Lawmakers
South-East National Assembly caucus decry attacks, killings in Igbo land
The South-East Caucus of the National Assembly said it was surprised with the recent spike in violence in the South-East region, noting that it is now worried over the latest developments, which have thrown Igbo land into violence and confusion. The caucus led by a former deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu (PDP, Enugu) is a platform of all Senators and Members of House of Representatives from the South-East zone irrespective of political party. It, therefore, called on the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, to dig deep in his investigations to unravel the actual identities of the unknown gunmen causing havoc in the South-East. In a statement issued on Sunday and jointly signed by 10 federal lawmakers cutting across both chambers of the National Assembly, the South...
‘Patriots rule Hong Kong’ as sweeping pro-Beijing electoral rules passed
Hong Kong’s legislature approved the biggest overhaul of its political system in the quarter century since British rule on Thursday, in a decisive step to assert Beijing’s authority over the autonomous city. The changes will reduce the proportion of seats in the legislature that are filled by direct elections from half to less than a quarter. A new body will be empowered to vet candidates and bar those deemed insufficiently patriotic towards China from standing. “These 600-or-so pages of the legislation come down to just a few words: patriots ruling Hong Kong,” said Peter Shiu, a pro-Beijing lawmaker. Most of the changes were announced by China in March, though Hong Kong authorities later contributed further details, such as redrawing constituency boundaries and criminalising calls for bal...
House mourns army chief, others
Members of the House of Representatives have expressed sadness over the death of Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru and his entourage in an air crash in Kaduna. Attahiru, along with six senior officers and four crew members were onboard Nigerian Air Force Kingair 350 from Abuja to Kaduna, ahead of today’s passing out parade of soldiers from the Nigerian Army Depot in Zaria, when the crash happened amid torrential rainfall, on Friday evening. The Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, in a statement issued on Saturday described as shocking and sad the death Attahiru and others involved in the plane crash. Gbajabiamila said the death of the Army Chief was unfortunate coming at a time that the Nigerian military was finding solutions to the security challenges in the country...
Cross River PDP stakeholders: We’re not defecting with Governor Ayade
File Photo The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Federal Lawmakers and Stakeholders Forum in Cross River have pledged not to follow the State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The lawmakers and the PDP stakeholders forum at a news conference on Friday in Abuja, promised to remain in PDP, saying Cross River remained a stronghold of the party. Sen. Geshon Bassey, who spoke on behalf of the lawmakers, said that Ayade did not consult them before his defection, adding that “even if he did, we will not follow him. “As far as I know, till date, the National Assembly caucus remains intact. I don’t see any of us leaving. We are legacy members of the party, who have been in this party for the past 15 to 20 years. So, we are not going anywhere. “We were not consulted and...
House asks FCT councils to suspend illegal taxes on businesses
The House of Representatives has declared illegal, levies being imposed on businesses by area councils in the Federal Capital Territory, ordering the task forces to suspend their activities. A member of the House from Kogi State, Mr Tajudeen Yusuf, had moved a motion calling for the suspension at the plenary on Tuesday. It was titled ‘Investigation of Alleged illegal Levies by the Federal Capital Territory Area Councils on Business Outlets and Premises in the Area Councils.’ Yusuf said, “Business outlets and private enterprises have been under threats, intimidation, and coercion by task forces operating in the Federal Capital Territory area councils under different guises, forcing business owners to pay illegal levies which are not remitted into the government coffers but private pockets o...
PDP hails suspension of three council chairmen by Lagos Assembly
File Photo The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commended Lagos House of Assembly (LAHA) over the suspension of three council chairmen in the state. The PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Taofik Gani, gave the commendation in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos. The suspended chairmen are: Ogidan Mukandasi of Lekki LCDA, Suleiman Jelili (Alimosho) and Tajudeen Ajide (Surulere). He said that the assembly’s resolution to suspend the three council chairmen over alleged mismanagement and under-performance was commendable. According to him, many local government areas and local council development areas (LCDAs) in the state have remained underdeveloped since the assumption of office by the chairmen in 2017. Newsmen recall that the assembly had, on Tuesday, suspended the council chairmen ...
BudgIT: Over 315 capital projects duplicated in 2021 budget
BudgIT BudgIT, a civic-tech non-profit organisation, says it has uncovered 316 duplicated capital projects worth N39.5 billion in the 2021 budget. In a statement, Iyanu Fatoba, communications associate at BudgIT, said the organisation’s findings is contained in its publication titled, “Demanding Budget Reforms for Resource Optimization”, released on Tuesday. On December 31, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2021 appropriation bill of N13.588 trillion into law. The signing was done more than a week after federal lawmakers passed the budget and raised its total sum by N508 billion. Speaking on the report, Gabriel Okeowo, BudgIT’s CEO, said out of the identified 316 duplicated projects, 115 are in the ministry of health. He said the development is “very disturbing” as the country is battl...
Southeast Asian leaders discuss Myanmar crisis with junta chief
Southeast Asian leaders began a crisis meeting on Myanmar on Saturday aiming to persuade Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the military takeover that sparked turmoil in his country, to forge a path to end the violence. The gathering of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta is the first coordinated international effort to ease the crisis in Myanmar, an impoverished country that neighbours China, India and Thailand. Myanmar is part of the 10-nation ASEAN. With participants attending in person despite the pandemic, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Friday that the summit reflected the “deep concern about the situation in Myanmar and ASEAN’s determination to help Myanmar get out of this delicate situation”. It’s unusual for the leader o...
House rejects bill seeking to reduce cases in Supreme Court
The House of Representatives yesterday voted out a bill seeking to limit the category of litigations that can be appealed at the Supreme Court. The intention of the bill was to reduce the workload on the apex court, and speed up justice delivery. The lawmakers at the plenary yesterday considered for second reading, ‘A Bill for An Act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999; the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (First Alteration) Act, 2010; and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Second Alteration) Act, 2010, to make appeals to the Supreme Court to be by leave in order to reduce workload on the court, expedite hearing and determination of appeals, and encourage efficiency and quality; and for related matters.’ Chai...
NULGE to occupy homes of lawmakers supporting bill to scrap LGAs
File Photo The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) is planning a protest to occupy the country homes of all federal lawmakers in support of a bill calling for the scrapping of local government councils. The union says all in support of the bill are enemies of Nigeria and democracy, and were insensitive to the plight and governance needs of Nigerians in rural areas. NULGE president Ambali Olatunji spoke in reaction to the bill before the House of Representatives seeking to abolish the third tier of government. The bill is being sponsored by a House of Representatives member, Bob Solomon, PDP-Rivers. Olatunji said if the bill was not killed immediately, the workers would in the next few days stage a protest at the National Assembly, after which they would storm the country ho...
Mexico president backs extension of supreme court head’s term, sparks backlash
Mexico’s Senate on Thursday voted to extend the term of the president of the Supreme Court for an extra two years, a move criticized by opposition lawmakers who called it a bid by the ruling party to strengthen its hold on the country’s institutions. Arturo Zaldivar, who has been publicly supportive of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was appointed in January 2019 with a term slated to end on Dec. 31, 2022. If the modification to extend his term passes in the lower house of Congress, he would hold his position until Nov. 30, 2024. Lawmakers approved the proposal by a wide majority, the Senate said in a statement. Both houses of Congress are controlled by the ruling party MORENA and its allies. The Federal Judiciary Board, whose president is Zaldivar, said it was not involved with the...
ASEAN changed Myanmar statement on release of political detainees – sources
A draft statement circulating the day before a Southeast Asian leaders’ summit on the Myanmar crisis included the release of political prisoners as one of its “consensus” points, said three sources familiar with the document. But in the final statement at the end of Saturday’s meeting, the language on freeing political prisoners had been unexpectedly watered down and did not contain a firm call for their release, two of the sources said. The absence of a strong position on this issue caused dismay among human rights activists and opponents of the coup, fuelling criticism by them that the meeting had achieved little in the way of reining in the country’s military leaders. read more Activist monitors say 3,389 people have been detained in a crackdown on dissent by the military since the Feb....