Politics
Comment Against Tinubu: Attention-Seeking Posturing, APC Fires At Ndume
The All Progressives Congress (APC) says Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, should stop “unhelpful attention-seeking media posturing” with his comments about President Bola Tinubu being “caged”.
In a statement on Saturday, APC spokesperson, Mr Felix Morka, said “Ndume’s heedless comments smack of an indulgent sense of entitlement to see the president on a whim”.
On July 10, Ndume alleged that President Tinubu had shut his doors on some of his ministers and members of the National Assembly.
“The major problem with this government is that its doors are closed, to the extent that even some ministers cannot see the president, not to mention members of the National Assembly who do not have the opportunity to meet with him and discuss the issues affecting their constituencies”, Senator Ndume had said.
On July 12, Ndume said in an interview on Arise TV that it had become difficult to have an appointment with President Tinubu because the president had been “shielded from reality” by some of his appointees.
“If you know the president before now, you would know that the whole scenario has changed,” Ndume had said, adding “But now, if you go to the front of the Villa, it’s like a graveyard because they don’t allow anybody to go and see Mr. President.”
The APC spokesperson said Senator Ndume has multiple platforms to air his opinions on national issues, rather than the “outlandish declaration that the president has been caged”.
“As a senator of the Federal Republic, Ndume has the platform of the National Assembly to raise and address matters that he may consider to be in the national interest. He also has access to the entire machinery of the federal government of Nigeria. Senator Ndume did not explain the use to which he has put these enormous access in seeking solutions to concerns that he may have,” the statement read.
“It is understandable if Senator Ndume feels frustrated by his suggested inability to access the President.
“But that does not warrant or justify his outlandish declaration that the President has been caged in some way or ensconced from the reality of conditions in the country. Senator Ndume’s heedless comments smack of an indulgent sense of entitlement to see the president on a whim”, it added.
Morka added that the “president is busy doing the job for which he was elected by the Nigerian people”.
“He is the head of government, of which there are many critical parts equipped with the power to process and deal with a wide range of simple to complex social, economic, political, or security challenges,” the APC spokesperson said.
“The president’s time is required to be used judiciously in attending to important matters of state.
“President Tinubu meets and interacts regularly with citizens, officials, and guests from all walks of life, as his schedule permits.
“He has continued to superintend the formulation and implementation of policy and programme measures aimed at mitigating prevailing economic conditions and boosting availability and price access to food and other essential commodities.
“As a senior party man and senator of the Federal Republic, we urge Ndume to exercise restraint and quit his penchant for unhelpful attention-seeking media posturing.
“Our dear country needs all hands to be on deck on the cusp of national transformation, each doing their part to remake the social, economic, and security conditions in the best interest of our people.”
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed, through a second reading, a bill seeking to retain immunity for the Office of the President and remove immunity from the Vice President, the Governors and the Deputy Governors.
The bill was one of the 42 considered and passed through the second reading stage during plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Benjamin Kalu, in Abuja.
Sponsored by Hon. Solomon Bob (Rivers PDP), the bill is seeking the amendment of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to guard against abuse of office and to ensure transparency in governance.
The long title of the proposed legislation read: “A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to qualify the immunity conferred on the President, remove the immunity conferred on the Vice President, the Governors and their deputies, in order to curb corruption, eradicate impunity and enhance accountability in public office and for related matters.”
Key amendments include changes to Section 308 of the Constitution, which currently grants immunity to the president, vice president, governors, and deputy governors while in office.
The proposed bill will amend subsection 3 to ensure that immunity only applies to the President and the vice president when acting as President under Section 145 of the Constitution.
Additionally, a new subsection 4 will be introduced to make the immunity clause inapplicable if the office holder is acting in an unofficial capacity, engaging in actions beyond the powers of the office, or involved in criminal conduct.
“The bill seeks to foster transparency and strengthen the fight against corruption by making public officials more accountable for their actions, both in and out of office.”
“Section 308 of the principal Act is amended by:(a) substituting a new subsection (3) as follows: “(3) This section applies to a person holding the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Vice President only when acting as President, in line with Section 145 of this Constitution.
Creating sub section (4) thereto as follows:”(4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall be inapplicable where the person to whom this section applies is acting in an unofficial capacity or where the conduct of the person is beyond the powers of his office or the conduct is criminal in nature.
“This Bill may be cited as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Act 2024.
The bill is currently awaiting further debate and consideration by the National Assembly.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has written to notify Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, about the petition by constituents seeking her recall from the national assembly.
INEC said it has also received the contact details of the petitioners.
“Pursuant to section 69 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, I write to notify you of the receipt of a petition from representatives of registered voters in your constituency seeking your recall from the senate.
“The notification is in line with the provisions of clause 2 (a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
“This letter is also copied to the presiding officer of the senate and simultaneously published on the commission’s website. Thank you”, the letter read.
The letter was signed by Ruth Oriaran Anthony, secretary to the commission.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Wednesday, INEC said it has now received the updated contact details from representatives of petitioners seeking to recall the senator.
In the statement, Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, said a letter notifying the senator of the petition has been delivered to her official address, copied to the senate presiding officer, and published on the commission’s website.
“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the constituency. This will be done in the coming days.
“The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission. We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent”, Mr Olumekun said.
Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan had recently accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexually harassing her.
The allegation came in the wake of seating arrangement related altercation between Senator. Akpabio and the Kogi Central senator at the red chamber
She was subsequently suspended from the senate for six months for “gross misconduct” over the incident.
The constituents behind the recall move also accused her of “gross misconduct, abuse of office, and deceitful behaviour”.
The senator has denied wrongdoing and called the recall effort a “coordinated suppression” of her voice.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the second reading of a bill to upgrade the Lagos State 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to full-fledged Local Government Areas (LGAs ).
The bill, was sponsored by James Faleke, Babajimi Benson, Enitan Badru, and 19 other lawmakers.
The bill is titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to Accommodate the Thirty-Seven (37) Development Area Councils of Lagos State as Full-Fledged Local Government Areas, Increasing the Total Number of Local Government Areas in the Federation to Eight Hundred and Eleven (811), and for Related Matters (HB. 1498),”
Once fully enacted, Nigeria’s total number of LGAs will rise from 774 to 811, with Lagos overtaking Kano and Katsina, which currently have 44 and 34 LGAs, respectively.
Proponents of the bill argue that granting full LGA status to the LCDAs would bring governance closer to the people. The 37 LCDAs were created by President Bola Tinubu in 2003 when he was governor of Lagos State.
However, it’s worth noting that the Lagos State House of Assembly has been working on a bill to replace the 37 LCDAs with newly designated administrative areas.