TheNewsGuru

Tag: bill

  • Kwara Assembly passes bill stopping payment of pension to ex-Govs, Deputies

    The Kwara State House of Assembly on Tuesday passed an amendment bill halting payment of pension to former governors, deputy governors and other officers holding political offices after their tenure in office.

    The passage of the bill followed the consideration of the report of the House Committee on Establishment and Public Service at the Committee of the Whole House sitting in Ilorin.

    The motion for the passage of the bill was moved by the Deputy House Leader, Segilola Abdulkadir and was unanimously adopted by members.

    The Deputy Speaker, Matthew Okedare, who presided over the plenary, directed the Clerk of the House, Alhaji Mohammed Katsina, to prepare clean copy of the bill for governor’s assent.

    The bill, which was forwarded to the House by Gov. AbdulFatah Ahmed, sought to review the existing law where payment of pension for former governors and deputy governors after their tenures would be suspended.

  • #FuelScarcity: ‘Propose a bill on right to regular fuel supply,’ SERAP tells Buhari

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “take bold action in tackling the persistent fuel scarcity in the country by urgently proposing a bill to the National Assembly that would explicitly recognize access of Nigerians to regular fuel supply as a human right, with specific responsibilities on the authorities to proactively prevent and combat the problem and the associated human rights violations.”

    The organization said, “That millions of Nigerians are suffering due to fuel scarcity is a moral outrage. Preventing and ending the problem of fuel scarcity is not only a moral duty for this government but also a legal and human right obligation.”

    In a statement today by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale, the organisation said, “Access to regular fuel supply is logically derived from the people’s right to their natural wealth and resources. Oil shouldn’t be a ‘curse’ for Nigerians; being endowed with natural resources ought to be a synonym for wealth and development, and not extreme poverty and suffering. The recognition of the right to regular fuel supply would be a building block to initiate the chain of decisions necessary to prevent the dire effects of persistent scarcity.”

    According to the organization, “Given the persistent problem of fuel scarcity in the country, the appropriate course of action is to explicitly establish a human right to regular fuel supply and to criminalize hoarding of fuel by marketers. Recognition of the right to regular fuel supply is the best opportunity to thwart scarcity and its effects, and improve access for large portions of the country’s population.”

    The statement read in part: “The issues involved in fuel scarcity stem largely from the lack of recognition as a human right. Fuel is required for a range of different purposes to realize many human rights. In the short-term, Buhari must move swiftly to end the fuel scarcity, and end fuel price jumps by marketers, if his government is to reverse the growing unemployment and hunger for tens of millions of poor and disadvantaged Nigerians.”

    “Persistent fuel scarcity is contributing to the deprivation of Nigerians’ right to secure a livelihood, which in turn is seriously encroaching upon the quality of life they enjoy. SERAP believes that the constitutional right to life must at least ensure access to these basic survival amenities if it is to have any significance for a large percentage of our population. This constitutes an encompassing view of humanity.”

    “While the recognition of the right to regular fuel supply may not allay current suffering, it would place the issue of scarcity and human need at the forefront of national discourse. If recognized and implemented, an official statement of the right to regular fuel supply would force the government to be more proactive in preventing fuel scarcity, and making the necessary policy changes to ensure that access would not be disrupted in the future.”

    “Government would be held accountable for its action and would be responsible for adapting its policies to include the goals of repairing and maintaining our refineries and citizens’ access. Fuel scarcity will not be solved through policy decisions or legislation alone, but will also require the coordinated efforts of the entire institutions of governance and anti-corruption agencies to combat the systemic corruption and impunity of perpetrators in the oil and gas sector.”

    “SERAP is concerned that the exploitation of the country’s natural resources has historically gone against the interests and fundamental human rights of disadvantaged and marginalized Nigerians. We note the 1962 General Assembly resolution 1803 (XVII) which declares in its preamble that states’ right to dispose of their natural wealth and resources must be exercised in the interest of their national development and the well-being of their people.”

    “Under international human rights law, the government has obligations relating to the provision of services such as fuel, required for the enjoyment of human rights. Even where such services are provided with the involvement of private sector, the government is responsible for ensuring quality, affordability, and accessibility and has the duty to protect individuals against abuses committed by private service providers such as oil marketers.”

    “Successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999 have failed to ensure availability of fuel nationally, thereby rendering already impoverished citizens incapable of satisfying their minimum needs for survival. Buhari should send a strong message that his government will not tolerate a situation under successive governments, which permitted increasing wealth for some and perpetrating a growing poverty for others.”

    “According to a 200-page report by Nigeria’s House of Representatives corruption in state-run fuel subsidy scheme drained $6.8bn from the country’s treasury over a three-year period. This resulted in increased spending on oil hand-outs between 2009 and 2011. Fuel subsidies, part of a decades-old programme meant to keep fuel prices low for millions of ordinary Nigerians, jumped to 2, 587 trillion naira from 384bn in the period.”

    “The report identified the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, ranked the world’s least transparent state oil firm, as the key culprit. The firm was single-handedly responsible for almost half of the siphoned subsidy funds and was ‘found not to be accountable to anybody or authority’. Seventy-two fuel importers, some with allegedly close links to senior government officials, were also singled out. In one case, payments totalling exactly $6.4m flowed from the state treasury 128 times within 24 hours to “unknown entities”.

     

     

  • State Assemblies will pass ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill before Christmas – Kwara Speaker assures Nigerians

    The Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Ali Ahmad, has said the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill will be passed by the various state Houses of Assembly before December 25 this year.

    Mr. Ahmad gave the assurance in an address at the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ town hall meeting on constitution review in Abuja on Monday.

    He said ‘Not Too Young To Run’ is a global affair and not just for Nigeria, as international human rights organisations are interested in the way it is operated.

    “If there is one bill that is going to pass at the state level, definitely it is the ‘Not Too Young To Run bill’. The bill was able to survive at the national level. If you have an objective, pursue it passionately and whatever roadblocks you might have, just believe you will succeed,” he said.

    Mr. Ahmad said age should not disqualify a candidate who is interested in governing his people.

    “Kwara State will be among the first states that will turn their own constitution to the National Assembly. In 2019,young mind should set the motion, start from the beginning, start from the grassroots level,” he said. .

    “The proposed age for contesting for presidential election is 35 and it used to be 40. For House of Representatives is 25, while it used to be 30. So the minimum age to contest for an election apart from the president is 25, don’t let 2019 go without having a space in the political sphere,” he said.

    Samson Itodo, the convener of the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ constitutional review meeting, said the bill is among the 15 bills sent to state Houses of Assembly by the National Assembly, noting that the bill enjoys wide support from Nigerian youth as it seeks to promote inclusion by reducing the age for running for political offices in Nigeria.

    “We cannot say a country will develop without including the youth in the political affairs. It is important to engage youth in the political business of the country. So we call on state Houses of Assembly to vote yes to ‘Not Too Young To Run’ that will give young people the opportunity to contribute to national development,” Mr. Itodo said.

    According to him, for young people, it is a question of whether our political parties will uphold the principles of democracy, transparency and accountability by ensuring that delegates are not substituted 24 hours before primaries and that young people are given opportunities to buy party nomination forms.

    He said the impact of money in Nigerian elections is strong, noting that Nigerians need to enforce the campaign spending law.

    “The Electoral Act is very clear on the amount of money you can spend on election but our leaders don’t comply, even President Buhari broke the law in 2015 by spending above the stipulated amount. INEC needs to be empowered and capacitated to hold our political parties accountable,” he said.

    The ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill needs endorsement by 24 state Houses of Assembly before it goes to the president for his assent to become law.

    Hillary Bisong, the Speaker of Cross River State House of Assembly, however, said Nigerians need to change their mentality from entitlement and inheritance to investment.

    He said Nigerian youth need to run for an office because of their capacity and not age.

    “There is no ‘Too Old To Run’ bill, they know the youth are well educated and that is why they are using age as a barrier. Experience and quality matter a lot too,” he concluded.

    The House of Representatives passed the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill on July 27, a day after it was passed by the Senate. The bill seeks to reduce the minimum age for elective offices in Nigeria.

    If passed and signed into law, it would mean that an individual can contest for the office of President at the age of 35 and governor and the Senate at the age of 30.

     

  • [See details] Senate passes Electoral act No. 6 bill into law

    The Senate has passed the Electoral Act No. 6 (2010 Amendment) Bill 2017 into law and below are the details of the bill;

    1. There shall now be full biometric accreditation of voters with Smart Card Readers and/or other technological devices, as INEC may introduce for elections from time to time.

    2. Presiding Officers must now instantly transmit accreditation data and results from Polling Units to various collation centers. Presiding officer who contravene this shall be imprisoned for at least 5 years (no option of fine).

    3. All Presiding Officer must now first record accreditation data and polling results on INEC’s prescribed forms before transmitting them. The data/result recorded must be the same with what they transmitted.

    4. INEC now has unfettered powers to conduct elections by electronic voting.

    5. Besides manual registers, INEC is now mandated to keep Electronic registers of voters.

    6. INEC is now mandated to publish voters’ registers on its official website(s) for public scrutiny at least 30 days before a general election and any INEC staff who is responsible for this but fails to act as prescribed shall be liable on conviction to 6 months’ imprisonment.

    7. INEC is now mandated to keep a National Electronic Register of Election Results as a distinct database or repository of polling unit by polling unit results for all elections conducted by INEC.

    8. Collation of election result is now mainly electronic, as transmitted unit results will help to determine final results on real time basis.

    9. INEC is now mandated to record details of electoral materials – quantities, serial numbers used to conduct elections (for proper tracking).

    10. A political party whose candidate dies after commencement of an election and before the declaration of the result of that election now has a 14-day window to conduct a fresh primary in order for INEC to conduct a fresh election within 21 days of the death of the party’s candidate;

    11. Political parties’ Polling Agents are now entitled to inspect originals of electoral materials before commencement of election and any Presiding Officer who violates this provision of the law shall be imprisoned for at least1 year.

    12. No political party can impose qualification/disqualification criteria, measures or conditions on any Nigerian for the purpose of nomination for elective offices, except as provided in the 1999 Constitution.

    13. The election of a winner of an election can no longer be challenged on grounds of qualification, if the he (winner) satisfied the applicable requirements of sections 65, 106,
    131 or 177 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and he is not, as may be applicable, in breach of sections 66, 107, 137 or 182 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. [For example, a person’s election cannot be challenged on the ground that he did not pay tax, as this is not a qualifying condition under the Constitution.]

    14. All members of political parties are now eligible to determine the ad-hoc delegates to elect candidates of parties in indirect primaries. The capacity of party executives to unduly influence or rig party primaries has been reasonably curtailed, if not totally removed.

    15. Parties can no longer impose arbitrary nomination fees on political aspirants. The Bill passed prescribes limits for each elective office as follows:

    (a) One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N150,000) for a Ward Councillorship aspirant in the FCT;

    (b) Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N250,000) for an Area Council Chairmanship aspirant in the FCT;

    (c) Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) for a House of Assembly aspirant;

    (d) One Million Naira (N1,000,000) for a House of Representatives aspirant;

    (e) Two Million Naira (N2,000,000) for a Senatorial aspirant;

    (f) Five Million naira (N5,000,000) for a Governorship aspirant; and

    (g) Ten Million Naira (N10,000,000) for a Presidential aspirant.

    16. Relying on the powers of the National Assembly in Paragraph 11 of Part II (Concurrent Legislative List) of the Second Schedule (Legislative Powers) to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Senate also passed measures reforming procedures regulating Local Government Elections. State Independent Electoral Commissions can no longer conduct elections that do not meet minimum standards of credibility.

    17. Any INEC official who disobeys a tribunal order for inspection of electoral materials shall be imprisoned for 2 years!

  • Yoruba language bill: Lagos schools, corporate organisations risk fine, closure for non-compliance

    Yoruba language bill: Lagos schools, corporate organisations risk fine, closure for non-compliance

    The Lagos State House of Assembly is proposing a fine of N500, 000 or closure of any school that flouts its proposed law on compulsory teaching and learning of Yoruba Language, when passed.

    “A Bill for a Law To Provide for the Preservation and Promotion of the Use of Yoruba Language and for Connected Purposes’’ before the House seeks to make Yoruba language a core subject in schools.

    Presenting a report on the bill on Thursday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Mr Lanre Ogunyemi, said that it would enhance the preservation of the language.

    According to him, the bill also recommends the translation of all the laws in the state into Yoruba language in order to get to its target.

    The Assembly had previously made moves to make teaching and learning of Yoruba Language compulsory in both public and private schools in the state.

    The House said that such step had become imperative to meet its target of preserving and promoting the indigenous language of the South West from going into extinction.

    The bill states further that all state-owned tertiary institutions should incorporate the use of Yoruba Language in the General Studies (GNS) curriculum.

    It reads in part: “The use of Yoruba Language shall be an acceptable means of communication between individuals, establishment, corporate entities and government in the state if so desired by the concerned.

    “Any school that fails to comply with the provisions of Section 2 of the law commits an offence and is liable on first violation to issuance of warning and on subsequent violation be closed down and also pay a fine of N500, 000.”

    Ogunyemi later told newsmen that the committee might amend a provision in the bill which recommended that it should take effect after two years of its passage.

    According to him, most of the lawmakers want the bill to become effective immediately after it is signed into law by Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode.

    The lawmaker added that the Assembly was passionate about Yoruba Language which necessitated its adoption for parliamentary debate on Thursdays.

    “The National Policy on Education provides that the language of an environment should be spoken in schools, which is why Yoruba Language is being adopted for Lagos schools.

    “After the passage of the bill into law, it would become compelling for schools to speak Yoruba Language. We want to preserve the language for generations yet unborn,’’ he said.

    On compliance by private schools after passage, the lawmaker said that schools owners were part of the bill and that they were at meetings the committee held across the education districts in the state.

    He added that private schools owners would have no choice than to key into the project as they have been properly mobilised, adding that the state Ministry of Education would ensure compliance.

    On the translation of the laws into Yoruba Language, Ogunyemi said that this was to ensure that those that are literate in Yoruba language were carried along in the scheme of things in the state.

    The Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, commended the committee, noting that the bill should take effect once signed into law by the state governor.

    The House accepted the report as its resolution as the bill awaits third reading.

  • Senate passes Bill against kidnapping, jungle justice, others

    The Senate on Thursday, passed a Bill for a law to against abduction, wrongful restraint or wrongful confinement for a ransom.

    This came after a clause-by-clause consideration of a Report on the issue by Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters at plenary.

    The Bill was sponsored by Sen. Isa Misau (APC-Bauchi) and Sen. Chukwuka Utazi (PDP-Enugu) presented the report on behalf of the Chairman of the committee, Sen. David Umaru.

    While presenting it, Utazi said that the Bill sought to prescribe stiff punishment for the offence of abduction, wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement for ransom.

    He said that the bill sought to combat and prevent any form of kidnapping in Nigeria and gave wider powers to the Inspector-General of Police to ensure adequate combating of crime.

    Clause 1 (3) of the Bill states that “whoever is guilty of the offence and then results in the death of the victim shall be liable on conviction to be sentenced to death.’’

    Clause 5 (2) reveals that “anyone who fails to produce any book, account, receipts, vouchers or other documents which is in his possession or control shall be guilty of an offence.

    “The person shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N100, 000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both fine and imprisonment.”

    Clause 3 provides a 30-year jail term to anyone who colludes with abductor to receive any ransom for the release of any person who has been wrongfully confined.

    The report was unanimously accepted by the lawmakers after a voice vote put by the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Senate also passed the Bill for the Prohibition and Protection of Persons from Lynching.

    However, the report of the Committee on Trade and Investment on Counterfeit Goods Bill was stepped down due to technical irregularities.

    Saraki, thereafter, referred the report to Legal Department of the National Assembly and urged chairmen of all committees to ensure that their reports passed through the legal department before consideration by the Senate.

     

     

  • Blockage of Bill No. 3, lost opportunity – Atiku

    Blockage of Bill No. 3, lost opportunity – Atiku

    Former Vice President and APC Chieftain, Atiku Abubakar, has described as shocking and saddening, the decision of the APC-led Senate to block the passage of Bill No. 3, which would have granted devolution of power to the states.

    In a statement released by his media office in Abuja, the Waziri of Adamawa decried the lost opportunity to honour one of the Party’s election promises to bring about change by shifting power closer to the people in the remotest regions of our country.

    “This blockage of the Bill by an APC-led Senate majority is a betrayal of our Party’s pre-election promises,” Atiku said. “It was an important vote and I’m shocked by some so-called progressives’ visceral and cynical opposition to restructuring.”

    Atiku decried the reluctance of democratically elected lawmakers to remove the insidious structural impediments to development, which decades of military rule had hoisted upon our nation.

    According to him, instead of building the foundations for a true federation, a small group of so-called progressive Senators decided to stick with the new party line, pretending they didn’t know what restructuring was all about, and that even if they knew, it couldn’t be done.

    “I think this is disingenuous,” he said. “And I think it is a sad day for our Party. But I’m confident the APC will learn the right lesson from this self-inflicted defeat, and remember the mission and mandate given to us by the people.”

    The Waziri also expressed hope that Nigeria’s lawmakers would find the courage to stand by what is right, and not by what serves their personal vanities and political interests.

    “Let me be clear: Restructuring is no panacea to all our nation’s problems. But devolving resources and responsibilities from an overbearing, unresponsive, and ineffective federal government to the states is the first step we must make if we are serious about putting our nation back on track, and our people back to work,” he said.

  • EGMONT Suspension: Senate passes Bill to separate NFIU from EFCC

    The Senate on Thursday passed into law a bill, which seeks to make the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) autonomous.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the bill was presented on the floor of the Senate seven days ago.

    The NFIU bill becomes the fastest passed by the Eighth Senate since its inauguration on June 9, 2015.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the when the bill receives concurrence from the House of Representatives and assented to, the NFIU will cease to be a department of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The accelerated treatment given to the bill may have been informed by the suspension of Nigeria by Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Unit.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the NFIU bill was passed against strong opposition mounted by the EFCC.

    The Senator Chukwuka Utazi-led Senate committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes was said to have held a public hearing on Wednesday, where the EFCC strongly opposed the passage of the bill.

    Director of NFIU Francis Oka-Phillips Usani, who was said to have attended the public hearing, was quoted as opposing the bill.

    Usani was said to have told the committee that the Egmont Group did not ask Nigeria to set up the intelligence unit as an agency.

    The NFIU boss was said to have explained to the committee that the unit was part of anti-graft agencies in parts of the world.

    He was said to have added the unit had generated intelligence information for security agencies.

    Usani, it was learnt, said that there might be a serious crisis that may force the Egmont Group to expel Nigeria if the Senate went ahead to create a full-fledged agency for NFIU.

    The Senate appeared to have received the committee’s report ahead of the public hearing.

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who presided when the bill was considered and passed, noted that when signed into law, the bill would strengthen the anti-corruption war.

    Ekweremadu said the international community would begin to take Nigeria seriously on the anti-graft war.

    He stated that with the passage, the suspension of Nigeria by Egmont Group will be lifted.

    Ekweremadu said: “I like to thank all of us for making sure that we passed this bill. This is a step towards fighting corruption in Nigeria. I hope the international community will take us seriously and lift the suspension. We want to ensure that there is no undue control over the activities of NFIU. What we have done is in consonant with what is done in other parts of the world.”

    Adopting a motion last Wednesday, the Senate resolved to pass a law creating a substantive and autonomous NFIU and make the unit legally and operationally autonomous with powers for the employment, reward, training, promotion and discipline of its workforce independently.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi had while briefing Senate Correspondents, explained that the Senate was committed to enacting the law in good time to boost the anti-corruption fight of the Federal Government.

    Abdullahi said if properly reorganised, the agencies that would benefit from the activities of the Egmont Group will include the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and many other relevant government agencies.

     

  • Bill seeking amnesty for treasury looters unconstitutional – Falana

    Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has condemned a bill in the House of Representatives seeking amnesty for treasury looters.

    The bill seeks to allow those who loot public treasury to return about 70 per cent of the stolen funds in exchange for total amnesty from prosecution.

    The bill was sponsored by Linus Okorie (Peoples Democratic Party, Ebonyi).

    Falana described the bill as immoral, discriminatory and unconstitutional.

    “I want to assume that the sponsors of the bill are not aware that Nigeria has ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. The convention has imposed a duty on the Nigerian Government to fight corruption and not to legalise it,” Falana said.

    He added that the bill encourage other forms of Crimes like robbery and kidnapping.

    The senior advocate added that the bill was in contravention of sections 15, 42 and 45 of the 1999 Constitution.

    Falana added, “The bill is immoral, dangerous, discriminatory, illegal and unconstitutional. It is patently inconsistent with Section 15(5) of the constitution which has imposed a duty on the Nigerian state to abolish corrupt practices.

    “It is discriminatory as it is designed to shield looters of our commonwealth alone from prosecution contrary to the letter and spirit of Section 42 of the Constitution. It is dangerous as it is meant to legitimise official corruption and impunity in the country.

    “If the bill is signed into law, all criminals who have been convicted and jailed for fraud, stealing, kidnapping and armed robbery are automatically entitled to similar amnesty and pardon.”

  • Reps sponsoring Bill to decongest prisons – Gbajabiamila

    Reps sponsoring Bill to decongest prisons – Gbajabiamila

    The leader of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos-APC), on Wednesday, said a Bill proposing community service as alternative to prison term for miscellaneous offenders in the country was underway.

    Gbajabiamila told newsmen in Abuja that when presented and passed, the emerging law would check congestion prisons across the country.

    He expressed concern over the state of prisons in the country, saying that no fewer than 100 inmates, who currently slept in one prison cell, could breed more criminals in the society.

    According to him, a congested prison has attendant consequences apart from the epidemic that may ensue.

    “This is apart from the people who may be in there for a period of two months to six months because the alternative was to pay a fine of N20, 000 which they didn’t have.

    “They are not criminals but petty offenders involved in misdemeanours like wondering or trading illegally on the streets or hawking,’’ the lawmaker said.

    He said that the situation in the prisons had the potential of producing more criminals.

    According to him, by the time the inmates come out, they are hardened.

    “So, the issue is for us to come up with a bill for community services for people like that rather than making prison term an alternative. All over the world they don’t do that for such offences.

    “I am actually happy that the community service Bill is in the process and will be coming for a second reading very soon so that we can decongest our prisons,’’ Gbajabiamila said.

    He explained that the bill would seek the removal of prison issues from the jurisdiction of the Federal Government to the states for improved services.

    “The ultimate goal for me is for us to remove the issue of prison from the exclusive list and send it down to the states.

    “If each state has about three or five prisons we are talking about over 100 prisons across the country and that will help to reduce congestion.

    “It should be a state matter because these people are tried for state offences mostly,’’ Gbajabiamila said.

     

     

    NAN