Nation
Electoral Act: Lawan Assures Of Reduced Violence In 2023
The President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, has said that the 2023 General Election would see a drastic reduction in electoral violence after the passage of the amended version of the Electoral Act.
The Electoral Act is expected to be passed by the National Assembly in June, 2021.
Lawan gave the assurance while fielding questions after delivering a lecture at the National Defence College Course 29 Programme in Abuja, yesterday.
According to the Senate President, the Electoral Act under amendment by the Ninth National Assembly will provide for an Electoral Offences Commission, charged particularly with the responsibility of prosecuting electoral offenders.
He added that the piece of legislation when passed and signed into law would among other things, empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct transparent elections in Nigeria.
“Let me give some commendation to the National Assembly for continuously working on the Electoral Act to provide for a better electoral environment in Nigeria.
“All the improvement we have added was as a result of legislations passed by the National Assembly, and of course, supported by the Executive.
“This is going to be a continuous effort because electoral violence is largely a product of either genuine or misinformation of iniquity or some kind of conspiracy against certain persons during elections.
“But I also believe – and that is the position of the National Assembly generally – that we should have the Electoral Offences Commission, so that people who are involved in electoral violence will be prosecuted.
“I believe that it will go a long way in reducing and minimizing of all these tendencies of people taking the laws into their hands.
“But in addition, we are currently working on the Electoral Act, we want to amend it and we intend to achieve the amendment before June or thereabout.
“Our intention in the National Assembly with this is to further sanitize the electoral environment, and empower the election management body – INEC – to conduct seamless, transparent and very open sort of election where a winner is very happy that he is a winner and a looser will be glad that he lost in a very fair contest.
“So, we are working on this and we hope that the 2023 General Election will see less of electoral violence because the law itself would have been further improved.”
Speaking earlier during the lecture, the Senate President attributed the challenges faced by the Federal Government to various types of discolouration from conspiracies woven around political, ethnic and religious sentiments.
He, therefore, admonished Nigerian leaders to deploy strategic leadership tact needed for the realization of developmental initiatives that accommodate the national interest.
“For us particularly in this country, strategic political leadership is an imperative for development. You can’t but deploy it, and leaders must be strategic. And, it is required even more in countries like ours where the challenges of development are most.
“Unfortunately, almost every issue you bring in Nigeria would rather have or would be given either political, ethnic, geo-political or religious coloration.
“So, it makes governance tough. It gives leadership massive challenges because such colorations complicate the issues.
“Issues that could easily be relative and understood with little effort become so enmeshed in controversies that it may take you time to recover, and probably you may not even recover at all.
“This is an opportunity for me to appeal to all of us in political leadership that our responsibility to the people of Nigeria must remain the one and only critical factor for taking decisions.
“The national interest must override any other interest because it is the interest of the majority of the people of the country. If we do that, chances are that we will always get it right.
“I think it will be unpardonable for anyone to think that you can create controversies around government’s development programmes or projects. Let there be progressive and positive criticisms. Let’s allow the government a chance,” Lawan said.
Identifying diversity as fallout of a heterogeneous society such as Nigeria, the Senate President further called on leaders across the country to foster unity in their quest to achieve development and progress.
“Nigeria is heterogeneous, and there’s diversity. And, as leaders we must ensure that we weave the diversity into our strength, that we are able to create and sustain unity to engender peace and progress,” he stressed.
Assessing the collaboration between the Executive and Legislature, Lawan said, “as leaders and members of the National Assembly, we have to achieve unity of purpose. We have to attain bipartisanship.
“But because we are bicameral – that we have a Senate and House of Representatives – we also have to achieve harmony. We have to work in cordiality with our colleagues in the House of Representatives.
“And, having achieved united and very focused National Assembly, we also need to work in harmony with other arms of government, and particularly with the Executive arm that we work with on almost daily basis.
“But the essence this is that we are stronger, more productive, more effective and efficient together.
“As members of the National Assembly and a government, if distinguished members of the National Assembly work in unison to deliver their legislative interventions for the executive to work with; and between the executive and the legislature, there is mutual respect and consultation, as well as cooperation and partnership, the citizens get the best deal because performance and arrive deliver will be enhanced and sustained. This is the essence of any government.”
Lawan added, “Let me also emphasize that because our constitution provides for three arms of government, there are checks and balances that we have to make – checks mostly for the legislature on the executive arm of government – because the executive as we all know executes the government’s agenda.
“These are specified functions for the different arms. In our quest for harmony and cordiality with the executive arm of government, we also believe in the National Assembly that the Executive must be held to account.
“If we pass the budget and they implement, we need to know how they have implemented the budget. We need to know whether or not they restricted themselves to what has been provided in the budget, we need to know whether they implemented the projects and programmes with efficiency and prudence.
“And, we will not compromise on this, because we are expected by the constitution and the people to undertake those very important functions in addition to our representative roles to the people we represent and the legislature itself.
“So, oversight is key and important for us, but we also emphasize that unless it becomes absolutely necessary, the citizens should not be denied of benefits from programmes and projects, because of fights and disharmony between the two arms of government – the executive and legislature.
“The essence of any government according to our Constitution is to provide security and welfare to the people.
“The ordinary man doesn’t want to know why you will fight and the fight stops the delivery of services. So, we believe that we must continue to work together, and in this effort, since we came in June, 2019, we have been able to achieve so much.”
Lawan added further that in ensuring the delivery of infrastructural and economic development in accordance with the manifesto of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Senate had severally engaged the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the need to rollout an economic plan that complements the nation’s annual budget.
“In the Senate, the Committee on National Planning and Economic Development has had a roundtable discussion and we are working with the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to see how we can go back to this means of creating a rolling development plan for our country rather than this annual budgetary process that we do that stops within the year.
“But the Medium Term Expenditure Framework that we do in this administration today provides some direction even though it is not exactly what we want,” Lawan said.
The Executive Secretary of the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Dr Chioma Ejikeme, has reiterated the commitment to service delivery for pensioners.
Ejikeme said this during the Customer Service Week in Abuja, yesterday.
He said that commission had a mandate to deliver good service delivery to the pensioners.
Ejikeme, who was represented by the Director Civil Service Pension Department, Mr Kabir Yusuf, said that the customer service week was important to operations of PTAD.
“Customer service is the support that you give to a customer, whether it is an existing customer or potential customer in the process of delivering or making enquires about a service.
“To be a good customer service representative you need to be knowledgeable, have good attitude and attribute especially to the senior citizens and have empathy,” he said.
Ejikeme said that all PTAD staff had most of the attributes of a good customer representative.
“We provide excellent customer service by going to verify our aged pensioners who cannot do it by themselves anywhere across the country.
“There is a dedicated team that was mandated to go round to confirm the aliveness of those who can not confirm their aliveness either because the are too old or have health issues,” the executive secretary said.
The National Coordinator, SERVICOM, Mrs Nnenna Akajemeli, said that the official theme of the 2024 customer service week was “ We Go Above and Beyond For Our Customers.”
She commended PTAD and the SERVICOM team for organising the 2024 customer service week.
“This is in line with the best practice of celebrating frontline workers and service takers.
“Customer service week is celebrated annually during the first full week in October.
It calls attention to the importance of people to boost morale team work and departmental collaboration in supporting pensioners.
“ It is a platform to reward employees for the significant work they do,” Akajemeli said.
She said that the objective of the customer service week was to celebrate the hard work and dedication of employee who strived to create positive customer experiences.
She said that it was time to show customers that the organisation valued their experience and feedback, through comment cards, dedicated hotline, among others.
Akajemeli said that it raised awareness internally and externally about the importance of good customer service in building customer loyalty and satisfaction.
She said that the benefit was to increase motivation, show appreciation, encourage friendly competition, boost employee retention, create a positive workplace and increase productivity.
The Head, Surveillance Department at the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mr Abdulrahman Saleem, said that good service delivery was the key success of every establishment.
Salem said that PTAD operated with standard, considering the success it had achieved so far.
Saleem said that pensioners required the best service attitude and behavior.
“ I give kudos to PTAD for its efforts and encourage it to do more.
“Therefore I urge PTAD staff to keep up the standard and continue to give good service to the pensioners,” he said.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has honoured Flying Officer David Sangokoya for winning the 2023/2024 Royal Air Force College Cranwell International Cadet Sword of Honour.
Abubakar honoured the officer during the presentation of cheques to 13 beneficiaries of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Group Personal Accident Insurance Policy (GPAIP) in Abuja, yesterday.
He described the achievement as ground-breaking as it was the first time an African cadet had won the prestigious award since the Academy’s creation over 100 years ago.
According to him, the feat underscores the excellence that exists within NAF, and proof that NAF officers and cadets can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.
“To our awardee, you have set a new standard, not just for your peers, but for every cadet and officer that will come after you.
“This accomplishment is a powerful reminder that no goal is out of reach when one is armed with dedication, discipline and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
“Your journey as an officer has begun with this prestigious accolade, but the true measure of your success will be seen in how you serve, lead and contribute to the mission of NAF and the defence of our great nation.
“As we celebrate this historic occasion, we extend our deepest gratitude to the United Kingdom Government for its unwavering support in providing world-class training opportunities to our personnel.
“This has enabled our officers and men to gain invaluable skills and knowledge, strengthening not only our bilateral ties but also our collective ability to address global security challenges,” he said.
The CAS said that the NAF looked forward to continuing the fruitful partnership for the mutual benefit of Nigeria and UK countries.
He expressed gratitude and unflinching loyalty to President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to the welfare and training of members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, and NAF in particular.
“I must also take a moment to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the leadership of the Nigerian Defence Academy and the instructors who helped to mould and prepare this cadet for the global stage.
“Their dedication and commitment to developing top-notch officers is evident in this ground-breaking achievement.
“You have not only trained a leader but have given the Nigerian Air Force a legacy we will all cherish,” he said.
National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has advocated private sector involvement to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The Director-General of the authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, made the call at a high-level policy dialogue on sustainable health system reforms in Nigeria in Abuja, yesterday.
The Tide’s source reports that the dialogue was organised by the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), a coalition of private sector stakeholders, to address the multifaceted challenges plaguing the country’s healthcare system.
The dialogue has “Private Sector Support for SWAP (Sector Wide Approach) in Healthcare” as its theme.
Represented by Dr Yakubu Agada-Amade, the NHIA Director of Standards and Quality Assurance, Ohiri explained the crucial role of private sector collaboration in strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare system
He highlighted the “One Plan” under the SWAp framework, which seeks to unify health sector efforts, ensuring efficient resource use, effective governance and expanded healthcare access.
He also stressed the importance of overcoming barriers that historically hindered the implementation of healthcare interventions in Nigeria, such as inadequate financing, weak governance systems, and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
He added that “the dialogue explored innovative approaches, including digital health innovations and financing mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of the National Health Act and mandatory health insurance coverage.
“With enrollment in health insurance growing by 14 per cent over the past year, NHIA can push for greater inclusivity, particularly targeting the informal sector through flexible payment systems and partnerships with telecommunications companies.”
He called for stronger synergy between public and private health actors to ensure universal access to quality healthcare and sustainable reforms in line with the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII).
Panelists from the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN) and Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN) echoed the sentiments, underscoring the private sector’s role in expanding insurance coverage and improving healthcare delivery.
They commended NHIA’s efforts toward driving reforms to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) through the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp).