The Nation Newspaper

Tag: State House of Assembly

  • Nasarawa assembly summons gov’s aide over payment of constituency allowances

    The Nasarawa State House of Assembly on Tuesday summoned the Special Adviser to Gov. Tanko Al-Makura on Gender and Disability Matters, Hajiya Hajara Danyaro, over alleged payment of constituency allowances to the members of the state legislature.

    Alhaji Ibrahim Balarabe-Abdullahi, Speaker of the house, gave the directive on Tuesday for the appearance of the aide before the house.

    The summon followed Mr. James Dangana (APC-Doma) motion on an allegation under a Matter of Public Interest during the house proceeding in Lafia.

    Balarabe-Abdullahi directed the Clerk of the house to communicate the resolution to Danyaro to appear on April 11 by 8.30 a.m., adding that her alleged statement was capable of inciting the public against the house.

    “By this invitation, we want to give the Special Adviser to Gov. Al-Makura on Gender and Disability Matters, fair hearing over her allegation that the house has been receiving constituency allowances and because of that, members have been marrying more wives.

    “We want her to come and explain whether the allegation against the house is true or not,” he said.

    Earlier, Mr. James Dangana (APC-Doma), Chairman, House Committee on Information, alleged that Danyaro told women in Lafia that lawmakers were now marrying additional wives due to the payment of constituency allowances to them.

    “I am speaking in my capacity as the house committee chairman on Information.

    “I want to move a motion so that Danyaro should appear before the house tomorrow to explain her statement on the alleged payment of constituency allowances to members of this house,” he said.

    Alhaji Ibrahim Bala (APC-Keffi West) seconded the motion for the summon on the governor’s aide.

  • Gov. Obaseki requests Edo Assembly to confirm nominee for traffic agency

    Gov. Obaseki requests Edo Assembly to confirm nominee for traffic agency

    Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Monday requested the State House of Assembly to confirm Mr Dennis Omoregie as the Managing Director, Edo State Traffic Control Agency.

    The request was conveyed in a letter signed and sent to the house by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Osarodion Ogie.

    The speaker, Justin Okonoboh, referred the request to the house committee on rules, business and Government House.
    Also at plenary, a motion to extend the business calendar of the third quarter, second session of the sixth assembly from March 31 to April 7, 2017 was moved by the majority leader, Mr Foly Ogedengbe.

    The motion was seconded by the deputy speaker, Mrs Elizabeth Ativie, member representing (APC Uhunmwode) constituency.

    Moving the motion, Ogedengbe said “the business calendar for this quarter was supposed to have ended on March 31 but we have only extended it with five days,’’ he said.

    The house, however, adopted the business calendar without amendment.

    Meanwhile, the consideration of a bill for a law to eliminate violence in public and private places and prohibit all forms of violence against persons, as well as provide maximum protection, was stepped down.

    The bill was stepped down by the speaker, Justin Okonoboh, as a result of opposition by the chief whip, Kabiru Adjoto and other members of the house.

    Adjoto urged the house to subject the bill to a public hearing, before considering it for passage.

    All efforts by the deputy speaker, Mrs Elizabeth Ativie; majority leader, Mr Foly Ogdengbe, and minority leader, Mr Patrick Iluobe, to persuade other members of the house to support the passage of the bill failed.

    The bill was subsequently stepped down by the speaker.

  • Kaduna Assembly approves N214.9bn 2017 Budget

    Kaduna Assembly approves N214.9bn 2017 Budget

    The 2017 Kaduna state’s Budget of N214.9 billion has been passed into law by the State House of Assembly on Thursday.

    The figure is N1 billion less than the budget proposal forwarded by Gov. Nasiru El-Rufa’i to the assembly on Oct. 12, for approval.

    The Speaker of the assembly, Alhaji Aminu Shagali, who read the content of the budget clause by clause, said N83.46 billion was approved for recurrent and N131.45 for capital expenditure.

    He said the budget would cover from now till Dec. 31, 2017.

    The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, later told newsmen that the N1 billion cut from the original proposal was from the expected revenue of two agencies.

    He said that revenue projection of the state Geographic Information System and Internal Revenue Service was reduced by N500 million for each of the agencies, “in view of current economic realities.”

    He assured that the assembly would monitor the implementation to ensure that it serve the people better.

  • 2017 budget: Obaseki’s team to meet lawmakers

    2017 budget: Obaseki’s team to meet lawmakers

    Towards speedy passage of the 2017 budget proposal, the pre-budget team of the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, will next week meet with lawmakers in the State House of Assembly to discuss the  budget framework.

     

    Governor Obaseki began preparation of the 2017 budget before he was sworn-in and he is expected to present the budget before the lawmakers go for December break.

     

    Obaseki said the interaction with the lawmakers would help to facilitating understanding between the executive and the legislature as well as making crafting of bills efficient. 

     

    He spoke when he received the lawmakers who visited him at the Government House.

     

    Governor Obaseki assured the lawmakers that his administration would run ‘a very transparent government that also listens to the people.

     

    Describing his administration as dawn of a new era and a government the people yearned for, Governor Obaseki said the last eight was to recover the state politically and lay foundation for rapid transformation.

     

    Obaseki reiterated his desire to focus on human development and economic empowerment through job creation and rebuilding of public institutions.

     

    He noted that his policies would be as nice as they were pronounced if the institutional framework were not available.

     

    He said, “We have too many young men and women in our own estimate between half a million to 3 quarter of a million, between the ages of 15 to 30 who have nothing doing. We have to engage them and to engage them, we need to do several things and so, the last two days, you would have noticed that we are trying to understand the issues.”

     

    “We are going to create jobs. We promised a minimum of 200,000 jobs and to do that, we first have to understand our direction and the challenges we face in terms of unemployment. On Monday, we went to Benin Technical College which was established 40 years ago to champion technical and vocational training for young men and women. 

     

    “The key priority for us would be to ensure that we revamp and strengthen our civil service. That informed our visit yesterday to just have a firsthand understanding of how our civil servants work. Members of the house, we have a lot of work to do. In the last 40 years, not much have been done, particularly, in the physical environment in which our civil servants work, but more critically in training them and building their skill level.

     

    “We understand that we have to continue to invest in infrastructure despite very lean resources but we are very clear and resolute that working with you, and with the kind of support we enjoy from you, we will be able to overcome all these challenges we face.

     

    “Next week, we will be sending our first executive bill to you. It is critical and when the time is right, we will know publicly. Starting from next week, we will be sending the team, the pre-budget team to come and meet with the budget committee of the house to seat down and begin to discuss the framework for next year budget.”

     

    Also speaking, the Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Hon Justin Okonobo said they were in Government House for a familiarization visit to the Governor and pledged their readiness to work with Governor Obaseki. 

     

    The Speaker declared that they were ready to formulate laws that would be of benefit to the people of Edo State.

  • Ajimobi places N5m bounty on Oyo lawmaker’s killers

    Ajimobi places N5m bounty on Oyo lawmaker’s killers

    The Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has placed a N5million bounty on the heads of the three gunmen responsible for the gruesome murder of a member of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Gideon Aremu.

    A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, Mr. Yomi Layinka, on Thursday, in Ibadan, announced the reward for any member of the public with credible information that might lead to the arrest of the criminals.

    Ajimobi appealed to members of the public in possession of any useful information to immediately contact the following telephone numbers: 0802 343 1079, 0803 653 6581, with assurances that such tips would be treated in the utmost confidence.

    Aremu represented Oorelope constituency in the House of Assembly until he was murdered on July 1 by three gunmen that allegedly trailed him on motorcycle.

    The governor said that he was still saddened by the ghastly incident that shattered the serenity the state had enjoyed in the past five years and would be prepared to reward anybody with clues that would assist the police to apprehend the culprits and their sponsors.

    Ajimobi said, “This is to further demonstrate the government’s commitment to the ongoing investigation of the immediate and remote causes of the murder of the parliamentarian who was allegedly gunned down in front of his home in Alakia, Ibadan.

    “The governor, once again, wishes to reiterate his administration’s relentless pursuit and defence of the security of lives and properties of all citizens of Oyo State, without let or hindrance.

    “The government wishes to assure such volunteers of absolute secrecy, confidentiality and protection of the law. Please, help to find those behind the murder of Hon. Gideon Aremu so that he and his family can get justice, and on time too.”

    Ajimobi promised members of the public that the police and other security agencies would not relent in their efforts at maintaining peace and orderliness, and assured the deceased family that a crack team of homicide detectives were already working hard to apprehend the suspects.

    He advised residents to embrace community policing by working with law enforcement agencies to curb crimes in the society and arrest suspected criminals before they wreak havoc.

  • Unsuspected  ritualists Invades Edo, Killed four persons

    Unsuspected ritualists has invaded the sleeping town of Ubiaja, Headquarters of Esan South East local government Area killing four persons with their sensitive parts removed.

    The lawmaker representing the area in the state house of Assembly,  Mr Festus Udughele  told the Parliament at their yesterday sitting that activities of unidentified hoodlums had led to the killing of some persons with their bodies mutilated.

    According to him, a lifeless body of a woman was found inside a church, human skull was also discovered in a school while a lifeless body of a middle aged man was seen with his organ mutilated all in the Ubiaja town.

    He also stated a student of one of the tertiary institutions in the locality was also reportedly killed by suspected cultists during the last voter  registration in the state.

    The Assembly therefore called on the state police command and other security agencies in the state to as a matter of urgency beef up security at Ubiaja, the administrative headquarters of Esan South East of the state.

    The House also directed the security agencies to embark on proper investigations with a view to unraveling and prosecuting those involved in the dastardly acts in the locality.

    The resolution followed a motion under matters of urgent public importance raised by the member representing the area in the assembly, Mr. Festus Udughele to curb further killing in the town.

  •  Oyo govt., labour hold reconciliatory talks

     Oyo govt., labour hold reconciliatory talks

    The face-off between the Oyo State Government and labour may soon be over as the two parties commenced reconciliatory talks on Wednesday in Ibadan.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that workers led by the national leadership of the NLC had on June 6 declared an indefinite strike over their unpaid six months salaries.

    The workers also rejected government’s controversial education initiative to involve private participation in the management of public secondary schools while also demanding the withdrawal of all charges against the labour leaders in a court of law.

    A five-hour reconciliatory meeting facilitated by the State House of Assembly, however, held at the Executive Chambers of the Governors Office.

    Speaking after the meeting, which ended at exactly 8.15p.m., the parties told newsmen that the reconciliatory process was on course.

    Mr Peters Adeyemi, Deputy President of NLC, said that the meeting was a tough one that required extensive deliberation.

    He said that the labours leaders would go back to brief members on the issues discussed and take a collective decision.

    “We cannot take a decision on the ongoing strike action here unless we brief our people and collectively a decision is taken.

    “Whatever is our decision would be communicated to the government and the media on Thursday,” he said.

    Adeyemi commended the governor for his tolerance and the Assembly for its timely intervention.

    Also speaking, Gov. Abiola Ajimobi commended the commitment and maturity displayed by the national leadership of both NLC and NUT.

    Ajimobi said that he saw honesty of purpose in the discussion between the parties, expressing optimism that the outcome would be for the progress of the state.

    “I have no doubt that we will all succeed at the end,” he said.

    NAN also reports that the leadership of the NUT led by its President, Mr Olukoya Alogba, presented the union’s proposals on promoting educational development in the state to the governor.

  • Rivers rerun: Wike declares Thursday, Friday public holiday

    Rivers rerun: Wike declares Thursday, Friday public holiday

    The Governor of River State, Nyesom Wike has declared Thursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18, as work-free days for the re-run legislative elections in the state.

    It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is scheduled to conduct elections for 22 of the 32 state House of Assembly seats, 12 of the 13 House of Representatives seats and the three Senatorial Districts on Saturday, March 19.

    The governor, who made the announcement in a state broadcast on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, said the work-free days would enable workers in the public and private sectors participate in the elections.

    “Consequently, all public and private offices, including banks must remain closed for the duration of the holidays,” he said.

    He urged the people to cast their ballots for candidates that would stand for their rights and promote their collective interests in the National Assembly.

    “You will also be electing worthy representatives to the State House of Assembly to join me to deliver our developmental agenda and help chart the future of our state through effective legislation and oversight,” he said.

    Wike said that the state government had requested the armed forces to increase security surveillance in nine local government areas identified as flash points of cultism and banditry.

    He said that the LGAs are: Abua/Odual, Ahoada-East, Ahoada-West, Emohua, Ikwerre, Opobo/Nkoro and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni.

    He said that the security agencies had assured that they would not deviate from their role of safeguarding law and order before, during and after the elections.

    “The Nigeria Police and other security agencies have put adequate measures to keep the peace and ensure an orderly conduct of the re-run elections throughout the state,” he said.

  • I have not stolen government’s fund – Elechi

    I have not stolen government’s fund – Elechi

    … Assembly declares four seats vacant

    Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to examine the state’s financial expenditure closely and tell him if he has stolen government fund.

    Elechi made the call on Wednesday while inaugurating the Oferekpe mega water scheme which became operational following the completion of the project.

    He said, ‘’ I am calling on Ebonyi people to put pressure on the House of Assembly members who have vowed not to allow us get necessary funding to do the projects we need to do for our people. Our expenditure profile is under scrutiny and we invite all anti-graft agencies wherever they may be to examine our books closely and tell us where we have stolen government funds.

    ‘’ I believe we have discharged our responsibility creditably, we have acquitted ourselves creditably as well, the rest is left to God to decide. But we believe we have the capacity, the zeal and the vision to transmit water to every community in Ebonyi State.”

    The EFCC and ICPC have quizzed some of the state government officials including the governor’s son, Prince Nnanna Elechi, over alleged financial fraud.

    The anti-graft agencies are also investigating local government accounts and Sure-P funds.

    But the state government has described the arrests as politically motivated.

    Meanwhile, the state House of Assembly has declared the seats of four of its members vacant for defecting to another political party.

    The Speaker of the House, Chukwuma Nwazunku, while reading the resolutions, said the affected members violated section 109; sub section 1G of the 1999 Constitution as amended by defecting to another political party without stipulated party guidelines.

    The affected members are – Chief Eni Uduma-Chima (PDP-Afikpo South West), Mr. Sam Nwali (PDP-Ikwo North) Mrs. Helen-Nwaobashi (PDP—Abakaliki South) and Mrs. Mabel Aleke (PDP—Ohaukwu South).

    “They defected to another party without adhering to the laid down rules stipulated by the Peoples Democratic Party under which platform they were elected as members of the House.

    “Their action brings the integrity of the House into disrepute, as the declaration of vacancy to their seats takes effect from February 11.

    “We therefore inform the state’s Commissioner of Police, State Security Service, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant agencies, on the matter for appropriate actions to be taken.

     

     

  • CLO expresses worry over Chime’s absence from Enugu

    Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has expressed worry over the continued absence from office by Enugu State Governor, Mr Sullivan Chime, who has been away since September 19, 2012.

    The group, in a statement by its Executive Director, Ibuchukwu Ezike, said although the governor only asked for two weeks leave in his letter to the Speaker, State House of Assembly, Hon Eugene Odo, he has spent more than three months.

    CLO alleged that Chime had in the said letter, asked that his deputy, Mr Sunday Onyebuchi, act in his absence to enable state functions as enshrined in the 1999 constitution proceed but the State House of Assembly has refused to appoint Onyebuchi in that capacity.

    “Of the issues worrying the CLO, is the non-presentation of the 2013 budget proposals before the state assembly whereas other states have started doing so. This is not in the interest of the citizens of Enugu state. Last week, we learnt that the speaker had announced to the House that the budget would be presented to it (House) but till the time of this release, the budget has not been presented.

    “CLO strongly frowns at the lukewarm attitude and conspiracy of the state assembly which ought to have appointed the Deputy Governor to act as the governor as required by law so he could begin to do the functions of the governor of the state as has rightly been done by the Taraba State House of Assembly in the case of Gov Danbaba Suntai.

    “It is shocking that while the entire machinery of the state has been totally paralysed, the state assembly has remained indifferent. CLO totally condemns the action of Enugu state House of Assembly and urges it to rise above personal interests and cronyism and do the right thing without delay,” the group said.

    In another development, CLO has joined voices with its Anambra State chapter to condemn the State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, for his refusal to conduct local government elections in the state since his assumption of office in 2006.

    Demanding an immediate conduct of the states local government polls, Ibuchukwu said Obi’s action amounts to a disobedience of the law.

    The group also faulted the use of vigilante groups in the state, expressing fears such actions may snowball into small arms proliferation and violence especially as elections draw close.