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Tag: SENATOR

  • R -APC members seeking attention, says Senator

    Senate Deputy Chief Whip Francis Alimikhena, has described members of the Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC) as attention seekers.

    He said the leadership of the party was doing everything to address their grievances

    Alimekhena (Edo North) assured that many of the aggrieved R-APC members won’t leave the party.

    Speaking in Bénin City after he was honoured by the Usagbe Social Club of Nigeria, Senator Alimekhena said the APC would not end up like the PDP.

    Alimekhena said the recent Asset Seizure Executive Order signed by President Mohammadu Buhari was in the right direction.

    He stated that those kicking against the Executive Order were persons with skeletons in their cupboards.

    He said: , “In every organisation as big as the APC, there is no way there won’t be friction and disagreements. But I can tell you that the leadership of the party is solving that problem because we don’t want it to end up like the nPDP palaver.

    “Ours is a small issue. Those agitating are looking for attention and the party is looking into their grievances and very soon they will come back.

    “Although not everyone of them will stay back, but I can assure you that at least, 90 per cent of them will retrace their steps”.

  • Senator urges contractor to complete Port Harcourt airport

    The lawmaker representing Rivers East Senatorial District, Senator Andrew Uchendu, has urged the contractor handling the remodelling of the domestic terminal of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, to accelerate the pace of work.

    He made the call in Port Harcourt, during a visit to the airport to inspect ongoing projects and state of the facilities.

    Uchendu said: ”I am impressed by the level of construction work at the new Port Harcourt International Airport terminal. I must give kudos to the Minister for Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and his team, for a job well done.

    “I am, however, not impressed by the slow pace of the contractor handling the remodelling of the domestic terminal of the airport. Hence, I am demanding acceleration of work.

    “The reconstruction of the local wing of the airport was awarded when I was a member of the House of Representatives. It is unfortunate that since then, the project has not been completed. As the senator representing the area where this airport is domiciled, I am concerned. That is why I came to assess things by myself.

    “Nigerians and Rivers people are not happy with the progress of work being done at the airport. It is in the interest of everybody to ensure that the work is completed and very soon too.

    “As the Senator representing this senatorial district, I will try and reach out to the authorities in charge to find out what the problems are. If it is a problem of funding or a budget-related issue, then there are certain things that some of us can do. So that by October or November, the local wing can be completed. If the problem is from the contractor, then I will report him to the Minister for Transportation and his team. So that they can take necessary action that will accelerate the pace of work. All we want is progress.”

    The representative of Rivers East senatorial district also decried the very poor record, in terms of employment in the airport of members of the host communities.

    He said: “I am not satisfied with what has been done to the host communities (of the airport), in terms of employment. If since 1975, Omagwa and Ipo communities can boast of only one senior staff member in the employ of the airport, and then it is indeed a very poor record.

    “We must change the narrative. We must see to it that improvements are made. My people must be represented at all levels. The Federal Government’s policy on catchment area must be complied with fully.”

    Uchendu also stated that as part of its corporate social responsibility, the management of the Port Harcourt International Airport should provide town halls and markets for the host communities, as well as power supply by connecting them to the national grid.

  • Senator to APC: ignore antics of nPDP

    •We’re not boycotting party’s convention, says Baraje

    FORMER Nasarawa State Governor Senator Abdullahi Adamu has called on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to ignore what he described as the antics of members of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) bloc.

    In a statement in Abuja yesterday, Adamu dismissed the group’s claim of marginalisation, saying that their insistence on meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari was to blackmail, intimidate and ambush the President.

    Adamu, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, hailed Buhari’s decision not to interfere in the nPDP issue.

    According to him, the matter should be left to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the leadership of the party to deal with.

    He accused the nPDP members of a deliberate attempt to distract the President from focusing on governance and added that members of the bloc were bent on resurrecting their defunct platform to fight personal political battles.

    Adamu said: “I belonged to the nPDP and as I have said before, there was nowhere we held a meeting to resurrect the group for the purpose of protesting alleged marginalisation of our former members by the APC-led Federal Government. Apart from that, the basis of the group’s allegation is tenuous.”

    The lawmaker, who is the coordinator of Buhari’s 2019 presidential campaign for the North Central Zone, urged Buhari not to succumb to the group’s blackmail.

    “While the antics of the so-called nPDP to portray the Buhari administration as being unfair to the group in its appointments are reprehensible, I commend the President’s governance style and his litany of progressive decisions that are in tandem with the collective aspirations of our party,” Adamu added.

    The senator lauded the President for signing the 2018 budget into law despite the shortcomings and coming about 200 days after the presentation of the proposal to the legislature.

    He insisted that it was disingenuous of members of the nPDP to create the impression that the Buhari administration had been partial in its appointments, saying nothing could be farther from the truth.

    Adamu urged the leadership and members of the APC to be focused on the tomorrow’s convention, saying the goal was to strengthen the party ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    He hailed the Convention Planning Committee for doing a good job and urged candidates and delegates to cooperate with the committee and support it to deliver on its assignment.

    But, aggrieved members of the nPDP have denied planning to boycott the APC national convention slated for tomorrow.

    The members said they will attend and participate fully in the party’s convention.

    In a statement by his media office in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, Leader of the nPDP Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, who had been leading other members of the group in their consultations with APC leadership, on Wednesday returned from Saudi Arabia where he had gone to perform the lesser Hajj.

    He emphasised that his group has no cause not to attend the convention.

    “We are looking forward to the Saturday convention. We will be at the convention and after that, we shall see how things unfold,” he declared.

    According to him, as a member of the convention committee, he attended a meeting once with other members of the committee. But after that initial meeting, he had not been able to attend subsequent ones.

    Reacting to the claims in some media that the President was not interested in meeting with his members, Baraje said though he was not privy to such statement, the group or himself as the leader would not officially react now.

    He explained that when it is necessary for the Presidency to invite them for discussion or talk, they will be waiting for such invitation.

    On allegations that names of some people not in the fold of the mainstream APC in Kwara State were included as part of members of the Convention Committee, Baraje said he was not aware of such development and that he or any member of his group had not been briefed either by the Presidency, the party leadership or the chairman of the convention committee of the nomination of such names.

    However, he said if such thing happened, it would be part of the issues to be raised at the eventual meeting with the presidency when such meeting is called.

  • Senator urges Buhari to probe killing of Saro-Wiwa, Marshal Harry, others

    The lawmaker representing Rivers East Senatorial District, Senator Andrew Uchendu, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to order investigation into the killing of renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and top politicians: Chief Marshal Harry, Senator Obi Wali and Chief Aminasoari Dikibo, all of Rivers State.

    Uchendu, the Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Procurement, according to his media aide, Solomon Okocha, made the admonition yesterday in Port Harcourt, when the Federal Commissioner, Public Complaints Commission (PCC), Rivers State, Marshall Israel, visited him.

    The senator hailed President Buhari for declaring June 12 as the new Democracy Day in Nigeria and for the posthumous conferment of the highest national honour of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief Moshood Abiola.

    He said: “Recognising June 12 as Democracy Day and honouring the late Chief Abiola are the starting point in the healing process and the rebirth of a new Nigeria. For us in Rivers State, there are murder cases that we will like to be investigated and where necessary, President Buhari should apologise on behalf of the Federal Government to Rivers people.

    “Rivers people and other Nigerians will like to know what really happened to Saro-Wiwa, A.K. Dikibo, Marshal Harry and my mentor, Senator Obi Wali, so that the souls of the deceased can finally rest in peace. This will go a long way in soothing the nerves of our people. We are not trouble makers and we will continue to support President Buhari in the national healing process.”

    The Head of PCC in Rivers stated that officials of the commission decided to visit Uchendu, because as a body set up by an Act of the National Assembly, it needed to partner the legislature, in order to effectively carry out its constitutional mandate.

    Israel noted that the engagement had given the officials more knowledge that would enable them to effectively inquire into complaints by members of the public, concerning the administrative action of any public authority and companies or their officials, and other related matters.

  • Why basic health care got N57b vote, by Senator

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Olanrewaju Tejuose, yesterday said that the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) will attract over N57 billion in the 2018 fiscal year.

    Tejuoso said that this followed the implementation BHCPF which should be statutorily financed from not less than 1% of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federal Government and other sources of funding.

    He said that the BHCPF provision had not been appropriated in the previous Appropriation Acts since 2014 it was created.

    The Ogun central lawmaker said that the provision is part of the effort geared toward transforming the health care landscape of the country through better public funding of health care that will translate to improved access to basic healthcare.

    Tejuose who spoke at a press conference in Abuja explained that the National Assembly is insisting on the express implementation of the National Health Act, 2014, which stipulates that a minimum of one percent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund be set aside for basic healthcare.

    The N9.120 trillion 2018 budget passed by the National Assembly on Wednesday, has N57.15billion allocated for Basic Health Provision Package.

    This is the first time Nigeria has implemented the Act, four years after it was passed.

    Tejuoso noted that the National Assembly has lived up to its promise by including Basic Health Care Provision Package in the 2018 budget.

    He described the implementation of the Act as a game changer for primary health care need of the country.

    He noted that although the implementation of the Act was not effected in the 2018 budget submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to a joint session of the National Assembly, lawmakers however accommodated the fund through the increase in oil price benchmark from $45 to $51 per barrel.

    Tejuoso also revealed that a toll free line will be opened for people to lay complaints about activities of primary health centres.

    He said that the funds will be distributed to the centres across the country directly.

    Tejuoso said: “We hope to introduce a toll free line, that you call us to let us know what is happening with your primary health centre, so that when we give them money, we don’t want a situation whereby the money will not be applied appropriately.

    “Every primary centre will have some money coming directly to the health centre and not going to the local government before they give it to them.

    “So there is no reason for that primary health centre not to have basic drugs and not to have salaries to pay the nurses, even the strike will be a thing of the past.”

    The lawmaker said that 50% of the fund would be dedicated for disease control.

    The National Health Act seeks to provide a framework for the regulation, development and management of a national health system and set standards for rendering health service in the country.

    Some of the benefits of the Act include the provision of free basic health care services for children under the age of five, pregnant women, the elderly and persons with disabilities in the country.

    Also, the law guarantees the universal acceptance of accident victims in both public and private health institutions, bans senior public officers’ use of public funds for treatment abroad, especially for ailments that can be treated locally.

    Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who spoke after the budget was passed on Wednesday agreed that the provision will not only transform the health care landscape in the country through better public funding of health but will also translate to improved access to basic health care service in the country.

    Saraki said that the provision demonstrates the commitment and responsiveness of the 8th National Assembly to health care needs of Nigerians.

    This, he said, will help to achieve some of the Sustainable Development Goals especially SDG 3 which talks about Good Health and well-being by 2030.

  • Armed thugs disrupt Senator Hunkuyi’s meeting in Kaduna

    Thugs, armed with matchette on Sunday disrupted a meeting convened by Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi with members of the All Progressives Congress from Kaduna Central Senatorial District at NUT Endwell Hotel.
    The meeting attended by representatives from each of the local governments and the district was at  being rounded up when some thugs, numbering about ten stormed the venue, breaking car windshields before policemen shot into the air to disperse them.
    But party faithfuls who had converged on the conference hall of the hotel scampered for safety and the meeting came to an abrupt end.
    Five persons sustained injuries and were moved to Barau Dikko hospital before the police quickly moved in to disperse the thugs.
    Senator Hunkuyi had last week met with party faithfuls from the Kaduna south senatorial district in Kafanchan where he promised to reinstate teachers and district heads sacked by the Kaduna state government.
    Earlier in his speech, Senator Hunkuyi told his supporters that they must resist any attempt at selecting delegates at the forthcoming ward and local government convention of the party, noting they delegates must emerge through election.
    According to the Senator, “there are perfected plans against ensuring that congresses do not hold to elect delegates through election but to read out names to be affirmed as delegates by the government in power.
    “For this reason this meeting has been convened to inform you of such plans and to inform you that my mind is already made up to contest the position of governorship come 2019 and send Malam Nasir el-Rufai to where he rightfully belong.
    “This meeting is also aimed at informing you, plans by the government not to allow Congresses where delegates will be elected but to bring out names written from government house to be affirmed as delegates.
    “Don’t allow yourselves to be used and dumped again, let’s join forces together to send packing this government of the state who has meted injustice to people and have no iota of regard to peoples right and feelings”.
    He urged stakeholders of the party from the zone  to constitute committee members of unquestionable characters and bring out trustworthy persons to contest as Ward, local and state delegates, assuring that he will support such contestants.

  • PDP, Obaseki clash over assault on Senator

    • Police beef up security at Urhoghide’s residence

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki are up in arms over last Friday’s assault on Senator Matthew Urhoghide (Edo South) at Benin airport.

    Urhoghide escaped being mobbed at the airport by angry youths who removed his cap for moving the motion for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari over the purchase of 12 Tucano aircraft without approval from the National Assembly.

    The party accused the governor of sponsoring the attack, saying the youths were members of the APC kitted and recruited from the Edo Government House.

    Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chris Nehikhare, in a statement alleged: “In the presence of the governor, these thugs kitted in black by Edo state government, attacked Senator Matthew Urhoghide, a former state woman leader and our youth leader.

    “After observing and supervising the attack with a smirk on his face, the governor, Godwin Obaseki, climbed into his Jeep and gave a fist pump in approval and solidarity with his thugs for a mission accomplished.

    “This act is another evidence of the disdain and intolerance with which the APC government views the legislature and opposition voices.

    “Edo PDP will send a report of this ugly incident to the police for investigation and necessary action.”

    The Senator, who addressed reporters yesterday in his residence, recounted what transpired at the airport.

    According to him: “They have promised to deal with me. But I obeyed the Police Commissioner. I remained where I was until the Governor came.

    “We were walking side by side talking when a boy hit my head and the Governor walked away.

    “Before I left Abuja, I knew what was happening and the person responsible for it.

    “I called him to tell him that it was unnecessary but he didn’t pick his calls.

    “It would be cowardice for me to abort the journey. I wanted to see what will happen and they displayed their thuggery. I am not cowed by it.”

    The Senator accused the Chief of Staff to Obaseki, Taiwo Akerele, as responsible for mobilisation of thugs that attacked him.

    But Akerele denied the allegation, saying he had nothing to do with the incident.

    The Chief of Staff said he could not have concerned himself with a senator from Edo South when he hails from Edo North.

    “It was obvious to the public that the people that protested are from Edo South. I am not from Edo South. Am I from Edo South?

    “I have nothing to do with him. I have no business with me. He should go and ask him people who protested from Edo South.”

    Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said it was treacherous for the PDP to link Governor Obaseki to the clash at the airport.

    Osagie said it was unfortunate the party would attempt to drag the governor into dirty politics after witnessing the governor’s commitment to the dictates of law and order.

    He described as laughable the PDP’s threat to report the incident to the Police, as the Commissioner of Police witnessed the incident and was instrumental in placating the two parties.

    According to him: “How does report of the clash widely reported by the media, connect the governor to the incident?

    “It is unfortunate that Nehikhare has decided to paint a different reality by manufacturing his own facts.

    “And this is understandable because the only job he has is being a Publicity Secretary of a party that is almost non-existent in Edo State.”

    The Edo State Police Command immediately beefed up security around the Senator’s Benin residence yesterday.

    When our correspondent visited the residence, two police vans were stationed outside with heavily armed operatives outside.

    Party supporters were at the residence to show solidarity with Urhoghide.

    Urhoghide said he does not have any regret for moving the motion on the floor of the Senate.

    He stated it was a shame on Nigeria for a boy to hit a serving senator.

    “”If this game is not played along the direction that some people want it, then they see you as a deviant.

    “That is what you saw yesterday, asking a riffraff, a boy of no consequence to lay his hands on me, an elected representative of the people, a serving Senator, it is a shame on this country.”

     

  • Senator urges Buhari to release $500m to fund police

    SENATE Committee on Police Affairs Chairman Senator Abu Ibrahim has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to release $500 million to fund police to tackle internal security challenges.

    He spoke in Abuja at the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari Housing Estate, Mbora.

    The estate was built to cater for the housing needs of senior police officers.

    The senator, while decrying the poor state of police personnel, said the Force would overcome its challenges if the personnel were comfortable.

    Ibrahim said: “I think the major problem of security in Nigeria is not external security but internal security.

    “I have been to Benue, where I spent three days and I have also been to Zamfara, where I spent two days.  I visited various local governments and I am convinced that the only way to solve the internal security problem in Nigeria is by making the police comfortable.”

    The lawmaker argued that 50 per cent of the $1billion approved for security should be spent on the police.

    Ibrahim said: “We are spending $1 billion for security but as far as I am concerned, that money should be spent on the police because we don’t have problem of external security.

    “Our neighbours are our friends. We have no quarrel with Chad, Niger, Cameroon and other West African countries.”

    He added: “I will appeal to the President not to be clouded by his military background and look at the police critically with the aim of doing what is right for Nigeria.

    “Out of the $1 billion, I believe 50 per cent of it should go to the police. We need more men, instead of recruiting 6,000 people of which 9000 people were lost last year, I feel we need to improve in the area of recruitment.”

    On other areas where the police needs to sit up, the senator said: “We need to put more money in the purchase of arms for the police. If you go to places like Zamfara, you will see the bandits with sophisticated weapons like AK47 and other arms owned by security agencies

    “The DPOs  there cannot confront them. So the only way to address the issue is to arm the police properly. They should be given the competent arms they need.”

     

     

     

  • Ex-lawmaker to senator: focus on N1.2b fraud case

    EX-House of Representatives member from Akwa Ibom State Bassey Etim has asked Senator Bassey Albert Akpan to focus on his N1.2 billion fraud case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Etim, who represented Uyo/ Ibesikpo Asutan, Nsit Antai/ Uruan, said the Chairman Senate Committee on Gas should not use his case with the EFCC and others to justify his alleged poor performance.

    Akpan, representing Akwa Ibom North East, had told reporters at the NUJ Press Centre, Uyo, that cases against him by Bassey Etim, had impeded his performance in terms of delivering of democratic dividends.

    Reacting to the claim in a statement, Etim’s Media Assistant Uyime Jonah maintained that Akpan’s mandate is a stolen one, and cited a newspaper report where Akpan admitted under oath that he received six vehicles, valued at N303 million.

    The money is said to be part of Senator Bassey Albert’s share based on the advice of ex-National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki .

    “The vehicles are gifts from Jide Omokore on the need to ensure my personal safety. I have known him for 19 years. They are also contributions to my governorship campaign in 2014” Akpan had told the court.

    The Media assistant, described as “ridiculous “Senator Akpan’s claim stressing that there has never been any politician in the country without one form of court cases or the other,  and yet they have been performing and representing their constituents effectively.

    “Senator Akpan should not tie his non-performance to court cases, as even in his secondary school days he had to take up a remedial programme at the college of Arts and Science to remedy his poor performance at the West African School Certificate Examination (WAEC)”.

    Jonah said the only performance that could be ascribed to him is the area of fraud as he is being alleged to have owned property in London, valued at one million pounds as shown by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the United Kingdom.

    The statement further added that “Bassey Albert was commissioner for Finance in Akwa Ibom for seven years after working in the bank and could not have legitimately earned so much as to own a property worth one million pound Sterling”.

    The duo are at the Supreme Court, where Etim is challenging the Appeal Court judgment, which set aside the ruling of a federal court sitting in Uyo in his favour  in the matter of eligibility in the 2014 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial primaries for Akwa Ibom North East.

     

     

     

  • Senator, ex-envoy, others quit pdp for sdp

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has lost some chieftains to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

    The defectors include former Senate Deputy Chief Whip Clement Awoyelu, former High Commissioner to Canada Ambassador Dare Bejide, former House of Representatives member Hon. Yemi Arokodare, and former Commissioner for Commerce Mrs. Omotomilola Osunde.

    Rising from a meeting in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, the defctors said they could no longer stomach the alleged dictatorial tendencies, impunity, lack of respect for elders and subversion of party constitution by Governor Ayo Fayose.

    They condemned the attempt by Fayose to impose his deputy, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, as the sole candidate, ahead of the July 14 governorship election. They said the imposition was done in violation of party guidelines and the Electoral Act.

    They also berated Fayose for victimising party members who disagreed with him on principle and turning the party to his personal estate.

    Awoyelu was the first PDP Chairman while Bejide, who was the  Secretary, later served as Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    Addressing reporters after the meeting held in his Ekute, Ado-Ekiti residence, Awoyelu, who represented Ekiti Central in the Senate between 2003 and 2007, said Fayose and his faction frustrated the peace moves to resolve the crisis in Ekiti PDP.

    He said a faction of the PDP, led by Chief Williams Ajayi, had defected, assuring that the SDP will work hard to win the governorship  poll.

    Ajayi was leading a splinter group before the Appeal Court  validated the pro-Fayose group, led by Chief Gboyega Oguntuase as the authentic faction.

    Awoyelu said: “We have been on this issue for long, particularly since Governor Fayose pronounced his deputy the sole candidate for the next election. We have experienced impunity, reckless imposition and lack of respect for elders being displayed by the governor.

    “As a leader, I could not have taken a unilateral position over issue that affects the corporate existence of all of us. So today, we met and we all agreed to move en mass to SDP .

    “We are receiving complaints everyday about how PDP members loyal to Fayose have been victimizsing their perceived enemies in PDP.

    “We could all see how a man has turned himself into a dictator  in a party we all laboured to build. Looking at all these infractions, we have agreed not to return to PDP, we are now to move en mass to SDP.

    “We deliberated well before taking this decision and since it was the voice of the people, I have to abide by it as a leader”, he added.

    Awoyelu said the decision to defect was not triggered by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s association with the SDP.

    Awoyelu said: “We are old enough to take actions on our own, we are not neophytes in politics, so this is not true.

    “We are aware that Obasanjo has formed the a National InterventionMovement(NIM) , which he said was not a political movement.

    “But, we will be happy if this group is ready to work with SDP. Our aim is to take over Ekiti and Nigeria in 2019 and we are ready with like minds to achieve this task”.

    On whether the constitution of the executives from the wards to the State level may spark up controversies in the party between the old and new members, Awoyelu dispelled such insinuation, saying  there are no class differences in SDP.

    “We are all one, whether new or old and it is the secretariat that will give directive on how the executives should be constituted.”