POLITICS
Speaker Warns against Ridicule of Kogi Assembly
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Speaker, Kogi State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf has warned that the present lawmakers would not allow any political officer holder or individual to ridicule the chambers as an institution.Aliyu stated this while fielding questions from Assembly correspondents when the embattled Coordinator, Kogi State Social Investment Programme Agency (KOSSIPA), Hajiya Aishat Oyiza Omade finally honoured the Assembly invitation after several months of defiance.
Aliyu asserted that the Assembly under his watch will never be subjected to ridicule adding that, the present eight Assembly remains committed to protecting the legislative arm of government without fear or favor.”She was not even qualified to appear before all of us. It must be a serious issue before such can happen. According to the report we received from the committee, she seems not to be available after several invitations. The report was brought to the house and the lawmakers have to come together in protecting the committee by compelling her to come.”The objective of our pronouncement on Tuesday was achieved. Any officer irrespective of the office you are occupying in Kogi State can be invited. She has come and we have admonished her to always work in accordance with the law.”By extension, we have admonished other office holders to be wary of the law. Any position that they find themselves in is guided by rules and this must be obeyed. We didn’t give her much attention that is why the house out of its magnanimity referred her back to the committee she failed to honour before now.”She cannot be bigger than the committee. What we have achieved is to allow them to take charge of what they want her to do. Let it be on record that there is no petition against her or infractions committed before now.”The thing is that she failed to honour invitations of the committee that oversees her agency. We have compelled her to come. This will send a signal to others that nobody is above this institution called Kogi State House of Assembly”.He maintained that the committee has the legislative duties backed by law to carry out their oversight function for the purpose of good governance in Kogi State.The number three citizen of Kogi State dismissed public insinuation that the house has been compromised to wade the big stick against the KOSSIPA boss.According to him “Nothing has exchanged hands. If we don’t want to be serious about this, we won’t come to the plenary and discuss. We are very serious about it. The essence is to let them know that we are not rubber stamps. If we need an explanation from the Governor, we will write to him.”If she had failed to appear today, the world would see what would have happened. I don’t want to be one person that will wade any provision of the constitution to any officer in the State. We must do the right thing by obeying the constitution governing us. We were the one that screened her here. So, why is she evading the house invitation?It would be recalled that the lawmakers on Tuesday threatened to issue a bench warrant of arrest against Omade if she failed to appear before the house on 7th May, 2025.Omade was accused of failing to appear before the house adhoc standing committee on special duties, legislative compliance, government house administration and Governor Office headed by the majority leader of the house Hon. Suleiman Abdulrazak member representing Okene 1.
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Dr Nnanna Uzor Kalu as a commissioner in the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) to represent the South-East geopolitical zone.
The confirmation followed the presentation and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, chaired by Sen.
Cyril Fasuyi, during plenary.Kalu’s confirmation was previously stepped down in March due to a petition filed against him.
At the time, the senate had confirmed 12 out of 13 nominees for the NASC, withholding only the nomination from the South-East pending resolution of the matter.
Presenting the report, Fasuyi explained that the petition had been thoroughly investigated and dismissed by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions.
The committee found no grounds to disqualify the nominee.
“In line with the findings and recommendations of the relevant committees, the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service recommends the confirmation of Dr Nnanna Uzor Kalu,” Fasuyi said.
In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio thanked both committees for handling the issue with diligence and fairness.
He congratulated Kalu on his confirmation and urged him to serve with integrity.
“I urge the newly confirmed commissioner to uphold equity, fairness, and constitutional values while representing the South-East in the commission,” Akpabio said.(NAN)
The Zamfara chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the calls for violence by the State Women Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hajiya Rabi Madawaki.
In a statement issued in Gusau on Tuesday by the State APC Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Idris, the party called on security agencies to thoroughly investigate the matter.
Idris said, “We call on the security agencies to immediately arrest the women leader, Hajiya Rabi Madawaki, over her uncultured utterances.
.“APC as a strong opposition party in the state will not be intimidated by any threats from the Zamfara PDP government and they should know that the will of the people must prevail.
“The state PDP Women Leader, Hajiya Rabi Madawaki, made the statement in the presence of the Governor’s wife, Hajiya Huriyya Dauda.
“The threat and intimidation by the PDP women leader came out with a completely different but savage way of forcing out support and subsequently, votes for the governor, Mr Dauda Lawal in the 2027 governorship election.
“Madawaki said in the presence of governor’s wife in Hausa language, at a gathering held in Gusau on Friday that translated as ‘anyone who does not vote for Dauda, we will maim, beat, kill him, (zamu ci ubanshi zamu yi mashi duka)’.
According to him, in a civilised scoiety, elections are always supposed to be free, fair and non violent.
Idris said, “President Bola Tinubu’s administration is trying to remove such threats to lives and property as well as any form of intimidation from politics.
“The Zamfara chapter of the APC will not be scared by any form of intimidation and harassment or any act of violence.” (NAN)
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
A Youth Leader from Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Alhaji Letugbene has called on stakeholders in Ekeremor and Sagbama Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State to close ranks and work together to return the Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Seriake Dickson to the National Assembly come 2027.
Letugbene, who made the call recently said, Senator Dickson has performed creditably since he was elected and should be supported by all to continue his good work in the Senate, as there is no doubt in his political experience and leadership abilities and competence. He particularly, appealed to the stakeholders and people of Ekeremor to rally round Senator Dickson because he remains the only and best option for the people of Bayelsa West who are clamouring for true representation.”I want to call on my people in Ekeremor to join us to work together to return Senator Seriake Dickson back to the Senate in 2027.He has done well since he was elected and I’m convinced he will even do better for us” he said.According to him, Senator Dickson deserves the support of Ekeremor because he has impacted every community, noting that as a two-term governor, he cited several key projects in the LGA and appointed sons and daughters into key positions of trust, while as a federal lawmaker, he continues to impact the people positively.Letugbene, who is the National Vice Chairman of the Third Phase of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), also asserted, that Senator Dickson has taken the gauntlet left by the late Ijaw leader, Pa Edwin Clark, to face fire for the Ijaw Nation when it mattered most, noting that he stood his ground against intimidation and oppression to speak truth to power when issues affecting his people are on the front burner in the Red Chamber.He said Senator Dickson has remained vocal, courageous and fearless in the National Assembly, condemning the marginalization and oppression of the Ijaw Nation as well as other ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta, while demanding equity, fairness and justice for the people.Letugbene, however, bemoaned the actions of a few misguided stakeholders from Ekeremor who are whipping up sentiments against Senator Dickson through propaganda and claims that Sagbama is marginalizing Ekeremor over the Senate seat, urging them not to spread falsehood as the zoning formula in the area no longer existed and that anyone is free from either LGAs to contest the Senate and House of Representatives election in 2027.The ex-agitator, who passed a ‘vote of confidence’ on Senator Dickson, also enjoined beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme from Ekeremor LGA to support the federal lawmaker because of his assertive and unwavering commitment to the upliftment and betterment of Bayelsa West, the Ijaw people and the Niger Delta in the Nigerian Federation.
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