24022020

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2020
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
RETREAT—Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, (2nd left); Minister of State in the ministry,
Engr. Abubakar Aliyu (1st left); Permanent Secretary, Works and Housing, Mohammed Bukar (2nd right), with
Ag. Surveyor General of the Federation, Surveyor Taiwo Adeniran, at the day 1 of the 7th Edition of the retreat for
heads of departments and chief executive officers of agencies of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, with
the theme:"'Service Delivery for National Prosperity', at the Gombe International Hotel, in Gombe State, Friday.
N5bn on exotic cars: SERAP sues
Gbajabiamila, Reps
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni
LAGOS—THE Socio-
Economic Rights and
Accountability Project,
SERAP, and 192 concerned
Nigerians have
filed a lawsuit asking the
Federal High Court in
Abuja to restrain and stop
Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Mr.
Femi Gbajabiamila and all
members of the House
from spending an estimated
N5.04 billion to buy 400
exotic cars for principal
officers and members.
However, no date has
been fixed for the hearing
of the suit.
SERAP is also seeking
a court order to “restrain
and stop the National
Assembly Service
Commission from
releasing any public funds
to the House of
Representatives to buy
400 Toyota Camry 2020
model cars estimated to
cost $35,130 each until an
impact assessment of the
spending on access to
public services and goods
like education, security,
health, and clean water, is
carried out.”
Recall that the House of
Representatives during
an executive session held
on 5th February 2020
reportedly passed a
resolution that 400 Toyota
Camry 2020 cars be
purchased as official
vehicles for 360 members
and other persons, including
top management staff,
Chief of Staff to the two
presiding officers, as well
as some of their special
advisers and assistants.
In the suit number FHC/
ABJ/CS/205/2020, filed
last Friday, on behalf of
SERAP and the concerned
Nigerians by their lawyers
Kolawole Oluwadare, and
Opeyemi Owolabi, stated
that: “Nigerians have a
right to honest and faithful
performance by their
public officials including
lawmakers, as public
officials owe a fiduciary
duty to the general
citizenry. All those who
L AGOS—THE
National Assembly
and the Federal Ministry
of Environment have
disclosed that there are
plans to sponsor a bill
meant to prohibit the
production of plastics with
a view to preserving the
environment.
A member of the Senate
Committee on Marine
Transport, Senator
Tolulope Odebiyi,
disclosed this in Lagos at
the launch of the Maritime
Action Plan for Marine
Litter and Plastics
Management in Nigeria
hosted by the Nigerian
Maritime Administration
and Safety Agency,
NIMASA.
Odebiyi said the bill
would be harmonised with
hold the strings of political
power over spending of
Nigeria’s commonwealth
have a duty to answer for
their conduct when called
upon to do so by
Nigerians.”
In a statement by
Deputy Director of SERAP,
Mr. Oluwadare, the
plaintiffs also maintained
that: “It is illegal and
unconstitutional for
members of the House of
Representatives to choose
to buy expensive and
exotic cars while
encouraging Nigerians to
tighten their belts and to
patronize Nigerian
brands. It is also illegal for
members to reject cheaper
and equally reliable
options.”
According to the
plaintiffs, “If the members
of House of
Representatives take their
duties to the most
vulnerable and
disadvantaged among us
seriously, including their
duties to judiciously
spend public funds, they
would not have voted to
spend over $35,000 per
car, especially given the
current economic and
financial realities of
Nigeria."
The suit read in part:
“Members of the House of
Representatives are either
unaware of the
constitutional and
statutory provisions on
their fiduciary duties and
judicious use of public
funds or deliberately
glossing over these
provisions.”
FG to stop use of plastic, plans bill to
ban material
By Godwin Oritse
input from the Federal
Ministry of Environment
to make a holistic law that
would impose tough
sanctions on the
production of organic
polymers.
Odebiyi said: “I am
happy NIMASA has
taken the lead in ensuring
that our waterways and all
our water bodies are
clean, safe and a vital
source of economic activity
for us in this country.
“I sponsored a bill with
regards to plastic
pollution and the
proliferation of plastics in
the country. The issue is
getting to an alarming
state.
“NIMASA has taken
the lead. But this is the
back end of it. We also
have to look at the front
end. We are spending billions
of naira tiding up the
environment; we also
have people making
billions of naira
contributing to this menace.
That is where the bill
is aiming. You cannot continue
to generate pollution,
clog our waterways,
cause erosion, flooding
and all kinds of things,
and some people are making
money, knowing well
that their product is contributing
to the pollution.
“The Senate is much interested
in this issue. We
see the environment as a
vital economic resource for
us in this country. We will
be working with NIMASA,
Federal Ministry of
Environment, and all the other
agencies.”
In his remarks, Director-
General of NIMASA, Dr.
Dakuku Peterside, lamented
that Nigeria was among the 20
countries generating more
than 80 per cent of the landbased
plastic wastes that end
up in the oceans.
Lagos streamlines offences
to be prosecuted by Police
By Henry Ojelu
L AGOS—THE
Attorney General
and Commissioner for
Justice in Lagos State, Mr.
Moyosore Onigbanjo,
SAN, weekend, said plans
are underway to deploy
district prosecutors to take
over prosecution of cases
from Police prosecutors
who are not lawyers in
Magistrates courts.
Mr. Onigbanjo disclosed
this at the weekend in his
office at Alausa, Ikeja
while speaking with
newsmen on the report of
the Advisory Committee
set up to review
prosecution of cases by the
police in magistrate court.
The AG said the district
prosecutors would be
deployed to Ogba, Ebute-
Metta and Ikorodu
Magistrates as a pilot
scheme.
He said: “We accept the
recommendation of the
committee to put in a filter
mechanism. With
immediate effect, we shall
commence deployment of
LASG shuts 329 health
facilities over non-compliance
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni
LAGOS—THE Lagos
State Government,
through the Health Facility
Monitoring and Accreditation
Agency, HEFAMAA,
said a total of 329 facilities
were shut down in 2019 for
lack of compliance to stipulated
standards.
The Executive Secretary
of HEFAMAA, Dr. Abiola
Idowu, who disclosed this
at the weekend, after a
recent enforcement exercise
carried out by the agency,
said that 309 were shut last
year, while additional 20
were shut in January 2020.
Idowu warned that the
state government would
not tolerate any form of
illegal health practices in
Rewane to headline Rotary’s
World Peace Day in Lagos
L AGOS—TO
commemorate the
115th anniversary of
Rotary International, the
organisation’s District
9110, which covers Lagos
and Ogun states, has concluded
plans to host the
2020 World Peace and Understanding
day ceremony.
Scheduled for
Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi,
the event which has its
theme as “Promoting
World Peace and
Understanding Through
Food Security”, according
district prosecutors in
three pilot magisterial
districts (Ebutte-Metta.
lkorodu, Ogba) to vet
charges and review case
files presented by the
Investigating Police
Officers, IPO, and ensure
it meets evidential
threshold required by law.
“We will meet with the
Police to categorize the
offences lay prosecutor
will handle, while we will
ensure adequate
monitoring of such cases.
“To demonstrate our
commitment to
collaboration and
enhanced capacity of
Police prosecutors, Mr.
Governor recently
approved the renovation
of the library in State CID
Panti, with equipped legal
resources to assist them
with research and deepen
their knowledge of the
law.
“We will continue to
collaborate with the Police
and engage the
Commissioner of Police to
deliberate and find lasting
results to issues as they arise.
the state, saying, “health
security is an integral part
of public security which is
the primary duty of the
government.”
She urged all health
facility operators across the
State to abide strictly by the
standards of HEFAMAA to
avoid being sanctioned.
Idowu said: “I advise
Lagosians to be cautious
and desist from patronizing
uncertified service
providers and if you suspect
a foul play or notice illegal
operations in your
community, do not hesitate
to contact HEFAMAA for
prompt action."
Idowu, also, urged the
populace to have
confidence in the
government’s ability to
fulfill the mandate of
accessible, affordable
qualitative healthcare.
to the District Governor,
Jide Akeredolu, will have
renowned financial expert,
Mr. Bismarck Rewane
as Keynote Speaker
Ḋiscussants include Dr.
Biodun Adedipe, Chief
Consultant, Adedipe
Associate Limited, Mr.
Mezuo Nwuneli,
Managing Partner, Sahel
Capital Agribusiness
Managers Limited, Dr.
Aliyu Samaila, Director,
Agribusiness Feed The
Future Nigeria and Navy
Commodore Daniel
Atakpa, blue economy
expert.