Rivers Assembly approves another N20bn loan for Wike

Rivers State House of Assembly has given Governor Nyesom Wike the approval to borrow a loan of N20 billion for the completion of ongoing road projects in the state.

Speaker of the House, Ikunyi Awaji-Igbani after hearing the debate and after taking vote by 29 members during plenary said the approval was not just a mere one but an action that is important to enable the Governor carry out projects in the state.

He said the state Government will borrow loan from the Access Bank PLC and repay through Internally Generated Revenue domicile with the Access Bank.

DAILY POST reports that other members who spoke during the House Sitting urged the House to approve the loan for the Governor to perform his job in order to complete the said projects.

Copyright: Daily Post

APC accuses Rep of forgery, perjury

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has prayed the Yobe State Legislative Elections Petitions Tribunal to nullify the election of Hon. Sabo Garba (PDP- Nangere/Potiskum) over alleged certificate forgery and perjury.

The Party and Mr Ali Yakubu, its candidate in the April 28 House of Representatives elections in Nangere/Potiskum Federal Constituency of Yobe, made the prayer in a petition they filed before the tribunal sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The petitioners alleged that the lawmaker did not attend the schools he claimed to have attended in the INEC forms he filled.

“The first respondent as at the date of the election conducted on March 28, 2015, was not qualified to contest the election into the House of Representatives representing Nanegere/Potiskum Federal Constituency.

“His affidavit in support of Personal Particulars INEC forms CF 001 states that he attended Teachers College, Bama, Borno State, from 1979 to 1984, but there is no record from the school and National Teachers Institute, of having attended such institution.

“The first respondent claimed in the affidavit that he attended Central Primary School Potiskum, from 1974 to 1979, but there is no record from the school of having attended such institution,” the petition noted.

According to the petitioners, they would rely on the correspondences from Teachers College Bama, National Teachers Institute Kaduna and Central Primary School, Potiskum, to back the allegation, adding that they had contacted the three institutions and obtained information and documents to the effect that the lawmaker did not attend them.

The APC and its candidate also averred that in the INEC Personal Particulars form, the first respondent did not specify any qualification he possessed, neither did he attach any certificate from the schools he claimed to have attended, adding that the lawmaker, as at the date of his election, was not qualified to contest the election into the House of Representatives and therefore prayed the court to nullify his election.

They prayed the tribunal to declare that the first respondent was not duly declared and returned as the winner of the House of Representatives election for the Nanegere/Potiskum Federal Constituency of Yobe on the ground that “he had no academic qualification to contest the said election’’.

Responding, the lawmaker Garba, in a counter-motion filed before the same tribunal, denied the allegations of certificate forgery and perjury, insisting that he was qualified to contest the election.

According to him, he attended Central Primary school Potiskum from 1974 to 1979, and that certificate was issued to him by the Ministry of Education of the old North – Eastern State. He also insisted that he attended Teachers College, Bama, Borno from 1979 to 1984 and that Higher Elementary (Grade 2) Teachers Certificate was issued to him

The tribunal, has, however, subpoenaed four witnesses to tender documents and give testimonies on the veracity of the allegations.

Unity Forum faults Saraki’s reason for appointment of Senate principal officials

Senator Ahmed Lawan’s group in the Senate, the Unity Forum, yesterday, again wrote to the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, faulting the reasons given by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for appointing the principal officers of the Senate as against the directives and wishes of the party.

According to the Forum, Saraki was incorrect in claiming that Zonal caucuses had taken decisions on the choice of principal officers before he received the list of candidates favoured by the party from Odigie-Oyegun.

The group also contended that the APC’s letter was received by the office of the Senate President a day before the zonal meeting was said to have been arranged, adding that the Zonal Caucuses do not exist in the Standing Orders of the Senate.

The Forum stated this in a June 29 letter to the APC National Chairman.

The letter reads: “Our attention has been drawn to the letter written by the President of the Senate to our party, the APC, which was published in some newspapers on Saturday the 27th of June 2015 in response to the nomination of principal officers earlier forwarded by the party to the Senate President and we wish to state the facts of the matter as follows:

“In the said letter the Senate President alleged that: “The said letter was received after various APC zonal caucuses had taken their decisions to nominate candidates as principal officers of the Senate – in line with parliamentary convention and extant provisions of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended (Chapter VI: Rules 28,29 & 31 refers). This was a follow-up of the prior APC Senate caucus meeting held on 23rd June 2015.”

“We wish to state that it is not true that the so-called zonal caucuses, which do not exist in the Standing Orders of the Senate, acted before the letter from the party was received by Senator Bukola Saraki .

“This is so, as Senator Suleiman Nazif announced during a meeting of all APC senators on Tuesday 23rd of June 2015 that the party had already forwarded the names of those who are to lead the APC caucus to the Office of the Senate President.

“Thus, the letter got to the Office of the Senate President a day before the so-called zonal meeting was said to have been arranged. To the best of our knowledge no such meetings of the zonal caucuses ever took place but probably a meeting of a clique of the supporters of the Senate President.”

The letter also explained that attempts by Sen. Gbenga Ashafa to draw the attention of the President of the Senate to the procedural error was overruled.

”It is to be noted that Senator Gbenga Ashafa on Wednesday the 24th of June 2015 raised a point of order in the Senate Chamber, asking the Senate President to announce the names of the APC Principal Officers of the Senate as submitted by the party. Senator Bukola Saraki overruled,” the Forum added.

The Forum also alleged that there was an abuse and misinterpretation of the Standing Orders of the Senate by the President of the Senate, insisting that it was the prerogative of the APC, not zonal caucuses, to nominate the principal officers in line with Rules 28, 29 and 31 of the Senate.

It added: “It is a fact that Democratic Convention conferred on the party to appoint those who are to lead its Caucus in any parliament, as they are those that shall lead and galvanise members of such party in the parliament towards the actualisation of the manifesto of the party.

“Hence, Chapter VI: Rules 28,29 and 31 of the Senate Standing Orders referred to by the Senate President do not confer on the so-called zonal caucuses the right to appoint the APC principal officers as they state as follows:

*Order 28: There shall be a Majority Leader of the Senate. The Majority Leader shall be a Senator nominated from the party with the highest number of Senators.

*Order 29: There shall be a Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate. The Majority Leader shall be a Senator nominated from the party with the highest number of seats in the Senate.

*Order 31: There shall be a Chief Whip of the Senate. The Chief Whip shall be a Senator nominated from the party with the highest number of seats in the Senate.

According to the Forum, the nomination of Sen. Ali Ndume and others as principal officers contravened Order 3 Rule 2 of the Senate because ranking was not followed.

“We want to draw the attention of the party that the names of those announced by the Senate President to lead the APC Caucus in the Senate is in contravention of Order 3 Rule 2 of the Senate Standing Rules which stipulates as follows : “Nomination of senators to serve as presiding officers and appointment of principal officers and other officers of the Senate or on any parliamentary delegations shall be in accordance with the ranking of senators.

“In determining ranking, the following order shall apply: (i) Senators returning based on number of times re-elected; (ii) Senators who have been members of House of Representatives; and (iii) Senators elected as Senators for the first time.

”It is important to note that those nominated by the party are not only the highest ranked in their respective zones but the entire APC caucus:-

1. Majority Leader: Senator Ahmed Lawan (Two- term member of the House of Representatives and serving third term in the Senate) North-East; against Senator Ali Ndume who was announced by the Senate President that did two terms in the House of Representatives and is currently a second term senator.

2. Chief Whip: Senator Adesola Adeyeye (One-term member of the House of Representatives and second term Senator) South-West.

3. Deputy Majority Leader: Senator George Akume (3rd term in the Senate) North-Central

4. Deputy Chief Whip: Senator Abu Ibrahim (3rd term in the Senate) North-West, as against Senator Bala Ibn Na Allah, who was announced by the Senate President who did two terms in the House of Representatives and is a first term senator.

• The corruption APC accused PDP of has started under Buhari – Metuh

”We strongly believe that the nominees of the party were arrived at in accordance with the provisions of the Senate standing orders.”

APC insists on Ekweremadu’s removal

Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu
| credits: File copy

The battle for the control of the National Assembly may be long drawn as the leadership of the All Progressives Congress on Monday insisted on removing the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, of the minority Peoples Democratic Party.

One of our correspondents learnt on Monday that the ruling APC was still miffed that Ekweremadu emerged as the deputy senate president and had vowed never to allow “a senator from a minority party take over the duties statutorily assigned for the majority party.”

A leader of the APC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that Ekweremadu as deputy senate president would hamper the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The APC leader said, “As deputy senate leader, Ekweremadu is automatically the Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment. This is a sensitive position that, statutorily, should not be held by the minority.

“Ekweremadu and his PDP co-travellers will hamper the policies of the Buhari government. By the virtue of Senate rules, a member of the minority is not supposed to be the deputy senate leader; so, he is occupying the post illegally.

“We know the body language of some of these elements to anti-corruption. Nigerians know the stance of Buhari on corruption and insecurity. These elements occupying positions in the National Assembly must be removed. Otherwise, this administration is dead on arrival.”

He said the President was in support of the candidacy of Senator Ahmed Lawan for the senate presidency and had told Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to support APC’s candidates for the principal posts.

“The President has refused to see Saraki and Dogara since they emerged as senate president and speaker respectively. Both Saraki and Dogara have done everything possible to see the President but he has shunned them because he is not happy about their conduct. You can see that the President has seen the Lawan group; this shows where his support lies,” the source added.

Meanwhile, barring any last minute changes, the National Executive Committee meeting of the APC will now hold on Friday.

National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, confirmed this to one of our correspondents in a text message on Monday.

In response to an inquiry from The PUNCH as to whether the party’s NEC would meet in Abuja on Tuesday, Odigie-Oyegun replied, “Necessarily on Friday.”

The PUNCH had earlier learnt that some party leaders at various levels had impressed it upon the party hierarchy to convene the high level meeting in order to find an amicable solution to the crisis threatening the party’s survival.

Members of the 48-member NEC are due to arrive in Abuja on Thursday, our correspondent learnt.

A national caucus meeting said to have been scheduled to hold on Monday was cancelled.

One of our correspondents, who visited both the party’s national secretariat and the residence of Odigie-Oyegun, reported that there was no sign that any meeting would hold at either of the venues as of 8.05pm on Monday.

The APC has been in crisis since the inauguration of the National Assembly on June 9 following the emergence of Bukola Saraki and Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.

The party had announced Senator Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as its sole candidates for the two positions.

Matters were made worse when the Senate President ignored a party directive that the remaining four leadership positions in both chambers of the National Assembly should be conceded to those who “lost out” during the inauguration.

Copyright PUNCH.

Oil barons didn’t sponsor us, Saraki, Dogara reply Akande

Senate President, Bukola Saraki

The Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Monday described as baseless a claim by the former All Progressives Congress Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, that their elections on June 9 were sponsored by oil barons.

Saraki and Dogara stated this in separate statements by their aides in Abuja on Monday.

Akande, in a widely publicised statement on Sunday, had alleged that oil barons who never liked President Muhammadu Buhari`s anti-corruption stance, sponsored the elections of Saraki and Dogara in a bid to stifle the new government.

Akande also alleged that some splinter groups within the APC were aligning with old and new Peoples Democratic Party forces to launch a platform for the 2019 polls.

Dogara, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, challenged Akande to name the oil barons.

The speaker said he expected Akande, an elder statesman, to play his fatherly role at a period of disputes within the APC’s family by seeking ways to reconcile the factions, rather than attacking his person.

Dogara said that the allegations existed only in Akande’s “imagination”, adding that he won his election based on the support of his colleagues, his competence and capacity to preside over the House as the Speaker.

The speaker recalled that the first investigative motion passed by the House after his election was to probe the alleged crude oil swap contracts awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

He noted that it did not make sense for him to back the probe of the same oil sector’s stakeholders Akande alleged to have sponsored his election.

Part of the statement read, “It is baseless and lacking in substance and merit and can best be described as figment of Chief Akande`s imagination.

“We challenge Chief Akande to name the so-called oil barons whom he alleged sponsored the election of the speaker.

“In case Chief Akande does not know, the first investigative motion adopted by the 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of the Speaker was to investigate the allegation of fraud in the oil-swap contract awarded by the NNPC.

“A resolution for investigation into the allegation was passed to constitute an ad-hoc committee to investigate the NNPC as well as its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, over the swap contracts.

“How then can the House, under the leadership of Mr. Speaker, order investigation into activities of those who allegedly sponsored its election?”

The speaker claimed that his anti-corruption stance was not in doubt as the Legislative Agenda of the 8th House of Representatives adequately captured it.

“Mr. Speaker has on different occasions reiterated his resolve to compliment President Buhari`s anti-corruption stance and insists that the present crop of leaders don’t have any excuse to give to Nigerians on the change promised them before and during the election that brought the APC into power”, he said.

Also, the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, described the allegations as mischievous and totally false.

Okocha, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said Akande’s claim gave a negative and dirty impression that the emergence of the senate president was aimed at sabotaging the anti-corruption posture of Buhari’s government and the ‘Change agenda’ of the APC.

He said, “Ordinarily, we would have ignored the report, but for the sole reason that some undiscerning readers might mistake the fiction for the facts.

“We also wish to state unequivocally that it was wrong and mischievous for the statement by Chief Akande to link what happened on the floor of both chambers to some unnamed oil barons.

“We dare say that the entire story was the figment of the imagination of the author.”

Okocha added that Saraki, as the chairman of an ad hoc committee in the 7th Senate, exposed the fraud and mismanagement in the oil sector.

He said, “Until Saraki raised his motion on the floor of the Senate, no one was in the picture of the rot in the sector or took any action.”

“Senator Saraki will be the last person the oil baron will want to see as Senate President. No doubt, we make bold to state that Saraki is the last person to be so sponsored by the oil barons or cabals.

“In that position, Saraki did not only lead his colleagues in exposing the rot in the scheme, but made very strong recommendations on how the system could be reformed and made corruption- free.”

Okocha said that it was on records that after Saraki’s motion on the floor of the Senate, the House of Representatives followed it up with the oil subsidy probe.

He recalled that the ministers of Finance and Petroleum were summoned and, at least, over N500bn was saved.

Okocha said, “During the Senate hearing on the missing $20bn, for those who attended the public hearing, Senator Saraki led the onslaught of difficult questions to the Minister of Finance, Minister of Petroleum and other federal agencies, despite being in the ruling party then.

“To this effect, Senator Saraki refused to sign the final copy of the committee’s report but rather, put forward a minority report with a press statement that followed suit.”

He added that Saraki opposed the inclusion of kerosene subsidy in the 2015 budget, adding that the senate president rejected the Petroleum Swap deal by the NNPC.

Okocha stated, “Let it be known, therefore, that the Senate Presidency of Dr. Bukola Saraki would not in any way be a stumbling block against President Buhari’s posture against anti- corruption.

“Rather, the 8th Senate under him as the president would give all necessary legislative support to the administration to fight and reduce corruption as his previous actions and bold steps taken against the so called oil barons indicate that Saraki is committed to anti-corruption.”

He said that Saraki was elected unopposed as the Senate President, adding that it was a lie that his election was sponsored by oil barons.

“Senator Bukola Saraki is determined and focused to achieve for the Senate targeted legislative agenda and he is committed to support President Buhari to deliver on his promises to the people of Nigeria,” Okocha said.

Copyright PUNCH.

Oil barons didn’t sponsor us, Saraki, Dogara reply Akande

Senate President, Bukola Saraki

The Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Monday described as baseless a claim by the former All Progressives Congress Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, that their elections on June 9 were sponsored by oil barons.

Saraki and Dogara stated this in separate statements by their aides in Abuja on Monday.

Akande, in a widely publicised statement on Sunday, had alleged that oil barons who never liked President Muhammadu Buhari`s anti-corruption stance, sponsored the elections of Saraki and Dogara in a bid to stifle the new government.

Akande also alleged that some splinter groups within the APC were aligning with old and new Peoples Democratic Party forces to launch a platform for the 2019 polls.

Dogara, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, challenged Akande to name the oil barons.

The speaker said he expected Akande, an elder statesman, to play his fatherly role at a period of disputes within the APC’s family by seeking ways to reconcile the factions, rather than attacking his person.

Dogara said that the allegations existed only in Akande’s “imagination”, adding that he won his election based on the support of his colleagues, his competence and capacity to preside over the House as the Speaker.

The speaker recalled that the first investigative motion passed by the House after his election was to probe the alleged crude oil swap contracts awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

He noted that it did not make sense for him to back the probe of the same oil sector’s stakeholders Akande alleged to have sponsored his election.

Part of the statement read, “It is baseless and lacking in substance and merit and can best be described as figment of Chief Akande`s imagination.

“We challenge Chief Akande to name the so-called oil barons whom he alleged sponsored the election of the speaker.

“In case Chief Akande does not know, the first investigative motion adopted by the 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of the Speaker was to investigate the allegation of fraud in the oil-swap contract awarded by the NNPC.

“A resolution for investigation into the allegation was passed to constitute an ad-hoc committee to investigate the NNPC as well as its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, over the swap contracts.

“How then can the House, under the leadership of Mr. Speaker, order investigation into activities of those who allegedly sponsored its election?”

The speaker claimed that his anti-corruption stance was not in doubt as the Legislative Agenda of the 8th House of Representatives adequately captured it.

“Mr. Speaker has on different occasions reiterated his resolve to compliment President Buhari`s anti-corruption stance and insists that the present crop of leaders don’t have any excuse to give to Nigerians on the change promised them before and during the election that brought the APC into power”, he said.

Also, the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, described the allegations as mischievous and totally false.

Okocha, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said Akande’s claim gave a negative and dirty impression that the emergence of the senate president was aimed at sabotaging the anti-corruption posture of Buhari’s government and the ‘Change agenda’ of the APC.

He said, “Ordinarily, we would have ignored the report, but for the sole reason that some undiscerning readers might mistake the fiction for the facts.

“We also wish to state unequivocally that it was wrong and mischievous for the statement by Chief Akande to link what happened on the floor of both chambers to some unnamed oil barons.

“We dare say that the entire story was the figment of the imagination of the author.”

Okocha added that Saraki, as the chairman of an ad hoc committee in the 7th Senate, exposed the fraud and mismanagement in the oil sector.

He said, “Until Saraki raised his motion on the floor of the Senate, no one was in the picture of the rot in the sector or took any action.”

“Senator Saraki will be the last person the oil baron will want to see as Senate President. No doubt, we make bold to state that Saraki is the last person to be so sponsored by the oil barons or cabals.

“In that position, Saraki did not only lead his colleagues in exposing the rot in the scheme, but made very strong recommendations on how the system could be reformed and made corruption- free.”

Okocha said that it was on records that after Saraki’s motion on the floor of the Senate, the House of Representatives followed it up with the oil subsidy probe.

He recalled that the ministers of Finance and Petroleum were summoned and, at least, over N500bn was saved.

Okocha said, “During the Senate hearing on the missing $20bn, for those who attended the public hearing, Senator Saraki led the onslaught of difficult questions to the Minister of Finance, Minister of Petroleum and other federal agencies, despite being in the ruling party then.

“To this effect, Senator Saraki refused to sign the final copy of the committee’s report but rather, put forward a minority report with a press statement that followed suit.”

He added that Saraki opposed the inclusion of kerosene subsidy in the 2015 budget, adding that the senate president rejected the Petroleum Swap deal by the NNPC.

Okocha stated, “Let it be known, therefore, that the Senate Presidency of Dr. Bukola Saraki would not in any way be a stumbling block against President Buhari’s posture against anti- corruption.

“Rather, the 8th Senate under him as the president would give all necessary legislative support to the administration to fight and reduce corruption as his previous actions and bold steps taken against the so called oil barons indicate that Saraki is committed to anti-corruption.”

He said that Saraki was elected unopposed as the Senate President, adding that it was a lie that his election was sponsored by oil barons.

“Senator Bukola Saraki is determined and focused to achieve for the Senate targeted legislative agenda and he is committed to support President Buhari to deliver on his promises to the people of Nigeria,” Okocha said.

Copyright PUNCH.

Oil barons didn’t sponsor us, Saraki, Dogara reply Akande

Senate President, Bukola Saraki

The Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Monday described as baseless a claim by the former All Progressives Congress Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, that their elections on June 9 were sponsored by oil barons.

Saraki and Dogara stated this in separate statements by their aides in Abuja on Monday.

Akande, in a widely publicised statement on Sunday, had alleged that oil barons who never liked President Muhammadu Buhari`s anti-corruption stance, sponsored the elections of Saraki and Dogara in a bid to stifle the new government.

Akande also alleged that some splinter groups within the APC were aligning with old and new Peoples Democratic Party forces to launch a platform for the 2019 polls.

Dogara, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, challenged Akande to name the oil barons.

The speaker said he expected Akande, an elder statesman, to play his fatherly role at a period of disputes within the APC’s family by seeking ways to reconcile the factions, rather than attacking his person.

Dogara said that the allegations existed only in Akande’s “imagination”, adding that he won his election based on the support of his colleagues, his competence and capacity to preside over the House as the Speaker.

The speaker recalled that the first investigative motion passed by the House after his election was to probe the alleged crude oil swap contracts awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

He noted that it did not make sense for him to back the probe of the same oil sector’s stakeholders Akande alleged to have sponsored his election.

Part of the statement read, “It is baseless and lacking in substance and merit and can best be described as figment of Chief Akande`s imagination.

“We challenge Chief Akande to name the so-called oil barons whom he alleged sponsored the election of the speaker.

“In case Chief Akande does not know, the first investigative motion adopted by the 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of the Speaker was to investigate the allegation of fraud in the oil-swap contract awarded by the NNPC.

“A resolution for investigation into the allegation was passed to constitute an ad-hoc committee to investigate the NNPC as well as its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, over the swap contracts.

“How then can the House, under the leadership of Mr. Speaker, order investigation into activities of those who allegedly sponsored its election?”

The speaker claimed that his anti-corruption stance was not in doubt as the Legislative Agenda of the 8th House of Representatives adequately captured it.

“Mr. Speaker has on different occasions reiterated his resolve to compliment President Buhari`s anti-corruption stance and insists that the present crop of leaders don’t have any excuse to give to Nigerians on the change promised them before and during the election that brought the APC into power”, he said.

Also, the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, described the allegations as mischievous and totally false.

Okocha, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said Akande’s claim gave a negative and dirty impression that the emergence of the senate president was aimed at sabotaging the anti-corruption posture of Buhari’s government and the ‘Change agenda’ of the APC.

He said, “Ordinarily, we would have ignored the report, but for the sole reason that some undiscerning readers might mistake the fiction for the facts.

“We also wish to state unequivocally that it was wrong and mischievous for the statement by Chief Akande to link what happened on the floor of both chambers to some unnamed oil barons.

“We dare say that the entire story was the figment of the imagination of the author.”

Okocha added that Saraki, as the chairman of an ad hoc committee in the 7th Senate, exposed the fraud and mismanagement in the oil sector.

He said, “Until Saraki raised his motion on the floor of the Senate, no one was in the picture of the rot in the sector or took any action.”

“Senator Saraki will be the last person the oil baron will want to see as Senate President. No doubt, we make bold to state that Saraki is the last person to be so sponsored by the oil barons or cabals.

“In that position, Saraki did not only lead his colleagues in exposing the rot in the scheme, but made very strong recommendations on how the system could be reformed and made corruption- free.”

Okocha said that it was on records that after Saraki’s motion on the floor of the Senate, the House of Representatives followed it up with the oil subsidy probe.

He recalled that the ministers of Finance and Petroleum were summoned and, at least, over N500bn was saved.

Okocha said, “During the Senate hearing on the missing $20bn, for those who attended the public hearing, Senator Saraki led the onslaught of difficult questions to the Minister of Finance, Minister of Petroleum and other federal agencies, despite being in the ruling party then.

“To this effect, Senator Saraki refused to sign the final copy of the committee’s report but rather, put forward a minority report with a press statement that followed suit.”

He added that Saraki opposed the inclusion of kerosene subsidy in the 2015 budget, adding that the senate president rejected the Petroleum Swap deal by the NNPC.

Okocha stated, “Let it be known, therefore, that the Senate Presidency of Dr. Bukola Saraki would not in any way be a stumbling block against President Buhari’s posture against anti- corruption.

“Rather, the 8th Senate under him as the president would give all necessary legislative support to the administration to fight and reduce corruption as his previous actions and bold steps taken against the so called oil barons indicate that Saraki is committed to anti-corruption.”

He said that Saraki was elected unopposed as the Senate President, adding that it was a lie that his election was sponsored by oil barons.

“Senator Bukola Saraki is determined and focused to achieve for the Senate targeted legislative agenda and he is committed to support President Buhari to deliver on his promises to the people of Nigeria,” Okocha said.

Copyright PUNCH.

Oil barons didn’t sponsor us, Saraki, Dogara reply Akande

Senate President, Bukola Saraki

The Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Monday described as baseless a claim by the former All Progressives Congress Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, that their elections on June 9 were sponsored by oil barons.

Saraki and Dogara stated this in separate statements by their aides in Abuja on Monday.

Akande, in a widely publicised statement on Sunday, had alleged that oil barons who never liked President Muhammadu Buhari`s anti-corruption stance, sponsored the elections of Saraki and Dogara in a bid to stifle the new government.

Akande also alleged that some splinter groups within the APC were aligning with old and new Peoples Democratic Party forces to launch a platform for the 2019 polls.

Dogara, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, challenged Akande to name the oil barons.

The speaker said he expected Akande, an elder statesman, to play his fatherly role at a period of disputes within the APC’s family by seeking ways to reconcile the factions, rather than attacking his person.

Dogara said that the allegations existed only in Akande’s “imagination”, adding that he won his election based on the support of his colleagues, his competence and capacity to preside over the House as the Speaker.

The speaker recalled that the first investigative motion passed by the House after his election was to probe the alleged crude oil swap contracts awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

He noted that it did not make sense for him to back the probe of the same oil sector’s stakeholders Akande alleged to have sponsored his election.

Part of the statement read, “It is baseless and lacking in substance and merit and can best be described as figment of Chief Akande`s imagination.

“We challenge Chief Akande to name the so-called oil barons whom he alleged sponsored the election of the speaker.

“In case Chief Akande does not know, the first investigative motion adopted by the 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of the Speaker was to investigate the allegation of fraud in the oil-swap contract awarded by the NNPC.

“A resolution for investigation into the allegation was passed to constitute an ad-hoc committee to investigate the NNPC as well as its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, over the swap contracts.

“How then can the House, under the leadership of Mr. Speaker, order investigation into activities of those who allegedly sponsored its election?”

The speaker claimed that his anti-corruption stance was not in doubt as the Legislative Agenda of the 8th House of Representatives adequately captured it.

“Mr. Speaker has on different occasions reiterated his resolve to compliment President Buhari`s anti-corruption stance and insists that the present crop of leaders don’t have any excuse to give to Nigerians on the change promised them before and during the election that brought the APC into power”, he said.

Also, the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, described the allegations as mischievous and totally false.

Okocha, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said Akande’s claim gave a negative and dirty impression that the emergence of the senate president was aimed at sabotaging the anti-corruption posture of Buhari’s government and the ‘Change agenda’ of the APC.

He said, “Ordinarily, we would have ignored the report, but for the sole reason that some undiscerning readers might mistake the fiction for the facts.

“We also wish to state unequivocally that it was wrong and mischievous for the statement by Chief Akande to link what happened on the floor of both chambers to some unnamed oil barons.

“We dare say that the entire story was the figment of the imagination of the author.”

Okocha added that Saraki, as the chairman of an ad hoc committee in the 7th Senate, exposed the fraud and mismanagement in the oil sector.

He said, “Until Saraki raised his motion on the floor of the Senate, no one was in the picture of the rot in the sector or took any action.”

“Senator Saraki will be the last person the oil baron will want to see as Senate President. No doubt, we make bold to state that Saraki is the last person to be so sponsored by the oil barons or cabals.

“In that position, Saraki did not only lead his colleagues in exposing the rot in the scheme, but made very strong recommendations on how the system could be reformed and made corruption- free.”

Okocha said that it was on records that after Saraki’s motion on the floor of the Senate, the House of Representatives followed it up with the oil subsidy probe.

He recalled that the ministers of Finance and Petroleum were summoned and, at least, over N500bn was saved.

Okocha said, “During the Senate hearing on the missing $20bn, for those who attended the public hearing, Senator Saraki led the onslaught of difficult questions to the Minister of Finance, Minister of Petroleum and other federal agencies, despite being in the ruling party then.

“To this effect, Senator Saraki refused to sign the final copy of the committee’s report but rather, put forward a minority report with a press statement that followed suit.”

He added that Saraki opposed the inclusion of kerosene subsidy in the 2015 budget, adding that the senate president rejected the Petroleum Swap deal by the NNPC.

Okocha stated, “Let it be known, therefore, that the Senate Presidency of Dr. Bukola Saraki would not in any way be a stumbling block against President Buhari’s posture against anti- corruption.

“Rather, the 8th Senate under him as the president would give all necessary legislative support to the administration to fight and reduce corruption as his previous actions and bold steps taken against the so called oil barons indicate that Saraki is committed to anti-corruption.”

He said that Saraki was elected unopposed as the Senate President, adding that it was a lie that his election was sponsored by oil barons.

“Senator Bukola Saraki is determined and focused to achieve for the Senate targeted legislative agenda and he is committed to support President Buhari to deliver on his promises to the people of Nigeria,” Okocha said.

Copyright PUNCH.

APC Should Be Mature Enough To Handle Its Crisis- Hon. Kaze

A member of the Seventh National Assembly, Hon. Bitrus Kaze has blamed the current palpable tension in the National Assembly that recently degenerated into physical assault on the undue interference of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the Assembly.He added that like the People Democratic Party (PDP) managed the Tambuwal saga in 2011, the APC should be mature enough to do the same.

In a statement in Jos, Kaze lamented, "Coming from the same House of Representatives, I actually feel more disheartened about the development.

"But we need to come to terms with realities; it is impossible to have such a huge collection of different shades of individuals without some form of crisis. It happens in virtually all parliamentary democracies globally, although in different degrees and for different reasons.

"However, what makes the difference is the subject of the brawl. Whereas in advanced democracies, such crises are triggered by differences resulting from ideologically based issues, in our case here, it is more often than not based on political positions or partisan or regional divide. That is what really makes it disheartening.

He said, "Happening less than a month after inauguration makes it most disheartening; the 8th Assembly may have started on a wrong footing. Some of us envisaged this given the porous democratic credentials of President Buhari. The President and APC told the whole world that they will not interfere with the affairs of the Assembly, but it's their interference that has led to this. When Speaker Tambuwal emerged in 2011, they didn't question party supremacy, why are they talking about party supremacy now?", he queried.

OPINION: National Assembly must prove its pay cut talk is not an empty posturing

I will prefer to think of it for now, as a ‘cool-temper’ goody bag because it did not register with me, I do not think it registered with the populace and I doubt it registered in the media.

I am talking about the Senate president Bukola Saraki, announcing the set up of a committee to review the salaries and allowances of Nigerian lawmakers.

One week after, that committee remains faceless and nameless. I want to believe he was ‘misquoted’ or I read wrongly that a committee has already been set up.

Do you know the committee’s terms of reference because I don’t-that is if the committee has already been set up and running.

I must concede Saraki played a master’s gambit, (similar to how he emerged as the Senate president) because with that singular announcement the opprobrium heaped on the lawmakers seems to dampen a bit since then.

But he must prove this time that the talk is not an empty posturing. As I wrote in an earlier column any sensible or educated legislative arm of government should make pronouncements that reflect the interest of the people once they get down to business in the chambers. Pronouncements and appropriations will be that which underpins the desire of the electorates. It should reflect largely the aspirations and expectations of the society. Utterances should be proactive not retroactive.

Still the people of the National Assembly have a huge obligation to the taxpayers. Saraki has come out as their prophet of the true path. But now he has to work out that moral route. He has to help them also define what a pay cut means. He has to let them know, since he has chosen to speak for all of them, that the money is also ‘our money’ and that the compensation story is not a story directed at carrying out their socio-economic functions as law makers.

He should also remind them that half, if not all of them are already millionaires if not billionaires and that a 50 percent pay cut (at least to align with their counterparts elsewhere) will be inconsequential and scarcely anything meaningful to what they already have amassed.

The lawmakers need of a new salary and allowances structure has been apparent for some time. Many of their past salary take were unconstitutional, unpopular and wasteful. The oil boom and money from which they drew inspiration for the honoraria and rent has bottomed out and it is about time a new value system is installed.

Truly, Nigeria is not the only country in the world where lawmakers prefer to ignore the politically risky task of having to raise their own pay wantonly and in every four years. The difference is that the other people worked out plans immediately, given the adverse backlash, to realign with the realities on ground.

I want to believe that the main focus of the ‘committee’ Saraki talked of is how to prepare a Bill spelling out structured compensation process, which will in turn be debated. It will be in the best interest of everyone if National Assembly members came out to explain to the electorate and constituents who sent them to the National Assembly why they deserve a pay raise. Make this mandatory in the Bill that should be debated. In this way nobody raises an eyebrow when any pay is announced.

Basically, there will be less hackle if a pay process that is not controversial, just transparent and aligned with some sense of ‘we-are-all-in-this-together’ is brought up for debate as the economy’s troubles persists. One big message this will send is that everyone is in the same boat discussing issues around income inequality and what is a fair deal for everyone.

Charles Ike-Okoh

‘PERFORMANCE AUDIT TEMPLATE FOR NATIONAL ASSEMBLY READ

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Office of the Auditor General for the Federation [AGF] said it was making plans to partner members of the National Assembly in the provision of legal framework for the implementation of performance audit among Ministries, Department and Agencies.

The move is to curb corruption in public institutions, Auditor General for the Federation, Samuel Ukura said.
He said this in Abuja at the weekend during the closing session of performance auditors drawn from four African countries under the umbrella of the African Organisation for Supreme Audit Institutions.
Ukura said the implementation of performance audit would reduce waste, ensure economic, efficient and effective use of scarce government resources as well as reduce corruption in public institutions.
Performance audit is an independent and systematic examination of the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which resources available are deployed to bring about improvement and good governance.
Ukura said his office would soon send reports of the performance audit to the National Assembly for consideration and approval, adding that the recommendations and findings of the audit would be of immense benefit to the nation.
He said based on the regional and international cooperation of Supreme Audit Institutions(SAIs),  Nigeria had participated in the completion of environmental audit on the drying up of the Lake Chad with Lake Chad Basin Commission member countries of Cameroun, Chad and Niger.
He also said cooperative environmental audit on implementation of local content policy in oil and gas industry in Nigeria was being carried out, adding that arrangements for the official presentation of both reports to the National Assembly had been finalised.
As part of measures to provide legal framework in the implementation of performance audit, Ukura said a three-day retreat would be organised soon for the members of the National Assembly in order to keep them abreast of performance audit, which he described as “ the audit of impacts of governance on the well-being of the citizens.”
He noted that performance audit, which is a new concept in Nigeria, requires a lot of public awareness on how its implementation would improve accountability, transparency and good governance in the country.