Senate to Vote on Constitution Amendment Today

The Chairman Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, announced yesterday that the Senate will today vote on new amendments to the Constitution.

 

This is coming two months after the exercise was suspended as a result of controversy. The controversy arose due to a clause that sought to empower the President to initiate the Constitution amendment process.

 

Senator Ekweremadu said the Senate will vote on the other proposed amendments that were not considered before the previous withdrawal.

 

One of the proposed amendments to be voted on today include: the alteration of Section 68 and 109 to mandate the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Clerks of States Houses of Assembly to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission in writing within seven days of the existence of a vacancy arising from death, resignation or defection of a member of the National Assembly or a member of the State House of Assembly respectively.

 

Another of the proposed amendment is the alteration of Section 134 and 179 which aims to extend the time for conducting presidential and governorship re-run election  from seven days to 21 days as contained in Clause 4 and 5.

 

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FG Aims N100bn IGR for FCT

The Senate has passed for third reading the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Internal Revenue Board Bill 2014, which aims to increase the annual Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the for the territory to N100bn.

 

The FCT presently has N250m statutory allocation from the Federation Account while it had proposed a N30bn budget for 2014.

 

Chairman, Senate Committee on the FCT, Senator Smart Adeyemi, said the bill will enable the FCT to have a revenue board, adding that it would also help to accelerate the socio-economic development of the FCT.

 

“With the coming of the board in place,” Senator Adeyemi said, “the FCT would be able to generate revenue internally and that will help to augment what is coming from the Federation Account.”

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President Jonathan Meets with Members of PDP Caucus

President Goodluck Jonathan last night met with members of the national caucus of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

 

The meeting was set for 8 pm at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.

 

According to the PDP constitution, members of the national caucus include the National Chairman who shall preside over all the national caucus meetings of the party.

 

Other members of the national caucus include the President and Vice-President, if they are members of the party; the President of the Senate, Deputy President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the deputy speaker, principal officers of the National Assembly, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, chairman of the BoT and the national secretary of the party, the national legal adviser and national treasurer, among other members of the party.

 

The governors of the caucus include Gov Ibrahim Shema, for the North-West, Gov Gabriel Suswam, for the North-Central, Gov Theodore Orji, for South-East, Gov Emmanuel Uduaghan, for South-South, Gov Isa Yuguda, for North-East and the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Gov Godswill Akpabio.

 

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FCT Agency, UNESCO, to Train 50,000 Women on Literacy, Skills Acquisition

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Agency for Mass Education in collaboration with UNESCO has concluded plans to train over 50, 000 women in the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers State in literacy and skills acquisition.

The Director of the agency, Alhaji Musa Yakubu, who made this known at the weekend in Abuja said the training would start by June and last for three years.

“They will teach them on how to read and write through the ICT. 20,000 women will be trained in the first year, 10, 000 for FCT and 10, 000 for Rivers,” he said. “They will not only be taught how to read and write, they will also be taught some basic skills such as catering services, tailoring and soap making, among others.’’

Alhaji Yakubu added that the agency would create awareness, provide facilitators and arrange for the venue of the programme while UNESCO would provide instructional materials.

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Appeal Court in Abuja Acquits Ex-M-Tel Boss

Court of Appeal in Abuja has discharged and acquitted a former Chief Executive Officer of M-Tel, Mr Edwin Momife, of allegedly taking bribes from German telecommunications firm, Siemens Limited.

 

Delivering the judgement, Justice Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson, said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ought not to have subjected him to a trial because no offence known to law was established against him.

 

Justice Akomolafe-Wilson, held that the Siemens officials, with whom Momife was said to have conspired, were not charged even when they were not said to be on the run, adding that the accused could not have conspired with himself.

 

Mr Momife had been charged with a former Director of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Mr Maigada Shuaibu, former General Manager of Finance in the defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), Mr Emmanuel Ossai, and former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Power and Steel, Mr Mahmood Mohammed, before an Abuja High Court sitting at Wuse Zone 2, for allegedly receiving bribes from Siemens Limited.

All the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

 

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BringBackOurGirls: Lessons We Must Learn

There is nothing so terrifying to any parent as the horror of not being able to keep his or her child safe.

It was therefore with shock and consternation that, on April 15th, 2014, we, as a nation, received the chilling news that over 200 girls had been abducted from a government school in Chibok, Borno State.

The “Chibok” abduction has finally done what the previous 10 years of killing and destruction failed to do.  It has galvanized public opinion in Nigeria and worldwide and it has united us as a nation to condemn and confront the Boko Haram menace.The facts of the abduction are horrific and the plight of the girls heart-breaking but the full implications of this incident go far beyond the immediate outcry it has caused.  It raises profound and disturbing questions about our beliefs and values as a nation. It has raised a mirror unto our society and forced us to look ourselves and ask who we are and what we stand for.  What value do we place on human life?

The girls must be found and brought back but these and other lingering and deep questions will not go away.  The issues the incident has raised must be addressed by all Nigerians as we join hands to build a better nation where the life of every single person is precious.  A nation where every individual, male or female is protected and nurtured.  A nation where every citizen is given the scope to fully develop his or her potential.

Efforts are being made to bring back the girls with international help and support but despite the outcry and all the attention, no tangible progress appears to have been made in securing their safety and release.

What lessons should we learn from this situation?

The outright violation of human life by this sect of insurgents has given birth to the world wide movement aptly named #BringBackOurGirls. It is unfortunate that the solidarity of world citizens is often only engendered by tragic conditions and situations such as this. Nevertheless, we must as a nation and a people seize this opportunity to all lend our voices in condemnation of the Boko Haram cancer that has infected our nation. EVERY NIGERIAN must speak and act as one in this matter.  This lingering menace affects all of us, and cuts across religion, ethnicity, economic situation or political affiliation.

We should not let this happen again to any Nigerian in any part of Nigeria. We are our brother’s keepers.

We have the power to determine how we wish to be governed. Therefore, we must fulfil our civic responsibilities and show our elected Officials what true Leadership means, to stand with the Chibok community and to get involved in whatever capacity that we can to help bring back our girls and fight the scourge of Boko Haram. We must move from dialogue to action, to ensure that our children are safe and secure.

We believe that to combat the several ills that bedevil our society, including the growth of terrorism, corruption and the bestial immorality practiced by Boko Haram and others of its ilk, we must begin to guard our rights as citizens more jealously and carry out our civic responsibilities more resolutely. Politics is far too important to be left only to politicians. 

 In a democratic setting, it is the involvement of citizens that produces enlightened leadership.

 

***About Africa Leadership Initiative West Africa (ALIWA)

Established in 2006, ALIWA is a joint venture of the Aspen Institute (USA), Databank Foundation (Ghana) and LEAP Africa (Nigeria). We seek to capture the energy, the talent and the resolve of an emerging generation of leaders in Africa -- leaders who have already realized a certain level of success -- and to inspire them to move from success to significance by engaging in the foremost challenges of their countries and their times.

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Small Dreams and the Imaginary N5m

Corruption and the obvious suspects apart, one of the issues bedeviling us as a people and specifically as a generation is our small dreams and ambitions. Why else would anyone think a man who has graced the biggest speaking platforms all around the world, including the United Nations, the African Union and a stint at a reputable European University would stoop so low to become another man’s assistant on New Media just so he can be ensconced in the mud on behalf of the President to seek who to drag down with him? If this sounds like pride, please take it all in because the best way to show one doesn’t need something is to show one has something of better value or at worst of equal value. By God’s grace, my state is of better value than some of the nonsense I get accused of.

I have dreams, but if I wake up one morning to see I have taken say Reno Omokri’s job – like his minions want many to believe – I’d go back to bed again just to be rid of the nightmare. I have since gone past that stage. If that doesn’t settle that part, then the delusion I have since believed many in the government and their cronies suffer from might be deeper than imagined.

Smarting from the blackmail of being accused of spending time in a German prison – like spending time in prison has become a state secret that no reputable German platform would publish it – Doyin Okupe and Reno Omokri felt it would be better to tell a lie involving money. Everyone knows that an average Nigerian believes the other Nigerian is only waiting for a chance to eat off the national cake. That must have informed the attempt at deciding a blackmail involving money would fly higher, faster and better. As usual, they are feeding off their own faecal droppings.

I had been invited by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi to be at a Democracy Day event in Port Harcourt as a speaker. My schedule couldn’t permit it so I gracefully turned it down. While at another international engagement, an email came making the same request, this time with my itinerary accommodating the event, albeit involving me rushing from an Abuja event to the airport. I deliver speeches all around the world. Irrespective of how rich or poor the host organization is, my travel costs and accommodation incidentals are borne by the host. I used to compromise on this but not anymore. On select occasions, I do not send any invoice across to be paid for my time. On this Port Harcourt occasion, I didn’t send any invoice across, but I made it clear to the organisers my flight and accommodation would be borne by them.

This piece is not about what happened at the event proper; that can be read elsewhere. It turned out I’d not be making any speech. It was a question and answer gathering between the governor and all the invited guests. It did not matter much to me as I saw it a chance to get the governor to answer certain burning questions. It was a feisty session between the governor and some of those present. It felt great to see so called ordinary Nigerians engage a Nigerian governor without fear or favour. That is not to say the usual sycophants did not have their say.

All the questions I asked the governor were from my followers on Twitter. On the blackmail, at first, the tweets started from twitter accounts associated with Reno Omokri and Doyin Okupe. They stated I had collected N250,000.00 from the governor. I saw the tweets and felt so bad for those tweeting them. One had to feel bad for people who saw N250,000.00 as something one would collect for a two day engagement. It says everything about the self-worth of those who started the rumours.
Seeing as N250,000.00 refused to fly, they raised it to N5 million. Having created a fake Sahara Reporters page on Facebook, they stated each person present at the media chat got N5 million each from the governor. They even went as far as creating a fake image of a cheque but in their usual shoddy manner did a poor job of that. They had the name of the recipient printed instead of handwritten on the cheque. They had one signatory as though it’d take a signature to move money from a State Government’s account. They could not even bother to check the quoted account number was the usual 10 digits as it is in Nigeria and so they messed that up too. They forgot the cheque being a government’s cheque had to be a crossed one. It was such a shoddy job at blackmail. In fairness to them, they may themselves be less than average in their ability to reason; they obviously understood the psyche of the average person. Few people crosscheck what they see, more people want to see others fall so some bought the lies.

This is not for those gullible enough to believe someone like myself would go to Rivers State to collect money from Governor Amaechi. If I need N5 million, I will make it the same way I have made money since I was a kid: create value and earn it. For some of us, the joy of having money comes from the thrill of creating value.

Those in the mud are desperate to have others join them. It is like a student who fails a course and derives a lot of joy from knowing that many others failed the same course. That way, there is a comradeship in failure. The President’s aides are desperate for comradeship in their ensconced state in the mud. Of a truth, if they are patient enough, they will have some more people willingly join them there because as far as money goes, money will fail anyway. I may fail at that sometime tomorrow but I haven’t. Those who stand for people like myself, who believe in our ways and words and who are inspired by our bravery and stance against bad governance can rest assured we still stand!

N5 million is less than £18,000. It is too small a scandal, and Reno Omokri especially in his state of mind as Wendell Simlin should know better. Why not raise the money to an amount big enough for attention or even attach it to one or two terrorist blasts like he did his February 26, 2014 letter. Hard to expect Doyin Okupe not to be involved in this but it would help to see them set up a real scandal as blackmail. This was too easy to unravel. You can fool all the fools at the same time but you must do better if you must fool those smart enough to think beyond fake websites and fake Sahara Reporters Facebook pages.

 

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