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Tag: Senators

  • Senators bemoan low budgetary allocation to environment, agencies

    THE Senate Committee on Environment has bemoaned low budgetary allocation to the Federal Ministry of Environment and some of its agencies.

    Its members called for more financial support to assist them in the discharge of their responsibilities.

    Chairman of the committee Senator Oluremi Tinubu stated this yesterday when members of her committee visited Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi in Ibadan, as part of the committee’s oversight function to the state.

    Mrs. Tinubu expressed particular concern about Forest Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Ibadan, an agency under the ministry, which she said had done tremendous work in the area of afforestation.

    She said: “The budgetary allocation to the Federal Ministry of Environment is very low, while the research institutes under the ministry are also in dire need of funds in order for them to operate optimally.

    “To mitigate the effects of climate change, the research institutes are important and have a lot to do, especially in the areas of flooding, desertification and even the gully erosion that is fast ravaging the South-East.

    “They need proper funding to operate optimally for seedlings and other areas that are paramount in the research process. So, government has to look into that while Nigerians have to be shown the advantages of the work of the ministry.

    “Recently, the weather has been very hot as a result of climate changes, but here in Nigeria, we are blessed with trees, which can do so for us in the area of stopping erosion.”

    She said the ministry and its agencies were in the eyes of the world organisations like UNESCO and the United Nations and would serve the nation better, if properly funded.

    Mrs. Tinubu, while noting some of the challenges facing the environment, however, said rather than being discouraged, efforts should be made to confront the challenges, adding “they (challenges) are many but are surmountable with proper funding and legislative monitoring.”

    The Senator later presented the new Act that would enable smooth operations of the ministry and its agencies and help in combating the negative effects of climate change, to the governor.

    The governor called for support for the Ministry of Environment at the federal and state levels, as well as their agencies to help them face the challenges of nature.

    The governor said there were inter-related opportunities between the ministry of environment and the ministry of agriculture.

    He added that they both had positive effects on humanity in terms of ameliorating the effects of climate change on the environment, financial empowerment to farmers and job opportunities for the young populace.

    Ruing the negative effect of flooding on the lives of the people, Ajimobi noted that Ibadan metropolis had suffered a lot from natural disasters before the emergence of his administration due to low funding for the state ministry of environment and its agencies by successive administrations.

    The governor said that the state had escaped the annual destructive impact of flooding since 2012 due to the proactive measures taken by his government to forestall flooding.

    He hailed the committee for legislating on the regulatory acts which, he said, would ensure that the ministry and its sister agencies operated without hindrance.

  • Senate in rowdy session over sitting arrangement

    …APC, PDP Senators square up for a fight

     

    For over 30 minutes Wednesday common sense took flight in the Senate.

    Tempers rose. Political party affiliation rather than national interest took better part of senators.

    It all started with a Point of Order raised by the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan.

    Akpan (PDP) specifically raised Order 43 which deals with personal explanation under which a senator is allowed to speak about himself and his constituents.

    The Akwa Ibom North East lawmaker informed his colleagues about alleged looming crisis in Akwa Ibom State.

    He claimed that the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state was allegedly plotting to unleash mayhem in the state that would possibly lead to the cancellation of the governorship election in 2019.

    He further alleged that the aim of APC in the state was to instigate the cancellation of the governorship election in the state in order to deploy federal might to cause challenge of leadership in the state.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, ruled that the information given by Akpan was “well noted.”

    Senator Godswill Akpabio (APC Akwa Ibom North West) who appeared to be agitated by Akpan’s information was angling where he sat to respond to what Akpan said.

    Saraki asked Akpabio to go to his seat before he could be recognised to speak.

    The Senate President said that Akpabio cannot speak from a seat that is not his.

    Saraki added that there was no microphone were Akpabio sat.

    Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan reminded Saraki that there was no formal sitting arrangement in the chamber.

    He said that Akpabio has the right to speak from where he was since the leadership of the chamber has failed to ensure formal sitting arrangement.

    Lawan noted that he has raised the issue of a formal sitting arrangement with the Senate President without the expected result.

    The Senate Leader who insisted that the chamber must be guided by its rules added that “we must have sitting arrangement.”

    Lawan said that there had been movement across party lines with the possibility that more people would still move as they deem fit.

    Saraki said that the Clerk to the Senate, Nelson Ayewo, was directed to allocate seats to senator.

    The Senate President said that he believed that the new sitting arrangement would be completed next week.

    As the exchange of words between Saraki and Lawan continued, Akpabio was visibly boiling where he sat.

    He insisted on being allowed to speak. Saraki stood his ground that Akpabio should go to his seat before he could be allowed to speak.

    Senator Dino Melaye came into the picture.

    The Kogi West Senator attempted to shout Akpabio down.

    Akpabio got irritated and was also shouting on top of his voice.

    Confusion descended in the chamber as other senators joined the fray.

    Chamber decorum momentarily became casualty.

    Attempt to restore decorum was made by Senator Emmanuel Paulker who reminded his colleagues that Akpan raised Order 43 (personal explanation) which did not give room for contribution or discussion by other senators.

    The Bayelsa State senator added that by relying on Order 43, Akpabio was not entitled to respond to what Akpan said.

    Attempts to calm frayed nerves failed.

    Lawan moved to confer with Saraki apparently about the way forward.

    Saraki explained that his position was that Akpabio should go to a seat where there is a microphone.

    He said that Lawan was not fair to him by insinuating that he did not want Akpabio to speak.

    Lawan said that APC must not be discriminated against on the floor of the Senate.

    Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, raised Order 11(1)(2).

    Ekweremadu said that every senator has the right to speak for himself and the people he represents.

    Senates Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC) and Kabiru Marafa (APC) began to shout on top of their voices.

    Ekweremadu was forced to sit down. He later explained that the rules of the chamber made provision for sitting arrangement.

    Akpabio took the floor and said that the seat he sat was allocated to him by the Senate Clerk.

    He added that the embarrassment he received was uncalled for.

    Saraki disagreed and asked the Clerk to confirm if he allocated the seat to Akpabio.

    The Clerk said that when Akpabio requested to sit on the seat, he informed him that there was no microphone on the seat.

    Ayewo said that Akpabio insisted on sitting on the seat.

    He said that he had no choice than to allow Akpabio to sit where he wanted.

    After Ayewo’s explanation, Saraki gave Akpabio the floor to speak.

    The former governor of Akwa Ibom State promptly demanded for an apology “for the unwarranted embarrassment I received today.”

    He added that even the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) apologized to Nigerians.

    He concluded that “until the Senate sitting arrangement is properly constituted I rest my case.”

    That appeared to be the end of the matter until Ndume revived it by tendering apology for preventing Ekweremadu from speaking.

    Ndume said that he has nothing against anybody.

    Lawan also apologized for the altercation on the floor.

    He said that his position should not be misinterpreted as if he took side with APC senators on the issue.

    Lawan noted that they should always see themselves as one body working for the good of the country.

  • Senators defend eighth Senate’s integrity

    Two Senators yesterday defended the integrity of the eighth Senate against the barrage of criticisms from Nigerians.

    Senators Isah Misau (Bauchi Central) and Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South) in a statement also decried what they described as making Senate President Bukla Saraki the issue by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    In a statement, the senators who defected from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), queried whether the APC was “being fair to Nigeria by allegedly focusing on one individual and making him the subject of all discussions.”

    “We abide by the principle of collective responsibility. This Eighth Senate under Saraki has done well. It has set a standard that the legislature should not be an appendage of the executive. It is an independent arm of government. Both arms need to extend the hands of fellowship to each other and the duty to work for co-operation does not lie on just one of them.”

    They added: “We are surprised that all the decisions that the Senate took as an institution is now blamed on Saraki. Are we also going to give the credit of all the achievements of the Senate to Saraki as well?

    “The laws that have been signed by the  President and which led to the World Bank improving the rating of Nigeria in the Ease of Doing Business Report, the Petroleum Industry Governance Bills which broke the jinx of over 14 years on the law, the progressive constitution amendment bills, the five anti-corruption laws, and many others, as well as the fact that the 8th Senate has done better than the previous ones in terms of number of bills passed, the petitions successfully treated and the various interventions: will all these be credited to Saraki  and not the entire Senate?”

    ”We will however warn the APC that they will meet a match in those of us in PDP if they try to foment trouble in the Senate whenever we resume.

    “They have made many attempts to subvert this Senate, including stealing of our mace, brutalizing of members of staff of the Senate, invasion of the Senate complex with hooded and masked security agents, refusal to sign important bills, using security agents and anti-corruption agencies to intimidate members and the leadership as well as initiating malicious prosecution against members.”

  • Senators to watch in the power game

    AS the battle for Senator Bukola Saraki’s plum seat gathers more steam, some senators from both the APC and the PDP have been identified as key players. Informed insiders told The Nation that the roles being played by these senators and their likely position in the new calculations would need to be carefully watched if one hopes to understand the current power game at the Senate.

    In the APC, the key senators to watch include, but not limited to Godswill Akpabio, the former Minority Leader in the Senate, who recently dumped PDP for APC. It is being rumoured that the leadership of APC may have promised to offer him a plum position in the near future. What that position would be remains a subject of controversy. Other senators in the APC to watch closely include Ali Ndume and Abdullahi Adamu, who are known rivals of Saraki in the Senate. It is said that they form part of the leading strategists in the ongoing battle. Perhaps at the centre of the drama is Senator Ahmed Lawan, the current Senate Majority Leader who was the initial choice of APC leadership for the position of Senate President in 2015. As APC’s leader at the Senate, he coordinates the party’s plans at recovering the leadership of the National Assembly. Most analysts say he is most likely to be a frontrunner in the possible replacements for Saraki if APC succeeds in the impeachment plans since Saraki has dismissed resignation option.

       In the PDP, the key senators to watch include Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Senate President, whose fate seems to be intricately tied to that of Saraki; David Mark, the former Senate President who remains a major stabilising force both amongst other PDP senators and at the Senate as a whole and of course, Philip Gyunka, the senator who opened up this week to reveal PDP’s counter move at the Senate to curtail APC’s plans to impeach Saraki.

    How the power game at the Red Chamber will finally work out remains to be seen, but one thing remains certain, the battle for Saraki’s seat has, in a way, raised the stakes for the 2019 General Elections.

  • Senators, Reps sitting off amid growing suspicion

    •INEC confident despite call-off                                   

    •APC: no plan to arrest Saraki

    Plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a hitch-free election next year may be jeopardised, with the National Assembly calling off yesterday its sitting to endorse the electoral umpire’s budget.

    The sitting was called off amid the growing suspicion between the Executive and the Legislature.

    The lawmakers have alleged that there are plans by the Executive to instigate the removal of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu. This has been denied.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has also alleged that there are plans to arrest Saraki and Ekweremadu. It is all lies, the All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday.

    Also to be affected by the lawmakers’ recess is President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to fund capital projects through loans.

    But a senior INEC official said last night that there should be no panic over the development.

    “If they don’t sit, the Presidency will find a  way to fund the INEC budget. There must be a way around it,” the official said, pleading not to be named because he is not allowed to comment on such matters.

    Chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, Abdulrazak Namdas, said yesterday that the National Assembly would not reconvene today because the leadership was yet to reach a decision on the plan to sit.

    He said: “We are not reconvening tomorrow (today). This is because we are yet to make a decision over it; we are still meeting. As a matter of fact, the leadership will meet later this evening (yesterday) or tomorrow (today) to decide when to reconvene”.

    When asked if the leadership of the political parties in both chambers had presented their reasons to the leadership to reconvene the Assembly since there was no national media advertisement to that effect, Namdas said he believed the right steps have been taken.

    “Everyone is aware of the rule book said on the procedure for this sort of sitting, I believe the right steps must have been taken, no one would do anything outside what is prescribed in the rule book,” the House Spokesman said

    It was gathered yesterday that the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives might have ruled out the possibility of reconvening today because “it is practicality impossible for the planned emergency session to hold and approve the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) budget in a single sitting”.

    The leadership of the National Assembly had said after a meeting with INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu last week that the two chambers would reconvene today to consider and approve the INEC budget and the virement requested by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Yakubu also told reporters that he was assured that the budget for the 2019 election would be approved this week.

    The source close to the leadership of the National Aseembly said that the lawmakers would no longer reconvene in view of latest developments and the practicability of the resumption date.

    He noted that the thinking of many lawmakers is that to consider and approve Buhari’s request will take the National Assembly close to a month.

    He said: “The request by President Muhammadu Buhari is not just a single line item that would just require a one day sitting.

    “The request has variety of committees that will be involved, including Appropriations, Finance, INEC and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    “It is different from a situation whereby the President is asking for an increase in the size of the budget through a change of benchmark.

    “The request by Mr. President is not something that can be done in one day. Even those who are pushing the agenda know it.”

    The source insisted that the National Assembly cannot achieve anything even if it was reconvened for one sitting “because the request has to be passed to the necessary committees and the committees have to meet with relevant MDAs for their input”.

    He added: “Besides, there is another issue that has to do with the constituency projects. The letter is requesting the lawmakers to remove funds from their constituency projects and use the same to fund INEC.

    “Remember that the constituency projects are not one line items in the budget.

    “You can’t imagine how long it would take the Appropriations committees to sort out that issue with the MDAs.

    Another source noted: “Reconvening the National Assembly will not really work. It would mean that you want to keep the lawmakers around for the next one month, which defeats the idea of the annual recess.

    “The letter by the President is not just requesting for an increase in benchmark, which can be handled in one day through Senate or House resolution. Treating the letter by the President will take two to three weeks or even more weeks.”

    He said that that the logistics of securing a quorum of either the Senate or the House was becoming more and more difficult as members are getting deep into their recess.

    “Many of our colleagues have travelled for Hajj. Many are in their constituencies battling the challenges of re-election. If you check even with the APC right now, they can’t get up to 30 senators and next week is Sallah. Arafat is on Monday and you will have holidays. A number of people have travelled. It is not practicable to reconvene now,” the source said.

    The leadership of the National Assembly has not descided when to reconvene the House of Representatives said yesterday.

    There was no official communication about the plan to reconvene from the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Mohammed Omolori.

    The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu had on Aug. 8 said the commission had been assured by the National Assembly leadership that the 2019 General Elections Budget of N242 billion may be considered for passage this week.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki on July 17, read President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for Senate’s approval of N242.45 billion for the Independent National Electoral Commission to enable it to commence preparations for 2019 general elections.

    Part of the funds, according to the President’s request, will be given to the Department of State Services and other security agencies for the same purpose.

    The request was contained in a letter dated July 11 and personally signed by Buhari.

    The presidential letter also indicated that Buhari requested that out of the needed figure, N164.10 billion should be provided through virement or supplementation of 2018 Budget.

    It also requested that the balance of N78.34 billion, mostly related to personnel allowances, fuelling and other costs not required until election proper, be provided for in the 2019 budget.

    The sum of N189.21 billion was earmarked for INEC, N4.3 billion for Office of the Security Adviser, N12.21 billion for DSS and N3.6 billion for Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

    The Nigeria Police Force got a proposal of N30.5 billion while N2.6 billion was earmarked for Nigeria Immigration Service.

    Specifically, the president requested that N164.10 billion of total funds proposed for the elections should be funded from the N578.31 billion inserted in the 2018 Budget by the National Assembly.

    Also to be funded from the “inserted funds’’, he stated, was additional N64.75 billion for reinstatement of critical project cuts in 2018 budget, bringing total figure to get from the “inserted funds’’ to N228.85 billion.

    The letter stated that the request to deduct N228.85 billion from the N578.31 billion was in view of fiscal constraint, which would not allow for over-burdening of the 2018 budget.

  • Update: Senators allowed into Assembly complex

    After initially being prevented from entering the National Assembly complex, some senators have been allowed in by security agents.

    Operatives of the Department of State Security had earlier turned back the senators claiming to be acting on orders from above.

    Among those allowed in were Senators Rafiu Ibrahim, Mrs Abiodun Olujimi, Ordia Clifford, Peter Nwaboche,  Ben Bruce, Ahmed Ogembe  and Isa Misau.

    The Senators who are sitting in front of the chamber decried the blockade and warned against any illegal action to impeach principal officers of the Senate.

     

    More details soon.

     

     

  • ‘Don’t induce senators to remove Saraki’

    THE leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of inducing senators to remove Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    The opposition party also alleged that the government was in the process of forcing the reopening of the Senate, contrary to Section 12 of the Senate Standing Rules.

    But the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus and the South East Caucus in the House of Representatives have again warned their colleagues in the Senate to shelve any plot to remove Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

    In a statement yesterday issued by the House Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyema, the lawmakers said some senators are planning an invasion of the Senate chamber in conjunction with security agencies.

    The Senate is presently on annual recess and is expected to resume session on September 25.

    The Presidency, however, said its call for the National Assembly to resume duties was to enable the federal legislature process the 2019 election budget for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    President Muhammadu Buhari had, a week before the National Assembly proceeded on its annual vacation, submitted a budget of N242 billion for the INEC for the consideration of the lawmakers.

    At a media briefing at its Abuja secretariat yesterday, the PDP queried the timing of the submission of the INEC budget seven months to the general elections.

    Besides, the party, through its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the Presidency did not have the powers to order or call for the reopening of the National Assembly, as suggested by the presidential liaison officer for the Senate, Ita Enang.

    Ologbondiyan said: “What Enang had done is just a mere wish. He does not have the power to order or call for the reopening of the Senate.  He is just expressing his personal wishes.

    “As a matter of fact, Senator Ita Enang had been the chairman of the Senate Rules and Business Committee both in the House and in and the Senate. Would he have listened to anybody from outside the chamber to come and dictate to the presiding officers?

    “It is unfortunate that people who have experience in legislative practices and procedures, when they get to the executive arm, instead of telling the executive the limit of their powers, they pretend to know it all,  and by so doing, they mislead the executives. That is exactly what Enang is doing.

    Also, the PDP caucus in the House of Representatives, in statement, said: “It has come to our attention that there is an impending plot by a small group of senators aided by security agencies to again invade the Senate Chamber with a view to illegally reconvening the Senate plenary.

    “Ostensibly, their purpose is to address what they term as urgent national issues. However, it is clear that their real purpose is an attempt to unlawfully oust the Senate leadership and effect a change of the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President.”

    The lawmakers said the trend of events “must be strenuously resisted by all true democrats and well-meaning Nigerians”.

    The South East Caucus in the House warned that it would hold Senator Ali Ndume and his group in the Senate responsible if Ekweremadu should meet with any harm.

    The caucus, in a statement yesterday by its leader, Onyema, accused Ndume of interfering in the statutory and professional job of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

  • Senators differ on ethnic lines over Buhari’s appointments

    THE Senate was yesterday divided on ethnic lines over alleged lopsided appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Proceedings were held up for over 30 minutes as senators mostly of the Southeast extraction took the floor to convince their colleagues that “a grave injustice had been done to the zone in the spread and headship of Federal agencies and parastatals”.

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu spearheaded the protest when he drew attention to what he called “unacceptable nominations for the leadership of some agencies”.

    Ekweremadu was particularly peeved when Senate President Bukola Saraki read a communication by President Buhari on the nomination for appointment of Chairman and members of the Governing Board of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).

    The nominees have a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Mr. Tunde Lemo, as board chairman.

    Other nominees for the board included Nurudeen Abdulrahman Rafindadi, an engineer (managing director), Buba Silas Abdullahi, Babangana, Mohammed Aji, Shehu Usman Abdullahi, Loratta Ngozichukwu Aniagolu, Mujaidu Stanley Dako and Vincent Oladapo Kolawale, as executive directors.

    Ekweremadu said the Senate should not continue to allow skewed appointments to escape its scrutiny and sanction.

    Citing Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which deals with Federal Character Principles, Ekweremadu said the constitutional provision is clear on how appointments should be shared in the federation to accommodate every section of the country to ensure equity and fairness.

    Ekweremadu said: “I don’t have problem with any part of Nigeria. But I have problem with the way government is directing its appointments. Over the last two to three weeks, sir, we have had cause to either discuss this FERMA that has been announced today or the NDIC or AMCON or FCSC.

    “The heads of all these parastatals have come from one particular part of Nigeria and this is completely unfair. We can’t sit in this Senate and allow that to go on.

    “So, I believe that we need to point it out to the federal executive to ensure that every part of Nigeria is represented in the running of Nigeria. This is completely unacceptable to me, Sir.

    “I am talking of the leadership of these agencies. The leadership of these agencies, all of them have come from one part of Nigeria.”

    Senate Leader Ahmed Lawan promptly faulted the observation of Ekweremadu.

    Lawan (Yobe North) said Ekweremadu picked only FERMA appointment in exclusion of the general picture of appointments.

    Insisting that the President has been fair in all ramifications, Lawan said the general picture of appointments should be considered to get a clearer spread of nominations and appointments.

    He said a holistic consideration of appointments should be conducted.

    Ekweremadu interjected and noted that he was talking particularly about the leadership of the appointments made by the President, which he said continued to tilt in favour of a particular area of the country.

    He said that fairness demanded that all sections of the country must be given a sense of belonging both in appointments and other affairs.

    Tension soared in the chamber as members took ethnic and regional lines.

    Shouts of “yes, no, yes, no” echoed in the chamber.

    Saraki, who appeared to have sensed danger, described the matter at issue as “very sensitive” to be considered on its face value.

    He said the chamber should mandate the Committee on Federal Character to scrutinise and present a report on federal appointments on Tuesday to enable the Senate take a position.

    Senators, he said, should wait for the report to be better informed especially when Ekweremadu came under Point of Order.

    Saraki reminded the chamber that he merely read a communication from Mr. President and has not referred it to any committee.

    Hardly had Saraki concluded when the senator representing Enugu North, Chukwuka Utazi, raised another Point of Order on privilege.

    Utazi, who also harped on fairness and equity in the country, was cut short by Saraki on the ground that the issue he was talking about had already been ruled upon.

    The presentation of the request of the President for the confirmation of nominees for appointment as chairman and commissioners for the Federal Civil Service Commission, who had Dr. Bello Tukur Ingawa (Katsina) as proposed chairman, did not help matters.

    Other proposed members of the commission included Moses Musa Ngbale (Adamawa), Waziri Umara Ngurno (Borno), Bello Mahmoud Babura (Jigawa), Ahmed M. Sarna (Kebbi), Iyabode Odulate-Yusuf (Ogun), Shehu Umar Danyaya (Niger), Fatai Newton Adebayo (Oyo), Ejoh Michael Chikwumemeka (Anambra), Joe Philip Poroma (Rivers), Ibrahim Mohammed (Kaduna), Aminu Dio Sheidu (Kogi) and Simon Etim (Akwa Ibom).

    The senator representing Abia North, Mao Ohuabunwa, moved that consideration and screening of the nominees for the Federal Civil Service Commission should be suspended pending the submission of the report of the Federal Character committee on appointments.

    Ohuabunwa insisted that suspension of the screening of the nominees should allow the Senate to take proper cognisance of the leadership and spread of appointments made by the president.

    Some of his colleagues attempted to shout him down but Ohuabunwa insisted on being heard.

    “As a comrade, I can shout louder but shouting is not the issue. We are talking of the important issue of fairness and equity in this country. I move that the consideration and screening of the nominees be suspended to allow us to receive the report of the Federal Character Committee,” Ohuabunwa said.

    Utazi, who supported the prayer for suspension of the screening of the nominees, said: “Everything should be kept in abeyance until the submission of the report.

    Saraki insisted that the Federal Character committee had already been mandated to submit a report on Tuesday.

    Senator Obinna Ogba (Ebonyi Central) said the issue should not be swept under the carpet.

    Saraki asked Ogba to hold his peace until the report of the committee is received.

     

     

     

  • R-APC plot: Senators, Reps to be denied tickets

    Senators and House of Representatives members involved in the Reformed-All Progressives Congress(R-APC) “plot” may be denied tickets to return to the parliament, sources close to the ruling party said yesterday.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not concede automatic tickets to defecting R-APC senators and representatives, The Nation learnt.

    The APC’s tough stance accounted for why its National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole did not make any commitment last Thursday, when the party’s House of Representatives Caucus demanded automatic tickets for its members in 2019.

    Between 30 and 40 per cent of senators and House of Representatives members, many of them unpopular in their constituencies, are believed to be involved in the R-APC “plot”.

    A principal officer in the National Assembly said: “This R-APC matter may consume some senators and members of the House of Representatives. This is why some of us are watching before we leap.

    “With the way the plot is going, about 30 to 40 per cent of members of the National Assembly, especially those in R-APC, may not come back in 2019. We have done our homework in arriving at this percentage.

    “About 60 per cent others have been engaging in meticulous calculations because at the end of the day, the key drivers of R-APC, like Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara, may survive. Others will be left in the lurch.

    “You can appreciate why political leaders, like Sen. Aliyu Wammako, Sen. Danjuma Goje, and Sen. Adamu Aliero among others, have been tactical.”

    Wamakko, Goje and Aliero, among others have pitched their tent with the APC.

    “Those members of the National Assembly who might pay the price are the younger and inexperienced ones with youthful exuberance, joining the R-APC bandwagon. They are mostly in APC-controlled states,” the source said.

    For the PDP, it was leant that ex-Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke’s Contact and Mobilisation Committee, which has been negotiating with R-APC leaders, only recommended creation of a level-playing field for defectors from the ruling party instead of automatic tickets.

    A member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “There is no automatic ticket for Senators and Representatives defecting to the PDP to re-contest in 2019, but we will ensure a level-playing field for all. Even PDP Senators and Representatives are not guaranteed automatic tickets.

    “The ongoing talks between R-APC and PDP do not have any clause of automatic ticket. Those who are defecting should know that it is based on principles and desire for good governance but not for automatic tickets.

    “It will amount to over-expectations for any lawmaker to dream of automatic ticket as bait for defection.”

    The source said that in fielding candidates for 2019 polls, the PDP will look at “various likely winning indices instead of bandwagon benchmark”.

    “There are some local peculiarities that PDP cannot ignore in its alliance with R-APC and other parties. So, automatic ticket cannot work,” the source said

     

  • Senators, Reps reply Buhari on 2018 budget

    THE Senate and House of Representatives yesterday listed the need to address “geo-political imbalances’ and ensure compliance with the constitutional principle of Federal Character as the reasons for its adjustments to the 2018 budget proposals submitted to it by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The lawmakers also claimed that the budget process is a joint effort that “must reflect the input of both the executive and the legislature, the latter being the closest representatives of the people.”

    But it admitted that it was “fully aware that the Executive has the exclusive responsibility to execute all parts of the Appropriation Act once it is signed into law.”

    The legislature was responding to Wednesday’s public complaint by President Buhari on the massive alteration made to the budget by the federal lawmakers.

    Buhari who signed the budget document ‘reluctantly’ on account of the alteration said the National Assembly raised estimates he presented by N578 billon, cut N347 billion allocated to 4,700 projects and introduced 6,403 projects of their own, reduced allocation for the completion of the Enugu Airport terminal building from N2 billion to N500 million and the take-off grant for the Maritime University in Delta State from N5 billion to N3.4 billion, among others

    He said: “Many of the projects cut are critical and may be difficult, if not impossible, to implement with the reduced allocation.

    “Some of the new projects inserted by the National Assembly have not been properly conceptualised, designed and costed, and will therefore be difficult to execute.”

    But giving its own side of the controversy in Abuja yesterday, the National Assembly said that the number of projects had to be increased in order to “give a sense of belonging to every geo-political zone of the country to ensure socio-economic justice, equity, fairness, and to command National loyalty.”

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, spoke for the legislative arm at a press conference.

    Abdullahi said that within the context of the provisions of Sections 4, 80 and 81 of the Constitution, “everything that the National Assembly has done is within its powers.”

    He said that Chapter 2 of the Constitution emphasises the need for balance, inclusivity and equity in the distribution of national resources.

    The annual budget, which symbolises the distribution of these resources, he said, must reflect these values, which they swore to uphold.

    “These Constitutional provisions, in addition to a recent court judgment, have affirmed the fact that the budget process is a ‘joint effort’ that must reflect the input of both the executive and the legislature — the latter being the closest representatives of the people,” he said.

    He said it was wrong to blame the National Assembly for the delay in passing the budget proposals because, according to him, as at March 15, 2018 (five months and eight days after the budget was submitted), the President was still directing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to compel the Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government to appear before the committees of the National Assembly to defend their respective budget.

    “In addition, up till April (6 months after the budget submission), the Executive was still bringing new additions to the 2018 budget which the National Assembly in good faith and in the spirit of collaboration and harmonious working relationship accepted,” he said..

    “More importantly, the 2017 budget was signed into law on June 5, 2017, and by the provisions of Section 318 of the Constitution, which defines the Financial Year as “any period of 12 months beginning on the first day of January in any year, or other date as the National Assembly may prescribe” – the 2017 budget lapsed on the 5th of June 2018. This same provision is replicated in the 2017 Appropriation Act.

    “It is important to also note that if not for the fact that the 2017 budget elapsed on the 5th of June 2018, the Federal Government would not have recorded notable capital projects for the just ended financial year.

    “This is because the Federal Government only started releasing funds for capital projects in December 2017 when the funds from the Federal Government’s loans were released and disbursed to contractors.”

    On the N347 billion said to have been cut from the budget proposals, Abdullahi said the money was ”made from low priority areas to higher priority areas to support the generation of employment for our youth by MSMEs.

    ”We took the decision to reduce the funds in some areas in order to ensure balance and equity in the spread and utilization of our national funds.

    “Additionally, the figures, given amounts of the reductions made by the National Assembly, were unduly exaggerated, as we did not make any substantial reduction on any project to the extent of affecting its implementation.”

    He added: “It should be noted that the counterpart funding for the Mambilla Power Plant, Second Niger Bridge/Ancillary roads, the East-West Road, Bonny-Bodo Road, Lagos-Ibadan Express Road and Itakpe-Ajaokuta Rail Project, was reduced by only N3,956,400,290 – which represents only 1.78 % of the total N222,569,335,924 submitted by President Buhari. This left these projects with N218,612,935,634 which cannot negatively affect their implementation.

    “This obviously contradicts the claim that these projects lost “an aggregate of N11.5 billion”.

    ”The counterpart funding for 3050 mw Mambilla Hydropower Project was reduced from N8.5billion to N8.2billion (a reduction of N300 million);

    “The construction of the Second Niger bridge including access roads phases 2a and 2b in Anambra and Delta states and other projects in the South East were reduced from N10 billion to N9.1 billion (a reduction of N900 million);

    “The construction of Bodo-Bonny road with a bridge across the Opobo channel in Rivers State was reduced from N10billion to N8.7billion (a reduction of N1.3billion);

    “The funding for the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was reduced from N20billion to N18billion (a reduction of N2billion), which would not significantly affect the construction of the road in one appropriation cycle.

    “The Railway Projects (Counterpart Funds): 1. Lagos-Kano (ongoing) 2. Calabar-Lagos (Ongoing) 3. Ajaokuta-Itakpe-Aladja (Warri) (Ongoing) 4. Port Harcourt- Maiduguri (New) 5. Kano-Katsina-Jibiya-Maradi in Niger Republic (New) 6. Abuja-Itakpe and Aladja (Warri)-Warri Port and Refinery including Warri new Harbour (New) 7. Bonny deep Sea Port & Port Harcourt of N162,284,335,924 was retained by the National Assembly as presented by Mr. President.”

    Abdullahi said that the National Assembly increased the aggregate funding for the East-West Road from N11,285,000,000 to N12,085,000,000 “because we realised the strategic importance of the road to the entire oil producing areas of our country and the fact that the road project has lingered for too long.”

    On the Second Niger Bridge project, Abdullahi said that “apart from early works, as of today, there is no existing contract for the Second Niger Bridge in spite of frequent requests from the National Assembly.”

    He added that “the N900million reduced from the N10billion proposed by the Executive was deployed to fund ancillary roads that connect to the Bridge.”

    “It should again be noted that the N12.5billion and the N7.5billion appropriated for the Second Niger Bridge in the 2016 and 2017 budget by the National Assembly were never utilised for the project.”

    He said that the National Assembly allocated an additional N2billion to the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway project over and above the sum appropriated by the executive.

    Abdullahi said that under the 2017 budget, contracts for 15 roads were awarded by the Federal Executive Council with no budgetary provisions.

    He noted that the realization of the importance of the projects made the National Assembly to “spread the N3.9billion saved from the earlier mentioned projects funding to facilitate the take-off of these projects that include: the rehabilitation of Ikorodu-Shagamu Road in Lagos State; the rehabilitation of 9th Mile-Orakam to Benue Border; and the general maintenance of Pankshin – Ballang – Nyelleng – Sararele – Gindiri road in Plateau State, etc. These are the projects purported to be “project inclusions without conceptualization.”

    He said that “the National Assembly needs to be commended by Mr. President for helping to support the take-off of these awarded but unfunded projects.”

    On the issue of the 104 Unity Schools across the country and the claim that N3billion was cut from their funding, Abdullahi said that “Nigerians need to know that after careful consultation by the committees of the National Assembly with stakeholders in the sector, the National Assembly actually provided an additional N3.7billion more for meal subsidies in these 104 Unity Schools.”

    On the allocation for the Enugu Airport he said: “It is necessary to again clarify that during the budget defence and oversight processes, the National Assembly discovered that out of the N2billion contract for the Enugu Terminal Building, N1.7billion had already been paid to the contractor. And what is left to complete this project is just N300million.

    “Hence, the National Assembly approved N500million for the project — which is even N200million more than was required.”

    He added: “The Executive’s proposal for the National Judicial Council was N100 billion, however, the National Assembly appropriated N110billion which represents N10 billion increase.”

    He said that the Executive’s proposal for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was N71,195,023,529, however the National Assembly appropriated N81,882,555,891 — which represents a N10,687,532,363 increase;

    “An additional N33,981,437,188 was also appropriated for the outstanding liabilities to the NDDC by the Federal Government to enable the commission settle some of its contractors that were owed over N1 trillion  ;

    “The National Assembly received an additional N14.5billion in funding;

    “In order to ensure that they are able to meet their mandate, the National Assembly increased the Public Complaint’s Commission’s budget from the N4,200,000,000 proposed by the President to N7,480,000,000 — which represents a N3,280,000,000 increase; and

    Lastly, the National Human Rights Commission’s budget was increased from N1.5billion to N3,013,745,000, which represents a N1,513,745,000 increase.”

    Abdullahi noted that “It is therefore very clear that the three arms of government benefited from the increase which was mutually agreed on with the Ministry of Budget and Planning.