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Reps stop Jonathan

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•‘Don’t spend Borno, Yobe, Adamawa cash’

The House of Representatives is insisting that President Goodluck Jonathan has no constitutional right to spend the funds of local governments under the state of emergency.

The lawmakers are disappointed that their May 21 resolution on the utilisation of the funds of the affected states and local governments was overruled at the conference Committee of the two chambers.

The lower chamber completely deleted Section 3 (e) of the transmitted Emergency Powers (General) Regulations.

Consequently, the lawmakers, at a plenary attended by 197 members, which surpassed the 188-member majority, resolved to delete and revoke completely Section 3 (2) (e) of the harmonised, adopted and approved Emergency Powers (General) Regulations, 2013 by both Houses of the National Assembly.

In addition, the lower chamber urged its Senate counterpart to concur and adopt its new resolution.

The mover of the motion, Ibrahim El-Sudi (PDP, Taraba), pointed out that the matter was Constitutional and that by virtue of Section 305 of the constitution as amended, the President was empowered to declare a State of emergency in any part of the country.

He, however, noted that in considering the details sent to the National Assembly, the House of Representatives resolved at the Committee of the whole and appointed a six-member conference committee to meet with the Senate’s five-member team to harmonise differences if there were any.

According to him, when the Conference Committee of both chambers met on May 22, to consider areas of differences, the Committee adopted the Senate version on the Proclamation order.

El-Sudi said: “The Committee also adopted clauses 3 (c) and (4) of the Senate’s version of the Emergency Powers (General) Regulations 2013. The Committee further adopted the addition of the words ‘in Public Order, Peace and Security’ and included the House version of clauses 1, 2, 3 and 5 (c) of the Emergency Powers along with the Explanatory Note.

“Aware of the fact that Section 3 (e) of the transmitted Emergency Powers (General) Regulations 2013 which provides, ‘Provides for the utilisation of any funds of any State or Local Government in the Emergency area’ was unanimously rejected and deleted by the House but retained by the Conference Committee of both chambers.

“Further aware of the public outcry and outright opposition by majority of Nigerians, especially indigenes of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, on the content of the above quoted regulation.

“Mindful of a near consensus of opinion of Senior Advocates of Nigeria and constitutional lawyers across the country regarding the constitutionality of the said action.

“Further mindful of the provisions of Section 5 (2) of the Emergency Powers Act no. 1 of 1961 (as modified) which provides: ‘(2) Any such regulation, order or rule may, without prejudice to the validity of anything lawful done there under, at anytime be amended or revoked by resolutions passed by both Houses…”

Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila (ACN, Lagos), who backed El-Sudi, said the constitution was very clear, even though the Supreme Court can reverse itself on earlier pronouncement in the light of new evidences and facts.

He, however said: “But, in this case, it was clearly stated that under no circumstances can the Federal Government seize the funds of states or local governments.”

Gbajabiamila also expressed the frustration of the lawmakers on how their resolution of the utilisation of funds was disregarded at the Conference Committee, saying, “I can’t understand why because the outcome totally negated all the efforts put into the document by the House.”

He, however, attributed the use of language as part of the problem of the document. “On the use of Administration, if on one hand the administrator was given powers to carry out sweeping functions, what is there for the governors of the affected areas to administer?” Gbajabiamila said.

The only voice against the motion, Kingsley Chanda (PDP, Rivers), who said the situation in the affected areas was not normal as the constitution was suspended was shouted down by his colleagues.

In his ruling, Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal said the adoption of the harmonised version was greeted with cries of impropriety of the document.

“We should not condone any culture of constitutional arrogance. Moreover, we won’t be losing anything if we take correction and do the right thing. We should not do anything against the constitution,” he said,

When Tambuwal called for the voice vote, 194 lawmakers voted in favour of the motion. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), Henry Daniel-Ofongo (PDP, Bayelsa) and Warman Ogoriba (PDP, Bayelsa) voted against.

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.

Source: The Nation Newspaper

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This Day

Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack

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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly

Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.

There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.

The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.

Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.

The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.

But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.

THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.

More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.

Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”

It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.

“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.

National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.

The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.

Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.

Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.

PDP Demands State of Emergency

In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.

He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.

Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.

“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.

“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.

Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.

The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.

Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.

He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.

The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.

Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram

The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.

“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.

The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.

Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.

State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari

Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.

Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE

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Tribune

Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110

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Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]

Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online

Sourced From: Tribune Online

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Premium Times

Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings

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The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.

The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.

Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria

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The Nation

UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal

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Kamaru Usman has raked in a mammoth £1.1million, about N584.2 million after his impressive knockout victory over Jorge Masvidal on Saturday night, Sportivation.com.ng reports.

The Nigerian Nightmare has been handsomely rewarded for his stunning performance and he was the best-paid fighter on the card which was witnessed by 15, 000 fans in Florida.

According to Daily Mail, Usman earned £538,000 to show up, £459,000 pay-per-view bonus, a £43,000 sponsorship bonus and a well deserved £35,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

Jorge Masvidal also earned £358,000 to show, £186,000 in pay-per-view money and a £28,000 sponsorship bonus.

This is the biggest payday of Usman’s career so far and the Welterweight champion also benefited from the fact that Masvidal is also a top draw for the fans.

Kamaru Usman is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler.

Sourced From: Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics

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