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Tag: Senate

  • This Saraki Senate can delay, indeed, frustrate PMB

    This Saraki Senate can delay, indeed, frustrate PMB

    When I read about the obfuscation coming from an Abuja court about  the forgery at the senate,  claiming it was an internal affair, I knew, instinctively, that we  were beginning to  see a recrudescence of  PDP-ism , now emboldened  by Saraki’s  ego-driven theatricals.

    Unless and until Senator Ike Ekweremadu honourably steps aside/or is eased out as Deputy Senate President, the crisis in the senate cannot be said to be over. The intrigue and contrivance woven by Saraki to bind and bond with Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President is most subversive. It cannot breed trust between the senate and the ruling party, APC, and the Buhari presidency. Since we are not running a government of National Unity, the question of a bi-partisan legislature becomes an aberration. What is not morally right can never be politically correct.” – Canada-based Sir Fred Akinsanmi, JP.

    Granted that Senate President Bukola Saraki has, in the past, severally proved himself totally unscrupulous in the pursuit of power, it  still comes as most  puzzling,  if,  indeed, not  politically suicidal, that he, a medical doctor, two-time state governor and former Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum,  one  you would have no qualms describing as a brilliant politician could, well aware of the plethora of  allegations against him, still decide to railroad himself  into the office of the president of the Nigerian senate, not only against his party’s  preferences, but  do so through standing orders he knew were  forged, as has now been confirmed by the office of  the Attorney-General vide a statement by the Head of  Civil Litigation, Federal Ministry of  Justice.  Talking about his multitude of outstanding  problems,  a  yet  to be controverted  report by POINTBLANKNEWS of  13, August  2013 reads as follows:”Senator Bukola Saraki who returns to the EFCC today to face further grilling over some alleged fraudulent transactions, is having tons of massive fraud charges hanging on his neck. He was a guest of the EFCC on Monday for several hours, but was released on administrative bail and asked to return Tuesday. The former governor maintained that he had no cause to be invited, since the issues had been investigated by the agency over the years. It will be recalled that the commission had, last week, vowed to take all necessary measures to arrest and bring Saraki to justice over his tenure as governor and at the SGN bank. EFCC vowed last Friday to take necessary steps to arrest and try him for several fraud-related cases. He allegedly laundered billions of naira belonging to Inter Continental Bank of Nigeria Plc (now Access Bank) and also allegedly used fronts like Sintex Ltd, Skyview Properties Ltd, Asam Oil, Quality Packing Ltd, Bastone Ltd, Madison Properties Ltd, and Airline catering Services, to launder billions of naira. The monies, which were given out as loans, were later written off as bad debts’. (Report slightly edited for space constraints). The last Nigerians heard about this is not that he has been discharged and  acquitted but rather, that  efforts to get him prosecuted  are being frustrated by a certain bank.

    My respect for Senator Saraki inched a notch higher when it turned out he was the whistle blower in the humongous oil subsidy scam. President Buhari, no Nigerians, would still have had to be wary of the present senate even if it had not started off forging its own standing orders consisting, as it does, of a glut of former state governors who literally ran their states aground; those the respected former Nigerian Attorney-General, Chief Richard Akinjide, recently described as very corrupt. For instance, an investigation by Saturday PUNCH has revealed that over N172bn fraud cases are in court against these former governor -senators.  It should not surprise therefore that most of their states lead in the unpaid workers saga.

    I digress.

    Can a determined effort to escape justice then be the  sole reason  a former governor and returning  senator, would smuggle himself into the National Assembly premises at an ungodly hour, hide in a small car – his own words – and proceed, rather shamelessly, to trade off the Senate Deputy President  position which should normally be held by a member of his own party to a member of  a discredited PDP, which party Nigerians so comprehensively rejected only a few weeks earlier?  Could it be he momentarily forgot that the ancien regime was gone with all its wiles? Could this be why, sitting pretty in that office, and edged on by some ex- SUG, karate fighting muscle-men, he permitted /schemed the elevation of a first time senator to the post of  Senate  minority leader where there are ranking senators?

    Obviously, ambition must have limits.

    My fear of this senate leadership, perched there dangerously just because Bukola Saraki so disrespects both the president and the APC on whose platform he emerged senator, is enormous. At least, a more respectful Speaker Dogara, has since shown respect to both the president and to party supremacy. My fear of the senate  leadership’s capacity for evil is huge because  it can delay, if not frustrate, the president’s change agenda  and  thus  constitute a stumbling block to  a country genuinely and eagerly in search of real  change: a  change  from  the suffocating kleptomania of the recent past, to a robust, corruption-fighting government which will be seen to be  working for the good of the greater majority of  the people – a change indeed, that Nigerians are beginning to see.

    Only this past week, the Buhari administration appointed a first class and very experienced Ibe Kachikwu, as the new helmsman at the NNPC and before you know it, eight hitherto wasteful and unaccountable group divisions came crashing down to four. That can only be the least of the positive tidings to come from a corporation that has since been turned to a cesspool of corruption.

    When I read about the obfuscation coming from an Abuja court about  the forgery at the senate,  claiming it was an internal affair, I knew, instinctively, that we  were beginning to  see a recrudescence of  PDP-ism , now emboldened  by Saraki’s  ego-driven theatricals. The PDP crowd has always believed that everybody has a price since money, illicit money, is not their problem.  But God be praised, both the Attorney-General’s Office, and that of the Inspector-General of Police have made a short shrift of that effort. It was particularly fascinating reading the IG’s office saying that: ‘IGP Solomon Arase believes that the allegations are criminal and that the police cannot be restrained from investigating it.’ It actually went on to question the powers of the court to restrain either the police or the AGF from performing their statutory responsibilities.

    How time changes?  GEJ days, the A-G would have simply withdrawn the case from court.

    I am happy for  IGP Arase who,  it seems, wants  to  use the  short time at his disposal to make a mark,  reposition the police and leave a worthy legacy like the Hon. Justice Alfa Belgore (GCON) – 2006-2007-  did within a few months, as Chief Justice, and left his name in gold. With the current senate leadership in place, not only could it be maneuvered into opposition against the change agenda, the president could, indeed, be serially frustrated by delaying tactics, especially in enactments  and in appointments that require its approval. Also with Saraki successfully rebuffing the ruling party, and given these senators’ penchant for, and  their unquenchable thirst for what they call juicy committees which underpinned  Saraki’s recent endorsement by 81 members, a very bad precedent would have been laid, literally making them  untouchable. Who then will ask them to reasonably, and substantially, reduce their mountain of remunerations which has seen them emerge as the highest paid legislators anywhere on the face of the earth?

    It is heart-warming, however, to hear the I-G’s office say that the senate forgery raises issues of criminality about which the police owes Nigerians the duty to unearth the truth. It is  equally  sweet  music  to hear  that the investigation has since been concluded and, according to the Head of Civil Litigation, Federal Ministry of Justice, Taiwo Abidogun, who gave the clincher,  those involved will very soon have their day in court, since, according to him, ‘a completed act can no longer be stayed.’

  • Buhari should take Senate dilemma more seriously

    Buhari should take Senate dilemma more seriously

    The pussyfooting over the 8th Senate’s forged Standing Orders 2015 is truly annoying and irritating. Neither the government of President Muhammadu Buhari nor Nigeria’s usually timorous but exploitative political class has given the matter sufficient or sensible consideration. Not only is the matter swaddled in partisan politics, and reduced insensitively to a matter of whom you support, virtually all law enforcement agencies have been tiptoeing around the controversy as if they are wary of being tagged partisan and prejudiced. They seem apprehensive of the obnoxious and repudiated legacy of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency in which national security interest became indistinguishable from private interest. Exasperatingly too, most Nigerians continue to squirm over the matter, perhaps anxious to be adjudged impartial.

    But the Senate is Nigeria’s highest lawmaking body. If the country is to get its moral compass right, and its politics too, the Senate must live and operate above suspicion. There is sadly nothing the 8th Senate has done so far, not even its very first simple act of electing its leaders, that shows it appreciates its overarching role as a lawmaking organ, not to talk of its status as a chief component of national ideology and political character. What is clear today is that the Senate, as it is constituted — the considerable number of fawning and snivelling floor members not excluded — is out of sync with Nigeria’s national ambitions. Something must therefore give if the transformation the country sorely needs is not to miscarry.

    To establish the incontestable fact that the Senate’s 2011 Standing Orders were surreptitiously and illegally amended to guide the elections into the Senate’s leadership positions in 2015, the investigating but vacillating police officers assigned the case have hemmed and hawed so blatantly that they even failed in their preliminary report to conclude whether a crime had been committed or not. They would need the Justice ministry to tell them that forgery is a crime. Worse, according to some reports, the police report that established a case of forgery but not crime was quoted as failing to identify those who conspired to author the surreptitious amendments. Who on earth are the police fooling? The Clerk of the NASS was interviewed; surely he would know who penned the offensive items.

    The main beneficiaries of the surreptitiously amended Standing Orders 2015 — Senate President Bukola Saraki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — have carried on as if no crime was committed, and no attack upon the national conscience had been carried out brazenly. To placate his conscience, Senator Saraki has struggled to worm his way into the heart of a smouldering and aloof President Muhammadu Buhari. For now, the president is standing pat. Senator Ekweremadu and his supporters have on their own made the ingenious argument that his implausible election as deputy to Senator Saraki is a fortuitous and expedient remedy for the incipient alienation of the Igbo by the Buhari government and the APC. In all this, the morally offensive act of forgery has been rendered secondary, and is attenuated by the perceived or presumed act of political alienation.

    There are two main problems with the ongoing pussyfooting. First, by defending their elections, especially the manner they were procured, and sustaining the profit they had made from the June 9 act, Senators Saraki and Ekweremadu suggest that notwithstanding their leading positions as Nigeria’s top lawmakers, they lack the depth and the ethics to abjure both the processes and bases of their elections. If they have no conscience, or have stilled them, how can they be trusted with the onerous and sensitive job of making great laws for Nigeria? Second, by needlessly and combatively passing a vote of confidence in the Senate leadership, particularly in Senator Saraki, members of the Senate, across party lines and without exception, give the impression of themselves as a bunch of grovelling, selfish and inconsiderate lawmakers. The lawmakers even capped their comicalness when about a dozen of them, together with a horde of House of Representatives members, escorted Senator Saraki’s wife to the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to answer to allegations of financial impropriety. It is still not clear by what authority and on what grounds they displayed that act of loyalty and empathy to someone who is not a lawmaker but simply the wife of the Senate President. The conclusion is unavoidable that Senators — leaders and members alike — simply fail to appreciate the weight of the office they occupy and the centrality of the legislature as a brewer and synthesiser of great laws.

    And this is precisely where President Buhari comes in. As a president wary of confronting once again the challenges he faced as a former military head of state and maligned dictator, as well as the limiting and brutal weaknesses that stymied his past and person, he may now feel castrated by the remonstrating pangs of conscience and the constricting weight of pluralist democracy. But given the false start in the 8th Senate, and the seeming hijack and distortion of the levers and rubrics of the country’s top legislative assemblies by apparent reactionaries, the president must now summon something deeper in him, something unambiguous, pristine, subliminal and celestial, to influence the direction and destination of Nigerian democracy. The cost of not doing something is much higher than the cost of doing something and unintentionally risking fresh and insidious labelling of partisanship and dictatorship. The peace in the lower chamber is tenuous, for the dividing lines are still evident and probably calcifying underneath. The Senate, so cavalier and so shorn of principles, character and morality, is unlikely to know peace as long as the injury done the hallowed upper chamber is neither salved nor honestly tackled.

    Many analysts have referred to President Buhari’s salutary body language as a factor in some of the positive movements being witnessed in some areas of national life. That may be true. But that same body language has also been perceived in other areas as either being permissive of the mundaneness and political corruption of the country’s recent past, or tolerant of the hesitancy, dilatoriness and paralysis that appear to be enervating the country since his inauguration. He had felt impelled to nudge the lower chamber into compromise and rectitude, perhaps because he felt it was not beyond salvage; but he has been quiet about the Senate and indifferent to Senator Saraki, again perhaps because he feels the upper chamber is beyond salvage. By doing nothing more than resisting the Senate President covertly, and spurning the Senate as it were, he risks allowing the impertinent Senator Saraki to consolidate his power base and even embark on the sort of showy and spurious trips he made to Maiduguri recently purporting to empathise with internally displaced persons.

    The president must give life to federal agencies and law enforcement within the ambit of the law. The agencies must know that when they operate vigorously and firmly within the law to tackle graft and political corruption, such as was enacted on Senate floor on June 9, he has their backs. Senators must not be allowed to casually and carelessly rephrase the dialectics in the upper chamber, and recast the polemics in such a way as to confuse the issues and paint a different battle scenarios other than the ones evident to every sensible and judicious Nigerian. Powerful APC leaders may have their preferences for Senate leadership, and support those preferences with all the resources at their disposal, but they can be defeated — only that that defeat must be lawfully procured in such a manner that it does not transform the Senate into a moral outrage, lawless body, and sinister and defiant iconoclastic organ.

    It is not an option for President Buhari to have himself second-guessed all the time. He should make himself clear on the Senate dilemma, and have the boldness and courage to let the world know where he stands. He must give direction to the law and its enforcers, and move steadily and steadfastly into becoming the chief custodian of the values and probity of the people the constitution envisages him to lead with all the moral armaments he told the people he possessed when they voted for him. The stalemate in the Senate is untenable. It must be brought to an end for the nation to move on.

  • Forged Senate Rule: ‘It’s not late for Saraki to resign’

    Forged Senate Rule: ‘It’s not late for Saraki to resign’

    Former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mufutau Egberongbe, has said Nigeria’s Senate President, Bukola Saraki, can still make the country proud by resigning honourably following proofs that the Senate rules under which he emerged as Senate President was forged.

    Following the discovery of forgery of the senate rules with which Saraki was elected as Senate president by the police, prominent Nigerians and members of the ruling All Progressives Congress have called on him to resign so as to restore the dignity of the senate.

    Since the emergence of Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as President and Deputy Senate president in June, peace has eluded the senate over the manner the duo emerged especially over the issue of forged senate rules.

    Egberongbe who represented Apapa constituency 1 in the 7th Lagos Assembly, wondered why politicians could throw away morality in their desperation to hold on to power. “In whose interest was the Senate rules forged? Is it in the interest of the masses or some individual? Definitely, it is not in the interest of the masses.

    “As it were, moral persuasion forms part of the characteristics of a leader, but this is suffering in the present circumstance. Therefore, the man should just honourably resign and apologise to Nigerians.

    “Even if he feigns ignorance of the fact that the rules were forged, he should still resign on moral ground and save history and serve as a model for upcoming youths,” Egberongbe said.

    He urged the APC to use all disciplinary measures to ensure that Saraki does not become a canker worm that would infect other members of the party in terms of party discipline.

    Egberongbe lamented that Saraki was creating a bad precedent for other members of the party with the way he emerged as the Senate President.

    According to him, “Most of the issues bedeviling this country bother on morals-dishonesty, stealing of government money and forms of such inhuman activities. If there are morals, issues of corruption would be a thing of the past. Your morality is your personality. Therefore, persons of high moral decadence are not right to lead us. He should honourably resign,” the former lawmaker said.

  • IGP: rules forgery beyond Senate

    IGP: rules forgery beyond Senate

    The last may not have been heard of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 forgery, which a court has described as the upper chamber’s internal affair.

    Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase believes the allegations are criminal matters, which the police cannot be restrained from investigating.

    According to him, any issue affecting the integrity of the National Assembly and the country is beyond what could be left with  Senators to address.

    Also, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) has said it has the police’s report on the allegation and will soon begin its execution .

    It queried the powers of the court to restrain either the police or the AGF from performing their statutory responsibilities.

    The IGP’s and AGF’s position are contained in their separate notices of preliminary objection filed in a suit initiated by Senator Gilbert Nnaji.

    Nnaji is seeking among others, to restrain the police from proceeding with its investigation of the forgery allegation and to also stop the AGF from prosecuting any person indicted in the report.

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole, at the resumed hearing in the case on Tuesday, said the National Assembly should be allowed to handle the Standing Orders forgery internally.

    But the IGP stated that by the investigation so far conducted, it has been discovered that the Senate was operating on a forged Standing Orders because there was no evidence that the 2011 Orders were ever amended before the introduction of the 2015 Orders.

    In the objection deposed to by an official of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Joshua Yohanna, the IGP stated that “the matter at hand is not simply an issue on the floor of the National Assembly. The matter at hand raises issues of criminality. The 1st defendant owes Nigerians the duty to unearth the truth behind the allegations of forgery.

    “There are allegations of forgery of the Senate Standing Orders against some principal officers of the Senate. It is these allegations that the 1st respondent is poised to investigate. Forgery is a criminal Allegation. It is only investigation that can prove whether the case of forgery is true or false.

    “There was no time the current Senate sat to pass the 2015 Standing Orders. Senators were, at the inauguration, just handed a document from the blues titled: Senate Standing Orders 2015 (as amended).

    “There was never any amendment of the 2011 orders by the immediate past Senate. Certain orders of the said 2015 amended Orders are inconsistent with the 2011 Orders.

    “There was never a notice written, calling for such amendment. Senators, who are complaining were never consulted before any such amendment.

    “The 1st defendant has a duty and responsibility to investigate all allegations of crime. To determine whether allegations of forgery are made out, who committed the said forgery and if there is forgery at all in the first place.

    “Investigating the allegations and determining the culpability or otherwise of the alleged culprits will lead to a just conclusion of the matter. Non-investigation of the allegations will engender mistrust among the disputing sides.

    “The 1st defendant is neutral in this matter. It has not taken sides, will not take sides and does not take sides on issues of this nature at all. Every Nigerian citizen can be investigated in all civilized countries, Nigeria inclusive.

    “No senator, not even the distinguished Senator Kabiru Marafa has disrupted the proceedings of the Senate since July 28, 2015 till date. Investigating allegation of forgery can only strengthen the integrity of the Senate and the Senate leadership. The 1st defendant’s duty will be impeded by the grant of the reliefs sought.

    “The plaintiff is neither the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. Nor is he an officer of the Senate.

    “He is not aggrieved. He is not interested in this matter; he is not accused of forging the amended Senate Standing Orders.

    “The present Senate has not enacted any Standing Orders yet. As at the time of inauguration of this present Senate, no Standing Orders had been made.

    “Till such Standing Orders have so far been made. The practice is that, at inauguration, the incoming Senate uses the Standing Orders of the preceding Senate. The immediate past Senate did not amend the 2011 Standing Orders. The 2011 Standing Orders have not yet been amended.

    “The plaintiff cannot prove that the so-called 2015 Standing Orders were passed by the preceding Senate. The So-called 2015 Standing Orders were never made nor passed by the immediate past senate.

    The new Senate has not passed any Standing Orders. It is the 2011 Standing Orders of the Senate that should be used.

    “The former Senate President did not pass any 2015 Standing Orders. The present Senate President was not in a position to have passed the 2015 Senate Standing Orders before his inauguration. The extant Senate Standing Orders are the 2011 Orders.

    “It is only after inauguration that the current Senate could pass the Standing Orders. What he (the plaintiff) is bandying about is not an authorised Senate Standing Orders. The so-called 2015 Senate Standing Orders are forged.

    “It is at the conclusion of investigation that 1st Defendant can determine whether the Standing Orders are founded or unfounded. There are two Senate Standing Orders, one 2011, the other, 2015. The 2011 orders were used to govern the immediate past Senate.”

    The office of the AGF said charges will soon be filed against those found culpable in relation to the Senate Rule forgery.

    Head of Civil Litigation, Federal Ministry of Justice, Taiwo Abidogun, told the court on Tuesday that the investigation report has been submitted to the ministry by the police.

    He said the report “is waiting our execution. So, I do not know what the plaintiff wants to stay. He cannot stay a completed act.”

    The AGF argued, in its objection, that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi  (right to sue) to initiate the suit. It noted that by his averments, Nnaji has betrayed his true intention, which is to protect the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

    It contended that it was only Ekweremadu and others, who feel their interests or rights would be affected by police investigation of the forgery allegation that could validly sue.

    The AGF Office said: “We submit that the plaintiff can only seek declarations in court if he can establish that he has suffered or is going to suffer any injury on account of the investigation.

    “This is a suit that should rightly be instituted by the Senate as an entity or better still by Senator Ike Ekweremadu, whom, by the plaintiff’s affidavit, at paragraph 27, is identified as the ultimate target of the petition.”

    The AGF argued that the court lacked the powers to “validly restrain other departments of government from carrying out their functions. The law is trite that where the plaintiff lacks the locus standi to institute a matter, reliefs and orders sought cannot stand.”

  • Court rejects Saraki’s protest against Senate forgery suit

    Court rejects Saraki’s protest against Senate forgery suit

    A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday rejected a complaint by Senate President Bukola Saraki against a suit seeking to sack him and other principal officers of the Senate elected under the controversial Senate Standing Orders 2015.

    His counsel Sikiru Oke told the court yesterday that he appeared for the Senate President “in protest” and has not filed “memorandum of appearance” which must be filed before a lawyer could enter appearance for a party in a case.

    The proceedings were in relation to a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/651/2015 filed by senators who are opposed to the emergence of Dr. Saraki as the Senate President.

    They are: Senators Abu Ibrahim; Kabir Marafa; Ajayi  Boroffice; Olugbenga Ashafa and Suleiman Hunkuni. Defendants to the suit are Saraki, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; the National Assembly, the Clerks of the National Assembly and the Senate.

    The plaintiffs seek among other prayers  an order nullifying the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as well as the election of Saraki as the Senate President and that of Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President, for being products of the alleged illegal rules.

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole had at the last hearing in the case on July 28, adjourned the case to yesterday for the hearing of the plaintiffs’ motion on notice seeking an order restraining Saraki and other defendants from going ahead to constitute the standing committees of the Senate, pending the determination of their suit challenging the validity of the Senate Standing Orders 2015.

    Oke contended that court processes in the case were served on his office instead of being served personally on his client, as prescribed by the Federal High Court Rules 2009.

    Plaintiffs’ counsel Dele Adesina (SAN) in a counter argument, contended that there are obligatory provisions of the same court rules which envisages and validates service on Saraki through his office.

    Adesina also argued that Oke could not be heard since he had yet to file memorandum of appearance to appear for the first defendant (Saraki).

    Ruling, Justice Kolawole upheld Adesina’s position and disqualified Oke from appearing for Saraki during the proceedings.

    He directed that the case be transferred to another judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who will take over as the vacation judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja onAugust 10.

    He adjourned to August 13.

    Justice Kolawole had, in a ruling on July 28, dismissed an exparte application by the plaintiffs in which they had earlier sought a restraining order against the constitution of the senate standing committees.

    In the ruling, Justice Kolawole said the disputes arising from the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Orders constituted internal legislative affair of the Senate which the court would not want to intervene in.

  • Senate rejects motion to bring back tollgates

    The Senate yesterday rejected a motion to re-introduce tollgates in the country.

    The upper chamber, however, urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate and dualise of major highways and interstate roads across the country.

    It also asked the Federal Ministry of Works to explore additional ways to fund federal road rehabilitation projects.

    It mandated its Ad-hoc Committee on Works to audit all road projects, with a view to producing raw data for further legislative action.

    The Senate underscored the need to find lasting solution to road problems in the country in view of its negative impact on trade and commerce.

    The resolutions of the Senate followed a motion by Senator Dino Melaye, co-sponsored by 90 others.

    In his lead debate, Melaye lamented that trillions of naira had been spent on road re-construction and rehabilitation since the return to democracy with minimal or no impact.

    Senator Samuel Egwu (Ebonyi North), who supported the motion said there was no better time to reconstruct all federal roads than now that Nigeria was working towards diversification of the economy.

    Egwu noted that Federal roads in the Southeast had been in bad shape since the civil war despite the contributions of those from the region to the growth of the economy.

    He said: “The roads in the Southeast, particularly in Ebonyi State are death traps.

    “Ebonyi  State is one of the hubs of agriculture but the roads are in bad shape and that has made movement of goods and services  to other parts of the country difficult.’’

    The Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Biodun Olujimi, (Ekiti South) in her contribution, said with the paucity of funds in the country, relevant stakeholders ought to find means of raising funds to rehabilitate existing roads.

    Olujimi added that the Senate should ask its Ad-hoc Committee on Works to liaise with the Ministry of Works to find solution to funding of road projects.

    Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nassarawa West) said the lifespan of most vehicles had been reduced owing due to poor condition of roads in the country.

    The former Nasarawa governor also lamented increasing traffic congestion on the Mararaba-Nyanaya-Keffi road linking more than 15 states.

    He called on the Federal Ministry of Works to create additional lanes on the road to ease traffic and reduce pressure on the road.

    He said: “I want to let the Senate know that the road that leads from AYA in Asokoro, Abuja to Masaka in Nassarawa State ordinarily takes few minutes.

    “With the congestion, however, it takes about three hours or more for commuters to get to their destinations depending on the time of the day.

    “There is need for something urgent to be done in this regard because of the negative effect on the economy.”

    Senator Abdulraham Abubakar (Kogi East), on his part, noted that to ensure adequate funding of road projects, tollgates should be re-introduced.

    Abubakar said “Re-introduction of tollgates is important. This is because the budget given to Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and Ministry of Works is not adequate. The revenue from the tollgates would go a long way in maintaining federal roads.’’

    He called on the Federal Government to pay adequate attention to re-construction and maintenance of railroads.

    The suggestion for the reintroduction of tollgates was rejected by Senators when it was put to vote.

    Senate President Abubakar Bukola  Saraki, who summed the contributions said the poor state of roads had contributed negatively  to the development of the economy.

    Saraki decried the fact that roads in smaller countries in the region were in better shape than roads in Nigeria.

    He noted that “there is need for a concerted effort to ensure that factors responsible for poor condition of roads in the country are tackled.

    “For Nigeria to develop we must begin to look at why we find ourselves in this situation.

    “We must also look at the contribution of the private sector as well as the quality of contractors who handle road construction and rehabilitation’’

  • Senate probes alleged DSS interference in Election Tribunals

    Senate probes alleged DSS interference in Election Tribunals

    •Daura to appear before panel today

    Investigation into the alleged interference in the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja by the Department of State Services (DSS) has commenced in the Senate.

    The upper chamber has invited the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, to explain the allegation.

    Daura is billed to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions, which has been mandated to conduct the investigation today.

    The probe is said to be sequel to a petition by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to the Senate on the allegation.

    The petition signed by 31 members of the House was referred to the Ethics and Public Petitions Committee last week.

    The petitioners claimed, among others, that the DSS had arrested some officials of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) and members of the Election Petition Tribunal and subjected them to serious intimidation, harassment and coercion to compromise the independence of the tribunal and pervert justice.

    Chairman of the committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, (PDP, Imo East Senatorial District) at the commencement of sitting yesterday warned those involved in the matter against delay.

    Anyanwu said members would demand prompt response to invitations and questions during the probe.

    The chairman said the committee would pay serious attention to allegations of abuse of office against the DSS.

    He, however, noted that the petitioners should provide specific details to assist the committee to conduct a thorough investigation.

    Anyanwu said, “The issue of independence of the judiciary is a very serious pillar in the dispensation of justice.

    “That is why the committee takes the allegation of intimidation of Tribunal members’ very seriously because if the judiciary is intimidated, then the independence is compromised.

    “So we want all details about this allegation supplied to the committee without delay.”

    Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, who led other members to the committee, defended the petition.

    Ibani noted that INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State, Mrs. Gesila Khan and some other senior officials of the commission were also arrested and detained by the DSS in Abuja.

    He said: “We make bold to say that they lack the power or the authority to invite any judicial officer serving in the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal for questioning concerning their handling of election petitions pending before them based on some purported petitions from interested parties.”

    “While we commend the stance and efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari to instill discipline, strengthen institutions of State and deepen democratic values where all Nigerians will have equal opportunities, we are appalled by their present clandestine and surreptitious moves aimed at derailing an efficient, transparent and unbiased justice delivery system and thereby bringing the judiciary into disrepute, public ridicule and odium.”

    Ibani added that “embarking on this condemnable mission, the DSS purports to be acting on some pre-arranged petitions from persons who are directly interested in the outcome of the various election Petitions from Rivers State.”

  • Senate summons CBN governor over state of economy

    Senate summons CBN governor over state of economy

    The Senate yesterday invited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to provide an update on the state of the economy.

    The Upper Chamber said  it needed the CBN chief to explain the implications of the free fall of the naira.

    The legislators noted that the CBN governor  should be invited to “brief the Senate on this matter to be enlightened  as to what the situation really is.”

    This followed a motion by Senator Nazif Suleiman (Bauchi North) titled The State of the Economy: Naira depreciation and its implications.

    The Senate also urged the Federal Government to step up efforts in diversifying the  economy from oil-depent on taxation, agriculture, manufacturing, international tourism and solid minerals prospecting.

    Suleiman in his lead debate noted with concern the parlous state of the Nigerian economy as it affects the growing rate of the depreciation of the naira.

    The lawmaker expressed worries that the naira has depreciated in the last few months at a much faster rate than it had appreciated over the last two years.

    The cause of the depreciation, he said, is the consequence of the negative cash flow as a result of the downward trend oil price, which is further worsened by speculations in the foreign exchange market.

    He lamented that the foreign exchange needs of the various sectors of the economy are now not being made available.

    Suleiman said the banking industry may be currently defaulting in the global economy which may be sending wrong signal and creating bad image about the Nigerian economy.

    He noted that the resultant speculation is leading to  huge capital flight with its attendant inflationary consequence which is affecting the common man on the street.

    Suleiman further noted that illicit fund flows and money laundering going through the country’s financial system contributes in weakening the value of the naira. This he said has led to recent decision of the CBN to increase it vigilance to ensure that Nigerian banks are not used as conduit for illicit funds flow and money laundering in foreign currencies.

    He said the procedure for processing demand and supply of foreign exchange by the CBN should be reviewed and various options considered to stem the precipitous depreciation of the naira as well as discourage speculators.

    Senator Joseph Gbolahan Dada (Ogun West) in his contribution said there was no doubt that the country is at a cross roads.

    He said the country must define its economic policies and be firm to punish fraud no matter who is involved.

    The lawmaker said it is lamentable that “we produce nothing yet we ride the finest cars in the world. We must begin to create wealth.” The senator said the banking industry must monitor those engaged in forex round tripping with dollar in the country.

    Senator Olaka Nwogu (Rivers East) in his contribution said the economic crisis is an opportunity for the Senate to support President Muhammadu Buhari to solve the problem.

    He added that the beginning of the solution of the country’s economic downturn should start by stopping total dependence on oil.

    He noted that a situation where most states in the country wait for their share of the oil proceeds before they can pay salary should be a thing of the past.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki who summed contributions from senators described the motion as timely.

    He said the Senate must always be seen to defend the naira saying it is clear that the naira is being subjected to speculators.

    He said 15 years ago, nobody would ever have imagine that the country could stop massive importation of cement.

    He said some thing could still be done about the importation of rice.

    He said: “We as the Senate will give the government all the support to defend the naira. Government has to be firm and consistent and I think the government has taken the right step. It is not going to easy.”

  • Saraki’s Senate as offshoot of Mark’s

    The morning shows the day. I suppose by now it is an open secret that the current Saraki/Ekweremadu’s 8th Senate is an offshoot of Mark/Ekwerenmadus’s 7th Senate, adjudged by many including the highly respected Economist of London as ‘the most expensive senate in the world’ which concentrated attention on the welfare of its members while the executive ran the nation and its economy aground.  We need no further confirmation than Ekweremadu’s sickening revelation that the June 9 treachery and opportunism were packaged by leading members of PDP and executed right inside the sitting room of David Mark. Next was the confession of the Senate President that he hid inside a small car from 6 am till 10 am when he walked into the Upper chamber where 49 PDP and about seven APC senators adopted him senate president while 51 of his APC colleagues were at another venue for a meeting with the president . This was an improvement on an old PDP strategy adopted for the botched attempt at impeaching Tambuwal who was prevented from entering the National Assembly along with his colleagues who had to scale the gate to prevent the already seated PDP lawmakers from executing their plan. And lastly the series of bizarre developments in the upper house last week has further confirmed where Saraki’s loyalty resides and the gods he worships.

    The senate president who had earlier denied his party the right to choose its leaders in the upper house in accordance with its 16 years old convention, did not only allow PDP to nominate its minority leader, he bent the rules that precluded green horn senators from holding such positions in order to accommodate former Akwa Ibom governor, now Senator Godswill Akpabio, his pillar of support in his war against his party. And as if to spite President Buhari who had after their party’s meeting directed that party supremacy should be respected, a number of APC senators, probably in anticipation of lucrative committee chairmanship positions, joined their PDP counterparts to pass a vote of confidence on Saraki and Ekweremadu and their actions to date. The motion was moved by a PDP member on the floor of the chambers. And finally, long after the senate president’s wife who was drilled by EFCC over some alleged contracts deals had “reaffirmed her willingness to assist the EFCC and expects that the spirit of this enquiry will follow the global standards and principles of open democracy, transparency and impartially”, Saraki’s senate decided that their most pressing duty was a motion warning EFCC to desist from harassing the wives of senators. And if unknown to us, the ‘Saraki like mind senators’ have agreed to embark on a crusade to defend the people against EFCC harassment, they will still not escape public resentment for failing to pass a resolution or accompany ex governors  and others that have kept dates with the organization in recent weeks.

    From these bizarre events, it is now apparent that despite blackmail by Saraki and Ekweremadu’s powerful supporters and their media, the fears of the majority of the members of APC oligarchy about Saraki’s capacity to successfully anchor the change Nigerian voted for on March 28 have not been misplaced.  And Nigerians who massively voted for change can now make a distinction between Saraki and his PDP supporters who want to continue business as usual and President Buhari, a man of honour and integrity;   Tinubu, a political genius and a Yoruba leader trusted by his people, Oyegun, a perfect gentleman; Audu Ogbe, a man of principle who remains the only past PDP chairman not enmeshed in financial scandal;  Amaechi, a leader who will always call a spade by its proper name,  and Tony Momoh, a man who will stand by what he believes in. Nigerians have faith in these great Nigerians.

    It is for this reason they must not be afraid to change the course of our history by confronting the twin evils of treachery and opportunism that have bedevilled our nation since 1962 when an illegal state of emergency was declared in the West and Dr. Majekodunmi, Tafawa Balewa’s friend and personal physician was appointed as administrator of the West to upstage Alhaji Soroye Adegbenro, the legally appointed premier. The argument then was that Yoruba should allow peace to reign since Majekodunmi was also another Egba man. The 1965 violence and ‘operation wet e’ had its root in 1962.

    In 1966, a military coup wiped out the warring politicians and the most senior military officers. The purge was sectional in conception and execution. Ironsi who inexplicably escaped the military purge suppressed the military insurgency but insisted on being made head of state as a precondition for his protection of the surviving ministers. The nation tolerated the opportunism. Ironsi carried on business as usual turning a blind eye at those who carried out sectional killings of military and political leaders. The pogroms of July 1966 stemmed from January 1966 opportunism.

    As it was in 1962 and 1966, so it was in 1993 when Babangida annulled the most credible election in our nation’s history won by MKO Abiola.  Babangida reached out for an Ernest Shonekan, another Egba, and man to upstage MKO Abiola. Those holding our nation to ransom then as today saw nothing wrong with Shonekan’s opportunism. But in less than six months, the court dismantled Babangida illegal contraption paving the way for the emergence of Abacha.  Abacha’s five years brutal war against Nigerians stemmed from 1993 Shonekan’s opportunism

    This is the time to break the vicious cycle of the twin evils of treachery and opportunism that have bedevilled our federation since independence. Buhari and APC can do without those opportunistic senators who have opted to join PDP to continue business as usual. It is obvious these traders care less about Nigerians.

    One of other reason APC has nothing to fear is because there is not going to be much to share since with Buhari  stealing government funds will be regarded as corruption.  What brought those who have turned the upper house into a trading ground will ultimately put them asunder. It was the crisis over sharing among PDP members during the fraudulent privatization programme that sparked off accusation and counter-accusation of who was more corrupt between President Obasanjo, and Vice President Atiku Abubakar.  Saraki himself was the whistle blower over the fuel subsidy scam. It was PDP that in turn informed Nigerians that Joy Oil, the company in which Saraki allegedly had interest also benefitted from the fuel subsidy fraud. And finally it was Kwara PDP leadership that claimed responsibility for writing the petition that led to Mrs. Toyin Saraki’s current travails. And while commending “the EFCC for its resourcefulness and painstakingness’, PDP Kwara also congratulated itself saying “We are particularly delighted that our painstaking efforts at chronicling the monumental heist that defined the eight years, almost uneventful rule of former Governor Bukola Saraki in Kwara, has not gone unnoticed.” The weeks ahead hold surprises for those who have held the nation down for so long. All the nation needs from President Buhari and his APC is leadership.

  • Court rejects Saraki’s protest against Senate forgery suit

    Court rejects Saraki’s protest against Senate forgery suit

    A Federal High Court in Abuja Wednesday rejected a complaint by Senate President, Bukola Saraki against a suit seeking to sack him and other principal officers of the Senate elected under the controversial Senate Standing Orders 2015.

    His lawyer, Sikiru Oke told the court that he appeared for the Senate President “in protest” and has not filed “memorandum of appearance” which must be filed before a lawyer could enter appearance for a party in a case.

    The proceedings were in relation to a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/651/2015 filed by senators who are opposed to the emergence of Saraki as the Senate President.

    They are Senators Abu Ibrahim, Kabir Marafa, Ajayi Boroffice, Olugbenga Ashafa and Suleiman Hunkuni. Defendants to the suit are Saraki, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; the National Assembly, the Clerks of the National Assembly and the Senate.

    The plaintiffs seek among other prayers and order nullifying the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as well as the election of Saraki as the Senate President and that of Ike Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President, ‎for being products of the alleged illegal rules.

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole had at the last hearing in the case, (July 28, 2015) adjourned the case to Wednesday for the hearing of the plaintiffs’ motion on notice seeking an order restraining Saraki and other defendants from going ahead to constitute the standing committees of the Senate pending when their suit challenging the validity of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 is determined.

    Oke contended that court processes in the case were served on his office instead of being served personally served on his client, as prescribed the Federal High Court Rules 2009.

    Plaintiffs’ lawyer, Dele Adesina (SAN), in a counter argument, contended that there are obligatory provisions of the same court rules which envisages and validates service on Saraki through his office.

    Adesina also argued that Oke could not be heard since he had yet to file memorandum of appearance to appear for the first defendant (Saraki).

    Ruling, Justice Kolawole upheld Adesina’s position and disqualified Oke from appearing for Saraki during the proceedings.He directed that the case be transferred to another judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who will take over as the vacation judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 10. He adjourned to August 13.

    Justice Kolawole had, in a ruling on July 28, dismissed an ex parte application by the plaintiffs in which they had earlier sought the restraining order against the constitution of the senate standing committees.

    In the ruling, Justice Kolawole said the disputes arising from the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Orders constituted internal legislative affair of the Senate which the court would not want to intervene in.