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Tag: Yakubu Dogara

  • UTME: IDP students record exceptional performance

    UTME: IDP students record exceptional performance

    Ohogua Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) students who wrote the recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) record an impressive performance according to results released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    Solomon Folunsho, the general overseer of International Christian Mission Centre and operator of the camp located in Benin City, Edo State, made this known after results of all the students were released.

    According to the general overseer, 59 out of the 63 students who wrote the exam scored above 200, with some getting as high as 298.

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who paid the registration fees of the students for the examination, including WAEC, NECO and NABTEB, as part of his support for displaced persons across the country, said he is very pleased with the performance.

    “This is another manifestation of the inherent resilience of Nigerians, whether young or old, and their ability to record notable achievements, even in the face of daunting challenges,” he said.

    He commended the operators of the camp, as well as other displaced camps in the country, for their continued selfless efforts in ensuring that the displaced persons are cared for, as government intensifies efforts to ensure their safe return to their homes and communities.

    Dogara, while stressing that the impressive performance of the students is a testament of their potentials which can only be fully harnessed with adequate support and empowerment, urged Nigerians who are financially capable to support them in order to prevent their present unfavourable circumstances from hampering their future.

     

  • Speaker Dogara shows excitements as David Mark marks 70th birthday

    Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has extolled the virtues of former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark on the occasion of his 70th birthday anniversary.

    The Speaker described Senator Mark as an elder statesman and patriot saying, “you are a man of many caps; former military administrator and two time president of the Senate.”

    “Distinguished is an attribute you have earned for yourself from the excellent way you discharged your responsibilities in all roles you found yourself.”

    He noted that Senator Mark is a man of many caps who have left masterstrokes in the way he superintended over matters of state, “putting national interests above personal ones when the need arose; from your days in the military to making the proverbial ‘lightening strike twice’ as the president of the Senate.”

    The Speaker prayed God to continue to bless the former Senate President with sound health and more wisdom to contribute his quota to the growth and development of Nigeria.

     

  • APC Lawmaker reveals when 2018 budget’d be ready

    Rep. Zakari Mohammed, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Education, has assured that the country’s 2018 budget would by end of April.

    Mohammed told newsmen in Ogbomoso on the sideline of an empowerment programme organised by Rep. Segun Ogunwuyi (APC-Ogbomoso North/South/Oriire) for his constituents.

    Ogunwuyi had through the programme empowered 827 beneficiaries, including various associations and traditional rulers.

    Mohammed, who represented the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, at the event, stated that the delay in passing the budget was due to lack of cooperation from some ministers.

    “When a budget is laid, it is our duty to ask for detail information because we won’t manufacture figures. That is the problem. I am sure that by the end of April we will have a budget,’’ he said.

    He urged the executive arm of government to work harder in generating more revenue to implement the budget, adding that budget performance in recent times is dropping.

    The lawmaker urged the people to ensure Ogunwuyi’s re-election to the National Assembly in 2019, saying the type of lawmaking template they operated was in consonance with longevity.

    “When you go to the National Assembly as a first timer, it takes you more than three years to learn the process and by the end of four years you will have nothing to show,’’ according to him.

    Sen. Abdulfatai Buhari (APC-Oyo North) commended Ogunwuyi for bringing the dividends of democracy to the constituents, saying he has demonstrated love for his constituents.

    Buhari urged the constituents to support Ogunwuyi for another term, adding that his quality of representation improves as long as he stayed.

    Similarly, Rep. Segun Odebunmi, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Information and National Orientation, as well as Rep. Abiodun Olasupo, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Compliance, corroborated Buhari.

    The duo urged the people to support Ogunwuyi and the APC at all levels to ensure continuity, which they said enhances good governance in terms of development as well as quality representation.

    Ogunwuyi said that the programme, which he tagged `Reconnecting the Disconnect’, was to empower his people and allow them benefit from the dividends of democracy.

    The lawmaker, who sought their support for another term, stated that he would not relent in his efforts at empowering constituents to compete favourably with others outside the constituency.

    Some of the beneficiaries who spoke to NAN commended the lawmaker for the gesture, pledging to give him more support to uplift the constituency.

    The legislator distributed 11 cars, 136 grinding machines, 216 bags of fertiliser, 33 hair dryers, 60 motorcycles, 73 generating sets, five laptops, 112 gas cookers and 112 gas cookers, among other items.

    Ogunwuyi had also trained several people in various skill acquisition programmes, facilitated employment for some unemployed youths and empowered traders across the constituency.

    The event was also attended by members of the State APC Executive led by the State Deputy Chairman, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi, religious leaders, party supporters as well as representatives of Soun of Ogbomoso and Onpetu of Ijeru.

     

  • Saraki mourns as Senator Bukar is buried, former Reps member passes on

    Saraki mourns as Senator Bukar is buried, former Reps member passes on

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has expressed sadness at the death of Senator Mustapha Bukar (APC, Katsina), who was Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital market.

    TheNewsGuru reports Senator Bukar who was Madawakin Daura died around 10.am today following an illness.

    Born on December 31, 1954 in Daura, Bukar was a first timer at the Senate. A source close to the Senate President confirmed the death of the lawmaker via phone. The source said the deceased would be buried in Daura today in line with Islamic injunction.

    Bukar died less than a month after Senator Malam Ali Wakili passed on at 58. Wakili died on March 17 at his Abuja residence.

    Independence Ogunewe passes on

    Meanwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has confirmed the passing away of a former member of the House of Representatives, Independence Ogunewe.

    Speaker Dogara made this known in a statement today.

    “Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has received with sadness, the news of the death of a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Independence Ogunewe,” the statement read.

    The Speaker, describing the late Ogunewe, who was a member of the 5th and 6th assemblies, as a man of courage who stood for the truth always, said he was deeply saddened by the loss.

    He prayed that the Lord grant his immediate family, friends and associates the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

     

  • Dogara congratulates Tinubu at 66

    Dogara congratulates Tinubu at 66

    The Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has congratulated Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) as he clocks 66 years.

    In a congratulatory message on Wednesday in Abuja, Dogara commended Tinubu over what he described as “relentless commitment and sacrifice for democracy and track records of service, mentoring and outstanding accomplishments.”

    Dogara described Tinubu as a dogged and rare breed politician who mentored new generation leaders for future challenges.

    He said “you (Tinubu) is indeed an astute politician, patriotic leader and democrat of high repute who has track records of mentoring and supporting upcoming leaders to accomplish their dreams.

    “I commend your courage in leadership and abiding faith in the ideals of democracy and the Nigerian project.

    “On behalf of the entire membership of the House of Representatives, I congratulate you on this milestone and pray God Almighty to continue to strengthen you and bless you with good health and long life for service to the nation and humanity.”

    Born on March 29, 1952 in the city of Lagos, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended St. John’s Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos and Children’s Home School in Ibadan, South West Nigeria.

    Tinubu then went to the U.S. in 1975, where he studied first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, in Illinois, and then at Chicago State University, where he graduated with Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 1979.

    He worked for the American companies Arthur Andersen, “Deloitte Haskins & Sells GTE Services Corporation and when he returned to Nigeria in 1983, he joined Mobil Oil Nigeria and later became an executive of the company.

    He was elected Senator for Lagos West constituency in Lagos state in 1993 and became governor of Lagos State from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007.

    He is the Asiwaju of Lagos State and the Jagaban of “Borgu” Kingdom in Niger State, as well as national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC)

     

  • Housing Loan Scheme’ll give succor to public servants – Dogara

    The Bill to amend the Federal Government Housing Loan Board to administer housing loan scheme to public sector workers will bring succor to public servants by bridging the housing deficit and increasing productivity in the public sector, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said.

    He explained that the amendment, when it scales through, will make mortgage facilities more accessible to public servants at lower interest rates than the ones offered by commercial banks.

    Speaking at a public hearing on the bill at the House of Representatives, he stated, “This Bill has come at a right time to give succor to civil servants opportunity to have access to housing scheme for the purpose for owning a house. Research has shown that as at September 2016, the lowest recorded interest rate on any Mortgage in Nigeria is 19 percent and requires 25 percent down payment.

    “The question is how many civil servants can afford a mortgage under such harsh Conditions? It is our objective that when this Bill becomes law, most civil servants will have access to a house of their own. I sincerely believe that this Bill will go a long way in bridging the housing deficit and increasing productivity in our public sector.”

    The Speaker added that it is on record that most public servants cannot secure accommodation in Abuja due to high cost of rents, with majority of civil servants living in Nasarawa and Niger States and commuting to work in Abuja everyday from long distances, thereby having an effect on productivity that is better imagined than experienced.

    He recalled that during the 2017 Housing Summit organised in Abuja by Housing Circuit Magazine in partnership with other stakeholders, it was revealed that as at 1991, when the National Housing Policy was enacted, Nigeria had a housing deficit of seven million units but as at today, the housing deficit had grown alarmingly to seventeen (17) million and continues to grow.

    Hon Dogara, therefore, urged the stakeholders to proffer solutions on how to administer the Housing Scheme for Federal Public Officers in order to reduce and or eliminate the overall housing deficit in Nigeria.

     

  • Zonal intervention projects: No amount of blackmail’ll stop us – Dogara

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said that no amount of blackmail from any quarters will force the National Assembly to abandon Zonal Intervention Projects because it is the tool with which they ensure equity in project allocation nationwide.

    He added that though the instrumentality of zonal intervention projects has been grossly misunderstood and terribly maligned, it does not change the fact that it has brought development across all federal constituencies and federal presence to remote and forgotten areas in the country.

    Hon Dogara made the statements while speaking at the public hearing organised by the Joint Committees of Appropriation of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    The Speaker said, “Over the years, the efforts of legislators, especially at the National Assembly to inject equity in budget patronage nationwide through the instrumentality of zonal intervention projects has been grossly misunderstood and terribly maligned mostly by those who are deliberately ignorant and have concocted their own concept of constituency projects which they apply as their yardstick of measurement.

    “I make bold to state that, but for Zonal Intervention Projects, many communities in Nigeria would never have enjoyed any form of Federal Government patronage. Put differently, zonal intervention projects represent the only evidence of Federal government presence in most rural communities of Nigeria.

    “Consequently, as representatives of the people, no amount of blackmail from any quarters will force us to abandon our resolve to ensure even development across all federal constituencies.”

    He implored stakeholders, and indeed all Nigerians who are showing more interest in the budget making process, to pay greater attention to the implementation of approved budget and not the size because only effective budget implementation determines its quality.

    “Demand strict accountability from all elected officials on this matter. Jacob Lew captured the issue succinctly when he said, ‘The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.’ The citizen must therefore insist on the total realisation of these values and aspirations rather than merely the collection of figures,” he charged.

     

  • 2018 Budget: Dogara remarks at NASS public hearing

    It is my honour and privilege to welcome us all to this crucial Public Hearing on the 2018 National Budget, organized jointly by the Committees on Appropriation of the Senate and House of Representatives.

    This is the second in the series of National Annual budget Hearings put together by the National Assembly and I wish to commend everyone present for making out time to participate.

    Public Hearing is the platform which the Legislature provides for citizens to participate in governance. This is done pursuant to the legislature’s role of representation on the one hand and in the fulfilment of the Constitutional injunction under the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of state Policy in Section 14 (2) (c) of the Constitution which provides that the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured.

    Before now, the citizen had become more accustomed with Public Hearing on Bills on the making of laws other than Appropriation. While every law made by the National Assembly is important, many citizens conform with lawful conduct as of norm rather than compliance with legislations. Appropriation is however the piece of legislation that affects the life and wellbeing of every citizen irrespective of his/her awareness or the absence of it.

    As Representatives of the people, legislators are constantly in touch with their constituents and are therefore in a position to appreciate their peculiar priority needs which they can then articulate in the budget. This notwithstanding, an African adage says ” The best rendition of a song is from the mouth of the composer” , and therefore the citizen’s personal opinion on the budget in fora such as this remains critical in spite of the fact that he/her enjoys representation in Parliament.

    Over the years, the efforts of legislators, especially at the National Assembly to inject equity in budget patronage nationwide through the instrumentality of zonal intervention projects has been grossly misunderstood and terribly maligned mostly by those who are deliberately ignorant and have concocted their own concept of constituency projects which they apply as their yardstick of measurement. I make bold to State that, but for Zonal Intervention projects, many communities in Nigeria would never have enjoyed any form of Federal Government patronage. Put differently, zonal intervention projects represent the only evidence of Federal government presence in most rural communities of Nigeria. Consequently, as representatives of the people, no amount of blackmail from any quarters will force us to abandon our resolve to ensure even development across all Federal Constituencies.

    I should like once again to state that the quality of a budget is not in its size or content but in it’s effective implementation. I would therefore implore stakeholders, and indeed all Nigerians, that as they are beginning to show interest in the budget making process, they should show even greater interest in the implementation of approved budgets. They must demand strict accountability from all elected officials on this matter. Jacob Lew captured the issue succinctly when he said, “The budget is not just a collection of numbers, but an expression of our values and aspirations.” The citizen must therefore insist on the total realization of these values and aspirations rather than merely the collection of figures.

    I am confident that at this forum, everyone will work assiduously toward, not only ensuring an equitable collection of figures but more so, the full realization of those expressed values and aspirations through efficient and effective budget implementation.

    I wish us all, a most effective Budget 2018 Hearing.

    God bless you all and bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

     

  • Electoral Act Amendment: Investigation opens into alleged N17.9m for pro-executive Senators

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has directed the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate pro-executive Senators allegedly lining up for N17.9 million.

    The Senate President gave the directive after Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, citing Order 15, moved that the Senate investigate into a publication that pro-executive Senators and House of Representatives lined up for N17.9 million and N10.8 million respectively.

    According to the publication, being referred to by Senator Nwaoboshi, following President Muhammadu Buhari refusal to endorse the new the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, and National Assembly (NASS) plan to veto Buhari’s approval, some pro-Executive Senators and members of the House of Representatives have been lined up for $50,000 and $30,000, respectively, to stop the NASS from going ahead with plans to veto the president on the Bill that re-ordered general elections in the country.

    “I want to move for this matter to be investigated,” Nwaoboshi said, with Senator Mao Ohuabunwa supporting the move, saying, “This issue must be investigated and whoever is involved must be brought to book”.

    Saraki then referred matter to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions for investigation with a mandate to report back within a week, stressing, “We need to thoroughly investigate this matter”.

    In a different development, TheNewsGuru reports the NASS today converged to hold a second Joint Public Hearing on the 2018 appropriation bill in order to receive inputs and ensure inclusiveness of citizens, stakeholders and development partners.

    The public hearing held at conference room 022, ground floor of the Senate building, NASS complex, Abuja, and will continue until Wednesday 28 March 2018 with Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara as special guests of honour.

    At Senate plenary session today and in relation to the second Joint National Budget Hearing (2018 Appropriation Bill) being hosted by the NASS Joint Committee on Appropriations, the Senate President said Thursday, 29th March, 2018 will be the day for final submission of the 2018 budget.

    In his remarks, Speaker Dogara said, “The quality of budget is not in its size or content but in its implementation” and that NASS public hearings are platforms where legislature provide for citizens to participate in governance.

     

  • JUST IN: 2018 Budget sees light as NASS holds 2nd joint public hearing

    The 2018 Budget is seeing the light of day as the National Assembly (NASS) has converged to hold a second Joint Public Hearing on the 2018 appropriation bill in order to receive inputs and ensure inclusiveness of citizens, stakeholders and development partners.

    TheNewsGuru reports the public hearing is holding at conference room 022, ground floor of the Senate building, NASS complex, Abuja, and will continue until Wednesday 28 March 2018.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara are special guests of honour at the second Joint National Budget Hearing (2018 Appropriation Bill) being hosted by the NASS Joint Committee on Appropriations.

    According to the Senate President at Senate plenary session today, Thursday, 29th March, 2018 will be the day for final submission of the 2018 budget.

    In his remarks, Speaker Dogara said, “The quality of budget is not in its size or content but in its implementation” and that NASS public hearings are platforms where legislature provide for citizens to participate in governance.

     

    Details to follow shortly…