Senate receives harmonized report on constitution review

Senate receives harmonized report on constitution review -----Passes National Health Bill By OKechukwu Jombo The senate yesterday received the report of the conference committee on the review of the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 Bill 2014 and passed the National Health bill. The Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Senator Ike Ekweremadu had on Wednesday, 5 June 2013 presented before the Senate, the Report of the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). The comprehensive and well detailed report which was signed by 49 other Senators contained results of retreats and outcomes of opinion polls conducted in the course of the review process. But because he was presiding over the session in the absence of the Senate president who is in Geneva for international parliamentary union meeting, the leader of the Senate Senator Victor Ndoma Egba laid the harmonised report on the table to be debated on a later date They also passed the bill on the Federal University of Petroleum Resources,Effurun Establishment etc bill 2014. The bill which was sponsored by late Senator Pius Ewherido gave legal status to the university which is already in existence Effurun. The senate also received the report of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative NEITI on the Fiscal Allocation and statutory disbursement FASD Audit 2007-2011 and Solid Minerals 2011 in accordance with section 4[3] of the NEITI Act 2007 Deputy Senate President ,Senator Ike Ekweremadu who presided over the sitting emphasized on the need for the senate to pass some very important bills still before it like The Petroleum Industry Bill PIB ,Review of the constitution before the end of the session He also said the senate is awaiting the 2015 appropriation act which according to him must be passed before the end of the year 2014. The senate read for the first time three bills namely the Equipment Leasing Bill,Nigerian Geological Survey Agency Act 2003 and N.D.E Act Cap N28 Amendment bill Some bills like the act to repeal the insurance Brokers act 2003 to re-enect a new one and the electoral act 2010 Amendment bill were stood down for next parliamentary days.

Delta poll: Clark's emergence will enhance PDP victory in Burutu- Youth leader

Delta poll: Clark's emergence will enhance PDP victory in Burutu- Youth leader Comrade Sunday Ekama Tialobi, the Delta state coordinator of PDP Transformation Youth Forum (PTYF), yesterday, expressed hope that the candidature of Ebikeme Clark will give the party victory in the forth coming council election. Clark is the chairmanship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Burutu local government, which he described as the best in the history of the area. Tialobi made remark at a PDP youth meeting yesterday. According to him, "Hon. Ebikeme Clark, son of Chief Edwin Kiagbodor Clark, the national leader of Ijaw was the most qualified aspirant hence he won the party primary election" He said; “the aim of our forum known as ‘PDP Transformation Youth Forum’ is promoting transformation agenda in Nigeria. And Clark’s candidature is a welcome development because he is capable of transforming Burutu council in accordance with our group’s objective. Chief E.K Clark, father of Ebikeme has served the country in all ramifications and his son deserves to be elected to serve in continuation of his father’s legacy”. He advised all stakeholders to collectively work with Ebikeme in order to attract development to the area. The PDP chieftain also commended the people of Udu local government area for electing Chief Solomon O. Kpomah as the PDP flag bearer in UDU.

Senate resumes, debates constitutional review

Senate resumes, debates constitutional review By Okechukwu Jombo The Senate will today resume sitting after a two weeks sallah break to commence discussion on the report of the National Assembly constitutional review committee amongst other matters They will also look at the report of the conference committee on the discrimination against persons with disabilities and that of judiciary human rights and legal matters on cyber crime which had been laid on the table before the break. The National Assembly proceeded on a combined two-week break for the country’s 54th independence anniversary and Eid-el Kabir on Tuesday. The Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha, who doubles as the Chairman, Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review,had announced that the two chambers had harmonised their differences on the proposed amendments. He said, “The harmonised conference report is ready and we shall begin voting after the Sallah break. We will take a date after resumption to vote to pass the report. Please, all members should be aware of this and come prepared for theý voting when we resume.” The House had earlier passed 77 new clauses to the constitution, while the Senate passed its own recommendations as well. Among the highlights of the recommendations passed by the House were the removal of immunity (against criminal prosecution) for the President and governors, the rejection of state police and the approval of independent candidature during elections. It also approved to split the offices of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Federation, while the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation was placed on First Line Charge of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation. However, theý Senate and the House had disagreed on granting financial autonomy to local government councils. While the House endorsed autonomy for the councils by scrapping the controversial local government/state joint account, the Senate rejected autonomy for the councils. Under Section 9 of the constitution, two-thirds of all members of each arm of the National Assembly will mandatorily ý vote to endorse a proposal before it can pass an amendment to the constitution. This implies that 240 out of the 360 members of the House of Representatives must endorse every proposal before it can be included in the new constitution. Similarly, 73 out of 109 senators must vote to endorse all new proposals to the constitution. In addition, two-thirds (24) out of the 36 state Houses of Assembly must also approve the amendments passed by the National Assembly as the final phase of the amendment process. It will be recalled that the Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Senator Ike Ekweremadu had on Wednesday, 5 June 2013 presented before the Senate, the Report of the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). The comprehensive and well detailed report which was signed by 49 other Senators contained results of retreats and outcomes of opinion polls conducted in the course of the review process. It also included reports on issues for reform like change of tenure of the office of the President and financial autonomy for local governments to mention just a few. Some issues raised for reform such as creation of new States and establishment of State Police met dead ends in the Senate. In his presentation, the Deputy President of the Senate noted that Constitutional review is a continuous process and that the alterations done over the years have helped to strengthen the country’s democratic system. On States creation, Sen. Ekweremadu stated that all the 61 memorandums submitted failed to meet the Constitutional requirement for its creation under section 8 (1) of the 1999 constitution. Consideration of the Report was however, deferred to another legislative day giving the exigency of the subject matter and the need for every member of the Senate to critically study the Report to enable them make meaningful inputs on the date slated for consideration. Other matters such as the Petroleum industry Bill will come up sometime within the week in the senate for discussion

NASS ASKS FOR PROMOTION OF MADE IN ABA GOODS

NASS ASKS FOR PROMOTION OF MADE IN ABA GOODS BY Okechukwu Jombo The Senate President, Senator David Mark and other members of the National Assembly yesterday urged the Aba business men, who are into manufacturing to be proud of and promote the indigenous brands of their various products. Senator Mark made the urge at the second edition of Made-in-Aba Trade Fair holding at ThisDay Dome, in the Central Business District, FCT, Abuja. The trade fair, which started last year, is being facilitated by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South Senatorial District. Declaring the event open, the President of the Senate, who was represented by Senator Bashir Mohammed (Kano Central), told the Aba traders and manufacturers that they had what it takes to compete with other manufacturers across the world and should be bold to promote their products brands as 'made in Nigeria'. Mark, who described the displayed products at the fair arena as highly qualitative, assured the indigenous business men and women that the Senate would support any policy that would help their enterprises to flourish. "You have what it takes to compete with whatever products produced anywhere around the world. I have tested products made in Aba; I have used materials made in Aba, and I can tell the whole world that your products are good and qualitative. Therefore, whatever policy or encouragement you need, the Senate will support you", he assured. Meanwhile, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe promised that he would do everything within his powers to sustain the Made-in-Aba Trade Fair, explaining that it was one of his strategies towards implementing the constituency projects initiative in his district. He noted that he had already factored the next edition of the fair in 2015 budget, stressing that it was his responsibility to get the programme into the annual national budget. The politician, who has declared his intension to run for 2015 governorship race in Abia State, said that his vision behind the trade fair was to attract at least 10% of Nigerian population to the Aba Market in order to make the place the commercial hub of the country. "This is the second time we are bringing Aba to Abuja; this is the second time we are doing what is right. This is not the last; we have put the Programme in the budget of 2015. There is a misconception of what the constituency project is. This is an example of the constituency project. My job is to facilitate it and put it in the budget", he explained. Abaribe also acknowledged that the trade fair was one of his campaign strategies to win the support of his people in the gubernatorial contest, saying "it is one of my campaign strategies for my governorship ambition. I can not shy away from the reality. If you are interested, you have to show people what you have done in order to convince them to give you their mandate". Senator Ita Enang, who also attended the event, commended the impressive efforts of the Aba based industrialists, and advised them to identify their product brands as made in Nigeria instead of pretending that such products were made abroad. "Aba products are good and qualitative. Aba traders should retain the indigenous brands of their products by indicating that it is made in Nigeria. Oil is becoming less important; so, we are not going to rely on oil. It is what the people of Aba and Akwa-Ibom and other people produce that we are going to fall back on", he said. Senator Enang also encouraged the Aba entrepreneurs to go into production of local modular refining machines for refining crude oil and other products, tasking them to liaise with the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON and the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Association of Nigeria, SMEDAN, to be able to manufacture the type of refining machines used by the Biafrans during the Civil war. Reps Nkem Abonta (House of Reps, Abia) and Uzo Azubuike, who represents Aba North/South Federal Constituency of Abia State, also eulogised the enterprising attitude of the Aba traders, calling on the Federal Government to come and use Aba to liberate the ailing economy of Nigeria. Rep. Azubuike lamented the misconception of made in Aba products as fake products by Nigerians, explaining that indigenous products are not synonymous with fake products. He also regretted that Nigeria had been reduced to a dumping ground for Dubai, Korea and other foreign countries to dump their inferior products while Nigerian indigenous products were being disregarded by the citizens of the country. Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr. Bature Umar commended Senator Abaribe for introducing the fair, which he described as a unique initiative that would help tackle the unemployment problems in Nigeria, noting that no government anywhere in the world could provide the employment needs of the citizenry.

Workers lock out finance ministry,tackle perm sec

Workers lock finance ministry,tackle perm sec. Workers lock out finance ministry,tackle perm sec By Okechukwu Jombo Business activities were on Wednesday paralyzed at the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance, Abuja. For about three hours, the workers of the ministry grounded business activities over what they described as poor welfare conditions. Our correspondent, who witnessed the protest, reported that the workers barricaded the gate of the ministry, preventing visitors from either gaining entrance to the ministry nor going out. The workers accused the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Anastasia Nwoabia, of deliberately denying them some of the benefits that should accrue to them based on the civil service rules. The workers, who defied the Wednesday morning downpour in Abuja, said since the Permanent Secretary assumed office few months ago, members of staff had been experiencing difficulties in getting some of their allowances, such as overtime and training allowances. They also accused her of tactically stopping some of the perks that should be given to them during festive periods. Nwoabi, who was at the building during the protest, appeared restless as her movement were restricted by the workers. The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who might have been able to placate the workers, was said not to be in the office during the protest. She was said to be attending the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa. All pleas by top directors of the ministry for the workers to stop the protest fell on deaf ears as the protest was still ongoing as of the time of filing this report.

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Rivers: Understanding Amaechi’s Brinkmanship

Rivers: Understanding Amaechi’s Brinkmanship By Lewis Chukwuma In currently and clearly daring his party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), a scenario at the core of the extant Rivers State crisis, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is essentially attempting to redefine the old quirky game of political brinkmanship. First, let’s quickly tidy up the meaning of the term. Brinkmanship is the practice of pushing dangerous events to the verge of - or to the brink of - disaster in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome. It occurs in international politics, foreign policy, labour relations, and (in contemporary settings) military strategy involving the threatened use of weapons of mass destruction (in Rivers’ case - the speaker’s mace, camera tripods, ADCs and incendiary rhetoric were deployed!). This ploy of pushing a situation with the ‘opponent’ to the brink succeeds by forcing the opponent to back down and make concessions. This might be achieved through diplomatic maneuvers by creating the impression that one is willing to use extreme methods rather than concede. The dangers of brinkmanship as a political or diplomatic tool can be understood as a slippery slope. Beyond Amaechi’s braggadocio, the former Rivers speaker-turned-governor is apparently realising that he is on a slippery slope. Egged on and applauded by the opposition arrowheads outside his region, he is unlikely to acknowledge this reality. But what is the genesis of the state parliament’s crisis and Amaechi’s war game against his party? It is on record that the Rivers State House of Assembly was the most harmonious until the imperious sacking of the chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of the state at the veiled instance of Governor Amaechi. But this script met with the stiff objection of five state parliamentarians who kicked against the process; the other 27 Amaechi loyalists stuck to their guns while the state government for good measure involvement pitching it was purely a legislative action. Subsequently, Amaechi appointed a care-taker chairman who assumed office from the elected chairman. In sacking the LGA chairman Amaechi knew the fellow is a core sympathizer to the current Junior Minister of Education Nyesom Wike, an influential Young Turk and an out-and-out loyalist of President Goodluck Jonathan. A former local government chair under ex-Governor Odili, Nyesom is believed to have borne the lion share of the litigations bill that gave the governorship position to Amaechi and as well as the provider of a safe hideout when Governor Amaechi was something of a fugitive from the PDP. Along the line, cleavages emerged between Amaechi and Nyesom, a scenario not helped by open disagreements between Amaechi and First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan over demolition of the Port Harcourt waterfront. When the Rivers-Bayelsa and Akwa-Ibom/Rivers oil issues came to the fore, further cleavages widened the distance between Amaech and President Jonathan. The governors’ forum brouhaha and latest bust-up in the state House of Assembly which supplied opposition advisors to Amaechi more ammunition to cash in to undercut President Jonathan’s 2015 agenda using Amaechi maximally about sums up the sorry Amaechi story. It will be recalled that Amaechi was suspended in May for disobeying the directive of the state PDP asking him to reinstate the suspended chairman and executive of Obio/Akpor local government. At any point in this tragi-comic trajectory, Amaechi could have tracked back to his party and President Jonathan to seek off-the-radar resolution and accommodation. He did not but chose the current ego-fired brinkmanship as a political strategy for survival. By choosing to buck his party and seek support outside his zone and original political platform Amaechi is seen to be missing a fundamental point. For the first in the nation’s history, a Niger Delta son is president and all logic would presuppose that his greatest support will come from the South-south first before other geo-political regions. The calculative opposition knows this and that is why they are going into over-drive mode to exploit the situation. But rather curiously, recently, a significant voice from the South-west counseled Amaechi himself to make up his mind as to where he wants to stand. Just last week, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, asked the Rivers State governor to either reconcile with his party or defect to the opposition in order to resolve the crisis in his state. Spokesman of the group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, told journalists that as much as Afenifere condemned the violence and unconstitutional attempt to remove the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, it also blamed Amaechi for the crisis in the state. “We do not support any attempt to use undemocratic means to solve democratic problems. We think he is the cause of some of these crises. If he wants to defect to the opposition, let him do so. He cannot continue to use the platform of PDP to hold the party to ransom and think there will be no crisis. Most of the people who are supporting him from the opposition will not tolerate this kind behaviour from any of their members.” Odumakin advised Amaechi to act in the interest of the people by either defecting or reconciling with the Presidency and the leadership of PDP. For a prominent son of South-south to be receiving such a counsel from a rival region’s political intelligentsia – even if a faction - is seen to speak to the shocking level of political degeneration that Amaechi is nurturing. On the other hand, clearly this is one counsel Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the arrowhead of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) will detest. As far as Tinubu is concerned the Afenifere has no business meddling with his business, especially with the nearness of 2015 and with a delicate political coalition building in the works. From a synthesis of current political analysis related to the Rivers crisis, political oblivion beckons on Amaechi if he will or cannot drop his current strategy of brinkmanship and quietly seek new accommodation with his party and president. Of course he is entitled to choices other than that. From the latest crisis within the precincts of the state parliament there is nothing about Honourable Chidi Lloyds and his brutal gang that can save Amaechi’s skin in the long run. Folks that are low on integrity and high on bravado, they will certainly negotiate accommodation for themselves to remain in power and avoid long jail terms, clearly realising there no such thing as legislative immunity for attempted murder. What’s more, impeaching a governor is technically comparable to the script deployed in removing Obio-Akpor LGA Chairman. Amaechi should consider restoring the Obio-Akpor LGA chairman as a confidence building measure. He can no longer glibly claim it was purely a "legislative affair" given his physical intervention in favour of the 27 lawmakers at the state parliament. If he can intervene in a legislative fracas to save the majority then he must also intervene to restore the chairman. Governor Amaechi could make or mar a promising political future by the choice he makes in resolving this festering and hugely embarrassing drama today. •Chukwuma is a public affairs analyst based in Abuja