POLITICS
Ninth N’Assembly has Stabilized Polity, Economy — Lawan
…Says Nigerians will Remember Assembly for its Achievements
By Jude Opara, Abuja
Senate President Ahmad Lawan, has boasted that the Ninth National Assembly has done so well to have stabilized both the Polity as well as the nation’s economy.
This is also as he added that Nigerians will remember the Assembly under his leadership for its outstanding legislative achievements after the end of its tenure in 2023.
Lawan made the assertions yesterday when the members of the Senate Press Corps paid a visit to felicitate with him on the occasion of his 63rd birthday in Abuja.
He further stated that the upper chamber and indeed the National Assembly has been committed to serving the interest of Nigerians in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities.
According to Lawan, no amount of name-calling by critics would stop the lawmakers from considering and passing bills and legislations that are people friendly and in the overall benefit of the country.
The Senate President said; “We believe that there is a price to pay for anything, but we are patriotic. Let us be called any name, what we want to do and achieve is for our country to be better.
“Tomorrow, some of these people that are calling us all types of names will be writing very good commentaries about what we have been able to achieve in this Ninth National Assembly.
“Majority of Nigerians are happy with what we are doing, we are not perfect, we make our errors and we will correct them.
“We identify with our citizens but we will always do what is in the best interest of our country.”
Speaking further, Lawan disclosed that in 2022, the National Assembly would focus on security through oversight of funds appropriated in this year’s budget to the armed forces and the entire security agencies.
“That takes me to the challenge for the National Assembly, particularly the Senate in 2022.
“So far, we have done over 90% percent of what we set for ourselves in our legislative agenda, but because the country and people are dynamic, we have so many other things to do.
“Today, the security situation still begs for more attention. We will give a lot of attention to the security situation.
“We have appropriated about a trillion for our security agencies and armed forces, now it is for members of the National Assembly to ensure that the procurement process by the armed forces are transparent and everybody there is accountable.
“We should do oversight as much as possible for the welfare of our soldiers and security personnel. They need to continuously be motivated.”
The Senate President who was flanked by some principal officers of the upper chamber added that the Senate would in the first-quarter of the year address the challenges of revenue generation, collection and remittance to shore up earnings by the federal government.
“We still have a huge responsibility, and, in fact, it is something that we wanted to do last year, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic we couldn’t do so.
“This year, by the grace of God, we are going to resuscitate that plan, and it is to keep and maintain focus on revenue generation, collection and remittance.
“Our Revenue to GDP ratio is very low, and the economists will tell you Nigeria’s problem is not debt but revenue.
“So, if that is the case, it means those of us in government must focus on dealing with the challenges of revenue generation, revenue collection and remittance.
“This year, we are going to have engagements with the revenue generating agencies such as Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA), Customs, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and so on, on a quarterly basis, to have their targets set for them, and we want them to come and brief us on their performance every quarter.
“We hope to start the first meeting, which is an exploratory kind of meeting with them either this month or early February.
“We want to see how we can make positive difference in the area of revenue generation.
“Nobody likes taking loans, borrowing or accumulating debts, wether as an individual, a family, a community or as a country.
“But what can you do when you’re not able to generate enough? We are as concerned as anybody else about our level of borrowing, even though we have not saturated, but if we can do better why not reduce, and the best way to reduce is to get more revenues from especially independent sources.
“The government owned enterprises are supposed to give us more money. In 2022, we are expecting maybe about a trillion, I’m not an economist, but I believe that we should be expecting maybe double or triple from them.”
He also revealed that efforts would made to reduce the level of borrowing by the federal government by ensuring that the government revenue generating agencies lived up to the expectations.
POLITICS
Assembly Passes Edo N675bn 2025 Budget for Assent
The Edo House of Assembly on Monday passed the state 2025 budget of N675 billion for assent.
The passage followed the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Budget and Project Monitoring at plenary in Benin.
Presenting the report, the chairman of the committee, Sunday Fada, (PDP Esan Central) said the budget was made up of N225 billion recurrent expenditure and N451 billion capital expenditure.
Fada noted that the committee came up with the increase in the budgetary allocation to enable the governor carry out his five points agenda in the state.
The House at the committee of Supply, considered the budget clause by clause and subsequently, approved the increase from N605.
7 billion to N675 billion.The Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, thereafter directed Mr Yahaya Omogbai, the clerk of the house to forward clean copies of the budget to the governor for his assent. (NAN)
POLITICS
Poverty, Behind Deadly Stampedes Across Nigeria, says Falana
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Sunday attributed the deadly stampede that claimedmore than 105 lives in stampedes during food and cash distribution events to “poverty-induced neoliberal economic policies” and “criminal negligence.
”In a statement released on Sunday, Falana, who chairs the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond ASCAB, demanded justice for victims of the tragic events, saying, “These tragic events are a national shame, the victims were not just statistics but human beings driven to desperation by systemic poverty and the gross incompetence of those entrusted with their safety.
”On December 21, 12 people died and 32 others were injured in Okija, Anambra State, during a scramble for rice distributed by a philanthropist.
On the same day, a stampede at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama, Abuja, resulted in the deaths of 10 individuals, including children, as over 3,000 people jostled for palliatives.
Just two days prior, on December 19, 35 children lost their lives in a stampede at a Christmas funfair at an Islamic High School, Basorun. in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“The loss of these innocent lives is heart-wrenching,” Falana lamented.
“It underscores the indignity that poverty imposes on our people.”
Falana also criticized the elite for their treatment of the poor during such events, stating, “No member of the elite invites others to lunch by throwing the food,” and condemned what he termed “class prejudice” in the distribution of humanitarian aid.
He also announced plans to mobilize lawyers to pursue civil suits against the organizers of these events.
“We will ensure survivors and families of the deceased are adequately compensated,” Falana affirmed. “Those responsible for these avoidable tragedies must be held accountable.”
POLITICS
2025 budget: LP Chieftain Lauds Tinubu for Diving Priority to Security, Others
Dr Ayo Olorunfemi, National Deputy Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) ,has commended President Bola Tinubu for giving priority to security and other key sectors in the 2025 Appropriation Bill .
Olorunfemi gave the commendation while speaking with newsmeon Thursday in Lagos.
NAN reports that the President had on Wednesday presented the N47.
9 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill , christened “Budget of Restoration, Securing Peace and Rebuilding Prosperity” , to a joint session of the National Assembly .The President listed highlights of the 2025 budget allocations to include: defense and security: N4.91 trillion; infrastructure: N4.06 trillion; Health: N2.
48 trillion and Education: N3.52 trillion.Reacting , Olorunfemi described security as an enabler of development.
He called on the President to ensure proper implementation ,saying budgets had always been well-crafted but usually lacked monitoring and implementation.
“There is nothing that can happen if there is no security. This is good if the budget is properly utilised for the purpose.
“Our problem is not about policies and budgets, it is about monitoring and implementation.
“There is nothing wrong in bringing a budget proposal forward in terms of expectation, what we want to do, how we want to do it, and how much we want to spend.
“Now, the most important thing is the implementation,, budgets in Nigeria have always been properly crafted,” the LP boss said.
Olorunfemi called on the President to build strong institutions to prevent sabotaging of his policies.
“If this government wants to do anything, it must wake up to the responsibility of monitoring policies and ensure severe penalty for anyone who attempts to sabotage such policies.
“We need institutions that no one will be able to interfere with. We must allow these institutions to work, that is what we expect.
“Once we have strong institutions, most of our problems are solved,” he said.
He also called on the President to take steps to address the problems experienced by Nigerians in the banking sector.
Olorunfemi decried the inability of many Nigerians to get cash at bank’s Automated Teller Machines and the high charges paid to get cash from Point of Sales (POS) operators.
The LP boss also urged the President to devise ways of ending multiple taxations and high fuel price, describing them as major causes of hardship .
Recalled that the President said that the budget was a demonstration of government’s commitment to stabilising the economy, improving lives and repositioning the country for greater performance.
He also said the budget sought to consolidate the key policies instituted to restructure the economy, boost human capital development, increase the volume of trade and investments and bolster oil and gas production. (NAN)