Governor Samuel Ortom is currently meeting with the Senate in the ongoing probe by the upper chamber of the National Assembly into the killings by herdsmen in Benue State.
The governor is appearing before the joint Senate Committee on Police Affairs; and National Security and Intelligence, especially on his indictment by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, over his alleged culpability in the security crisis in the state.
The meeting is ongoing behind closed doors.
Details later…
Senate President Bukola Saraki on Tuesday queried the recent actions of the federal government towards members of the National Assembly but insisted that nobody can intimidate the members and leaders from performing their statutory functions.
Saraki stated this on the floor of the Senate while reacting to a point of order raised by Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) on his alleged travails in the hand of the Federal Government.
He noted that the Senate will continue to defend democracy no matter the cost.
Saraki, who particularly took a swipe at unnamed Federal Government functionaries, said there was no doubt that their actions were destroying the image of government, instead of helping to shore up its integrity.
Melaye had drawn the attention of the Senate to what he described as witch-hunting by the Federal Government by suing him for alleged misinforming the police on his “attempted assassination”.
Saraki said: “Senator Dino Melaye, your points are well noted and I do not see how the issue of arraignment can be a way forward in a matter like this. But be that as it may, I want us all to continue to defend democracy and fight for what is right and I can assure you that this institution will continue to stand for what is right.
“Those who think that they are helping the government, but sometimes they are doing things that are not in the interest of this democracy. I think they need to do what is right for the interest of all of us. But for sure, what is wrong is wrong. I think those who are looking at this will have a review and do what is right.”
Melaye, in his point of order, said he has elected to always draw attention to infringements of the law.
He said he was prepared to pay the supreme sacrifice, if need be in the defence of democracy.
The Kogi West senator insisted that if his trial was meant to stop him from speaking out, even criticising President Muhammadu Buhari if he did anything wrong, those behind his trial have failed.
He vowed to use the last drop of his life to fight what he perceived attempts to silence him and stop him from speaking truth to power.
Melaye said: “If this arraignment in Kogi State is to stop me from criticising the Federal Government, they have committed a capital compound mistake. I shall continue to speak. I shall continue to ask questions. I shall continue to criticise any public officer, including the president of Nigeria, where he has gone wrong.
“I have conquered fear and I am not afraid of the prison. The last administration arrested me 14 times. The Abacha and Babangida’s governments detained me. I am not afraid of the prison. It is built because of human beings. But we will continue to speak the truth, not minding whose ox is gored.”
Saraki did not allow debate of the issue Melaye raised because he came under order 43 – personal explanation.
The Senate on Tuesday in Abuja urged the Federal Government to ban importation of palm oil into the country in order to protect local production as well as encourage farmers.
This followed the unanimous adoption of a motion entitled: “Urgent Need to Halt the Importation of Palm Oil and its Allied Products to Protect Palm Oil Industry in Nigeria.’’
In a lead debate, the sponsor of the motion, Sen. Francis Alimikhena (Edo-APC), decried importation of palm produce into the country.
Alimikhena expressed concern that importation of palm kernel and allied palm products are threats to Federal Government’s campaign on diversification of the economy through increased agricultural production and exports.
He said that Nigeria imported about 450, 000 tonnes of palm oil to the tune of N116.3 billion in 2017.
“Nigeria was the world leading producer of palm oil at independence, but unfortunately, Indonesia and Malaysia have overtaken us and we are now importing palm oil.
“Malaysia which is widely believed to have collected its first seedlings from Nigeria some decades ago, is now exporting palm oil products to us.
“The government must reverse this trend with copious investments in the local palm industry and the protection of local producers from unnecessary imports,’’ Alimikhena said.
While acknowledging that Nigeria is endowed with the land and manpower to boost palm oil production, the lawmaker emphasised that the focus should be directed toward returning to pre-independence status in palm oil production.
“We have no business importing palm kernel or any oil palm product from any country.
“At independence, agriculture was the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy. More than 70 per cent of the population was engaged in agriculture.
“Apart from various food crops produced in the country, Nigeria was a major producer of palm oil/kernel, cocoa, groundnut and rubber.
“But following the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity in the 70s, agriculture was neglected,’’ Alimikhena said.
He added that the importation of the product was harming the local palm industry and depleting foreign reserve.
“This is also threatening the viability of the industry into which many Nigerians have sunk huge sums of money in support of the government’s export promotion drive.
“If the palm industry is fully developed, it will guarantee mass employment and boost our foreign exchange earnings,’’ he added.
Contributing, Sen. Theodore Orji (Abia-PDP) said there was need to establish a special fund to encourage local production of palm oil in the country.
He also expressed concern that many oil production plants in the country were moribund.
According to Orji, palm oil used to be a major income earner for the country, but unfortunately many plants are dead.
On his part, Sen. Jibrin Barau(Kano-APC) called for introduction of policies that would be targeted at encouraging local production of cash crops.
Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano-APC) also urged the Federal Government to ban importation of cash crops that can be produced locally.
“Also there is need for the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development to invite the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) on why it has failed to deliver on its mandate,’’ Kwankwaso said.
In his remarks, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said that the importance of reviving the country’s palm oil industry cannot be overemphasised.
“There is need for this sector to be properly positioned to play its role as one of the major income earners for the country.
“When the palm oil sector is revived, it will boost employment,’’ Ekweremadu said.
Mr Solomon Adeola, the Chairman Senate Ad hoc Committee on Local Content, has commended the management of Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI) on its 16 billion dollars (N5.76 trillion) Egina project in Nigeria.
Adeola, who gave the commendation during the committee’s oversight function in Lagos on Friday, promised total support for the local content development initiative.
The committee inspected the 3.3 billion dollar Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
The storage facility is for 200,000 barrels per day Egina deep-water oilfield, which is expected from South Korea on Jan. 23.
Adeola said the essence of the visit was to see and have first-hand information on the Egina FPSO and to also commend Total for making the huge investment a reality.
According to him, the 330-metre long Egina FPSO, the largest FPSO ever installed in Nigeria, by private investors and the Nigerian government was commendable.
“If Nigeria can attract such huge project estimated at 16.3 billion dollars, it shows we are moving in the right direction and growing our economy,” he said.
Adeola said this was the first project executed after the passage of the Nigerian Local Content Act, an indication that local content development has come to stay in Nigeria.
He promised that the committee would ensure full implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGIC) passed by the national assembly.
Mr Nicolas Terraz, the Managing Director of TUPNI, appreciated the committee’s support and encouragements toward ensuring that the projected was completed on scheduled.
He said work had commenced on the FPSO and would undergo the integration of six locally fabricated modules within the next six months.
According to him, the integration of the six locally fabricated topside modules before its final sail-away to the Egina field is a remarkable achievement in local content development in Nigeria.
The Total upstream boss said several technological feats had been recorded by the various entities involved in the project.
“Egina is the deepest offshore development carried out so far in Nigeria, with water depths over 1,500 meters,’’ he said.
Terraz explained that the EGINA FPSO was designed to operate for 25 years and produce about 200,000 barrels of oil per day.
He said the Egina operations would generate significant activities for local contractors in various sectors and would continue to provide avenues for the training and development of Nigerians in various domains.
NAN reports that Egina is the largest investment project currently ongoing in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.
Based on the report of the committee, the IGP said 125 arrests have been made and charged to court while 21 suspects are awaiting trial.
The IG also canvassed more funding for the police in a bid to ensure enhanced security in the affected states.
The top cop also indicted the Governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom for his alleged inciteful speeches before and after the mass burial which aggravated the spate of killings in the state.
Speaking on the report, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu (PDP, Enugu) lauded the efforts of the committee but however noted that the report was one-sided because it lacked the input of the Governor Ortom who was excessively accused by the IGP.
He said: “I just have one single observation. I noted that in the statement made by the IG, he copiously mentioned the Governor of Benue in most of the paragraphs but I didn’t see where the committee made an effort to speak with the governor.
“Because if in the circumstance, they did not interview the governor, and his name has been mentioned in respect to certain statements and actions, it would only be fair to him, to be invited by the committee and hear his own side of the story so that we have a balanced view of what transpired.”
Also corroborating Ekweremadu was Sen. George Akume (Benue) who lambasted Mr. Idris describing all the allegations against the governor as “untrue” and “jaundiced.”
He said: “Those claims are untrue. What he is saying is not true. His comment has always been very jaundiced. Every security agency has made comments on this. Huge numbers are there, and many of them are from outside the country and they armed with assorted weaponry system.
“It is unfair to this country for IG to make this comment on what the governor said which is untrue. What he is saying is untrue. What the governor said is true and it is from there that they move and we have seen video clips of them moving to Benue and very well armed.”
Based on these submissions, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki stood down the report and mandated the committee to invite the governor and re-present the report in a week’s time.
The Nigerian Senate has agreed with the House of Representatives committees on electoral matters on the amended sequence of 2019 General Elections.
TheNewsGuru reports the House had amended the Electoral Act to reorder the 2019 general elections after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had released time-table for the elections.
The amendment was made at the Committee of the whole House, presided by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Yussuff Lasun.
The lawmakers amended the Act while considering the report of the House Committee on Electoral Matters which proposed amendment of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
In the time-table released by INEC, Presidential and National Assembly elections were to hold first, while governorship and state assembly would follow.
The House amended section 25 of the Principal Act and substituted it with a new section 25 (1).
According to the section, the elections shall be held in the following order: (a) National Assembly election (b) State Houses of Assembly and Governorship elections (c) Presidential election.
Both chambers of the National Assembly agreed to the reordered sequence at a conference committee meeting on amendment of the 2010 electoral act chaired by Senator Suleiman Nazif and Honourable Edward Pwajok which held immediately after Tuesday’s plenary.
The amendment will allow the 2019 general elections to begin first with National Assembly, followed by Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections with the presidential election coming last.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday wrote the leadership of the Senate on why he is withholding accent to three bills passed by the National Assembly over inconsistency and conflict with the Constitution.
The bills are – the Police Procurement Fund (Establishment) Bill 2017, Chartered Institute of Management of Nigeria Bill 2017, and the Nigerian Council for Social Works (Establishment) Bill 2017.
The President informed the Senate about the development in a letter read by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, at Tuesday’s plenary.
Ekweremadu presided over the plenary in the absence of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who is standing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for false assets declaration.
The trial resumed on Tuesday after the Court of Appeal had in December last year restored three out of the 18-count charge and ordered the Senate president to present himself for trial on the matter.
The letter reads: “I hereby convey to the Senate my decision on 25th January 2018 to decline presidential assent to three bills recently passed by the National Assembly, namely Police Procurement Fund (Establishment) Bill 2017, due to lack of clarity regarding the manner of disbursement of the fund as well as constitutional issues regarding the powers of the National Assembly to appropriate funds allocated to the 36 states and 744 local governments which conflicts with Sections 80 to 82 and 120 to 122 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“The Chartered Institute of Management of Nigeria Bill 2017, due to lack of clarity over the scope of the profession of public management, that this bill prohibits persons who are not members of the institute from practising.
“Nigerian Council for Social Works (Establishment) Bill 2017, due to lack of clarity over the scope of the profession of social works, that this bill prohibits all persons who are not members of the institute from practising.”
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that the Senate is conferred with the authority to ensure the choice of “only suitable and credible persons for appointment to the office”.
The court gave the ruling on Thursday in determining the suit challenging the Senate’s authority to deny an appointee to the office of Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under the EFCC Act.
The court further held that any impression that the Senate is a rubber stamp of Presidential appointees is misconceived and running contrary to Section 2(3) of the EFCC Act.
Details later…
President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate insisting that he (Buhari) is committed to ending the farmers/herdsmen clashes that have led to the loss of lives and properties, especially in Benue State.
In a letter read by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday, Mr. Buhari said the federal government was initiating measures to address the killings and other security challenges, alleviate their consequences and forestall reoccurrence.
The letter reads, “I thank you for your letter referenced NASS/8S/R/01/33 dated 18th January 2018 and carefully studied the resolutions and comments therein. As I briefed you and the RT. Hon speaker when we met, several courses of action have been taken prior to the Senate resolution.
“You may recall that I told you of the following steps taken as soon as the information came into me about the Benue killings.
“One, on Thursday 4th January, I sent the minister of interior and the deputy inspector-general of police in charge of operations for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. Two, on Friday 5th January, the inspector-general of police briefed me verbally on the latest situation, calm had then been restored.
“Three, on Monday 8th, the minister of interior met with the following, governors of Adamawa, Kaduna, Niger, Benue Taraba and Nasarawa together with the DG of the State Security Services, inspector-general of police, CG civil defence, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and police commissioner of the six aforementioned states.
“After the meeting, I instructed the Minister of Interior to brief you on the information gathered so far and steps taken.
“On Tuesday, 9th of January, at a session with Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state during which in informed of police arrests of some suspects. In addition, I told him that I have instructed to speed up trial of the suspects and give wide publicity of the police efforts.
“At the instance of the governor, a meeting was held in the presidential villa on 15th with a wide cross-section of Benue personalities and frank and open discussions were held. Everybody appreciated the difficulties of this farmers-herders strife. I assured all of my commitment and assured justice would be done.
“To infer therefore that nothing has been done, is incorrect. The police are strenuously working to apprehend the rest of the culprits of these heartless killings.
“Furthermore, I have instructed the IGP to relocate to Benue state and redeploy forces to the most sensitive towns. The federal government is initiating measures to address these and other security challenges, alleviate the consequence of these attacks and forestall reoccurrence. The Senate resolution itemised in your letter would be taken into consideration and I’m instructing all relevant MDAs to factor them in their work.
“On December 19 to be precise, while receiving the report of the committee that was set up to review the technical and administrative structure of the NIA, I underscored the need to review the entire national security architecture as I promised in my inaugural address on the 29th May 2015. Action is being initiated to receive maximum cooperation from the senate in line with paragraph three of the senate resolutions.”
The Senate on Tuesday summoned the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, forensic auditors, Managing Directors of banks and Bankers Committee over the recurring issue of illegal deductions and bank charges on both individual and corporate accounts.
It also mandated the Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, led by Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim (APC, Kwara South) to organise a public hearing for the purpose of harmonising and amending laws, rules and guidelines that do not adequately protect the customers and give them substantial remedy when overcharged.
It also urged the government to proactively protect customer’s rights, eradicate short payments of interest and end the culture of excess and arbitrary bank charges.
According to the Senate, these steps, if taken, will reposition the banks in the country to avert a recurrence. The resolutions of the Senate, co-sponsored by 22 other senators, were sequel to a motion by Senator Magnus Abe (APC, Rivers South-East), “Urgent need to investigate, regularise and amend conflicting, vague and unjust remedies which the Central Bank of Nigeria offers to victims of excess and arbitrary bank charges and illegal deductions by commercial banks.”
In the presentation of the motion, Senator Abe said: “The Senate notes that over the years, commercial banks in Nigeria have indulged in sharp practices of overcharging customers/depositors arbitrarily and excessively, contrary to tariff stipulations, credit and monetary guidelines issued from time to time by the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
In his remarks, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, who commended Senator Abe on the motion, stressed that every naira was important to customers, especially due to the present economic situation in the country.