Tag: Senate

…Ex-deputy speaker, Nguroje, lauds action

The Senate on Thursday, July 4, directed its standing committees on appropriation, power, and finance to investigate the entire Mambilla Hydro Electric Power Project (MHEPP) $5.792billion contract transaction from 1999 to date.

It also expressed concerns over the inability of the project to come to fruition since its conception.

The resolution of the Senate followed its consideration and adoption of a motion sponsored by Senator Harun Manu during plenary.

Senator Manu had drawn the attention of the Senate to the benefits the country stands to gain by the time the project becomes functional in terms of complementing the national grid, job creation, industrialization, and tourism potentials for the region and Nigeria in general.

Reacting to the resolve of the red chamber to carry out the probe, a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Babangida Nguroje, lauded the Senate for rising in defence of the Mambilla hydroelectric power project with the view to ensuring that the project comes to fruition.

Manu in his lead debate said: “The federal government through the Federal Ministry of Power signed a contract with a consortium of Chinese contractors comprising CGCC and CGOC in 2017 to construct 3,050 megawatts of hydroelectric power project known as the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba state at the sum of $5.792billion.”

He informed the Senate that the Federal Executive Council under Buhari’s administration approved the said contract with an agreed JV funding structure of 85% from the Chinese consortium (CGCC-45%, SHC-35% and CGOC-20%) and 15% from the federal government of Nigeria as counterpart funding for the entire project with a 72 months construction period and on a site area of over 146sqkm in Kurmi, and Sardauna Local Governments of Taraba state.”

While commenting on the motion, the immediate past Governor of Sokoto state, Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to see to the revival of the Mambilla hydroelectric power project as a legacy project of his administration by activating the necessary measures to see to the actualization of the project.

This sentiment was shared by former Senate President Lawan as well as Senator Sani Musa who informed the Senate that a company known as Sunrise that sued the Federal Government has already withdrawn the suit, therefore paving the way for the continuation of the construction without legal impediments.

On his part, former Deputy Speaker Nguroje in a statement expressed enthusiasm at the timely presentation of the motion and the fact that Sunrise Company has written to withdraw its legal action that created a legal impediment to the project.

Read Also: Ex-minister to appeal ruling in $6b Mambilla case

Nguroje maintained that beyond the project standing as a legacy of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the Mambilla hydro project can trigger local content beyond Kurmi and Sardauna Local Government of Taraba state, that it will serve and improve the power crisis in Nigeria.

He expressed joy that the project will create over 55,000 jobs, construct resettlement homes for over 100,000 people, haulage and supply over 2.7 million tons of steel, produce and supply over 76million tons of quarry stone, and provide opportunity for cement manufacturing companies as well as auto-manufacturers in Nigeria.

He commended the ingenuity of the 10th Senate as well as the North East Governors for bringing back the conversation at this time with the favourable disposition of the current administration of President Bola Ahmad Tinubu.

He maintained that adding about 3050 megawatts into the subsisting 2000 megawatts will go a long way to improve the power sector and create more jobs.

The Senate on Thursday, July 4, passed for a second reading a Bill that seeks to remove police retirees from the Contributory Pension Scheme under the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and place them at par with their counterparts in sister security agencies.

The Bill seeks among others to establish the Nigeria Police Pensions Board to correct the inequality in the pension benefits paid to retirees of the Force and their counterparts in other security agencies.

The Bill, when passed for a third reading and assented to by the President will remove the police from the Contributory Pensions Scheme domiciled with the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

It could be recalled that the Nigerian Army; Air Force; Navy; and the Department of State Services (DSS) have since exited the contributory pensions scheme.

Leading the debate on the bill on the floor of the Senate in Abuja, the sponsor, Senator Binos Yaroe (PDP, Adamawa-South), argued that while the police were saddled with the onerous task of crime detection, prevention, prosecution of suspects and other security duties, its retirees received peanuts as pension benefits, compared to their counterparts in sister security agencies.

Read Also: PenCom projects increase in pension fund assets

“The resultant inclusion and continuous stay of the NPF in the PENCOM has placed them on the wrong end of the post-service emolument life, even though the Nigeria Police is saddled with the responsibility of not only protecting the lives and property of the citizenry but detecting crimes…”, Yaroe said.

“For instance,” according to him, “while a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) is being paid N2.5million, and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) paid N1.5million under the current arrangement, the equivalent of DSP in the Army (Captain), Navy (Lieutenant), Air Force (Flight Lieutenant) and the DSS (Captain), are paid N12.8million and N10.3million respectively.”

Yaroe added: “This means that the NPF is receiving the equivalent of 19.5% pension benefits of their colleagues in the sister agencies.”

He said that the primary objective of the Bill was to ensure equality and justice in the payment of pension benefits to police retirees by bringing them under a police pension’s board.

Senators in their contributions supported the Bill and approved that it be read a second time when it was put to voice vote by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session.

The Senate on Wednesday, July 3, held a closed-door session to discuss a matter of ‘privilege’ involving the senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, and the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike.

Kingibe and Wike, have been engaging each other in a public row.

Wike had on Monday, July 1, threatened that Kingibe would lose her return bid to the Senate in 2027, as long as he remained the minister of FCT.

On her part, Kingibe had publicly complained that Wike had been sidelining her in the administration of the affairs of the FCT.

Read Also: Senate urges FG to extend Renewed Hope Road infrastructure projects to northeast

Recall that before when the Senate proceeded on its end-of-session break, Kingibe had raised a matter of privilege, seeking to know why the 2024 budget of the FCT was passed without any input from her.

Following the continued war of words between Wike and Senator Kingibe, the Senate resolved into an executive session to look into the matter of privilege she had raised.

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who presided over proceedings had called for the executive session, specifically saying that it was to discuss a matter of privilege involving the FCT senator.

The Senate on Wednesday, July 3, called on the federal government, through the Federal Ministry of Works, to expand the Renewed Hope Legacy Road Infrastructure Projects to include the Calabar-Makurdi-Jalingo-Yola-Maiduguri Highway.

This inclusion is aimed at integrating the northeast into Nigeria’s Legacy Infrastructure Road Projects.

The Senate also praised President Bola Tinubu for his significant developmental efforts to position Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa.

The resolutions followed the consideration and adoption of a motion titled “Renewed Hope Legacy Road Infrastructure Projects: The Need to Include the Northeast Geo-Political Zone in the Projects,” sponsored by Senator Danjuma Goje (APC-Gombe Central) during plenary.

Goje in his lead debate told the Senate: “Notes the Public Service Announcement made via various print media and social media platforms on Friday, 28th June, 2024 by the Federal Ministry of Works, inviting stakeholders to participate in public engagements, regarding the Renewed Hope Legacy Road Infrastructure Projects across the country.

“Also notes that these landmark projects, which are made up of the Sokoto – Badagry Superhighway (SBS), connecting Sokoto (North-West) to Badagry (South-West); Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway (LCCH) (South-South); and Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Kogi-Nasarawa-Abuja Superhighway (South-East and North-Central, Respectively), were designed in line with the current administration’s commitment towards actualising the vision of making Nigeria the largest economy in Africa. 

“However, the North-East is the only Zone not included in these laudable projects;

“Further notes that this bold initiative is part of the Renewed Hope developmental agenda of Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which upon completion will undoubtedly inter-connect the country and bring about unprecedented socio-economic growth as well as foster national unity and integration;

“Aware that the legacy projects, as shown on its map, designed by the Federal Ministry of Works, excluded the North-East Geo-political zone from the whole equation, and this has stimulated unprecedented concerns and agitations from the region given the strategic roles these projects will play in this country, hence the need to include the North-East in the projects;

“Also aware that the non-inclusion of the North-East in the projects, which includes: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe, has raised myriad of concerns about unequal development and potential marginalization of the region, which will further worsen the infrastructural challenges of the region.

Read Also: BREAKING: Senate blames Borno suicide bombing on failure of intelligence

“Concerned that the security situation of the region has been further exacerbated due to lack of adequate road infrastructure networks that make it to be susceptible and exposed to all manner of security challenges, ranging from insurgency, banditry, among others; and

“Also concerned that the non-inclusion of the region will not augur well for the socio-economic development of this country, as the economic viability and opportunities that abound in the region will not be fully tapped to the maximum benefit of the country.”

Senators in their contributions supported the motion and approved the prayers therein when they were put to voice vote by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The Senate on Wednesday, July 3, directed its relevant committees to investigate the alleged importation of hazardous petroleum products and dumping of substandard diesel into Nigeria.

The probe, which was raised as a matter of urgent public importance, followed a motion by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong on Wednesday.

The investigation is to be conducted by an ad-hoc committee with the following terms of reference:

“Examine the pre-shipment and pre-discharge standard test parameters, adopted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, with a view to uncovering loopholes, if any, exploited to get toxic cargoes into the country;

“Determine the level of compliance of the NPCL’s Direct Sale and Direct Purchase (DSDP) arrangements in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, including the extent of transparency and accountability in the scheme;

(“Beam legislative searchlight on the activities of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund, including payments made to transporters in the last 10 years;

Read Also: BREAKING: Senate blames Borno suicide bombing on failure of intelligence

“Enquire from the NPCL the state/ status of the 22 Depots built by the NNPC to eliminate road distribution of petroleum products;

“Engage with stakeholders within the oil and gas industry with a view to identifying possible gaps in regulating and strengthening the surveillance and monitoring structures in place to enable Nigeria to detect violations of best practice standards in the importation of products before they enter into domestic supply chains;

“Also engage with the NNPCL with a view to understanding the extent of its determination and timelines for the start-up of government-funded oil refineries; and

“Investigate how institutions across the importation and distribution chain failed to conduct quality sampling, shipped in products without auditing, port validations by the Nigerian Customs Service; Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR); National Maritime Authority (NMA); and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON).”

Details shortly…

The Senate on Tuesday, July 2, passed for a second reading, a bill which seeks to allow all persons resident in Nigeria to obtain the National Identification Number (NIN).

The bill also seeks to strengthen the regulatory duties of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and to further boost Nigeria’s Identity System.

The bill, which was sponsored by the deputy president of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, is also meant to broaden the eligibility criteria for registration to ensure inclusivity and universal coverage.

“This allows all persons resident in Nigeria to obtain a National Identification Number (NIN) and utilise it as a recognised form of identification”, Barau said in his lead debate.

The Bill was titled: “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act 2007, and to Provide for the Establishment of a National Identity Database and the National Identity Management Commission Charged with the Responsibilities for Maintenance of the National Database, the Registration of Individuals, and the Issuance of Identity Credentials; and for Related Matters, 2024.”

According to Barau, the bill aims to streamline the sharing of personal data by “incorporating robust data protection measures to not only safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of individuals’ data but also to foster trust among citizens in the handling of their information.”

He said it was also to enhance the administrative enforcement powers of NIMC by ensuring timely and accurate compliance with ID registration requirements.

“This will lead to a more streamlined registration process, thereby reducing bureaucratic hurdles and enhancing the reliability of the Nigeria ID System”, he said.

He said the Bill further seeks to remove criminalisation for non-use of NIN by replacing criminal penalties with administrative enforcement measures to encourage compliance with NIN usage requirements without imposing undue legal consequences on individuals.

On NIMC’s regulatory functions, he said the bill seeks to strengthen the agency’s capacity to carry out effective oversight and regulation of the Nigeria ID System. This ensures adherence to established standards and guidelines, fostering public trust in the integrity and reliability of the system.

Read Also: Osun APM to sue Deputy Minority Senate Leader over vote-buying confession

Furthermore, he said the bill, when passed into law, will harmonise all the existing identity systems across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to “promote interoperability and coherence across different sectors.”

He said generally, the bill will achieve several objectives to foster inclusion, universal coverage, and accessibility and unlock significant financial and security benefits for the nation.

Senators in their contributions supported the Bill and approved that it be read for a second time when it was put to voice vote by the Presiding officer.