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Nigerian Group in US Flays House Dep Speaker Over Petition Refusal

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By Orkula Shaagee, Abuja      

The Mutual Union of the Tiv in America (MUTA) has said it was  shocked by the refusal by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, to listen to its petition.

In a statement made available to DAILY ASSET yesterday, MUTA  said on March 10, 2021, the Deputy Speaker summarily dismissed Hon.

Mark Gbillah, representing Gwer/Gwer-West Federal constituency of Benue State, as he unsuccessfully attempted to present a petition to the House on their behalf.

“Is Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, correct in his declaration on the floor of the House, that diaspora Nigerians have lost their rights to present a grievance before the Green Chambers?

“No sooner had Hon.

Gbillah mentioned “Tiv in America” did the Deputy Speaker retort “If they are living in America how can they bring a petition here”? Hon. Gbillah’s repeated efforts to explain fell on deaf ears as Mr. Deputy Speaker shouted at him to sit down and called on the next presenter, while the Chief Whip ordered Hon Gbillah to be guided.

“ This was shameful conduct on the part of Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, and deserves outright condemnation by all Nigerians especially those of us in the Diaspora,” the statement said.

The group argued that as Tiv people of Nigeria living in America, its members were rightful stakeholders in the affairs of Nigeria, especially issues that directly impact the lives of their kith and kin.

“As far as the petition we sent to Hon. Gbillah goes, many of us have relatives who were either killed or displaced by the violence that was unleased on our communities.

“We continue to bear the financial burdens of supporting our relatives at home, many of whom are now languishing in IDP camps. Many of us have not been able to visit our communities over these years because of the continuing insecurity in those communities. Therefore, we insist that the House of Representatives hears our petition, despite the Deputy Speaker’s personal misgivings. 

“We view the hostility displayed by Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase to our cause, to be an extension of the general insensitivity that the national leadership has shown about the welfare of our internally displaced brothers and sisters over these many years.  That leaders show such disdain for citizens’ concerns, may be a reason for the raging violence in every part of Nigeria that is fast turning the country into ungovernable territory. The situation could have been different if the leadership had paid attention to citizen’s concerns from the beginning. 

“How on earth will Nigerians feel a sense of justice when a leader like the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives cavalierly shuts down someone who wants to present  grievances about the welfare of nearly a million citizens? When leaders summarily dismiss matters that bother citizens, such citizens are bound to feel that all avenues for legal recourse have been closed on them. That is precisely how to invite anarchy, which is counterproductive to the developmental needs of a country.  

“We want to place on record that if what Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, the Deputy Speaker, did to MUTA’s petition is not strongly condemned, it would set a precedence that would be repeated on other citizens. We, therefore, call on all Nigerians of conscience to join us in condemning what transpired on the House floor on March 10, 2021, so that those who occupy high offices learn the limits of their arrogance and disdain for citizen concerns,” the group further stated.

Besides, MUTA argued that as an affiliate to Mdzough U Tiv, the Socio-cultural Organisation of the Tiv people, which is properly incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC), it was a legal body that ought to be held by the Lower Chamber.

“We would like to educate the Honorable Deputy Speaker on the value that Nigerians in the Diaspora bring to Nigeria. In 2019, Nigerians residing abroad contributed approximately $23.5 Billion US Dollars to the Nigerian economy in the form of direct business investments and remittances back to their families to help pay for hospital bills, education, and basic amenities like water, energy, food, and security.

“In a normally functioning society, the Nigerian government ought to  have been providing these services, obviating the need for Nigerians abroad to sacrifice their hard earned and sometimes meager salaries.

 “To buttress the significance of the contributions that Nigerians abroad make to the Nigerian economy, it is worth further pointing out that, in 2018, diaspora remittances translated to 83% of the federal budget, and was 11 times the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows.

“ In essence, Nigerians abroad are greatly subsidizing the federal budget yearly. These are the groups of Nigerians that Mr. Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives argues do not have a right to make a petition to the House,” MUTA stressed.

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Bandits Invade Niger Local Market,  Village  Head, 20 Others Killed

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From Dan Amasingha,  Minna

After relative  peace since the start of the Ramadan fast,daredevil Bandits  invaded a Niger local market and killed the Village head and 20 traders in Madaka, Rijau local government areas of Niger State.Rijau Local Government which borders  neighbouring Kebbi State, has experienced consistent banditry attacks in the past one year.

Eye witnesses inform our Correspondent that the suspected bandits riding on motorcycles stormed the market  on Thursday  afternoon  around 3.
30- 4pm  when activities at the market  were  at its peak.According  to the source,  the invading  bandits who shot sporadically  into the air to scare away traders later started ransacking big time traders by carting away food stuffs  and Cash.
Villagers who had the pandemonium at the market square fled into nearby bushes to take cover and the Village head who attempted  to find out  what was happening was shot dead at close range.”At the end of the confusion, we discovered that twenty one persons  including our Village  head were wasted,The Source  maintained that, the bandits before leaving  later set about 50 houses  including commercial shops on fire, and a  number of cars and motorcycles were burnt down during the incident.”After  killing innocent victims and burning down the market they also went away with an unspecified number of the villagers to an unidentified destination”Confirming  the incident,  Madaka District Head, Alhaji Isah Bawale  said  it was a black Thursday evening in a telephone interview on Friday morning.He further recounted that the Community  had come under similar attack some times ago when his predecessor  was killed without any resistance from security agencies.When contacted, Niger State Command of Police Public Relations Officer PPRO SP Wasiu Abiodun assured to verify and get back but he couldn’t revert at the time of filing in the report.Meanwhile, the Niger state government, especially the commissioner for security, General Bello Abdullahi Mohammed (retired) is yet to speak on the incident.

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Women Are Nation Builders, Bayelsa NAWOJ

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From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

The Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Bayelsa State chapter has described women as society builders hence they should be empowered to harness their potentials for nation building.

Chairperson of NAWOJ Bayelsa, Mrs Grace Orumieyefa handed down this during a one day program to commemorate the 2024 International Women Day held at the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ Press Centre in Yenagoa, the state capital.

Mrs Orumieyefa noted that NAWOJ has over the years been at the forefront of advocacy for women rights as the empowerment of women brings empowerment for everyone around her which makes a better society.

Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, Eunice Nnachi Women Advocacy Foundation, ENWAF, Lady Eunice Nnachi urged women to take advantage of technological advancement to improve their learning and training in order to empower themselves.

“You can learn almost anything using the internet, through YouTube, women should use this medium to learn many things and train themselves.”

While responding to questions, she said, women should not be desperate to get life partners but should ensure that they have partners who can help them to achieve their dreams.

The Keynote Speaker, Mrs Ebi Kakandar who delivered a lecture on “Harnessing the Prospects and Potentials of Women” called on women to shun all forms of laziness, be determined and courageous to pursue their life ambitions.

Mrs Kakandar pointed out that factors such as building a growth mindset, improving your emotional mindset, developing willpower, cultivating strong social support, aspiring for greatness and setting achievable goals are some of the keys to achieving success as a woman.

She encouraged women to seek more knowledge and inspire themselves to be self-reliant.

Various organizations such as NUJ, FIDA, NLC, MWAN, Starzz Initiative, DO Foundation, POWA and other women organizations as well as NGOS delivered Goodwill messages for women advising to aspire for higher achievement.

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Students Loan: FG Explains Delay in Take-off, Sets New Date

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The Federal Government has set the month of March for a definite opening of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund) portal for eligible students.

Dr Akintunde Sawyerr, Execute Secretary NELFund, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Abuja urged eligible students to register to access the fund.

President Bola Tinubu on June 12, 2023, signed the Access to Higher Education Bill into law to enable indigent student access interest-free loan to pursue their education in any Nigerian tertiary institutions.

The scheme was slated to commence between September and October 2023, but because of unforeseen circumstances, there was a revised timeline to January.

Giving reasons for the delay in starting the scheme as earlier scheduled, Sawyerr explained that the process is technically driven and necessary measures needed to be put in place for proper execution.

“The take-off date is this month (March) and the reason for the delay is that we are trying to get it right.

“This is not a political programme where we say, oh! we are just going to do it, it doesn’t  matter how it works.

“This is a programme that will, probably run beyond me as a human being, not even as a Secretary. This is something that we want to run adequately, so we have to get it right,’’ he said.

Sawyerr, reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to ensure that lack of finance should not be a reason for any student in Nigeria to halt education at a tertiary level.

According to him, the scheme was designed for indigent Nigerian students in tertiary institutions and applications would be done online.

“We have decided that, all applicants should be able to access this scheme regardless of where they are, who they are and who they know.

“We want this to be a process that is fair to all and we will advertise the portal widely so that applicants will be able to go to the website to fill series of forms and answer certain questions.

“Base on the data they input and their answers to the questions, the system will be able to determine appropriately, whether they are eligible to apply or not,’’ Sawyerr explained. (NAN)

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