TheNewsGuru

Tag: Senate

  • #RiversRerun: Senate swears in 3 new Rivers senators, adjourns till January

    President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki has administered oath of office on Senators Magnus Abe, George Sekibo and Osinakachukwu Ideozu, all newly elected senators from Rivers State.

    Recall that the three lawmakers were elected in the Rivers legislative re-run elections that held on Saturday.

    Mr. Abe represents Rivers South East; Mr. Sekibo; Rivers East; and Mr. Ideozu, Rivers West.

    The seats for the three senatorial districts from Rivers State had been vacant since December when the Court Appeal invalidated legislative elections held during the 2015 general elections in the oil rich state.

    “They just came from a tough election,” Mr. Saraki said after congratulating the newly sworn in Senators.

    Mr. Sekibo (PDP) is in the Senate for the third time, Mr. Abe (APC) the second time and Mr. Ideozu (PDP) is a first time senator.

    Meanwhile, the Senate has adjourned sitting till January 10.

    The resolution for adjournment was reached after the Senate reconvened Thursday afternoon to approve votes and proceedings of the day.

  • Senate demands sack of SGF over alleged mismanagement of IDP funds

    Senate demands sack of SGF over alleged mismanagement of IDP funds

    The senate has demanded that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, resign from office over allegations bothering on mismanagement of funds set aside for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

    The upper legislative chamber took this decision following the indictment of Lawal by a committee that investigated corruption in the management of funds for IDPs in the northeast.

    ‎At a public hearing last week, Umar Gulani, secretary of the Presidential Initiative on the Northeast (PINE), an initiative which Lawal oversees, could not account for N2.5bn meant for internally displaced persons in the region.

    Gulani had claimed that N203m out of the money was spent on clearing grass in Yobe state.

    But his claim was countered by Yobe state information commissioner, Mohammed Liman.

    On Wednesday, a senate ad hoc committee on‎ humanitarian crisis in the northeast chaired by Shehu Sani submitted it is report, which indicted the initiative.

    After a debate on the report‎, Baba Kaka Garbai moved a motion for the resignation of Lawal, who heads the initiative.

    The upper legislative chamber thereafter resolved to ask Lawal to resign and be prosecuted for corruption.

     

  • Senate probes alleged $4bn non-remittance by NNPC, NPDC

    Senate probes alleged $4bn non-remittance by NNPC, NPDC

    The Senate says it is set to investigate alleged unlawful misappropriation of 4 billion dollars by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd(NPDC), since 2013.

    This followed a motion moved by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Sen. Dino Melaye at plenary on Tuesday.

    Melaye alleged that the diversion of oil revenue between the two agencies of government had continued unabated since 2013.

    According to him, the NDPC has continued to lift crude oil from divested oil wells OML 61, 62, and 63, worth over 3.5 billion dollars without remittance to the federation account.

    He also said that NDPC had continued to lift crude oil from divested oil wells OML 65, 111 and 119 to the tune of 1.85 billion dollars, out of which only 100 million dollars had been remitted.

    “While this practice may have started before the present administration, it has continued under the watch of the new administration without abating.

    “In 2016 alone, between January and August, a total of 344.442 million dollars worth of oil was lifted by NPDC without remittance to Federation Account and also not paying royalties and other taxes on lifting.

    The lawmaker expressed concern that such amount of money could be diverted at a time when the country was facing severe economic challenges.

    He said that the amount so far withheld could add 4,000 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, build about 11 world-class teaching hospitals, six healthcare centres each in the 774 local governments, among other s.

    Supporting the motion, the Leader of the Senate, Ali Ndume, commended Melaye for making such important information available to the senate.

    He wondered how such level of corruption could go on in a country currently facing recession.

    Ndume urged the senate to carry out a thorough investigation into the allegation with a view to unraveling the level of corruption going on in the sector.

    He said, “I support the motion. I want to emphasise that whenever the Senate receives something like, this we should know the seriousness we need to attach to it.

    “You can imagine what 3.5 billion dollars will do to the economy in the face of recession.’’

    On his part, Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP- Abia North), said the allegation, if found to be true, was an infringement on the 1999 Constitution (Amended).

    He further said that those involved should be made to immediately pay the money into the consolidated revenue account.

    The lawmaker called on members of the joint committee to suspend their Christmas vacation so as to conclude findings and report back to the Senate in January 2017.

    The Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Communication, Sen. Solomon Adeola, said that the revelation was a wakeup call for the Senate to use its powers to unravel irregularities going on oil in the sector.

    According to him, the figures quoted in the motion are alarming, following the difficulties encountered by the Federal Government in implementing the 2016 budget.

    He said, “There has been continued allegation of corruption in the oil sector for years but nobody bothers to ask questions.

    “This is a task this present Senate must see to a logical conclusion to serve as deterrent.’’

    However, the Chairman Senate Committee of Gas, Sen. Bassey Akpan, drew the attention of the senate to the fact that part of the information provided in the motion was already in court.

    He pointed out that allegation of crude oil lifting from divested oil wells OML 61, 62 and 63 was already in court adding that acting on it would amount to contempt of court.

    He said, “In as much as I am not against the content of this motion, the issue of NPDC and unremitted funds has been there for a long time and the issue of the oil wells has been investigated by the 7 Senate.’’

    In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, called on the committees to thoroughly investigate the agencies and report to the senate in plenary on Jan. 9, 2017.

    He said the senate would continue to resist attempts to sabotage the effort of the current administration in the fight against corruption.

    “As part of our legislative agenda we made a pledge to the electorate that we must put an end to this level of misappropriation and recklessness.

    “This must stop and I believe that these committees have the duty to ensure to get to the bottom of this.

    “The frightening part about this is that it is not just about OML 61, 62 and 63.

    “Secondly and even more worrisome is that they did it in the last administration and they are still carrying out the practice. We must put an end to this.

    “We cannot continue with a situation where people are sabotaging the effort to fight corruption.

    “We ask ourselves, where are the Minister of Petroleum, the Auditor-General and anti-corruption agencies,’’ he said.

    Saraki called on relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all anti-graft agencies to carry out their responsibilities effectively to stem the tide.

    The Senate, therefore, mandated its Joint Committee on Petroleum Upstream, Petroleum Downstream and Finance to immediately commence investigation into the allegation through public hearing and submit report on Jan. 9, 2017.

    The upper chamber further mandated NNPC and NPDC to immediately remit monies obtained on behalf of the Federal Government to the Federation Account.

    It also directed the NNPC to as a matter of urgency forward its yearly estimates for repairs and pipeline operations and maintenance to the National Assembly for appropriation.

  • Senate confirms 5 board members for NPC

    Senate confirms 5 board members for NPC

    The Senate on Tuesday approved the nomination of five persons to serve on the board of National Population Commission (NPC).

    The approval follows the committee’s report which was submitted to committee of the whole by Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi representing Kaduna North Senatorial district.

    In the report, the committee submitted that the nominees, having passed through rigorous screening, were cleared.

    “That the Senate do consider the report of the Committee on National Identity Card and National Population Commission on the screening of the nominations of persons for appointment as Commissioners for National Population Commission,” Senator Suleiman said.

    The approved members are:

    1. Engr. Benedict Ukpong. Akwa Ibom State
    2. Gloria Fateya Izonfuo. Bayelsa State
    3. Barr. Kupchi Patricia Ori Iyana. Benue
    4. Haliru Bala. Kebbi
    5. Eyitayo Oyetunji. Oyo

    In his ruling, Senate President enjoined the nominees to bring innovation into the commission, while asking them to show commitment in the course of their duties.

     

  • $29.9bn loan: Buhari to go ahead despite Senate’s rejection –Ita Enang

    $29.9bn loan: Buhari to go ahead despite Senate’s rejection –Ita Enang

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang has explained that the federal government will go ahead with the $29.9billion borrowing plans despite Senate’s rejection.

    Giving clarification on Senate’s stance, Ita Enang explained that the Senate needed some information that were strategic to the borrowing plans which the budget office was already working on it.

    “What is happening is that there are strategic information that should be made available to them before considering it and the DG, Budget was already working on it”, he noted.

    Enang was optimistic that the Senate would approve the loans as soon as all necessary information were made available.

    He added that the Senate understands that economic recession confronting the nation deserves sincere approach, while insisting that the proposed external borrowing of the President would properly fund the budget in the interest of National development.

  • Why we may not consider working on 2017 budget now – Senate

    Why we may not consider working on 2017 budget now – Senate

     

    The Senate has stated that it would not consider the 2017 Appropriation Bill until the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper MTEF/FSP scales through.

    Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had notified the National Assembly of his intention to present the Appropriation Bill on December 14, 2016.

    Buhari’s letter to the Assembly was read by the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, during plenary at the Senate on Tuesday.

    The Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, while hinting on the possibility of presenting the budget proposals to the legislature when the MTEF/FSP had not been passed, stated that the lawmakers would not work on the bill until the framework had been approved.

    He said, “What people don’t understand is that the approval of the MTEF is not a precondition for accepting the budget, but it is a precondition for passing the budget into law. I want you to understand the difference.

    “What does the MTEF entail? It is giving us a graphic expectation of a country and of its income, either perceived, derived or accrued.

    “Now, if the President presents the budget on Wednesday, which we hope will be presented, the Senate will now go ahead to approve the MTEF so that it will provide the foundation for us to examine what has been presented by the President on Wednesday as a budget of the nation for the 2017 year.”

    Buhari had sent the MTEF/FSP, which will form the basis for the national annual budget for the three years, to the National Assembly for legislative approval, and had narrowly escaped being rejected for the second time by the Senate on November 23.

    The senators, who took turns to criticise the new version of the MTEF/FSP as well as the officials who prepared the document during the day’s plenary, submitted that it should be sent back to the Executive to include the “correct” figures showing the true state of the economy.

    The Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, also described the first version of the MTEF and FSP as “empty.”

     

  • BREAKING: Magu to undergo senate screening on Dec. 15

    BREAKING: Magu to undergo senate screening on Dec. 15

    The Senate on Thursday said that the confirmation hearing of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, will hold on December 15, a day after the budget presentation by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Na’Allah, while addressing journalists after plenary said the new date was chosen so that senators who are on oversight across the country would be in attendance.

    According to him, lawmakers who traveled out of Abuja for official assignments requested the postponement pending their arrival to enable them participate in the confirmation process.

    “The Senate is normally guided by the time frame of the work. We agreed that today will be the confirmation of the EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu. “But we received a lot of calls from senators who are away, who want to participate. “When we looked at the demand and the number we felt it will be wrong for us to proceed, disregarding those calls.

    “We decided to fix it for Tuesday but we were not sure if the President will declare Tuesday as Public Holiday, so we agreed to fix it for Thursday. “We have since written an official letter to the acting chairman fixing Thursday as the day for the confirmation hearing of his appointment,’’ he said.

    On why Magu’s confirmation had lingered for more than five months, N’allah said the senate had other matters of priority to attend to. “Anybody who is familiar with the normal procedure of governance would have known that there are certain procedures that need to be taken for candidates to be confirmed. “Whatever we do is always subject to interpretation but what is important is that a date has been fixed,” he said.

    Presidency had in July written the Senate seeking the screening and confirmation of Magu as substantive chairman of the commission.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had appointed Magu as acting chairman of the EFCC after the removal of Ibrahim Lamorde on Nov. 9, 2015. Before his appointment, Magu was the Head of Economic Governance Unit of the commission. If confirmed, Magu will be the fourth head of the anti-graft agency, after Nuhu Ribadu, Farida Waziri and Ibrahim Lamorde.

  • Senate pledges to work with executive in nation’s interest

    Senate pledges to work with executive in nation’s interest

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has assured the leadership of theAll Progressives Congress ( APC) of good cordial working relationship between the Senate and the Presidency.

    He gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja when he led a Senate delegation on a visit to the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and members of its National Working Committee (NWC).

    It would be recalled that the relationship between the Senate and the Presidency had not been very cordial in the last few months.

    “We both bored our minds, we told ourselves the hard truth and at the end of the day, we accepted that certain things were not done.

    “But we accepted to move forward and work with the party in the interest of building the party because of Nigerians that believe in us.

    “We need to work closely and we are hopeful that a new chapter is being opened today in the interest of the party and Nigerians,’’ Saraki said.

    Saraki was accompanied on the visit by the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, his deputy Bala Ibn Na’Allah and the Chief Whip, Prof. Olusola Adeyeye among others.

    He pledged loyalty to the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun -led NWC of the APC, saying that his team was at the party to “listen” to its leadership.

    He also said that he was at the service of the party and Nigerians at all times.

    Earlier, the APC national chairman assured that the party was doing everything possible to address the sufferings of Nigerians in the face of the current economy hardship.

    “We want to assure the general public that they will see results that will lift their spirit in the next few weeks.

    He described the meeting with the Senate President as “very rewarding’’ and commended the entire National Assembly for its cordial relationship with the executive so far.

    He added that the meeting was to discuss ‘House-Keeping’ issues.

    According to Odigie-Oyegun, the meeting is an opportunity to draw up a new basis of cooperation between the party, its members in the Senate and the executive.

    “We have a unique, God-given opportunity to take a look at ourselves and take a look at the National Assembly.

    “Look at the party and look at the way we all interact among ourselves and the governed and it is my hope that this will be the very best of this high level interaction.

    “We will at the very end of it all, present to the Nigerian public, a government, a party and a National Assembly that are working all in the same direction,’’ Odigie-Oyegun said.

    He stressed that the party leadership was making efforts to resolve the alleged issues between the Presidency and the National Assembly.

    “We have started the process, but there are issues to be resolved, we accept that things have gone wrong and we are determined to right those wrongs,’’ the APC national chairman said.

    He said though the meeting was late in coming, it was better late than never as it would afford the two sides the opportunity of discussing issues affecting the party and the country.

  • Senate to pass Petroleum Industry Bill in tranches – Saraki

    Senate to pass Petroleum Industry Bill in tranches – Saraki

    The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, says Senate will pass the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) in tranches as a way out of its non-passage for the past eight years.

    Saraki made this known at a three- day Public Hearing on the PIGB organised by the Senate Joint Committee on the bill on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He said the passage of the bill in tranches was necessitated by the need to unbundle its contents into manageable compartments that could be implemented in phases.

    Saraki noted that the Senate was set to pass the first tranche of the bill, while putting measures in place for the passage of other tranches.

    He added that the passage of the first tranche would further tackle persistent problems associated with fiscal framework and host communities.

    “This public hearing is another avenue for us to hear from the operators, regulators, experts and other stakeholders in the industry on how to move the industry forward.

    “We want to move away from the way things were done in the past during the consideration of such bills, especially fiscal framework and host communities.

    “We will push for greater partnership so that the bill will be a win-win for everyone; one that works for government, attractive to oil companies and takes into consideration concerns of the host communities.

    “We will also tackle the issues of downstream, gas and environment. We are poised and resolved to deal with all issues related to the industry, albeit in tranches.

    “As a nation we cannot afford any further delay in our effort to reform our oil and gas industry.

    “The journey begins now and I assure you that we will guarantee that all of these bills are passed in record time,’’ he said.

    Saraki expressed concern that though the petroleum industry contributed over 90 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings, existing legal, regulatory and institutional structures in the industry were out-dated.

    He noted that the sector had performed below expectations, adding that the development had led to the Federal Government and investors losing significant edge in the oil and gas investment trends.

    According to him, it is unacceptable that till date, Nigeria still imports over 90 per cent of needed petroleum products, flares substantial gas produced, damages the eco-system and pollutes host communities.

    The senate president added that in spite of Nigeria’s might in the sector, it could not supply adequate electricity to individual homes and industries.

    “This situation has undermined our citizen’s standard of living, life expectancy, national energy security.

    “It has therefore resulted in other unforeseen fallouts like labour unrest, fuel queues, high cost of delivery of products and unquantifiable wastage of national productivity.

    “The oil and gas industry is yearning for good governance, competitiveness, transparency, indigenous participation and accountability,’’Saraki said.

    He assured that the bill would be passed in record time.

    The Chairman of the joint committee, Sen. Omotayo Alasoadura, said if Nigeria must get out of the present recession, the petroleum industry must be made efficient and more profit-oriented.

    He said it was therefore expedient to pass the bill to reposition the industry.

    Alasoadura said: “It is in this spirit that we are beginning today the journey of consultation with stakeholders in the match towards passing the bill.

    The public hearing ends on Friday.

  • Adeosun, Emefiele back Senate’s proposed scrapping of BoI

    …as BoI kicks

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele have thrown their weights behind calls in some quarters especially the National Assembly to scrap the Bank of Industry (BoI) to be replaced with a National Development Bank (NDB).

    However, in a swift reaction, the BoI kicked against the move. Speaking Monday at a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions on the establishment of the NDB, the Acting Managing Director, BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, said the Bol plays a distinct role which already encapsulated the role of the proposed NDB.

    A bill seeking to establish the NDB had passed second reading in the Senate on October 12.

    Titled: ‘A Bill for an Act to establish the National Development Bank, 2015’, and sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Gobir, it seeks to repeal the BoI, the Bank for Commerce and Industry Act and the National Economic Reconstruction Fund Act.

    The bill further seeks to bring the total assets of the organisations under one body to be called the National Development Bank.

    Olagunju stated that what was needed was more funding of the bank by the Federal Government so as to increase its support to the real sector rather than duplicate functions with the establishment of another bank with a similar purpose.

    In his words: “We are of the opinion that the BoI, as presently constituted, is fulfilling the mandate envisaged in the proposed legislation by supporting genuine entrepreneurs. Therefore, it should be left to continue its operations as it is. The merger envisaged in the proposed bill has already taken place.

    “The BoI should be provided with more capital to be able to further support the real sector instead of duplicating functions by creating new development finance institutions, bearing in mind the failure of similar DFIs in the past, such as the NBCI, NERFUND, People’s Bank, Community Banks, etc.”

    He added, “We advise that the National Assembly should support industrialisation by enacting legislation that will help create an enabling environment for business to thrive, such as an amendment to the Land Use Act, tax incentives for SMEs and establishment of industrial parks.

    “This will substantially address the demand challenges of finance for SMEs in Nigeria, as vagaries of the business environment have been making the sector unattractive to private and public lenders.”

    However, Adeosun, who was represented by a director in Ministry of Finance, Christopher Gabriel, said the ministry strongly supported the bill, adding that the proposal was in tandem with the economic reconstruction efforts of the Federal Government.