Breaking: Saraki dumps APC, Gov. Ahmed defects to PDP
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bukola saraki @bukolasaraki8 the party appointed a caretaker committee to take control of the party affairs. the party hinged its action on the partys constitution2 both senior members of the ruling party had been accused of disloyalty and anti-party activities the latest of which was the joint statement issued by the duo accusing president muhammadu buhari of masterminding the political crisis in benue state2 on monday the national working committee of the apc stripped saraki and governor ahmed of the control of the partys structure in the state by dissolving the executives from the ward to the state level an indication that the party was finished with them2 the president of the senate dr bukola saraki has officially quit the all progressives congress apc. this coincided with a similar action by governor abdulfattah ahmed of kwara state who also announced that he was leaving the party for the peoples democratic party1 saraki was however silent on joining any other party1 meanwhile governor ahmed also declared his decision to dump the apc for the peoples democratic party pdp1 in a tweet on his twitter handle @bukolasaraki saraki announced that he had decided to take leave of the apc1 following consultations and in response to calls by major stakeholders in the state i have moved to the pdp as apc can no longer serve as a platform for achieving the aspirations and expectations of my people1 alh abdulfatah ahmed @abdulfataahmed1 the departure of the duo came as an anti-climax as it was long expected since the duo had openly romanced with the opposition peoples democratic party in recent months1 sarakis resignation also came amidst expectations that the apc would formally expel him and speaker yakubu dogara from the party1 he wrote i wish to inform nigerians that after extensive consultations i have decided to take my leave of the all progressives congress apc1 i wish to inform nigerians that after extensive consultations i have decided to take my leave of the all progressives congress apc1 ahmed in a a tweet on his twitter handle @abdulfataahmed said following consultations and in response to calls by major stakeholders in the state i have moved to the pdp as apc can no longer serve as a platform for achieving the aspirations and expectations of my people1

NASS will pass relevant bills: Saraki promises Obama Foundations cohorts
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bukola saraki @bukolasaraki8 on education mr femi taiwo the executive director of leap africa discussed the importance of changing the school curriculum and improving access to e-learning. he discussed the possibility of the nuc recognizing e-learning initiatives much more and to improve teacher training1 in a series of tweets on his twitter handles @bukolasaraki and @spnigeria saraki disclosed that he met with emerging leaders from all sectors economy including education entertainment finance new media renewable energy entrepreneurs and the health sector1 i had a great time discussing new ways of making progress in our economy over breakfast with the nigerian cohort of the obama foundation leaders program1 the president of the senate dr abubakar bukola saraki has promised that the national assembly will focus on passing all pending bills that affect youths the economy and will create jobs1 the meeting was attended by several young business owners and policy advocates who discussed the bottlenecks involved in youth advocacy1 the attendees spoke about sector peculiar issues. from poor education curriculum to the ease of doing business access to credit poor infrastructure nollywood grant bottlenecks in exportation and high tariff for renewable energy1 they discussed possible solutions to the peculiar problems in their sectors and implored the senate president to follow up on the recommendations1 speaking during an interactive session with nigerian cohort of obama foundation leaders program saraki said that he would engage with the house of representatives to pass the sexual harassment bill as well as the gender and equal opportunities bill1 the young leaders advised that the multiple agencies in charge of exportation be collapsed into one that can supervise and ensure transparency to reduce the bureaucracy involved1 mr ebuka obi uchendu of multichoice africa ms oluyemi ayeni the founder of pearl recycling mr moses enoleka the ceo of sonicare and a host of other emerging leaders in business were in attendance at the interactive session1 ms oluwaseun ayodeji the executive director of the stand to end rape started the session by talking about sexual harassment in the workplace and society she advocated for quick passage of the sexual harassment bill in the senate1 dr. saraki engaged the young leaders about the importance of creating opportunities by bridging the gap between the private sector and governance1 he wrote on his twitter handles i had a great time discussing new ways of making progress in our economy over breakfast with the nigerian cohort of the obama foundation leaders program1 we had an interesting session exploring innovative ways to tackle issues like ease of doing business progressive leaderships at mdas through oversight and our education curriculum1 it is always refreshing to meet with forward-thinking and vibrant minds who have fully committed themselves to influencing national policy and taking advantage of legislative actions to further their combined agenda1 i am committed to follow-up with industry specific hearings to produce an action plan he said1

Senate plans state police
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bukola saraki @bukolasaraki8 the senate president @spnigeria3 we have talked about the fact that whether these killings were initial acts of aggression or reprisal attacks it is clear that either way it is totally unacceptable and we must condemn it in all totality he said2 secondly these are acts of criminality and we should not encourage any other colouration to it be it religious or otherwise. this is criminality. and as such we have a role to ensure that we must address this criminality to see how we can fight it2 we have spoken on many platforms and made suggestions to the executive on the fact that there is a need for an urgent review of the security architecture of the nation2 having made suggestions and listened to security agencies over the killings saraki said it was important for the lawmakers to do their own part2 we as the senate must come up with our own actions. we do not need to flog the issue. we have told the executive what to do. we have told them privately and we have told them publicly. however on our own part we must decide on what we need to do2 in his comments the senate president condemned the killings once again and said it was necessary for the senate to condemn it and play its role in ensuring the security of lives and property1 in reaction to the killings the senate had previously called for more decisive action with some senators demanding the removal of the service chiefs1 the decision of the senate to amend the constitution in favour of state and community police followed a debate on the killings across the country and in plateau state after a point of order raised by former plateau governor senator jonah jang1 saraki said on tuesday today my colleagues and i in the eighth senate resolved to begin the process of amending the constitution to allow for the creation of state and community police. this is following our debate on solutions to the killings across the country1 he told the conference of state assembly speakers that he and his colleagues in the 8th have resolved to begin the process of amending the constitution to allow the creation of state and community police1 the senate president revealed in a tweet1 today my colleagues and i in the 8th senate resolved to begin the process of amending the constitution to allow for the creation of state and community police. this is following our debate on solutions to the killings across the country1 senate president bukola saraki has said the senate plans to amend the 1999 constitution to allow for the creation of state and community police as a major strategy in combating insecurity1 the plan by the senate comes after years of calls by a section of nigerians for the creation of state police and debate over the issue1 the senate condemned the terrorist attacks mass killings and displacement of the people and occupation of their homes and farmlands1 we must all put aside our political personal and ideological differences and work together to stop the bloodshed he tweeted1 update security senate begins work on creation of state and community police. the senate president speaks1 recent killings in several states have revived the debate over state police with several governors lamenting over time about their helplessness to provide security for residents of the state1 saraki said the security and welfare of the people is primary purpose of government. this is what the constitution we all swore to uphold says. at no time whether in the past or in the present is it okay to lose even one nigerian life1

Saraki: I will reply police in 48 hours
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bukola saraki @bukolasaraki8 the police in the statement appeared to have dropped hints on what they wanted to ask saraki about as they claimed that the five men who were the leaders of the bandits admitted confessed and volunteered statements that they were political thugs of the senate president federal republic of nigeria sen. bukola saraki and the executive governor of kwara state alh. abdulfatah ahmed2 police spokesman jimoh moshood also announced the arrest of mr. yusuf abdulwahab the chief of staff to governor abdulfatah ahmed and alabi olalekan his personal assistant political as investigations over the gruesome robbery deepened2 the police claimed five of the bandits arrested and who have made confessions during interrogations indicted the senate president2 the police therefore wanted to interrogate the senator who is number 3 person in the order of protocol in the country. the police did not give a specific time they wanted saraki to report2 the senate president sen. bukola saraki is being invited by the nigeria police force to report to the force intelligence response team office at guzape abuja to answer to the allegations levelled against him from the confessions of the five 5 gang leaders namely ayoade akinnibosun ibukunle ogunleye adeola abraham salawudeen azeez niyi ogundiran and some of the other seventeen 17 suspects arrested for direct involvement and active participation in the offa bank robbery and the gruesome killing of2 in order to conceal evidence the chief of staff to the executive governor of kwara state mr. yusuf abdulwahab who has been arrested and taken into police custody arranged the removal of the sticker plate number with inscription saraki kwara state of harmony from the exhibit vehicle2 according to the police the five gang leaders further confessed during investigation that they are political thugs under the name youth liberation movement a.k.a good boys admitted and confessed to have been sponsored with firearms money and operational vehicles by the senate president sen. bukola saraki and the governor of kwara state alh. abdulfatah ahmed2 police explained why the chief of staff and the personal assistant to governor abdulfatah ahmed were also arrested2 the exhibit vehicle was subsequently recovered from the premises of the min. of environmental and forestry in ilorin kwara state. while the sticker plate number with inscription saraki kwara state of harmony removed from the vehicle was recovered from one adeola omiyale who drove the said lexus jeep to government house ilorin immediately after the bank robbery2 the personal assistant political to the executive governor of kwara state mr. alabi olalekan who is privy to information that the police is looking for the lexus jeep as an exhibit used in the offa bank robbery directed one adeola omiyale to relocate the lexus jeep to government house ilorin. the pa political is currently in police custody and has made useful statement assisting the police in further investigation into the case2 a revolver pistol and pump action gun were recovered by the police investigation team from the personal assistant political to the executive governor of kwara state mr. alabi olalekans farm where he directed his brother to hide them after his arrest by the police2 the other hints dropped were the recovery of one toyota prado jeep with reg. no. 19kwgh belonging to the personal assistant political to the governor of kwara state and a sticker plate number with inscription saraki kwara state of harmony1 but four hours later the police changed their minds about the invitation1 saraki broke the news on his twitter handle1 in a twist to the police invitation to the man who is officially the number three citizen in nigeria the police backpedaled and rather than asking saraki to report at guzape police station in the federal capital of abuja now asked him to send a written response1 following my earlier tweet i have received the letter from . they are no longer asking me to appear at any station but to respond in writing to the allegations within 48 hours which i plan to do1 senate president bukola saraki said he will send a written response to the allegations made against him by the nigerian police linking him with robbery in offa on 5 april1 a lexus jeep gx-300 ash colour with a sticker plate number with inscription saraki kwara state of harmony used by the gang leader ayoade akinnibosun during the bank robbery and the killing of the 33 innocent persons was taken to government house ilorin on 16th may 2018 where the sticker plate number with inscription saraki kwara state of harmony was removed before another plate number reg. no. kwara kma 143 rm registered in the name of ayoade akinnibosun the overall commander of the offa bank ro1 on sunday the police announced they have invited saraki over the 5 april multiple bank robberies in offa during which 33 persons including nine policemen were killed1 opinions were divided across nigeria over the invitation following police statement that some five ringleaders of the offa robbery indicted the senate president and the governor of kwara state abdulfatah ahmed1 according to the police the chief of staff to the governor and the personal assistant to the governor have been arrested in connection with the case1 saraki had earlier tweeted that he had asked his aide-de-camp to collect the letter of invitation from the police in respect of the allegations as he wanted to honour the alleged invitation1 saraki responded some hours later asking nigerians to disregard the police allegation1 saraki in a statement by his media adviseryusuph olaniyonu described the allegation as baseless and another ploy by the police to implicate him by all means1 let it be known that there is no way i could have been associated with armed robbery against my people saraki said1 this plot is concocted to embarrass me and in the mind of the igp it is his own response after his refusal to honour the invitation by the national assembly headed me for him to come and offer explanations on the rampant killings and violence across the country1 like the earlier one this frame-up will also fail as i hereby state categorically that i have no link with any band of criminals1 as a person who has utmost respect for the rule of law and all constitutional institutions when the invitation from the police is formally extended to me i will be ready to honour it without any delay1 it is however sad that this abuse of the criminal investigation process aimed at intimidating and over-overawing the legislature thereby obstructing it from doing its work is a big threat to our democracy the senate president stated1

Senate passes 201 bills in 3 years Full list
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bukola saraki @bukolasaraki8 37. petroleum industry governance bill 20161 the president of the senate dr bukola saraki took to his twitter handle @bukolasaraki to make the announcemnet and to congratulate his colleagues for a job well done1 saraki expressed optimism that in the 15 months that were left the senate would pass more bills that will affect the lives of nigerians1 as of today the senate has passed 201 bills. we still have 15 months to go yet we have reached this milestone. i would like to thank my distinguished colleagues for their hard work and cooperation over the last 33 months1 as of today the senate has passed 201 bills. we still have 15 months to go yet we have reached this milestone1 i would like to thank my distinguished colleagues for their hard work and cooperation over the last 33 months1 see the full list here1 as of march 29 2018 33 months after its inauguration the 8th senate had passed a total of 200 bills including senate bills concorrence bills and constitution amendment bills1 below is the full list of the bills passed by the senate1 1. national railway corporation act 1955 n129 lfn 2004 repeal1 2. bankruptcy and insolvency act cap b2 lfn 2011 repeal and re-enactment 20151 3. national institute for cancer research and treatment estetc bill 20151 4. forestry research institute of nigeria est. etc bill 20151 5. electronic transaction bill 20151 6. agriculture credit guarantee scheme act amendment bill 20151 7. commercial agriculture credit scheme estetc bill 20151 8. discrimination against persons with disabilities prohibition bill 20151 9. national poverty eradication commission estetcbill 20151 10. north east development commission nedc estetc bill 20151 11. erosion control and prevention commission est etc bill 20151 12. counterfeit and fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods miscellaneous provision amendment bill 20151 13. federal university of petroleum resources effuru est etc bill 20151 14. food security bill 20151 15. nigerian agricultural quarantine service establishment etc bill 20151 16. environmental managers registration council of nigeria establishment etc bill 20151 17. nigeria institute of soil science establishment etc bill 20151 18. nigeria football federation establishment etc bill 20151 19. national sports commission establishment etc bill 20151 20. federal competition and consumer protection bill 20151 21. witness protection programme bill 20151 22. supplementary appropriation bill 20151 23. defence space agency establishment etc bill 20151 24. high court of the federal capital territory abuja amendment bill 20151 25. air force institute of technology establishment etc bill 20151 26. credit bureau reporting bill 20151 27. 2015 appropriation act amendment bill 20151 28. 2016 appropriation bill1 29. federal roads authority establishment etc bill 20161 30. national assembly budget and research office establishment etc bill 20161 31. mutual assistance in criminal matters bill 20161 32. federal capital territory statutory appropriation act amendment bill 20161 33. federal university of petroleum resources effurun bill 20161 34. national lottery act 2005 amendment bill 20161 35. electoral act 6 2010 amendment bill 20161 36. public procurement act amendment bill 20161 from its inauguration on juna 9 2015 the 8th senate had surpassed the 7th 6th and 5th senate in the number of bills passed. while the 7th senate passed only 128 bills in four years the 6th passed 82 and the 5th senate passed 129 bills1 38. national inland waterways act cap n47 lfn 2004 repeal and re-enactment bill 20161 39. nigerian ports and harbours authority act amendment bill 20161 40. jamb act amendment bill 20161 41. nigerian customs service bill 2016 and nigerian customs service act repeal and re-enacment bill 20161 42. warehouse receipts bill 20161 43. secured transactions in movable assets bill 20161 44. sexual harassment in tertiary educational institution bill 20161 45. federal university of wukari establishment etc bill 20161 46. maritime university of nigeria okerenkoko establishment etc bill 20161 47. 2016 fct appropriation bill1 48. appropriation bill 20171 49. nigerian peace corps establishment etc bill 2015 sb 1731 50. national unity and peace corps establishment etc bill 2015 sb 1831 51. national open university of nigeria act amendment bill 20171 52. federal university of maritime studies oron bill 20171 53. national institute for legislative studies act amendment bill 20171 54. national research and innovation est etc. bill 20171 55. compulsory free universal basic education act 2004 amendment bill 2016 and universal basic education act 2003 amendment bill 20161 56. nigeria financial intelligence agency est etc. bill 20171 57. institute of chartered biochemist and molecular biologist bill 20161 58. whistle blowers protection bill 20151 59. abduction wrongful restraints and wrongful confinement for ransom bill 20171 60. prohibition and protection of persons from lynching mob action and extra judicial executions bill 20171 61. nigerian tourism development corporation act repeal and re-enactment bill 20171 62. hydroelectric power producing area development commission amendment bill 20151 63. chartered institute of entrepreneurs est. etc. bill 20151 64. chartered institute of capital market registrars bill 20171 65. presidential inauguration bill 20161 66. national institute for hospitality and tourism establishment etc bill 20161 67. fct statutory appropriation bill 20171 68. niger delta development commission nddc act amendment bill 20171 69. federal university of agriculture kaaba establishment etc bill 20161 70. federal colleges of education act amendment bill 20171 71. niger delta development commission amendment bill 20171 72. nigeria arabic language village ngala establishment etc. bill 20171 73. nigeria french language village badagry est. etc. bill 20171 74. demutualization bill 20171 75. the revised edition laws of the federation of nigeria bill 20181 76. 2017 fct appropriation act amendment bill 20181 77. arbitration and conciliation act cap a18 lfn 2004repeal and re-enactment bill 20181 78. emergency powers repeal and re-enactment bill 20181 79. federal university gashua establishment etc. bill 2018 sb4591 80. national transport commission est. etc. bill 2018 sb. 2421 81. real estate regulation and development bill 2018 sb. 2161 82. river basin development act cap r9 lfn 2004 amendment bill 2018 sb. 3581 83. national centre for disease control prevention establishment etc bill 2018 sb. 2561

Saraki mourns, extols late Jibrin
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bukola saraki @bukolasaraki8 may the almighty forgive his shortcomings and grant him a place amongst the righteous ones in aljannah firdaus. amin1 my thoughts and prayers are with the family and constituents of the late rt. hon umar buba jibrin deputy leader of the house of representatives who passed away early this morning1 as a former speaker of the kogi state house of assembly rt. hon. jibrin was a seasoned legislator and a conscientious lawmaker who always put the interests of the common man first and championed them at the federal level. he will be greatly missed1 my deep condolences go out to speaker dogara his colleagues in the house of representives and the government and people of kogi state over this great loss saraki said1 my deep condolences also go out to speaker dogara and the government and people of kogi state over the loss of hon. jibril1 in posts on his social media pages saraki said that nigeria has lost another seasoned legislator and champion of the common man1 president of the senate dr. abubakar bukola saraki has expressed sadness over the jibrin the deputy leader of the house of representatives who died in the early hours of friday1 jibril a three time member of the house died in the early hours of saturday in abuja one of his political associates mr amuda dan sulaiman confirmed to the news agency of nigeria nan 1 he was until his death the deputy majority leader of the house as a member of the all progressives congress. he was also a former speaker of the kogi state house of assembly.1 kogi state governor yahaya bello expressed deep shock over the demise of jibril who he described as one of the states most astute politicians1 bello described the late jibril as a man who lived in the hearts of his people saying the vacuum he left in the state and the ruling party will be difficult to fill according to a statement by kingsley fanwo the director general of media and publicity1

Saraki flies Arik to Ghana to promote trade
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bukola saraki @bukolasaraki8 the senate president @spnigeria3 i just arrived in ghana1 @spnigeria who usually commutes with presidential air fleet chose to fly a nigerian operated commercial flight to encourage trade between both countries1 according to omishore saraki chose the indigenous flight to promote trade relations between nigeria and ghana and also to see firsthand areas that require interventions in the nigerian aviation industry1 with reference to the recent dana air near-mishaps omishore said that saraki had promised to take a look at the happenings in the aviation industry so as to find the ills that will require legislations to correct1 saraki also took to his official twitter handle @spnigeria to share some of the pictures and videos of his departure arrival and reception by the speaker of ghanas parliament1 saraki who would be delivering a paper at a symposium to mark the celebration departed on board the local flight in solidarity with other nigerians who fly indigenous airlines1 as part of activities to celebrate 25 years of uninterrupted parliamentary democracy in ghana i will be addressing the countrys parliament1 the president of the senate dr bukola saraki on sunday flew aboard an arik air flight to ghana for the 25th anniversary of the ghanaian parliament1 the senate president dr. abubakar bukola saraki is now departing abuja nigeria to accra ghana aboard arik air1 speaking with our correspondent on sunday bamikole omishore sa to saraki on international relations said that the senate president left the comfort of the usual presidential airplane he travels in for arik1 i thank the speaker of the ghanaian parliament rt. hon. prof. aaron mike ocquaye for the invitation and the gracious reception at the airport in accra this evening1 the president of the senate dr. abubakar bukola saraki being hosted by the nigerian high commissioner to ghana ambassador olufemi abikoye1

Emulate Kwara, stop ex-governors pension Saraki to States
Sports •
bukola saraki @bukolasaraki8 i am happy that following my conversation with kwara speaker @honaliahmad two months ago the bill to suspend the payment of pension to former governors and their deputies when they hold a political or public office was passed into law yesterday by the kwara house of assembly1 saraki in a series of tweets on his handle @bukolasaraki said that he was indeed happy that the the chat he had with the assembly speaker ali ahmedhad resulted in the passage of the bill1 in 2017 the senates president had said that he already directed the state government to stop paying him pensions adding that he had refunded those that he had collected earlier1 i am happy that following my conversation with kwara speaker two months ago the bill to suspend the payment of pension to former governors and their deputies when they hold a political or public office was passed into law yesterday by the kwara house of assembly1 the president of the senate dr. bukola saraki has called on states of the federation to emulate kwara state and stop payment of pensions to former governors still holding elective or appointive positions1 this is even as he commended the kwara state house of assembly for passing the bill to stop payment of such pensions1 moving forward it is my hope that other state assemblies take a cue from kwara state and pass similar pieces of legislation into law1 the kwara state house of assembly on tuesday passed an amendment bill halting payment of pension to former governors deputy governors and other officers holding political offices after their tenure in office1 the passage of the bill followed the consideration of the report of the house committee on establishment and public service at the committee of the whole house sitting in ilorin. the motion for the passage of the bill was moved by the deputy house leader segilola abdulkadir and was unanimously adopted by members1 the deputy speaker matthew okedare who presided over the plenary directed the clerk of the house alhaji mohammed katsina to prepare clean copy of the bill for governors assent1 the bill which was forwarded to the house by gov. abdulfatah ahmed sought to review the existing law where payment of pension for former governors and deputy governors after their tenures would be suspended1