President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki says the National Assembly will continue to mount necessary pressure to get presidential assent on the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).
Saraki spoke at a dinner as part of activities at the ongoing 24th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday.
The dinner which ended late in the night, was attended by trade experts, industrialists, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operators and financial experts among other dignitaries.
According to Saraki, the resolve by the legislature to mount pressure to ensure the bill gets presidential assent has become necessary, given its importance to development of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari had withheld assent on the PIGB following its passage by the National Assembly.
The President had also communicated its decline of assent to the PIGB 2018, citing constitutional and legal reasons in the bill.
The Senate president said that it was unfortunate that the bill had not been assented to, adding “we took it as a responsibility to drive that bill to a level it has never been in a decade’’.
“That bill, a lot of people when we started said we cannot do it, but we demonstrated we have the political will and the commitment to do it.
“We passed the governance bill and it went to the executive.
“What I expected considering the kind of work that was done was for us both arms to seat down, because the issues that were raised are not issues that are not surmountable.
“Unfortunately, after so many months, the bill has come back with query that can easily be trashed out in a day session.
“Those in the petroleum sector will agree with me that they have never seen the engagement we saw in the governance bill.
“Secondly, we had the fiscal bill and we have taken it to the point that has never been archived, but I believe a lot of the operators will want to ask what will happen to the fiscal bill if the governance bill was not assented to.
“Our intension is to go back to the executive and seat down with them in the interest of Nigeria.
“This is a very good bill as most operators and the technical people in the sector commended it.’’
He said the observation made on the bill was not enough reasons to stop its assent because of the huge positive impact it would make in investments in the sector.
“Because as you know, there is no serious investment going in the oil and gas sector because people are not sure of what to expect.’’
On cost of governance, Saraki said it was huge but added that there were some wastages that could be reduced.
The Senate president said the fight against corruption must be transparent, and credible, adding that effort should also be made to prevent it.
“For example, the main area where we produce our major revenue is mainly in the oil and gas sector.
“But when you look at corruption cases, I am not sure you will find many of the cases in that sector, the fight is so selective.
“But if it is transparent, you should start from where you are producing your large source of revenue.
“Because if you can tackle corruption in the sector, there will be less leakages down the line.
“For example today, we are back to spending close to 3.6 billion dollars petroleum subsidy, so apart from the national assembly, which anti-corruption agency is looking at that?
“The point I am making is that there should be a transparent process and approach in fighting corruption.
“If we can make the petroleum sector most efficient which accounts for large revenue, government will be more efficient.
Tag: NASS
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NASS to mount pressure for presidential assent of PIGB, says Saraki
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NASS has helped save Nigeria from collapse – Dogara
In order to attain stable, strong and effective governance in Nigeria, the National Assembly must receive priority attention in terms of capacity building, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has disclosed.
He made this known while delivering an address on the topic, “Parliamentary Institution Building in Africa”, at the convocation ceremony of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS)/University of Benin Post Graduate Programmes for the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 Academic sessions, which held at the National Assembly.
The speaker explained that because the Legislature is the true face of democracy, especially in maturing democracies such as that of Nigeria, where it serves as the stabilising force with robust constitutional powers to check-mate the Executive misuse and abuse of power which occasionally rears its head.
Making a case for strengthening in institutions to produce good governance, Hon Dogara added that the imperative of building healthy and strong institutions, like the legislature, in place of strong personalities, has been the bane of our democratic experience in Nigeria.
Going further, he stated, “Time has come to reverse this trend in order to achieve the goals of a robust and sustainable economic, social and political development, not only in Nigeria but in Africa as a whole.
“It is our considered opinion that if there is any institution of government that should receive priority attention in terms of capacity building, it is the Legislature. This is because the Legislature is the true face of democracy. In our maturing democracy in this country, the Legislature is the stabilising force as it has robust constitutional powers to check-mate the Executive misuse and abuse of power which occasionally rears its head. Credit must be given to the Nigerian Parliament, which has continued to make Laws, perform its representative functions and make robust use of the power of oversight in order to preserve our hard-won democracy and achieve good governance.”
Elucidating further on the topic, he said a key factor in moving from a nominal democracy to democracy that delivers development results for people is an effective legislature that holds the executive to account, especially in developing countries burdened by weak governance structures like Nigeria and lamented that whereas much work has been done on strengthening Executive leadership, not much attention has been paid to systematically building the capacity of the legislature to effectively contribute to national development.
Speaking of efforts made in the last two decades by the legislature to provide better governance in Nigeria, he said the National Assembly, among other things, has set unprecedented record in the area of lawmaking, which has translated to stimulating economic growth and prompting competition.
“What is expected of modern legislatures goes beyond the traditional role of representation, law-making and oversight. The legislature in Nigeria must serve a greater purpose within wider national democratisation processes. Over the last two decades, the National Assembly has transitioned from being the weaker institution to becoming a strong and capable agent of change. Our activism in the area of law-making is attested to by the unprecedented record we have set in the area of law-making. Some of these laws are specifically designed to stimulate economic growth and promote competition. We have also successfully intervened in crises situations to save the country from avoidable collapse.”
While commending the bond between National Institute For Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and University of Benin (UNIBEN) for collaborating on the academic programmes, he congratulated all the graduands on the successful completion of their programmes and urged them to be great ambassadors of the institution of the Legislature.
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Just in: ‘Siege on NASS was a collective decision…’ says sacked DSS DG, Daura
Sacked Director General of the Department of State Service, Lawal Daura, reportedly said neither was he given query over any issue nor indicted on his handling of affairs of the service until his sack.
The disclosure was made by a source very close to Daura in a report published in PRNigeria.
According to the report, the source who spoke on conditions of anonymity said that Daura insisted that he took all actions in national interest through a collective responsibility, including involvement of principal officers of sister agencies even though he promised not to disclose on whose authority he relied on to lay the siege on the National Assembly.
The source further said that “while the former DSS boss has not officially handed over up till now, his house both in Asokoro and Gwarinpa were thoroughly searched in the night and nothing incriminating were found, and all items found including necklace, praying mat, CDs, ATM card, women bags, documents and receipts have been duly returned to him accordingly.”
The source also stated that when he was invited by the then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for the security briefing, he quickly rushed out and left some of his personal belonging including phones in the office. He noted that when he was whisked away and eventually sacked, he did not know his offence.
The source further disclosed that Daura felt demoralised after being tagged as a mole of the opposition elements for laying a siege on the National Assembly.
The source said: “Daura has been completely demoralised by the wide spread insinuations of working for the opposition when he took daring moves to protect the Presidency and the ruling party against the antics of the powerful opposition elements. The allegation of being a mole is utter balderdash!”
The source who is also close to security agencies pointed out that: “Spymasters all over the world can be sacrificed but not to the extent of rubbishing their integrity and reputation on the altar of political considerations, especially a spymaster created by the same system, considering the delicate and sensitive nature of intelligent services.”
However, the new development from the sacked Daura-born security chief has contradicted the report submitted by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Idris Ibrahim that Lawal Daura, has confessed that he deployed hooded Operatives of the Secret Service to the National Assembly complex based on intelligence report that unauthorized persons were planning to smuggle dangerous weapons and incriminating items into the Federal Legislative complex.
His purported confession was disclosed in an alleged interim investigation report submitted to the then Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo.
In the report, the IGP argued that Daura carried out the siege on the National Assembly, without the approval of the Acting President.
“The former Director-General, Department of State Security Services, DSS, Lawal Daura, acted unilaterally, without informing the Presidency. He did not share or intimate other Security Agencies on the unlawful operations”, Idris said in the report.
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Uncertainty over 2019 polls as NASS panel suspends deliberations on budget approval indefinitely
Indications emerged on Friday that the 2019 polls may fall behind schedule as the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) suspended indefinitely, deliberations on the N189bn budget submitted by the commission for the conduct of 2019 elections.
The Committee Chairman, Suleiman Nazif, who announced the indefinite suspension at the end of the panel’s meeting, however, assured Nigerians that members would do the needful to ensure that the citizens emerge victorious at the end of the day.
He said, “‘Honourable minister, honourable chairman (of INEC) and presidential liaison, I want to thank you very much for your time. We have the prerogative as a committee to look into all the details having got all the clarifications we require. We will now sit as a committee at the end of the day on which one to use. We are not playing politics here.
‘‘This is not where we play politics. On this note, this meeting is adjourned sine die (indefinitely).”
Investigations revealed as well that members of the panel did not take a decision on the fate of the N189bn budget submitted by the electoral commission at Friday’s meeting.
Members of the committee were torn between considering INEC’s N189bn and the President’s request that N143bn out of the amount should be vired from the 2018 budget while the balance of N45.6bn should accommodated in the 2019 supplementary budget.
Nazif, who chaired Friday’s meeting at the National Assembly, tried to offer explanations on the areas of conflict.
He said, “The issue in contention is, we have a letter from Mr. President requesting supplementary budget and what we have is a budget of N143, 512, 529.00, that is what we have in the President’s letter.
“But at the same time, there is another N45bn. When you put the N143bn and the N45.6bn, it gives us the N189bn, there is no confusion in it.
“INEC did the right thing, the President sent his letter. It is the sources of funding that became a problem that is why we invited the Minister of Budget and National Planning so that he can clarify.”
Meanwhile in his response, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, explained that the President would be comfortable with whatever the National Assembly come up with as regards how the INEC budget was funded, as long as it would not increase the size of the 2018 budget.
He said, “This is a special election budget. The normal INEC budget was submitted together with the normal budget which was completed in October and submitted to the National Assembly in November last year.
“This one is not the regular budget, it’s a special election budget and usually it is brought as a supplementary or virement it could only come after the main budget had been passed.
“Basically, the amount that INEC asked for is N189bn. When Mr. President considered the funding constraints, the Budget Office looked at the budget and said, are there aspects of this budget which they are not going to spend in 2018 but are likely to spend between January and February 2019? Those elements were put in the 2019 budget.”
Udoma further explained that he understood the concerns of the lawmakers because he had been following the conversation.
According to him, the lawmakers are concerned about the fact that the 2019 budget may not be passed early enough to accommodate the part of the budget projected to be captured in the 2019 budget.
To address this concern, the minister said, “We will have no objection whatsoever to your appropriating the full amount N189bn for the 2018 budget; that will mean that we will not include the N45.6bn in the 2019 budget which we are preparing now.
“If this is to be done, the N45.6bn the President stated in his letter, which is proposed to be provided for in the 2019 budget, would also have to be vired along with the N143bn from the N578bn fund appropriated for in the 2018 budget by the National Assembly for the additional 1,403 projects included in the budget.”
Responding to a question by a committee member as to whether he had the authorisation to make the submission, Udoma said, “The discretion on which of the requests to be approved by you now, is yours. If you approve the N143bn the President requested, it is okay and if you approve the entire N189bn for INEC this year, it is also alright.”
He further said, “Any of the two is okay for the executive, except that if you approve the N189bn through virement, the N45.6bn planned to be captured in the 2019 budget, would no longer be part of the budget estimates for that year.”
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INEC budget: Why no date for NASS to reconvene – Saraki, Dogara
The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, said on Tuesday that no date had been fixed for the two chambers to reconvene to consider the INEC 2019 elections budget request forwarded by President Muhammadu Buhari.
This was contained in a statement by Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Senate President and Mr Turaki Hassan, Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to Speaker, House of Representatives in Abuja.
The Senate president and the speaker said that no meeting between the two chambers took place to consider any report before the National Assembly.
“Until the committees has a ready report for the consideration of the two chambers, it will be most irresponsible to recall members from recess, especially those that may have travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj,” they said.
Buhari forwarded the INEC 2019 elections budget request on July 17.
The Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Electoral Matters and officials of the INEC ought to have met on or before Monday Aug. 13.
The joint committees were also expected to meet with the joint Senate and House Committees on Appropriations, Loans and Debts on the Eurobond loan request after which two reports would have been ready for presentation in the two chambers.
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You can’t remove Saraki, Ekweremadu – PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the All Progressives Congress (APC) lacks the legislative number and constitutional facilities to remove Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan on Friday in Abuja, the party advised the Presidency and the APC to “accept the reality’’.
It said that Presidency and the APC, having realized that there was no way they could muster the constitutionally required two-third votes of the 109 senators, representing 73 senators, was now engaged in under-hand tactics.
These, according to it, include the invasion of the National Assembly.
“Even before then, Nigerians were already aware of moves to use humongous funds to induce lawmakers to trigger crisis in the National Assembly and
pave the way for the removal of presiding officers.“Now that they have discovered that there is no way they can achieve their devious intentions, they have commenced a war of blackmail,
distortions of fact and media trial against the Senate leadership.”It said that the attempts would end up as another wasteful venture as Nigerians were aware of the long-drawn desperation to annex the legislature.
The PDP added that even among the ranks of APC senators and members of House of Representatives, there is huge aversion to the tactics being deployed to force out duly elected presiding officers of the assembly.
It said that such lawmakers were fully aligned with Nigerians, the PDP and the national assembly leadership in the protection of the independence, sanctity and integrity of the parliament and all democratic institutions in the country.
“It is therefore instructive for both the Presidency and the APC
to know that there is no way they can remove the leadership of the
National Assembly, particularly the Senate.”It cautioned against over-heating the polity and attempts to circumvent rules and the Constitution, saying that such would not change the resolve of Nigerians to vote out APC in 2019.
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NASS siege: Police submits report on DSS probe to Osinbajo, makes shocking revelations [See letter]
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has submitted the report on the controversial invasion of the National Assembly to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
The report which was obtained by TheNewsGuru.com on Thursday night indicted the sacked Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura.
In a report on the controversial incident prepared for Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday, Mr Idris said Mr Daura was working for some politicians for selfish interest, but did not name the accomplices.
He said Mr Daura did not consult with other security agencies before ordering the siege, and questioned the validity of a security report that allegedly anticipated a violence at the parliament.
Mr Daura was sacked by Mr Osinbajo on Tuesday afternoon. He was immediately handed over to the police for further interrogation, after unathorised deployment of SSS officers that sparked nationwide outrage and condemnation.
Mr Idris said the police have been interrogating Mr Daura in Garki, Abuja, since he was arrested.
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NASS siege: Obasanjo blames Buhari-led government
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has reacted to the invasion of National Assembly by operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS.
Obasanjo said the action of the secret police was an indication of how low the current administration had taken Nigeria’s politics and democracy.
He spoke while delivering a lecturer entitled “The challenges in Ethics in National Development” at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to Obasanjo, “Emphasis on socioeconomic development was limited only to self, families, clans, region before the nation in that order, so much so that the all-important matters of state were subverted. Nigeria has been established, but we are yet to establish and build Nigerians.
“The real socioeconomic issues that could impact on the people directly for their welfare and well being are handled with levity and with discriminating political considerations.
“Let nobody deceive us, economy feeds on politics and because our politics is depressing, our economy is even more depressing today.
“What happened at the National Assembly on Tuesday, August 7th 2018, and which has been roundly condemned is an indication of how low our politics and our democracy have been taken.
“Our constitution is very clear; one of the cardinal responsibilities of the President is the management of the economy of which the value of the naira forms an integral part.”
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Breaking: 45 political parties National Chairmen request Saraki for funding
Forty-five National Chairmen of political parties in Nigeria have demanded the inclusion of funds for all political parties for citizen sensitization in the 2019 budget/supplementary budget request sent by President Muhammadu Buhari for 2019 election.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the 45 National Chairmen of political parties in the country made the request when they paid a solidarity visit to Senate President Bukola Saraki.
“We wish to demand for inclusion in the 2019 budget/supplementary budget request sent by the Presidency for 2019 election for funds for all political parties for citizen sensitization,” the 45 National Chairmen told the Senate President.
The 45 National Chairmen condemned the siege on the residences of the principal officers of the National Assembly, the siege on the National Assembly, and the siege on the Benue State House of Assembly.
“It is with a deep sense of responsibility and patriotism that we have come here to visit you today.
“We join millions of Nigerian to express solidarity with the leadership of the National Assembly in these trying times in our history.
“As national leaders of political parties, we cannot sit by and watch our country slide into the Hobbesian state of anarchy, where life has become short, brutish and lawless.
“Nigeria is gradually turning into a failed state and all the institutions of state have been compromised and desecrated. This is the time to rise in defence of democratic values and nationhood.
“We unequivocally condemn the use of agencies of state: Nigeria Police, DSS, EFCC, to clamp down on the opposition and stifle democracy as demonstrated in the siege on the residences of the principal officers of the National Assembly, the siege on the National Assembly, and the siege on the Benue State House of Assembly.
“Today, our country is facing the challenges of pervasive insecurity, massive joblessness and unemployment, ethnic irredentism and disunity.
“We enjoin the National Assembly to use its constitutionally-guaranteed powers to legislate to arrest the slide; to give the country a new direction and create hope for our country men and women.
“We note that the courts have rejected attempts by the Accord Party to undermine the constitutional powers of NASS to determine sequence of elections. We, majority of the political parties dissociate ourselves from that inglorious attempt.
“We wish to demand for inclusion in the 2019 budget/supplementary budget request sent by the Presidency for 2019 election for funds for all political parties for citizen sensitization,” the National Chairmen stated.
In his response, Saraki expressed pleasure on behalf of the National Assembly, and thanked the 45 National Chairmen for the solidarity message.
“Truly, we appreciate it as it encourages us further to do what we have to do to defend the democracy of our great country. Our hearts go out to all Nigerians from all aspects of life that have stood, called to support us here at the National Assembly.
“We will continue to defend it and ensure that the respect for the rule of law and due process will always be what we see in our dear country.
“This country has made a lot of achievements in the area of democracy, and we will stand for it to be set back in any manner at all.
“Let me also use this opportunity to appreciate all political parties from different sides of the divide here; you have come together in defence of democracy in Nigeria.
“I appreciate that and I appreciate your responsibility and your patriotism and I will continue to assure you that this Senate will work closely with you in this regard.
“It is our hope that those anti-democratic forces would have learnt their lessons from the last three days and listen to the voice of Nigerians; men, women, boys & girls all across the country who have said firmly that we do not support unconstitutional, anti-democratic actions.
“That voice is loud and clear and I believe we must all respect that and I expect that as we respect all the Nigerians, those who have made sacrifices for us to be here some have made the ultimate sacrifice, and we must respect that and ensure that Nigeria is a country that everyone around the world looks up to. We should be a shining star, an example of a democratic nation.
“We should not allow anything to get in the way of the image of this great country that we have all worked so hard to build.
“We also hope that very soon, the government will quickly put in place the machinery to start the investigation of what really happened, because we are hearing too many fairy-tales of the reasons for what happened.
“I think it’s time for us to see the hard facts and I think that investigative panel should be commissioned soon and is allowed to start work, so that this kind of thing will not happen in the future.
“Let me also assure you that the new Electoral Amendment Bill that we have sent to Mr. President will go a long way to address some of the issues of more credible elections in that it will also help in improving the standard to ensure that our electoral process is among the most transparent in the world. Let me also take note of your suggestion and contribution of having a liaison officer to work with us.
“We appreciate that, and we will work closely with you to look at the areas and bills that will also improve the whole electoral process. It is very, very important that we continue to strengthen the electoral process and our politics in the country.
“It is important to also ensure that we continue to serve our people better, because in the end, all that we are doing; from political parties to electoral processes is to provide a means that we can better represent and ensure that the lives of our people are much better.
“We should not lose focus of this amidst all these distractions. I want to assure those in the Senate, my colleagues and the National Assembly in general, that our eyes are still on the goal of how to make life better for Nigerians and we will not be distracted by these actions that are not in the interest of Nigerians.
“Once again, thank you for coming and we will continue to work closely with you during the next few months — which are very critical months and we hope that the events that have happened .will ensure that we will never see where a security agency of government that are meant to be impartial are used in order to try as much as possible to stifle the opposition.
“This is because any democratic society must have both those who speak for and those who speak against and that is how our society will grow and mature in the interest of our people.
“Thank you for this courageous move by being here, for speaking and letting your voices be heard and I am sure that Nigerians will remember your role as well in our effort to defend democracy in our country,” Saraki stated.
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Buhari’s impeachment will not be entertained – Saraki
Senate President Bukola Saraki has said moves to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari would not be entertained.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Saraki stated this while fielding questions during a world press conference he addressed in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Bamikole Banks Omisore, Special Assistant, International Relations to the Senate President, who highlighted the point, “focus is to strengthen our democracy and provide enabling environment for free and credible elections”.
Saraki, at the world press conference, stated that the 8th National Assembly stands committed to doing the utmost to ensure that the responsibility and functionality of governance are met.
“We want to reassure Nigerians that, on our part, we remain committed to working for a country governed by the rule of law.
“We stand committed to doing our utmost as lawmakers to ensure that the responsibility and functionality of governance are met.
“We remain confident in the support of my colleagues and their focus on the job at hand, which is to serve the Nigerian people.
“My confidence is unshaken. We remain committed to the success of the historic 8th National Assembly, and to the continued progress of our country,” he said.