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Tag: Speaker of the House of Representatives

  • Saraki harps on govt, private sector partnership for development

    Saraki harps on govt, private sector partnership for development

    The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said that nation can only develop if there is co-operation between government and the private sector.

    Saraki stated this during a dialogue session to mark the first anniversary of the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) in Abuja.

    Commenting on efforts by the federal legislature towards making impact on development, Saraki said, “For us in the 8th National Assembly lawmaking is not about the number of bills, it is more about impact and we will continue to focus on quality and impact on our people over any other considerations.

    “This is what makes the 8th National Assembly unique as we are determined to only make laws that will have positive impact on our people”.

    He noted that for the first time in the history of the country, the National Assembly, in partnership with the private sector, through the NASSBER, initiated a research study to review the legislative instruments impeding doing business in Nigeria and received a report detailing the necessary legislative action required to begin the process of changing the unsupportive legal structures, weak institutional base and obsolete regulatory frameworks in the nation’s business environment.

    “We want to see that these bills can actually help us create jobs, mobilize private sector investment and promote made in Nigeria goods. We would expect that the breakout sessions will offer us a new set of legislative interventions that will help further to cement the impact the first tranche of our work is having”, Saraki added.

    The Senate President thanked the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Department for International Development (DFID), ENABLE project, and the Nigerian Bar Association – Section on Business Law (NBA, SBL) for their steadfastness and commitment to the vision and purpose of NASSBER, which is to facilitate constructive engagement and collaboration between the National Assembly and the Private sector.

    Also speaking at the event, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuf Lasun, noted that the NASSBER initiative was a right step in the right direction towards the enhancement of the economy.

    Dogara said, “A little over a year ago when NASSBER was inaugurated, we were very confident it was the right step to take if we were indeed committed to bringing our economy out of recession, and stimulating long term economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable for the shared prosperity of all Nigerians.

    “For the National Assembly, it was a road not travelled before, but we were willing to embark on this journey, not minding the risks, considering the promises it held. Looking back the last 12 months, NASSBER is but a success story of novel synergy, dialogue and engagement between the legislature, development partner, the private sector, the bench and citizens.

    “The National Assembly will continue to play a central role not only in governance but also ensuring that we deliberate and act on frameworks that will improve Nigeria’s business environment through the review of relevant legislations and provisions of the constitution.

    “As a result of this effort, I am more confident that our economy would attract ‘agile private sector that can innovate and respond to global opportunities’, as contemplated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this government”.

     

  • We will raise teachers’ retirement age to 65 -Dogara

    We will raise teachers’ retirement age to 65 -Dogara

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, has assured Nigerian teachers that the National Assembly will increase their retirement age from 60 to 65 years to retain more experienced teachers in public schools.

    Dogara disclosed this when he received a delegation from the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) who paid him a courtesy visit on Wednesday in Abuja.

    The Speaker said that the House would support an upward review of teachers’ retirement age to benefit Nigerian children.

    “We have done it for the Tertiary institutions and the Judiciary, so nothing should stop us from taking the bull by the horns.

    “They say that wine gets better with age. It was the same consideration that motivated us to raise that of university lecturers, raised that of judges. So this is something we can pursue.

    “Thankfully, it doesn’t require a constitutional amendment, it is something we can achieve by amending the existing law.

    “That is the responsibility of the parliament and we assure you that we will do something about that so that the benefit that comes with experience and wisdom will not be lost,” he said

    Dogara said that the welfare and working condition of teachers must also be upgraded to enable Nigerian citizens to compete with the global world and produce citizens that can achieve development that the country seeks.

    “If we don’t have people who will sacrifice their time and energy to impact knowledge on our children, then like I said, we have lost the future.

    “This government which is a government of change must be prepared to change the narrative by ensuring that teachers are motivated and the condition in which they work are conducive at all levels, so that they can deliver on their professional calling,” he said.

    The speaker also advised the union to channel their request for salaries of teachers to be handed over to state governments or paid from first-line charge from the federation account through the Universal Basic Education Commission to the Constitution Review of the House of Representatives for consideration.

    Comrade Alogba Olukoya, the National President of NUT,said the union preferred that payment of teachers’ salaries be handed over to State governments. He also canvassed for an increase in the retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65 years.

    The teachers union also demanded that teachers’ salaries be paid from first-line charge from the federation account through the Universal Basic Education Commission.

    “We want the responsibilities of paying the salaries of Teachers be handed over to State Governments in which case the salaries component of the revenue allocation of the Local Governments will have to be transferred to the states and restructure the fiscal allocation of our national resources in favour of the states to guarantee uninterrupted and unfettered primary education in Nigeria.

    “We teachers of Nigeria in primary and secondary schools do seek and demand that our retirement  age be raised to 65 years to increase the teacher retention rate in our schools.

    “This will help to check the rate at which experienced teachers are being lost in the school system whereas younger and prospective teachers are not recruited to take their places,” Olukoya said.

  • Dogara: NASS will raise teachers’ retirement age to 65

    Dogara: NASS will raise teachers’ retirement age to 65

    …To upgrade working conditions

    The National Assembly will increase the retirement age of Teachers in the country from 60 to 65 years to retain more experienced teachers in public schools, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said.

    Dogara who spoke when he received a delegation from the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in his office, he said the House supports an upward review of teachers’ retirement age for Nigerian children to benefit from.

    His words: “We have done it for the tertiary institutions and the judiciary, so nothing should stop us from taking the bull by the horns. They say that wine gets better with age, it was the same consideration that motivated us to raise that of university lecturers, raise that of judges. So this is something we can pursue.

    “Thankfully, it doesn’t require constitutional amendment; it is something we can achieve by amending the existing law. That is the responsibility of the parliament and we assure you that we will do something about that so that the benefit that comes with experience and wisdom will not be lost,” he stated.

    According to him, the welfare and working condition of teachers must also be upgraded to enable Nigerian citizens compete with the global world and produce citizens that can achieve development that the country seeks.

    He said: “If we don’t have people who will sacrifice their time and energy to impart knowledge on our children, then like I said, we have lost the future. This government which is a government of change must be prepared to change the narrative by ensuring that teachers are motivated and the condition in which they work are conducive at all levels, so that they can deliver on their professional calling.”

    The union’s request for salaries of teachers to be handed over to state governments or paid from first-line charge from the federation account, the Speaker said, should be channeled through the Universal Basic Education Commission to the Constitution Review committee of the House of Representatives for consideration.

    The National President of NUT, Comrade Micheal Alogba Olukoya, earlier in his speech, appealed that the union prefers such an arrangement.

    He said: ” We want the responsibilities of paying the salaries of Teachers be handed over to State Governments in which case the salaries component of the revenue allocation of the Local Governments will have to be transferred to the states and restructure the fiscal allocation of our national resources in favour of the states to guarantee uninterrupted and unfettered primary education in Nigeria.”

    The union also requested that teachers’ salaries be paid from first-line charge from the federation account through the Universal Basic Education Commission.

    “We teachers of Nigeria in primary and secondary schools do seek and demand that our retirement age be raised to 65 years to increase the teacher retention rate in our schools. This will help to check the rate at which experienced teachers are being lost in the school system whereas younger and prospective teachers are not recruited to take their place,” Olukoya said.

  • Passage of Medical Residency Bill will end doctors’ strike – Dogara

    Passage of Medical Residency Bill will end doctors’ strike – Dogara

    …Ministry, Stakeholders hail Reps Residency Bill

    The incessant strikes by Doctors in the country will end with the passage of a  bill to regulate the Medical Residency Programme, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has said.

    Dogara spoke at a two- day Public Hearing organized by the Hon. Betty Apiafi- headed House Committee of Health Institutions Tuesday.

    Speaking at the opening ceremony for a two-day public hearing on the residency bill, a Bill for an Act to Ammend the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria to Streamline the Number of Pharmacy Schools on the Council and three other health sector bills, Dogara who was represented at the public hearing by Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyema said the House places the health and well-being of Nigerians as top priority.

    According to him, the bills under consideration are targeted at improving the efficiency in the country’s healthcare institutions  Pandora will always receive  full support from the National Assembly.

    The Ministry of Heath, the West African Post College of Surgeons, the National Post Graduate College and the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria all hailed the bill on Medical Residency saying the bill would curtail the wrangling in the health sector

    There were however arguments amongst the various stakeholders on how to harmonize the experience and certificates of medical practitioners who studied abroad and desire to practice especially on how they would qualify for residency in the country.

    The ministry’s representative Felix O. Ogenyi said the Ministry was behind the bill as it believes the bill will bring about a positive turnaround in the health sector.

    Dr. Onyebueze John, President, National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria, NARD said the. The bill was timely and “should be given a favourable consideration with the suggestions given to bring about medical residency training in Nigeria that would help improve medical care in Nigeria.

    He said: It is sad to note that other countries have seen the training of highly skilled and specialized expertise in addition to the rehired equipment as means of earning positive balance of trade, Nigeria refused to look in the direction of manpower development in our health sector for many years.

    “Little wonder what is spent on medical tourism annually in Nigeria is astronomically high as a result of our failure to develop the health sector and give attention to postgraduate training.

    “NARD sees this bill if passed as one of those laws that will positively impact in our health sector, the health system and the masses at large.”

    However, the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists in their submission signed by their Secretary General, Prof. Noel Wannang and three others argued for inclusion in the residency Programme law.

    “The purpose of this memorandum is to draw the attention of the House of Representative’s Committee on Health Institutions and the general public to the fact that the residency programme for Pharmacist already exists and should be properly captured in the proposed bill before the House of Representatives,” the organization said.

    The Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Betty Apiafi said that it’s time for the Ministry of Heath to include residency funding in the budget. According to the committee, since the processes for the Committee directed the Ministry of Health to ensure that there is a budget for the residency programme

    She further, stated: ” In the last two years the committee on health institutions has put a lot of effort towards solving the seemingly intractable and multifaceted challenges that bedevil the health sector

    “The residency programme bill is an example of the National Assembly intervening to deal with the problem of obsolete laws that are not in tandem with international best practices.

    “This bill will act as the comprehensive policy of government on the funding, the curriculum, scheme and tenure of the residency programme. It will also resolve the issue of non-uniformity of the residency programme at different institution as these are the major issues that made the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at specific institutions commence on strike with disturbing frequency”.”

    Recall that the House passed for second reading:  “A Bill for an Act to Regulate the Medical Residency Training Programme in Nigeria and for Related Matters” on March 30.  The bill was sponsored by Hon. Betty Apiafi, chairperson, House Committee on Health Institutions.

  • Edo IDPs: Dogara urged to fulfill promise on payment of WAEC fees  

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has been urged to fulfill the promise he made last year to pay examination fees for Internally Displaced Persons in Edo State.

    Dogara had in February 2017 promised to pay WAEC, NECO and JAMB examination fees from his personal resources to enable children in the IDPs camp get university education.

    He made the promise when he attended church service at the camp.

    Coordinator of the camp, Pastor Solomon Folorusho, told newsmen yesterday that Speaker Dogara was yet to fulfill the promises he made.

    Pastor Folorunsho disclosed that about 200 IDPs would write this year’s NECO and WAEC examinations.

    Folorunsho said 65 of the IDPs who attended secondary school at the camp are to write the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board examination this year.

    He said the IDPs have started farming for them not to completely depend on donation from people and complement whatever that is donated to the camp.

    “As the students are going to resume schools here, we have challenges of writing materials like notebooks, textbooks, mathematical sets calculators, pencils and biros among others.

    “We need those materials because 65 IDPS students are go to write JAMB while about 200 will write NECO and WASC this year. We need to prepare them for the examinations hence we called for financial assistance to see them through the examinations.

    “These children are Nigeria and we have to do every possible to make sure that they are educated though it is difficult for us. The state government has handed over blocks of classroom it built to us and Nigeria have been very generous to us in ensuring that the children actualise their dreams,” he said.

     

  • No apologies for calling for transparency of National Assembly – El-Rufai

    No apologies for calling for transparency of National Assembly – El-Rufai

    …Buhari implementing issues in my memo, says el-Rufai

     

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai on Friday said that he has no apology for any National Assembly member offended by his call for transparency.

    According to him, he has the right as a Nigerian to call for such transparency.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after observing the Jumaat prayer with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he said that it would be in the interest of the lawmakers to make public their earnings in the face of the bogus salaries allegations.

    He said “There is nothing like falling out with the National Assembly, first of all I am a state governor and do not have any direct relationship with the national assembly. They don’t legislate for me specifically. I don’t have any relationship that is negative or positive with the National Assembly.

    “The National Assembly is the legislature of the federation and we have very good relations with the legislators. There are senators from my state and there are representatives and I meet regularly with those of them that are ready to meet with me. Here, beside me are Senators Abu Ibrahim and Marafa.

    “If I have problem with the National Assembly they will not be standing beside me. So there is no problem. The issue is what I did last Friday was to ask the leadership of the national Assembly to fulfil the promise that they made themselves to publish the details of their budget and asking for that is my duty as a citizen. Every Nigerian is entitled to ask that question,” he said.

    He went on “It is in the National Assembly’s interest to actually publish it because there are rumours of bogus amounts of money that they are getting which I do not believe is true. I think that the best way to kill that rumour is to publish the details of their budget but some people took exception to that call for transparency and I have no apologies because as citizens we have the right to demand for transparency for how resources are being spent.

    “This one hundred billion or so budget of the National Assembly is money belonging to the people of Nigeria and every Nigerian has the right to ask and I am exercising that right as a citizen not even as a governor.”

    He explained that he had no problem with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

    “I have no problem with the Speaker. He is my kid brother, he respects me and I respect him, I have no problem with the Senate President, we worked together in the past and I am confident that we will work together in the future in the interest of Nigeria.

    “But demand for accountability is not a problem and should not be construed to be undermining or any such thing. It is only someone who has something to hide that will do things like that and I don’t believe that the National Assembly has things to hide,” he added

    The Governor also maintained that there is no rift between him and President Buhari.

    He said “There is no strain in my ties with the President. The villa is a bigger place. Within the villa there are people that like me and there are those who don’t and it is normal. My relationship with the President has never been strained in anyway.

    “I met with him last night, I did not talk about things like that but our relationship with him is like that of father and son and it is privilege for me. I told him I will come today for the Jumaat and I did.”

    On how he was received by the President, he said “As usual with great warmth and graciousness and I am grateful for that.

    Asked why he wrote such a letter to the President, he said that it was a well-meaning memo aimed at ensuring development of the country.

    Even though he faulted those who leaked the private memo to the public, he said that most issues raised in it are already been implemented by the government.

    He said “It was a private memo and it is not a letter. If you want to ask any question about it you ask those who leaked the memo because I wrote it seven months ago. I have written similar memos to the President in the past and none of them got leaked. He knows that he can count on me to give him my views of what is out there that he may not hear and to give him sound advice without any interest on my part.

    “If anyone reads that memo he will see that there is nothing in the memo that has anything to do other than the success of Mr. President and progress of the country. That is my goal, my motive and I am driven by that. I stand behind the President to the very end.

    On whether his views in the letter have changed since he wrote it, he said “Yes, I believe that since September last year when I wrote the letter, there have been significant improvement in the delivery of services at the federal level as I said some of our federal programmes have started
    in earnest.

    “Social protection for instance, the N-Power, budget releases has been accelerated, this is an unprecedented move, the minister of finance has released up to about a trillion naira of capital budget. In September last year, little or nothing had been released and that was part of my concern, since then the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan has been done and published.

    “At the time I wrote the memo there was no five year plan for the country, since then the government has moved ahead to change some of the appointees of President Jonathan in parastatals. This is something that we were worried about, many of us in APC felt that we were in office but not in power because the people that Jonathan appointed were still running most of our key agencies.

    “From September till date even up until yesterday there has been significant improvement. So there is improvement and I believe that part of what I recommended to the President is being implemented, whether because of my memo or not, it is being implemented and the country is moving forward and I am grateful to God for it.” he said

    On how he felt about the leakage of the letter in contrast with secrecy oath of office, he said “I am disappointed that a private communication to the highest office in the land can be leaked and it was leaked from the Villa, I am told by those that published it, but this is a fact of life. We live in an
    age where anything you write or say can be leaked. It is ok, my intentions are clear, I have no ill motive but I wanted to communicate with the President what many Nigerians are talking about and what steps can be taken to improve governance of the country and move the country forward.

    “That was my motive and if tomorrow like I said I see anything that the President needs to know I will discuss with him and I will articulate and put it into writing and on the record for him to
    have a reminder document to work on. I have no regrets and I have no apologies.”

    Against the belief that he was stopped for some months from coming to the Villa, he said that he was not stopped and that nobody can stop him.

    He said “No, no one ever stopped me from coming to the villa and no one can stop me from coming to villa. As a governor I come here, I have blank cheques, no one checks me at the gate but I believe what the President needs is for those that love him to keep away from him and allow him to rest.

    “The President needs quality time to rest because it is meeting too many people that strains leadership. I am a governor and I know that when I meet 10 people in a day I get really tired, it is not the paperwork, it is not really the memos approving them or asking questions that strain a leader, it is the stream of visitors.

    “I do not want to contribute to the President’s problem by coming here every day. I am in touch with him, I know everything going on and I do not think I should add to his burden. Most of the time I come to visit the President I do not come to the office, I go to see him at home.

    “I think and I appeal to all of us that love the President to please allow him some space so that he will recover. We need him and the country needs him, it is in our interest for the stability of the
    country, we should just let him be. It is absolutely necessary lets us leave him to do his work in the privacy of his room or his office without strings of visitors. Visitors stress leaders,” he said.

     

     

  • Dogara releases pay slips, earns N346,577 monthly

    Dogara releases pay slips, earns N346,577 monthly

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara on Tuesday disclosed that he earns N346,577.87 monthly after deductions.

    He made this known in his three months’ pay slips released in response to the disclosure by Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai who also released his monthly pay on Monday.

    A breakdown of the Speaker’s monthly pay as reflected in his pay slip below is as follows:

    Basic salary; N206, 425.83, Constituency allowance;  N175,461.96, recess allowance; 20,642.58. and pay as you earn; 55,952.50.

    Spk Pay slip2-1

     

    Spk Pay slip2-2

     

    Spk Pay slip2-3

  • Women’s Day: Dogara urges more women participation in politics

    Women’s Day: Dogara urges more women participation in politics

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara has called for more women participation in politics to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.

    Dogara made the call on Wednesday in Abuja to mark the 2017 International Women’s Day.

    The speaker also pledged to be bold for change, adding that it was in line with the theme for 2017 celebration.

    He stressed the importance of women inclusion in all fields of endeavour in the country, saying that anything short of that was unhealthy for nation building.

    According to him, a status quo that relegates women to the background is unhealthy for national development.

    “Women make up approximately half of the Nigerian population, and it is extremely important that an environment that brings out the best in them and enables them to reach their full potential is provided.

    “We can’t have half of our people unable to attain their goals or contribute meaningfully to the economy and expect development.

    “The House of Representatives have a history of placing women in strategic positions culminating in the election of the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria.

    “We have continued this tradition of Gender parity in the 8th House by placing our female colleagues in strategic positions of leadership in the House.’’

    The speaker stressed the need to invest in girl-child education to bridge the gap in the school enrolment statistics.

    According to him, Nigeria as a country must invest heavily on the girl-child education as a means of bridging the gap in school enrolment statistics between boys and girls and disparity in literacy levels.

    “No child should be left behind in our society. We must resolve to do away with all laws and practices that encourage violence against women in our society.

    “Gender should not restrict the dreams and aspirations of millions of our daughters, so we all must be bold for change and support the women around us to achieve their goals and maximise their potentials and talents.

    “Recent studies show that Nigerian women are some of the best entrepreneurs in the world.

    “As a nation, we must enact and implement laws and policies to further nurture this entrepreneurial spirit and empower our women,’’ he said.

    Dogara, therefore, urged his colleagues to be bold for change to support, respect, desist from and speak against all actions that endangered women.

    The theme of this year’s celebration is “Be Bold for Change’’.

    It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women International Women’s Day (IWD), which has been observed since the early 1900’s.

    The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

  • Dogara’s outrider dies in crash

    Dogara’s outrider dies in crash

    Aminu Salisu, one of the outriders in the convoy of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara has died in a crash.

    The Nation learnt that Salisu who was a Sergeant in the Nigeria  Police Force, was involved in a collision with a car while piloting the Speaker home on Wednesday evening.

    The accident occurred along Aminu Shagari Way when a car suddenly intercepted Salisu’s BMW motorbike at the junction leading to the SGF and DSS offices, while it was on top speed.

    Salisu died instantly, The Nation learnt, and his body was subsequently deposited in a yet-to-be-disclosed morgue.

    Officers of the Police Force working in the National Assembly were in a gloomy mood yesterday as the news of the death of the Benue State- born officer circulated around the Complex. They spoke positively of his person and character.

    Salisu, it was gathered, had been in the convoy of the Speaker when he ( Dogara) went to Sheraton Hotel earlier on Wednesday morning for a retreat for the wives of Rep members. So, it was mystifying for many when they learnt he was dead by evening of the same day.

    The late officer who hailed from Okpokwu Local Government area of Benue State was married with four male children and lived in Dede Police Barracks, Abuja until the time of his death.

    The Speaker’s media team is yet to respond to inquiries on the incident at at the time of filing this report.

  • Budget: Dogara issues deadline for Eurobond, Committee reports

    Budget: Dogara issues deadline for Eurobond, Committee reports

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara Wednesday issued an ultimatum for the submission of reports on the request of the Federal Government for a resolution of the National Assembly for the issuance of USD 500 million Eurobond in the International Capital Market for the funding of the 2016 budget deficit.

    Speaking Wednesday’s plenary, Dogara said the House Committee on Aids, Loans & Debt Management should submit the report on the USD 500 million Eurobond request by Tuesday, 7th, March to enable members’ debate and if necessary adopt its recommendations.

    The committee is headed by Olayinka Ajayi (APC Osun).

    Recall that the Federal Government recently requested for a resolution of the National Assembly for the issuance of USD 500 million Eurobond in the International Capital Market for the funding of the 2016 budget deficit.

    The request was contained in a letter signed by the Acting President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara.

    According to the FG’s letter, in line with the requirement of securities issuances in the ICM, a specific Resolution of the National Assembly is required as a firm confirmation of the approval of the Legislature for the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to borrow the USD 500 million through the issuance of a Eurobond Debt Instrument in the ICM.

    Also, the Speaker at plenary yesterday announced a 3rd March (tomorrow) deadline for the reports from standing committees of the House on the 2017 budget Defence sessions held with Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

    The Green Chamber had earlier announced a 24th February deadline for the submission of the reports on budgets from the various standing committees. However, many of the committees could not meet the deadline.

    The House had twice suspended plenary to allow committees have robust budget Defence sessions with the MDAs under their supervision, with the hope that they would also have adequate time to prepare and submit their reports.

    The budget session reports which were meant to be submitted to the House Committee on Appropriations, According to the Speaker, Is holding up further deliberations and forward movement in the consideration of the 2017 budget