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Tag: shifts

  • Constitution amendment battle shifts to state assemblies

    Constitution amendment battle shifts to state assemblies

    •National Assembly transmits proposals for consideration
    •Buhari to get clean copy in December

    The 36 State Houses of Assembly will begin work on the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution any moment from now, The Nation gathered yesterday.

    They are to consider the bills already adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in respect of the amendment.

    National Assembly sources said the adopted proposals have been transmitted to houses of assembly for consideration and concurrence.

    The National Assembly Constitution Review Committee led by Senate Deputy President Ike Ekweremadu formulated 33 bills for the purpose of the constitution amendment of which   29 were adopted while four were rejected.

    The source said that with the transmission of the adopted proposals to the state houses of assembly “the battle to amend the 1999 Constitution has shifted to the states.”

    He said: “Any proposal that meets the approval of at least 24 state houses of assembly will be processed and transmitted to the President for assent.”

    The panelist who does not want his name mentioned explained that the National Assembly does not have to “vote on proposals that meet the mandatory approval of 24 state houses of assembly.”

    The fear now, he said, “is what the state houses of assembly will do with the adopted recommendations transmitted to them by the National Assembly for concurrence.”

    He said: “The fear becomes even palpable when it is recognized that state houses of assemblies are fundamentally in the pockets of the state governors. The implication is that no proposal passes without the approval and endorsement of the governors.

    “During the 2010 amendment bid for instance, state assemblies were granted autonomy by the National Assembly. The proposal was rejected by the same state assemblies the National Assembly wanted to liberate from the strangle hold of state governors. They elected to remain tied to the apron string of state governors.”

    The source said that though talking about rejected items is important, “what is even more important to the country is to mount pressure on state houses of assembly to pass all the items transmitted to them.”

    “There are many approved amendments, which are critical for restructuring and reforming the way we do business of government, and strengthening critical institutions of democracy to promote efficacy, transparency, accountability, and checks and balances.

    “For instance, if we devolve powers to the States without strengthening the state legislatures for effective checks and balances, then it will be business as usual.

    “You would also see that the authorization of expenditure before a budget is passed has been reduced from six months to three months. The Office of the Accountant General of the Federal Government has been separated from Accountant General of the Federation. Also there is financial autonomy for the Auditor General of the Federation.

    “As for local governments, the alterations are aimed at strengthening local government administration in Nigeria by guaranteeing the democratic existence, funding and tenure of local government councils.

    “Take the issue of distributive pool account as an example. We sought to alter Section 162 of the Constitution to abrogate the state joint local government accounts and empower each local government council to maintain its own special account into which all allocations due to the local government council shall be directly paid from the Federation Account and from the Government of State and also to make provisions for saving in the Federation Account before distribution to other levels of government.

    “All these will enhance accountability and war against corruption and engender development.

    “Also, the way we recruit leaders matters even more. There are approved amendments to set a time-frame for determination of pre-election matters. You know that while all elections petitions (post-election matters) have since been determined in line with the amendment of 2013, some pre-election matters still linger. Even the reform of local government for autonomy is a critical arm of restructuring.”

    Nigerians, he said, should follow the process of the constitution review to the state houses of assembly to ensure that all recommended resolutions transmitted to them are passed.

    “Going forward, constitution amendment all over the world is open ended. That a particular proposal fails to sail through does not mean it is the end of the proposal. Constitution making is work in progress all over.”

    The leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly has already pledged to deliver a clean copy of adopted resolutions to the Presidency for assent before the end of the year long before the commencement of electioneering activities for the 2019 general elections.

    The National Assembly rejected moves to devolve powers to the states, removal of the Land Use Act from the Constitution, states creation/boundary adjustment, 35 per cent affirmative action for women and a recommendation to alter Section 25 of the Constitution to guarantee a married woman’s right to choose either her indigenousness by birth or by marriage for the purposes of appointment or election..

    The Senate  however adopted the followings: inclusion of former Presidents of the Senate and former Speakers of the House of Representatives  as members of the National Council of State; authorization of the president  to continue withdrawing funds from consolidated account after expiration of the annual budget has been whittled down from six to three months; financial autonomy for state assemblies; financial autonomy for local governments; guaranteed tenure for local government chairmen and councillors; as well as immunity for legislators for anything they say on the floor during Constitution amendment
    battle shifts to state assemblies ng plenary or when they hold committee briefings.

    Also adopted are: empowering the Independent National Electoral Commission to de-register any political party that fails to meet some criteria, including  failure to win at least one elected seat from councillorship to presidential after a general election; stopping the president’s power  to reject, veto or refusal to sign a bill passed by the NASS after 30 days of transmitting such to him; compelling the president to announce his cabinet within 30 days of his inauguration and attach the portfolios of ministerial nominees to their names;  compelling state governors to do same; and independent candidates for elections.

  • Battle shifts to court as Bello is declared governor-elect

    Battle shifts to court as Bello is declared governor-elect

    CONTROVERSY yesterday trailed the declaration of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Alhaji Yahaya Bello as winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Kogi State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    With the declaration, all is now set for the continuation of a legal tussle to determine the state’s next governor.

    The Audu/Faleke Campaign Organisation, in a statement yesterday by its Director of Media, Duro Meseko in Lokoja, said the final results as declared by INEC vindicated its claims that the November 21 had already been won and should have been declared as such.

    INEC declared the election inconclusive on November 22 to pave the way for a supplementary poll which held in 91 voting centres across 18 council areas on Saturday.

    The  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rejected the result and declared its candidate, Governor Idris Wada, the winner.

    It described the supplementary election as a “complete waste of tax payers’ money”.

    According to the Faleke/ Audu campaign statement, in the supplementary election’s final results declared by INEC, the APC polled 6,885 votes while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 5,363, making a total of 12, 248 votes, a far-cry from the 49,353 registered voters which the INEC inform the declaration of the initial poll inconclusive.

    It reads: “It is now crystal clear to everybody that the Kogi governorship election of November 21 was already won and lost before the strange supplementary election was introduced. We therefore urge our supporters to remain calm and steadfast while the law takes its rightful course.”

    On its part, the PDP rejected the supplementary election and its results, vowing to challenge the outcome at the governorship election petition tribunal.

    The party’s local Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yomi Ogunmola, said the APC candidate was declared winner of the election by the Returning Officer despite not scoring the highest number of votes.

    His words: “The position of the party is that the election result is not acceptable and we will be approaching the tribunal for justice.”

    According to Ogunmola, the PDP has a lot of grounds to challenge the outcome of the entire result.

    He said: “There are lots of grounds but I can only tell you one. You heard when the returning officer said Yahaya Bello is the candidate with the majority of votes cast, but he is not. The majority of the votes cast belong to someone else.”

    Asked who the person is, Ogunmola said: “Why not wait till we get to the bridge before crossing it.”

    The governor-elect(Bello) called for calm, describing the APC as one big family and that there was bound to be misunderstanding among members of a family.

    He promised to bring all those that are aggrieved together on assumption of office.

    His words: “In a family, there is bound to one misunderstanding or the other but if I assume the responsibility as governor of the state, I will ensure that all the aggrieved parties are brought together.

    “Everybody would air their own grievances but we will make sure that everybody is carried along. To my brothers in other political parties, after politics, we have to settle for the business of governance because in our state, so much needed to be done. We would all sit at a roundtable and do the needful.”

  • Dogo shifts attention to Sharks’ tie

    Dogo shifts attention to Sharks’ tie

    Nasarawa United head coach, Kabiru Suleiman Dogo has asserted that they have put their inconclusive Glo Premier League Week 35 tie with FC Taraba behind them as they prepare for their next league game against Sharks this weekend.

    Dogo told SportingLife they have returned home to focus on their home tie with Sharks believing that a win would take them a step higher and closer to their objective of getting a continental ticket.

    He said Sharks would be coming to Lafia thinking that they would get something out of the tie that would take them away from the drop zone but that the Blue Angels are in for the true shock of their lives because they are  desperate for the available points.

    The former ABS coach confirmed to SportingLife that his players are all raring to go in their quest to see if they could secure a place on the continent at the end of the season.

    “We don’t have anything to say about the FC Taraba tie for now and we have our minds fixed on the game with Sharks. We know they won’t be coming to Lafia to let us play and just get the points but we would be prepared for them,” Dogo told SportingLife.

    The Solid Miners are sixth on the log with 53 points from 34 matches and are waiting on the League Management Company (LMC) for their verdict on the botched tie with FC Taraba.

  • LMC shifts League resumption to July 27

    LMC shifts League resumption to July 27

    The League Management Company (LMC) has made further adjustments to the fixtures of the remaining games of the 2013/14 Glo Premier League.

    The alterations, made in response to sudden changes in the Federation Cup fixtures and to stave off possible fixture congestion, provides for Match Day 20 games – originally scheduled for Sunday, July 20 – to be moved by one week to Sunday, July 27. Similarly, Match Day 21 games that would have been played on Sunday, July 27 will now be on the midweek of Wednesday, August 6.

    Chief Operating Officer of the LMC, Salihu Abubakar, who announced the new changes, also disclosed further adjustments to the fixture for the games of Match Day 22 and 23.

    “We have taken a second look at the changes in the Federation Cup fixtures and have taken steps to allow clubs participating in that competition to avoid future fixture pile up that may confer advantages to some clubs,” Abubakar explained.

    “These changes only affect the games of Match Day 20 to 24 and new dates for Match Day 23 and 24 are Sunday, August 10 and Wednesday, August 13. All other fixtures will remain as scheduled and announced,” the LMC official added.

    He advised stakeholders to take note of the changes and adjust their schedules accordingly.

  • PDP shifts mini convention

    PDP shifts mini convention

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has shifted its mini convention earlier scheduled for July 20 till further notice.

    The party, in a statement yesterday, cited the coming Ramadan fast as reason for the shift.

    The postponement is coming on the heels of a petition by the Ogun State chapter of the PDP kicking against election into the office of the National Secretary of the party to replace Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who was removed from the position.

    In the petition, signed by Adebayo Dayo and Semiu Shodipo, Chairman and Secretary, the chapter said it would be wrong for the party leadership to replace Oyinlola through the proposed Southwest congress.

    Oyinlola was removed from office on the strength of a judgment of a Federal High Court that voided the zonal congress through which he emerged as a candidate for the position.

  • NGF shifts meeting for presidential dinner

    NGF shifts meeting for presidential dinner

    DESPITE moves to divide their ranks, members of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) maintained their unity yesterday. They reported at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja for their scheduled inaugural meeting since the re-election of Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    The session was, however, symbolic as the meeting was later shifted last night to attend a dinner organised by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The governors were at the Lodge between 7pm and 8.18pm to defer to the President.

    It was gathered that there was a heated debate on the invitation by the President, especially why it clashed with the NGF meeting.

    But the NGF members decided to bend backward to prove that they have no personal grudges against the President.

    A source at the session said: “At the meeting, some governors insisted that they should not attend but others wanted the Forum to honour the President.

    “After a consideration of the arguments for and against, most of the governors asked the Forum to honour Jonathan.

    “But what the meeting achieved was that we have succeeded in holding the first NGF meeting after the re-election of Governor Rotimi Amaechi as our chairman.

    “They thought that we won’t be able to sustain our support for Amaechi but we have proved that we are certainly behind him.

    Another source said: “The NGF members were of the opinion that the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be respected. We have decided to defer to this office and postpone our meeting tonight.

    “Since we are in the majority, if we go ahead with the NGF meeting, we will be ridiculing the Office of the President. We are not at war with Jonathan, we want to prove to him that the NGF battle is not personal, it is about the sanctity of the ballot and democracy.

    “We also want to show that neither Amaechi nor any of the 19 governors backing him is after a do-or-die battle.”

    Asked if the shift was not in connection with alleged division of the NGF by the presidency, the source added: “Not at all. We want Nigerians to see that we are democrats who have respect for the nation’s constitution and the President who is the number one symbol of the nation’s democracy.

    “Any of us could also be the nation’s President; we believe we should postpone the meeting in deference to the presidency. We will old our meeting soon.”

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, who briefed newsmen, said: “We are honouring the president’s invitation to dinner. If the dinner ends in good time, we will be back for our meeting. If it stretches longer than we anticipate we would stick with the President.”

    The governors at the Rivers Lodge are Rotimi Amaechi (Chairman); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo); Fayemi (Ekiti); Sule Lamido(Jigawa); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Tanko al-Makura (Nasarawa); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); AbdulAziz Yari (Zamfara); Rochas Okorocha(Imo); the Deputy Governor of Borno, Zannah

    Umar Mustapha; and the Deputy Governor of Osun State, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori.

    Amaechi said: “There was no meeting, we decided to defer to the President. We agreed that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that as compatriots and as governors of different states, we must honour and respect the president and having invited us to a dinner, we decided to go for the dinner.”

    On when the meeting would be re-convened, the NGF chairman said, “the next meeting will be at the next National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.”