Passage
Minister: PIB will address production sharing contracts issues on gas
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently before the National Assembly will resolve the issues under the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) on gas. Sylva made this known at a National Assembly Public Hearing organised by the Joint Committee on Gas Resources, Petroleum Resources, Upstream and Downstream, on Monday, in Abuja. The hearing was on the topic: “Inclusion of Gas Terms in Production Sharing Contracts by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).” He said that issues on gas terms was not captured under the PSC especially with the commercial aspect. “Issues on gas terms was not captured in the PSC because at the time, the offshore was just a frontier territory, today, it is no longer frontier, it is a...
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...
Police arrest protesters for allegedly violating coronavirus regulations
The police, on Wednesday, arrested six protesters for allegedly violating COVID-19 protocols in Ilorin, Kwara State. The protesters are teachers sacked by the Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq government and were protesting the ongoing exercise for recruitment of new teachers. This newspaper, last week, reported how the protesters blocked the gate to the governor’s office, demanding their reabsorption. The protesters had resumed their demonstration on Wednesday. However, the spokesperson of the police in the state, Ajayi Okasanmi, said a woman and five men were arrested for inciting disturbance and violating COVID-19 protocols. Those arrested are Aransiola Olubukun, Salaudeen Abubakar, Mohammed Soliu, Ibahim Alabi, Isiaka Toyin and Adewale Abdulazeez. “This offence was committed in the proce...
Official: Kano government amends child rights act ‘to reflect Sharia’
The Kano State Executive Council has approved and amended the proposed bill on Child Rights (protection) Act 2010 “to reflect the position of Sharia on all sections of the Child Rights Act (CRA) 2003″. Muhammed Garba, Commissioner for Information in Kano State disclosed this in statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Kano on Saturday, Mr Garba said the decision for the approval was reached at its state council meeting in line with the Federal Government policy of 2003 where states were asked to domesticate the bill . He said that the approval was necessary because of the commitment of the state administration on child welfare. Mr Garba disclosed that the state government was motivated to enact the child right bill after it assented to the bill on free and compulsory education....
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...
National Assembly raises 2021 budget by N580 billion, approves N13.588 trillion
The two chambers of the National Assembly yesterday passed the 2021 Appropriation Bill, increasing the budget size from N13.08 trillion presented to them by President Muhamnadu Buhari 11 weeks ago to N13.588 trillion. The passage of the 2021 budget followed consideration and adoption of harmonised reports separately submitted to them by their Committees on Appropriation. The two chambers increased the 2021 budget by about N580 billion and pegged daily crude oil production at 1.86 million barrels per day, while oil benchmark price was fixed at $40 per barrel. They approved N379 to dollar as the official exchange rate while GDP growth rate was pegged at 3 per cent. Highlights of the report approved by the Senate showed aggregate expenditure to be N13,588,027,886,175, statutory transfer of N4...
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...
Ogun governor presents N339 billion 2021 budget proposal
Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, on Wednesday, presented a budget proposal of N339 billion for the 2021 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly, with N177 billion earmarked for capital expenditure. Newsmen report that the budget, christened “Budget of Recovery and Sustainability,” also has N162 billion proposed for recurrent expenditure. The governor said that an estimated N119 billion was projected as internally-generated revenue for the state, with statutory allocation expected to be N59 billion. He stated that capital receipt, which included internal and external loans as well as grants and aids, stood at N142 billion. The governor stated that personnel cost remained the largest single item of expenditure, adding as at Oct. 31, it accounted for 35.5 percent of the total government spending...
FCTA spent N29 billion on coronavirus during lockdown – minister
The Senate has been told that the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA spent a total sum of N28.5billion on some activities within the Federal Capital Territory, FCT during the outbreak of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the lockdown. Speaking yesterday in Abuja when he presented the revised 2020 budget before the Senator Abubakar Kyari, All Progressives Congress, APC, Borno North led Senate Committee on FCT, Minister of the FCT, Mallam Mohammed Musa Bello explained to the Committee that the fund was spent on provision of security services, provision of palliatives for indigent residents, as well as assisting neighbouring States who were distressed. According to him, the FCT health facility supported residents from States where the level of government assista...
INEC chief wants Senate to accelerate Electoral Act amendment
The nominee for the position of Chairperson for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has appealed to the National Assembly to expeditiously pass the Electoral Act Amendment Bill before the end of first quarter of 2021. Yakubu made the call in Abuja on Thursday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on INEC for screening. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Wednesday sought Senate’s confirmation of Yakubu as INEC chairperson for a second term. Yakubu said the passage of the Electoral Act was critical for the success of the 2023 general elections and ultimately the nation’s electoral system. He said that INEC under his leadership had recommended some areas of amendments in the Electoral Act. He said that if confirmed, INEC under his watch would consolidat...
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...