The interim management committee (IMC) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was on Thursday grilled by an ad hoc senate panel. The committee is being investigated over the N3.14 billion it disbursed to its 4,000 workers and police commands in nine states as COVID-19 relief. The panel was set up to investigate the alleged mismanagement of N40 billion by the interim [...]
Tag "senate"
ON THE GO
The senate has amended the police act to make the tenure of the inspector-general of police (IGP) a four-year single term. The upper legislative chamber passed the legislation after it considered clauses in the bill entitled 'An Act to Repeal the Police Act, Cap. Pl9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and Enact the Police Act, 2020'. While presenting a report [...]
Senate President Ahmad Lawan says the upper legislative chamber did not declare the seat of Uzor Orji Kalu, chief whip, vacant because he was "on several appeals." In December, a federal high court in Lagos convicted the chief whip of money laundering to the tune of N7.1 billion. He stood trial alongside Ude Jones Udeogu, a former director of finance and account [...]
Festus Keyamo, minister of state for labour and employment, says members of the national assembly are trying to bypass him in the recruitment of 774,000 citizens. The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) is meant to recruit 774,000 people under a special works programme. The junior minister had engaged in a shouting match with some federal lawmakers when he appeared before them over [...]
On Tuesday, the senate passed a bill seeking to prohibit sexual harassment in tertiary institutions. It was passed after Opeyemi Bamidele, chairman of the committee on judiciary and legal matters, presented a report. The bill was reintroduced in the senate in 2019 following a spike in reports of sexual harassment in universities. While presenting his report, Bamidele said the bill seeks to tame [...]
The senate has asked the federal government to rename the airport in Ibadan after Abiola Ajimobi, former governor of Oyo state. The upper legislative chamber also resolved to send a high-powered delegation to commiserate with his family. The resolutions of the senate were sequel to a motion sponsored by Abdulfatai Buhari, senator representing Oyo north. By the motion, Buhari officially drew the attention [...]
Social media/internet freedom is a basic human right. It is unalienable. In the pool of freedoms, it is as basic as the right to exist. Take away the power of thought and expression from a man, and you have a breathing cadaver. On June 25, The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice ruled that the September [...]
Ifeanyi Ubah, senator representing Anambra south, says Festus Keyamo, minister of state for labour and employment, displayed "rascality" when he appeared before a joint committee of the national assembly on Tuesday. Keyamo had engaged in a shouting match with some senators and house of representatives members while responding to some questions about the recruitment of 774,000 citizens. The National Directorate of Employment [...]
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Debo Adesina, editor-in-chief of The Guardian, as a non-career ambassador. The journalist's name is among the 41 nominees that the president transmitted to the senate for confirmation. Adesina is currently on a three-month pre-retirement leave at The Guardian. Buhari's request was contained in a letter dated June 17 and read by Senate President Ahmad Lawan on the floor [...]
Uzor Orji Kalu, chief whip of the senate, is proposing some amendments to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) of 2015. The bill entitled, 'administration of criminal justice act 2015 (amendment) bill', 2020 was introduced on Wednesday after Nelson Ayewoh, senate clerk, read its short title. The former governor of Abia state was released from the Kuje Correctional Centre on June [...]
I came in full cognisance with the normality of influence peddling for jobs when I was covering the national assembly. It is a run-off-the-mill practice, which has become permissive, for lawmakers to scribble a long list of names of cronies and hangers-on and send it to any government agency soliciting jobs. I have seen lots of these lists myself. It is [...]
The Center for Advancement of Civil Liberties and Development, also known as the Center for Liberty (CFL), has launched a campaign against social media and hate speech bills. The social media bill entitled, "Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation 2019", passed second reading at the senate in November. Both bills have generated wide opposition as Nigerians described it as an attempt to gag [...]
Osita Okechukwu, director-general of Voice of Nigeria (VON), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to seek confirmation of Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), as substantive head of the commission. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesman, said Okechukwu made the call when Magu visited his office. The VON office is one of [...]
Senate President Ahmad Lawan says the country is losing $29 billion annually because of a lack of stable power supply. The claim, which Lawan ascribed to unknown "authorities", has not been confirmed by TheCable. Speaking at a public hearing, 'Power Sector Recovery Plan and the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic', on Monday, the senate president asked the senate's power committee to investigate how [...]
Senate President Ahmad Lawan says the upper legislative chamber has approved about $28 billion loan requests of President Muhammadu Buhari in one year. In a speech on Thursday to mark one year since the ninth senate was inaugurated, Lawan said they "scrutinised" the projects and programmes the loans were tied to before approving the requests. The senate president said the legislature would [...]
The senate committee on public accounts has threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) who fail to come before it and account for monies they have spent. Speaking with journalists at the national assembly on Thursday, Matthew Urhoghide, chairman of the committee on public accounts, said some agencies have not accounted for money [...]
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