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Lagos assembly tasks governor on second wave of coronavirus

Following the ravaging effect of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, the Lagos State House of Assembly, yesterday, called on the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to direct the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, to intensify public enlightenment campaigns to curtail its spread among Lagosians. Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, who presented the matter during plenary on Tuesday, also said it was important for the House to invite the Commissioner for Health, Professor Tunji Abayomi, to brief the House on the state government’s efforts to prevent the spread of the disease in the state. He stressed that there was an urgent need to ensure that all the COVID-19 protocols were strictly observed, even as he the government to ensure that enforcement was total as the most rel...

Senator Lawan: Electoral Act amendment ready by early 2021

Senate President Ahmed Lawan on Wednesday said an amendment to the nation’s electoral law would be ready by next year. At the public hearing on the repeal of the Electoral Act 2010 and enactment of the 2020 Electoral Act, held in Abuja yesterday, Mr. Lawan said that the Electoral Act Amendment Bill will be passed by the first quarter of 2021. Mr. Lawan added that the passing of this legislation would enable the 2020 Electoral Act to be tested ahead of the elections to check its efficacy. “A free fair and credible election in 2023 is doable; we just have to remain focused,” Mr. Lawan said. “I have participated in several elections since 1999 and none of them has been the same. I have had different experiences. It means we always have some new emerging problems.” The joint hearing was organi...

National Assembly to make smart card reader compulsory in future elections

File Photo The National Assembly plans to make the use of Smart Card Reader compulsory in future elections in Nigeria, a lawmaker has said. The Chairperson of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Aishatu Dukku, said this at a Joint Public Hearing on “The Bill for an Act to repeal the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended) and enact the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Act, 2020″, on Wednesday in Abuja. The event was organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters. Ms Dukku said the amendment will affect about 300 clauses in the Act. ” In Section 49 of the Electoral Act 2010 under Use of Ballot Paper, Subsection (1) and (2) are to be amended to read: “A person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter’s card to a pre...

Akwa Ibom Assembly passes N456.25 billion Appropriation Bill

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Tuesday passed into Law the state appropriation bill of N456.25billion for the 2021 fiscal year. The 2021 appropriation bill is broken down to of N164.52billion Recurrent expenditure, N241.45billion Capital Expenditure and N50.3billion for Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges. This is against the N435.65billion proposed by the governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel to the House of Assembly in the month of October. The bill was passed after the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation Committee, presented by the Chairman, Mr Uduak Odudoh, during Tuesday plenary. Odudoh explained that Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Non-Governmental Organisations and other relevant publics participated in the budget process before its passa...

House of Reps summons auditor-general over $36.1 million World Bank loan

The House of Representatives has summoned the acting Auditor General of the Federation, Mr Aghughu Adolphus, over a $36.1m facility under the Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project of the World Bank, to the office. The House Committee on Public Accounts issued the summons at its public hearing in Abuja on Tuesday. Adolphus, who had earlier been invited by the committee, had failed to show up on Tuesday. His representatives led by a Deputy Director, Mr Babalola Olanrewaju, could not explain to the lawmakers the rationale behind taking the loan. Chairman of the committee, Mr Wole Oke, said, “We want to know what the loan was meant for before going to sign for it. What was your procurement plan before arriving at that figure? Or is it a reward? We need to know the programme plan, how you ...

Jigawa Assembly passes 2021 Appropriation Bill

Jigawa State House of Assembly has on Tuesday passed the 2021 Appropriation Bill of N156.588 billion. This followed the adoption of a 2021 appropriation committee’s report led by the House Committee on Appreciation chairman, Hon. Suleiman Kadara, at plenary. Kadara, who is representing Guri Constituency, told the House that the committee had done justice to the appropriation bill presented by Gov. Muhammad Badaru to the house on Nov. 4. Badaru had sought the consideration of the House to appropriate the sum of N156.588 billion for the services of the Jigawa State Government during the period of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021. Of the figures, N78.346 billion was earmarked for recurrent expenditures, including provisions for contingency and stabilization funds, while N78.241 was for capital expendi...

Lagos Assembly proposes N20 million licence fee for lottery, betting operators

Pool Photo The Lagos State House of Assembly says a bill that will make operators of lottery, pools and betting in the state to pay N20 million as licence fees to the state government is underway. The Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, made this known at a public hearing on the bill in Lagos on Friday. Newsmen report that the bill was entitled; “Lagos State Lotteries And Gaming Authority Bill Arrangement of Sections”. Obasa, represented by the Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Sanni-Eshinlokun, explained that the new bill, when it becomes law, would consolidate all the laws in the sector. “The new bill will also repeal existing laws such as the Lagos State Lotteries (Amendment) Law 2008, the Lagos State Lotteries Law (2004), and the Casino and Gaming Regulatory Authority Law (2007). “Others are...

Lagos assemblymen go for coronavirus tests, fumigate complex

Pool Photo The Lagos State House of Assembly has directed all lawmakers to go for COVID-19 test following the death of the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy and Security, Tunde Braimoh. Newsmen also gathered that the Assembly has been closed for fumigation. Braimoh, who represented Kosofe Constituency, died last Friday after a brief illness and was buried at the Ikoyi Cemetery. He was said to be close to the late Senator representing Lagos East, Bayo Osinowo, who died on June 15 of suspected COVID-19. The lawmaker representing Ifako Ijaiye, Temitope Adewale, in a statement on Tuesday, said he had gone for the test, adding his result returned negative. “As directed by the leadership of the Lagos State House of Assembly on Sunday, July 12, 2020, I went and submitted myself f...

House of Reps quizzes NDDC over N70.495 billion awarded contracts

The House of Representatives at the weekend flagged off its investigation into the N70.495 billion allegedly paid by Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to 1,773 contractors as mobilization fees without resorting to site, between 2008 and 2012. Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Hon. Wole Oke who presided over the investigative hearing into the audit queries from the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF) for the period under review, underscored the need for the NDDC acting Managing Director, Prof. Pondei Kemerbrandikumo to provide details of the projects and list of all defaulting contractors along with a statement of accounts showing the recovered funds as alluded to by the NDDC acting Director of Internal Audit, Mr Itu Eno Ubi who argued that only the sum of N19 bill...

House of Reps probes utilisation of N25 billion appropriation of refugee commission

The House of Representatives on Monday expressed displeasure over the failure of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRMIDP) to provide relevant documents on the utilisation of N25 billion appropriated between 2015 and 2019 fiscal years. Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Hon. Wole Oke, who presided over the investigative hearing into the 2015 to 2019 audit queries issued by the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (oAuGF), stressed the need to investigate the efficiency of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) with a view to stopping the menace of ghost workers in all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). According to the documents presented by the Commission to the Committee, from the tot...