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  • Buhari transmits bill on ease of doing business to NASS

    Buhari transmits bill on ease of doing business to NASS

    The Senate has received the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022, forwarded to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, for consideration and passage.

    The bill was accompanied by a letter dated 17th June, 2022.

    The letter, addressed to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, was read during plenary on Tuesday.

    President Buhari, in the letter, explained that the expeditious consideration and passage of the bill would promote the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

    It reads, “Pursuant to Sections 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), I forward herewith the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provision) Bill 2022 for the kind consideration of the Senate.

    “Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provision) Bill 2022 seeks to promote the ease of doing business in Nigeria by amending relevant legislation.

    “While hoping that this submission will receive the usual expeditious consideration of the Senate, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”

  • Imo Assembly passes N65bn supplementary budget to fight insecurity

    The Imo House of Assembly on Tuesday passed a supplementary budget of N65bn for the year 2022.

    The passage of the budget followed a bill presented by the Majority Leader of the House, Mr Kanayo Onyemaechi (APC Owerri West) at the plenary session.

    Onyemaechi said the supplementary budget was necessary to help fight the rising insecurity in the state and to boost infrastructural development.

    Supporting the bill, Mr Chigozie Nwaneri (APC Oru East) said there was a need to arrest the security situation in the state, particularly in Orlu zone.

    Nwaneri stressed that the state government needed every help it could get to tackle the issue satisfactorily.

    Also speaking, the Njaba representative, Mrs Uju Onwudiwe, (APC)  noted that her constituency had been worst hit by the security crisis in the state.

    Onwudiwe, however, commended the State Government in its efforts toward ending the security crisis in the state and called for the bill to be approved.

    The bill which was read for the first and second time was also considered by the committee of the whole house and passed.

    The Speaker,  Mr Kennedy Ibeh (APC Obowo ) directed the Clerk, Mrs Chinelo Emeghara, to ensure the bill is sent to the governor for assent.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the governor had earlier signed a budget of N381.4 billion for the year 2022.

    A bill for the establishment of the Imo State Data Centre was also granted accelerated passage in addition to a bill for a law to amend the Imo Lands Administration and Geographic Information Service establishment law.

    Both laws were also sent to the governor for assent following their passage.

    The Speaker during the plenary session also called for a minute of silence in honour of Mr Okechukwu Okoye, the legislator who was abducted and killed in Anambra state.

    While praying for the repose of his soul, Ibe also prayed against a repeat of the gory incident and for an end to insecurity in the country.

    Okoye was the representative of the Aguata state constituency at the Anambra House of Assembly.

  • Senate passes Money Laundering Act Amendment Bill

    Senate passes Money Laundering Act Amendment Bill

    The Senate on Wednesday passed the Money Laundering Act, 2011, Amendment Bill.

    The passage of the bill tagged, “Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022”, followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes at plenary.

    Presenting the report, Sen. Suleiman Abdu Kwari,the Chairman of the Committee, said that the bill sought to amend the institutional and legal framework of the bill.

    “The amendment will provide for effective and comprehensive legal framework to re-invigorate the fight against money laundering in the country by placing emphasise on prevention as a useful tool to strengthen the existing legal regime in combating money laundering and other related crimes in the country,” he said.

    He said that the bill provided appropriate penalties as well as expanded the scope of supervisory bodies to effectively address the challenges faced in the implementation of anti-money laundering laws in Nigeria.

    Kwari said that the bill provided protection for employees of various anti-graft institutions, and approved the establishment of the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

    He said that the unit when established, would be charged with the effective implementation of the money laundering laws in relation to designated Non-Financial Businesses and or Professions in Nigeria.

    “The enactment of this bill will resolve the institutional issues regarding the establishment of the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering under the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, being implemented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

    “The bill seeks to introduce certain supervisory and enforcement mechanism, through the imposition of administrative penalties for breach of any requirement imposed by law,”the lawmaker said.

    The bill was passed by the Upper chamber after consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

  • Senate passes Proceeds of Crime Bill 2022

    Senate passes Proceeds of Crime Bill 2022

    The Senate, on Wednesday at plenary, passed the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Bill, 2022.

    The passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by the Joint Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes; and Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.

    Presenting the Joint Committee’s report, Sen. Suleiman Kwari (APC-Kaduna), said the bill seeks to provide for the restraint, seizure, confiscation and forfeiture of properties derived from unlawful activities.

    He explained that if signed into law, it would expand the mandates of existing statutory institutions to manage proceeds of crime, rather than creating a new body to carry out such function.

    Kwari said the passage would also facilitate the establishment of departments in relevant organisations to manage forfeited assets as well as provide for effective legal framework for the recovery of proceeds of crime.

    The lawmaker explained further that the bill would strengthen the criminal confiscation procedure by ensuring that the total benefit from a person’s criminal activity is recovered.

    According to him, it will galvanise the collaborative efforts of relevant government agencies in the implementation of confiscation proceedings against convicted persons in tracing and forfeiture of properties reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity through non-conviction based forfeiture proceedings.

    The bill after consideration by the Committee of the Whole was passed by the Upper chamber.

  • Buhari’s bill to amend Electoral Act dumped at second reading

    Buhari’s bill to amend Electoral Act dumped at second reading

    The bill to amend the Electoral Act, 2022 was dumped at second reading stage on Wednesday as Senators ensured it was killed.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports President Muhammadu Buhari had written to the upper and lower legislative chambers seeking amendment to Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 to pave way for political office holders to serve as delegates.

    The section in the Electoral Act which barred political office holders from serving as delegates of political parties during conventions of political parties, Buhari said was denial of democratic rights of certain citizens.

    The bill was read the fist time on Tuesday amid controversy banning the amendment exercise by the Justice Inyang Ekwo-led Federal High Court.

    Justice Ekwo ruled on the ex-parte application brought before the court by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he ruled that the Nigerian Senate and the House of Representatives should not tamper with amendment of 84(12) of the Electoral Amendment Act.

    But on Tuesday and Wednesday, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan insisted that lawmaking was within the powers of the parliament, hence, nothing should encumber the legislative houses from making laws.

    He urged the Senate leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi Abubakar to read the bill on Wednesday. The bill however, failed and by legislative processes, it won’t be read for the third time.

  • Women protest at National Assembly over failed gender, equality bills

    Women protest at National Assembly over failed gender, equality bills

    Women groups on Wednesday stormed National Assembly (NASS), Abuja to protest and register their anger against the rejection of Gender and Equality bills by both Chambers.

    The groups described the rejection of reserved special seats for women at the National Assembly as wicked and unacceptable.

    The placards carrying protesters vowed not to leave the main entrance to the complex just as they called on the lawmakers to revisit and vote in favour of the bills as a matter of urgency and necessity.

    The protesters described the killing of the bills as insensitive and disdain to Nigerian women.

    They faulted the voting procedure used by the leadership of both Senate and House of Representatives leading to the killing of the bills.

    The protesters blocked the main gate of the complex preventing lawmakers and staff from gaining access into the complex.

    According to one of the leaders of the group , Biola Akiode: “We are here to demand that the wrong that was done to the women should be redressed. What we saw yesterday was a manifestation of historical injustices that affecting the participation of voice of the Nigeria women.

    “Yesterday we realised that people who are representing us are not representing the 50% of the population and they were actually representing themselves. The issue of Nigerian women and young people are not prioritised.

    “We have five demands and we negotiated these demands through their different interventions to put up those issues.

    “We have women who met the speaker of the House. We have women who came to present positions at the public hearing.

    Both legislative Chambers during the consideration of the Constitution amendment voted against the special seats for women in parliament.

    The bill if it had scaled through would have come down to creating 111 extra seats for women at the National Assembly.

  • Startup bill seeks to revolutionize Nigeria’s startup ecosystem

    Startup bill seeks to revolutionize Nigeria’s startup ecosystem

    The Senate has received the Nigeria Startup Bill transmitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The bill was accompanied with a letter dated the 21st February, 2022, and read during plenary by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.

    President Buhari in the letter explained that the Startup bill seeks to revolutionize the country’s Startup Ecosystem and to establish a National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

    The letter reads in part, “Pursuant to Sections 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), I hereby forward The Nigeria Startup Bill, 2021 for the kind consideration of the Senate.

    “The Nigeria Startup Bill, 2021 aims to position Nigeria’s Startup ecosystem, as the leading digital technology center in Africa, having excellent innovators with cutting edge skills and exportable capacity, in order to do this, the Bill seeks to establish a National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

    “While hoping that this submission will receive the usual expeditious consideration of the Senate, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my best regards.”

  • Civil society organisations call on President Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill

    Civil society organisations call on President Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill

    A civic-tech organisation known as PROMAD Foundation, on Tuesday, joined other civil society organisations, in Abuja, to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill.

    PROMAD, an organization
    that works to empower citizens and communities, enabling accountability and participation for good governance and development, noted that the call was the collective voices of Nigerians.

    In the words of PROMAD: “Earlier today at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, we joined other civil society organisations to call on President Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill transmitted to him by the National Assembly. This call is the collective voices of Nigerians.”

    Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, during an interview on Tuesday, said President Buhari could sign the bill today.

    “He (Buhari) will sign it (the bill) any moment from now,” he said while appearing as a guest on the Channels Television breakfast programme. “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days.

    “It could be signed today; it could be signed tomorrow. In a matter of hours, not days. Hours could be 24 hours, it could be 48 hours; not days, not weeks.”

    This comes nearly a month after lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers of the National Assembly passed the harmonised version of the bill.

    Passed on January 25, the bill was transmitted to President Buhari a week after, as confirmed by his Senior Special Assistant on NASS Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare.

    Weeks after receiving the bill, the President has yet to give his assent – an action that has sparked an outcry from critics who fear he might reject it again.

    Defending his principal, Adesina slammed those accusing the President of delaying the signing of the bill, stressing that the Nigerian leader’s action was still within the requirements of the Constitution.

    He stated that it would only be appropriate to say President Buhari has acted against the law if exceeds the 30-day window provided by the law.

    “You know before the President will put pen to paper on any legislation, particularly this one that has to do with our electoral fortunes, it has to be looked at and looked at.

    “He has to buy opinions from different stakeholders and having been satisfied that the necessary due diligence had been done and he will not be making any error, then he will sign it, and I tell you that Nigerians will get to hear about this bill in hours,” Adesina said.

    President Buhari had withheld his assent to the bill in November 2021, citing the cost of conducting direct primary elections, security challenges, and possible manipulation of electoral processes by political players as part of the reasons for his decision.

    He, however, gave some conditions to give his assent, prompting the lawmakers to re-work the bill which initially led to the emergence of two versions from the green and red chambers of the assembly.

    While the House re-amended the bill to include the direct and indirect primary options, the Senate re-adjusted to include the direct, indirect, and consensus modes of selecting political parties’ candidates.

    Both chambers, thereafter, passed the harmonised version- the final agreed version of the amendment to Clause 84 of the bill.

    This included the direct, indirect, and consensus primary modes of nominating candidates by political parties for elections.

  • Nigerian youths converge in Abuja over Presidential assent to Electoral Bill 2022

    Nigerian youths converge in Abuja over Presidential assent to Electoral Bill 2022

    A group known as Yiaga Africa and some youths on Tuesday converged at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, to demand Presidential assent to the Electoral Bill 2022.

    Yiaga is a non-profit civic hub of change makers committed to the promotion of democratic governance, human rights and civic engagement.

    According to the Convener of @SituationRoomNg, Ene Obi, who posted on Twitter “Nigerians come out in their numbers to reactivate their citizenship to demand Presidential assent to the Electoral Bill 2022.

    “We are live at the Unity Fountain to demand Presidential assent to the Electoral Bill 2022.The President had promised on national TV to assent to the Electoral Bill 2022, we are here to ensure that the President Buhari gives assent to it.

    It would be recalled that the National Assembly had transmitted the reworked Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare, made this known via a statement he personally signed after the transmission.

    The statement, titled, ‘Transmission of the Electoral Bill 2022,’ reads: “The Clerk to the National Assembly, Mr. Olatunde Amos Ojo, has transmitted the authenticated copies of the Electoral Bill 2022 to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, on January 31, 2022.

    “This was done in accordance with the provisions of Section 58 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2 LFN 2004.

    “Mr. President had withheld assent to the Electoral Bill 2021 transmitted to him on November 19, 2021. The electoral bill was thereafter reworked by the National Assembly and both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed the same on January 25, 2022.”

    The House had amended Clause Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010, which is Clause 84 of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, by inserting the indirect primary option.

  • Bill to give widows access to their late husband’s properties passes second reading

    Bill to give widows access to their late husband’s properties passes second reading

    A bill to give widows access to their late husband’s property, stop rape, forced marriages and other evil customary practices has passed second reading at the House of Representatives.

    Rep. Sergius Ogun (PDP-Edo), sponsored the bill entitled: “An Act to amend the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, which was read on the floor of the House on Thursday in Abuja.

    He stated that the bill would prohibit discrimination against widows and all forms of repressive and degrading widowhood practices.

    “The bill will make provision for the definition of the offence of image-based sexual abuse under the Act and also make provision for penalty for offence of image-based sexual abuse.”

    Ogun said the bill specifically called for amendment to 6 sections of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2015.

    Leading the debate, Ogun decried inhuman treatment being meted to some widows.

    According to him, this bill proposes to amend six sections of the violent against persons act to make provisions to safeguard widows from violent and evil customary practices.

    Others included denial of property rights, rape, forced marriages and all other dehumanising acts that undermined the dignity of the widow.

    “The amendment(s) are geared toward achieving the following: Define what constitutes harmful and degrading widowhood practices; define what constitutes the rights of widows under the Act.

    “Prescribe penalties for infractions against the Act; preserving the 23rd day of May of every year as a National Day for the prohibition of discrimination against widows, women and girls.

    “This is to bring the problem of discrimination against widows to national attention; saddle the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) with the responsibility.

    This according to him is with the responsibility of administering the provisions of this bill and organising events to commemorate the national day for the prohibition of such discrimination.

    He said that, in several parts of Nigeria, widows were made to pay heavy penalties for the painful departure of husbands that they loved and shared their lives with.

    He added that they were usually stigmatised, denied access to property and in some cases, denied access to their own children for reasons that had no place under any Nigerian law.

    “Widowhood is not by choice. Widows are victims of the inevitability of death. So why do our society criminalise the unfortunate incident of widowhood?

    “Why are widows denied the right to mourn in peace, is the trauma of their loss met with more trauma rather than solace?

    He said the house had a duty to right this wrong, adding that mothers, sisters, aunties, friends, colleagues deserved to be protected.

    However, when the bill was put to voice vote, there was an overwhelming support of the members and it was adopted for second reading.