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NASS May Consider Report On Security Crisis, Next Week -Lawan
President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, disclosed, yesterday, that the Senate may, next week, consider the report of an Ad-Hoc Committee on Security Challenges with a view to finding solutions to Nigeria’s security problems.
Lawan made the disclosure during the plenary sequel to the consideration of a motion brought to the floor by Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (APC – Adamawa Central).
The Senate had on January 29, 2020, set up the Ad-Hoc Committee chaired by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, to interface with the security agencies on the level of insecurity in the country and report back to the Upper Chamber within two weeks.
According to Lawan, the Senate would engage with the Executive arm of government on the resolutions of the ad-hoc committee as contained in its report.
He added that the Upper Chamber would also work closely with the House of Representatives and Nigerian citizens towards ensuring that solutions are found to the lingering security problems in the country.
Lawan said, “The Senate discussed and debated so much on the insecurity in the country and set up an ad-hoc committee under the leadership of the Senate leader.
“The committee is working very hard; we are trying to look for solutions to the insecurity bedevilling the country. We are not going to rest on our oars until we are able to provide solutions.
“This is the essence of our being in government. Of course, it will require that we work with the House of Representatives and the Executive, as well as the citizens because I believe that the citizens have to be taken into confidence in the fight against insecurity.
“So, we will not waste any time, as soon as the report is ready, I believe by next week, probably the report will be ready. We are going to look at the report of the ad-hoc committee and take those important and very viable resolutions, and engage with the Executive arm of government.
“I think we are on the same page with the Executive arm of government, everybody is worried, and we will do whatever it takes, and I normally say, if we have to invest so much money, so be it, because there’s nothing more important than life, even infrastructure.
“Life is more important than anything, so, we need to protect the lives of Nigerians who have sent us here,” Lawan added.
Earlier, Senator Aishatu Ahmed, while coming under a point of order on matter of urgent public importance, bemoaned attacks on Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State by an insurgent group armed with seven gun-trucks and motorcycles on February 21, 2020.
According to the lawmaker, “three soldiers were killed in the dastardly attacks, while properties worth millions of naira were burnt or destroyed, including: public hospital, school, telecommunication facilities, police stations and so on”.
She added that “the Garkida crisis, which has led to the destruction of lives and propriety, was planned by insurgents to have a religious connotation considering that churches and residences of some prominent indigenes were burnt, an act aimed at destroying the foundation of peaceful co-existence among Garkida community and Adamawa State as a whole.”
The lawmaker warned, “As a result of this, the urgent need to take more drastic actions in the face of such affront on the national security architecture, the region, and indeed, the entire nation is long overdue.
“In view of the enormity of the situation, the Federal Government needs to put more innovative measures in place to frontally confront these challenges.”
Consequently, the Senate, in a three-point resolution, urged the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai, to re-establish a military command base in Garkida, and also all major settlements bordering the Sambisa forest.
The Upper Chamber called on the North East Development Commission to immediately embark on rehabilitation of public and religious institutions destroyed and provide relief materials to victims of the insurgency.
Meanwhile, the Senate, yesterday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “immediately” reconstitute the Federal Character Commission (FCC) in line with extant laws.
The call followed a motion sponsored by the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, on the “urgent need to reconstitute the Federal Character Commission.”
The Upper Chamber noted that the tenure of the present commission had elapsed and that failure to reconstitute the commission would amount to a “breach of the Act establishing the Federal Character Commission and the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
In his contribution, the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, noted that the FCC was one of the national tools that work to ensure equity, unity, fairness and justice in terms of employment distribution across all the 36 states and the FCT.
“It is very important we have the full complement of the commission in place, and I believe that with this resolution, it will expedite action to reconstitute the membership of the commission,” Lawan said.
In his lead debate, Abaribe noted that Act No. 34 of 1996 and Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provided for the establishment of the Federal Character Commission (FCC).
He said that the subsection 1, 2 and 3 of the Act stipulate the establishment, membership and tenure of office of the chairman and members of the commission.
Abaribe said that Section 3(1) of the Act states that the chairman and members of the commission shall hold office for a period of five years in the first instance and for a further term of five years on such terms and conditions as may be specified in their letters of appointment.
He added: “Further aware that (the) Federal Character Commission body has lapsed since 2018 as against its Act.
“Observes that since 2018, the Federal Character Commission has been run by an acting chairman, who has now become a sole administrator.
“Further observes that no provisions of the Act or the Constitution stipulate the need for the office of a sole administrator or an acting chairman.
“Note that the Federal Character Commission (FCC) has been a tool for unity, equitable formula distribution and good governance of the nation,” Abaribe said.
He insisted that failure to reconstitute the commission amount to a constitutional breach of the Act establishing the FCC.
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Let’s Approach Regional Development Issues Differently – Fubara …As S’South Govs Host Fubara To 50th Birthday Celebration
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has sued for a change in the current approach adopted by South South Governors in their pursuit to achieve holistic regional development and economic prosperity.
The governor insisted on de-emphasis in vested individuals’ political interests while looking at the bigger picture of achieving enduring regional integration that will strengthen unity of purpose to change the trajectory of development in the region.
Fubara made the appeal during the meeting of Governors of South-South States, under the auspices of BRACED Commission, at the Bayelsa State Government House in Yanagoa on Tuesday.
This was contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nelson Chukwudi.
BRACED is an acronym for Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta.
He said: “I want to appeal that if we have to succeed in this drive, we need to keep our political differences aside and understand that the struggle, as at today, is for posterity, for the development of our region.
“It is really sad that in Niger Delta that is the economic base of this country, the construction of a road that you tagged ‘East-West Road’ could be an issue, that we need to beg, protest, and complain to get it fixed. I don’t think it is proper.”
Governor Fubara stated that it is not that the federal authorities do not understand that Niger Delta needs the road but quickly added that they have seen that even the people of the region do not take themselves seriously.
The governor said the moment Niger Delta people stopped playing to the gallery, and place value on themselves, outsiders will have no option than to accord the region and its people due regard.
Fubara said: “On my part, I want to say this: This is not the first time we are meeting. For me, I followed the course of the region meeting in a forum that we tagged “BRACED Commission.”
“BRACED Commission is also one of the bodies that was constituted at that time to support and work out development strategies for this region. But what I am seeing today is just limiting this meeting to only BRACED COMMISSION.
“We need to widen the scope where other leaders of the region should be part of the discussion of the development of the region, and I think this is the direction that will help the region.”
Reading the Communique of the meeting, the new Chairman of the Forum of Governors of South-South States, and Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, said they support the Federal Government Tax Reform Bills, and urged President Bola Tinubu to extend the Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing percentages to oil and gas derivation.
He stated the Forum’s request to the Federal Government to urge relevant stakeholders and agencies to extend remediation of polluted environment ongoing in Ogoni land to other impacted communities and States in the region.
Governor Diri also said that the Forum resolved to establish a structural regional security network to enhance safety and security, foster stable Niger Delta region conducive for economic growth and prosperity.
Highlight of the event was the hosting of Governor Fubara to a surprise 50th Birthday celebration by the Governors of South-South States at the Government House in Yenagoa.
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Fubara Lauds Tinubu For Setting Up Education Load Fund … Vows To Ensure Rivers Benefit Maximally From Scheme
The Rivers State Government has applauded President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for conceiving the idea of setting up the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) which has opened up opportunities for youths to acquire tertiary education irrespective of their financial status.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, gave the commendation while playing host to a delegation from NELFUND who came on an advocacy visit to the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Represented by his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, Governor Fubara said in developed countries it is common for people to go through school with loans which they sometimes pay all throughout their lives, noting that “for us, it is more accessible and more friendly because you would be required to pay back the loan two years after your National Youth Service.
“It is a win-win situation; it is a situation where the youths in Nigeria should not say because my parents are poor or passed away I cannot improve on my educational growth. This offers them a golden opportunity and I am glad you came for this advocacy.”
The governor urged NELFUND to intensify its advocacy to let the people know how they can benefit from it, adding that it is more important when talking about vocational institutions.
“If you look at the developed countries it is people that went to the vocational schools that make so much money, because it is pricey to get somebody to do anything, we need to instil this into our people, our youths, because people sometimes tend to look down on people that went to vocational schools, it should not be,” he said.
Fubara expressed delight with the NELFUND programme and assured that the State Government would do whatever it can to ensure Rivers State benefits maximally from the scheme.
In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of NELFUND, Dr. Akintunde Sawyer, informed the governor that they were in Rivers State to seek the support of the State Government towards the loan, stressing that President Tinubu has directed them to ensure no Nigerian student who has the ability and desire to get educated at tertiary level is denied the opportunity due to lack of funding.
He explained that the scheme provides interest-free loans to students who apply, adding that these loans are not repayable until two years after their Youth Service when they must have gotten a job.
A British-Nigerian politician, Florence Eshalomi, has been appointed as the United Kingdom’s trade envoy to Nigeria.
Her appointment makes Eshalomi the second Nigerian to hold the position.
Confirming her appointment on X on Tuesday, she wrote: “It is an honour to have been appointed as the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria.
“I’m looking forward to building on my close ties with Nigeria to promote a strong and flourishing economic relationship between our two great nations.
“I am looking forward to strengthening the UK’s relationship with Nigeria to explore shared growth and opportunities for both countries.”
Announcing the appointment in a statement on Tuesday, Jonathan Reynolds, the UK’s Business and Trade Secretary, said the decision was aimed at attracting investment into the UK and boosting economic growth.
“I’ve launched a new team of trade envoys who will use their experience, expertise, and knowledge to unlock new markets around the world for British businesses, attract investment into the UK, and ultimately drive economic growth,” Reynolds said.
Eshalomi, 44, is an MP representing the Vauxhall and Camberwell Green constituency.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Political and International Studies with Law from Middlesex University.