Only four out of 35 Nigerian representatives to the ECOWAS Parliament were on Wednesday present at the presentation of the Nigerian Country Report at the First Session of the Parliament.

The absence of the 31 representatives is coming days after only 19 of 35 representatives were reported to have attended the opening session of the Parliament.

During the Ordinary Sessions of the Parliament, the 15 ECOWAS member nations present reports on their countries. The report bothers on the Political situation, Economic situation, Human rights situation and many more relating to their countries.

Our correspondent reports that only two representatives Hon. Ibrahim Sadiq who read the report and Hon. Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi were sighted on the floor of the ECOWAS Parliament.

However, a member of Parliament from Ghana, Hon Opare-Ansah Frederick who observed the embarrassing absence of Nigerian representatives expressed displeasure that only four Nigerians were present for the report.

Fredrick particularly expressed displeasure at the absence of the Nigerians especially on a day when the Nigerian Country Report was being presented.

Mr Speaker, on a day when Nigeria is presenting her country report, one would have expected that the representatives from Nigeria would be well represented.

We see them here, but on a day when we are taking their report only four of them are here. In fact I saw one of them leaving right after the report, he said.

On the issue of community levy, the Ghanaian MP joined many other members to call on Nigeria to play her big brother role and pay her community levy stressing that Nigeria was the biggest economy on whose shoulders the success or failure of ECOWAS laid the most.

Our correspondent reports that the issue of poor attendance by Nigerian representatives has been a recurring decimal.

At the last session of the Parliament in 2017, the Speaker of the Parliament Moustapha Cisse Lo particularly frowned at the low attendance by the Nigerian representatives.

Our correspondent reports that rather than step up their attendance, many Nigerian representatives still shunned the parliament. Some of them only come in, sign the attendance and leave story.

A particular Nigerian Representative from the South-South has gained popularity for coming late: and rather than sit and contribute to plenary, goes about exchanging pleasantries with other Members of Parliament who are going about their businesses.

Reacting to the interventions by other members of parliament, Nigeria representative, Hon. Lafiagi apologized for the very low turn-out of Nigerians.

He explained that the low turnout was almost unavoidable as the 2018 Budget of Nigeria was scheduled for passage in both chambers of the Nations National Assembly.

It is particularly very bad today because budget this year had been delayed, the budget is being passed today in both houses. That is one reason why a lot of us are absent today.

Another issue that causes this is because we are based here and the parliaments meet at the same time, that is why many of us go to attend, especially on a Wednesday when it is on live TV

Saturdays attendance was poor because congresses were going on, so members have to go to their constituencies to organize for the congresses.

I must also apologise for the absence of a lot of our colleagues. We will convey the message to let them know that their brothers are missing them, he said.

Speaking on the non-payment of the community levy, Lafiagi stressed that the delay in the passage of the nations budget had affected the payment.

He however assured that Nigeria was committed to meeting up with its obligation with regards to the payment of its levies.

Below is a list of Nigerian federal lawmakers (Senators and members of the House of Representatives) who are members of the ECOWAS Parliament.

Sulaiman Lasun Yussuff

Mohammed Ali Ndume

Foster Ogola

Ibrahim Danbaba Abdullahi

Gershom Otu Bassey

Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah

Mao A. Ohuabunwa

Yele Omogunwa

Tijjani Yahaya Kaura

Mustapha Bukar

Biodun Christine Olujimi

Ahmad Moallahyidi Abubakar

Isah Misau Hamma

Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi

Joshua Chibi Dariye

Rilwan Adesoji Akanbi

Nelson Asuquo Efiong

Adamu Dali Usman Kamale

Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu

Mani Aminu Ashiru

Dickson Dominic Tarkighir

Shehu Garba Sarkin-Noma

Salisu Garba Koko

Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi

Sani Mohammed Aliyu Rano

Sadiq Ibrahim

Olatunbosun George Oladele

Abdullahi Balarabe Salame

Magaji Dau Aliyu

Bassey Eko Ewa

Sulaiman Romo Aliyu

Abdullahi Idris Garba Kontagora

Solomon Ahwinahwi

Asabe Vilita Bashir

Emmanuel Isaac Ukoete

Source: NAN

An Ikeja Magistrates Court on Wednesday remanded a hotel cleaner, Abdulrahmon Shuaib, at the Kirikiri Prisons for allegedly stealing a customers cell phone, worth N25,000.

Shuaib, 22, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to the charges of stealing and attempt to escape from the police custody.

The Magistrate, Mrs Y. O. Aje-Afunwa, said that the accused should remain behind bars until the next adjourned date.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Peter Nwangwu, had told the court that the accused committed the offences on May 3 at Wix Hotel, situated at No. 7, Kujle Akinosi St., Oshodi, Lagos.

He said that the accused stole an XBO Android Phone, valued at N25,000, belonging to one Ganikale Hammed.

The prosecutor explained that the complainant, on getting to his room after it was cleaned, discovered that his cell phone was missing.

Shuaib stole an Android phone belonging to the complainant, (a guest at the said hotel), the prosecutor said.

He said that the cell phone was recovered from the accused.

Nwangwu also said that the accused made attempt to escape from the police custody.

The accused, on May 7, at 3.40a.m after he was apprehended and handed over to the police for questioning, he made an attempt to escape by breaking the ceiling, he said.

The offences contravened Sections 106 and 287 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

The case was adjourned until May 25, for a review of facts and sentencing.

Source: NAN

The Senate has passed the 2018 Budget of N9.21 Trillion following the consideration and adoption of the Budget report laid on the floor of the upper legislative chamber on Tuesday.

This is coming 6 months afterthe budget document was presented to a joint session of the National Assembly in November.

The Budget document passed on the floor of the senate is similar to what is being considered by the house of representatives and it shows and increase of N508 billion to take it to N9,120, 334,988,225 from the N8.6 trillion presented by Buhari.

The Senate and House of Representatives had promised to pass the budget on April 24, but failed to do so.

There were equally assurances that the budget would be passed in the first week of May but it was not passed.

The Senate had on several occasions accused Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of not keeping to appointments with the various standing committees to defend their budgets.

Subsequently, the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on April 12, mandated the Appropriation Committee to tidy up reports on the budget latest by April 13.

With this development, theJanuary to Decemberbudget cycle would not be obtainable with the 2018 budget.

Buhari had on Nov. 7, 2017 presented a budget of N8.6 trillion before a joint session of the National Assembly.

The president who announced the 2018 budget as Budget of Consolidation, said the projected expenditure would drive rapid economic recovery.

He said at the session that with a benchmark of 45 dollars per barrel at an exchange rate of N305 to a dollar in 2018, the budget would consolidate on the achievements of previous budgets to aggressively steer the economy to the path of steady growth.

Source: NAN

Germany has proposed a new process that will facilitate the smooth repatriation of over 30,000 illegal Nigerian migrants back to the country.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama said this when he received the Security Adviser to the President of Germany, Dr Jan Hecker, and his team in Abuja.

The new proposal, according to Onyeama, is predicated on perceived failures and slow pace of the current system of repatriation.

This, he said, involved both the participation of Nigerian embassies and consulate and the German immigration office.

“They don’t have enough faith and confidence in the process that we have at the moment for the repatriation process.

”Some of the delays they believed are with the mission and consulate in Germany.

” They want to propose a completely new process of repatriation, known as Return and Re-admission,” he said.

Onyeama said that in the last two years only about 200 Nigerians had returned to the country out of about 30,000.

”Germans were not happy that the system we have in place at the moment is certainly not working to their satisfaction,” he said.

According to him, the new process essentially entails that once all legal processes have been exhausted, Nigeria should trust them (Germany), to make right decision on whom should be repatriated.

He added that once the decision was taken, Germany would bring the affected persons to Nigeria without the involvement of Nigeria’s mission in Germany.

“They will bring them here to Nigeria and say we have gone through a process in Germany; these people are your nationals, they have exhausted all the legal processes, please take them.

”And it will be here on Nigeria territory that any possibility will then exist to say maybe that one is not or this one is not.

Onyeama, while describing the proposed process as a complete transformation of the current process, noted that Germany aside from issuing travel documents to those to be repatriated, would also be responsible for their travels.

However, for the new process to come into being, Nigeria would have to agree and carry out some changes in her laws.

Earlier, Jan Hecker said he was in Nigeria to see how both countries could intensify their bilateral relations and achieve good result, particularly on migration.

He was accompanied on the visit by the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Bernhard Schlagheck and other officials.

Source: NAN

Ado Ekiti, capital of Ekiti state, will be connected to Lagos-Kano rail line, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi said today as he signed a $6.68 billion dollars contract agreement for the Ibadan-Kaduna segment with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

Amaechi said at the signing ceremony in Abuja that Ado-Ekiti will be connected with a single track branch line from Osogbo.

He signed the contract on behalf of the Federal Government.

“This agreement is for the Ibadan-Kaduna rail line, which is part of the Lagos-Kano rail line, the completion time of the contract should be between two to three years, depending on availability of funds,” Amaechi said.

Amaechi promised that the ministry would be able to provide its counterpart funding between 2018 and 2019 budget provision, stating that the contract was a fulfilment of Federal Government’s plan to complete the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project.

“The Ibadan-Kaduna standard gauge line will pass through Oshogbo-Ilorin-Minna to Kaduna, with a single track branch line from Oshogbo to Ado-Ekiti.

“This contract is in fulfilment of Federal Government’s plan to complete the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project started in 2006 and broken into segments for implementation.

“The segmentation phase commenced from Abuja-Kaduna rail line in 2011, which was completed and commissioned into commercial operation by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.

“The Federal Government in March 2017 commenced the second leg of the Lagos-Kano line that is currently ongoing and planned to be completed by the end of 2018.

“The signing of the Ibadan–Kaduna segment contract agreement today concludes all outstanding segments of the Lagos-Kano rail line.”

Source: NAN

Embattled Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege, who vowed to attend Tuesdays plenary of the senate in compliance with a court decision failed to turn up.

The Senate on April 2, suspended Omo-Agege (Delta-APC) over a dissenting comment on decision of the Upper Chamber on adoption of conference report on INEC Commission Act (2010) Amendment Bill.

Omo-Agege, however went to court to challenge his suspension and the court in its ruling, declared the action unconstitutional, saying that the Senate could not suspend a member beyond 14 days.

The Senate appealed the ruling but said in statement that while it was waiting for a stay of execution, it would not stop the lawmaker from resuming plenary.

Omo-Ageges suspension, which was expected to last for 90 legislative days, followed a report of the Senate Committee on Ethics Privileges and Public Petitions.

Chairman of the committee, Sen. Sam Anyanwu, had said the committees probe followed a Point-of-Order raised by Sen. Dino Melaye (Kogi-APC) on the matter.

According to Anyanwu, Melaye drew Senates attention to a media briefing by Omo Agege, faulting senates adoption of the conferences report on Feb.14.

He said that Melaye further intimated the senate that the media briefing by Omo Agege indicated that the resolution of the senate was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.

His suspension was based on his comment that amendment to section 25 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), bordering on reordering of elections sequence was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of Federal High Court on May 10, held that while the National Assembly had the power to discipline its erring members, the premise on which Omo-Ageges suspension was anchored was illegal.

Although the court refused to grant any of the seven prayers sought by the senator, it held that the suspension could not hold on grounds of the violence it did to the Constitution.

The judge noted that from the wording of the report of the Senates Ethics and Privileges Committee which recommended Omo-Ageges suspension, he was punished for filing a suit against the Senate after apologising to the legislative house over the allegation leveled against him.

Access to court is a fundamental right in the Constitution, which cannot be taken away by force or intimidation from any organ, the judge ruled.

The judge also added that the Senates decision to punish Omo-Agege for filing a suit against the Senate and for punishing him while his suit was pending constituted an affront on the judiciary.

He added that even if the Senate had rightly suspended the senator, it could only have suspended him for only a period of 14 days as prescribed in the Senate rules.

He also ruled that the principle of natural justice was breached by the Senates Ethics and Privileges Committee by allowing Senator Dino Melaye, who was the complainant, to participate in the committees sitting that considered the issue and also allowed him to sign the committees report.

The judge therefore nullified Omo-Ageges suspension with immediate effect.

He also ordered that the senator be paid all his allowances and salaries for the period he was illegally suspended. (NAN)

Source: NAN

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has dismissed the fears that Buharis electoral value would diminish if the aggrieved members of the nPDP pull out of the ruling All Progressives Congress government.

In an interview with State House correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday, El-Rufai said President Buhari would be re-elected, with or without the threatening former PDP members.

I dont agree and I want to go back to 2003. What are we talking about? Who are these new PDP people that are threatening? This is Kwara, Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Rivers but I dont think Amaechi is part of them.

So lets take these four states, go back to 2003 and check. Buhari then under ANPP won in all these four states. Go back to 2007, Buhari won in these four states. Even when Shakarau was running as a presidential candidate in 2011, Buhari defeated him in Kano.

And, I have no doubt in my mind that even if the people threatening to leave, leave, it will have absolutely no impact on the presidential elections, the president will win Sokoto, Kwara and Adamawa easily.

Kano is already in the bag, I mean if you saw the crowd that welcome the president without the former governor Kwankwaso, Kano has always been the presidents base.

To me that is not the issue, the issue is that they have written, they have expressed grievances, some of the grievances are legitimate and should be looked into.

But to threaten to leave the party is neither here nor there. If they are honest with themselves they know that President Buhari will win those states with or without them.

El-Rufai visited the State House on Tuesday to update President Buhari on the outcome of last Saturdays Local Government elections in his state and the use of electronic voting system during the exercise.

It was the first time a state adopted the use of electronic machines to conduct elections in Nigeria.

El-Rufai told journalists that he also used the opportunity to welcome the president from his recent trips to America and London.

The governor recommended the adoption of e-voting in future elections at both federal and state levels as a panacea to election frauds in the country.

He expressed the readiness of the Kaduna state government to give out the machines on mutually acceptable terms to those state governments that were yet to conduct local government elections in their states.

Absolutely, I recommend it highly to everyone, I have already offered to my colleagues state governors that are yet to conduct local government elections that they can come to Kaduna and we can give them the machines on mutually acceptable terms.

All you will need is to change the software, it will have the logo of the state and the number of parties active in the state, they can use it. It is easy.

At federal level, I will recommend it as well because with the card reader and the electronic voting machine, the era of rigging elections is almost over and I think that is when people will have confidence in the process and will come out enmass to vote for their leaders.

Having said that, I know we have been working on this for about one year before we got to where we are. Although it is possible for INEC to do it, it will be logistically difficult.

But nothing stops them from trying if the resources are available. Because, the machines have already been manufactured, the designs are there, you only need to place the orders to the Chinese and Im sure they will deliver them in no time.

El-Rufai also dismissed the assertion that the use of e-voting was against the Electoral Act, saying that, I dont agree with that.

There is an amendment to the Electoral Act that President Jonathan signed a few days before he left office which legitimizes the use of the card reader and other electronic systems for voting.

So, in my view the current Electoral Act has provision for the electoral voting.

But, that is not even what we used in Kaduna. In Kaduna, we enacted our own electoral law that made provision for the electronic voting machine and card reader, everything was totally legitimized and passed by our State House of Assembly and I think every state can do the same, he said.

He added that the current legal framework allowed the use of electronic voting machines.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N10 billion for the rebuilding communities and victims of crisis, just as government has denied claims of agenda to eliminate people in Benue.

President Yemi Osinbajo, who is on a two-day visit to Benue unveiled the plan rehabilitation and rebuilding of communities on Tuesday.

Osinbajo said during a stakeholders meeting at the Benue Peoples Government House, Makurdi, that the Federal Government was determined to prove insinuations wrong by rebuilding all damaged communities in the country.

He said the anger and disappointment expressed by the people at the meeting was right and justified but assured that government was committed to providing security for their protection.

He said there were several interventions that had been initiated to make life bearable to them.

The Vice President assured that the government would dig deep into the root cause of the crises to find lasting solutions to it.

He also dismissed the religious colorations attached to the killings, saying persecutions have always been with Christians and it is the duty of Christians to stop it.

The gospel of Jesus cannot be killed by anybody; it is not fragile or written on a piece of paper, he explained.

He said the recent recruitments into the various arms of the security agencies was aimed at providing effective security protection to the people, especially communities under frequent attacks.

The vice president also condoled with the Catholic Church for the attack on its priests and worshippers at Saint Ignatius Parish Mbalom where 18 people including two catholic priests were killed by suspected armed herdsmen.

Earlier in his address, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue, called on the federal government to fish out the killers of the two priests and their parishioners.

He also called for more humanitarian aid to the state to handle the displaced people who were living in inappropriate sanitary conditions.

Also speaking at the meeting, Maj-Gen Lawrence Onoja (Retd) called for the establishment of Middle Belt Reconstruction Commission to tackle the most of the challenges the state faced especially in agriculture.

He also called on the federal government to arrest the killer- herdsmen and provide protection to farmers to enable them return to their farms.

The Catholic Bishop of Gboko Diocese, Most Rev. Williams Avenya, regretted the attacks on innocent citizens and called on the government to encourage the ranching of livestock as a panacea to the blood bath in the Benue valley.

The Speaker, Benue House of Assembly, Mr Terkimbi Ikyange, called on the government to encourage the adoption of the Anti- Open Grazing Law by all states to end the acrimonious relationship with herders in the country.

A former Vice Chancellor, ABU Zaria, Prof Daniel Saror, appealed to the federal government to chase out the herders who had taken over their farmlands and were occupying their houses.

For Dr Magdalyne Dura, a lecturer, the N10 billion earmarked to rebuild damaged communities was inadequate, considering the volume of damage done by the herders.

Other speakers who also supported the adoption of the anti open grazing law included; former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Mike Aondoakaa, Brig-Atom Kpera, Prof Tony Ijohor and Prof Jerry Agada.(NAN)

Source: NAN

The leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Sheik Ibrahim El-zakzaky, has been arraigned before the Kaduna High Court.

The Kaduna State Government on Tuesday arraigned the leader of Shiites who has been in detention since 2015.

The IMN leader and his wife are being arraigned on eight counts of alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disturbance of public peace, among other allegations.

They were brought to the court from Abuja, the nations capital in two black SUVs amidst tight security.

At the commencement of the hearing, the defence counsel, Mr. Maxwell Kyon, made an oral application for the couple on grounds that they had been in detention for over two years without trial.

Justice Kurada, however, refused the oral application made by Mr Kyon and told him to rather file a written application which will be heard before or on the next adjourned date.

Consequently, he adjourned the case till June 21, 2018.

El-zakzaky and his wife have been held in prison without trial since his arrest by the Nigerian government in December 2015.

While his followers regularly take to the streets to protest his prolonged detention, Tuesdays arraignment sparked a fresh protest as the members blocked the popular Ahmadu Bello way and other major roads in the state capital to demand his release.

Source: NAN

Jailed Malaysian reformist Anwar Ibrahim was granted a full pardon on Wednesday and walked out of a hospital in Kuala Lumpur just a week after his alliance scored a shock victory in a general election.

Smiling and waving to supporters, Anwar, dressed in a black suit and tie and his hair neatly swept back, was surrounded by his family, lawyers and prison guards before driving to the palace for an audience with King Sultan Muhammad V.

He was greeted at the palace by new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, his ally-turned-foe-turned-ally, with whom he joined forces to oust scandal-tainted Najib Razaks administration in last weeks election.

The king, with the advice of the pardons board of the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, has allowed a full pardon and given an immediate release for Anwar bin Ibrahim, said a statement issued by the palace.

Anwar, 70, serving a five year-sentence for sodomy, has been recovering from a shoulder injury in hospital under police guard.

The pardon allows Anwar to re-enter active politics immediately, but it was not clear what his role in government would be.

Mahathir, 92, had vowed to enable Anwars release and eventually step aside for him to become the prime minister.

On Tuesday, Mahathir said he expected to be prime minister for one or two more years, setting off talk of differences between the two.

Seeing him walk free makes me emotional, but the fight is not over, said Ridzuan Ismail, an Anwar supporter at the hospital. Now we need to see him become prime minister.

Jack Seng, another supporter wearing a shirt with a logo of Anwar behind bars, said he thought Mahathir and Anwar would resolve any tensions between them.

I think we need to let Mahathir do his work to save Malaysia and to get back its system of government.

Nurul Izzah, Anwars daughter, said her fathers release was a gift ahead of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan which begins on Thursday in Malaysia.

A pardon based on a miscarriage of justice, a separation met with an eventual embrace, she said in an Instagram post. We have got much to do, many more injustices to fight.

Anwars freedom is expected to ease fears of a growing rift within the newly formed coalition government, after differences erupted between supporters of Mahathir and Anwar over cabinet positions and Anwars role in the party.

Mahathir is the leader of the ruling alliance and Anwars Peoples Justice Party (PKR) won the majority of parliamentary seats in the group.

The volatile relationship between Mahathir and Anwar has dominated Malaysias political landscape for over three decades and is central to the future of the alliance.

Source: NAN