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Tag: Senate

  • Senate stops ban on importation of ‘tokunbo’ vehicles

    Senate stops ban on importation of ‘tokunbo’ vehicles

    The Senate has called on Nigeria Customs Service to immediately suspend the policy which has banned importation of vehicles through land borders since the beginning of the year.

    In a sponsored motion by Senator Barau Jibrin representing Kano North Senatorial District alongside four others, Senate argued that the ban will lead to over 500,000 job loss if government goes ahead with its implementation.

    In his lead debate, Jibrin explained that economy of border villages and towns that depend on importation of vehicles through land routes will crumble.

    “Distinguished Colleagues, lets take note that the ban would lead to the loss of about 500,000 jobs by people engaged in the business of vehicles importation and handling services in border areas and around the country,” Jibrin said.

    Contributing to the debate, Senator Sam Egwu lashed at the federal government’s decision on car importation ban, saying it is anti-people.

    He further maintained that the APC-led government has always created hardships for the citizens through unpopular policies.

    Dino Melaye on his part, encouraged the Nigeria Customs Service to muster capacities to manage land borders so that there will be no leakage in revenues.

    Shehu Sani maintained that interest of other nations having border lines with Nigeria should be taken into consideration, noting that those countries depend on car exportation to Nigeria for their revenues.

    He added that the ban will create economic crises in those countries, while urging NCS to strengthen their services to curtail smuggling activities which was their fear.

    “Mr. President, we have other countries who have been friends of Nigeria that depends on exporting cars to Nigeria and it will affect their economy if the ban is allowed, ” Sani said.

    In his ruling, Ike Ekweremadu asked the Federal Ministry of Finance and Nigeria Customs Service to suspend the policy banning car importation.

  • Senate confirms Anthony Mkpe as Auditor-General of the Federation

    Amidst petitions from various quarters, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed the nomination of Mr. Ayine Anthony Mkpe as the Auditor-General of the Federation.

    This was even as the Senate confirmed the receipt of petitions against the nominee with some Senators also standing on his way of confirmation.

    The Senate had at its plenary session on Wednesday, 14th December, 2016 considered the request of President Muhammadu Buhari for the confirmation of the appointment of Mr. Ayine Anthony Mkpe to take over the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.

    Consequently, the Senate, after careful deliberations referred the request to the Public Accounts Committee, for further legislative action.

    Presenting the report of the Committee at the Wednesday’s plenary, the Chairman, Senator Andy Uba said, “the committee examined his educational qualifications, career progression, experience, character, federal character principles, understanding of the functions of the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, etc”.

    Senator Uba, however, submitted that his committee did receive a couple of petitions against the nomination of Mr. Mkpe.

    He said one of the petitioners stated that, “Mr. Ayine Anthony Mkpe is an Auditor-General for Local Governments with less scope than what he is going to meet.”

    Another petitioner, according to the report, also averred that the nominee was not up to the rank of a Director in the civil service, whereas, “there are Senior Directors in the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation that are qualified for the appointment.”

    According to them, “the appointment of Mr. Ayine Anthony Mkpe will lower the morale of existing staff”.

    On her part, Senator Binta Garba Masi (Adamawa North) vehemently kicked against the nomination of Mr. Mkpe on the ground that he is a cousin to the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. (Mrs). Eyo Eta.

    She also maintained that the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Ononge comes from the same state with Mr. Mkpe and as such, would negate the spirit of Federal Character.

    The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, however, objected to the submission of Senator Binta, stressing that Mr. Mkpe was qualified for the position and his relationship with the aforementioned was inconsequential.

    “This position was advertised nationally and internationally and many people applied for it, wherein the man came top.

    “He was the best in capability, he was the best in competency and also professionalism. He also came top in oral interview. We are not confirming promotion here, we are confirming an appointment, which was sent to us by the President,” Akpabio said.

    He also explained that, “Being an Auditor-General for Local Governments doesn’t mean Mr. Mkpe was an Auditor for a single local government area, but a supervising Auditor-General for all the local government areas in the state”.

    “He is also on a consolidated salary as Permanent Secretary in the State”, he added.

    While lending his voice in support of the nomination, Senator George Sekibo (Rivers West) said the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation was meant for a professional and the issues for determination should be, whether the nominee was qualified for the job, and whether the President has the power to appoint him.

    “If the answers are in the affirmative, then the man should be confirmed,” Sekibo said.

    In his ruling, the deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who was presiding over the plenary, cautioned members of the Senate and the general public to be careful in the way they lay allegations or write petitions against seemingly qualified nominees of any position.

    He added that the nominee for the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and the Head of Service of the Federation come from different geographical constituencies and, “even if they are related, it doesn’t preclude him from taking up the appointment, if he is qualified”.

    “What we have done here today, is in alignment with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and our standing rules,” Ekweremadu ruled.

  • Nigerian Senate celebrates 117 bills feat

    At the resumed sitting of Nigerian Senators for the first time in 2017, the Nigerian lawmakers, lead by Senate President Bukola Saraki, celebrated a total of 117 bills, which, some passed through third, and others passed through second reading in the House within the period of four months in 2016.

    In his speech to address the Senators as they resumed from Recess in the New Year 2017, the Senate President stressed that the four month feat of the Senate is historic.

    “It is already historic that within the last quarter, which incidentally is the second quarter of this session, we all rolled up our sleeves, with sweat on our brows and successfully passed 49 bills through 3rd reading and 68 bills through second reading,” Saraki said.

    TheNewsGuru Senate House correspondence reports that the Senators were seen to be overjoyed by the feat they have pulled in the quarter under review as evident at the Senate House sitting in Abuja today.

    “This is a record-setting feat, which has never been matched in the history of the National Assembly. That within a period of 4 months in the middle of the term of any past National Assembly, 49 bills are passed in a single quarter,” he added.

    Saraki said that 2016 was a very challenging year for the Senate, but said that the efforts of the Senate is compensated by the results achieved.

    The Senate President while reiterating commitment of the Senate of passing only laws that would make a difference in the lives of Nigerians assured that the achievement of 2016 has set a stage for greater and better accomplishment in the New Year 2017.

    “…as long as our economy is still in recession, our work is not done,” Saraki said, stressing that “Because our people are still being laid off; so long as factories are closing shop, for as the hardship in the land continues to bite harder, investment continues to dwindle and the foreign exchange market remains fragmented, I will be demanding even much more from us to get all our economic reform bills passed”.

    “Ideally, we would like to see them pass together with the 2017 budget,” he noted.

    Saraki, therefore, urged all committees involved with priority bills to double efforts to ensure that by the end of the first quarter of the New Year the bills are readied.

    “We promise to pass our priority economic reform bills to help aid our economic recovery. This is a promise we must keep,” the Senate President said.

  • Senate will give priority to passage of 2017 Budget – Spokesman

    The Senate Spokesman, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, has said that the Senate would place priority on the passage of the 2017 Appropriation Bill when it resumes from its three weeks recess.

    Abdullahi said this in an interview on Monday that the Upper Chamber would live up to its constitutional responsibility in turning out an implementable budget.

    He assured that the senate would speed up consideration of the budget in order to pass it in good time.

    The senate spokesman said the upper chamber would also speed up activities with regards to making laws that would entrench sustainable democracy in the country.

    “The senate will continue where it stopped in terms of the speed of work, the focus, and there will be increased intensity in terms of output,’’ Abdullahi said.

    The lawmaker assured that the senate would avoid anything that would create controversy and derail speedy consideration of the budget.

    He said, “At this period last year, we were already submerged in controversy with regard to the 2016 Budget but as you can see there is no controversy this time around.’’

    President Muhammadu Buhari had on Dec. 14, 2016, presented a budget of N7.3 trillion to the National Assembly for approval.

     

  • Senate to investigate Southern Kaduna killings – Saraki

    The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, has said that the senate would commence investigation into the latest killings in southern Kaduna State.

    Saraki made the announcement in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on New Media, Mr Bamikole Omishore, in Abuja on Tuesday.

    According to Saraki, the Senate will on resumption from recess on Jan. 10, make the issue a priority.

    Omishore said the senate president made the disclosure while responding to a tweet posted by one Chimeze Ukoha on the Kaduna killings.

    The statement quoted Ukoha as saying that “about 800 Christians were massacred in Southern Kaduna and nobody is talking about that, very bad.’’

    It quotes Saraki as responding that “once @ngrsenate resumes, this issue will be addressed to get a clearer picture of what the real situation is and find a lasting solution.

    “Every Nigerian life matters and @ngrsenate will work to ensure that rule of law is always upheld as prescribed by the Nigerian Constitution.’’

    The statement explained that Saraki was already in touch with senators from Kaduna State and that he was constantly getting updates on developments.

    People described as Fulani herdsmen have repeatedly killed minority Christians in the southern flank of Kaduna State.

     

  • Senate to remove immunity for President, VP, Governors, others

    Senate to remove immunity for President, VP, Governors, others

    The Senate has commenced the process of amending section 308 of the 1999 Constitution which gives immunity to president, vice president, governors and deputy governors in the country.

    According to a report by Daily Trust, a bill sponsored by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege on the immunity removal has been referred to the Senate Committee on Constitution amendment chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

    The bill proposed the substitution of subsection 308(2) which reads “the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to civil proceedings against a person to whom this section applies in his official capacity or to civil or criminal proceedings in which such a person is only a nominal party”, with a new section.

    The proposed amendment reads, “the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to, (a) ‘civil proceedings against a person to whom this section applies in his official capacity or to civil or criminal proceedings in which such a person is only a nominal party’.

    It (b) part reads, “criminal proceedings connected to, related to or arising from economic and financial crimes”.

    Omo-Agege said like in the US, the president and the VP, governors and their deputies should only be immune from civil actions arising from their official actions while in office.

    “They are not entitled to immunity from litigation for actions not germane to their work. For example a president or governor who buys a car for a child and refuses to pay can be taken to court while in office,” he said.

    “Also like in the US, there should be no immunity from criminal investigation or prosecution for crimes committed either before or while in office.

    “Recall that Mr. Spiro Agnew while a sitting VP under President Nixon was tried and convicted for tax evasion while in office. Bill Clinton as a sitting president was hauled before a grand jury by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr for perjury (lying under oath) while in office as president.

    “Finally, Elliot Spitzer as a sitting governor of New York was tried and convicted for illicit solicitation for sex”, he added.

    Omo-Agege believes that if the amendment is passed, there will be sanity, transparency and accountability in the Executive Arm of government, especially “Treatment of our state resources which most of them currently treat as slush funds”.

  • Senate’s rejection of $30bn loan won’t affect implementation of 2017 budget

    The Presidency on Wednesday affirmed that the rejection of the proposed $29.96bn loan of President Buhari by the Senate would not affect the implementation of the 2017 budget.

    This was made known by the Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang in Abuja.

    Recall that President Buhari’s request for legislative approval for the Federal Government’s external borrowing plan for the execution of projects from 2016 to 2018 had suffered outright rejection at the Senate on November 1, 2016.

    The President had written to both chambers of the National Assembly, asking the legislature to approve the borrowing plan for the execution of key programmes and infrastructural projects across the country.

    Enang, however, said the 2017 budget would be successfully implemented without the loan.

    In his words: “On the request by Mr. President for approval to take a loan, remember that this $30bn request was not what was to be spent in 2016, 2017 or 2018; it was a projection for three years. Therefore, the Senate has remitted (transmitted) it back to the Mr. President, requesting further details.

    It is still pending in the House of Representatives. Now, the legislative process is still pending. I am sure you can observe in recent times the level of consultation between the arms of government and the leadership level of the Senate as well as at the level of the sub-committees; and between the ministers and the committees. These are all intended to address and resolve any question, which could be thorny in any of the requests made by the executive.”

    Speaking further, he said: “The President and the executive governors cannot proceed to take loans, because loans will become the responsibility of the entire nation to pay. And don’t also forget that the request by Mr. President was not only for the Federal Government to spend. Even if a state government wants to take a loan, it has to be approved by the National Assembly.

    So, the request by the various state governments to take loans for various projects was also contained therein. It is still undergoing consideration and consultation at the apex and sub levels.”

    He however noted that 2017 budget process would be smoother than those of the previous years, “because there was enough consultation.”

  • Senate seek out media support on malnutrition enlightenment

    Senate seek out media support on malnutrition enlightenment

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Dr Lanre Tejuoso, has solicited media support on the ongoing campaign against malnutrition in the country.

    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Tejuoso made the appeal in an interview in Abuja on Tuesday on the sideline of a two-day workshop on effective media engagement in the fight against malnutrition. He said: “The media should help us achieve what is being achieved in the fight against polio.

    “When we had two cases of polio in North East, funds were immediately mobilised, because the media make so much noise about it.”

    The chairman noted that polio was currently receiving so much attention and money compared to malnutrition that is killing 1,500 children daily.

    “Polio is not killing anybody, but malnutrition that is killing our children daily is not receiving the desired attention polio is receiving.

    “We need the media to help us change the shape and size of malnutrition in the country through investigative reportage on how malnutrition is silently killing children across the country,” he said.

    He said that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has proposed to take care of 600,000 children out of the 2.5 million acute malnourished children in the country in 2017.

    He added that the UN body took care of 400,000 last year, stressing that the country needs N95 billion to take care of the remaining 1.9 million children to ensure their survival.

    “Currently, it cost an average of N50,000 to take care of one malnourished child in a year. Multiply N50,000 by 1.9 million to give you an idea of how much budget we need for nutrition,’’ Tejouso said.

    “We must do all we can to save this 1.9 million children in 2017. We are in the era of change and everything must change for the better.

    “A law was passed in 2014 that specifically said at least one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund should be allocated to the Basic Health Fund.

    “It has been two years and it has not been implemented.

    “The change we are looking for in health must start by obeying this law as our contribution to encourage development partners and private sector to participate,’’ the chairman said.

    He expressed optimism that the 2017 budget would respect that law.

    Earlier, the Head of Nutrition, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Chris Isokpunwu, expressed optimism for significant improvement in allocation for nutrition in the 2017 budget, given the attention being accorded to nutrition by the Senate.

    “We have the expertise; when we get the money, we will use it judiciously to create the desired impact and turn the tide around,’’ he said.

    On his part, World Health Organisation’s Senior Health Specialist, Mr Okunola Olaolu, underscored the need for government to prepare upfront to effectively tackle malnutrition.

    “We don’t have to always do things at emergency. If we plan up front, we will solve the root cause of malnutrition through nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive interventions,’’ Olaolu said.

    Similarly, UNICEF’s Nutrition Specialist, Dr Bamidele Omotola, said that much needed to be done in the area of social mobilisation and enlightenment campaign on proper feeding.

    It was organised in partnership with Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

     

  • Despite expected release tomorrow, Ibori not coming home

    Former Delta state Governor, James Onanefe Ibori, who has completed his jail term in London and is due to be released tomorrow has dispelled rumours that he is returning to Nigeria immediately.

    Chief Ibori, in a statement signed by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, called on his well-wishers to disregard the rumours.

    A section of the media had speculated that the former governor, whose conviction and jail for corruption and money laundering in the United Kingdom has taken different turns in recent times, would return to Nigeria on December 23.

    “When the time comes, any important information will be made available to the public and nothing would be left for conjecture,” Ibori said.

    ‘Ribadu’s excesses, not me, removed him from office’

    Chief Ibori also in the statement berated an online news platform for dragging his name into the Senate refusal to confirm Ibrahim Magu as chair of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

    According to Chief Ibori, “What makes it galling is that the matter under contention was the Department of State Security’s report that stopped the Senate from confirming Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and did not warrant the dragging in of my name at all”.

    Chief Ibori particularly took exception to a report in Premium Times which said “based on pressure from political gladiators of the period (among which were former Governors James Ibori and Bukola Saraki), then President Musa Yar’Adua unceremoniously removed Nuhu Ribadu as chairman of the EFCC”.

    Ibori explained his position that Governor Nasir el-Rufai has exposed this claim as a terrible lie in his book, The Accidental Public Servant, adding that el-Rufai stated the source of the trouble the former EFCC chair, Ribadu had with President Musa Yar’Adua.

    “On page 358, in a section entitled ‘Umaru Asks Nuhu for Support: the Beginning of Our Trouble’ he (el-Rufai) wrote that Ribadu was so maddened that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had favoured Yar’Adua above Nasir el-Rufai to succeed him as President in 2007 that he told Yar’Adua to his face: “Well, Obasanjo has not told me, and as far as the presidency is concerned, I have my candidate for president, and that is El-Rufai”.

    “El-Rufai continued on page 359: ‘It took sometime before Nuhu figured out Obasanjo’s games and what was really happening. Nuhu’s instinctive reaction was that of a typical policeman – dust off EFCC’s files and comb for petitions against Umaru. Nuhu did not realize it at that time, but he was the one in trouble not Obasanjo or Umaru. He dusted off all the files against Umaru and launched investigations. He was clearly trying to take Yar’Adua out of the race and narrow all options to zero except for El-Rufai,” Ibori said.

    Ibori continued: “It is clear that from El-Rufai’s that there was no way a clear-headed Yar-Adua would have appointed a power-drunken Ribadu, who had unjustly arrested some Katsina state’s LGA chairmen just to demonize Yar’Adua to remain as EFCC Chairman, to continue to arrest people unjustly, play politics with his office and hypocritically claim to be fighting corruption when he was neck deep in the worst corruption, maligning others just because of politics.

    “Ribadu’s excesses, not me, removed him from office,” Ibori said.

  • Senate to investigate disbursement of N213bn Power Intervention Fund

    Senate to investigate disbursement of N213bn Power Intervention Fund

    The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, said that the Senate would look into disbursement of the N213 billion power sector intervention fund by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Saraki made this known in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Sanni Onogu, on Saturday in Abuja.

    Saraki, according to the statement, spoke during a special stakeholders’ meeting to proffer solutions to the worsening electricity generation in the country.

    He said the upper chamber would verify claims and counter claims of non-remittance of revenues between the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET), Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) and Generation Companies (Gencos).

    Saraki urged the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy to conduct a public hearing on this funds as well as on the declining electricity generation which currently stood at 3,000 megawatts.

    He said the public hearing should take a look at reasons behind the inability of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to effectively supervise and audit the electricity generation and distribution companies.

    The president of the senate lamented “the poor electricity supply in Nigeria and the consequences of the negative development in the efforts to move Nigeria out of the present economic recession.’’

    He called on stakeholders in the sector to work towards proffering solutions to the “imminent collapse of the electricity system in the country.’’