President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki on Tuesday urged the International Oil Companies and Oil Producers Trade Section (IOC/OPTS) operating in the country not to induce lawmakers during the consideration of other sections of the Petroleum Industry Bill.

The Fiscal and Host Communities Bills, a components of the Petroleum Industry Bill is currently before the National Assembly for consideration and passage.

Saraki who stated this when the leadership of the IOC/OPTS visited him in Abuja.

According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, he said that the leadership of the 8th National Assembly has made it clear to all lawmakers involved in the process to live above board.

He called on the leadership of the OIC/OPTS to report any lawmaker who seeks any personal favour when the process of passing the bills commences this month of May.

Saraki said: Let me also use these opportunity to just make some ground rules clear. We as the 8th National Assembly I told you at the beginning that the two houses will be on the same position on the remaining Bills. I think we have shown that on the first bill we passed.

I am confident that for these other bills too, we will do the same. I want to assure you that it is in our own interest and the leadership has made it clear to all the members involved that this must be a transparent process.

We are doing it in the interest of the country. Leadership is not going to tolerate any hanky-panky. No favours. No gifts. Nothing must be given to get this work done.

And we want to mandate you that if you see any of these you should be able to bring it to the attention of the leadership. All we want to see is a Bill that is in the interest of Nigeria and we have read the riot act to all our members that nobody should approach anybody for any interest towards any benefit and I want to make this very clear.

This is the position of leadership on this issue. We must ensure that everything is above board because this is not just a Bill for today, but for future generations. We must make sure that in our time it is done properly, he stated.

Saraki said that after the passage of the PIGB by the National Assembly which is now before now before the Presidency for assent, the process for the passage of the Fiscal and Host Communities Bills will soon commence to pass a petroleum bill that will be a win-win for all stakeholders.

He said: This is where we are now and this is where it concerns those of you who are operators to see that we can pass a petroleum bill that is a win win for all.

A petroleum bill that will be a win for Nigeria on the revenue side, investment side and jobs creation; and it is also a win for those who are investing in Nigeria. Because we appreciate that it is a very competitive world out there and we must make Nigeria competitive.

The only way we can do that is through engagement. We cannot do it by just passing a bill and just putting it at your doorstep, because we are not the ones that will do the investment. So, it has to be a bill that we all believe is in the interest of all those who are involved, he said.

It would be recalled that the National Assembly Assembly has commenced the process of passing the Fiscal and Host Communities components of the Petroleum Industry Bill after the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) now before the President for assent.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation of the IOC/OPTS and Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Limited, Mr. Osagie Okunbo, said the visit is essentially meant to assure the leadership of the National Assembly that the IOC/OPTS will make its memorandum on the Bills available to the relevant Committees of the National Assembly during the public hearing.

He said that it is important to ensure that the PIB that will be passed is one that will essentially promote investment.

Our primary concern is that at the end of the day, we both lay the years of uncertainty to rest, but even more importantly, that a bill that is passed eventually is one that we can all be proud of and the one that we can say will encourage investments in all parts of the oil industry, Okunbo stated.

Source: NAN

Governor Ayo Fayoses candidate, Prof. Kayode Olusola-Eleka has emerged the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State for the July 14 election.

He is at present the deputy governor of the state.

In the primary held on Tuesday, Olusola, polled 1190 votes to defeat Dayo Adeyeye who had 771 votes.

The delegates accredited for the election were 1961, with 7 of the votes voided, according to the leader of PDP electoral committee, Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta.

NAN reports that Mr Dayo Adeyeye, who left the venue at about 8p.m, accepted the outcome of the primary election, which he agreed was conducted under free and fair atmosphere.

In his acceptance speech, Eleka thanked the delegates for finding him worthy.

He expressed gratitude to Mr Dayo Adeyeye for exhibiting courage throughout the period the pre-primary election.

The deputy governor, who praised Gov. Ayo Fayose for standing by him, vowed to defeat the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming July 14 governorship election in the state.

Also reacting, Gov. Fayose promised to embark on meaningful reconciliation by reaching out to aggrieved party leaders, especially the duo of Dayo Adeyeye and Mrs Abiodun Olujimi, so that the PDP in the state can be a united house once again.

Source: NAN

South West leaders have stepped into the logjam in Ekiti governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) involving 33 aspirants.

The leaders met on Tuesday in Abuja with the aspirants for the partys ticket for the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti.

Former National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, said after the meeting that they would advise the partys national leadership on the proposed fresh primary in Ekiti.

We are going to talk to the party about what the aspirants have said and what we all think is best, and we know that the party will take the right decision.

We are going to convey our resolution to the party and the party will be able to tell you, he said.

He added that the meeting took a decision on what would be best for the party and the country generally.

On whether a consensus candidate would be considered for the election, Akande said that may be an option for the aspirants.

Consensus is already in our Constitution and it is an option; also primary election is already in our Constitution.

But what we want is the general happiness of the leaders of the party, the contestants and our party, he said.

He, however, added that the aspirants were asked to think about arriving at a consensus candidate ahead of the rescheduled primary slated for Friday.

The party on Saturday, conducted a primary election to pick its candidate for the Ekiti poll, but the exercise was marred by violence, which led to its cancellation by election committee. (NAN)

Source: NAN

In a surprise move which he termed efforts to build institutions, the President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki has visited the new office complex of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

There has been no love lost between the 8 Senate and the EFCC especially as it concerns the confirmation of the Acting Chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Magu.

The Senate rejected the appointment of Magu as the Chairman of the commission over allegations of corruption by the Department of State Security (DSS). However the executive had insisted on not substituting Magu while he (Magu) continues to allege that some members of the senate are corrupt.

However, in a surprise move, Saraki went on an inspection tour of the headquarters of the commission.

Speaking to newsmen after the inspection, he said that will continue to support efforts to build and strengthen the nations institutions irrespective of any differences.

He said that he was particularly impressed by the quality of work done and the fact the building was designed by a Nigerian architect.

He said he is duty bound to visit the completed project as part of his oversight functions in view of the contributions of the National Assembly to its realization.

The Senates President said that the nation must continue to build institutions as well as strengthen existing ones to realize its dream of becoming a great democratic country.

I think the most important thing as far as we are concerned is that I have always said that we must always continue to build institutions and that is what is important and we must continue to support in building these institutions.

If we are going to build a better society in our country, one of the main things we must tackle is the issue of corruption and how we can do that is by strengthening these institutions.

My presence here is to say that whatever we do in our job, the most important thing is that we all represent institutions and we must work and see that it is in the interest of the country.

So my presence here is, after a building like this where the National Assembly has played a great role, it must be my responsibility to see how the money was spent and I can see that that has been done properly and we should continue to work together to see that that goes well for the entire country.

If you look at most projects in Abuja, I dont think any project like this has been well-funded and that shows that despite all the noise you will hear, the National Assembly has supported where it matters because this is where it matters and I think we have done that.

If you look at what has been achieved in the last two and half years in putting this building up and bringing it to completion, I think it is a remarkable achievement, he said.

As the head of the legislature, I have responsibilities that goes beyond whatever issues there may be. You see, you guys in the media like to hype things. The most important thing is that we must always do the right thing.

We might disagree on what those right things are but at the end, we must ensure that we build institutions, we support institutions and do what is right and we must continue to do that, he said.

Saraki said that the fight against corruption must continue in order to bequeath a better future to both present and coming generations.

He insisted that there was no way Nigeria can be built if corruption is not fought to the barest minimum.

I have always said that my own strong will is that as we fight it, we must fight it in ensuring that we strengthen the institutions and what you see here is part of the process of strengthening that institutions so that whoever comes here will know that this is what we must fight if we want to build institutions, he said.

Source: NAN

By Nathan Nwakamma

The Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme, has registered more than 80,000 public sector enrollees less than a year after it began operations, its Executive Secretary, Dr Zuoboemi Agadah said on Wednesday.

Agadah made this disclosure in Yenagoa while signing a Memorandum of Understanding with an Heath Maintenance Organisation, United Healthcare International for the schemes technical support.

The State Government started an health insurance scheme for its workforce in June 2017 with a plan to extend the scheme to cover the informal sector in due course.

Agadah, who said that the enrollment was ongoing, added that the feedback from the registration desk was encouraging.

He said that in spite of the growing number of enrollees in the scheme, government had also met its financial obligations to health care providers.

According to him, feedback from the enrollees and other stakeholders in the health sector, shows that the scheme is doing well.

The Executive Secretary attributed the success so far recorded to the adoption of the template already put in place by the National Health Insurance Scheme of the Federal Government.

He said that the Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme was also collaborating with other states of the federation where similar schemes were being run.

Agadah said that such collaboration was to overcome the teething problems of the scheme for the benefit of stakeholders.

He said that the scheme was able to face the challenges at the initial stages through an effective Quality Assurance and Compliance Management System.

Agadah applauded the United Healthcare International for its expertise and support for the scheme since inception in June 2017, resulting in high standards in its overall implementation.

He said that the scheme made available quality and affordable health care to enrollees, who paid just 10 per cent of the cost of drugs in addition to the monthly premiums paid by civil servants.

Agadah lauded Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa for establishing the scheme, adding that plans had reached an advanced stage to cover the private sector.

In his response, Dr Kazeem Mustapha, the Executive Director, United Healthcare, noted that the zeal and commitment of the managers of the Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme was commendable.

He said that the quick impact of the scheme was informed by the direct result of the determination of the Bayelsa Government to improve the health status of its citizens.

Source: NAN

North Korea released three American prisoners and handed them over to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, clearing a major obstacle to an unprecedented summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump said the three men, who were freed after Pompeo met Kim, were on the way home from Pyongyang on the chief U.S. diplomats plane. The president planned to greet them when they land at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington at 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) Thursday morning.

The release appeared to signal an effort by Kim to set a more positive tone for the summit and followed his recent pledge to suspend missile tests and shut Pyongyangs nuclear bomb test site.

While Kim is giving up the last of his American detainees, whom North Korea has often used as bargaining chips with the United States, a release could also be aimed at pressuring Trump to make concessions of his own in his bid to get Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear arsenal, something it has not signalled a willingness to do.

But Wednesdays announcement gave Trump a chance to tout a diplomatic achievement just a day after his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal drew heavy criticism from European allies and others.

I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting. They seem to be in good health, Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

The family of Tony Kim, one of freed prisoners, thanked Trump, saying in a statement: We are very grateful for the release of our husband and father, Tony Kim, and the other two American detainees.

South Korea heralded the move as positive for upcoming talks between Trump and Kim and called on Pyongyang to also release six South Korean detainees.

The fate of the three Korean-Americans had been among a number of delicate issues in the run-up to the first-ever meeting of U.S. and North Korean leaders.

As Pompeo returned to his Pyongyang hotel from a 90-minute meeting with Kim, the secretary of state crossed his fingers when asked by reporters if there was good news about the prisoners.

A North Korean official came to the hotel shortly afterwards to inform Pompeo that Kim had granted their release, according to a senior US official present for the exchange.

Pompeo replied: Thats great, according to the official.

You should make care that they do not make the same mistakes again, the North Korean official was quoted as saying. This was a hard decision.They were in the air less than an hour after leaving custody.

The three are Korean-American missionary Kim Dong-chul; Kim Sang-duk, also known as Tony Kim, who spent a month teaching at the foreign-funded Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) before he was arrested in 2017; and Kim Hak-song, who also taught at PUST.

North Korean state media says they were detained either for subversion or committing hostile acts against the government. Many of the foreigners detained by North Korea in the past have said the government forced them into making confessions to false or trumped up charges.

Speaking to reporters as he returned from North Korea, Pompeo said a place and date had been set for a one-day summit in good, productive conversations between U.S. and North Korean officials. But he did not offer specifics.

Trump viewed the release of the three Americans as a positive gesture of goodwill ahead of the planned summit, the White House said. It is planned for late May or early June.

The White House said the three Americans appears to be in good condition and all were able to walk without assistance onto the plane.

I think there is reason for some optimism that these talks could be fruitful, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said of the coming summit.

There was no immediate sign, however, that Pompeos visit had cleared up the question of whether North Korea would be willing to bargain away nuclear

Source: NAN

Malaysia was counting votes Wednesday after one of the countrys fiercest ever election battles which has pitted scandal-hit Prime Minister Najib Razak against his one-time mentor, 92-year-old former authoritarian leader Mahathir Mohamad.

Najib is seeking to retain power at the head of a regime that has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957, but veteran ex-leader Mahathirs shock comeback has upended the election race.

Angered by a massive financial scandal that has tarnished Malaysias international image, Mahathir has teamed up with an alliance of parties that opposed him when he was in power, and which includes jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim his former nemesis.

Najibs ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is seen as likely to retain power mainly due to an electoral system critics say has been heavily manipulated to favour the government, but analysts predict it will lose the popular vote for the second consecutive election.

I am confident of winning, ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad told reporters. I feel very good, I am confident unless Najib cheats.

Results started trickling in a few hours after polls closed, with BN having a slight early lead with 14 seats to nine for the opposition, according to the Election Commission.

But some key BN figures appeared to have fallen, with unofficial results on Bernama state news agency showing the heads of the ethnic Indian and Chinese parties in the coalition had lost their seats.

Earlier, voters flocked in large numbers to polling stations throughout the day, leading to hours-long queues in many places and prompting complaints from voters and opposition leaders about people potentially missing out on voting.

Before polls closed, Mahathir said he was worried voters may not get the chance to cast their ballots.

I have received reports from voting centres that many voters are gathered outside polling stations and that the process was moving quite slowly, he said.

I hope (people) will be given the right to vote.

Election officials were yet to disclose the final turnout, although analysts said it could be lower than at the 2013 election, when it was 85 percent. This would be a blow to the opposition who have said they need a high turnout.

There were other complaints of dirty tricks at the poll, with both opposition leaders and senior BN members claiming that their phones had been jammed by a flood of spam calls to stop them from communicating with their teams.

The internet regulator blamed the attacks on bots (automated programmes) and said it would investigate.

The race has been fiercely contested, and the opposition alliance has gained ground in recent weeks as Mahathir, who ruled with an iron fist for 22 years, chipped away at the governments key support base, the Muslim Malay majority.

Earlier Mahathir cast his ballot alongside his wife in the northern city of Alor Setar, and said he was confident of victory.

Najib, a political blue blood and son of Malaysias second prime minister, voted in his constituency of Pekan.

Source: NAN

The Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, on Wednesday incurred the wrath of the senate as the lawmakers unanimously passed a vote of no confidence on him.

The senators were angry because Idris had personally refused to appear on invitation to answer questions concerning the arrest and issues surrounding Senator Dino Melaye.

Idris had on first invitation, sent a Deputy Inspector General of Police to represent him but the senate refused to honour the DIG.

The senate took the decision on Wednesday after about an hour of closed door session.

The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki announced the decision of the senate during plenary.

The Senate, in a closed session, deliberated on the non-appearance of the IGP to the Senate in plenary after series of invitation.

The Senate noted that this amounted to a great disrespect to the institution and constituted authority.

The Senate also notes that his earlier refusal to appear before its investigative committee was overruled by a court of competent jurisdiction just in April of this year.

The senate, therefore, views his persistent refusal as a great danger to our democracy.

Therefore, the senate resolved to declare the IGP as an enemy of our democracy and not fit to hold any public office within and outside Nigeria.

The leadership of the Senate was also mandated to look into the matter for further necessary action.

Earlier, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe(Abia-APC) condemned the action of the IGP, saying it was a disrespect for the legislature.

Democracies die and it dies in two ways. It either dies abruptly or in bits and what is happening today in Nigeria is that democracy is dying in bits.

It dies when people abuse governmental powers and all that we have seen today with the conduct of the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is nothing but an abuse of power.

He has no respect for this institution and that is now a fact. There is actually no way we can dress it to say we should give him some more time.

We can say that what he is doing is anything but an abuse of this institution, the federation and himself even in the eyes of the international community.

This morning I watched someone who was a Police Officer in Britain and what he said was germaine to what we are saying here.

He said if the Chief Law Officer cannot obey the law of the land how do you now say to other people who are miscreants should obey the law, he said.

According to him, unless a concrete decision is taken by the senate, the disrespect for the National Assembly would become widespread.

Abaribe said, I want to agree with some of our colleagues who have said that we should go into a close door session and agree whether we will accept this insult or not.

I want to appeal to us to remember that if you do not deal with this abuse of power all of us are going to regret it because there is nothing to stop anybody else from doing what it likes in this country, he said.

The Leader of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan said he made efforts to reach the IGP for 48 hours but was not successful.

Personally, I made attempts to call his line and I sent text messages that he should call me as soon as he was able to see my messages.

Clearly, the IG is not here. I think this is very unusual and very unfortunate.

I personally feel that public officers should do what is in the interest of the public and where any public officer cannot do what is in the interest of the public, there is no need for such an officer to continue to occupy that kind of position.

This institution is now at a crossroad on this. I believe that a decision has to be taken on the way forward.

I do not think it will make any further sense to continue to extend invitation until the Senate takes a different decision to make the situation better, he said.

Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha(PDP-Taraba) said it was a sad moment for democracy.

He added that the IGPs action was inexcusable, unacceptable, and condemnable.

He called for immediate action to protect the institution of the National Assembly.

This senate needs to take very serious action on the way forward. We cannot stand this embarrassment any longer.

I will suggest we have a closed session. I am moving for us to executive session to take very serious consideration on this matter. This is a national disgrace.
Isah Missau.(APC-Bauchi) said the IGPs action was not just disrespect for the Parliament but also the President of the country who appointed him.

He said, I recall I made mention that there is problem with the leadership of the Police.

On official capacity, there is no any person here that is not bigger than the IG constitutionally. Anybody here can invite the IG officially, because by the Constitution, every senator is bigger than the office of the IG.

What the IG is doing is not against the Senate, it is against the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because he is the leader today, of this country.

If an appointee of the President will refuse to honour invitation of an institution, it is unfortunate.

I think it is left for this government to decide if they have an appointee that will rubbish the image of the country.

I think it is much unfortunate and we will have to do something, the image of the president, the image of country and the image of our democratic environment that is the institution of the parliament, he said.(NAN)

Source: NAN

The Adamawa State Coordinator of National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), Mallam Abubakar Mohammed said that about 1596 corps members out of the 2,126 registered under the 2018 batch A sought redeployment out of the state.

Mohammed made this known Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola, saying they left based on insecurity, marriage and health grounds.

He said the 530 corps members that concluded their orientation today (Wednesday) were not posted to serve in Michika, Madagali, Mubi North and Mubi South Local Government Areas, also for security reasons.

He also said that corp members were not posted to villages in Numan, Demsa and Lamurde local government areas because of herders/farmers clashes.

However, there are those who requested to be posted to Mubi, particularly married women who have their families there which we obliged, Mohammed said.

He urged the people of Adamawa to appreciate corps members who decided to serve in the state by supporting them to give their best.

In his address at the Wednesday closing ceremony of the batch A orientation course, Gov. Muhammadu Bindow said his government is committed to improving the welfare of corps members.

Bindow who was represented by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr Suleiman Sambo, said that his administration was appreciative of the numerous contributions of corps members in uplifting the standard of living of communities they served, adding that employers have been directed not to reject corps members posted to their organizations.

I want to urge you to make the best use of your orientation course in the subsequent months awaiting you in the service year.

I want to assure you that Adamawa State Government is ready to tackle the challenges of the NYSC schedule in the state and improve the welfare of corps members..

Our government has directed that corps employers should not reject members posted to their organisations under any guise. Adequate arrangements have been made to give you decent accommodation and other welfare incentives in order to motivate you.

Source: NAN

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday in Abuja, said that over five million new tax payers have been enrolled in the last 12 months.

Speaking at the 20th annual tax conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Osinbajo said that the tax compliances is closely linked to good governance.

He said that tax compliance should go hand in with good governance as the head and tail of the social contract between the government and its citizens.

The government of President Buhari is working to change this state of affairs. We are determined to restore the full weight of the social contract.

We are rewriting the old rules and compacts; making it clear to Nigerians that we will ensure that every naira of public money is put to use for the maximum good of the Nigerian people.

We will also simultaneously ensure that every naira due to the public coffers in taxes is promptly and efficiently collected.

This level of commitment to accountability makes it easy to see how we have managed to, even in the face of dwindling oil earnings and a recession, succeeded in spending significantly more on infrastructure (roads, rail, power) and human capital development (education, health, poverty reduction) than previous governments.

As of May 2017, only 14 million economically-active Nigerians paid taxes. I am pleased to note that that number is now in excess of 19 million, and still growing, he said.

Exemplifying with the wonderful achievements of Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in South West, Osinbajo said that the giants stride which was achieved before Nigeria discovered oil proves how far tax payment can go.

He said that the free education as well as infrastructural developments enjoyed in South western region of Nigeria were only possible with funds from cocoa and tax payment.

He however decried that with the coming of the military and the oil boom, everybody forgot about taxation as the central government began to give everybody allocations.

So, today the states in the old Western region, aside from Lagos, do not earn enough in taxes or anything else to pay salaries let alone do major capital projects.

Without federal allocation, most states cannot survive. I am sure you are familiar with the statistics, Lagos state alone takes in as much IGR as 31 states combined. It tells you how little the other states manage to bring in IGR.

This historical analogy of the old Western region and fate of the states that now constitute it explains the low level of tax compliance; the now-well-known fact that our tax-to-GDP ratio stands at only 6 percent.

Although we are told that it will improve with VIADS and some of the steps taken already by the FIRS. This is obviously a dismal figure when compared to other countries at similar levels of development: Ghana, Egypt and India at 16 percent, South Africa at 29 percent.

That our tax-to-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world should in fact surprise no one.

As at December 2017, only 943 Nigerians pay self-assessed taxes of over N10 million and of that number 941 live in Lagos State, the other two live in Ogun State, he said.

He called on citizens to always endeavor to pay their taxes stressing that tax does not excite anybody anywhere in the World.

He assured that the APC government will keep their part of the bargain by ensuring that monies realized from taxes were put to good use.

Source: NAN