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Tag: Speaker

  • Confusion in Enugu as nine lawmakers sack Speaker

    Confusion in Enugu as nine lawmakers sack Speaker

    •Faction moves against Chime•’Governor unaware of plot’

    There was tension yesterday at the Enugu State House of Assembly, as the lawmakers broke into two factions— one for Governor Sullivan Chime and the other plotting against him.

    The anti-Chime group, led by Speaker Eugene Odoh, has 14 members and in the majority.

    Deputy Speaker Chime Oji  is leading eight members backing Chime. They claimed to have sacked the speaker.

    The two groups sat early yesterday, with the anti-Chime group sitting at 6:20 am, for less than 30 minutes.

    Those for Chime sat at 7:05 am, for about 45 minutes.

    In their brief sitting, the anti-Chime group, led by Odoh, began the process of Chime’s impeachment for allegedly forging the N12 billion 2012 Supplementary Budget.

    The notice was signed by 14 members, including the Speaker.

    The Clerk, Christopher Chukwurah, who was absent at the sitting, was directed to serve the notice on the governor.

    Oji,  who recently won the  Enugu North/South seat; Emeka  Ogbuabor and Deputy House Leader  John Kevin Ukwuta were suspended for alleged anti-House activities

    The Speaker and the 13 others entered the legislative chamber at 6:20 am and forcefully sat after the police had barred them from the House.

    The lawmakers complained that the governor was using some of their colleagues to disrupt the House for refusing to approve the N11 billion loan he requested.

    But at 7:05 am. the Deputy Speaker and seven others, including the Deputy Governor-elect, Cecilia Ezeilo, entered the chamber.

    The clerk attended the sitting, which elected Chinedu Nwamba as Speaker to replace Odo.

    A member, Joseph Agbo Ugwumba, Enugu East Rural, later joined them.

    Deputy leader John Kevin Ukwuta  moved a motion that Johnbull Nwagu, who was suspended be recalled. Chinedu Nwamba seconded the motion.

    The Chime group, however, lifted the suspension on Nwagu for misconduct and invited him to join the group, bringing their number to nine.

    Ukwuta moved another motion for the suspension of Odoh and six others; Anichukwu Nwankwo, Okechukwu Nwoke, Paul Ogbe, Nze Michael Onyeze, Theresa Egbo, Chika Eneh and SKE Udo-Okoye.

    The motion was approved by the nine members.

    The principal officers among those suspended were stripped of their positions and benefits.

    Ukwuta moved for their positions to be filled and nominated Chinedu Nwamba, representing Nsukka East, as Speaker.

    The motion was approved and Nwamba sworn in as Speaker of the G-9.

    Nwamba thanked the group for the confidence reposed in him.

    The group also elected Donatus Uzoagbado (Oji River) as leader and Emeka Ogbuabo as chief whip.

    Ukwuta told the lawmakers of the letter written by the Attorney General Anthony Ani, informing them they had no powers to probe the State Universal Basic Education (ENSUBEB).

    He said the freezing of the account of the ENSUBEB was erroneously done and should be lifted.

    Emeka Ogbuabo seconded the motion, saying the House erred by freezing the account of the board, as the petition against the board chairman was not properly handled.

    At 7: 50 am, the House adjourned and factional Speaker Nwamba directed security to ensure that nobody was allowed into the Assembly.

    But the state government said yesterday it was unaware of the impeachment plot against Governor Chime.

    The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Chukwudi Achife, in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, described the action of the 14-member faction, led by Odoh, as “null and void.”

    According to him, the state government was still trying to come to terms with the realities of a change in the leadership of the House.

    He said: “What we should be talking about is the new leadership of the House and not what the old one did.

    “The process is perpetrated by those leaving the government on May 29 and that is why they are furious.

    “No impeachment notice has been served on the governor; we must get that straight.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Zone House of Reps speaker to Southeast’

    ‘Zone House of Reps speaker to Southeast’

    A group of young professionals, under the aegis of the League of Young African Leaders (LOYAL), has urged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to zone the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the Southeast to ensure balance in the polity.

    In a statement signed by its President, Francis Udoka Ndimkoha and Secretary, Gift Okedinma, the group argued that since 1999, the Southeast had not produced the President or Vice President and so should be allowed to produce the next Speaker.

    The statement reads: “Since this democratic dispensation, the Southwest has produced a President and a Vice President in the person of Olusegun Obasanjo and Yemi Osinbajo; the North two Presidents, Musa Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari; the Southsouth a President and a Vice President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “During the period, the Southeast produced the Senate President between 1999 and 2007, and has since been left with Deputy Senate President; it only produced a Deputy Speaker in 2011.

    “It is understandable that the Southeast would have produced the Senate President from 2015-2019 but for the fact that no senator emerged under the APC, and this has denied the zone that position. “So, the next best thing would be to swap the slot of the Senate President for that of the Speaker, bearing in mind that the APC has two members from the Southeast.”

    The group argued that these two members should be considered based on qualification and experience, not minding that they are first-timers.

    It added that “a look at the history of the Speakership reveals it has not always been a question of being a ranking member or even a lawyer, rather it has been about experience in public administration and governance. The ranking member rule is rather a ploy by the PDP leadership to keep new members at bay.

    “From Independence till today, the Southeast has only produced one Speaker in the person of the late Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, in 1979. If the Southeast fails to clinch that position this time, it means that by 2019, it would have been 40 years since the Southeast last produced the Speaker.

    “Above all, it is imperative to accommodate the Southeast in the first five positions in the new political arrangement in appreciation of the contribution of its revered leaders like Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, former Governor of Abia State Chief Ogbonnaya Onu and former Governor of Anambra State Senator Chris Ngige to the cause of the APC, from the formative stage till date”.

     

     

  • Speakership bid: Kano Reps caucus disown Jibrin’s

    Speakership bid: Kano Reps caucus disown Jibrin’s

    The Kano state All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives caucus has rejected the candidature of Rep. Abdulmumin Jibrin.

    Jibrin who represents Bebeji/Kiru Federal constituency of Kano state had last week declared his intention to vie for the speakership of the House.

    The 8th assembly will be inaugurated in June and the APC is to form majority as the new ruling party but Jibrin who chairs the House committee on Finance has since commenced campaigning.

    The party NEC will in the coming days take a decision on zoning of party positions in the National Assembly.

    The North West where Jibrin comes from is out of the equation with General Muhammadu Buhari as the president.

    Sources said the Kano APC caucus met in Kano the same day Jibrin made his declaration in Abuja and decided to abide by the party’s zoning fomular.

    The meeting was convened by a ranking lawmaker Mohammed Ali Wudil and lasted between 8pm to 12 midnight.

    During the meeting, no mention was made to Jibrin’s ambition even though all of us were aware that he declared his intention some hours earlier.

    Twenty of the 24 members were in attendance and even those who couldn’t make it sent their apologies including Jibrin.

    Those who attended the meeting are Abdullahi Mahmud Gaya, Musa Ado, Nasiru Ali Ahmed, Sani Mohammed Aliyu, Bashir Baballe, Munir Babba Dan-Agundi, Badamasi Ayuba, Mustapha Bala Dawaki, Garba Ibrahim Mohammed, Nasiru sule Garo, Nasiru Baballe Ilah, Umar Garba, Suleiman Romo, Ahmed Garba Bichi, Aliyu Sani Madaki,  Mukhtari Mohammed Chiromawa,  Abubakar Nuhu Danburam, Mohammed Ali Wudil, Shehu Usman Aliyu Aminu Suleiman Goro.

  • Ekiti Speaker Omirin greets Nigerians

    Ekiti Speaker Omirin greets Nigerians

    The Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, has urged Christians and Ekiti people to imbibe the virtue of sacrifice as exhibited by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to save mankind.

    He said in the most trying moment of His life, Jesus Christ elevated salvation of mankind above his personal survival.

    Omirin, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Wole Olujobi, urged Nigerians to make service to mankind a major plank of their activities in whatever they do.

    “Jesus Christ demonstrated that making sacrifices is a virtue through which we can save our fellow men. Let this spirit guide you in all you do. It is through generosity of the heart that we can make our impact felt by our fellow human beings for the life of happiness,” Omirin said.

    He urged Nigerians to pray for the country, President Goodluck Jonathan and President-elect Muhammadu Buhari for smooth transfer of power at the federal level.

    The speaker called on Ekiti people to pray for the state for a government that would enthrone peace to allow Ekiti people enjoy their security.

    He advised youths to avoid reckless drinking while also urging drivers to avoid reckless driving during the Easter festivities.

  • Constituency threatens to recall Speaker

    Ebonyi North East Constituency has threatened to initiate recall process against the Speaker of the  House of Assembly, Chukwuma Nwazunku, “if he does not retrace his steps.”

    Rising from a stakeholders’ meeting at Randa in Ebonyi Local Government, stakeholders said Nwazunku has betrayed their confidence.

    The group, in its communiqué read by Mr. Mike Nwambam, accused the Speaker of not attracting incentive to the people since election, adding that he has turned to be anathema to the collective existence of the constituents.

    He wondered why the Speaker, instead of making laws that would impact positively on the people, the purpose for which he was elected, was only interested in seeking the impeachment of other elected people like him.

    Nwambam alleged that the Speaker was only interested in leading a move for the removal of his brother, Ikechukwu Nwankwo, who was impeached as the Speaker.

    A former Ward Councillor of Enyibichiri Ward II, Ekene Nwankwo, said Nwazunku had turned to a lion to those who saved him when he was impeached by members of the Assembly last July, including leading the impeachment move against Governor Martin Elechi, who fought tooth and nail to reinstate him as the Speaker.

    More than 2,000 persons attended the meeting.

    The stakeholders said the Speaker would face a recall.

  • Former female speaker picks nomination forms

    First female speaker of  the Benue State House of Assembly Mrs. Margaret Icheen, and Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) chieftain,  Alhaji Musa Plato have picked nomination form to contest election in Benue State Football Association .

    The election is slated for today at the main bowl of Aper Aku stadium.

    The former speaker is seeking re- election and she will slug it out with a business mogul Engnr. Morgan Okwoche, who is her main challenger for the position of Chairman .

    Other positions to be contested for are Vice Chairman and 11 Board members representing various zones in Benue state. Speaking to SportingLife, chairman of Benu state Football Association Electoral Committee MR. John Onah said all logistics have been put in place to make the election a hitch free.

    SportingLife gathered that Icheen is highly favoured to retain the position as the Chairman of Benue FA because of the cordial relationship she enjoys with the Vice chairman of Lobi Stars Football Club of Makurdi , Dominic Iorfa.

    Investigation revealed that in her first tenure, Mrs. Icheen enjoyed a rancour free working relationship with Dominic Iorfa , who is seen as an authority in football matters in Benue state, and she has his backing to seek re- election .

  • Aliyu appoints Speaker as Acting Gov

    Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu yesterday made good his intention not to work with his deputy,  Ahmed Musa Ibeto, by appointing the Speaker of the  House of Assembly, Adamu Usman, to oversee the affairs of the state while he performs the Lesser Hajj.

    But Ibeto described the development as laughable and unconstitutional, saying he remained the deputy governor.

    Aliyu last Wednesday ordered his deputy out of the weekly executive council meeting and vowed not to have anything to do with him. The governor accused Ibeto, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) last month, of insulting him at the APC rallies.

    Aliyu, who will be away from  February 19 to 29, directed the Speaker in a notification letter he signed and sent to the Assembly, to inform them of his intention to travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Lesser Hajj.

    The letter with reference number GHNS/13/72 dated 17th February, 2015 and made available to The Nation yesterday reads in part, “I wish to inform Mr. Speaker, that I intend to travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the Lesser Hajj between 19th-26th Febuary, 2015.

    “In my absence, the Honourable Speaker,  Niger State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Adamu Usman will over see my schedules as the acting governor.” It stated.

    Reacting to the development in a telephone interview the deputy governor, Hon. Ibeto said he was not in anyway disturbed because the governor’s action was “unconstitutional”.

    “I am still the deputy governor. I don’t know the section of the constitution he relies on to appoint the Speaker when I am still the deputy governor and I am in office,” Ibeto said.

  • Ekiti PDP, Speaker Omirin bicker over alleged corruption

    Ekiti PDP, Speaker Omirin bicker over alleged corruption

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State and the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, yesterday engaged in a verbal war over allegations of corruption.

    This followed Omirin’s  interview in a weekend paper in which he claimed that he and other lawmakers collect N200,000 each time they visit Governor Ayo Fayose shortly after his swearing- in.

    The state PDP Chairman, Idowu Faleye, in a statement yesterday, challenged Omirin to explain the purpose of the money collected from the governor when the state was in a “financial mess”.

    The state PDP boss described the Speaker’s action as a “fashion of corruption and indecency”.

    But Omirin lambasted the PDP chairman for , according to him,quoting his interview out of context and making an issue out of nothing.

    The Speaker said he only told the world the truth about what happened on their relationship with Fayose.

    Faleye said anyone should know that “it is only a corruptible mind that collect such amount of money on every visit to the governor and still claim to be honourable”.

    He also criticised Omirin and the All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus in the House of Assembly for the plenary held last Thursday outside the legislative chambers.

    Faleye challenged Omirin to disclose the location and time of the sitting, accusing APC lawmakers of resorting to “machinery of lies and brigade of blackmail”.

    But Omirin said Faleye was speaking out of frustration and failure of the PDP administration to stop a valid sitting held by the majority lawmakers to right the wrongs and illegalities wreaked on Ekiti people by Fayose and his goons.

    In a statement by his media aide, Wole Olujobi, Omirin alleged that the PDP runs a corrupt administration.

    He claimed that he (Omirin) and the APC lawmakers were offered N7 million each to defect to the ruling party.

    The Speaker explained that the refusal of the APC lawmakers to collect the money was the genesis of their stand-off with Fayose.

    Omirin said: “Who is more corrupt between a man who innocently told the public that the governor gave each member N200,000 and the one who gave N7 million to each APC member to defect to his party?

    “What of the man who provided money to security men to protect members for illegal sittings in the House of Assembly?

    “What of the man sending Ekiti State money to upgrade his hotel on the guise that he is not living in the Government House, whereas he has been living in the complex for a long time?

    “Are the Christmas gifts he purchased commensurate with the funds taken from workers in addition to millions taken from government coffers for the same purpose?

    “Have these people told us what they did with the N1.3 billion poultry project money that never produced an egg?”

  • Speaker urges students’ leaders on good representation

    Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Razaq Atunwa, has advised students’ leaders to promote the interests of their colleagues, saying the essence of unionism was to make life meaningful to students.

    Atunwa said this while delivering a keynote address at the maiden Pan-African Students’ Parliamentary Conference held at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN). The conference was organised by the parliament of the institution’s Students’ Union Government (SUG).

    The Speaker, who took the students through the history of parliament, stressed that parliamentarians should always strive to pursue interests of their people and not their personal one.

    He said: “As parliamentarians, you must work hand-in-hand with the executive arm of the Students’ Union to make good laws and protect the interest of the students.”

    Atunwa said executive lawlessness remained the bane of participatory democracy, citing the recent invasion of the National Assembly by the police, which made members of the House of Representatives to scale iron-fence to sit.

    Atunwa described the legislators as heroes that should be commended, noting that democracy would die if people did not make effort to curtail excesses of the executive. The Speaker described the action of the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, to interpret the law as rascality, saying: “The police are not meant to adjudicate, but to protect lives and property of the citizens.”

    In his remark, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali, said that the conference would provide a platform for the discussion of ideas that will generate solutions to challenges facing Africa. The VC was represented by his deputy on Innovation and Science and Technology, Prof Gabriel Olatunji.

    The Senate President of the union Senate Council, Wasiu Haruna, said Africa would play a lead role in the contemporary world if the legislature rose to her task of enacting progressive laws that would fast-track development.

    The conference, which was held in honour of Dr Ali Ahmad, chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Justice, attracted participants from different tertiary institutions within and outside the country.

  • ‘Jonathan, PDP can’t get 240 Reps for Speaker’s removal’

    ‘Jonathan, PDP can’t get 240 Reps for Speaker’s removal’

    The Senator representing the Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Magnus Abe, has said President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not be able to get 240 of the 360 members in the House of Representatives to impeach the Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal.

    He also declared that with the taking over of Mubi in the Northeastern part by Boko Haram insurgents, Nigeria is clearly at war, with a competent president needed to tackle insecurity.

    Abe, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), spoke yesterday at his Bera-Ogoni hometown in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, while sensitising members of the executives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 17 wards, on the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) between November 7 and 9.

    He urged other PDP leaders and teeming supporters of Fili in the area to embrace change.

    Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), said: “As we speak now (yesterday), the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, the Number Four citizen of this country, has joined our party (APC). He left the other party (PDP) for the same reason that we left and other people are leaving.

    “People are coming to APC, because there is no justice there (in PDP) and there is no integrity in what they are doing.

    “There is no honesty. Nobody is abiding by the rules that we all agreed on. When you leave, they begin to chase after you.

    “As Alhaji Tambuwal left PDP, they withdrew his security. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear. You can become a Speaker of the House of Representatives, once you are a member of the House of Representatives.

    “Nobody in Nigeria, no power in Nigeria can get 240 members of the House of Representatives to say that Alhaji Tambuwal is not their Speaker. Nobody can do it”, he said.