The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yakubu Dogara

  • Reps resort to use of wireless microphone

    Members of the House of Representatives at plenary on Wednesday were shocked and amused at resorting to the use of wireless microphone for the legislative business of the day.

    For the first time, proceedings at plenary  were conducted with wireless microphone being passed around by Sergeant at Arm.

    This followed the inability of the technical department of the National Assembly to rectify the lingering fault with the public address system that denied many lawmakers the use of their individual in-built microphone.

    The faulty system which denied many lawmakers the use of their individual microphones led to an abrupt adjournment of plenary on Tuesday, while hoping that the fault would have been rectified.

    Read Also: Reps summon Baru, others over N91tr oil contracts

    Some individual microphones that were functional were also found to be inaudible, while some worked perfectly.

    With the strange development, incidence of microphone being passed to unrecognized lawmakers was witnessed.

    Speaker Yakubu Dogara, who informed his colleagues of the use of wireless microphone before the commencement of proceedings said it was regrettable that the House is still using obsolete public address system.

    According to him, technician tried  to rectify the fault but failed.

    The Speaker however pleaded with his colleagues for the inconveniences they have to bear for about three weeks when the challenge would have been addressed.

  • Reps probe assassination attempt on Ekweremadu, family

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday resolved to constitute an ad hoc Committee to investigate the alleged assassination attempt on the Deputy Senate President, Senator, Ike Ekweremadu and members of his family.

    The committee is also mandated to find out the circumstances surrounding the late response of the Nigeria Police to the emergency.

    The committee is to report back to the House in two weeks for further legislative action.

    The Green Chamber also urged the relevant security agencies to ensure increased security surveillance around the Deputy President of the Senate as well as other members of the National Assembly.

    The resolution of the House was sequel to a motion brought before lawmakers at plenary by Hon. Toby Okechukwu (PDP Enugu).

    Okechukwu, while moving the motion noted with concern the alleged assassination attempt on Ekweremadu and his family by ” some men armed with dangerous weapons and house breaking devices.”

    According to him, they had descreetly evaded security to gain access into the house.

    Read Also: Senate wades into NHIS, NPHCDA crisis

    He said the armed men forced the Senator’s son to take them to the bedroom of their father, where a struggle ensured leading to the arrest of one of the suspects.

    The lawmaker decried the poor response of the Nigeria Police Force “in spite of several calls to various officers at the stages of the attack ”

    Okachukwu took cognizance of the need to ensure the security of lives and property of all Nigerians “in respective of their class, tribe or religion.”

    When the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara called for a vote on the motion, it was passed without dissent.

  • Ekweremadu: Nowhere, nobody is safe – Dogara

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has condemned the alleged assassination attempt on the deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, his wife and son, by unknown gunmen.

    Dogara on Tuesday said as the 2019 elections draw closer, the Nigeria Police and indeed all security agencies must ensure that acts of intimidation and coercion such as political assassinations are prevented.

    This was as the House, in a separate motion  directed the federal government to provide more troops to Zurmi and Shinkafi federal constituency of Zamfara State in order to tackle the perennial and incessant banditry killings; kidnapping for ransom and armed robbery.

    Dogara in a press statement on the assassination attempt said that the incident which occurred at the residence of the Deputy President of the Senate in Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja, was a clear indication that insecurity in the country has climaxed to the point that nowhere and nobody is safe in the country.

    According to him, as the general elections draw closer, security agencies in the country must ensure that lives and properties of all Nigerians are secured and protected.

    He said: “There is no room for excuses anymore. The security agencies must be alive to their responsibility of securing the lives and properties of Nigerians. This is unacceptable. The Police must ensure that the gunman and all those involved are not only apprehended but brought to justice.

    “As the 2019 elections draws closer, it is of utmost importance that the Police and other security agencies deploy its intelligence to forestall wanton killings and other violent acts that are programmed to cause fear and panic among Nigerians. These kind of incidents must be nipped in the bud before it gets out of hand.”

    Meanwhile, a motion sponsored by Hon. Abubakar Moriki (APC, Zamfara) during plenary on Tuesday brought to the fore the cases of armed banditry, kidnapping for ransom and armed robbery which had been on the rise on daily basis in Zamfara State.

    According to him,  no fewer than 30 persons were kidnapped in the last one month, including two minors of ten and eleven years of age, too many to mention in two constituencies.The House while passing the motion, directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to the affected communities as a matter of urgency.

    The motion was therefore referred to the House Committee on Defence for further legislative action.

  • Four APC lawmakers defect to opposition parties

    Four members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday defected from the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) to four other opposition parties.

    The lawmakers made their defections known in separate letters read by Speaker Yakubu Dogara on the floor of the house.

    In the letters, the lawmakers commended the APC for providing the platform for them to serve and stated that it was time for them to move on to further their political careers somewhere else.

    Rep. Dada Awoleye, representing Ibadan North Federal Constituency, defected to Accord Party while Rep. Segun William representing Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, defected to Labour Party.

    Read Also: Police arraign man for armed robbery in Makurdi

    Also, Rep. Hassan Lawali representing Anka/Mafara Federal Constituency, Zamfara, defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while Rep Adesina Adedapo, representing Ibadan North-East/South- East Federal Constituency defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that there was light celebration among lawmakers as the speaker announced the defections.

  • APC: Still a long way to party?

    The sensational allegation, by a body that calls itself the Buhari Support Group (BSG), that some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors were working against President Muhammadu Buhari, Chairman Adams Oshiomhole and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has sure taken the APC cosmos by storm.

    Most of the governors have issued sharp ripostes, which, to be honest make a lot of sense.

    But instead of viewing it all as some putative rebellion against party authority and supremacy, it is perhaps wise to situate it within the contestation of various tendencies, within a very young political party, which nevertheless has had a chequered history, in terms of crisis management.

    A post-nPDP APC, with the combined policy treachery of Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, would appear to face new teething problems.

    But it could also have resulted from in-built pathologies, accumulated from the post-political new breed era, from Ibrahim Babangida’s experiment, that started in 1991.  With a stroke of the pen, IBB built completely new parties and hoped the tendencies and affiliations to 1st and 2nd Republic parties would vanish in the new golden vacuum!

    Well, it hasn’t — and the political party system has been the poorer for it, even with the new breed of yore now coming of age.

    So, if some governors are indeed unhappy with APC’s new direction under Oshiomhole, that is only to be expected.  For the hitherto all-mighty governors — the party be damned! — that portends a power paradise lost, never to be regained.

    It is natural for any group about to lose power to grumble and throw tantrums.  Doing otherwise would not have been human.  If the governors were hitherto lords and masters, who could impose, drop and re-impose candidates, by virtue of their exalted elected posts, it would be only natural for them to kick.

    Now link that with the flamboyant and swash-buckling Oshiomhole style — Oshiomhole, who probably as a governor, was guilty of what he now tries to stamp out among the present corps of APC governors — and you can understand the gubernatorial angst.

    But if the ruling party must move from its teething stages, to build a cohesive and highly integrated outfit, able to impose discipline and enforce its authority, the governors and other hierarchs just must reconcile themselves to shedding present powers for the future good of their party.

    Besides, beyond APC, the Nigerian party system is at the crossroads.  The APC experience: a party, goaded by a treacherous few, that made itself an opposition against itself (reference Saraki’s 8th National Assembly), is only the latest disturbing example.

    Earlier, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had had a field day subverting other parties by poaching their parliamentary members and goading them to cross over, in a brazen display of real-politik, in its ugliest form.

    That has worsened the ideological crisis among the parties (you belong to one, you belong to all).  It has also led to errant and fickle defections, which again the present Saraki National Assembly has brought to a rather ugly nadir.

    So, while the APC governors and other hierarchs fume, at the loss of near-absolute powers to build intra-party dynasties, Hardball thinks the Oshiomhole reforms are on the right track.

    Nigeria’s democracy needs a re-build of the party as a vibrant entity with defined policy and ideological direction.  That is the direction every political party should go.

  • Reps probe Chinese drugs allegedly made from Dead Babies

    The House of Representatives Wednesday mandated some of its committees to investigate the presence of a Chinese drug made with human flesh and organs in Nigeria.

    The committees are: Healthcare Services, Women Affairs and Social Development, and Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, NAFDAC and NIA

    They are to invite the Nigerian Customs, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC and the Nigeria Intelligence Agency, NIA in a bid to ascertain if or not the said drug is in the country.

    Read Also:Reps probe Kaduna killings

    They are also to identify the importers of the said drug and prosecute them and their collaborators and report back to the House within four weeks for further legislative action.

    The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion by a member, Johnson Agbonaynima (APC Edo) brought under Matters of Urgent National Importance.

    The lawmaker while moving the motion said that recently the NIA placed the Nigerian Customs Service, NAFDAC and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on red alert over a Chinese drug made with human flesh and organs smuggled into Nigeria.

    “Aware that the SON confirmed receipt of the letter sent in Chinese drugs reported to be made into capsules made from powdered flesh from dead babies.

    “Concerned that making of human remains drugs and consuming them are crimes against humanity, which can also lead to serious health challenges.

    ‘Disturbed that if immediate measures are not taken to stem the influx of these drugs and the illegal importers, it will continue to endanger the lives of citizens,” the lawmaker said.

    When the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara called for a vote on the motion, it was passes by a majority of members and referred to the relevant committees.

  • Reps: All peaceful on first day of resumption

    Why Dogara’s removal may not be easy – Lawmakers

    All was peaceful on the first day of resumption in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

    The lawmakers were returning from a long recess that spanned over two months.

    Contrary to expectations, there was absolute peace and quietude as Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara came into the chamber at 11:38am.

    There was no murmuring, grumbling or any act of discontent. This may be due to the honour accorded, late Hon. Funke Adedoyin who died on September 28th.

    Proceedings of the House was adjourned till Wednesday in honour of the lawmaker who represented Irepodun/Oke-ero/Isin/Ekiti federal constituency of Kwara state in the House.

    However, lawmakers Tuesday expressed doubt on the ability of the touted impeachment plan against Dogara to succeed.

    According to Mohammed Tahir Mungonu (APC- Borno) the plot cannot see the light of day as it would be difficult as the APC caucus may not be able to garner 240 members as stipulated by the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

    Presently, APC is estimated to have 190 members while PDP has 157, APGA 5 members, ADC 4 members, SDP 1 and Accord Party has 1. However, 2 vacant seats exit due to the death of two members.

    Read Also: I am back in PDP, Dogara declares

    Monguno said: “The parliamentary conventions and norms is that the majority party produces the leadership of the party except Nigeria will be an exception.

    “My only advice is for the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to honorably resign their positions
    since they are now members of the minority party.”

    This, he said is in consonance with best democratic norms and values that is obtainable all over the world.

    “Based on moral situation but with regards to the constitution, we need two-third to remove them and if the APC can muster that two third majority, I wish APC members good luck,” he said.
    The lawmaker added that for the opposition to occupy positions of principal officers of both chambers will directly affect not only the legislative business but also the policy direction of the APC  government.

    “It is going to definitely disrupt legislative business because they are not members of the ruling party so the manifesto as well as the programme of the party they belong to is directly in conflict with the programme and objective of the ruling and majority party of the National Assembly therefore there is going to be conflict of interest in the way and manner they are going to pursue the agenda of the ruling party.”

    Such a situation he said might lead to sabotage.

    He however said: “If we are sure that we are going to muster the two-third majority, we are going to count ourselves, definitely we are going to move ahead and then remove the speaker that is if we can muster the two-third majority in consonance with the provision of the constitution that requires two-third majority to remove the speaker. Why not, we will move. But if we cannot get the two-third majority, there is no need to embark on an exercise in futility.”

    Another member, Sergius Ogun (PDP-Edo) was confident the APC cannot come up with the necessary figure to impeach Dogara.
    He said: “If APC members in the House follow the constitution, they don’t have the figure and that presently, no party has the figure to produce any speaker.

    “We were elected by Nigerians to come and represent them. If we want to follow the business of representing our people that will
    be the last thing on the mind of anybody right now.

    “So he remains the speaker till the expiration of the 8th National Assembly.”

    According to the lawmaker, many members  in both parties were denied return tickets so it would be difficult for PDP to align with APC to impeach Dogara.

    Monetary inducement to impeach Dogara would also not work, he said.
    But a member who spoke under condition of anonymity warned that there may be dire consequences if the APC goes ahead with the impeachment plan.

    According to him, some of the APC lawmakers who are principal officers may lose their seats over the plot.

    “A list of such lawmakers is being compiled to be forwarded to the Ethics and Privileges Committee if need be,” he said.

    Also listed on this week’s Notice Paper, for the House are: a bill for an Act to amend the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015, to address the lacuna that may be easily exploited by tobacco industry in Nigeria and to cure certain defects in the Act, ensure its effective implementation in Nigeria.

    An Act to establish the national security trust fund which seeks to provide for the maintenance of a Trust Fund that will cater for the procurement of military security infrastructure and technology for security agencies in Nigeria.

    A bill for an ‘Act to provide for the management, administration, operation, regulation and supervision of payment, clearing and settlement systems in Nigeria’

    Others are: A bill for an Act to repeal the Advertising Practitioner’s (Registrations, etc) Act and enact the Advertising Practitioner’s
    (Registrations, Licensing, etc), and a bill and establish council for Advertising Practitioners as the apex regulatory authority for the Nigerian Advertising profession and practice .

  • Protesters against Osun governorship result mentally unstable – Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, on Friday described those protesting against the result of Osun State governorship election as being mentally unstable.

    The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus were among the PDP leaders that staged a protest against the outcome of the election at the national headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja.

    Aregbesola spoke with State House correspondents on Friday after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    At the meeting with Buhari, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Election Campaign in Osun State and Governor of Kano State, Umaru Ganduje and Aregbesola, formally presented the Governor-elect of the Osun Election, Gboyega Oyetola to the President.

    On the protest, Aregbesola said: “I will not even respond to this because what you are referring to is a charade, an act of gross irresponsibility from people who ought to know that after an election, the only option left for every responsible citizen is to go to the tribunal.

    “And again interestingly, the other party defeated in the election is already in tribunal. I don’t now know what the protest you are talking about is meant to do.

    “If you are already in court and you are still doing a street protest either you are not mentally stable or you need psychiatric attention.” he said

    On the purpose of the visit to the Villa, he said they came to thank Mr. President.

    He said “We came with the chairman of the party in the state and the deputy governor elect as well as the national chairman of the party to express our gratitude to the President.

    “Yesterday we met with the national chairman to do the same. Before yesterday soon after the receipt of Certificate of Return by the two candidates who won the election to the offices of the governor and deputy governor on Wednesday indeed the President expressed joy and charged us not to relent in mobilizing our people to support his own election and the return of our parliamentarians at the state and national assemblies and made commitment that we will not rest again in mobilizing our people to victory in all the other subsequent elections.

    “We let him know the challenges we face and we are very hopeful that with the support we got from him and all other critical stakeholders from the leadership at the national level to leadership at the regional level and the governors of the party in virtually all the states of the federation particularly in the North, I do not think there was any election in such an array of eminent Nigerians and personalities particularly governors who committed everything they have to ensure that their party got the upper hand in the election.”

    “He noted our observations and he assured us that the party will continue to enjoy support with the administration. I want to use this medium to thank all progressives in Nigeria and to assure them that Osun has been the forerunner of victory for our party ever since and we shall continue to lead in telling Nigerians that our party to beat in all the elections.” he added

    On his part, the Governor-elect, Oyetola promised to run a very transparent government in Osun State.

    He said “I came to say a big thank you to Mr. President for the support he gave to us during the election and to thank the leadership of our party all over the country for being with us throughout the period and to assure him that by the grace of God, I must  run a very transparent government.”

    Read Also: Nigeria’s greatness unstoppable, says Aregbesola

    According to him, he would continue the good work already done by Aregbesola and the party in the state.

    “I will want to continue to consolidate on those achievements and improve on them in the area of infrastructure, health, in the area of particularly the economy and this is the time to look at the economy to ensure that we have the opportunity of their welfare being properly taken care of.

    “It is a continuation of the legacies that he built. I believe that the people have confidence in our party, they believe in us and we will not abuse the opportunity given to us to continue to be in government.

    “It is a continuous thing, we have actually been addressing that, recently we have paid about four months of salary backlog and I believe we will settle all the outstanding and we have started even paying full salary and I believe we will be able to sustain it by the grace of God. We will review our IGR to ensure that we are able to look inward for sustainability.” he said

    Ganduje said “We came to thank the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari for providing the enabling environment for a true fair election in Osun State.

    “We are here in order to present our Governor-elect to Mr. President and to thank him in what he has done in order to allow for free and fair election.” he added

  • Dogara’s defection not House matter, says Spokesman

    …We will deal with it when we resume, lawmakers

    …as Majority Leader Gbajabiamila keeps mum

    The decision of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara to pick People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is a personal decision that it has nothing to do with the House of Representatives, the Spokesman Abdulrazak Namdas has said.

    Dogara, a member of the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) was reported to have picked PDP’s Nomination and Expression of Interest forms on Wednesday.

    It would be recalled that prior to Dogara’s purchase of the forms, he had denied having endorsed the decision of two of his aides that defected to PDP.

    However, when asked what the decision of the Speaker to seek re-election on the platform of another party portends for the position of the Presiding officer of the House, Namdas said it was a personal decision that has no connection with the House.

    He said:  “This is a personal decision, the Speaker can pick forms from wherever he wants, but as a House, we cannot stop anyone from wanting to pursue his aspirations as he deems fit.

    “However, let me say it here, that I am still in APC and we are still in the majority. We will have to wait till the House resumes before we can officially make a comment on this.

    “You know, formal notice is usually given and read on the floor on a situation like this, so we have to wait to get an official communications from the Speaker”.

    As for the consideration of the budget for 2019 elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Spokesman said lawmakers would be available as soon as the leadership of the National Assembly communicates to that effect.

    “We are waiting for the report of the joint Committee on Electoral Matters, as soon as they are through with their job and the leadership gives the go ahead, we will reconvene to consider it”.

    The Majority leader of the House has refused to comment on the defection of Speaker Dogara.

    Several calls and text messages to his phone were not returned.

    However, a National Assembly source, who pleaded not to be named, said the media report of the purchase of the forms was a huge disappointment to the Speaker’s group.

    Read Also: Dogara’s aide joins PDP for State Assembly race

    According to him, the purchase of the form was meant to be a top secret, “It was not supposed to be a public knowledge for now. According to their plans, the defection was supposed to carry the same weight like the earlier defections of the over 36 members in the House and that of the Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    ‘I can authoritatively tell you that that was why the forms were obtained secretly, someone else was sent to procure them.

    “As it is now, the cat is out of the bag, the formal defection, on resumption from the annual recess would no longer carry the same effect, it would be like, we already know. His body language has indicated that much anyway.

    “As a matter of fact, Dogara and Governor Tambuwal are working in concert about the defection but I assure you, when we resume and we confront them with a list of defections from PDP, they’ll be shocked”.

    On his part, Bashir Babale (APC, Kano) expressed disappointment at the Speaker, who kept his decision to his chest while discussions were ongoing about his status in APC.

    “Even though it was a personal decision, which I must respect, I am still disappointed because he didn’t show any sign of having made up his mind about leaving all the time we were discussing his stay in APC.

    “All politics is local and the issue of cross-carpeting is a personal decision, but the sad thing is that he should have informed us earlier. We have been having meetings with him, thinking he is part of us.

    “Notwithstanding, APC is still in the majority in the House, so on the issue of his Speakership, we will decide that when we resume”.

    When contacted on the phone, Abdulmumin Jibrin (APC, Kano) said he has been indisposed and not aware of the Speaker’s picking of PDP Nomination form.

    Jibrin was reported to be working to remove Gbajabiamila as House Leader for allegedly working to unseat Dogara.

    He later denied it on his Twitter account stating that the issue had been resolved and that Gbajabiamila remained the House Leader.

    Similarly, calls to the Deputy Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyema as  well as Tajudeen Yusuf for their comments on the development were not returned.

  • Shocking defeat awaits you if you contest, APC tells Dogara

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara not to re-contest the House of Representative seat on the platform of the opposition party as “a humiliating defeat” awaits him.

    Reacting to the purported defection of the Speaker to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Acting National Organising Secretary, Yekini Nabena said it was not a surprise if the Speaker decide to join the opposition in view of his anti-party activities in the National Assembly.

    Read Also:Soldiers kill 10 kidnappers, bandits in Kaduna

    He said the anti-party activities became more glaring when the PDP won his local government of Bogoro during the recently concluded Senatorial election in Bauchi state.

    Nabena said “We have received several media requests for a reaction to the purported defection of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to one of the opposition political parties, as reported in the media.

    “In reacting, a recent comment by President Muhammadu Buhari aptly sums Dogara’s reported defection: “The weakest people whose senses of expectation do not align with our vision have exited our Party”.

    “Dogara’s reported defection has not come to us as a surprise. It was only a matter of time judging by Dogara’s anti-party antics in the National Assembly where in connivance with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, he exploited all available avenues to sabotage and undermine the APC-led executive.

    “Dogara’s anti-party activities which enabled one of the opposition Party’s sole victory in Bogoro Local Government Area (Dogara’s council) during the recent Bauchi South Senatorial bye-election won by the APC is another pointer, among several others.

    “Indeed, all politics is local. As a Party, we empathise with Dogara on his confusion and despair over his bleak political future given the fact that he is not on ground and a political paperweight in his home Bauchi state.

    “In his emergence as Speaker, Dogara was merely used by his political master to achieve their selfish political ends at the time. They have since moved on to pursue their individual political aspirations and left Dogara in the cold.

    “We would advise Dogara against his ill-advised decision to recontest his House of Representatives seat under the opposition Party he is linked with because a crushing and humiliating defeat surely awaits him.

    “As a Party, we remain united and committed to our Progressives ideologies. We urge Party faithful to consolidate on our strengths and collectively go into the 2019 general elections as a united and strong political fighting force to sustain the Change Agenda we are implementing for the benefit of Nigerians.”