11042019 - INSECURITY: Senate condemns killings; insists on State Police

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8—Vanguard, THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 CONFERENCE: From left, Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria, Mr Russell Brooks; Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State; Founder, Field of Schools and Dreams Academy, Mrs Omowale Ogunrinde; and Founder, Ibadan Business School, Chief Yinka Fasuyi, at the Young African Leaders Initiative conference for emerging entrepreneurs, organised by US Consulate, where the governor delivered a keynote address, in Ibadan, yesterday. <strong>Senate</strong> to override Buhari’s veto on constitution amendment, one other bills By Henry Umoru lawmakers, yesterday, include: The Chartered ABUJA—THE <strong>Senate</strong>, Institute of Entrepreneurship yesterday, resolved to (Establishment) Bill, 2018; override President The Subsidy Legislation Muhammadu Buhari’s veto (Legislative Scrutiny) Bill, on two bills out of the several 2018; The Nigerian Maritime bills that were forwarded to Administration and Safety him for assent, which the Agency Amendment Bill, president declined to assent. 2018 and The Advance Free The <strong>Senate</strong> said it would Fraud and Other Related override President Buhari’s Offences (Amendment) Bill, veto on the Constitution of 2018. the Federal Republic of Presenting the report, Nigeria,1999 (Fourth Senator David Umaru explained that of the 17 bills recently rejected by the Alteration, No.28)Bill, 2018 and Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Amendment Bill, 2018. The upper chamber also resolved to reconsider 11 of the 17 bills that were declined assent to by the president, just as the lawmakers agreed to withdraw four of the 17 rejected bills, apparently because of the observation raised by the president. Resolutions of the <strong>Senate</strong>, yesterday, were sequel to the consideration of report of the Senator David Umaru (APC, Niger East) led Technical Committee on Declined Assent to Bills by Buhari. It will be recalled that the <strong>Senate</strong>, at its sitting on October 10, 2018, deliberated on Executive Communications from Buhari wherein he relied on Sections 9(2) and 58(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), to decline assents to 17 bills sent to him by the National Assembly. After extensive deliberations on the Executive Communications, the <strong>Senate</strong> resolved and constituted a technical committee to, among other things, look into the issues raised in the Executive Communications and come up with appropriate recommendations to the <strong>Senate</strong>. 4 bills withdrawn The four bills withdrawn by president, there were cogent reasons based on his action on some bills, but said the committee also observed that the <strong>Senate</strong> needed to override the president’s veto on some of the bills. Earlier in his contribution, <strong>Senate</strong> Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan (APC, Yobe North), who stressed the need for a filter system where the legal department and the relevant committee would look at the bills thoroughly before passage to avoid situations of where the decline would be massive. Also in his contribution, Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta South) who noted that there are so many things that will make them work together as senators, said a system should be put in place where complicated issues must be resolved, adding that something must be done to ensure that these most important bills were looked into for the president to assent to in the life of the present <strong>Senate</strong>. Labour, NECA decry Buhari’s delay in assenting to new minimum wage bill By Victor Young EMPLOYERS body, Organised Labour and civil society organisations have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the N30,000 minimum wage bill transmitted to him by the National Assembly over two weeks ago. Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA; Trade Union Side, TUS, of Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council, JNPSNC; United Labour Congress of Nigeria, ULC, and umbrella body for prolabour civil society groups in the country; Joint Action Front, JAF, urged President Buhari to quicken action on the bill by signing it. Speaking, Director-General of NECA, Timothy Olawale, said: “We have been made to understand that presidential assent is not as simple as that and that there are processes the bill has to passed through. "In other words, signing is not automatic and that the Presidency needs to compare the one sent to the National Assembly with the one the National Assembly sent to the president for assent. “Nevertheless, we expect the presidency to expedite action in whatever due diligence it is doing and not unnecessarily delay the implementation of the minimum wage, which Nigerian workers have been eagerly looking forward to. "If there is any gap between what was sent to the National Assembly and what returned to the presidency, the presidency should liaise with the National Assembly as quickly as possible to sort things out. "We know it is not just a new bill, but a comprehensive review of the 2011 Act. So, if there is any gap, it should not cause undue delay, it should be sorted out for presidential assent so that implementation will commence immediately.” President should sign before May Also, President of ULC, Joe Ajaero, said they expect the president to sign it before May 1 being workers’ day, adding: “We do not know the reason the president did not sign the bill, two weeks after. "But we are equally aware that the president has not refused assent. We think we should give him a benefit of doubt, hoping that the president, being not around within this period, he has not really settled to sign it.” FCTA to audit orphanages in Abuja By Henry Umoru ABUJA— THE Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, yesterday, disclosed that it had concluded arrangements to carry out a comprehensive audit of all the orphanages operating in the nation’s capital. According to the FCTA, the audit will be carried out to ascertain the number of such homes operating in the territory and to know the level of compliance in accordance with the Child Rights Act. Reacting to allegations that authorities of the FCT Administration were out to forcibly outlaw orphanages in the nation’s capital, Shettima meets Defence minister, army chief, Bichi over insecurity in Borno By Ndahi Marama MAIDUGURI — GOVERNOR Kashim Shettima of Borno State, and some National Assembly members, yesterday, visited and held separate closed door meetings with Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, and Director-General of Department of Security Service, DSS, Yusuf Bichi, over security in Borno State. The meetings were at the instance of Shettima. The meetings discussed issues of security, including the recent relocation of residents in Jakana (a town in Konduga Local Government Area) to an IDPs camp in Maiduguri, which the military in Borno State said was for operational purpose in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram. Shettima was accompanied by chairmen of <strong>Senate</strong> and House of Representatives Committees on Defence, Abubakar Kyari and Betara Coordinator of Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, AMMC, Umar Shuaibu, said the establishment of an orphanage in a modern city like Abuja must follow the master plan. According to him, FCT as a role model of the 36 states of the federation, the implementation of the Child Rights Act in FCT was paramount, critical and must be strictly adhered to. He said:“We are going to make sure that henceforth, all orphanages in Abuja are audited, to ensure that everyone of them conforms with the rules and regulations governing the practice of this activity, to forestall problems like this one (Kubwa orphanage saga) in the future.” Aliyu respectively; Chairman, <strong>Senate</strong> Committee on Rules and Business, Baba Garbai, two House of Representatives members-elect. The governor and his delegation first met with DSS director general at the service headquarters about 1:30p.m., before meeting Defence Minister at a private residence about 4p.m., after which the delegation was at the Army Headquarters at 5 pm for another meeting with the Chief of Army Staff for more than one hour. All the meetings held behind closed doors in Abuja. Briefing journalists at the end of the meetings, Governor Shettima said the meeting was informed by issues arising from the relocation of communities in Jakana, Auno and Mainok located in Kaga and Konduga Local Government Areas of Borno State. He said at the end of the meetings, the Borno State government and the military reached a common ground. INEC proposes N500,000 fine, 3 years imprisonment for vote-buying By Levinus Nwabughiogu A B U J A — FOLLOWING incessant cases of electoral offences, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has proposed a fine of N500,000 or three years imprisonment or both for persons convicted of vote buying and selling. The commission said the adoption of the measure would in a greater way curb the menace. Chairman of the commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, made the disclosure at the 9th Forum of the Anti- Corruption Situation Room, organised by Human and Environmental Development Agenda, HEDA, held in Abuja, yesterday. Represented at the event by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, Yakubu decried the embarrassment that the commission has had to face from international community. He urged the National Assembly to evolve new legislations to curb the ugly trend. He said: “The National Assembly should isolate vote buying, selling and properly define it, it varieties and ingredients and make it a separate item in the Electoral Act and provide sanction for violation." Also speaking at the event, chairman of the event, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, said candidates indicted for electoral offences by election petitions tribunals, should be stopped from taking part in rerun elections, where the polls are nullified.
VANGUARD, THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019—9 Fuel subsidy, Nigeria’s biggest fiscal burden —LCCI •As NNPC denies inflating fuel import figures By Udeme Akpan, Mike Eboh & Prince Okafor Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has described fuel subsidy which the World Bank said cost Nigeria N731 billion in 2018, as the biggest fiscal burden currently staring the nation’s economy in the face. LCCI, which response was based on the World Bank report, released on Monday in Abuja focussed on key developments in Nigeria’s economy in 2018, added among other things that the Excess Crude Account, ECA, was virtually depleted during the period. In November 2018, the bank had also stated in another report entitled: ‘Nigeria Bi-annual Economic Update for Fall 2018,’ that petrol subsidy deductions for 2017 full year was N107.3 billion, but its current report showed that N731 billion was spent in 2018 alone. It had stated that most of the petrol volumes Nigeria spent money to subsidise in 2018 were inflated as daily consumption rose to 54 million litres per day (ml/ d) from 40ml/d in 2017, ostensibly due partly to outsmuggling. But Director General, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said: “Perhaps the biggest fiscal burden on the economy today is the petroleum subsidy regime. It is a big hole in the finances of government. It puts tremendous pressure on the foreign reserves and the foreign exchange market, just as it exerts immense stress on the nation’s treasury. “It remains a cause for concern that the subsidy regime had subsisted, especially at a time when the economy is facing unprecedented fiscal challenges; at a time when productivity in the economy is constrained by acute infrastructure deficit; at a time when public institutions are finding it hard to fund their basic obligations. There cannot be a better example of resource misapplication. “There are two components of this: The first is the genuine subsidy, which is the differential between the pump price and the landing and other costs of fuel. The second [and more disturbing component] is the transparency problems inherent in the fuel subsidy administration, including the petroleum equalisation policy. For several years, the economy suffered severe bleeding from this phenomenon. “One of the critical elements of the Oil and Gas Sector reform, particularly the downstream sector, is the complete deregulation of the sector. This is the spirit of the Petroleum Industry Bill which, regrettably, has not seen the light of the day. The reform of the oil and gas sector would create a number of advantages for the economy. “It will free resources for investment in critical infrastructure such as power, roads, the rail system, health sector, education sector etc. The deficit in all of these infrastructure areas is phenomenal." CONFERENCE: From left—Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr Tony Elumelu; Minister of Digital Agenda and Telecom, Belgium, Phillipe De Backer; Director of leading European Think-Tank, ECDPM, Carl Michiels; Advisory Board member, Tony Elumelu Foundation and former Prime Minister of Benin Republic, Lionel Zinsou; Advisory Board member, Tony Elumelu Foundation; and recently retired CEO of German Investment Corporation (DEG, Bruno Wenn, at the panel discussion titled: A Convening on Africa’s Economic Transformation: A Case Study of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, held at Brussels, Belgium, yesterday. MTEF: Reps approve N1.64trn loan to fund 2019 budget ...ask FIRS to increase tax on luxury goods, services By Levinus Nwabughiogu ABUJA—HOUSE of Representatives yesterday, approved the sum of N1.64 trillion as benchmark for loan to fund the 2019 budget of the Federal Government. It will be recalled that the Federal Government had proposed N1.86 trillion in the 2019-2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019 submitted to the National Assembly last year. The amount approved was recommended by Committees on Finance, Appropriations, Aids, Loans and Debt Management, Legislative Budget and Research and National Planning and Economic Development which sat on the MTEF and FSP documents. Considering the report of the committees in the Committee of the Whole, the House adopted the five different recommendations as submitted by the chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Mr. Babangida Ibrahim. Ibrahim had in his remarks urged the House to adopt the recommendations of the joint Committees to pave way for consideration and passage of the 2019 Budget. The recommendations include adoption of 2.3 million barrels of crude oil production as daily production target; that the government adopts $60 as benchmark for crude oil in the 2109 fiscal year; That it also adopts N305 to USD1 as official exchange rate for the fiscal year 2019; Adopt the recommendation of N1.64 trillion as new borrowing to fund budget deficit and advises relevant agencies to continue exploring ways of generating additional revenues for government to bring down the fiscal deficit. “That the sum of N500billion only special intervention fund is adopted to enjoin the cooperation of relevant committees and other relevant ministries, departments and agencies MDAs in ensuring that the funds are judiciously utilized to provide a positive tangible impact of the funds on the Nigerian people.” Other sub recommendations of the committees also adopted were that the Federal Government should consider reducing the granting of waivers and exemptions while ensuring that the Nigerian Customs Service personnel are at all oil terminals for accountability and the Federal Inland Revenue Service should consider increasing tax on luxury goods and services. The House also adopted the recommendation that 20 percent operating surplus to be remitted by government owned enterprises should be deducted bat source. $30,000 lobby allegation Buhari’s camp peddling shameless lies —Atiku By Dirisu Yakubu Acandidate BUJA—Presidential of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2019 elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has described as “total fabrication,” the allegation allegedly instigated by the President Muhammadu Buhari campaign team that he had hired a United States of America lobby group at a sum of $30,000 to persuade the country’s congress not to recognise the re-election of President in the February 9, 2019 election. Reacting to what he called “shameless lies,” Atiku’s Media Adviser, Mr. Paul Ibe, yesterday, said the latest “Dirty propaganda against the former Vice President didn’t come as a surprise to us because lying has so far become their only bragging rights of competence.” In a statement in Abuja, Ibe said, “Lying has become a culture to the All Progressives Congress, APC, administration and therefore, we are not surprised by their latest diversionary allegations. Since Atiku resisted pressure not to go to court, the APC has been behaving like a cat on hot bricks because the outcome of the 2019 elections has exposed and shattered the facade of their dubious integrity. “The APC is behaving nervously like a thief living under the fear of being exposed and shamed. They are now using fake news against Atiku instead of focusing on defending themselves in the court. For a party that has broken the worst record in election rigging, the APC doesn’t have any iota of integrity to be taken seriously by anybody." Lawan already has 73 votes, says <strong>Senate</strong> spokesman as CSOs back APC By Henry Umoru ABUJA—AHEAD of the inauguration of the 9th <strong>Senate</strong> and the coming on board of new Presiding officers, Chairman, <strong>Senate</strong> Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger North), yesterday, said that the <strong>Senate</strong> Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan (APC, Yobe) will have 73 Senators from across party lines to vote for him. This is as a coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs), led by Centre for Policy Advocacy and Leadership Development (CPALD) threw its weight behind the emergence of Senator Ahmed Lawan as next President of the <strong>Senate</strong> describing his adoption by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as in line with global parliamentary best practices. In a release signed on their behalf by the Director, Democracy and Governance of CPALD, Comrade Joe Mesele, the CSOs said: “We have watched with keen interest for some weeks now debates as to the proprietary of the leadership of the APC in nominating Senator Ahmed Lawan as its Candidate for the President of the <strong>Senate</strong> of the 9th Assembly. We at the Centre for Policy Advocacy and leadership Development alongside ten of our sister CSOs hereby unequivocally state that we are on the same page in advancing the course of democracy in Nigeria and therefore view the development as welcome because it’s in line with international Parliamentary best practices. We have studied Parliamentary developments in several advanced democracies and came to the conclusion that the leadership of those Parliaments are usually members with the requisite cognate experience – Usually leaders of the ruling party’s caucuses. And right now in Nigeria, the leader of the APC caucuses in the <strong>Senate</strong> is Senator Ahmed Lawan. He is therefore, without sentiments, eminently qualified to hold the position.” Lawan ahead Addressing journalists yesterday, in Abuja, Senator Abdullahi who is the spokesman of the Ahmad Lawan for <strong>Senate</strong> President, said “Let me say very clearly that the nature of parliament is such that you cannot shut anybody out. It is not possible. I want Nigerians who look at those of us who are the actors and take note of what we say. That is the most important thing. “I want to submit and assure Nigerians that by the special grace of God, if Senator Lawan gets there, he will run an all inclusive government because the <strong>Senate</strong> is the <strong>Senate</strong> of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The 109 senators are individual senators representing the various senatorial districts in the country. They have inalienable rights to be heard and listened to for government to work for them no matter our differences and no matter the sentiments that we share.
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11042019 - INSECURITY: Senate condemns killings; insists on State Police

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