Long holidays: Falana’s Chamber, Budgit, other CSOs accuse National Assembly of constitutional breach

 The Chamber of activist, Femi Falana and 39 other civil society organizations have accused the National Assembly of failing to meet the compulsory 181 days plenary sessions.

The coalition in a statement signed by the 40 organizations said the National Assembly in its first legislative year from June 2019 to June 2020 did not sit up to the required 181days.

“The legislative year is June 2019 to July 2020. Two months vacation: 56 days public holiday, 6-week Yuletide vocation, 42 days, 7-week coronavirus break, 49 days in addition to 62 days for Saturdays and Sundays, this means 216 days out of 365 days in a year. Therefore, the National Assembly sat for only 149 days instead of the 181 days prescribed by the constitution, ” the statement read in part.

The coalition also condemned the National Assembly for embarking on its annual recess instead of working with the executive to profer solutions to the challenges facing the country.

Adding that the directive by the House of Representatives to suspend all investigative hearings until the end of recess is ill-timed, it urged the House to resume the hearings with findings made public.

The National Assembly has been on holiday since July and in addition, the leadership of the House on the 19th August announced that the House will suspend all investigative and public hearings until resumption.

“Prior to and during the ongoing vacation, the lawmakers were conducting very important investigative hearings into the mismanagement of public funds by various ministries.

“It was, therefore, shocking to wake up to the August 19th directive by the leadership of the House of Representatives suspending all legislative activities including those investigative hearings that had captivated the nation,” the groups said

The CSOs also called on anti-graft agencies “to live up to their responsibilities by following up on these investigative hearings to gather actionable evidence to prosecute those who have violated various anti-corruption laws and regulations.”

- DAILY POST

Utomi: Nigeria’s govt is crippled, political class has failed

 

Pat Utomi, a professor of political economy, says the Nigerian government has been crippled by the failure of the political class.

Speaking during a programme on Channels TV on Sunday, Utomi who is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) faulted the political class adding that there is a failure of leadership in every aspect of the society.

He said the government has failed to proffer solutions to the country’s challenges thereby making it difficult for citizens to be committed to the system.

“I think that the government is crippled; it is not connecting to the solution,” he said.

“If there is anything absent in Nigeria, it is leadership. At every level of our society, there is a failure of leadership.

“Leadership is about connecting to the soul of the people and giving everything sacrificially to lift it up.”

Utomi said the failure of the political class resulted in the formation of the National Consultative Forum, a political group that he co-chairs.

The new political movement is “aimed at driving reforms” in the country.

“We have an existential crisis. The political class has failed Nigeria, including all of us,” he said.

“I am part of them but I have fought always to make it different but you don’t always win.”

On the roles of the executive and legislative arms of government, the economist said there is a collapse of separation of power between both arms.

He explained that the national assembly has hijacked executive functions and rendered the budgetary process a political game.

“There is a total collapse of separation of powers and the legislature has taken over running the executive and the executive is complicit in allowing that to happen,” he said.

“Anytime I have been asked to analyse the budget in this country for the last 20 years, I don’t analyse the budget because the budget process in this county is a joke.

“Today, the house committee chair on appropriation is more important to a national budget than the minister of finance because this game that is played in the national assembly means that what comes out is really the budget of the national assembly, not of the executive branch and the executive branch has refused to engage the matter.

“What is going on today is a hijack of the executive functions by the legislature and for most of them, it is just a game.”

- THECABLE

 John Felagha, former National U17 and U20 goalkeeper, is dead.

Felagha died on Sunday at the age of 26.

The Nigerian Football Federation confirmed that he died in Senegal.

The NFF on Monday said: “Felagha died on Sunday in Senegal. He was aged 26. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Felagha represented the nation at the 2009 U17 FIFA World Cup held in Nigeria

Felagha also represented the nation at the 2013 Africa Youth Championship (AYC) and U20 FIFA World Cup in 2015.

He had a spell with KAS Eupen, a Belgium second division side.

His football career was cut short by injury and was the coach at Aspire Academy until his death.

- PM NEWS

Details of Man City’s contract for Messi revealed

 Manchester City will offer Lionel Messi a £450m five-year deal to quit Barcelona, according to the UK Mirror.

Messi failed to show up for preseason tests on Sunday, after notifying the club via fax earlier in the week of his desire to leave.

His decision led to many top European clubs scrambling to put together funds to sign the 33-year-old.

However, City are favourites to land Messi, if he eventually quits the Camp Nou this summer.

The Premier League club also have the Pep Guardiola advantage, with the Spaniard having coached Messi for four seasons at Barca.

City will offer Messi £90m-a-year to move to the Etihad, which is a similar figure to what he currently earns in Spain.

LaLiga on Sunday, insisted that any potential suitors must pay the player’s full release clause. 

- DAILY POST

Cairo Ojougboh: There’ll be crisis if we release the list of those who got NDDC contracts

 Cairo Ojougboh, executive director of projects at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), says there will be chaos if the full list of those who were awarded contracts by the commission is released.

Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger Delta affairs, had named some beneficiaries after the house of representatives threatened to sue him.

While appearing before a house of representatives panel probing the alleged mismanagement of N81.5 billion by the interim management committee (IMC) of the commission, Akpabio had said federal lawmakers were the biggest beneficiaries of contracts awarded by the commission.

Peter Nwaoboshi, senate committee chairman on NDDC; Matthew Urhoghide, senate committee chairman on public accounts, and James Manager, senator representing Delta south, were some of the beneficiaries listed by the minister.

,Speaking with Vanguard Ojougboh said Nwaoboshi, and Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, chairman of the house committee on NDDC, and the rest of the national assembly “are culpable” in the sleaze contracts.

The director said he only wants to make sure that all the monies that have been spent are accounted for

“The national assembly is culpable. At the end of the forensic audit, you will see members of the national assembly,” Ojougboh said

“A senator came and said that in the list of 2016 they brought, that he had only six contracts, I said no, that he had more. What he didn’t know is that we did not release the list for 2017 and the one for 2019. If we release it this country will break.

“Oh, because of the people looting, the calibre, the names and people looting the NDDC. And who engineers it? The chairmen of the NDDC in the senate and house of representatives in the national assembly.”

The director described the N51 million monthly imprest for Kemebradikumo Pondei, acting managing director of the commission, as “security vote”.

“My MD feeds 100 policemen every day and in Port Harcourt as an executive of NDDC, you need security more than anything, till tomorrow, you know of it. When they are sending these policemen, the instruction is to feed them, cater for them, that is what is in the letter the police hierarchy sends,” he said.

“So people are talking about 51 million of imprest for the MD, it is a security vote, it’s not for his personal pocket, the money does not go to the MD’s account.

“Myself, N18 million, it does not go to my account, it goes for security and other expenses and it is retired, there is no fraud in it.”

Ojougboh said the sum of N3.14 billion was expended as COVID-19 relief for staff adding that although it was not budgeted for, it was classified as emergency.

“They are talking about COVID-19 payment, the federal government is given every citizen N30,000 each, do you know how much the federal government has spent? The CBN and many other corporations have been giving COVID-19 allowances, which are within their purview, just like NDDC did,” he said.

“In the national assembly, each of the senators got N20 million, while the house of representatives members got N15 million for COVID-19 from the national assembly.”

- THECABLE

MultiChoice hikes DSTV, GOTV rates

 Following MultiChoice’s announcement to adjust subscriptions, subscribers are to pay more to view channels on DStv and GOtv networks with effect from Monday.

MultiChoice in a statement by its Chief Executive Officer, John Ugbe said the price adjustment was arrived at after careful consideration of the market and a review of its business operations.

“We have made efforts to contain any price adjustments on subscription prices. However, to ensure the sustainability of the business, we have to consider financial impacts, including inflation as well as increased content and operational costs,” Ugbe said in the statement

“As such, we have reviewed the prices of some of our bouquets so that we can continue to survive as a business and bring quality entertainment to our customers.

“To arrive at the decision to adjust prices, we took into account many factors, including the impact on the customer, current inflation, content costs and efficiencies within the company.”

Ugbe said the packages will continue to be available at varying pricing points to allow subscribers flexibility in price and choice without compromising quality or variety.

“To this end, only the prices of some of the bouquets have been reviewed upwards while the lower bouquets have been left untouched,” he added.

- PM NEWS

Water Resources Bill another RUGA policy – Yoruba group

 

Yoruba One Voice (YOV), a coalition of Southwest bodies, has condemned the Water Resources Bill.

The bill seeks to give the control of all water sources and river banks to the federal government.

YOV Director of Communication, Zacheaus Somorin, in a statement on Monday called it, “another RUGA policy”.

Somorin urged the National Assembly to reject the bill in the interest of the nation.

“This is another version of RUGA policy to appropriate and grab land for pastoralists”, he said.

Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, has spoken against the bill.

Similarly, Tiv youths have warned the government and legislature against the passage and implementation.

YOV, however, called on South West governors to safeguard lives and property in Yorubaland.

The body said the alarm by the Aare Onakakanfo in Council about infiltration of terrorists in the region must be taken seriously.

YOV also condemned the controversial Companies And Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.

Under the law, religious and charity organizations will be regulated by the Corporate Affairs Commission and supervising minister.

The coalition further called for the release of Oluwatimehin David Oyeyemi, a native of Ikare Akoko in Ondo State.

“He was arrested when the DSS saw a leaflet of self-determination with him in kogi State on his way to see his parents. We are of the opinion that Oyeyemi, under the constitution, has the freedom of expression.

”The principle of self-determination is prominently embodied in Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations. It emphasizes that all peoples have the right to self-determination.”

The statement added that Article 20 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights protects same rights.

- DAILY POST