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Tag: SENATOR

  • Declare state of emergency in Zamfara, Senator urges Fed Govt

    •Accuses governor of incompetence

    Senator Saidu Mohammed Dansadau has asked the Federal Government to immediately declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State to halt the mass killing going on there.

    Senator Dansadau, who represented Zamfara Central in the fifth and sixth Senate, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to invoke his powers under Section 305 (3) and (S) of the Constitution and declare a state of emergency in Zamfara, and appoint a competent administrator for the state.

    Dansadau, in a letter sent to President Buhari, with copies sent to Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, reads: “By Sections 4 (2) and 176 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the executive powers of a state are vested in the governor. By Section 215 (4) of the Constitution, the governor is the Chief Security Officer of the state.

    “The Constitution envisages that to perform these onerous responsibility, the governor is expected to be resident in the state and give his full attention to the governance of same.

    “I wish to bring to the attention of Mr. President that since the incumbency of Governor Abdulaziz Abubakar, which began five years ago, public perception is that the governor has spent only about 20 per cent of that whole period in Zamfara, and had utilised the other 80 per cent junketing from one part of the country to the other, and shuttling around the globe.

    “All matters of state that require action are kept waiting until he returns. Consequently, intelligence and security reports are kept in abeyance. For instance, at a period, out of 60 straight days, the governor spent only two days in Zamfara.

    “The fall-out of this is that threats to the breakdown of public order and safety are left to incubate and fester, until they escalate and become intractable, when simple measures of amelioration could have ensured public peace and security.

    “This dereliction of responsibility by the governor has cost the state unimaginable number of precious lives and property worth billions of Naira. In Dansadau alone, about 360 people have been killed.

    “If the killings in the remaining 23 constituencies are added, the total number of lives lost can better be imagined. All these losses would have been averted were the governor alive to his constitutional responsibilities.

    “There were no killings of tribal coloration until Yari took the reins of governance in. Since then, there has been a trail of daily killings, abductions, rapes, kidnappings, attacks on rustic villages, the scale, regularity and ferocity we have never witnessed before.

    “It is worrisome that inspite of the known identities of these criminals, the police have failed in securing the communities and protect lives and property. The failure of the police to safeguard the people may not be unrelated to the disconnection between them and the governor who is rarely seen to provide leadership as the chief security officer.

    “Sadly, the private security volunteers who have been helpful in defending the villages and protecting the people against these marauders have, by executive fiat, been banned from operating.

    “In view of the foregoing, Mr. President is invited to invoke his powers under Section 305 (3) and (S) of the Constitution and declare a State of Emergency in Zamfara and appoint a competent Administrator for the state until such a time when the President, through the administrator, is satisfied that normalcy has been restored.

    “Anything short of this will turn the thick forest between the southern border of Zamfara State with Katsina, Kaduna, Niger and Kebbi States into a national park of criminals and killers, worse than what the country has seen in Sambisa Forest.

     

  • Ambassadorial nominees:  Senator raises alarm over omission of Bayelsa

    Ambassadorial nominees:  Senator raises alarm over omission of Bayelsa

    The Senator representing Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Emmanuel Paulker, yesterday raised the alarm over the omission of Bayelsa State in the list of ambassadorial nominees submitted to the Senate for confirmation and approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Paulker said he was inundated with calls by his constituents and other concerned Nigerians who draw his attention to the fact that no nominee from Bayelsa State was included among the ambassador designates.

    The lawmaker said he carefully went through the list sent to the Senate and discovered indeed that there was no nominee from Bayelsa State.

    Paulker said that the non inclusion of a nominee from Bayelsa State is made more painful when it is realised that some states had three nominees while others had two.

    He urged the Senate to mandate its committee on Foreign Affairs to take up the matter to ensure that justice was done to the state.

    President Buhari had on June 9th, 2016 forwarded a list of 47 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation and approval.

    Paulker said: “Mr. President, just as we left here (Senate) at the close of work (on Thursday June 9th, 2016) my other two colleagues and I were inundated with calls drawing our attention to the fact that no nominee from Bayelsa was reflected on the list of ambassadorial nominees sent to the Senate.

    “Mr. President initially I thought those calls were misplaced but we have gone through the record and discovered that the calls were not misplaced.

    “Mr. President, facts are available to us that even in the Foreign Affairs Ministry at least we have two Bayelsans that are on the level of deputy directors.

    “I believe that these two personalities can fit into where these nominees came from.

    “Equally in the list there are some states that have up to three in number. Non inclusion of any Bayelsans on the list is a clear violation of the Constitution.”

    Senate President Bukola Saraki said  in line with Senate rules Paulker discussed the matter with him.

    Saraki added “You know according to our rules under Order 43, there would be no debate but however I am happy that the chairman committee on Foreign Affairs is here, they will take note of this observation while they carry out their work on this matter. By tomorrow (today) we would have committed that to the Foreign Affairs Committee to work on it.”

  • Oyo Senator empowers constituents with multimillion naira tools

    Oyo Senator empowers constituents with multimillion naira tools

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Information Communication Technology (ICT) Senator Abdulfatai Buhari representing Oyo North Senatorial district, has empowered 1500 persons comprising youths and artisans in his constituency.

    At the programme held in Saki, qualitative empowerment of the masses is far better than given them pittance.

    According to him: “It is my covenant to ably represent and do resoundingly well for my constituents through the intervention /constituency projects’ platform provided us by the National Assembly as representatives of the people, who knows the spots where shoes pinch the masses.”

    His words: “I will use every medium available to me as a Senator to bring dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of my people. In the next couple of years, issues of youth unemployment/empowerment and qualitative education of our pupils will be given priority in order to secure their future.

    Items distributed at the empowerment programme include 16 cars, 300 motorcycles, 273 sewing machines, 637 grinding machines, 142 generators, 25 deep freezer, 12 tricycles and 55 spraying well for farmers.

    Also, a space bus was donated to the Oke-Ogun chapter of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ.

    While recounting his achievements since he assumed office, Buhari listed the roads projects as Ogbomoso-Oyo road, rehabilitation of Iseyin-Okeho road, as well as getting award letters for Otu/Ipapo road, Okeho Iganna road and Agunrege Irawo road.

    Others include  provision of wide area network for  Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Ogbomoso, provision of tertiary virtual library  for schools of Nursing  and midwifery kishi, getting approval for school of  nursing  and midwifery kishi,  provision of  Knowledge access venue  (KAV) ICT  with chairs and table and other materials for  8 schools across the constituency.

    Buhari  also listed the provision  of free medical checkup with drugs worth millions of naira to over 10, 000  people of Oke-Ogun, training of over 10, 000 women and youth, N25,000  to 20 widows  and disbursement of  N25,000 bursary award to 20 indigents students of Oke-Ogun.

    Deputy Governor Chief Alake Adeyemo, who represented the governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, said the empowerment programme was unprecedented in the state.

    “We are proud to have you as our senator; you are projecting the image of our great party and the government. We are very proud of you. You are an intelligent and responsible Senator. I wish other people to emulate your gestures and passion towards their people.“

    The APC vice chairman, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi, who led other executive members of the party to the event, said ‘We in APC are happy that our senator is doing this at these moment when the economic situation is not friendly, you are making us proud and we pray that God will continue to bless you and take you to greater height.”

    Some of the beneficiaries, including chief Goke Oyetunji, and Chief Wale Arowomole, commended Buhari for his gesture.

    The event was attended by party leaders, commissioner nominee religious leaders, students and members of different community and association across the state.

  • Senator calls for multilateral approach to loot recovery

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Senator backs agitations for salary review

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Air Force, Duro Faseyi, has thrown his weight behind the agitation for upward review of the present N18,000 minimum wage. According to him, an increase in minimum wage will help to checkmate corruption in the country.

    He noted that the present arrangement of fighting corruption from the top to bottom is illogical, saying it should be from the bottom to the top starting with an improved package for the Nigerian Workers.

    Faseyi made the call shortly after a thanksgiving service to mark his 60th birthday at The Redemeed Gospel Evangelical

    Mission (TREGEM), Akure. The lawmaker said corruption remains a cancer-worm that must be nipped in the bud in the interest of Nigeria’s image.

    “Nigerian workers need to be encouraged with reasonable salaries and allowances if we are to fight corruption since the civil service remains an integral and only permanent aspect of the government structure. It is only through this development that the principle of even

    distribution of resources can be achieved and the economy will be enhanced,” he said.

     

  • Senator raises the alarm over pending senatorial elections

    Senator raises the alarm over pending senatorial elections

    Senator Ben Murray Bruce (Bayelsa East) has asked the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to explain why it has not conducted pending senatorial re-run elections.

    Bruce noted that the non-representation of some states in the Senate was a violation of the constitution.

    Bruce, who asked the Senate to take up the issue with the INEC Chairman, said the people of the affected areas have a right to be represented in the Senate.

    Only on Tuesday, people from Imo North Senatorial District, Imo State, staged a protest at the National Assembly to call attention to the delay in conducting Senatorial District re-run election in the area.

    The senator, in his Point of Order, said: “We have not had representation in this chamber from Rivers State, part of Anambra, Imo, Kogi and some other states. INEC concluded elections in one week in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) but in these states they had no representation here and it does not make any sense.

     “It is a violation of the constitution; the people of these states have a right to have representation here. The INEC Chairman owes us an explanation to explain why these elections have not been concluded.

     “It is a simple matter and it is the responsibility for INEC to conclude these elections so that the people of these beautiful states have representation here in the Senate.”

     Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, explained that he was aware that INEC would meet today to fix dates for the election.

     He said: “Let me just say that I am aware that INEC will be meeting tomorrow (today) to fix dates for this rerun or bye-elections, but it is important that you have raised it so that the nation will know that we are concerned about the non-representation of some of these states.

    “It is clear in the constitution that INEC should quickly conduct within 30 days bye-elections where vacancies occur and so, it is far past 30 days when vacancies occurred in some places. It is important that we urge INEC to ensure that as soon as possible that these elections are conducted so that every part of the country, every states would have their full representation in the National Assembly.”

     The Imo North Senatorial protesters, who came under the aegis of Okigwe Zonal Development Association Abuja (OZDA), displayed placards to impress home their demands.

    They were lead by His Royal Highness, Eze O.J. C. Anyanwu (Ehime-Mbano Local Government Area, Chief Nathan Asomugha (Okigwe Local Government Area), Chief S. Obi (Onuimo Local Government Area), Izy Nwaiwu (Isialla Mbano Local Government Area), Chief Ike Obasi (Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area) and Thompson Muonaka (Obowu Local Government Area.

    Asomugha, who spoke for the group, noted that their demonstration became necessary to convey their displeasure at the continued breach of their right to representation at the Senate.

    He said the breach is occasioned by the failure of the INEC to conduct the Imo North Senatorial re-run election within 90 days as ordered by the Court of Appeal on December 11, 2015.

    The group also asked the Senate to summon the INEC Chairman to explain the reason for the continued delay to conduct the election in Imo North Senatorial District.

    Some of the placards displayed by the group read: “Citizens of Okigwe Zone demand immediate representation in the Senate”; “INEC, conduct Imo North Senatorial election now”, “INEC fix date for Okigwe Senatorial re-run”; “We are saying give us our right.”

  • Senator tackles INEC about rerun

    Senator tackles INEC about rerun

    The senator, who represented Imo North, Athanasius Nneji Achonu, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to tell Nigerians why it has not conducted the rerun ordered by the Court of Appeals.

    He also said Nigerians should ask why “the seeming conspiracy” to deny the senatorial zone representation at the National Assembly persisted.

    Achonu told reporters in Abuja, that it was curious that the police and army, which assisted the INEC to conduct elections in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, where Boko Haram holds sway, claimed they could not provide security for a rerun in Imo North.

    The senator said it was a miscarriage of justice that his election was annulled on the ground that his party, Accord (A), was not on the ballot papers when it was actually the number one on the ballot papers.

    Achonu was declared winner of Imo North Senatorial District poll held on April 28, last year.

    The election was set aside by the Court of Appeal, which sat in Owerri, the Imo State capital, in the judgment of December 11, last year on the ground that INEC failed to include the logo of Accord Party on the ballot papers.

    The appellate court order INEC to conduct a fresh election within 90 days from the date of its judgment. The re-run election scheduled for February 20, 2016 was aborted when hoodlums invaded INEC office in Owerri on February 19th.

    But Achonu smelt a rat shouting blue murder.

    He said, “In the first place, there wasn’t supposed to be a re-run election because Accord Party was number one on the ballot paper used for the election, so there was no exclusion. The only problem was that on the day of the election, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) noticed that Accord Party was not on the ballot paper. We raised the alarm. The INEC officer in charge withdrew all the ballot papers and substituted them with Imo East, Owerri zone where Accord Party was number one. That was the ballot paper we used for the election.

    “But I think it was a conspiracy, because the INEC lawyer who handled the matter in the court did not front-load the ballot paper. No court of law would accept that. There is something going on, something wrong that I do not understand. The fact is that there was not supposed to be any re-run.”

  • Senator to El-Rufai: you lack right to license preachers

    Senator to El-Rufai: you lack right to license preachers

    The lawmaker representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani, has said Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has no right to license preachers.

    He said the religious preaching bill sent by the governor to the House of Assembly is uncalled for.

    The senator, who spoke yesterday in Kaduna at the 40th anniversary of Ansarul-Deen Youth Association of Nigeria (ADYAN), said: “Governor El-Rufai does not have a right to license preachers. Every Nigerian has a right to freedom of association and speech.

    “The bill sent to the assembly is a military decree, which is not applicable in a democratic setting.

    “There are laws to checkmate whoever hides under religion to foment trouble. This decree dusted and sent to the assembly in the name of a bill to regulate religious preaching is uncalled for.” He condemned the alleged plan by the government to tax petty traders, to raise the dwindling Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

    Sani, who was given an award by the Islamic organisation, said it came at a time he was yet to deliver his campaign promises.

    Said he: “I’m happy to be honoured, but I cannot celebrate because the award is coming at a time when Nigerians are suffering. There is no electricity, there is queue at filling stations and so on.

  • Senator’s empowerment tools excite constituents

    Senator’s empowerment tools excite constituents

    The number of the unemployed is rising daily. Public officers are encouraging the jobless to be self-reliant through provision of empowerment items. LEKE AKEREDOLU reports that the Senator Yele Omogunwa has provided N100million worth of empowerment tools worth N100m for members of his constituents in Ondo-South Senatorial District.

    As the country grapples with the challenge of unemployment as a result of lack of white-collar jobs, wealthy individuals and those in position of authority have been encouraging individuals, especially young school leavers, graduates and some others to redirect their attention from being job-seekers to job-creators and employers of labour.

    Lawmakers are not left out in the quest to empower members of their constituency through skill acquisition programmes and empowerment items.

    In the circumstances, the countrified town of Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State sparkled as residents shirked all their commercial and other activities to converge on the headquarters of the local government.

    They gathered to join several distinguished guests who came from far and near to witness a unique moment when many members of the lawmaker’s constituency were empowered with various items to make them self-reliant and, possibly employers of labour.

    For them, it was a rare opportunity to witness such an event which, they said, was the first in the state since the return of democracy in 1999.

    During the event, Senator Omogunwa gave out empowerment items valued at N100 million to some of his constituents.

    Great crowd of members of his constituency witnessed the event which was described as unprecedented. What made the exercise remarkable was that some of the items distributed included 200 sewing machines, 300 motorcycles, 300 pieces of dryer, 400 stoves and pots, 100 generating sets, 100 clippers, 150 speed boats and equally 150 horse power machines to power the speed boats. Over 1, 500 people benefited from this empowerment scheme at the event.

    Speaking at the event, Senator Omogunwa said he was committed to enhance the well-being of members of his constituency, even as he said his tenure at the National Assembly will witness a departure from the stereotypical experiences the people have had with their erstwhile representatives.

    The people are already thanking their stars for voting for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain to represent them at the National Assembly.

    The lawmaker said the items distributed were part of measures to appreciate his party and members of the party in his senatorial district who worked for his success during the general elections.

    The local government areas that make up the district he represents at the Senate are Okitipupa, Irele, Ile-oluji/Oke-Igbo, Ilaje and Ese-Odo.

    Omogunwa, who is the only PDP Senator from Ondo State, said poverty alleviation programmes must be a constant event at the grassroots, as they serve as means of alleviating the sufferings of the people and pull them out of poverty.

    He said: “It is time Nigerian youths began to think of what they can use their hands to do through vocational skills and not to be seeking white-collar jobs that are hard to come by.”

    Omogunwa, however, promised to attract Federal Government’s presence to the area; including the riverside communities.

    He said: “For so long, the people of Ondo State `have been cheated by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by not establishing projects for the well-being of the people. I have told those concerned when we went for oversight functions in South-south geo-political zone that this must be corrected.

    “I discovered that there are meaningful projects that were executed in other states of the Niger Delta region but I don’t know why we were neglected.

    “States such as Rivers, Bayelsa and Cross River and so on are positively feeling the impact of the NDDC. The projects in those states are far different from the projects in Ondo State and no doubt about it, they will adjust.

    “Even the one they have done here, they are coming to investigate. In the next one or two weeks, the team will be in the state to oversee what has been claimed to have been done on paper but not on ground.”

    He, however, enjoined all the beneficiaries to use the empowerment tools judiciously in order to contribute to the economy of the state and the country, and especially to improve their economic well-being.

    On behalf of other beneficiaries, Mr. Adetomiwa Morakinyo from Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo, thanked the Senator for the gesture, assuring him of their regular support.

    Also, ýa 25-year-old lady, Miss Bose Okunola, who just graduated from a fashion design school, said she had been looking for money to buy sewing machine so that she could start her own business.

    She said: “I am so excited that I am one of the beneficiaries of these sewing machines. This will go a long way in reshaping my future in the area of fashion designing.

    “I am a graduate but since all of us cannot get white-collar jobs, I have decided to learn fashion designing. I graduated three months ago but I don’t have money to start the business.

    “I thank Senator Omogunwa for remembering us in this senatorial district and this sewing machine would relief me of lots of burden.”

    A PDP chieftain from Ese-Odo, Lucky Obolo was full of joy when his name was mentioned as one of the beneficiaries of the speed boats.

    Obolo said: “I was at the campaign of Omogunwa last year when he said he would always be available to listen to our complaints and also ensure he gives back to us whatever is given to him in Abuja.

    “I never believed him because many previous lawmakers have said much of this and at the end only their families and close allies benefitted from them. Even those who are representing Akure do not look back after we had voted for them.

    “But I was amazed when I got the information that he would be empowering us less than a year after the elections.

    “One peculiar thing was that he kept the names of those who would benefit from the scheme to his chest and I was surprised that my name appeared on the list.

    “With this boat, I am going to start transportation business and I believe the money I realise from it will be used to cater for my family.”

  • How 2016 budget ‘ll bring great relief, by senator

    The Senator representing Oyo South, Adesoji Akanbi, has assured Nigerians that the planned passage of the 2016 budget this week will usher in a great relief for the economy.

    Akanbi, in an interview with The Nation, said aside making implementation of capital projects possible, special intervention funds such as the N500 billion for recruitment and training of 500,000 teachers across the country, among others, will revitalise the economy.

    Besides, the senator added that increased budgetary allocation to infrastructure was a major boost to the economy.

    According to him, while only N500 billion was voted for infrastructure in the 2015 budget, over N2.2 trillion was budgeted this year for infrastructural projects, an increase of over 300 per cent.

    Akanbi explained that in addition to the high budgetary allocation to infrastructure and other sectors that are capable of injecting life into the economy, “the budget also promotes local content in infrastructure building.”