NASS
Speaker Gbajabiamila: Constitution review to address Nigeria’s foundational deficiencies
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has called for collaboration between the National Assembly and the 36 state Houses of Assembly to make the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution successful. Gbajabiamila, who spoke at a meeting of the Conference of Presiding Officers of Nigerian Legislatures in Abuja at the weekend, noted that the constitutional amendments are to address Nigeria’s foundational problems. The Speaker also stated that the legislature remained the most important arm of government in any democratic setting, according to a statement issued on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, titled ‘Constitution review: Gbajabiamila Seeks Collaboration Between NASS, State Assemblies…Says Legislature Remains Most Important Arm o...
PDP cautions Zamfara governor, lawmakers over plan to defect to APC
The Peoples Democratic Party has cautioned the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, and those of the National Assembly from the state against defecting to the All Progressives Congress. Newsmen reported that Matawalle will dump the PDP for the APC tomorrow. Reacting, the PDP stated that Matawalle defecting to the APC amounts to a decision to vacate office. According to the party, “No law allows him to cross over to any other party with the governorship mandate statutorily given to the PDP through the ballot box.” This was disclosed in a statement titled, ‘Zamfara: PDP Cautions Matawalle, NASS, SHoA Members Against Defection,’ signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan. It read, “The PDP is watching developments i...
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...
CSOs threaten to occupy National Assembly over Electoral Act amendment
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations has threatened to occupy the National Assembly after Ramadan fasting, if the lawmakers fail to pass the Bill for an amendment of the Electoral Act. The CSOs which include Center For Liberty, Concerned Nigeria, The Electoral Hub, and Raising New Voices Initiative, issued the threat at a joint news conference on Thursday in Abuja. The Co-convener, Centre for Liberty, Mr Dare Ariyo-Atoye, who read the joint speech of the CSOs, said they were worried that the 9th National Assembly was yet to pass the bill. According to him the passage of the bill could have given them lasting legacies and written their names in gold. Ariyo-Atoye said that in the last 15 months, CSOs had consistently engaged lawmakers and appealed to the NASS to make the passage of a n...
National Assembly legislative aides protest non-payment of arrears
The National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum on Tuesday in Abuja protested the non-payment of their 20 months’ salary arrears. Zebis Prince, who spoke on behalf of the protesting Aides, said that since the inauguration of the 9th Assembly, their salary arrears were withheld by the management. He said that the matter was referred to the House Services Committee with the mandate to among other things investigate the irregularities in the payment of legislative Aides. He however said that the Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA) insisted on getting directives from the chairman of National Assembly Service Commission before payment of the arrears. “We are disturbed that despite an express legislative resolution mandating the CNA to ensure payment three weeks after, the Chief Accounting Office...
Senate asked to probe public hearing on medical council bill
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), the umbrella body of health workers in the country, has demanded that Senate probe the recent public hearing of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) Bill as it accused Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, of disenfranchising its members. JOHESU Chairman, Comrade Joy Bio Josiah flayed what he called “vindictive and discriminatory” attitude of Dr. Oloriegbe against other medical professional bodies as he gave his constituency, MDC and NMA more time to canvass their views on the contentious bill. “We challenge Oloriegbe and the NMA to produce video and audio evidence contrary to this. The point here is Oloriegbe does not understand the philosophy and basics of running Public Hearings because he pointedly domina...
Senator lauds President Buhari for signing Modibbo Adama University bill into law
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (Binani), on Friday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Modibbo Adama University bill into law. Binani, who initiated the bill in the 7th National Assembly, said the university can now run all approved academic programmes like any other conventional University. She said the bill will also create more placements for youths seeking admission into the university. Binani, who made her feelings known in a statement in Abuja, said the assent of the President was heart-warming. She said: “It is heartwarming to note the gracious assent by Mr. President to this bill. Precisely on the 6th of January, 2021, Mr. President assented to the bill converting MAUTECH to a Conventional Univers...
Archbishop Martins decries Southern Kaduna killings
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Reverend Alfred Adewale Martins, has expressed deep concern over the killings in Southern Kaduna, challenging the government to show more will to deal with the situation. According to the cleric, ‘we have seen too many occasions in which villages were attacked in the middle of the night and people including babies, children and women killed with their properties destroyed while they were in bed at night.’ Archbishop Martins, in a press release signed by the Director of Social Communications, Rev Fr Anthony Godonu, noted that: ‘The pattern has been repeated in Benue, Taraba, and Adamawa states. We have situations in which people are too afraid to go to their farms because of the so-called bandits. ‘Government cannot be exonerated from the accusation of...
774,000 jobs: National Assembly can’t suspend selection process – minister
The Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo (SAN), says members of the National Assembly cannot stop the selection process of the 774,000 Special Public Works Programme jobs. He stated that the Joint Committees on Labour of both the Senate and the House tried to “control the programme as to who gets what, where and how”. The minister insisted that he would not surrender the programme to the lawmakers’ control “since their powers under the constitution does not extend to that”. He, therefore, directed the state selection committees to proceed with the recruitment process. Keyamo, in a statement issued after his meeting with the NASS committee ended in a fiasco on Tuesday, said, “There was a misunderstanding between us when they questioned why I did not privately submit the programme to ...
