Politics
Senate To Consider Diaspora Voting Bill This Week – Leader
The 10th Senate has assured Nigerians that it will reconsider the Diaspora Voting Bill this week, according to Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti), who spoke in a virtual dialogue on Monday.
Engage Diaspora Foundation organised the dialogue in collaboration with the Directorate of Diaspora and International Affairs of his office.
The dialogue was themed: “A Pivotal Step Toward Achieving Diaspora Voting Right.”
The lawmaker said the bill was already on the floor of the Senate, “and exactly two Tuesdays ago, we had a first reading of the Diaspora Voting Bill.
“It passed the first reading and was scheduled for the second. Definitely, I can assure you, as the leader of the Senate, we will be considering the second reading of the bill during this week.”
The 9th Senate had, in March 2022, rejected the bill on diaspora voting.
The bill sought to amend the 1999 Constitution to allow Nigerians outside the country to participate in the electoral process.
In his presentation, Senator Bamidele, the chief host at the event, assured Nigerians in the diaspora that the 10th Senate would put in more effort to pass the bill this time.
He said, “We will do our best to make sure that this time around, we achieve your desire in this regard.
“When you talk about diaspora voting, it is a right; if anybody is granting you that right, it is not as if they are grating you any favour. It is your right.”
According to him, after the second reading, the bill will be referred to the Constitution Review Committee because it is chaired by the deputy president of the Senate, and the vice chairman is the leader of the Senate.
“We are a part of your movement in this regard, and then you can be rest assured, even anyone trying to convince me of the need to pass this bill will need to be converted.
“It’s not just the constitution recognising your right to vote in the diaspora, your children and grandchildren and generations coming after us,” he said.
Politics
Why I Won’t Help Tinubu’s Govt Overcome Economic Challenges – Sanusi
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, says he would not help President Bola Tinubu’s administration to correct the administration’s policies affecting the citizens.
Emir Sanusi spoke on Wednesday in Lagos as the chairman of the 21st Anniversary of Fawehinmiism (Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture 2025).
The emir stated that while there were “a few points” he could offer to explain the trajectory the administration had taken and how such decisions were predictable, he chose not to do so because “they don’t behave like friends.”
He said explaining the government’s policies would help the government, but he did not intend to assist them due to the way they had treated him.
“I can give a few points that are contrary, that explain perhaps what we’re going through and how it was totally predictable, most of it, and maybe avoidable. But I am not going to do that.
“I have chosen not to speak about the economy or the reforms or to even explain anything because if I explain, it would help this government, but I don’t want to help this government,” the emir said while addressing some of the points made by speakers about the economy.
He added: “You know they’re my friends, but if they don’t behave like friends, I don’t behave like a friend. So I watch them being stooges. And they don’t even have people with credibility who can come and explain what they are doing. I am not going to help. I started out helping, but I am not going to help. I am not going to discuss it. Let them come and explain to Nigerians why the policies that are being pursued are being pursued.
“Meanwhile, I’m watching a very nice movie with popcorn in my hands. But I will say one thing: What we are going through today is, at least in part, not totally, but at least in part, a necessary consequence of decades of irresponsible economic management.
“People were told decades ago that if you continue along this path, this is where you’re going to end up, and they refused to open their eyes. Now, is everything being done today correct? No.”
Emir Sanusi, who was deposed as the 14th Emir of Kano in 2020 by then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the current national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was reinstated as the 16th Emir of Kano in 2024 by the New Nigeria People’s Party-led Kano State Government.
His emirship has faced ongoing challenges from forces believed to be backed by the federal government, including federal officials’ continued recognition of his predecessor, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero.
Last month, the police barricaded his palace, with the state government accusing the federal government of orchestrating the action to stir unrest in the peaceful state.
Politics
Reps Loses Deputy Chief Whip
The Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Oriyomi Onanuga, is dead.
Also known as Ijaya, Rt Hon. Onanuga, who was the member representing Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency, is said to have died following a brief illness.
This was confirmed in a tweet on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday night.
Rt Hon Onanuga, who was born in Hammersmith, London, to Nigerian parents on December 2, 1965, was a politician and entrepreneur. She held the position of Deputy Chief Whip in the Nigerian House of Representatives since 2023.
She contested and won a seat in the House of Representatives under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019. She also served as the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development.
Politics
Aiyedatiwa Dissolves Cabinet, Retains Finance Commissioner, Attorney-General
Gov. Aiyedatiwa, however, exempted two members of the cabinet from the dissolution due to the critical nature of their duties.
The two commissioners exempted include the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, SAN, and the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Omowunmi Isaac.
This was contained in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Mr Adeniyan said in the statement that “All the affected cabinet members are to hand over all government properties in their care to the accounting officers of their respective ministries.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa thanked the executive council members “for their service and contributions to the development of Ondo State under his administration and wished them well in their future endeavours”.
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