₦airaland Forum

Etruth:
Yes I agree with you . I believe Oby will get votes from those enlightened across the nation. She has an excellent track record in public service. With proper structures on ground , especially in the grassroots and vigorous campaigns across the nation, she would get a sizeable number of votes. Also, this would inspire and appeal to a lot of women (which should hopefully translate into votes) ,considering, such position hitherto, has never been occupied by a woman.

I admire ur optimism but don't necessarily share it.
What is the percentage of these enlightened tthat are registered voters who will vote.

You are hereHome › Why Jonathan should sign Biosafety Bill – Prof Ishiyaku
Why Jonathan should sign Biosafety Bill – Prof Ishiyaku

Prof. Muhammad Faguji Ishiyaku is the Dean of Student Affairs of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Programme Leader of Biotechnology Research Programme of the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) of the University. In this exclusive interview with Abdallah el-Kurebe who was at a Media Training organized by Biosciences for Farming in Africa (B4FA) at the Institute, Prof. Ishiyaku spoke on Biosafety & Biotechnology and the need for President Jonathan to expedite assent on the Biosafety Bill and other issues relating to mass food production. Excerpts:

Against Nigeria’s quest for food security, do you see any need for the application of biotechnology for mass food production?

First of all, the application of science on Agriculture is aimed at solving the problems of food security in Africa, not Nigeria alone. There is the need for Africa to keep its citizens from hunger against the ever-growing population. This is as important as keeping a standard army in any country, except if we want to lag behind.

Talking about Nigeria, for the country to attain the Agriculture Transformation Agenda, which is now being pursued, necessary steps aimed at institutionalizing biotechnology in the country must also be aggressively pursued. On the whole, I think there should be pressure on policy makers to refocus and reprioritize their area of attention, especially where food is involved.

Do you see the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) as being comprehensive enough in the absent of the Biosafety Bill?

In the first place, the researches being conducted in all our research centres on biotechnology would be useless if that law is not signed into law. We have a law that backs the conduct of research. But for commercialization purposes, we need to have an act from the National Assembly to allow for the commercialization of these products.

If the President refuses to ascent to that bill into a law, which I doubt, it means that the results of these researches would remain on the shelves of our laboratories. What we are doing is targeting the problems that our people are facing with a view to solving them.

Society urges President Jonathan to sign National Health Bill
on november 22, 2014 at 2:59 pm in news
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The Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON), has appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to sign the National Health Bill into law.
The President of the Society, Dr. Fred Achem, made the appeal in his address at the opening of the 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Scientific Conference of the society in Asaba on Thursday.

He said that the bill, when signed by Mr President, would promote primary health care in the country.
Achem said such law would help propel the efforts of various stakeholders in the health sector to achieve efficient health care delivery for all Nigerians.
“We believe that by signing this bill into law, it will unlock the potentials of bringing primary health care back to the front burner of our national life.

“It will also go a long way to help all stakeholders in the health sector in our various commitments to save the lives of our people”, Achem said.
“It is interesting to know that the most recent survey estimated that there were about 289, 000 maternal deaths in the world in 2013.

“Sixty percent of these maternal deaths were recorded in Sub-Sahara Africa, with the greatest total number occurring in Nigeria”, he said.
Achem explained that the estimated life time risk of maternal mortality in high income countries was one in 3,400 cases, while in low income countries like Nigeria it was one in 52 cases.

He said SOGON had vowed to give the task of reducing the high rate of maternal deaths a top priority.
Achem stated that for the Society to evolve a five-year strategic development plan in 2017, it would seek to focus in six thematic areas.
He listed the areas to include governance, human resource development, service delivery, finance, knowledge management and research innovation.
“Over the last three years, we have been able to look ahead to see what we can do to impart in the lives of our women, particularly the reduction of maternal mortality rate.

“We have also worked very hard on maternal death review over the past few years to see how best we can help as a society of professionals to contribute in addressing the challenges’’, Achem said.

Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta lauded the society for its commitment to addressing the challenges of high infant and maternal mortality rates.
He said Delta Government had made huge investment in the health sector in its determination to provide affordable health care delivery for its citizens.

The conference featured the induction of 44 new members and presentation of awards of excellence to two prominent members.
They are Prof. Joseph Otubu and Prof. Mutairu Ezimokhai, both of who received awards of excellence in administration.

Surely this issue has been pending for a long time now.


Reps move to override Jonathan’s veto on bills

NOVEMBER 8, 2013 BY JOHN AMEH
President Goodluck Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan | credits: File copy
The House of Representatives moved on Thursday to override President Jonathan’s veto on bills passed by the 7th National Assembly.

According to a lawmaker from Bauchi State, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, who sponsored a motion on the issue, there are 36 of such bills that have not received Jonathan’ assent.

Dogara pointed out that Section 58(I)(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), made it “mandatory” for the President to do either of two things.

“He either assents to a bill passed by the National Assembly within 30 days or he shall communicate his decision to withhold his assent,” Dogara stated.

The lawmaker noted that in the case of the 36 bills, the President had not done either of the two requirements, stressing that since the days had lapsed, the only option left was to invoke Section 58(I)(5) to override his veto “so that Nigerians can get the benefits of these bills.”

Section 58(I)(5) provides that if each chamber of the National Assembly passes a bill vetoed by the President, the President’s assent will no longer be required for it to become law.

The motion generated tension on the floor between Mr. Simon Arabo (PDP, Kaduna); Mr. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers); Mr. Aminu Shagari (PDP, Sokoto); and Mr. Abubakar Momoh (APC, Edo) on whether overriding the President’s veto could be done by a motion.

The Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, intervened, observing that the essence of the motion was to send the message that bills passed by the National Assembly were not being assented to by the President.

Tambuwal recalled that some of the bills were actually passed by the 6th Assembly and had to be re-introduced because there was no presidential assent.

He stated that the motion was a “wake up call” to both the legislature and the President that both sides were not complying with constitutional provisions.

“It is a wake-up call to both sides. If there is anything we have not done on both sides, let us do it,” the Speaker said

28 Private Bills: Grumbles in NASS as Jonathan refuses assent - See more at: http://www.mydailynewswatchng.com/28-private-bills-grumbles-in-nass-as-jonathan-refuses-assent/?wpmp_switcher=mobile#sthash.aGkSNwJS.dpuf


There are agitations in the National Assembly over the refusal of President Goodluck Jonathan to give his assent to 28 private bills passed by the Federal legislators in the last two years. Daily Newswatch investigations showed that the president has never signed any private member bill passed by the National Assembly since the inception of the seventh session more than two years ago, precisely from June 2011.

It was also revealed that out of the bills passed by the seventh National Assembly, only bills that originated from the Presidency or from the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF), known as executive bills, were signed by President Jonathan. Private member bills are the bills sponsored by any senator or member of the House of Representatives, while executive bills are the bills sent from Presidency or from the National Assembly for consideration.

The executive bills so far signed by Mr. President include Transfer of Convicted Offenders Bill (2012), Terrorism Prevention Act (Amendment) Bill 2012, and Money Laundering Act (Amendment) Bill. While private bills passed by the National Assembly within the stated period but yet to be signed are: Occupational Safety and Health Bill sponsored by Senator Chris Anyanwu, Court of Appeal (Amendment) Bill sponsored by Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, Act Authentication Act (Amendment) Bill 2012 sponsored by Senator Paulinus Igwe, and Retirement Age of Staff of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Bill 2012 sponsored by Senator Uche Chukwumerije. Others are: Hyperdec Act sponsored by Senator Dahiru Kuta, Same Sex Marriage Bill sponsored by Senator Domingo Obende, Federal High Court Act 2005(Amendment) Bill 2012 and State of the Nation Address Bill sponsored by Senator Ike Ekweremadu. All in all, within the period under review, not less than 342 bills have been presented for first reading in the Senate alone, and a similar number is expected to have been presented at the House of Representatives.

Out of the bills read for the first time in the Senate, 43 are executive bills, while 299 others are private member bills, including those forwarded to it from the House of Representatives for concurrence. One of the private members bills passed by both chambers of the National Assembly but refused assent by President Jonathan which almost led to the Senate overriding the president’s veto, was the State of the Nation Address Bill.

The president sent the bill back to them for further amendments over identified infractions on some constitutional provisions regarding separation of powers between the executive and legislative arms of government. A scenario the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, said can only be prevented from occurring again if the executive arm of government pays the needed attention to bill progression in both chambers of the National Assembly, particularly at public hearing stages through its relevant agencies or persons before final passages of such bills by the National Assembly. Specifically, many of the sponsors of the private member bills said they wouldn’t want to comment on the state of the bills for now in order not to personalise the entire process.

But the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media and Publicity, Zakari Mohammed, in a telephone conversation, said the observed situation portrays the National Assembly as stabiliser of democracy that had avoided frictions with the executive in so many ways. Mohammed said though President Jonathan may have reasons for not assenting to the bills, the fact that neither of the two chambers of the National Assembly or the entire legislative body as a whole, has made any noise over it, shows that rather than the executive, it is the National Assembly that has been stabilising this democracy by trying at all cost to avoid frictions with the Presidency. “If going by your investigations, the president has not signed into law any of the several private member bills sent to him by this seventh National Assembly and there has been no frictions between us and the Presidency over it, it shows that we have been making lots of sacrifices in that respect to prevent frictions between us and the Presidency, because as clearly stated in the relevant portions of the Constitution, the president can refuse assent to bills forwarded to him for that purpose, just as the National Assembly can also override such refusal of assent or veto, which we have never done, all in the bid of avoiding institutional frictions in governance, and by extension, overheating the polity.”

However, he added that since the tenure of the Seventh National Assembly has not ended, the affected bills cannot be completely said to have been vetoed by the president because there are still windows of getting the bills signed into law. Although the objection of Federal legislators as portrayed by Hon. Mohammed is mild, some opinion leaders across the country have expressed outrage at a situation where the president consistently refused to give his assent to bills that did not emanate from his office.

Former spokesman of defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Rotimi Fashakin, condemned Jonathan‘s action, saying that the president’s action is impacting negatively on governance, describing Jonathan’s stance as part of the tragedy of governance in the country. He said all the Presidency looks forward to are own bills. Renowned labour leader, Chief Frank Kokori, urged the National Assembly to apply the stick, saying it is the responsibility of the National Assembly to create checks and balances, when the executive is behaving unconstitutionally or unconventionally. Chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Debo Adeniran, described the purported private bills waiting for President Goodluck Jonathan’s assent since 2011 as an unfortunate situation that would have negative impact on the development of Nigeria. “The implication is that various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) will have excuses for why they do not perform their roles as expected at the end of the financial year. This situation shows a lack of cohesion within the polity, whereby the legislature and the executive are not agreeable on issues that are supposed to be of common interest. “It is an index of system failure because it is a situation whereby you have a system with component parts not working in consonance with each other.

You will understand that such a system cannot deliver any effective and efficient result, that is what has been happening in Nigeria. “What we are experiencing now is an end result of governance by imposition; governance that doesn’t take the opinion of people into consideration. And most of the times, what they consider is what will feather their nest.

So, because the bills didn’t emanate from the Presidency, they are bound to bounce back and it is developmental aspect of it that normally suffers the jeopardy,” Adeniran said. But Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN), a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), said a resolution of two-third majority of members of the National Assembly could pass into law a bill from which the president has withheld his assent. Ahamba added interestingly, however, that there is nothing abnormal about President Jonathan not assenting to bills that did not emanate from him. It is in exercise of the president’s discretionary powers, he explained. “At the most, the bulk could be passed to his advisers who did not advise him properly. The president should be careful, however, not to be inordinate in assenting or refusing to give his assent to such bills,” he cautioned.

Afenifere chieftain, Ayo Opadokun, member, Body of Benchers, Chief Ziggy Azike, and former Information Minister, Prince Tony Momoh, and radical lawyer, Femi Falana, agree with Ahamba on the remedy the federal legislators should seek when the president declines to sign bills to law, as Azike affirmed the exclusive powers to sign a bill into law does not rest with the president. “First, you have to appreciate that there is a constitutional provision for overriding withholding of Presidential assent, after 30 days averagely; the National Assembly can by 2/3 majority override the president, so they should not hide under the fact that the president fails to assent. The 1999 constitutional provision has provided room and safeguard for such, offered Opadokun. “Majority of private members who initiated the bills can lobby their colleagues and mobilise the lawmakers. They can even carry placards and demonstrate and mobilise their colleagues. That is effective legislative law making process in action,” he said.

On his part, Momoh said the president has a right to sign a bill and it becomes law, and to withhold his ascent from any bill if he so desires. But where the Presidents refuses to sign any bill sent to him, the House can by a resolution of two/third majority override the president’s veto after the mandatory period and it becomes law, he explained. National Secretary of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Chief Willy Ezugwu, said it is difficult to blame the president for refusing to give assent to those bills that emanated from private members of the National Assembly, alleging that oftentimes there are discrepancies in those bills and federal lawmakers themselves have not shown that they have the best interest of the public at heart.

He said the bills passed by the legislators have not passed the test of fairness and reasonableness. He added that even bills that are in the overriding interest of the public are subjected to undue, strenuous scrutiny, and sometimes are thrown out. Ezugwu gave the instance of the Local Government Autonomy Bill which, he said, should have been passed without any contest. He accused the lawmakers of dilly-dallying with the bill because of pressure from governors for the bill to be thrown out. Human rights lawyer, Bamidele Aturu, sees nothing absolutely wrong with what the president is doing. “The American Presidential system that we are running gives the president right not to sign any bill he does not agree with. If he refuses to sign, it is left for the National Assembly to muster the two/third required to override the president’s veto. “But if the president refuses to sign, it means that the House will need to work hard to muster the required two/third to override his veto; where they are not able to muster the required majority, it means the law is not for the people. Nobody should blame the p resident. It has no implication,” Aturu said.

- See more at: http://www.mydailynewswatchng.com/28-private-bills-grumbles-in-nass-as-jonathan-refuses-assent/?wpmp_switcher=mobile#sthash.aGkSNwJS.dpuf

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hizroyalflynes:
Take a survey and see which religion suffer d greater casualty when BH start ... Christians
D question u suppose to ask ur fast-leaching brain is will GEJ kill those that are likely to vote for him
Most of bokoharam captured area are areas u can find christians the most
Yet GEJ is annihilating them
How did Sanusi know that attack carried out on Kano mosque have been planned 2 months ago
When Christian were on the receiving end GEJ was nt dividing the ccountry, didn't show cluelessness that he can't curb d menace, none of Northern leaders or group advice christians to protect their self
To condemn BH act was even a problem
Nw their kinsmen are nw getting the dose of their own medicine
Nw noise every where

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Fool, am tired and fed up with attending to rants and stupidity like this. I hate peeps giving excuse for failure.
Ffuck sanusi and them all. I dont know them.
The person i know is the C in C himself that is constitutionally empowered to deal with all trouble makers and protect lives and properties.
On this this fool has failed miserably.
Lets start with the sponsors of evil boko the drunkard claims he knows, hat has he done about them?
Jonathan is a failure, deal with that.