Enikanolaiye.

    The minister said there was the need to promote the capacity of Nigerians abroad to achieve the “immense potential of the diaspora’’.

    He added that enhanced inclusion of Nigerians abroad in the voting process would support their contributions to national development.

    “This is for the socio-political and economic development of the nation.

    “In addition, the empowerment of Nigerians in the Diaspora as change agents for national development should be speedily scaled up.

    “On our part, we deeply support any mechanism for the inclusion of Nigerian Diaspora to participate in future elections,’’ he said.

    He urged that the challenges impeding the effectiveness of Nigerians abroad should be considered.

    “Many of them (Diaspora) are deeply concerned about the situation in the country and have critical skills and potential that could be harnessed to solving Nigeria’s sociology-economic challenges.

    “What has been lacking is the mechanism of effective engagement and interface with the government, with a view to ensuring that our country reaps fully the benefits of this engagement.

    “The ministry, therefore, sharpening its in-house resources to effectively harness the potential of Nigerians wherever they are based.’’

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs Sen. Monsurat Sunmonu said that the committee was in touch with the Independent National Electoral Committee on Diaspora voting.

    Sunmonu added that efforts were being made by the committee to promote opportunities for Nigerians abroad to participate in future elections.

    She reiterated that Nigerians had “huge potential if properly harnessed would contribute to the development of the country’’.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa also emphasised the need to strengthen the diaspora policy.

    Dabiri-Erewa said that the development of a viable policy would address the concerns of Nigerians abroad.

    “We cannot ignore our diaspora; when Ireland went into recession they reached out to their diaspora community and one thousand of them saved the country from recession.

    “Now that Nigeria is going through challenges, we cannot have this enormous human resource and not engage with them.

    “We are working on the diaspora policy today; with the document, we have identified a few challenges impeding the effective contributions of Nigerians in the diaspora.

    “We do not have an accurate database of Nigerians in the diaspora; there is the lack of an enabling environment, bilateral agreements on avoidance of double taxation, and integrated framework for Nigerians in the diaspora.

    “Let us have a policy that we will be proud of.’’

    She said that a technical committee would be set up to work on the recommendations agreed on and come up with an action plan for implementation.

    Dabiri-Erewa also emphasised that the passing into law of the Diaspora Commission Bill would facilitate the realisation of a commission that would address diaspora matters.

    “The eighth assembly has taken it up, the house has passed it, we are waiting on the Senate to pass it and it has assured that it will pass.

    “It is going to be a one-stop agency to deal with diaspora matters, domiciled in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,’’ she said.

  • Senator calls for multilateral approach to loot recovery

    As the world converges in London to review strategies to tackle corruption, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Monsurat Sunmonu, has called for a multi-lateral approach to loot prevention and recovery from all nations of the world.

    Sunmonu, who made the call in an interview with The Nation, said offering protection for loots from other countries is a strong hindrance to efforts at preventing and recovering looting across the nations of the world. She posited that no single country can fight corruption alone in the face of technology that has changed the world to a global village.

    The lawmaker also reiterated the position at the Westminster Community of Practice conference in London last week.

    The purpose of the Conference was to build on outputs from the regional workshops to present the International Parliamentarians’ Handbook as a resource for parliamentarians in their engagement with the new Sustainable Development Framework, encouraging parliaments in their role as key stakeholders in the implementation of these targets.

    Sen. Sunmonu encouraged countries to come together to help resolve the problem. The Westminster Community of Practice, a collection of organisations working on parliamentary strengthening, met at Canada House for their third meeting with the theme: Curbing Corruption: the role of parliamentarians’.

    At the conference, Stephen Twigg MP, Chair of the International Development Committee (IDC), chaired the discussion. Twigg highlighted the importance of the inquiry the IDC are about to start looking into the role the United Kingdom (UK) plays in tackling corruption before the Prime Minister’s expected summit on anti-corruption this month.

    “What we do in our own parliament must be assessed first before we develop a policy to tackle global corruption” he said.

    A Senior Advocacy Manager at Transparency International, Rachael Davies, reaffirmed the importance of getting the UK’s house in order first to avoid risking a lack of credibility.

    “It is great to encourage others, but we also need to clean up our own backyard” she said, highlighting weaknesses in the UK anti-money laundering system. Nigeria has enough domestic focussed legislation to fight corruption.

    “As regards this already existing legislation, I believe the role the legislature can play is more review based, to ensure the existing legislation is more robust, by closing loopholes that have been exploited over the years. An important development is financial autonomy and independence of these agencies, so that they themselves are not the subject of corruption.

    “I also think that the punishments for corruption need to be made more of a deterrent. This does not however apply only to Nigeria. I often see in the news corruption cases being punished with a slap on the wrists. Yes, each country is to determine its own individual policy as regards punishment, but with the world becoming a smaller place a consensus needs to be reached.

    “Where I believe a lot more can be done is in the international sphere. And what I mean by this, is that there is a lot of ill-gotten wealth from Nigeria all over the world. President Buhari has visited many of the countries where investigations reveal this wealth has been stashed. This is where the legislature can really come to the fore.

    “You see, any bilateral or multilateral agreement, or MoU signed will be key to repatriating Nigeria’s wealth, and also acting as a deterrent in the future. Simply because when a criminal knows that there is nowhere to hide he or she may not steal. It is the legislature’s role to ensure that such agreements signed by the Executive are domesticated and become law. In my capacity as Chair of the National Assembly Committees on Foreign Affairs, my team and I are currently reviewing existing agreements and pushing for ratification of those that have not been previously ratified.”

  • Why grazing reserve bill can’t fly – Sunmonu

    Why grazing reserve bill can’t fly – Sunmonu

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, Thursday said that the controversial National Grazing Reserve Bill should be considered dead on arrival.

    Senator Sunmonu who represents Oyo Central Senatorial District noted that though her investigation showed that no such bill was pending in the Senate, she had been consistently inundated with telephone calls by concerned citizens of her constituency about the “Grazing Reserve Bill” and the massacre of Nigerians by people alleged to be “Herdsmen.”

    She noted in a statement entitled “My thoughts on the #GrazingReserveBill and “Herdsmen” that there cannot legally be an Act of National Assembly providing for the compulsory provision or confiscation of land.

    The Land Use Act, she said, is unequivocal that all land is vested in the hands of governors to hold in entrust for the people.

    She insisted that any such law, promoted for compulsory acquisition or confiscation of land, will undoubtedly be unconstitutional and therefore void.

    The former Oyo State House of Assembly Speaker noted the Land Use Act has been elevated beyond the realms of being a normal Act of National Assembly, because it can only be amended in the same way that the Constitution can be amended.

    Sunmonu said, “As a Nigerian, a legislator and representative of the people I have had recourse to think long and hard about these issues and ask myself what I, as a member of the Senate can do to help solve the problem.

    “The genesis of land law in Nigeria is the Land Use Act 1990, CAP 202, Laws of the Federation (“the Act”). Section 1 of the Act unequivocally vests all land in a State in the Governor of that State and such land shall be held in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The tenors of the law are very clear: Governors are in control of land within their states on trust for the people.

    “Section 49 of the Act goes on to state that the provisions of the Act shall not affect any land that the Federal Government (or any of its agencies) already has title to (i.e. the Federal Government shall continue to own land it already owns irrespective of section 1). This is further to section 297 of the Constitution, which provides that the FCT and national boundaries are vested in the Federal Government.

    Section 315(5)(d) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) (“the Constitution”) provides thus:“Nothing in this Constitution shall invalidate the following enactments, that is to say –

    (d) the Land Use Act, and the provisions of those enactments shall continue to apply and have full effect in accordance with their tenor and to the like extent as any other provisions forming part of this Constitution and shall not be altered or repealed except in accordance with the provisions of section 9 (2) of this Constitution.”

    She noted that “In effect, what the Constitution has done is to incorporate the Land Use Act as part of it (the Constitution). The Constitution unequivocally provides that the Act shall not only apply, but shall have full effect just like any other part of the Constitution.”

    The intendment of the draftsman to incorporate the Act as part of the Constitution, she said, is unambiguous and is further demonstrated by the provision that any alteration or repeal to the Act shall be done in accordance with section 9(2) of the Constitution.

    The lawmaker said that it is significant to realise that while normal Acts of National Assembly can be amended by passing the amendment in the National Assembly followed by Presidential assent, constitutional amendments needed to be passed in the National Assembly and also in 2/3 of the State Houses of Assembly (i.e. 23 states) before the President can assent.

    The consequence of the foregoing is clear; the Land Use Act is now in pari passu with the Constitution, she said.

    She said, “Section 1 of the Constitution is unambiguous that the Constitution is binding on all authorities and persons and that any law that is inconsistent with the Constitution shall be void to the extent of the inconsistency.

    “To tie it all together therefore, the Land Use Act has been elevated beyond the dominion of an ordinary Act of the National Assembly and has in fact been incorporated as part of the Constitution. It is now part of the foundation upon which our society is built.

    “The foregoing begs the question as to whether an act of the National Assembly can be used to excise the clear provisions of the Constitution that all land is vested in the Governor of a State? Can there legally be an Act of National Assembly providing for the compulsory provision or confiscation of land? I’m afraid the answer is in the negative. Any such law will undoubtedly be unconstitutional and therefore void.

    “My contention is that if there is to be anything similar to a Grazing Reserve Bill it necessarily needs the cooperation of States who are willing to pass such laws in their State Houses of Assembly. And of course, the Governor will need to assent.

    “We must not forget that land matters are not listed in the Exclusive or Concurrent list in the Constitution meaning they cannot be legislated on at the Federal level.

    “How therefore do we solve the problems of the “Herdsmen” grazing cattle around Nigeria?

    “Landowners in Nigeria will argue that nomadic herdsmen are a bother. Their reason is that farmers cultivate their land with the motive of yielding crop to sell for profit. However, when a herdsman grazes his cattle on the land of a fellow Nigerian, the hard work of the farmer goes to waste.

    “It is beyond doubt that in such circumstances, tensions between the two sets of people will heighten, particularly if they are from two different ethnic tribes and of different religions. The herdsman has a way of life that has been passed down through generations, and, the farmer also has his right to use his legally acquired land as he sees fit in line with Constitutional provisions.

    “In the current economic climate and with the targeted push towards diversification of the economy, where we are actively encouraging people to invest in agriculture, we must ask how appealing the current sets of circumstances are to potential investors. Would an investor invest huge amounts of capital in agriculture just to have his land grazed on, without his consent, by cattle that does not belong to him?

    “What therefore is the solution? I am of the opinion, that this is a problem that takes a little initiative to solve. In other parts of the world (UK, US etc.), people who want to rear cattle purchase land/ranches on which they graze their cattle.

    “This land is not provided for free by government, it is bought. Payment can be made in a number of ways and can be staggered over a period of time. Rearing cattle is no different to conducting any other business and should be treated like any other business.

    “It is generally known that these cattle do not belong to herdsmen but well endowed financial businessmen. The people rearing cows for business should be subsumed into the normal business realm and approach banks for loans to buy land; in the same way farmers buy land to grow their crops. This will mean that we have statistics on cattle rearing for taxation purposes also.

    “I need not address the fact that some of these herdsmen are carrying arms. The laws of our beloved nation are clear that it is illegal to carry firearms without a valid license. If the herdsmen (or anyone else for that matter) do not have the relevant permits for their firearms then they should feel the full forces of the law.”