The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Senator Ahmad Lawan

  • ‘How PDP plans to frustrate Lawan’s ambition in ninth Senate’

    THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) plans to poach 13 All Progressives Congress (APC) returning and new Senators to forestall  the emergence of Senator Ahmad Lawan as the President of the 9th Senate President, APC sources have said.

    A source said two Senators approached to be arrow heads of the plans alerted the party hierarchy and Lawan’s campaign team.

    The two senators, one a returning and the other just elected, said a source, were expected to lead PDP to their  colleagues from Adamawa, Taraba, Ekiti, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano and Kebbi states.

    The PDP, said our sources, are working for an APC Senator from Gombe.

    A ranking Senator said: “At the moment, Lawan is the candidate to beat, using well known international parliamentary best practices and parameters.

    “All odds are in his favour in terms of experience in the administration of the legislature. He has been in the National Assembly in the last 20 solid years. His achievements at the Committee level are unassailable. Remember the engine room of legislation is the Committee stage. Don’t forget he has a Phd.”

    A  senator-elect, who turned down the PDP offer,  said: “In all parliaments, be it in the Presidential System or Parliamentary System the world over, leadership or presiding officers emerge based on their experiences as leaders of the caucuses. Thus, when a party gains a majority after a general election into Parliament, the leader of the caucus of such a party in the legislature transforms to be the President or Speaker of such parliament in a seamless process. It is an established practice and all stakeholders should make sure we act in conformity with the international standard in this respect.

    Read also: Group backs Lawan, Gbajabiamila for NASS leadership

    “They also discussed with us the revival of the ‘Like Minds Group’ of 2015 and their various social media campaign of calumny, most especially their deliberate attempt to link a National Leader of APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, to the emergence of Senator Ahmad.”

    Meanwhile, the Initiative for Demonstrating Change in Nigeria (IDCN), a pro Buhari group,  backed  Lawan’s aspiration.

    The, group, therefore, urged  members-elect of the National Assembly to support the decision of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)  to elect Lawan as Senate President and Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the Federal House Representatives.

    Mr Chinedu Ogah, the National Coordinator of the group, who spoke to reporters in Abakaliki,  said the contributions of Lawan as the Majority Leader of the 8th Senate were far reaching as they boosted the unity of the country.

    Ogah said: “Ahmed Lawan has displayed maturity as the true leader that will unite the national assembly.

    ” He is a lover of democracy, intelligent, humble and believer in one Nigeria. We should elect him as the Senate President because he has displayed that he does not put party interest above national interest.”

  • ‘No plan to amend Constitution to keep Buhari beyond 2023’

    Spokesman of the Senator Ahmad Lawan for Senate President Group, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Wednesday described as fake news, a story making the rounds that Ahmed Lawan, if elected as Senate President, will amend the constitution to allow President Muhammadu Buhari stay in office beyond 2023.

    Senator Abdullahi, in his reaction to the story, described the story as a desperate plot concocted by “evil and desperate politicians” bent on frustrating the emergence of Senator Lawan as Senate President in the 9th National Assembly.

    Senator Abdullahi said, “This is just a very desperate attempt by detractors and some politicians who want to taint the good image of the Senate Leader, and the future Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan.”

    He added, “When we (Senators) met the President two days ago, he (President) was very emphatic that he has stood for election five times, and this is his last.

    “The President made it clear that he wants to retire quietly to his home, on the basis of which he is going to work very hard these four years since Nigerians have given him this opportunity, to leave a lasting legacy behind.”

    Read also: I got N769.5m from ex-NDDC chief for no contract – Witness

    “The President’s statement clearly shows that he is a full democrat who knows that our constitution only provides for second term which he has gotten, and for which he is grateful to Nigerians.

    “Therefore, to come back to say that Senator Ahmad Lawan will amend the constitution to keep him in office beyond 2023 is just the height of evil thinking and bad politics taken too far.

    “The public should discountenance that and focus on supporting a very genuine and transparent process that will lead to the emergence of our own choice leaders as Senators-elect when the 9th Senate unveils,” Senator Abdullahi added.

  • Onnoghen’s suspension: Senate APC caucus seeks to join suit

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate Caucus Monday applied to the Supreme Court to be joined in the suit filed by the Senate challenging the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    The application of the APC Caucus to be joined in the suit is coming despite the withdrawal of the suit by the leadership of the upper chamber.

    The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had in a statement said that they decided to discontinue the case due to the intervention of the National Judicial Council (NJC) in the matter.

    Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, in another statement, said that the APC caucus decided to join in the suit to challenge the inclusion of its members by the leadership.

    Read Also: Onnoghen’s suspensionnot signal to dictatorship – FG

    The statement reads: “The Senate caucus ‎of the All Progressives Congress (APC), consisting 56 senators, being the majority party in the Senate, today Monday, 4th February, 2019, applied to the Supreme Court, to join in the suit purportedly filed by the Senate, against the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as interested parties.

    “The APC senators rely on the Supreme Court (Additional ‎Original Jurisdiction) Act of 2002, which provides that the resolution of the respective chambers of the National Assembly is a prerequisite of filing such suit.

    “The caucus is therefore challenging the said suit and objects to the inclusion of its members.”

    It is not clear whether the Senate APC caucus application to be joined in the suit was made before the Senate withdrew the suit.

    It is also not clear if the caucus will insist on going ahead with the suit.

  • Senate withdraws controversial anti-EFCC motion

    Senate withdraws controversial anti-EFCC motion

    The Senate Tuesday in a dramatic U-turn withdrew a controversial motion targeted at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The motion entitled, “Undue dramatization of the fight against corruption in Nigeria” was sponsored by Senator Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu North)

    The motion specifically lampooned the EFCC for alleged “penchant for undue publicity of its body of evidence at the commencement of investigation.”

    Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, had called Utazi to present his motion.

    Senator Utazi is Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes.

    All eyes turned to Senator Utazi’s seat only to discover that he had already left the chamber before Lawan called him to lead debate of his motion.

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the day’s plenary, informed his colleagues that the motion had been withdrawn.

    Though no further explanation was offered on why the motion was withdrawn by its sponsor, sources said that the leadership of the Senate might have felt uncomfortable with the controversial motion.

    One of the sources said that the Senate might have thought it unwise to start a fresh showdown with the anti-graft commission.

    Utazi noted in the withdrawn motion published in the Order Paper “EFCC’s approach tends to compromise the strength of the evidence that could be presented to secure conviction in judicial proceedings.

    “I am disturbed about the string of losses of corruption and financial crimes-related cases in court in recent past.

    “These losses, due mainly to insufficient and sometimes, shoddy investigation and the presentation of inadequate unconvincing body of evidence has cast a dark cloud on the efforts of the current government to reduce corruption in Nigeria to the barest minimum.

    “The recourse of, especially the EFCC in blaming the judiciary whenever it loses its case in court is a failure to acknowledge the commission’s shortcomings in the build-up to each case.

    “The EFCC’s emphasis on media trial before the conclusion of investigation weakens its case and gives the country a bad image in the comity of nations, discouraging the much-needed foreign investments.

    “Nigeria is not the only country that fights corruption and related crimes with the requisite zeal, but we do not hear of putrid stories of sleazy discoveries put out by countries’ anti-corruption agencies to every medium of communication to portray the country in bad light.

    “The sudden discoveries of abandoned loot, at airports, in septic and water tanks, in high-brow apartments and the dramatization of the process of the discovery of these orphaned monies paint the anti-corruption war in unpalatable colours, giving the world an impression of a group seeking applause through propaganda and engaging in a circus show to a rather grave national effort.”

    The Enugu North lawmaker prayed the Senate to urge the EFCC to de-emphasis propaganda and undue publicity in its operations and concentrate on the competent discharge of its core mandate.

     

  • Submission of 2017 budget report suffers setback in Senate

    Submission of 2017 budget report suffers setback in Senate

    …2016 budget to run till end of June, says Ekweremadu

     

    The Senate Thursday deferred the presentation and consideration of the 2017 budget report.

    The presentation and subsequent consideration of the budget report would have paved the way to the passage of the budget submitted to the National Assembly on December 14th, 2016.

    Although the submission of the report was listed as the first business of the day in yesterday’s Order Paper, it was stepped down.

    The inability of the Senate Appropriation committee to conclude work on the fiscal document was cited as the reason for stepping it down.

    Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, told his colleagues that members of the Appropriation committee of the Senate and House of Representatives were working assiduously to resolve grey areas in the money bill.

    Senator Lawan further informed that the budget report is now expected to be laid on May 9th, 2017.

    The Senate leader did not say whether the budget will be passed on Tuesday.

    Lawan said: “The committee chairman on Appropriations is not here. His counterpart who chairs the Finance committee is not here either. I am aware that members of Senate Appropriation committee are currently meeting with their counterparts in the House of Representatives, trying to settle the differences.

    “‎I have also equally been informed that by the grace of God, the budget of 2017 will be laid on Tuesday. Having said this, I will move that we stand down this report till Tuesday.‎”

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the day’s legislative business, said that there was no need to apprehension over the passage of the budget.

    Ekeremadu noted that the 2016 budget could still run till end of June, within which the 2017 budget would be passed.

    Ekweremadu said, “Let me also emphasise for the benefit of the public that we were ready to receive this report today. It was only this morning that it was necessary for us to be sure that we are on the same page with the House of Representatives to avoid any possible conferencing.

    “So we will like to see the House and the Senate laying just the same documents so that once we pass, we will now send the documents to the President for assent.

    “I think this is important that the point be made and the public know that the harmonization which is going on should be concluded over the weekend to enable us receive the budget report by Tuesday and by the grace of God, have it passed by next week and we will send it to the President for assent.

    “Let me also inform the public as well that the tenure of the 2016 budget ends today the 5th because it was signed into law on the 6th of May 2016, but under the constitution, the Federal Government is entitled to continue to spend money based on the 2016 estimates up to the 30th of June, 2017.

    “But we will not allow us to get into the reliance on the constitutional provision. Hopefully by the grace of God, we will have this budget next week. We will pass it so that implementation will start in earnest. So I just want to appeal for the understanding of the people of Nigeria.”

    President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2016 budget into law on the 6th of May, 2016.

    The lifespan of the 2016 budget expires today, Friday, 5th May, 2017.

    There was apprehension of a possible shutdown if the budget is not passed and assented to today.

  • Assassination attempts: Saraki seeks special protection for Senators, others ‎

    Assassination attempts: Saraki seeks special protection for Senators, others ‎

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Thursday said that the Senate will work out special protection strategy to protect its members against rising cases of assassination attempts and harassment.

    Saraki, who spoke against the backdrop of the reported assassination attempt against Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) and the raid of the home of Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje, noted that the upper chamber would take steps to ensure the protection its members.

    The Senate President spoke at the inauguration of an ad-hoc committee investigating the alleged attempted assassination on Melaye.

    Represented by the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, Saraki said that investigation into the assassination attempt on Melaye should be fully investigated by the committee.

    He noted that the probe would also articulate ways and means to protect members of the National Assembly against infringement and threats to their lives.

    He said: “The 1999 Constitution guarantees every Nigerian the right to life. Like every Nigerian, a Senator or member of the National Assembly deserves to be protected against infringement, threat and harassment.

    “The reported incidence in Kogi State where armed assassins invaded the house of a sitting Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Dino Melaye with the intention of taking his life is frightening and must be fully investigated.”

    Saraki added that effort must be made to “ensure that no Senator or member of the legislature is put in a position where he or she will feel his life is threatened in such a manner as to affect his judgment and thereby weaken hiss moral compass and ability to act without fear or favour.

    “The investigation will seek to unearth the remote and immediate issues connected with, and leading to the ugly incident.”

    Saraki asked members of the committee to discharge their task with great sense of responsibility, diligence and care.

    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Jibrin Barau, noted that though “the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incidents are still unclear”, the panel would dig deep into the matter to establish the truth of the issue.

    Barau assured that the committee in carrying out its mandate would do so with the utmost sense of duty, bearing in mind the seriousness of the assignments.

     

  • Senate Presidency: Northeast Senators disown Lawan

    A major crack may have emerged in the bid of the Northeast geopolitical zone to secure the Senate President seat in soon to be inaugurated 8th National Assembly.

    At least 12 Senators from the zone on Friday disowned Senator Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North), believed to be one of the front runners in the race for the Senate’s top job.

    Leader of the Northeast All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators’ Caucus, Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central) who briefed reporters in Abuja, insisted that the group  has not pick any candidate for the position yet since it has not been formally zoned to area by the national leadership of the party.

    Members of the Caucus present at the press conference are – Goje, Isa Ahmed Gusau (Bauchi Central), Ali Ndume (Borno South), Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe Central) and Abdulaziz Murtala Nyako (Adamawa Central).

    Others are – Senators-elect Binta Garba Marshi (Adamawa North), Ahmed Abubakar (Adamawa South), Usman Bayero Nafada (Gombe North), Abubakar Jare (Borno North) and Suleiman Nazif (Bauchi North).

    Senator Ahmad Zannah (Borno Central) was said to be indisposed.

    Goje, who spoke on behalf of the Caucus, said no zone will be allowed to impose any candidate on them.

    According to him, the Caucus is still pleading with the leadership of the APC to officially zone the position to the zone in view of their “peculiar circumstances.”

    The former Governor of Gombe State explained that whoever emerges as consensus candidate after the position has been zoned to the area will be decided by lawmakers from the zone.

    It could be recalled that the Northwest Senate caucus of the APC had on Thursday reportedly endorsed the candidature of Senator Lawan for the position of Senate President.

    The Northwest boasts of 21 Senators out of the 109-member Senate.

    Of the 21 Senators from the zone, 17 were said to have expressly adopted Lawan for the number one seat in the Senate.