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Tag: Speaker

  • Anambra: Drama over Speaker’s seat lingers

    Anambra: Drama over Speaker’s seat lingers

    Major actors in the impeachment drama in Anambra State House of Assembly have retired to the rural communities to perfect their final plans in the battle to either save or impeach the embattled Speaker, report Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu and Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

    For about a month before the Thursday, April 6, 2017 report of the impeachment drama in Anambra State House of Assembly, there were clear indications that all was no longer well in the House which used to pride itself as one of the most united and peaceful in the country.

    According to an insider source, by middle of March this year, it has become obvious that even some influential All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) committee chairmen and members, who were known as the Speaker’s close associates, were beginning to express openly, their dissatisfaction with the way things were going on in the House. Our source confided that both the leadership of the House and the governor seemed not to realise how deep the expressed sentiments had degenerated. So, the lawmakers’ sentiments remained mere complaints until that fateful Tuesday, when the Speaker, Hon. Rita Maduagwu, got wind of his colleagues’ determination to impeach her that day.

    To frustrate the move, she bolted with the Mace before the commencement of the day’s plenary, leaving behind about 28 lawmakers, who waited endlessly for her entrance into the hallowed chamber. What followed was anger and swearing to pursue to its logical conclusion, their resolve to change leadership.

    To appease the anger of the lawmakers, who felt insulted by the Speaker’s action, Governor Willie Obiano had to drive to the House that morning to address the lawmakers. At the end of the drama and the parley, Majority Leader, Victor Jideoffor Okoye, moved a motion for the House to reconvene on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Hon. Onyebuchi Offor seconded the motion.  That was just the first scene of the Anambra State Assembly impeachment drama.

    A week after the curtain opened, The Nation learnt that the drama that ensued has become more complicated with the business of the Assembly put on hold while lawmakers and people of the state are left to wonder over the whereabouts of both the Speaker and the Mace.

    Last Tuesday, Maduagwu, believed to be worried over the said plot by her colleagues to impeach her, remained underground and failed to reconvene the House. This is in spite of the fact that the House had last week adjourned sitting to the same Tuesday. Sources close to her also declined to disclose her whereabouts when asked by The Nation.

    This is amidst growing allegations that she eloped from the Assembly during the last sitting with the Mace. Just as her current location is unknown, the whereabouts of the Mace, the Assembly’s instrument of authority, is also shrouded in controversial secrecy.

    When contacted by reporters during the week, the embattled Speaker, who refused to say anything on the ongoing drama or her whereabouts, merely allayed any fear over her safety as she continuously affirmed that she is very safe where she is. “I am safe. I am ok,” she kept saying.

    But no concrete word of explanation has emerged from her camp over the failure of the Assembly to sit last Tuesday, except one of her aides, who said off record that the lawmakers could not sit because of the Easter festivities.

    However, speculations continue to thrive as observers of the politics of the state predict more confusion for the legislative arm in the days ahead.

    A member of the Assembly, speaking to The Nation on condition of anonymity, said the inability of the House to sit on Tuesday is because the crisis within the Assembly is yet to be resolved. The lawmaker from Anambra Central said the disagreement between the camps of pro and anti Maduagwu lawmakers in the House is assuming a more serious dimension on a daily basis.

    “As a member of the Assembly, I am worried. As a citizen of Anambra, I am bothered. This is because what is happening is not healthy for us, especially at a time like this. We have tried to get our members to sit down and discuss in the interest of the people, but politics is being allowed to destroy the business of legislation,” he lamented.

    It would be recalled that last Thursday, the Speaker allegedly disappeared with the Mace, the  symbol of authority of the House, to her Ukpor country home in Nnewi South Local Government  Area when she sensed that her colleagues had concluded plans to impeach her over alleged highhandedness and other sundry offences.

    More drama amidst confusion

    The Nation learnt that in her bid to forestall her possible impeachment by her colleagues at Tuesday’s planned sitting, the Speaker had caused a bulk SMS message to be sent to all legislators, as well as staff of the House of Assembly, to the effect that there will be no plenary on the said day.

    The messages, according to sources, were sent on Monday, a day before the adjourned day. And when surprised lawmakers made efforts to reach the hiding Speaker for clarification, they met a brick-wall as all effort to get her comment on the development reportedly yielded no fruit.

    “We didn’t sit on Tuesday. I don’t know why we didn’t sit really but I got a text message on Monday that there will be no sitting. I asked around and discovered that all other members got same message. I didn’t hear from the Speaker but those who tried to ask her said they didn’t get to hear much from her.

    You will recall that at the last sitting, we adjourned, through a motion moved by the Majority Leader, Victor Jideoffor Okoye, and seconded by Onyebuchi Offor, to reconvene Tuesday this week. But the text message changed all that and the sitting did not hold,” he said.

    But Honourable Chigbo Enwezor, the member representing Onitsha North 1 State Constituency, explained that he got a text that the House would not sit on Tuesday because they were on Easter break. According to him, though it is true that the House agreed to reconvene that day, the text message actually gave the Easter holiday as a reason for the cancellation.

    The House, he said, is likely to reconvene after the Easter break. But findings by The Nation revealed that unless the leadership crisis rocking the Assembly is resolved before then, the hope of the House sitting soon after the holiday may remain a mere wish.

    It was gathered that several efforts by prominent individuals, including Governor Willy Obiano, to nip the crisis in the bud, have failed as lawmakers opposed to the continued reign of Mrs. Speaker are insisting on her impeachment. “The only option they gave her is for her to resign,” a source said.

    This, The Nation learnt, is just as Maduagwu on her part, vowed not to resign her position. According to sources close to her, her refusal to accept the resignation option is due to her insistence that all the allegations against her are politically motivated.

    Search for the Mace

    And as the whereabouts of the Mace remained unknown, speculations are rife about the possible places the Assembly’s symbol of authority could be hidden by the embattled Speaker in her determination to ensure that she is not impeached by her colleagues.

    Recently, following insinuations that the Mace may have been hidden away in some unexpected public places, including caves and shrines, the Chief Priest of Ogbunike Cave, in Oyi Local Government Council Area of the state, had to clear the air that the Assembly’s Mace is not in the revered cave.

    According to a report in one of the national dailies, the Chief Priest said: “You should look for the Mace at Nnewi; the Speaker is not from Ogbunike. Maybe she kept it in Nnewi. They have their own god that looks after them and their properties.”

    In the same report, former President- General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, urged those looking for the Mace to look in the direction of places like the Akpo Ogwugwu Ukpor, because since the embattled Speaker is from Ukpor, she is most likely to hide the Mace closer home.

    “The Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Agwu, is not an indigene of Nnewi as speculated in some quarters. She is from Ukpor, which is in Ekwusigo Local Government Area. They should look for the Mace at Akpo Ogwugwu Ukpor and not Ogbunike Cave because she must have taken a cue from the former Senate President, the late Chuba Okadigbo,” he said.

    But another member of the Assembly told The Nation that all the allegations that the Speaker hid the Mace in any of the places being mentioned are mere snide remarks. The lawmaker from the Awka zone of the state accused those opposed to Maduagwu of spreading false rumour about her.

    “It is unimaginable to say the Speaker is hiding in a cave or shrine with the Mace. She has said severally that she is not on the run. The House is on holiday and it will be reconvened at the appropriate time. Those who want Maduagwu out at all cost are the ones spreading all these lies,” he said.

    But a lawyer and Human Rights activist, Onyebuchi Uzoma, told The Nation on Thursday that the crisis in Anambra State House of Assembly has become complicated following what he called “immaturity of the members.” Before now, he said, “it has become obvious to every informed observer that most of the members of Anambra State House of Assembly had become either completely dissatisfied with the way things were going, or were ill informed on the fundamental proceedings of the legislative House. That is why many of them are constantly absent at both plenary and committee meetings. They only appear to collect allowances. They exhibited their inexperience by the way they went about the ill-fated impeachment. To worsen the matter, when the Speaker foiled the bid, the overzealous lawmakers, especially the Majority Leader adjourned the alleged sitting and fixed a date to reconvene. This action was faulty ab initio. This is because you cannot adjourn a plenary that never held.”

    According to him, it was not enough for the Majority Leader to announce an adjournment. What they needed was to ensure there was a properly elected presiding officer, perhaps, the Deputy Speaker, to authenticate their meeting that day before announcing an adjournment.

    “Also, I agree with the observers who said the action of the 28 lawmakers, who allegedly brought in an old wooden Mace, in place of the missing Mace, in order to carry out the alleged sitting was not just unacceptable but criminal. Except you are merely acting in a drama, you can’t smuggle in a contrivance, and call it the Mace, the authority of an authentic legislative House of a state. That was the height of the display of immaturity that has complicated the Anambra impeachment saga,” he said.

    Before the present face-off, the current Anambra State House of Assembly, which has majority APGA members, was considered to be very peaceful and united. Ozo Ray, an analyst, commenting on the unity of the legislative House last October had said, “To all intents and purposes , the 6th Anambra State House of Assembly could be rated amongst the most peaceful , vibrant and proactive state  legislatures in the country, devoid of confusion and rancour. Issues of balcanisation, impeachment moves, secret plots as well as other anti-democratic tendencies are none existent in the current state assembly. This is largely due to the way and manner in which the incumbent Speaker, Rt.Hon. Rita Maduagwu, pilots the affairs of the House.” All that has since changed as most of the members have vowed to take on the Maduagwu-led leadership of the Assembly.

    Our investigation during the week however shows that the seed of discord, now threatening the unity of the House did not just start overnight.

    Even Ray had in his assessment of the Assembly last year pointed out that “the present crop of lawmakers could be categorised into active and passive lawmakers.”

    According to him, “while some of the lawmakers spend the greater part of the legislative year making oversea trips, a handful of others blatantly absent themselves frequently from plenary despite promises of quality representation to constituents during electioneering periods. Some lawmakers have become strangers to their constituents. For some of those who endeavour to attend legislative sessions ended up keeping mute during discussions and debates, only to approach the accounts department thereafter to collect sitting allowance.”

    These are part of the suppressed sentiments that set the stage for the current impeachment plot as critics of Maduagwu accuse her of not carrying them along. But her supporters insist she is a wonderful leader, whose current travail has more political roots than issue of leadership ability.

    As the Speaker’s supporters retire to the rural communities in the state to meet with grassroots leaders and work behind the scene during this Easter holiday in order to resolve the matter peaceably before the lawmakers’ resumption, it has become obvious that the last has not been heard of the impeachment drama in Awka. Can Maduagwu appease her colleagues and retain the plum seat? That is the question that remains to be answered.

  • El-Rufai to NASS: I don’t share public funds like you

    El-Rufai to NASS: I don’t share public funds like you

    Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has fired back at the House of Representatives and its Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara over the National Assembly budget controversy, saying, he doesn’t share Kaduna State money like NASS shares public funds.

    The House of Representatives had on Tuesday descended heavily on Governor El-Rufai for challenging them to make their budget public, saying that what El-Rufai himself declared was not his security votes, but Kaduna State Security budget, daring him to publish his personal security vote like they have published the Speaker’s salary’s pay slip.

    Meanwhile, El-Rufai in reaction to the National Assembly members said, he does not have security votes; aside the security budget of the state he earlier published, which according to him is properly expended and accounted for.

    El-Rufai however faulted the legislators for what he called ‘unnecessary distraction’ to a simple request for a transparent National Assembly budget.

    In a statement he issued through his spokesman, Samuel Aruwan in Kaduna on Thursday, El-Rufai also faulted the salary pay slip of Hon. Yakubu Dogara, saying, “the figures in the pay slips presented for the Honorable Speaker are in stark contrast to the declaration by The Economist regarding the earnings of NASS members. One of the claims cannot be right”.

    Talking about security votes, El-Rufai said, contrary to general belief, he does not have a security vote. “The Kaduna State Government has presented details of its security budget. What was presented represents the only security vote for the entire government. As the figures show, there is no security vote for the Governor of Kaduna State.

    “This may be a shock to those used to the notion of security votes as barely disguised slush funds, but we do not operate such a system in Kaduna. Our budgets specify what is voted as assistance to security agencies, and its expenditure is properly recorded and accounted for. These are not monies given to or spent by the governor.

    “If the leaders of the NASS have security votes allocated to or personally collected by them, they might wish to disclose such. Our security spending does not operate like the NASS system of sharing public funds in such an opaque fashion that even NASS members do not know how their entire budget is broken down or what the leadership gets as its ‘running costs’.

    “The figures in the pay slips presented for the Honorable Speaker are in stark contrast to the declaration by The Economist regarding the earnings of NASS members. One of the claims cannot be right.

    “The House of Representatives has responded with predictable tetchiness to a simple and clear demand that details of the National Assembly budget be made public. It is inconceivable that an important institution, vested by the Constitution with representation, lawmaking and oversight powers, has for at least seven years ignored the imperative to set an example of transparency, despite being severally urged to do so.

    “Despite the rush to personal attacks on a matter of public policy, we cannot allow the enthronement of the republic of distraction. It is important that everyone who is interested in protecting and advancing democratic discourse should stay focused on the issue. It is strange that persons entrusted with high office will justify their abdication of the responsibility to be transparent in such cavalier fashion. We don’t believe that most of our esteemed legislators will construe a demand for transparency as aimed at undermining the National Assembly.

    “However, notwithstanding the intemperate response of the spokesman of the House of Representatives, the demand that the NASS budget be made public will not go away. It is not personal, and there is a strong civic constituency that is demanding it. The sooner all of us in public life recognized that the game has changed, and that segments of civil society and indeed everyday citizens of Nigeria, are much more aware, astute and advanced than the state of our politics, the better for our democratic health.

    “Since the NASS began conceiving its budget as a single-line item, how many legislators, not to mention other citizens, have seen the details of the budget? Can anyone recall seeing the spending patterns and details in any published audited accounts of NASS recently? By contrast, all state governments present their audited accounts to their state Houses of Assembly as required by law. The federal statutory agencies that NASS cites as not having their budgets reflected in the National Budget submit details of their budgets to the NASS for review and approval.

    “How, in the 21st Century, can we have any national institution that is comfortable with not being subject to any oversight, audit or external scrutiny. The constitutional principle of checks and balances was not introduced for purposes of idle luxury, but to ensure that every institution exercises its power in an accountable manner.

    “We reiterate our call for the NASS to download and analyze our budgets and actual spending which are all publicly available. In Kaduna State, the state government has been a net creditor to the local government councils, some of which cannot pay salaries without assistance by the state government. We do not retain local government funds nor impose contracts on them. Our policy announcements in this regarded were widely reported and appreciated.

    “The spokesman of the House of Representatives may wish to respond to what is written, rather than what is imagined. The KDSG statement of Monday, 10th April 2017, clearly stated that N100bn is bigger than the capital budgets of many states. That is a statement of fact.

    “In dragging the memo Malam Nasir El-Rufai submitted to President Buhari seven months ago into this matter, the spokesman of the House of Representatives betrays no recognition that it is the conduct of those that leaked private communication that bears condemnation.

    “When NASS hopefully eventually releases its budget details, the public will be hoping to see specifics on personnel costs, overheads and capital expenditure. Rather than restrict the budget details to only 2017, the current leadership of NASS should fulfill the obligations of transparency by releasing the breakdown of the NASS budget since 2015. That way, Nigerians, including members of the NASS, will get to know what the budget of that institution is.

    “The NASS leadership has been promising ad infinitum to publish the breakdown of the opaque, one-line budget. It should simply do so. Prompt release of the 2015 and 2016 breakdowns, along with the proposed figures for 2017, would be a good way to start.

    “As things stand today, even if Malam Nasir El-Rufai refrains from further commentary on this matter, the genie is already out of the bottle. The public will not accept a secretive NASS, or any other branch of government for that matter,” the Governor said.

     

  • Gombe’s first speaker dies at 75

    The first Speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly, Alhaji Abdullahi Mohammad-Kwadon, is dead.

    He died on Saturday at the age of 75.

    Alhaji Habu Abdu, a son of the deceased, confirmed this to journalists in Kwadon, Yamaltu-Deba local government area of the state on Saturday.

    He said the ex-speaker has been buried according to Islamic rites.

    He is survived by four wives, 30 children and many grandchildren.

    The deceased was a teacher, administrator at the Local Government Service Commission and manager at Ashaka Cement Company.

    He later ventured into politics and was elected the first speaker of Gombe House of Assembly in 1999.

    NAN

  • Kebbi Speaker collapses at project site

    The Speaker Kebbi State House of Assembly, Hon Samaila Abdulmumin, on Wednesday evening collapsed during the inspection of road projects in Ribah, Zuru local government area of the state.

    Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who was in Ribah to kick off rehabilitation of roads from Ribah-Wasagu-Bena and Zuru township,  had invited the speaker and other members of the Assembly for their support, but before the governor ended his speech, the speaker had collapsed to the floor.

    The security officers attached to the governor rescued the speaker and he was whisked away from the scene to Birnin Kebbi in an unmarked ambulance.

    All efforts to find out what ailment the speaker is suffering from at the time of filing this report proved abortive as no member of the Assembly was willing to speak on the speaker’s whereabouts.

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  • Reps seek development of satellite towns in FCT

    Reps seek development of satellite towns in FCT

    Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on FCT Area Councils and Ancillary matters Zaphaniah Jisalo, has said there is an urgent need to develop the satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory.

    The lawmaker who made the pronouncement during a public hearing on a “Bill for an Act to provide the establishment of Satellite Towns Development Agency also reiterated commitment of the National Assembly to ensuring accelerated development of satellite towns in the Federal Capital Territory.

    Another bills considered: a Bill that seeks to create a proper administrative and Political Structure for the Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, (FCT), seeks to set up an agency with the responsibility of satellite towns and other related matters

    However, members of the committee were not happy with the FCT Minister, Mallam Musa Bello, for not coming in person.

    The Minister’s representative the Permanent Secretary FCTA, Mr Babatope Ajakaiye, told the committee that the they got the notice for the hearing late.

    He however incurred the wrath of the members when he said he would have to consult with the president to get approval in order to contribute to the bill.

    His words: “Given the beauracratic process of government, we are unable to contribute to the bill.”

    But members insisted the hearing would go on in the absence of the minister.

    Nkem Abonta while decrying the Minister’s absence said: “the minister’s message to the committee over this hearing is not excusable, we will still go on with this hearing whether FCTA is in support of it or not.”

    Jones Onyereri, another member of the committee, was of the same opinion: “It is important for the FCTA to give their input whether in support or not, for you to back out of this hearing without making your own input can end up affecting the FCTA.

    “We will go on with the hearing and the bill will go through,” he said.

    Another member, Aisha Duku said the FCT was loosing a lot of revenue due to poor administration, and that the minister alone cannot determine what the masses want.

    Jisalo in his ruling said the committee will not be deterred by the unpreparedness of the minister.

    His words: “This is a people’s parliament where everyone lend their voice, I am not pleased with the minister’s comment, you can’t be taking money and cannot account for that money.

    “We are trying to put a law to make sure this money you are collecting is
    accounted for.”

    In his opening speech, the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara who was represented by Pally Iriase, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House, said the bills when passed will ensure that area councils in the FCT were politically and administratively provided for.

    He said as major organ of development in the FCT, the absence of an enabling law had always created constraints in operations and output of Satellite towns.

  • Olanusi to Mimiko: recognise new Speaker

    Olanusi to Mimiko: recognise new Speaker

    Former Ondo State Deputy Governor Ali Olanusi, at the weekend, cautioned Governor Olusegun Mimiko against interfering in the House of Assembly’s affairs.

    Olanusi spoke with reporters after he was installed grand patron of Road Transport Employers of Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in Akure, the state capital.

    The septuagenarian was impeached by the Seventh Assembly, headed by  embattled Speaker Jumoke Akindele, after leaving   Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He urged the governor to emulate what President Muhammadu Buhari did when Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogora emerged Senate President and Speaker.

    The Assembly is polarised into two factions, led by Ms Akindele and Malachi Coker.

    Olanusi said: “Nothing concerns Mimiko with change of officers at the Assembly. Though, I don’t blame him, he  has been commissioner and minister but never a lawmaker.

    “He does not know  the workings of the legislature.

    “It is the responsibility of lawmakers to choose their speaker.”

    The former deputy governor wondered why the governor refused to present the budget, despite the lawmakers’ presence at plenary on Wednesday.

    Spokesman of the Coker faction Iroju Ogundeji said the faction was not against Mimiko’s budget presentation.

    He said they were only against Akindele‘s claim  that she was still Speaker.

    Ogundeji said: “The  genesis of the crisis is the alleged N15million fraud against Akindele.

    “You will recollect that Akindele was impeached 10 months ago before the governor appealed to us.

    “This time around, we have elected another speaker, deputy and majority leader.

    “On Monday, we got information that the governor  was  coming to present the 2017 Appropriation Bill.

    “We arrived the Assembly early but waited endlessly for the governor.

    “We were told that he had an emergency meeting in Abuja.

    “We are waiting for Mimiko to come and present his budget.”

  • Ondo Assembly sacks Speaker, deputy

    Ondo Assembly sacks Speaker, deputy

    Less than a month to the inauguration of Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) as the new governor of Ondo State, the state’s House of Assembly yesterday impeached its Speaker, Princess Jumoke Akindele.

    Akindele, is a Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) lawmaker representing Okitipupa, in the Southern District of the state.

     Also impeached was the Deputy Speaker, Fatai Olotu from Akoko division in the Northern District of the state.

    The impeachment exercise, was said to have been carried out outside the Assembly premises.

    Although details of the impeachment were still sketchy at press time,

    it was gathered that the 26 members House of Assembly had been embroiled in internal crisis since March last year when Mrs Akindele and Olotu were first impeached.

    Both Akindele and Olotu were impeached by 18 out of the 26 members in March last year for alleged highhandedness but their removal was reversed following the intervention of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

    Meanwhile, the Ondo State House of Assembly has elected Coker Malachi representing Ilaje 1 state constituency as the new Speaker, and Ayo Arowele representing Owo constituency as Deputy Speaker.

  • Osinbajo, Ambode, Mimiko, others attend RCCG Holy Ghost Congress

    Osinbajo, Ambode, Mimiko, others attend RCCG Holy Ghost Congress

    The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo and his wife, Oludolapo; Governor of Lagos State, Akinwumi Ambode and his wife, Bolanle; Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and his wife Olukemi; Speaker, Ekiti state house of assembly, Kola Oluwawole and Chief judge of South Africa, Mogoeng Mogoeng were on Friday present at the Redemption Camp on km46, Lagos Ibadan Expressway, for this year’s Holy Ghost Congress of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), with the theme; ‘Complete restoration’.

    The one week long congress which began on Monday, December 5, ended will end Saturday, December 10.

    It was a gathering of millions of worshippers from all over the world.

    In his sermon on Friday night, The General Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, spoke on the topic, ‘Complete restoration’.

    The Cleric explained that complete restoration is a process.  He said every Christian is entitled to miracles,  noting that those who are not born again cannot get miracle, because miracles comes from God and God is holy.

    Reading from Ezekiel chapter 3, verse 7 to 10, Adeboye said; “Whenever God wants to begin the process of restoration, He remembers the forgotten and miracles are bound to follow. God also he visits the person and something miraculous happens

    “Anytime God want to do something there must be a noise; When God arrives, there must be a shaking; nakedness is covered; shame is ended; the  wind blows, and whenever the wind blows there will be miracles,” he said.

    The Cleric assured that the blessings of God makes rich and adds no sorrow. “When a miracle comes from God it is clean, with no string are attached and there will be divine protection. “When you are child of God your future is secured. Whatever is available to Jesus is available to you,” he said.

  • Dogara: sack governors who hijack council funds

    Dogara: sack governors who hijack council funds

    Governors who refuse to conduct council elections should be removed from office for gross violation of the Constitution, House Speaker Yakubu Dogara has said.

    He accused governors of violating the 1999 Constitution by undermining local councils’ independence.

    The Speaker accused governors of using local government funds instead of making the money available to the councils.

    He described the state/local government joint accounts as “evil”, adding that governors have emasculated councils and turned them into cash cows.

    According to him, it is unfortunate that most governors have “pocketed” Houses of Assembly, making them toothless, hence their inability to impeach governors who violate the constitution.

    To Dogara, failure to conduct council elections amounts to “serious violation of the provisions of the constitution”, which he said was “one of the biggest grounds for impeachment”.

    He said: “As a matter of fact, joint account is one of the biggest evils because it gives the authority to local government ministries in the state.

    “In most states, especially in the north where we don’t have oil and co, the ministry of local government in the state is regarded as the ministry of petroleum resources.

    “So we all know when funds are allocated to the councils. Instead of getting to the councils, they are hijacked at that (state) level and appropriated according to the whims of the powers that be.

    On what is to be done, Dogara said: “We will have to make this local government system a bit independent.

    “I am not saying absolute independence because we may not achieve that since ours is a strong federation. It is not a weak federation like what you have in the United States where councils and states join their own money and then appropriate it and pay royalties in taxes to the federal government.

    “So, what we can therefore do is make sure that in the spirit of the constitution, the local government administration is democratically-elected to ensure that by provision of the constitution, that any local government that is not democratically constituted will not have access to any funding from the federation.

    “That was the problem we had, there was this issue of Lagos creating more councils and then President Olusegun Obasanjo decided to deny them allocation from the federation account before the courts said you are just a trustee, you can’t do that. As a matter of fact, the money does not belong to the Federal  Republic of Nigeria. So, we must cure that

    “We talked about financial autonomy, which is the biggest. We want to guarantee that by ensuring that councils submit their respective account numbers to the federal government where money meant for them are paid directly without any intervening authority or third party on the chain so that council authorities and citizens that live in those local governments will know that this is what is coming.

    “The money is published every month so they know. And to be able to achieve this, I did talk about the state legislators needing some form of autonomy and we want to give them that. That will definitely be in the proposal that will be going out to them to vote on. We talked about ensuring democracy, credible elections at the third tier of government and we agreed, it was your suggestion actually, and I concurred that state independent electoral commissions have never worked and will never work. So our best bet is to make sure that they are eliminated.”

    As a way out of the problem, the Speaker said any state whose councils are run by caretaker committees should not get federal allocations.

    “What we are trying to say is, okay,  if your local government administration is caretaker, you cannot draw funds from the federation account. That should be a provision of the constitution itself,” he said.

    Dogara wants State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) abolished. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should conduct council elections, he said.

    In an interview, Dogara said the constitution provides that the local government officials must be democratically-elected, but very few of them have elected executives running their affairs.

    “It is a system that is in crisis. Since 1999 when we had this latest advent of politics, I don’t want to go back to the days of military regime, you will attest to the fact that there is hardly any local government that has lived up to its constitutional mandate and the reasons are quite obvious,” he said.

    According to him, in other democracies such as Brazil, India and the United States, there are democratically elected leaders for the councils’ executive, legislature, courts and police.

    “But in Nigeria, the governor will sit in the state executive meeting and they will come up with a resolution that they have sacked an elected council executive and then they appoint council caretaker committees. And to be candid, that is a gross violation of the constitution.

    “I don’t know if the framers were able to anticipate that that may likely be the situation that most of the governors will violate the powers that were assigned to the states with respect to local governments under the constitution.

    “That has become the norm rather than the exception, where majority of the councils in Nigeria, even as we speak in this era of change and the promise All Progressives Congress (APC) made, you will be surprised that majority of the area councils are run by caretaker councils and there is no where in the constitution where caretaker is mentioned,” Dogara said.

    The speaker said the joint account is “one of the biggest evils” bedeviling local government areas.

    His words: “In most states, especially in the North where we don’t have oil and co, the ministry of local government is regarded as the ministry of petroleum resources.

    “So, we all know when funds are allocated to the councils, instead of getting to the councils, they are hijacked at that level and appropriated according to the whims of the powers that be.”

    The solution, Dogara said, is a Constitution amendment to make councils less subject to laws passed by the state assemblies.

    “For us to tackle this problem, since they are constitutional, it means that the only avenue we have is to embark on constitution amendment. If we don’t get it on that level, I don’t think it is going to work,” he said.

    According to the Speaker, for councils to have financial autonomy, they must maintain an account with the Accountant-General of the Federation where monies due them will be paid directly, thereby eliminating joint accounts.

    He said the constitution has to be very clear on how council executives are composed to avoid situations where states unilaterally suspend a council chairman or councilors.

    Dogara said if councils become efficient, the best hands would want to contest elections as chairmen and councilors.

    He said when financial autonomy and independence is achieved, councils would still, to some extent, be under states’ jurisdiction regarding healthcare, basic education, policing, among others.

    On the House’s role, he said: “The aspect we will be looking at is to ensure that all local government councils in Nigeria are democratically run, not run by caretaker councils appointed by the state executive. That is one big area that we are looking at.

    “The second area is democratically elected council legislators, not caretaker committees, so that they will be saddled with the responsibility of passing laws that will give the council the powers to effect all latitudes given to them under the 4th schedule of the 1999 constitution. We talked about financial autonomy, which is the biggest.

     ”We want to guarantee that by ensuring that councils submit their respective account numbers to the federal government where money meant for them are paid directly without any intervening authority or third party all the chain so that council authorities and citizens that live in those local governments will know that this is what is coming. The money is published every month so they know.

     ”State legislators need some form of autonomy and we want to give them that. That will definitely be in the proposal that will be going out to them to vote on.”

    On why SIECs should be abolished, he said: “State independent electoral commissions have never worked and will never work. So our best bet is to make sure that they are eliminated.

    “From the proposal that will come out from us, you will discover that the state independent electoral commission will be removed from the provisions of the constitution but it is left for the state assemblies, two thirds of them, to agree with us.

    “Once we do that, we will transfer the powers of organising elections in the third tier of government to INEC which appears to be doing a better job than the state electoral commission, and that is by popular consensus anyway.

    “So, that is what we want to do in regards to the councils and the motivation is to ensure that we have a sustained basis at the local level where developmental activities can take place to stem the tide of rural-urban migration which has become a big problem in this country.

    “When we do that, we will improve on the quality of the pool of professionals that will serve at the local level. That therefore means that it will escalate developmental activities across the nation. That is what we are doing.”

    Dogara recalled that in the seventh assembly, effort was made during the constitution amendment to vest council with financial autonomy. He said 20 state assemblies endorsed it, but because two-thirds of the states was needed, the amendment could not scale through as it fell short by four states.

  • Reps to meet Buhari over incessant Killings

    Reps to meet Buhari over incessant Killings

    Worried by the continuous killings across the country, the House of  Representatives Thursday mandated the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari and the security chiefs over the rising wave of insecurity

    The proposed meeting with  Buhari is for the purpose of getting him to act urgently on the trend of herdsmen attacks, armed robbery, kidnapping, and other security challenges.

    The House also said a conference on security involving all security agencies should be convened to proffer solution to the problem and called for a Declaration of Emergency in Southern Kaduna senatorial district by the Federal and Kaduna State governments.

    The lawmakers also urged the Director of the Department of State Service in charge of internal security to wake up to his responsibility in terms of securing the lives of Nigerians in the country.

    The resolutions of the House was sequel to the adoption of the amended prayers of a motion  of urgent public importance by a member, Hon. Simon Arabo (Kaduna APC) who decried the senseless killings in the region, especially the recent killing of 43 persons and destruction of houses in Kauru Local government, by unknown gunmen.

    Recall that armed men attacked Kigam, Kitakum, Ungwan Magaji, Ungwan Rimi, Ungwan Makera and Kizipi villages in Kauru Local government area of Kaduna state, on November 13 to 14, 2016, killing 43 persons including women and children and injuring several others.

    The lawmakers called for the establishment of a military strike force in the area in the meantime as a form of deterrent, saying the attacks are becoming too rampant.

    The Green Chamber urged security agencies to intensify efforts to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators of the attacks, in accordance with its resolutions of October 19, 2016 which came on the heel of a previous attacks.

    While supporting the motion, Hon. Jagaba Adams Jagaba (Kaduna APC) accused the military of apathy to the killings.

    “You call them and they tell you that they do not have mandate to act. In some cases, they come and arrest the same people who have asked them for protection, after the attackers have gone,

    “There is no concern by government. People do what they like and get away with it. The repercussion is great for the nation.

    Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila warned that the attacks have a tendency to migrate to other parts of the country. Its coming to a time when a state of emergency will be declared in Southern Kaduna. It should therefore not be considered a southern Kaduna problem, This is the time to act,” he said.

    Another member, Hon. Zakari Mohammed (Kwara APC) noted that such incidents speak to the need to revisit laws that regulate the rights of citizens to bear arms and the consideration of state police.

    He said: “We have to look at these issues seriously else people would resort to self help. The problem with self help is that it could cause more harm than the initial harm.”

    Other members who supported the motion include, Mohammed sanni Abdul, Garba Datti Mohammed, Babale Bachir, Shehu Garba, Kingsley Chinda and Sanni Zoro.