POLITICS
Gbajabiamila seeks Deeper Parliamentary Cooperation With Egypt
By Orkula Shaagee, AbujaThe Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila has emphasised the need for deeper parliamentary cooperation between Nigeria and Egypt.Gbajabiamila spoke while receiving the Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives, Rt.
Hon. Aly Abdel Sayed Ahmed in his office where he sought to know how Egypt was able to move between the practice of bicameral and unicameral legislatures without rancour.
H noted that though the two countries have been enjoying great relationships since the 1960s, the time has come for the Parliaments of both countries to explore other areas that would be of mutual benefits to them.Saying that there are lots to do together between the two parliaments, Gbajabiamila requested to know what informed the decision of Egypt to go back to the bicameral legislature after the Senate was abolished in 2014. “These are issues that are very important to us. I understand that before 2014, your parliament was bicameral, and in 2014, you became unicameral and now you’ve just amended your constitution to go back to bicameral and bring your Senate back,” he said.In addition, the Speaker expressed his interest in the ratio of women in the Egyptian parliament of about 600 lawmakers with about 100 women and how that was achieved.He said avenues to ensure more Nigerian companies operate in Egypt should be explored by the North African country, that has over 50 companies operating in Nigeria.Additionally, with about 10,000 Nigerian students in Egypt on Student Exchange Programmes, Gbajabiamila said more Egyptian students should come to Nigeria to further their education because the current arrangement favours Egyptian economy more considering the huge foreign exchange from Nigerian students.The Speaker also informed his guest that Nigeria would want to learn how Egypt is tackling some common challenges like terrorism.Gbajabiamila expressed the readiness of the House to visit Egypt as soon as practicable where further areas of cooperation would be explored.In his response, the Speaker of the Egyptian parliament Sayed Ahmed said the issue of the parliament was constitutional, saying, “Regarding unicameral and bicameral parliament, in our 1971 constitution, we have only unicameral change.“The constitution was amended in 1980 to adopt bicameral parliament, but a lot of criticism trailed the bicameral legislature because Egypt is a central and not a federal state and passing legislation in bicameral parliament consumes a lot of time.“The existence of the other chamber, from an economic point of view, costs a lot. This was the reason why Egyptians cancelled the Senate from the constitution in 2014. The Speaker was part of the Committee that wrote the constitution.“But we note that the global ratio for representing people that should be one seat in parliament should represent 100,000 or 120,000 people. If we perform that ratio, we may reach 800 members of parliament in our parliament, but that is not practical.“The main reason we adopted the Senate again was to increase parliamentary participation by the people. That’s is why we have another chamber. The proposal now is 300 seats in the Senate, 100 of them appointed by the President of the Republic and 200 directly elected by the people.“On women representation in the Egyptian parliament, we already have some provisions in the constitution that make some discrimination to women.“We have some plain provisions in the constitution without percentage, but in the last constitutional amendment, we make a clear provision that stipulates that not less than 25 per cent of the seats in the House of Representatives should be granted to women”. |
POLITICS
I Didn’t Call for Ganduje’s Resignation – Alia
From Attah Ede, Makurdi
Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue has denied calling for the resignation of Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman.
This was contained in a press statement issued on Wednesday in Makurdi by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Tersoo Kula.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CPS was reacting to some media reports that the governor has called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
The Kula said the governor at no time called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
He said the governor enjoyed a good relationship with the Ganduje-led leadership of APC.
“It is imperative to clarify that at no point did Governor Alia assembled, attended and sent a representative or participated in any meeting to discuss the removal or call for resignation of Alhaji. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“The Benue State governor remains firm in his support and allegiance to the leadership of the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Alhaji Ganduje.
“Furthermore, at no point, whether publicly or privately, has the governor advocated or expressed any desire for the resignation of the National party chairman”, he said.
He said the governor was focused on positively changing the fortunes of the state.
“He is alive to his responsibilities as the leader of APC in Benue State and is doing everything legitimate to reposition the party for future victories.” Kula said.
Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in Benue State said it has withdrawn the only case filed by the embattled state chairman of the party, comrade Austin Agada that was pending before High Court 4 in Makurdi.
It said the said case has been consequently struck out by Justice T.A. Kume.
The state publicity secretary of the party, Daniel Ihomun, said this was done in compliance with the directive of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in its 146th meeting held on the 20th March, 2024, wherein resolutions targeting peace were made directing all pending cases filed by members of the party in Benue State against the party or concerning the party and its members be withdrawn within 7 days.
Mr. Ihomun in a statement, made available to newsmen in Makurdi, said the State Legal Adviser of the APC, Alyebo Mathew Esq, at the instance of the state chairman, filed a Notice of Withdrawal on the 25th March, 2024, in the only case filed by the chairman that was pending before High Court 4 in Makurdi.
The party urged all members affected by the directive to withdraw all matters in court to clear the way for proper reconciliation that will ultimately pave the way for peace in the party.
POLITICS
Mutfwang Meets PDP North Central Leadership Calls for Unity among Officials
From Jude Dangwam, Jos
The Executive Governor of Plateau State, Barrister Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang has called for unity a purpose among officials of the North Central geopolitical political zone towards the growth of the party in the region.
He noted that the region has consistently remained a stronghold for the PDP since its inception, attributing it to the party’s ideologies and its developmental impact on the citizens at any given opportunity.
Governor Mutfwang made the commendation during a meeting on Wednesday with PDP officials from the North Central, led by the zonal National Vice Chairman, Hon. Theophilus Dakas Shan, at Plateau House in Abuja the nation’s capital.
While applauding the dedication, patriotism, and steadfast support of the PDP officials in the region for their role in promoting unity and internal democracy in the party reiterated that such dedication will not be forgotten by the party.
Governor Mutfwang through his Director of Press and Public Affairs expressed his gratitude to the zonal officials for their commitment during the 2023 general elections, an effort he said aligned with the party’s principles.
He reiterated that the party’s mission is to govern not for personal gain but for the people’s liberation, voicing his expectation that the PDP will continue to be the people’s party, deserving of significant involvement in its administration.
As the opposition party, the Governor emphasized the need to strive for the governance Nigerians aspire to, stating, “We must offer constructive criticism to the government and ensure the Nigerian people are not shortchanged.”
The Governor announced plans to reform the party into a robust, dependable, and credible political platform that enables Nigerians to run for elections and fulfill the promise of democracy.
The National Vice Chairman of the PDP North Central Zone, Hon. Theophilus Dakas Shan, congratulated Governor Mutfwang on his election and Supreme Court victories.
He pledged full support to his administration, noting that the Governor’s unique position as the sole PDP-elected Governor from the zone will not be taken for granted.
He acknowledged the North Central’s role in electing the National Chairman of the PDP by consensus before the 2023 elections. However, recent political events in Benue State, has set aside the Chairman from office adding that the zone needs to address the matter as a family.
Hon. Shan said plans are underway to hold congresses of the Party and called for unity to ensure that the process is reliable, credible, and universally accepted, thereby minimizing potential litigation.
POLITICS
FG Seeks Swedish Govt Support on Technical Education
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Federal Government is seeking the support of the Swedish Government to help drive its ongoing efforts of integrating technology and skills into the education sector.The Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman who made the appeal while hosting the Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, Annika Hahn-Englung, on a working visit to the ministry on Tuesday in Abuja, said it was important to leverage Sweden’s technical expertise.
The Minister also said the Federal government is seeking the support of the Swedish government in the development of indigenous languages to aid sound educational development in Nigeria. He said: “The presence of (Swedish) tech companies in education and training is very important for us because one of the major things this ministry is focusing on now is to bring technology and skills into our education system right from the very early stage of education and we feel it is a very important mechanism tool for learning and teaching.”And so we will be looking at your experiences to see how we can grow from that because what we want is right from primary school we want our students to be exposed to technology and skills so that at that stage they can grow with it and nurture critical thinking capabilities.“Right now education is not all about just providing training for jobs and skills of today, but preparing them to think about the skills of tomorrow and the best way to do that is by nurturing critical thinking capability right at the early stage.“So we will be leveraging your expertise and experience in order for us to develop our plans and integrate skills and technology into the curriculum at all the levels of our education system in Nigeria.”Mamman who noted that some agreements had been signed between Nigeria and Sweden in the past, however, stressed the need for both countries to deepen bilateral relationships by committing to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in several areas of partnerships.The Swedish envoy had earlier named some Swedish firms in Nigeria engaged in educational and entrepreneurship programmes.Hahn – Englung who expressed Sweden’s readiness to deepen existing relationships, especially in the area of education, noted Sweden’s desire to have more students study in the country’s institutions of higher learning.“We have quite a number of companies especially when it comes to EdTech but then also, we have ideas to see what we can do more together.“We have many Nigerian students going to Sweden every year. They are very competitive students we have noticed but we will like to see that expand more.”