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Tag: Yakubu Dogara

  • Court gives Saraki, Dogara, 52 others five days to respond to suit challenging defection

    The Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday gave Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Speaker, House of Representstives, Yakubu Dogara; and 52 other lawmakers until April 17 to file their responses to a suit asking them to vacate their seats.

    An advocacy group, Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), dragged the lawmakers to court seeking a declaration that they were no longer members of the National Assembly having defected to other political parties before the expiration of their tenure.

    The defendants comprise 17 senators, 37 members of the House of Representatives, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the clerks of both houses.

    When the matter was called, Mr Efut Okoi announced appearance for the senate and the senators, while Safiya Mohammed announced appearance for the members.

    Both counsel urged the court to entertain their applications, noting that a litigant’s choice of counsel was his fundamental right.

    Mr Jubrin Okutepa (SAN), who announced appearance for LEDAP, said that the defendants were attempting to confuse the court by changing counsel.

    He noted that at Thursday’s proceedings, Mr Mahmud Magaji, SAN,  announced appearance for all the defendants and wondered why that had changed.

    He urged the court to ask Magaji to move the applications he had earlier filed and strike out any other applications before the court with regards to the suit.

    Read also: Why Saraki, Dogara are hell bent on installing successors

    Magaji, in one of his applications, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter on the grounds that the plaintiff had no “locus standi” to file the suit.

    The trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, however, held that it was in the interest of justice to hear all counsel in the matter.

    He ruled that the plaintiff (LEDAP) was at liberty to reply to all the processes filed by the defendants on or before April 15 and ordered the defendants to file their reply by April 17.

    He said that any party that failed to abide by the court ‘s directive would have itself to blame.

    The judge adjourned the matter until April 18.

    The court on Thursday suspended delivering judgment on the suit, even though the judge said it was ready, in order to give the defendants an opportunity to file their processes so as to give all parties in the suit fair hearing.

    LEDAP, in their suit filed on September 14, 2018 prayed the court for an interpretation of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.

    This was with regards as to whether any member of the National Assembly who resigns from the political party that sponsored his election before the expiration of the term for which he was elected, automatically loses his seat in the assembly.

    The group was also seeking a declaration that the lawmakers were no longer entitled to receive any remunerations due to a member of the National Assembly and that any of such remunerations after their date of defection be refunded to the Federal Government.

    LEDAP in the suit also prayed the presiding members of the National Assembly to declare vacant the seats of the defectors.

  • Address killings within 48 hrs, Reps tell Buhari

    Disturbed by the resurgence of killings by alleged herdsmen and bandits across the country, the House of Representatives has mandated President Muhamnadu Buhari to address the House and the nation within 48 hours.

    This followed a motion under matters of public importance by Rep Mark Gbillah (PDP-Benue) at Thursday plenary presided over by Speaker Yakubu Dogara in Abuja.

    Moving the motion, Gbillah, who represents Gwer-East/Gwer-West Federal Constituency, said the House was concerned by I creasing attacks by ”killer herdsmen and alleged bandits in communities in Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara and other states from Jan. till date.”

    He noted that this had resulted in the loss of hundreds of innocent lives and the displacement of thousands of Nigerians who had fled their homes and means of livelihood for fear of losing their lives.

    ”The House is alarmed at the brazen nature of the attacks by the herdsmen and alleged bandits who attack these communities with impunity brazenly clad in military fatigues and audibly communicating with each other in Fulani as reported by eyewitness accounts from the recent attacks in Kaduna.

    ”Obviously emboldened by the inability of the Nigerian armed forces to curb their activities, these killers have gradually progressed from attacking remote villages at night to sacking whole towns in brood daylight displacing residents and occupying affected communities,” he said.

    According to him, the House is disappointed at the reactive responses of the Nigerian armed forces to these attacks under this administration and their inability to proactively attack the publicly known locations of these herdsmen or establish a permanent base at restive locations in line with globally recognised rules of engagement.

    The lawmaker also expressed worry over the inability of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to fulfil its statutory mandate of providing relief materials and rehabilitation to hopeless displaced persons and their affected communities.

    He stressed that the House could no longer condone the continuous killing of innocent Nigerians with impunity despite the plethora of motions and resolutions passed on the floor of the House and the Senate.

    ”We have no other option than to directly engage the President and Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces who has primary responsibility for the security and welfare of every Nigerian citizens,” Gbillah stated.

    When the motion was put on a voice vote by the Speaker, Dogara, the whole members unanimously supported it.

    The lawmakers, however, resolved that President Buhari should ”address the House and the nation within 48 hours on: his inability and the inability of his administration since inception to declare the killer herdsmen as terrorists to enable commensurate action against them by the armed forced.

    ”The inability of the armed forces under his watch to stop the recurring death of scores of innocent Nigerians annually from systematic attacks by killer herdsmen and alleged bandits and the gradual occupation of affected communities by these herdsmen despite countless assurances and statements by him promising to stop the attacks.

    ”His selective and ineffective responses to the killing of Nigerians by herdsmen especially when they occur in certain parts of the country like Benue.

    ”The immediate measures he intends to employ as the C-In-C to provide the armed forces, including the police with the required resources (equipment, welfare, etc) to confront and dislodge the killer herdsmen from their hideouts.

    ”The measures he intends to employ to establish permanent presence in immediate proximity to affected communities and provide a timeline within which these attacks will be curtailed so Nigerians can return to their ancestral homes and means of livelihood, among others.”

    The House resolved that if the president failed to respond to aforementioned requests within 48 hours, he and his administration would be seen as incapable of permanently curtailing the incessant killing of innocent Nigerians by killer herdsmen and the occupation of their land.

    It added that the government would be termed to have failed in its primary constitutional responsibility of ensuring the security and welfare of the citizens of Nigeria.

    The House, therefore, constituted an ad hoc committee to interface with the Presidency and engaged the Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, service Chiefs, among others, in a public hearing to determine permanent solutions to the menace.

  • Dogara and his cant

    Just as well Yakubu Dogara, “Speaker” of the House of Representatives, is a Christian.  So, he would understand the concept of the pious repetitive chant called the canticle.

    But take the piety from canticle, and all you have is empty and hollow cant — just as taking morality and decency from Dogara’s current position, and it is clear what is left is contemptible chaff of opportunism.

    It is called immorality in general concept.  In politics, in this particular situation, it is called illegitimacy.  Or how do you dub a fella that flaunted his Christian minority status, to corral the position of Speaker; and yet his Christian conscience became dead, when it was time to renounce that office, when he voluntarily became a minority legislator?

    Hardball supposes quitting an office on the nobility of high moral grounds — the minority shunning what belongs to the majority — is alien to a cabal without honour, even if the legislative conclave they belong to comes with the honorific prefix of “Honourable”.  What devastating irony!

    That was the smelly pus, issuing from Dogara’s lengthy and hollow cant, to new inductees into the soon-to-be-promulgated 9th National Assembly.

    To start with, that a Dogara would stand before any decent company, and address them as “Speaker” is a violent assault on Nigeria’s evolving democracy and its troubled parliament.  In what sane parliament, all over the world, would a minority representative say he is Speaker and continue to crow about it?

    As if that slur wasn’t enough, he went on and on and on, in meaningless humbug, on how not to choose parliamentary leaders!  Gosh!  Did he realize how shallow and hollow he sounded?

    He boasted of experience: how long he had been in the House to know how things worked — wonderful CV!  But in all of his years in there, when his present party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called the shots, did he ever recall any Alliance for Democracy, or All People’s Party (later All Nigeria People’s Party or Labour Party  — indeed, any of the minority parties — produce a Speaker?

    Or did any PDP speaker defect to other parties, yet crow before new House members, in a lecture on parliamentary leadership?

    That is exactly Hardball’s point.  That was the moral gargoyle the Speaker presented, as he gave his hollow lecture!  Still, history would dutifully record all these against his name, in this odd season, when Nigerian parliamentary democracy is really going crazy!  But these times would pass!

    By the way, Dogara appears not to have learnt from the electoral pulverization of Saraki and his putative political destruction — again, traced to high-wire parliamentary abuse that pawned institutional sanity for cynical, personal gain.

    Nor has he learnt from the grim experience of old vomit, turned new beverage, PDP.  That party abused everything decent under political sun, until it found itself languishing in opposition.  Yet, it’s not done with self, its latest suicide mission being pushing parliamentary anarchy, where the minority swallows the majority.

    Well, as our elders say, the lost dog is stone-deaf to the hunter’s whistle.

     

     

  • Imposed NASS leadership will fail, Dogara declares

    Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Monday said the leadership of the ninth National Assembly should be allowed to emerge from elected parliamentarians.

    Dogara said that any leadership that is forced on the National Assembly will fail.

    The Speaker spoke in Abuja at the ongoing induction of Senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect of the ninth National Assembly.

    He noted a situation where “leadership is forced and literally driven down the throat of elected members had never endured in the National Assembly.”

    He advised Senators-elect and House of Representatives members-elect to look out for those who have thrown themselves into the race to see who will aggregate their aspirations better.

    The least legislators could afford in the National Assembly, he said, is crisis on account of the leadership selection process.

    “I hope we will learn from history,” Dogara noted that leadership imposed on the National Assembly has never worked.

    Dogara said: “Well, I guess that it is not a subject matter you may want just to offer an advice on because we are all parliamentarians those that have been elected, we will be here for four years to serve the people. Leadership is always something that emerges from people.

    “Some of us that have been a bit old in the field, we know how that is done.

    “My advice is that we stay calm to understand the people going in for these positions of leadership in the National Assembly.

    “At the end of the day we are praying that we have those leaders who will be able to sustain what we have done in the Eight Assembly or even surpass what we have done. We don’t want leadership that will take us back.

    Read Also: Speaker: Dogara fingered inplot against Gbajabiamila

    “We have made a lot of mileage and we hope that we will be able to get the kind of leadership that will build on the achievements of this Assembly which is unparalleled in our legislative history.

    “I will advise members to actually look out for those who have thrown themselves into the race to see who is it that will aggregate their aspirations better and then will be able to surpass the record of this Assembly.”

    On the role of party in the emergence of leadership at the National Assembly he said: “Well, I’m not here to dictate to parties, the parties have their manifestoes, the way to do their businesses but one thing I have said and if you followed the business during this induction, it is always better to allow the leadership to emerge from the people.

    “Where leadership has been forced upon the people, the history in the National Assembly, and in fact, the history of Nigeria, it has never endured.

    “The least we could afford in the National Assembly is crisis on account of the leadership selection process.

    “So who ever a party is sponsoring and supporting, they should make sure they have the backing of the legislature so that they (legislators) accept it because they own the process and they own the leadership.

    “That way, it will be good but in a situation it is forced, literally driven down the throat, in most cases it doesn’t augur well.

    “Even in the Senate it doesn’t augur well. In the House of Representatives too, it doesn’t augur well too.

    “You are journalists, you should be able to dig into the archive and you will be able to find specific cases.”

    Senator Ali Ndume said that the National Assembly is drifting and has been privatised to some extents.

    He noted that when positions have been zoned, members of the zones should be allowed to choose among themselves.

    Ndume also said that a situation where the presiding officer rules out a member who has contribution to make should be reconsidered.

    Dogara laughed and noted that since Ndume is running for the Senate President, if he gets it he will know where the shoe pinches.

    Dogara said: “If you become the Senate President, you will like to exercise such power because I know you very well.

    “Certain unwritten rules are applied by the presiding officer to stabilise the chamber.

    “If a member raises point of order, the presiding officer may even tell him to approach the chair.”

  • Speaker: Dogara fingered in plot against Gbajabiamila

    Despite a four-year harmonious working relationship, there were indications last night that House of Representatives Speaker  Yakubu Dogara may not favour Majority Leader  Femi Gbajabiamila to succeed him.

    Dogara and Gbajabiamila were back in the trenches last night as the case in 2015.

    Dogara has adopted a two-edge approach to stop Gbajabiamila, including:

    • causing a division in the All Progressives Congress (APC) House Caucus to pave the way for his second term or;
    • sponsoring one of his loyalists against  Gbajabiamila.

    Three of those vying for Speaker in the APC Caucus has been fingered as “likely running strategic errands for Dogara”.

    Dogara’s three loyalists in the APC Caucus are: Hon. Mohammed Umar Bago(Niger);  Hon. Idris Ahmed Wase (Plateau);  and Hon. Aliyu Mukhtar Betara(Borno).

    A ranking member of the House confirmed the plot to stop Gbajabiamila by Dogara and top leaders of PDP.

    ”They are making efforts to split the APC Caucus. Already,  the jostle for the Office of the Speaker of the House has been deliberately made clumsy and crowded to achieve a purpose. About seven members-elect have indicated interest to be Speaker. Apart from Gbajabiamila, others came from zones outside the Southwest favoured by the party.

    ”The Speaker of the House of Representatives is highly interested in his successor and the horse-trading so far indicated that he does not support Gbajabiamila. He has the choices of either plotting to succeed himself or installing his stooge.

    ”As a matter of fact, some PDP elements were implicated in the protest by some people agitating that the Speaker should come from Northcentral

    “The likes of Bago, Wase, Betara, who are APC members but supported Dogara to be Speaker in 2015, are enjoying the backing of Dogara who is still interested in running for the office despite his party’s minority status.

    ”Dogara’s target is to secretly finance the trio of Bago, Wase and Betara of APC against Gbajabiamila, irrespective of the directives of Mr. President and the APC leadership.

    ”Dogara and his strategists want to split APC votes and get PDP lawmakers to garner block votes for Dogara who still enjoys the backing of a former Speaker,  Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki.”

    A source in PDP Caucus said: “The Speaker has not declared whether or not he will be seeking a second term in office. But it can be inferred from the position of our party that all principal offices are not the exclusive preserve of the APC.

    ”I know Dogara is strategising by consulting all members on the desirability or otherwise  of a second term ticket. Some of our leaders are already flying the kites that PDP should prevail on Dogara to re-contest for the office.

    ”Dogara has the constitutional right to vie again for Speaker and it is left to members to decide whether or not to vote for him.”

    The Speaker’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, could not be reached for comments; he did not pick his calls.  He also did not respond to a text message pleading that he should either pick or return the calls of our correspondent.

  • Dogara schemes to return as Speaker

    UNKNOWN to many, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had set for himself a political Everest to climb. He is nursing the ambition of retaining his current position in the 9th Assembly in spite of the dismal performance of his party, the PDP in the National Assembly election.  How he intends to accomplish this remains a mystery, considering that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on whose platform he has won a return ticket to the House, is clearly outnumbered by members of the House elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Dogara had emerged as the Speaker of the Eighth Assembly in 2015 against Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the preferred candidate of the APC, the party to which Dogara also belonged. He had achieved the feat by enlisting the support of the 123 members from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some lawmakers from APC and other parties to beat Gbajabiamila with eight votes. Dogara scored 182 votes while Ggajabiamila polled 174.

    But the odds would seem to stark against Dogara more now than they did in 2015, considering the wide margin between the number of APC lawmakers and that of PDP in the House. But the optimist that he is, Dogara believes he can still pull through. He can still count on the support of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Governor Aminu Tambuwal who both rallied support for him in 2015 as fellow APC members and are incidentally in PDP with Dogara now.

    Read also: BudgIT to Saraki, Dogara: make NASS 2019 budget public

    Already, the PDP has declared that there is nothing that stops them from presenting a candidate for the Speaker’s seat. Their plan, like in 2015, is to woo over some members of APC in the House. How they intend to do that this time around, no one knows.

    A PDP insider says “when the come comes to become,” apologies to the late K.O Mbadiwe, money will play a major role. Another PDP top shot quipped: “We saw the power of money at the PDP presidential primaries in Port Harcourt last year, the power is still there.”

    Reminded that the APC could match them Naira for Naira, he quoted Senator Godswill Akpabio: “What money cannot get, more money will get.”

    Asked if we are to watch out for Naira rain, he said “anything can happen.”

    “With money, anybody can climb to the top of any political Everest,” he added.

    What an interesting race it promises to be.

  • Bauchi Finance Commissioner joins PDP after resignation

    Bauchi Commissioner for Finance, Garba Mohammed Akuyam, who earlier resigned his appointment on Friday, has pitch tent with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara , who  shared pictures of himself and  the former Commissioner,  confirmed this on his verified Facebook page.

    READ ALSO: Breaking: Bauchi Finance Commissioner resigns hours to supplementary poll

    Dogara wrote: “Glad to receive my brother Hon Garba Akuyam who just resigned as commissioner of Finance Bauchi State and joined the PDP family in Bauchi.”

    Akuyam, who was the Director General of the campaign team of Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar in 2015 had earlier stated after his resignation he remains in the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

  • Saraki, PDP plotting to hijack 9th NASS leadership, Nabena alleges

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena has revealed plots by Senate President Bukola Saraki and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders to hijack leadership of the 9th session of the National Assembly.

    Nabena, in a statement in Abuja, said the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) must move fast to nip such moves in the bud by coming out with a zoning formula for the emergence of leaders of the legislature.

    Nabena, who is also the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, said the Senate President is working in tandem with what he called “Otta farm”.

    He warned the APC must move quickly and urgently roll out the zoning arrangements to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2015.

    Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara emerged Senate President and Speaker against the party’s wish in the outgoing 8th National Assembly.

    Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Nabena said the outgoing Senate President and his party (PDP) have devised plans to ensure that there loyalists take control of the legislative arm of government.

    READ ALSO: End of Saraki hegemony

    He said: “The outgoing Senate President and the PDP caucus have begun surreptitious move to lure some new APC lawmakers with juicy committee position in return for their support for the PDP choice for the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives.

    “Already, Saraki’s henchman, Dino Melaye and some other returning PDP federal lawmakers have scheduled meetings with some APC lawmakers from Wednesday to Sunday in a yet-to-be announced venue.”

    He stressed: “It is important that the APC leadership meet and urgently rollout a fair zoning arrangement to ensure that we produce our preferred candidates for all leadership positions in the incoming National Assembly.

    “Since Saraki lost his bid to return to the Senate and control of his home state, Kwara, he has devised a plan to ensure that he influences the choice of the incoming National Assembly Leadership. This is Saraki’s last-ditch effort to remain politically relevant.”

  • Reps adjourn sitting till 12th March

    The House of Representatives Tuesday resumed from the elections recess only to immediately adjourn till the 12th of March, 2019.

    The Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara who made the pronouncement in the Green Chamber stated that the adjournment was because the House could not form a quorum.

    There were 10 members on the floor at that point.

    Apart from the Speaker, other members in the chamber included the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, the House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Chairman of the House Committee of Rules and Business, Edward Pwajok and a few other members.

    Recall that the House went on recess on 29th January after passing the minimum wage bill. The 2019 budget was also passed through Second Reading.

    Lawmakers were initially meant to resume on 19th February, but this was pushed forward to Tuesday 26th February, 2019 because of the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    On the Order paper Tuesday were 13 bills meant for first reading, 1 motion, 2 bills for Second Reading and 7 reports which should have been considered .

    Evidently, the adjournment, it was learnt was to enable the lawmakers participate in the general elections

  • Dogara wins polling unit for Atiku

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has delivered his polling unit for the People’s Democratic presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar at the rescheduled general elections on Saturday.

    Yakubu Dogara, who defected early this year from the All Progressives Congress(APC) to the PDP flexed his political muscles  as he voted at central primary school Gwarangah in Bogoro,Dass,Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area.

    He voted at about 9.45am

    At Dogara’s unit 007A, the People Democratic Party pulled a total of 285 votes while APC scored 15 with 19 votes declared invalid.

    At the second polling unit in Dogara’s village, at the central primary school Gwarangah, Bauchi , PU 007B, PDP pulled 265 votes with APC getting only 16 votes while 18 was declared invalid.

    Similar result was recorded in the third polling unit also at Dogara’s village where PDP garnered a total of 290 votes with APC getting a consolatory 09 votes.

    The Speaker, who is seeking re-election to represent Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency, earlier lamented that the card reader rejected his fingerprint.

    The technical glitch was however rectified.