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Lawan Vows To Break Jinx On PIB Passage …Tasks Oil Firms On CSR
President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, yesterday, pledged to ensure conclusive reform in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, saying that the Ninth National Assembly would quicken the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) for the benefit of all.
Lawan stated this when he hosted the Chief Executive Officer of the ExxonMobil Group of Companies, Mr Pul McGrath, who led the team of Executives from the company to his office in Abuja.
The President of the Senate noted that several failed attempts have been made by previous assemblies to conclude the passage of the PIB.
He said, “We came closer to it in the 8th Assembly. We disaggregated the bill, we did better than previous assemblies, but unfortunately, we ran out of time. We have a vibrant team now, I promise Nigerians, we will start as soon as we inaugurate our committees and they will start the work on the PIB.
“This time around, we will work with every stakeholder in the industry. Whatsoever it will take to make this Bill beneficial to Nigerians and the players, we will not hesitate.
“We demand your collaboration. We will work together in the interest of the country and everyone”, Lawan said.
Lawan also seized the occasion to call on multinational companies which operate in the Niger Delta region to, as a matter of priority, intensify efforts to deliver on their corporate social responsibilities (CSRs).
According to him, “Corporate Social Responsibility is one area that requires our attention. The host community that produces this oil must be taken care of. The goose that lays the golden eggs must be protected,” Lawan advised.
Earlier, the ExxonMobil CEO, Mr Paul McGrath, had congratulated the President of the Senate and the leadership for the smooth take off the Ninth Senate, even as he promised that ExxonMobil was always available to work with the parliament on reforms in the sector.
MaGrath promised an unalloyed support for Nigeria and her people,
“We look forward to closer working relationship with the Ninth National Assembly, and in particular, the Senate. We will support the reform in the industry and our commitment is intact”, MacGrath said.
However, the Senate, yesterday, passed a motion to increase budgetary allocation for the management of Primary Health Care (PHC) in the country.
The resolution of the Senate was hinged on a motion sponsored by Sen. Oluremi Tinubu (APC – Lagos Central) on the need to increase funding of PHC for the benefits of Nigerians.
It would be recalled that the PHC in Nigeria was adopted in 1998 by the National Health Policy to provide promotive, curative and rehabilitative services.
The motion was co-sponsored by 108 other senators.
Tinubu, said the motion became necessary because of the challenges associated with health management in the country.
She said the health problems were traced to the low performance of PHC facilities.
The senator added that available indicators from World Bank survey showed that the performance of PHC was being hampered by lack of financial resources, infrastructure deficit, lack of drugs, equipment and vaccines.
Tinubu quoted the Frontiers in Public Health Journal as having said that “Only about 20 per cent of the 30, 000 PHC centres in Nigeria are working, with most of them lacking capacity to provide essential services.”
She said the failure of PHC and the belief that it is for low-income earners had resulted to influx of patients to secondary and tertiary health care facilities.
The motion attracted contributions from senators like Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu East), Sen. Adamu Alero (Kebbi Central), Dahiru Ashatu (Adamawa Central), among others.
They said that accessibility to healthcare was a fundamental right and must be accorded the required attention.
The Senate, in addition to increasing of the funding, urged the Ministry of Health to create awareness on benefits of health and life insurance.
It directed the Ministry of Environment to put in place policies to ensure that every employer of labour has health insurance package for employees.
It also urged federal and state Ministries of Health to encourage medical technological innovations in primary health facilities in their respective domains.
Similarly, the Senate, yesterday, condemned the death of about 50 persons in Benue State sequel to the explosion of a petrol tanker in Gwer East Local Government Area of the state.
The Upper Chamber also urged the Federal Ministry of Health to intervene and help the victims undergoing medical attention in various health facilities.
Debating the motion to that effect during its plenary, which was sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Oker-Jev, the lawmakers further charged the management of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to quickly assist the victims with relief materials to ease their suffering.
The senators also urged the Federal Government to release funds for the dualisation of the Keffi-Lafia-Makurdi-Enugu road to enhance accessibility of the road.
In his lead debate on the motion titled: ”Benue tanker explosion: Urgent need to curb incessant explosions of petroleum tankers in Nigeria”, Senator Oker-Jev, revealed that over 100 people who sustained various degrees of injuries were battling for survival in various hospitals across the state.
Meanwhile, after the debate, the Senate resolved to constitute an ad-hoc committee to liaise with relevant agencies, organisations and stakeholders to identify the remote and immediate causes of the incessant petroleum tanker explosions in Nigeria.
The committee, when constituted, would come up with sustainable solutions to the Senate within eight weeks.
Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.