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Tag: Senate

  • Centenary City project: Judge refuses to quash report against Anyim, others

    Centenary City project: Judge refuses to quash report against Anyim, others

    Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja Monday refused to quash the damaging report issued by the House of Representatives on its investigation of the controversial Centenary City project promoted under the administration of Goodluck Jonathan.

    The report had indicted former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim and other major actors in the handling of the project.

    In a judgment yesterday, Justice Dimgba dismissed the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/258/2017, filed in the name of centenary City Plc,seeking among others, the voiding of the report.

    Justice Dimgba noted that the allegations of bias and bad faith raised against Herman Hembe, who head the House of Reps’ committee that investigated allegation of corruption in the project, was insufficient to move the court to quash the report.

    The plaintiff had, in the suit filed on March 29 this year, claimed among others, that Hembe had sought a private meetings with the plaintiff  prior to the investigation (public hearing) with the intention of being induced.

    It equally claimed that its representatives at the public hearing demanded Hembe’s disqualification from the committee, but that its lawyers and representatives later walked out of the proceedings when Hembe failed to step down.

    The plaintiff, which complained of being denied fair hearing, said the committee proceeded with the public hearing, without its participation, and issued a majority report, but with a member dissenting, a report the entire House of Reps later adopted.

    In his judgement, Justice Dimgba said the suit was one that was built on Section 36(1) of the Constitution, which “provisions are only applicable, in the determination of the civil rights and obligations of persons before a court or other judicial tribunal established by law”.

    The judge observed that “the majority report, adopted by the whole House made adverse findings and recommendations on the project”.

    He further observed that the plaintiff thought that the House of Reps’ perception of the project, its adverse conclusions and recommendations, contained in its report, were not accidental, but orchestrated by the second defendant (Hembe).

    The judge also noted that the plaintiff, in filing the suit, thought that Hembe had “some legacy hatred against the chief promoter of the project, former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim”.

    Justice Dimgba said granting the plaintiff’s prayers and quashing such a report issued and ratified by another arm of government could endanger the stability of the political system in terms of the relations among independent and equal arms of government.

    The judge said it was necessary for the court “to tread very carefully here so as not to breed hostility among separate organs of government that should accord each other reciprocal respect”.

    Justice Dimgba said: “In all honesty, upon a full and dispassionate appraisal of what has been placed before me, I do not believe that a sufficient case has been made warranting the intervention of the Court in the manner prayed for in the suit.

    “First, this suit has been built on Section 36(1) of the Constitution.  A review of the said section shows that the provisions are only applicable, ‘in the determination of the civil rights and obligations’ of persons ‘before a Court or other judicial tribunal established by law.

    “I do not agree that the defendants are acting as court or tribunal or performing a quasi-judicial function. I do not even agree that the defendants are acting in administrative capacity.

    “All the conditions enumerated in Section 36 must co-exist in a given situation for the provisions to enjoy any relevance,” the judge said.

    He refused the plaintiff’s argument that the House of Reps’ report must be voided because the Senate had earlier conducted similar investigation and given Anyim and others pass mark.

    The judge added: “I state for the avoidance of any doubt, that the House of Representatives’ investigation of the Centenary City project, which the Senate has justified, might appear mischievous or driven by questionable motives or goals, as alleged, but the investigation itself is not illegal, since the Senate’s findings are not binding on the House of Representatives, being independent legislative facilities established by the Constitution.”

    The judge said the plaintiff failed to provide the court with relevant materials to prove that the House of Representatives’ committee was compromised by Hembe’s personal interest.

    Justice Dimgba said: “The evidence clearly shows that the plaintiff was invited to the public hearing, as were other relevant stakeholders.

    “The right to be heard, simply means the opportunity to be heard, not that one must be heard definitively even when you spurn the opportunity,” he said.

    He noted that, with questions of credibility surrounding the report, especially as captured by the minority report, ignored by the House of Reps, the plaintiff, rather than rushing to court, ought to have impressed it on the government agencies, to which the report was sent, not to implement it.

     

  • Senate to consider direct funding for police

    The Senate will consider a Bill to push for direct funding for the police when it resumes, it was learnt yesterday.

    The police special forces deployed to tame armed robbery and kidnapping on Kaduna-Abuja highway have been advised  to take the fight to the criminals’ camps in the forests.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs Senator Abu Ibrahim spoke yesterday during an assessment tour of Police deployment on the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway.

    The senator, who was guided on the tour by Commissioner of Police Agyole Abeh, lamented what he described as low funding of police operations.

    He, therefore, vowed that his committee will push for the adoption of a bill that will ensure that at least one per cent of the federal allocation is set aside for security operations of the police.

    Ibrahim said a situation where police use funds meant for purchasing of equipment and welfare of its personnel for special operations is unacceptable.

    Addressing officers and men of the force at the Katari Divisional Police Headquarters, which is being used as the operational base of Operation Absolute Sanity, the senator said welfare of officers and men of the force will become a paramount issue to be discussed in the upper chamber when it resumes.

    He added that his committee will soon take a tour of six states of Nassarawa, Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Kogi, Zamfara and Katsina to solicit the states commitment to the security operations around their state, by providing funds to assist the operations.

    Abeh said the officers and men of the special forces are the best brains in the Police Force because of the series of trainings they have undergone.

    He, therefore, assured that with proper equipment and welfare, they will comb the forests and rid Kaduna-Abuja highway of kidnappers.

  • Senate to expose banks used for MMM fraud

    The Senate on Thursday vowed to expose all commercial banks in the country used by discredited Ponzi scheme popularly called Mavrodi Mondial Movement (MMM).

    The upper chamber said the exposure of the banks used for MMM became necessary so that the affected banks would face appropriate sanctions.

    The Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Cybercrime, Foster Ogola, stated this during an interactive session with banks executives on cybercrime.

    According to him, exposing the banks used for the deal would help to prevent such fraud in future.

    He also said the Senate would come up with a legislation making digital education compulsory in both primary and secondary schools in Nigeria.

    Ogola said: “We need to secure our cyberspace and financial sector against all forms of crimes or frauds as seen with the MMM operators, who came in collaborations with insiders, expressly entered into the banking system, duped Nigerians and bolted out.

    “We have to stop anything meant to defraud us from getting or hacking into our digital system. The first step now is to expose all the banks involved in the MMM fraud.

    “As a chartered fraud examiner, when the scam called MMM Ponzi scheme came with its 30 per cent interest rate in 30 days early last year, I told people that it was a fraud but many refused to listen and some of them later learnt their lessons in bitter ways.”

  • Senate, House of Representatives excited

    Senate, House of Representatives excited

    Senate and the House of Representatives are elated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report which yesterday suggested that Nigeria’s economy was bouncing back.

    Senate spokesperson Sen. Sabi Abdullahi said it was commendable that the economy grew by 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017 after five consecutive quarters of contraction.

    Abdullahi also said that the improved performance of the trade, manufacturing, agriculture and oil sectors were indications that with carefully aligned policies and legislative interventions, Nigeria’s economy could thrive beyond current forecasts and expectations.

    ”The Senate received second quarter economic report with great excitement.

    ”We are delighted that government’s response to the economic recession has begun to yield tangible results.

    House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara expressed happiness over the report.

    In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs Turaki Hassan, the Speaker said the House of Representatives is gladdened by the performance of the economy in the last quarter.

    He said this positive result is an indication that the economic policies of the APC administration were on track and the task ahead is sustained efforts by both the Executive and the Legislature in fast tracking programme implementation for rapid economic growth and development.

    “We must now channel our energies towards  measures aimed at job creation for the millions of our people, address the widening socio-economic inequalities and creating opportunities for all Nigerians

    “The House of Representatives will more than ever before step up its partnership with the Executive in this regard by introducing as well as supporting all measures designed to blossom the economy and put food on the tables of all Nigerians.

    “This informed the passage of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Bill which should go a long way in attracting foreign direct investment, create job opportunities for our people and provide healthy and conducive business environment for the private sector to thrive.

    “We will implore the President to assent to this revolutionary bill as soon as it is concurred by the Senate and transmitted to him.”

  • Senate elated at improvement in nation’s economy

    Senate elated at improvement in nation’s economy

    The Senate, on Tuesday, expressed delight at the report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that Nigeria’s economy was bouncing back.

    A statement issued in Abuja by the Senate Spokesperson, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, said it was commendable that the economy grew by 0.55 percent in the second quarter of 2017 after five consecutive quarters of contraction.

    Abdullahi also said that the improved performance of the trade, manufacturing, agriculture and oil sectors were indications that with carefully aligned policies and legislative interventions, Nigeria’s economy could thrive beyond current forecasts and expectations.

    “The Senate received a second quarter economic report with great excitement.

    “We are delighted that government’s response to the economic recession has begun to yield tangible results.

    “The public will recall that in the days following the announcement of the 2016 recession, the Senate initiated steps and tabled 21 recommendations that it submitted to the executive for immediate action.

    “We also listed out economic priority bills, many of which have now been passed, or at the final stage.

    “We are also happy to note that many of the economic recommendations, specifically in the areas of re-tooling our agriculture and trade policies were adopted.

    “This shows that the ‘all hands on deck’ approach was necessary from both branches on government,” he stated.

    According to Abdullahi, although the nation was out of the recession, the Senate remained committed to seeing that the unemployment rate and high cost of living in the country was brought down.

    “The rising unemployment in the country is an issue that is of much concern to all of us.

    “Additionally, the rising cost of food prices and basic services in the country still affects millions of households.

    “We will continue to work on our laws, specifically in the areas of access to credit to promote more opportunities for small business owners and opening up of more sectors to private-sector participation.

    “We will also continue to work with the executive to ensure that our policy and legislative objectives, specifically as they relate to the economy, are well aligned,” he said.

  • Senate vows to continue investigation into alleged N30tn revenue scam despite blackmail

    The Senate will continue ongoing investigation into the alleged N30 trillion  revenue scam in the import and export chain, the Chairman its Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff and Marine Transport said yesterday.

    Committee Chairman Hope Uzodinma told reporters shortly after meeting with some of the affected companies on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He said the interest of the Senate in the investigation was to assist the government to recover monies trapped in the import and export chain.

    ”There are allegations that the investigation is borne out of personal interest.

    ”Once a Senate in a committee of the whole passes a resolution such as this it cannot be termed as the decision of a single senator.

    ”You may not like my face as a person but it is important to look at the credibility of the work we are doing.

    ”This is so that together we will succeed in making sure that the import export circle is sanitised, trade is facilitated and non-oil revenue is recovered and strengthened.

    ”In that manner,  government will not rely so much on oil and with that whether crude oil is sold or not,” he said.

    He further said that while some detractors had alleged that the investigation was a sham, some of the indicted companies had started refunding money running into billions of Naira to the Federal Government

    ”As a result of this investigation the banks which are the authorised dealers in the export and import chain have been making effort to remit everything collected by them to the Central Bank.

    ”We are doing this on a friendly note because we do not want to send a wrong signal to the market.

    ”Although more funds other than the N120bn I announced some time ago have been recovered but  because we do not want to send the wrong signal we are limited to speak further on how much has been recovered so far.

    ”However, we will definitely come up with the figures recovered at the end of the investigation, ” he said.

    Uzodinma explained that the committee was saving the figures till the end of the investigation because some of the companies were quoted on the Capital Market and would not want to  send panic to the market.

    He also explained  that the committee resorted to interfacing with individual  companies rather than meeting with them in group,  adding that the strategy had  yielded positive result.

    He said” the companies are now free to admit and some of them have promised to make payments.

  • N30trn revenue scam: More companies are complying – Senate

    N30trn revenue scam: More companies are complying – Senate

    The Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff and Marine Transport has vowed to continue its ongoing investigation into alleged N30 trillion revenue scam in the import and export chain.

    The Chairman of the committee, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, made this known while briefing newsmen after its investigative meeting with some of the companies on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He said the interest of the Senate in the investigation was to assist the executive in recovering monies trapped in the import and export chain.

    He said “there are allegations that the investigation is borne out of personal interest.

    ”Once a senate committee passes a resolution such as this, it cannot be termed as decision of a single senator.

    “You may not like my face as a person but it is important to look at the credibility of the work we are doing.

    “We need to sanitise the import and  export circle to ensure that trade is facilitated and non-oil revenue is recovered and strengthened.

    “In that manner, government will not rely so much on oil.”

    The lawmaker further said that while some had alleged that the  investigation was a sham, some of the indicted companies had started refunding monies running into billions of Naira to Federal Government.

    ”As a result of this investigation, banks which are the authorised dealers in the export and import chain have been making effort to remit everything collected by them to the Central Bank.

    ”We are doing this on a friendly note because we do not want to send a wrong signal to the market.

    ”Although more funds other than the N120 billion I announced sometime ago have been recovered, we do not want to send wrong signal.

    “We are limited to speak further on how much has been recovered so far.

    ”However, we will definitely come up with figures recovered at the end of the investigation.”

    Uzodinma explained that the committee was saving the figures till the end of the investigation because some of the companies were quoted on the Capital Market.

    According to him, revealing the figures will send panic to the market.

    He also explained that the committee resorted to interfacing with individual companies rather than meeting with them in group to enable them to open up to the committee.

    Uzodinma said the strategy had yielded positive result, particularly in recovering trapped funds.

    “The companies are now free to admit and some of them have promised to make payments.

    ”Today alone, three companies came with receipts of payment.

    ”If we did not embark on this investigation, we would not make these recoveries.

    ”Through this investigation, we have helped the Federal Government to recover some money and we are sure that government will recover more money because we have detailed information that will aid more recovery.

    ”The companies are no longer contesting most of the documents of infractions we confronted them with.”

    The chairman called for the support of relevant stakeholders including the media in the ongoing investigation.

    He explained that the country would not be able to make the necessary progress if Nigerians were not committed in ensuring that national interest was continually protected.

    He said though Nigeria was populated enough be known as giant of Africa, there was need for commensurate commitment by Nigerians.

  • Senate and access to finance laws

    We all know that famous saying about giving a man a fish, or teaching the man ‘how’ to fish. That age-long adage draws an eternal distinction between the instant gratification of giving alms and the long-term satisfaction of teaching the intended recipient how to make some alms of their own.

    Now, with over 180 million people in Nigeria, it is critical for government across all levels to revisit the state of our present-day economy which has a working-age population of 108.59 million, but an ‘official’ unemployment rate of 14.2 per cent and an under-employment rate of 21.0 per cent. These numbers tell a difficult story that needs to be urgently addressed.

    This is why, since its inauguration, the 8th Senate has been working assiduously to pass reforms to Nigeria’s ‘access to finance’ laws. This is all aimed at providing Nigerians with more ‘fishing’ opportunities.’ Under the leadership of the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki — who stated recently that “people under 35 years old are the worst affected by the high rate of unemployment and under-employment in our nation” — the Senate is working to create new forms of capital through the passage of bills like the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Bill.

    Everyone knows that no bank will ever lend out money without securing some form of collateral. Everyone also knows that the most accepted form of collateral is landed property. However, millions of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) across the nation do not have fixed infrastructure assets. In this regard, the Secured Transactions Bill that was initiated in the Senate, passed by both Houses of parliament, and signed into law by acting President Yemi Osinbajo, closes the gap in securing credit and loans for MSMEs by making it possible for them to use their movable assets like cars, computers, and other machinery as their form of collateral to access loans.

    This new law will strengthen the financial inclusion of MSME’s as well as stimulate the responsible lending to these enterprises by the creation of a collateral registry. This registry will allow MSMEs and other Nigerians that are seeking loans to register their movable assets with the bank — after which the bank will have “exclusive charge” over the registered asset. This will ensure that the individual or entity will be able to secure their loan, and the bank will also be protected against any risk in the event that there is a failure or non-performance by the individual or business.

    In addition to the Secured Transactions Bill, the 8th Senate has also passed the Warehouse Receipts Bill. This Bill will allow Nigerians to use their inventory or receipts and other forms of invoices as a form of collateral to secure loans. This Bill will also create a new transactional currency that Nigerians will be able to use to approach banking institutions to secure loans in the event of financial liquidity problems.

    Additionally, in May this year, keying into the economic diversification agenda of the APC-led federal government, the 8th Senate approved the Conference Committee report on the Bill for an Act to Amend the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund Act, 2016″. This Bill, which is aimed at expanding the reach of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund to cover farmers interests and increasing the amount paid into the fund, will also “raise the commitment of the Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) towards the scheme and increase the maximum amount needed to attract a waiver of security requirement for credit granted.”

    Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who served as the Chairman of the Joint Committee of the Senate and House that considered the final Report of the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund Act, emphasized that the Bill would not only provide food and promote agriculture in Nigeria, it would also help with the provision of credit facilities to prospective entrants into the sector at single digit rates.

    Finally, it is crucial to note that with the passage of some of these access to credit Bills, the 8th Senate has not been resting on its previous successes. Over the past few months, the Senate President and the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Financial Institutions, chaired by Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, have met with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and heads of commercial banks in the country to address the high interest rates on commercial loans.

    Now that a majority of its access to finance laws have either been signed into law or are awaiting assent by the President, the Senate has initiated these discussions with commercial banks because it believes that many banking policies that are currently in place are not favourable to Nigeria’s MSMEs — despite the role that these enterprises play in the development of the national economy.

    The Senate President has accentuated the fact that although the Senate understands the economic complexities that set the interest rates in the past, “Nigeria must deliberately frame its monetary policy regime towards support of business as” Doing this, will allow the country to meet the demands of the MSMEs that employ 88 per cent of the country’s workforce.

    Moving forward, it is time for the executive branch to also wade into this access to credit issue by backing the legislation with policy interventions that will reduce interest rates across the board. Doing this will guarantee that individuals and entities will be able to access more loans at affordable rates, which would automatically translate into more jobs for our youth and a more resilient economy that is not reliant on government spending alone.

    This is why creating opportunities for anybody — regardless of who they are — to be able to ‘fish’ should always be the first step.

     

    • Onemola is a senior legislative aide to the Senate President.
  • Revenue scam: ‘Fraudsters impersonating Senate committee members’

    Revenue scam: ‘Fraudsters impersonating Senate committee members’

    The Senate on Thursday alerted the public that some individuals were impersonating members of its committee investigating alleged N30 trillion import and export chain scam.

    The Chairman of the Joint Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff and Marine Transport, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, raised the alarm in a statement in Abuja.

    He said the impostors were parading themselves to the companies being investigated over the alleged fraud as staff of the committee in order to extort money from them.

    Uzodinma said: ”Let it be made abundantly clear that our committee has no person or agent holding brief for us on this all-important national assignment.

    ”Any individual or individuals claiming to be staff of the committee and soliciting favours or asking companies to pay money are impostors and criminals who should be promptly reported to relevant security agencies and promptly arrested.

    ”The committee was set up by the Senate with a strong mandate to investigate infractions leading to massive revenue leakages at the nation’s ports and help government recover those funds.

    ”Our mandate is not to serve as revenue collection agency for the Federal Government, but to unearth infractions and subsequently direct the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other security agencies to recover such funds.”

    Uzodinma called on all companies currently under investigation by the committee to be fully guided.

    NAN

  • Senate to stop illegal recruitment into civil service

    Senate to stop illegal recruitment into civil service

    The Senate president, Bukola Saraki, said on Thursday the upper legislative chamber would stop illegal recruitment into federal civil service by accelerating the passage of Existing Vacancies (Prohibition) Bill pending before it.

    In a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said the bill would be given the deserved attention when the lawmakers resume from vacation in September.

    The Senate president said that the Bill, which is currently due for Second Reading, would be given priority as one of the Senate’s legislative interventions to curb the increasing rates of illegal recruitment into federal government agencies and parastatals.

    “The Existing Vacancies Bill will put in place clear-cut procedures that will help to curb and possibly end the trend of silent or underground recruitment.

    “This country belongs to every Nigerian, and as such, all vacancies that exist in the Federal Civil Service must be properly advertised to give every Nigerian that meet the requirements a chance to apply,” Saraki said.

    He also stated that the objective of the Bill, which was introduced by Senator Biodun Olujimi, was geared toward promoting integrity and transparency in the recruitment of personnel into the Federal Civil Service.

    When the bill becomes law, it will be an offence for federal ministries, agencies and parastatals to fill existing vacancies in their establishments without advertising them to the public.

    “With this Bill, we will set time-frames for recruitment and the publication of recruitment in national dailies. This will make it the duty of the heads of government agencies and ministries to ensure compliance or face punitive measures.

    “Additionally, this Bill will help to ensure that the mandate of the Federal Character Commission is followed to the letter, by imposing punitive measures on those that choose to intentionally flout the law by embarking on secret recruitment exercises within the MDAs under their purview.

    “This illegal recruitment trend needs to stop, and when we resume, we will begin to work towards enshrining this in our laws,” he added.