Executive Arm
Senate vows to expose MDAs refusing to account for public funds
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said that the upper chamber will publish the names of government agencies that have refused to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to defend the interrogations of the Auditor-General for the Federation in the 2015 report. Lawan made this known in his remarks after the Senate considered the report of the Committee on Public Accounts on the annual report of the Auditor-General for the Federation on the accounts of the Federation for the year ended 31st December, 2015. According to the Senate President, any public official that refuses to account for public funds at their disposal must be shown the way out of office. He said, “This is one of our major responsibilities as a parliament, to hold the executive to account. “[And] whoever is given t...
Anambra: JUSUN strike a national issue, not state-driven
The Anambra State Government on Monday said the ongoing strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), was a national issue and not state-driven. Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, Secretary to the State Government, made the assertion, while addressing members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Anambra branch, at a peaceful protest to the Government House in Awka. Newsmen report that the protest followed a directive issued on April 18 by the President of the NBA, Mr Olumide Akpata, to all branches of the association. Chukwulobelu said the executive was aware of the need to ensure that all aspects of the three arms of government function properly. “Your demands on independent judiciary are very important, but it is a national issue. “The fact that the courts are not sitting is not becaus...
NASU: Decision to reduce civil servants salaries ’provocative’
File Photo The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) says plan by the Federal Government to slash salaries of Federal civil servants is “provocative’’. NASU made this known in a statement by its General Secretary, Mr Peters Adeyemi on Sunday in Abuja. It will be recalled that Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, had given the hint on May 4, at the National Policy Dialogue on Corruption and Cost of Governance in Nigeria, organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in Abuja. Ahmed said during the dialogue that the review of salaries of civil servants and some federal agencies were part of measures to reduce cost of governance. She said the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) had bee...
Senate president condemns attacks on correctional facilities
President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan has decried recent attacks on Police formations and Correctional facilities in Imo. A statement by Mr Ola Awoniyi, the senate presidents Special Assistant on Media, said Lawan described those responsible for the attacks as enemies of the people and country. Lawan stated this in Owerri on Friday while inaugurating a road project completed by Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo. He said that the aim of the attackers was probably to cause a distraction for the Imo government or even the Federal Government. The road which was named after a former Senate President, Late Chief Evan Enwerem, was one of the infrastructural projects inaugurated to mark Uzodinma’s one year in office. Lawan advised the people to take ownership of the projects, utilise them well and protect t...
NBA urges judiciary workers to shelve strike
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Monday urged judiciary workers under the aegis of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) to shelve their plan to begin a nationwide strike on Tuesday. The association in a statement signed by its President, Olumide Akpata, said although it believes in the battle for financial autonomy of the judiciary being waged by the workers, the timing of the planned strike would spell doom for the country considering the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in the last one year. Akpata stated, “However, as commendable and laudable as the proposed strike action may be, the NBA is concerned about its timing and the potentially devastating consequences it would pose for justice administration in the country, particularly coming on the heels of prolonged...
Justice Onnoghen: Why I was sacked as CJN
The Leader Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, on Friday, stressed that Nigeria as a nation may not record any meaningful achievement in life until they are able to free the nation’s judiciary from the stronghold of politicians. Onnoghen who spoke publicly for the first time since his removal from office two years ago, attributed his sack to political manuevre. The former CJN, who was speaking at the unveiling of a book titled ‘Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, Practice, Procedure, Forms and Precedents’, by a legal luminary, Chief Ogwu James Onoja (SAN), attributed his sack to political intrigues. Onnoghen revealed that prior to his removal, he was accused by the executive of having met with former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in Dubai, United A...
Lagos speaker: I’ll assist LASU to become world class institution
The Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, says he will work toward ensuring that Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, becomes a world class institution through appropriate legislation. Obasa made the promise while receiving the institution’s Alumni Association led by its Vice President, Norrison Quakers, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), on Wednesday in Lagos. He said this is to ensure that the institution catches up with the top tertiary institutions across the world. The speaker said the House had always ensured that requests involving LASU were prioritised in the budget to enable the institution to meet the accreditation requirements of the Nigeria University Commission (NUC). He said that currently, there was hardly any institution in the country that LASU could not...
Bayelsa governor: 2.5% revenue for host communities ‘unacceptable’ to Niger Delta
Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa on Tuesday proposed that 10 per cent of derived oil revenue be provided in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) for the host communities. Mr Diri, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, said this on Tuesday during a townhall meeting on the bill with members of the National Assembly in Yenagoa. The governor said the 2.5 per cent revenue proposed for the host communities in the PIB was grossly inadequate and unacceptable to the people of the Niger Delta. He argued that if the National Assembly members saw firsthand the level of environmental degradation and its attendant effects on the people, they would not hesitate to increase it from 10 per cent. Mr Diri stressed that the PIB was critical in addressing issues such as unemployment, lack of tran...
Senators decry executive’s disregard for resolutions on insecurity
Federal lawmakers, on Tuesday, deplored the federal government’s continued disregard for Senate’s resolutions on the issue of national security. The Senators spoke while contributing to a motion on the recent kidnapping of students at the Government Science School, Kankara, Katsina State. The Red Chamber had twice called for the replacement of the service chiefs. The lawmakers, in their various contributions to the motion, expressed deep frustration over the recurring issues of killings and kidnappings across the country and the inability of the security agencies to address the challenges. They insisted that the service chiefs had overstayed and should allow other officers with fresh ideas to take over. Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (APC, Niger) said, “Every day, people are dying and nothing ...
Senator Lawan urges South Africa to secure business interests of Nigerians
President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan has urged the South African authorities to reciprocate Nigerian Government’s gesture by ensuring that business interests of Nigerians in South Africa are secured. Mr Ezrel Tabiowo, his Special Assistant on press, in a statement said lawan made the call in Abuja on Thursday when he received a delegation led by High Commissioner of South Africa to Nigeria, Mr Thamsanga Mseleku. Other members on the delegation include: Mr Bobby Moroe, Minister Plenipotentiary; and Ms Boipelo Lefatshe, First Secretary, Political. According lawan efforts by both countries to secure the business interests of their nationals would create better chances of employment for their citizens and guarantee stronger economic prospects for Nigeria and South Africa. “For quite some time n...
Senate faults minister for blaming legislature for bad roads
The Senate has described as, “fallacy of the highest order,” a statement credited to the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), on the state of Nigerian roads. Fashola, according to the red chamber, had alleged that the National Assembly members should be held responsible for the poor state of the federal roads in Benue State. The upper chamber accused the Minister of trying to incite members of the public against the federal lawmakers by his allegation. The Senate stated this in a statement by its spokesperson, Dr. Ajibola Basiru, titled, “Senate debunks Minister’s claim on budgetary allocations to road construction,” issued in Abuja on Sunday. The red chamber said it took exception to the statement credited to Fashola, that the National Assembly should be held respon...
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Rumble in Edo as governor runs government without cabinet
Precisely 129 days into his second tenure as governor of Edo State after his election on September 20, 2020 and inauguration on November 12, 2020, Godwin Obaseki, has not formed his cabinet. This has generated some flaks from different quarters, including the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), constitutional lawyers, political analysts, public commentators, residents among others. While others feel that Obaseki has not committed any crime or breached any law, others believe that he is running a one-man administration and must go ahead to form his cabinet. They argued that going by Section 192 of the 1999 Constitution, the governor is obliged to form a cabinet, saying this is a circumvention, which the state House of Assembly should take action on. Obaseki had said that his ...