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Tag: Yussuff Lasun

  • Reps reject report on INTELS

    There was drama on Tuesday as members of the House of Representatives rejected a report by the Ad-hoc Committee on the Process that led to the termination of the contract between Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and INTELS Nigeria Limited:

    The House, which was initially ready to consider the report by the Hon. Pally Iriase-headed committee, rejected it based on inconsistencies and happenstances during the actual probe.

    The consideration of the report which was first laid on the 12th of December, 2018 was headed by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun.

    The committee had made the following recommendations in the report:

    (i) that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and INTELS Nigeria Limited should sign the new Standard Operating Procedure in the Supplemental Agreement, which should be in the best interest of Nigeria;

    (ii) that the Notice of Termination of Contract Agreement should be formally withdrawn since INTELS Nigeria Limited have complied with the Federal Government Policy on Treasury Single Account (TSA);

    (iii) that a schedule for the repayment plan for the amortization policy should be proposed and signed by both parties within one month upon the adoption of this recommendation;

    (iv)that NPA should henceforth adhere strictly to the provisions of the Nigerian Ports Authority Act in the administration and management of its operations; and

    (v) that the Ad-hoc Committee and the Committee on Legislative Compliance should ensure strict implementation of the above recommendations.

    While presenting the synopsis of the report, Iriase, who is also the Deputy Majority Whip of the House, stated the Ad-Hoc Committee held their Investigation through correspondence with the concerned bodies and also a Public Hearing.

    The Ad-Hoc Committee ascertained the notice of termination served to INTELS was done without abiding to due process and suggested that a status quo be maintained and the notice of termination be rescinded.

    But members quarreled with the recommendations saying that it appeared to cast INTELS as the victim.

    The Managing Director of the Nigerian Port Authority, Hadiza Balance Usman had told the lawmakers that the termination of INTELS’ contract was self-inflicted.

    “INTEL refused to comply with TSA and failed to remit revenue as agreed in the newly developed Structured Operational Procedure (SOP) on 28/72percent ratio,” Usman had said.

    Iriase at the time had said: “Even though, the motion necessitating the hearing was sponsored to obtain justice for INTEL, it appears it was INTEL who had shortchanged the government of Nigeria, going by facts and figures presented by the NPA”.

    Speaking at the botched consideration on Tuesday, Sergious Ogun (Edo PDP) noted there were lapses in the investigation and suggested that it should be properly done.

    Speaking further in a chat with reporters, the lawmaker said the House rejected the report because there was “not much detail which made members to feel that the investigation wasn’t thorough.

    “And from what we heard, INTELS people didn’t even attend the investigative hearing.

    “So the House ruled that the committee should go back and do a thorough job.”

    Ogun wondered why the government was receiving 28 percent revenue recovery when FEC allegedly approved 50 percent.

  • Again Reps delay 2019 Money bill consideration

    The House of Representatives has failed to begin the consideration of the 2019 Appropriation bill today as earlier scheduled.

    The Bill was first listed for debate last Thursday but had to be dropped due to inability of most members to get copies of the bill, in addition to some mistakes noted in the figures.

    However, on being called to introduce the bill, the Leader of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila pleaded that the debate be stepped down for another 24 hours to enable members have better grasp of the content of the bill.

    “I plead that the bill be stepped down because of its importance to enable members another 24 hours to go through it more thoroughly,” he said.

    Read Also: Reps postpone 2019 Budget debate

    The Presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun, while ruling in favour of the plea recalled that copies of the bill only got to members last week.

    “So, we have to give the Leader the opportunity to step it down. Those interested in the debate should endeavour to register their names”, he added.

    Besides the reason adduced by the Leader, it was observed by The Nation that less than 50 lawmakers were on the floor which was less than the quorum of 120 members allowed by House rules.

  • Reps pass Companies and Allied Matters Act re-enactment bill

    The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2018 through the Committee of the Whole.

    All the 871 clauses, 15 Schedules and explanatory memorandum were adopted by the lawmakers after it was presented by the House leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamiila for consideration.

    The new CAMA bill replaced that the Act which was promulgated in 1990 and has lasted for almost 30 years.

    “As a result, the entire Nigerian business landscape has been heavily constrained by several provisions in the act which has been described as impeding modern business practices in the light of national and global business reforms.

    “It has therefore been determined that the provisions of the Act are not in tandem with global trends and that requires so many amendments to such an extent that it became imperative to repeal the entire CAMA and re-enact it afresh,” Gbajabiamiila said.

    According to the legislative brief of the new bill, which was sent from the Senate for concurrence, it has new features that makes doing business in Nigeria a lot easier.

    “It should be reiterated that this bill is the boldest reform attempt in Nigeria’s corporate environment in the last 28 years.

    “In order for Nigeria to improve it’s standing in World Bank Doing Business (WBDB)  Ranking Index,  it needs to improve on its ease of establishing and running businesses and bring it’s business legal regime in tandem with modern advances,” the legislative brief further explained.

    The Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Yussuff Lasun who presided, described the bill as the most important bill in the country as regards the ease of doing business.

    The clauses were passed and immediately adopted by the House.

  • Reps move to protect Interests of Nigerians others, in defunct Etisalat

    Reps move to protect Interests of Nigerians others, in defunct Etisalat

    The House of Representatives Thursday mandated its Committee on Telecommunications to conduct an investigation into reasons for the collapse of Etisalat Nigeria (now 9mobile).

    According to the lawmakers one of the reasons for the probe is to protect the Interests of Nigerian subscribers and other stakeholders:

    The resolution of the of the House was sequel to the adoption of the prayers of a motion by a member, Hon. Saheed Akinade-Fijabi

    The Lawmaker while arguing the motion noted that Etisalat Nigeria (now 9 mobile) commenced business in Nigeria in 2009 after acquiring the unified access license spectrum in the GSM 1800 and 900 MHZ bands from the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in January 2007

    He said it thus became Nigeria s fourth largest telecommunications network operator with over 21 million subscribers and controlling about 12.9 per cent of the country’s telecom market share.

    He further states: “Etisalat Nigeria was formerly owned by three shareholders, namely Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (40 percent), Mubadala Development Company, Abu Dhabi (45 percent) and EMTS Holding BV (15 percent);

    “Aware that Etisalat Nigeria obtained a loan of $1.2 billion (377.4 billion Naira) in 2013 from thirteen (13) Nigerian banks which involved a foreign-backed guaranteed bond to finance a major network rehabilitation, upgrade and expansion of its operational base in Nigeria;

    “Etisalat Nigeria had so far paid about half of the initial loan amounting to about 504 billion Naira with total outstanding sum of about 574 miliion dollars but had reneged on its debt servicing obligations after the intervention of the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria to restructure the loan and new repayment deadline.”

    Fijabi expressed concern that the failure of Etisalat to meet its debt servicing obligations with the banks since 2016 resulted in its foreign major shareholders pulling out and eventual take-over of the company by the banks.

    He however said that the take-over of Etisalat Nigeria which was renamed 9mobile by the banks is a clear violation of Section 38 (1) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003

    According to him, the act  provides that “the grant of a license shall be personal to the licensee and the license shall not be operated by, assigned, sub-licensed or transferred to any other party unless the prior written approval of the Commission has been granted”;

    When the motion was put to a vote by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, it was passed by a majority support of lawmakers and referred to the House committee on Telecommunications.

    The committee is to report back in eight weeks for further legislative action.

  • Reps to FG: Fund Lagos-Ibadan Express Road, Second Niger Bridge projects

    Reps to FG: Fund Lagos-Ibadan Express Road, Second Niger Bridge projects

    The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to urgently decide on how to fund and execute the Lagos-Ibadan Road and the second Niger Bridge projects.

    The Lawmakers expressed concern on the confusion surrounding if the projects are to be fully funded by government or to be executed under a concession agreement with private firms.

    The House Committee on Works has therefore been mandated to investigate the nature of the contracts and concession arrangement and report back in four weeks for further parliamentary action.

    The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion by a member Solomon Maren with the title: “Need to Investigate Nature of the Contract or Concession Arrangement on Second Niger Bridge and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway”,

    Maren while moving the motion said both projects has not followed the established pattern of project execution, adding that that the minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, recently warned on the possibility of both the Lagos-Ibadan Road and Second Niger Bridge ending up as white elephant projects.

    Allocation for the projects in the 2017 budget were not adequate and they not not under concession agreement.

    His words: “Contracts for the construction of the second Niger-Bridge and reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan Express Road have continued to feature in the annual budgets without any seeming signal of their completion or the amount required to do so.”

    Maren in response to a remark by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun said that though two contractors were handling the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway presently, the Federal Government is yet to make up its mind on the funding arrangement for,the two projects.

    The Deputy Speaker Lasun in a deprive from the tradition of not debating infrastructure motions tgave the floor to the chairman  Committee on Works, Tobey Okechukwu, to speak on the issue.

    Okechuwku who supported the motion said it has become imperative for government to come up with a framework for the completion the projects adding that this stemmed from the observation of his committee that while the Lagos-Ibadan Road is “supposed to have alternative funding”, the Federal Government has not made a clear-cut decision on the funding plan for the second Niger-Bridge.

    The lawmaker said the “piece-meal procurement” funding method hitherto employed by the government should be dropped.

    Mohammed Sani-Abdul who also supported the motion, said despite litigation on the Lagos-Ibadan Road, work was still going. This he said makes the situation in the second Niger-Bridge project of concern.

    The non utilisation of the N14 billion 2016 budget allocation and the N10 billion allocated in 2017 for the second Niger Bridge was worrisome based on the fact that the concession agreement for the project was between Federal Government and an international investment company which later sub-contracted the project to Julius Berger Plc.

    With no contract between the Federal Government and Julius Berger, the construction firm cannot be directly funded through budgetary allocations for the project, Sani-Abdul’s said.

    When it was put to vote by the Deputy Speaker who presided, it was passed by a majority of members.

  • Reps defer consideration of constitution review report

    Reps defer consideration of constitution review report

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday differed  consideration of report of the Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review to test run the electronic voting device.

    Thirty minutes after the closed door session at about 1:35p.m., the lawmakers had to wait for an hour before the device became functional during plenary presided by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

    There was confusion as the manual head count of lawmakers in attendance was 260, but the electronic device recorded 257.

    The development forced Dogara to take a roll call of members in the hallowed chamber of the House in order to ascertain the exact number of lawmakers present.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the House ad hoc committee on the review of the 1999 constitution led by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Yussuff Lasun, had submitted report on the proposed items for amendment on July 20.

    Among the 27 items recommended for amendment are; Composition of members of the Council of States, Authorisation of Expenditure, Devolution of Powers, and Financial Autonomy of State Legislature.

    Others include Distributable Pool Account, Local Government, State Creation and Boundary Adjustment, The Legislature, and Reduction of Age for Election among others.

    At about 2:50p.m, the electronic device recorded 272.

    The situation eventually compelled the speaker to inform the lawmakers who were already agitated to shift further test run of the electronic device till Thursday.

  • Constitution Review: Reps devolve more Power to states

    Constitution Review: Reps devolve more Power to states

    The House of Representatives Special Ad-hoc Committee has heeded the stringent call for true federalism and restructuring of the country by granting the devolution of powers to State Governments.

    Also adopted by the committee is the amendment that “any person who has been sworn-in as President to complete the term of a person elected as President shall not be eligible to contest for election into such office for more than one single term.”

    The over 50 members committee at a meeting chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun Monday also approved the cancellation of the State and Local Government Joint Account from the 1999 Constitution.

    Each Local Government Council according to the proposed amendment is empowered to maintain its own account into which shall be paid its allocation form the Federation Account and from the State Government.

    That the disbursement from the account can only be upon a Bye-Law of the Local Government Council was also supported by members of the ad hoc committee.

    A statement from the office of the Deputy Speaker further explains: “This is aimed at granting financial autonomy to the local government councils and strengthen separation of power at that level.”

    Also endorsed by the committee was “the bill for an Act to alter the provisions of the 1999 constitution to provide for independent candidacy to contest elections at all levels in the country.”

    The lawmakers also endorsed proposal for financial autonomy for State Houses of Assembly and Judiciary directly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the State, and for related matters.

    Members of the Adhoc Committee endorsed the letters of the bill for an Act to alter the provision of the 1999 Constitution to strengthen Local Government administration in Nigeria.

    According to the lawmakers development at the rural areas across the Local Government Areas across the country requires financial independence in order to stimulate infrastructural development at the grassroots level.

     

  • Reps seek stricter sanctions for erring foreign companies

    Reps seek stricter sanctions for erring foreign companies

    Members of the House of Representatives yesterday passed through second reading a bill seeking stricter regulations for erring foreign companies in the country.

    Members supported the piece of legislation which seeks compulsory registration and sanction against erring foreign companies operating across the country and also to ensure job security for Nigerians in the public and private sectors of the economy.

    The piece of legislation with the title: “A bill for an Act to amend the Labour Act, Cap L1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to make further provisions for the compulsory registration of all foreign
    employers of Labour in Nigeria by Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and a bill for an Act to amend the Labour Act, Cap L1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to strengthen, review the fines and punishment stipulated in the Act, and for other related matters,” was referred to the committee on Labour Employment and Productivity for further legislative input.

    The bill was co-sponsored by the House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Edward Pwajok (PDP-Plateau).

     Gbajabiamila while presenting the bill said the influx of foreigners into the country under the guise of expatriates especially in the construction industry, has worsened the unemployment situation in the country.

    According to him, most of the noted jobs that Nigerians ought to have been gainfully employed in have been taken by foreigners.

    The proposed bill, the lawmaker said,  provides for compulsory registration of all foreign employers of labour and effective supervision by the regulatory agencies.

    He also noted that the law, when passed would review the fines and punishment stipulated in the Act to make it more effective.

    Many members supported the passage of the bill. They include the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, Deputy Speaker, Rotimi Agunsoye (APC-Lagos) and  Nkiruka Onyejeocha.

    In his submission, Yussuff Lasun (APC-Osun) like the other members emphasised the need for overhaul of existing labour laws with the view to protect artisans and the informal sector from undue exploitation.

    He said the bill is one of the most important legislative frameworks adding that the bill, when passed into law will help in bringing the country out of the current recession.

    A member Rotimi Agunsoye said the ongoing move to check the excesses of foreign employers of labour operating across the country is a positive development.

    Nkiruka Onyejeocha, on her own part, said the documentation of foreign workers will help to reduce the level of job losses to foreigners as well as reduce the unemployment crisis in the country.

    The bill was referred to the House Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara for further legislative action after its passage.

  • Reps consider Buhari’s N180b virement request

    Reps consider Buhari’s N180b virement request

    The House of Representatives is set to consider the request of President Muhammadu Buhari for the virement of N180b.

    The request which came through a motion by the Majority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila was passed with no resistance from the floor on Wednesday. 

    President Buhari had in a letter dated Tuesday, 25 October 2016 to Speaker Yakubu Dogara requested for virement of funds in the Appropriation Act, 2016.

    The request was in respect of virement of funds appropriated for special intervention  (Recurrent) and special intervention (Capital) to fund some critical Recurrent and Capital items.

    According to the President,  the request was necessitated by a number of reasons, including shortfalls in provisions of Personnel cost, the inadequate provision for the Amnesty Programme,  the need to sustain the war against insurgency and the depreciation of the Naira.

    The letter that came together with the $90b loan request on the same day  was read on the floor while the Speaker said it will be  listed for debate the following week.

    Following the rejection of the President’s requests by the Senate, the House clarified it’s position that it has not rejected the letter but would  rather consider it through a substantive motion.

    The Majority Leader, while justifying the need for the House to consider the motion said in the course of implementing the Appropriation Act, 2016, several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) presented issues pertaining to salary shortfalls as it affects the MDAs that are not under the platform of Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), and some MDAs that are under the IPPIS platform wpuld be locked put as their Personnel Cist budgets would not cover salaries for the rest of the year.

    “Also the Nigerian Air Force needs to cover the foreign exchange differentials in the procurement of its critical equipment and augment the contigency vote, and also to provide for inadequacy in the provision for the National Youth Service Corps in 2016, among others,” he added.

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun, who referred it to Committee on Appropriation and other Committees to which the virement relates to serve as sub-committees of the Committee on Appropriations.
  • Jibrin to EFCC: Quiz Dogara, Lasun, others for financial scam

    Jibrin to EFCC: Quiz Dogara, Lasun, others for financial scam

    … Jubrin a drowning man – Speaker

    A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jubrin, on Monday accused the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, of perpetrating financial fraud on behalf of entire members of the House.

    Jibrin, who was sacked by Dogara as Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, said the magnitude of corruption perpetrated by Dogara, Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, Chief Whip, Hassan Ado Doguwa and the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, is in contrast to the anti-corruption position of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He asked Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the Speaker and the other three principal officers of the House for financial fraud.

    In a statement issued on Monday, Jibrin alleged that the Speaker is running the finances of the House like his personal estate.

    He said: “Speaker Yakubu Dogara and his senior cabal namely – Deputy Speaker of the House, Yussuff Lasun, Whip Ado Doguwa and the Minority leader, Leo Ogor had promoted corruption so badly in the House that if President Muhammadu Buhari with his disdain for corruption and corrupt people have the slightest idea, he will ban the quartet permanently from the Villa before they eventually allow for proper and unbiased investigation by the House.

    “Mr. Speaker and Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun diverted millions of naira all in the name of paying for guest houses and official residence.

    “The issue became so messy that the Deputy Speaker openly accused Hon. Herma Hembe of short changing them of millions of naira in the deal to the shock of many honourable members of the House.

    “Speaker Yakubu Dogara abuses his office by soliciting for inappropriate favours from agencies and multinational companies.

    “He forced an agency to grant loans and a construction company was blackmailed to do some work at his Asokoro plot.”

    “Speaker Yakubu Dogara has carefully designed a scheme to scam members of the House through deduction from their salaries certain amount of money for a so called mortgage arrangements to build houses for members.

    “He has been applying every under hand tactics to ensure members agree to the deal.

    “Speaker Yakubu Dogara has consistently refused members access to the financial dealings and internal budget of the House. He runs the financial management of the House like a cult aided and abated by the Chairman House Services. Hon. Babanlle Ila.”

    Meanwhile, Dogara has denied allegations of corruption leveled against him by the former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation.

    In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan, the Speaker said the allegations were all lies, describing Jibrin as a drowning man.

    The statement said, “These are all lies and desperate attempts of a drowning man to clutch unto anything having found that all his frivolous allegations do not disclose any element of corruption or wrongdoing against Mr. Speaker.”