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Tag: Farah Dagogo

  • Elected officials’ suspension in Rivers, a slap on the constitution – Farah Dagogo

    Elected officials’ suspension in Rivers, a slap on the constitution – Farah Dagogo

    Dr Farah Dagogo, former House of Representatives member, (Degema, Bonny, Federal Constituency), has described the declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu as a slap on the Constitution.

    Dagogo made the remark on Tuesday while  in a statement issued to newsmen in Port Harcourt while reacting to the emergence rule declared on Rivers.

    He said that the declaration was questionable under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

    He added that the Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) outlined the conditions under which the President might declare a state of emergency.

    According to Dagogo, specifically, Section 305(1), the President may, by instrument published in the Official Gazette, issue a proclamation of a state of emergency in the federation or any part thereof.

    ‘’Section 305(3) states that the President may only declare a state of emergency in a state if the Governor of the state, with a resolution supported by two-thirds majority of the House of Assembly, requests the President to do so;

    “Or If there is actual breakdown of public order and public safety requiring extraordinary measures;

    “Or If there is a clear and present danger of an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the  federation or any part thereof;

    “Or If there is an occurrence or imminent danger of invasion, war, or insurrection; or if there is a natural disaster or public health emergency;

    “Or iff there is any other danger threatening the existence of the federation,” Dagogo explained.

    Dagogo said that President Tinubu admitted that the Governor and Deputy Governor did not request the proclamation (as required under Section 305(5).

    He said that the legal basis for the declaration rested on whether or not the public order and public safety had truly broken down, justifying the invocation of emergency powers.

    Speaking on legality of the Suspension of the Governor, Deputy Governor, and State House of Assembly, Dagogo said that the controversial aspect of the declaration was their suspension under the 1999 Constitution.

    According to him, the only legal way to remove a Governor or Deputy Governor is through impeachment by the State House of Assembly under Section 188.

    He stated that the Constitution does not grant the President the power to suspend or remove a Governor or Deputy Governor outside the impeachment process or a valid resignation.

    Dagogo said that section 11(4) and (5) stated that only the National Assembly could take over legislative functions of a state House of Assembly in cases where it could not function.

    It does not allow for the suspension of elected lawmakers.

    Dagogo explained that given the constitutional provisions, President Tinubu’s suspension of elected officials was unconstitutional, as there was no provision in the 1999 constitution granting such powers.

    “Even during a state of emergency, the Governor and Deputy Governor remain in office, unless removed in accordance with constitutional procedures,” he said.

    He said that the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as the Administrator to govern Rivers State raised another constitutional issue.

    “The 1999 Constitution does not recognize the office of an “Administrator” in place of an elected Governor

    ‘’The constitution only provides for a Governor elected by the people (Section 176(1)), a Deputy Governor elected alongside the Governor (Section 186),” he said.

    Dagogo mentioned that the only situation where an unelected official could assume control of a state is under military rule, which was not applicable under a democratic system governed by the 1999 constitution.

    He noted the role of the National Assembly in approving the State of Emergency, saying that under section 305(2) and (6), the President must transmit the emergency proclamation to the National Assembly for approval within two days.

    “If the National Assembly does not approve it within 10 days, the proclamation ceases to have effect.

    Dagogo while giving the constitutional breaches in the proclamation of Judicial interpretation and possible legal challenges, said that there were strong grounds for legal challenges in court.

    “The Supreme Court’s pronouncement in A.G. Federation v. A.G. Lagos State (2013) LPELR-20974(SC) reaffirms the principle that the President must act within constitutional limits, even in extraordinary situations,” he noted.

    Dagogo stated that ‘’any action outside the scope of the 1999 constitution is illegal’’ and could be overturned by the courts.

  • Exclusion: Dagogo drags PDP, INEC to court

    Exclusion: Dagogo drags PDP, INEC to court

    Embattled Rivers State PDP governorship aspirant, Honourable Farah Dagogo has dragged the party to court over his exclusion from the list of aspirants.

    Also to join in the suit is the election umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In a motion on notice filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, Hon Dagogo sought an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the PDP from using any list of aspirants without his name to conduct the May 26 primary election pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

    ALSO READWike declares rep member, Fara Dagogo wanted

    The federal lawmaker is also seeking an order restraining INEC from accepting any candidate who might emerge from the primary election conducted without his participation.

    Six frontline lawyers, B.A. Adegbie, M. Dayi, A.M. Idoghor, H. Amrurhobo, Dickson Sofiyegha and Erica Akpofure, filed the action on behalf of Dagogo.

    Dagogo, a serving member of the House of Representatives, representing the Degema-Bonny federal constituency was arrested, charged to court, and initially detained in police custody.

    He was standing trial on two counts of conspiracy to felony and cultism in a State High Court, but pleaded not guilty to the charges and had yet to be granted bail.

    But a FederaCourt in Port Harcourt had granted him bail and issued a restraining order to the police and other parties not to re-arrest him.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the governorship hopeful was currently remanded to the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre on the orders of the State High Court.

  • PAGMDI is a ploy for Resource Control – Rep Farah Dagogo

    PAGMDI is a ploy for Resource Control – Rep Farah Dagogo

    By Emman Ovuakporie

    A member of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, Rep Farah Dagogo, has described the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMDI) as a ploy for Resource Control, designed to deceive Nigerians ‘but heavily skewed to favour a particular part of the country .’

    Recall that last Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari officially presented locally mined gold bars made by the PAGMDI to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for which they paid the sum of N268m for 12.5kg of gold. Majority of gold deposit in Nigeria is found in the North, while a larger percentage of crude oil and gas is found in the South.

    Justifying the move, the President stated that the PAGMDI scheme would help reshape gold mining activities in Nigeria and prevent loss of value to illegal miners and smugglers.

    But Farah Dagogo, who represents Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, said the whole idea behind PAGMDI was a smokescreen perfected to enable miners be fully responsible for the sale and distribution of their natural resources (gold) in their areas unlike what is tenable in the South.

    The Federal Lawmaker, who made this known Thursday via statement, further posited that by the structure of PAGMDI, where gold are found, the scheme is 100% derivation revenue while the oil and gas producing communities in the South are getting just 13% derivation revenue.

    ” The whole PAGMDI scheme is a smokescreen for Resource Control. It is all semantics designed to deceive Nigerians but heavily skewed to favour a particular section of the country. The Nigerian Government had at several times denied the South South, the South East and the South West the right to control their resources, why then will you allow the North to control its resources through the cover of PAGMDI?

    ” For the benefit of hindsight, let me requote the statement of the President at the Presentation as the proof lies in his address.

    ” The President was reported as saying… ‘

    With the implementation of the PAGDMI scheme which will result in the set-up of accredited gold buying centres across key mining areas, artisanal miners and SMEs engaged in mining will be able to capture the value of their work.These operations will help in diversifying our revenue base. The sale of gold by artisanal miners and SMEs at accredited centers will help the government in realizing royalties and taxes from the sale of these assets.The gold buying programme by the Central Bank will ensure that artisanal miners are no longer subjected to the volatility in gold prices that occurs in the absence of credible off-takers, which has often led to a significant loss in the value of gold sold by miners, as well as in encouraging illegal smuggling. ”

    ” With the above, which is a clear reproduction of what the President said at the Presentation , it then begs the question as to why the Federal Government has not extended similar rush of gusto to the South South and other regions, seeing the speed at which PAGMDI has become operational in less than 10 months after it was set up?

    “Now that the North is in control of its resources as established by PAGMDI, the South South and other regions with natural resources are entitled to control theirs too. The difference is very clear, what we have in the South is 13% derivation revenue , whereas in the North with PAGMDI, it is 100% derivation revenue. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” the lawmaker added.