House of Representatives Archives

House of Reps Committee rejects Naira swap extension, threatens Emefiele’s arrest

January 30, 2023 No Comments

The House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on the redesign of three naira notes has rejected the 10 days extension granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the swap of old N200, N500, N1,000 bank notes.

In a statement released on Sunday, January 29, the Chairman of the Committee and the Majority Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, said the lawmakers will proceed and sign an arrest warrant to compel the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to appear before the committee.

According to him, the new naira redesign policy is capable of frustrating the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

Recall that many Nigerians have complained about inability to access the newly redesigned notes.

The CBN had initially placed the deadline for the exchange of the old Naira notes for the new ones on January 31st .

However, following the series of complains from Nigerians, the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, in a statement released on Sunday, January 29, announced that the deadline had been extended to February 10.

In its immediate reaction, the House of Representatives committee chaired by Doguwa rejected the extension, insisting that the CBN must comply with sections 20 sub 3, 4, and 5 of the CBN Act.

“The 10-day extension for the exchange of the old naira notes is not the solution: We as a legislative committee with a constitutional mandate of the house, would only accept clear compliance with section 20 sub 3, 4, and 5 of the CBN act and nothing more.

Nigeria as a developing economy and a nascent democracy must respect the principle of the rule of law.

And the House would go ahead to sign arrest warrant to compel the CBN Governor to appear before the adhoc committee.”

Doguwa said under his chairmanship, the committee would continue its work until it gets the demands of Nigerians addressed in accordance with the laws of the land.

He described the extension as a mere political gimmick to further deceive Nigerians and worsen their economic and social livelihood, insisting that the CBN governor must appear before or stand the risk of being arrested on the strength of legislative writs signed earlier by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.

He also said the policy is capable of frustrating the forthcoming general elections.

“Security agencies and their operations especially at the states level are generally funded through cash advances and direct table payments of allowances to operatives during elections,” he said.

Business, Politics

House of Representatives orders CBN to suspend new cash withdrawal limit, summons Emefiele

December 8, 2022 No Comments

The House of Representatives has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to suspend its new policy limiting weekly cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities.

In a memo released on Tuesday, December 6, and signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, the apex bank directed all banks and other financial institutions to ensure that over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities do not exceed N100,000 and N500, 000, respectively, per week.

House of Representatives orders CBN to suspend new cash withdrawal limit, summons Emefiele It also directed that only N200 and lower denominations should be loaded into banks’ ATMs.

At its plenary today December 8, the lawmakers resolved that CBN should halt the implementation pending the conclusion of a probe.

The House also resolved that the CBN governor should appear before the house next Thursday. The resolution was sequel to a motion under matters of urgent public importance moved by Hon. Magaji Dau Aliyu.

Apart from the minority leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu who supported the CBN policy in that it will curb banditry and reduce the incidence of corruption, many other lawmakers who spoke vehemently condemned the decision of the CBN.

Lifestyle, Politics

House of Reps members lament as Nigeria’s debt reaches an all-time high of N42.84trn

September 21, 2022 No Comments

Members of the House of Representatives have expressed concern over the rising debt profile of Nigeria which currently stands at N42.84 trillion.

A breakdown of the debt figures released by the Debt Management Office DMO shows that the bulk of the federal government borrowings were done domestically, with 72.53 percent being FGN bonds.

According to the DMO, Nigeria’s total public debt stock, comprising the debt obligations of the federal, state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) rose by N1.24 trillion within three months, from N41.60 trillion ($100.07 billion) as at March 30, 2022 to N42.84 trillion ($103.31billion) by June 30, 2022.

The DMO also indicated that domestic debt stock for the review period stood at N26.23 trillion ($63.24 billion) due to new borrowings by the federal government to part-finance the deficit in the 2022 Appropriation (Repeal and Enactment) Act, including fresh borrowings by state governments and the FCT.

According to the DMO, Lagos state retained its top spot as the state with the highest debt stock with N797, 305,312,602.53 in its debt profile.

Delta State is second with N378, 878,236,830.75, followed by Ogun State with N241, 782,021,304.96; Rivers State, N225, 505,011,356.83; and Imo State, N210, 394,836,519.93.

Akwa Ibom was next on the debtors’ scale with N203, 951,611,822.07, while Jigawa retained its least-indebted state profile with 45,135,377,621.30, and Ebonyi State trailed with N59, 111,939,636.77.

Reacting to this development, Gbajabiamilia at resumption of plenary yesterday, expressed concerns over the rising debt profile of the country and crude oil theft.

Gbajabiamila stated that the concerns emerged from interactive sessions of the Senate and House Committees on Finance with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the government on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).

He said the issues emerged while considering the scope of deficit financing to be proposed in the new budget and the decline in crude oil production due to theft and sabotage.

Gbajabiamila said while the House appreciated that the current fiscal conditions necessitated borrowing to finance budgetary expenditures, there should be worry about the long-term effect of the debt burden on the country and the ability to pay in a responsible and sustainable way.

Politics, World News

“We are taking the intelligence seriously” —The US Capitol Police

March 4, 2021 No Comments

Security has been ramped up at the US Capitol in response to “a possible plot to breach” the building.

The move was prompted by intelligence that an unnamed militia group planned the attack for 4 March – the day US presidents used to be inaugurated.

The House of Representatives cancelled Thursday’s session, but the Senate will continue with its agenda.

The threat comes two months after the deadly attack on the building by a mob loyal to former President Donald Trump.

They breached the Capitol building in January while lawmakers were inside moving to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory. Mr Trump still refuses to admit losing the election.

The riot saw five people including a police officer killed and shook the foundations of American democracy. The head of the Capitol police force later resigned.

Supporters of an unfounded conspiracy theory believe Mr Trump will return to the White House on 4 March.

What does the intelligence say?

“As of late February, an unidentified group of militia violent extremists discussed plans to take control of the US Capitol and remove Democratic lawmakers on or about 4 March and discussed aspirational plans to persuade thousands to travel to Washington, DC, to participate,” a new intelligence bulletin issued by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security says.

Following that assessment, the US Capitol Police referred in a statement to “a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4”.

“We have already made significant security upgrades to include establishing a physical structure and increasing manpower to ensure the protection of Congress, the public and our police officers.

“Due to the sensitive nature of this information, we cannot provide additional details at this time.”

Why is Thursday significant?

Supporters of an extremist conspiracy theory known as QAnon falsely believe Thursday will mark Mr Trump’s return to the White House for a second term.

They have latched onto this date because before the 20th amendment of the US Constitution – adopted in 1933 – moved the swearing-in dates of the president and Congress to January, American leaders took office on 4 March.

QAnon is a wide-ranging and completely unfounded theory which says that President Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in government, business and the media.

Security services were aware of online QAnon discussions surrounding 4 March, but did not “have any indication of violence or a specific, credible plot at this time”, an FBI official had told The Washington Post last week.

Capitol riot aftermath

The US justice department has charged more than 300 people with participation in the 6 January attack. Those arrested include members of the right-wing militia groups the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters.

Democrats said the attack amounted to an insurrection and the House voted to impeach Mr Trump for allegedly inciting the mob. The former president – the first in US history to be impeached twice – was later acquitted in the upper chamber, the Senate, with many Republican senators sticking by him.media captionWhen a mob stormed the US capitol

In late February Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told Congress that the Trump supporters behind the January attack want to “blow up” the Capitol and kill lawmakers.

Leon Panetta, a former US Defence Secretary and CIA chief, told the BBC that police would take no chances following January’s attack.

“We have got to have constant intelligence on domestic terrorists, have to track their possible efforts to again repeat what happened on January sixth and I think that’s what you’re seeing now, is an abundance of caution to make sure that we are properly prepared to react, if in fact any group attempts any kind of armed attack again on the United States Capitol,” he said.

Politics

Bill seeking establishment of power institute scales second reading in House of Representatives

February 17, 2021 No Comments

A Bill seeking the establishment of the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) scaled second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The bill which was sponsored by Hon. Wale Raji seeks to create a legal framework for the operation and administration of the institute under the extant laws.

Raji, who led the debate on the bill, said the crux of the document was to cloth the already existing institute with legal status.

He said the enactment of the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act, 2005 provided the platform for the deregulation of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry from the control, ownership and regulation of the Federal Government to the private sector.

According to the lawmaker, the reform basically focused on accomplishing many goals among which are power stability, reliability, sustainability, and human capacity development.

Raji said: “In response to this reform and to address the lingering issues on human capacity development, NAPTIN was established in March 23, 2009.

NAPTIN is to provide a structural and standardised training process in order to achieve manpower capacity development in the power sector.

“With the successful completion of the reform and privatisation programme, NAPTIN along with some newly established institutions in the power sector assumed the status of a parastatal of the Federal Government under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Power.

In view of the above Executive act, it is imperative that NAPTIN is established by an Act of parliament to empower the institute to actualise its mission and goals.

The creation, establishment, structure, composition, finance, and functions of the institute will serve as a focal point for the development and capacity building as well as a research centre on matters relating to power in Nigeria and Africa at large.”

Politics

NASS REPUBLIC: As Reps mull keeping students at home. Two other stories, and a quote to remember

January 21, 2021 No Comments

Members of Nigeria’s House of Representatives literarily found themselves swimming against the tide last week.

This was evident in the grumbles of some NASS members in the period leading up to government announcement of school resumptions amid resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawmakers had expressed deep reservations over inadequate consultations by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, and its hasty reopening of educational institutions, especially the universities which had been shut for nearly a year.

This incident, among others, characterized events at NASS last week.

On January 16, the House of Representatives faulted the Federal Government for giving schools the go-ahead to reopen despite the increasing cases of COVID-19.

The lawmakers bared their minds in a statement issued by the Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education and Services, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, in Abuja.

“They did not consult us; at least in my committee, nobody from the ministry spoke to me. I have been in Abuja. And I am not sure that they spoke to any of my members. They just don’t see us as part of the critical stakeholders,” Ihonvbere said.

He added: “We are particularly concerned that when the infection rates hovered around 500 and under, schools were closed; but now that it hovers well above 1,000 infections daily, schools are being reopened. Why are we rushing to reopen schools without adequate verifiable and sustainable arrangements to protect and secure our children?”

Ihonvbere’s outburst adds to the long list of claims of poor synergy observed in the relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government.

Unfortunately, it also deepens the longstanding perception that the executive holds little regard for the other arms, and would rather emasculate them where it deemed necessary.

Instructively, many years after leaning on democratic principles for guidance, the institutions of state appear not to be maturing very quickly but rather what has been witnessed is the rise of strong individuals who show little respect for rules of engagement in a democracy.

But in crying out loud, the lawmakers must appreciate that they have, over the years, made themselves weeping boys by failing to assert their authority, thereby laying the foundations for a disdainful treatment by the executive.

World News

President Muhammadu Buhari seeks approval for N147bn refund to Ondo, four other states

September 29, 2020 No Comments

The president made this known in a letter on Tuesday sent to the speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and read on the floor of the house