Returning Officer For National Assembly Election Murdered In Rivers State

A senior lecturer at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rivers State Dr Ebirien Fubara has been killed along with his son at their residence in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Fubara was the Returning Officer in the March 28, House of Representatives election for Obio Akpor federal constituency in Rivers State.

Vanguard reports that the assassins, who stormed his Odili Road residence in Port Harcourt, first killed his son with a rod and then went for the father, clubbing him till he fell unconscious, although they apparently thought he was dead.

According to reports, Dr Fubara died on Sunday (a day after the attack) at a hospital in Port Harcourt and his remains deposited in a morgue.

Before his death, Fubara had been appointed a Commissioner in the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, by Governor Nyesom Wike.

When Vanguard contacted the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmad Muhammad, he said the police was not aware of the incident.

Rivers Appeal Court Judgment: Sen. Wilson Ake Commends Judiciary

The Appeal Court judgment that upheld the decision of the Rivers State Governorship Tribunal Judgment which sacked the Rivers State Governor Barr. Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike has been applauded by Sen. Wilson Ake.Asinobi Ake. Sen Ake served in the Nigerian Senate between 2011 to June 2015.

Senator Wilson Ake while reacting to the Appeal Court Judgment that sacked three members of the Senate from Rivers State and members of the Federal House of Representatives from Rivers state as well as upholding the Tribunal judgment that sacked the Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike said the judgments as delivered by the Appeal Court was a true reflection of the wishes and aspirations of the people of Rivers State.

Sen. Ake while condemning the violence that enveloped the election in Rivers state earlier this year said the judiciary by its judgment has shown that it is truly the in sync with the political aspirations of the people of Rivers state.

Senator Wilson Ake while stressing the fact that the APC has all it takes to win the election in Rivers State when the time comes said Rivers people were not benefitting anything by playing opposition politics.

He said there is nothing that will make Rivers people vote in the Peoples Democratic Party PDP if election is organized today due to what he said is their penchant for violence and failure to ensure good governance in the state. He said he is confident that all members of the APC that is contesting election will win because they are generally accepted by the people of the state. He commended the people of Rivers State for their patience and understanding through the court process stating that their peaceful disposition is worth commending.

Sen. Wilson Asinobi Ake also commended President Buhari’s anti-corruption war. He said it is imperative that Nigerians support the President in his war against corruption. “Nigerians have shown that they are in support of the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari. This support is commendable and it is important that the agencies involved in the fight against corruption ensure that they don’t let the President or the nation down in this” Sen.  Ake said.

$2.1b arms deal: Saraki blames National Assembly

Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki said yesterday that the ongoing investigation and trial of former National Security Adviser (NSA) Mohammed Sambo Dasuki could have been prevented, if members of the National Assembly were alive to their oversight responsibility.

He added that things would have been done differently, if only members of the National Assembly had taken their oversight functions conscientiously.

The Senate President, who spoke after senators’ contributions on a motion on abandoned projects, noted that the rot being uncovered in the office of the former NSA would have been exposed if members of the National Assembly did not shy away from their oversight functions.

He added that the mind-boggling revelations have brought the oversight function of the National Assembly to question.

He sought immediate change of attitude by Senate committees on their oversight functions.

Saraki said: “I think we have shied away today from one of the main reasons (abandoned projects) because some of the projects are duly appropriated in the budget and embarked upon by various ministries and agencies.

“The motion whether we like it or not is a partial indictment on us in the National Assembly and we must accept that because these projects that we are talking about under Section 88 of the Constitution, 1(a) (b) it is our responsibility to oversight these projects to ensure they are not abandoned and to ensure that the funds appropriated are properly used.

“So distinguished colleagues, I want us  in this Eighth Senate to ensure that our committees carry out proper oversight and we the leadership, we are going to ensure that we too find a way to make sure that committees do their work on oversight because truly that is the bottom line to this.

“Even the current investigation going on in the National Security Adviser’s Office also whether we like it or not in a way too again, the oversight function of the National Assembly is brought to question.”

Senator Suleiman Nazif (Bauchi North), who sponsored the motion in his lead debate, noted that there were about 11,886 abandoned projects that would cost an estimated N7.78 trillion to complete.

Nazif observed that public infrastructure account for most of the abandoned projects and that those projects were generally awarded based on considerations given to friends, even when they did not possess any technical knowledge about the project.

Buhari to present 2016 budget before joint National Assembly session

President Muhammadu Buhari has written the National Assembly, stating his intention to present the 2016 Appropriation Bill before a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives.

According to the letter read by the senate president, Bukola Saraki, Wednesday, Mr. Buhari will address the lawmakers on Tuesday, at 10 AM.

The session will be the first time Mr. Buhari would address a joint session of the National Assembly since coming to power in May.

The precursor to the budget, Medium Term Expenditure Framework, was forwarded to National Assembly last week.

In the MTEF, the Federal Government proposed $38 per barrel as the benchmark for crude oil.

In a related development, on Monday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, said the nation’s 2016 oil production target is 2.4 million barrels.

Mr. Kachikwu disclosed this while defending the petroleum ministry’s projections for 2016 before the Joint Senate/House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Appropriation and Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions.

He also hinted at the government’s plan to revert to the old pump price of N97 per litre of premium motor spirit in gradual process of total subsidy removal.

Mr. Kachikwu also expressed confidence that the price of crude oil would increase as from early January to “around $50 per barrel in spite of OPEC projections”, adding that it might also hit $70 per barrel in 2017.