₦airaland Forum

Saraki Congratulates Nigeria on 365 Days Without A Case of Polio
The Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Saraki has congratulated Nigerians for maintaining a 365 days free of poliomyelitis (Polio) in the country.
Dr. Saraki said the successes recorded in Nigeria in Polio eradication in the past 365 days without a single case of the virus was as a result of the relentless hard work of partners, religious, community leaders, and health workers.
He expressed how pleased he is with the successes in Polio eradication that has a case study of 801 wide cases of polio reported in 21 states in 2005 with 62 wild cases and 34 circulating vaccine-derived cases (cVDPV) that had an endemic transmission rate in 2011 coupled with 122 wild cases and 8 circulating vaccine-derived cases.
The Senate President who is a Medical Doctor further expressed his happiness in the containment of Polio in the country because the transmission rate in 2012 was endemic with reported 53 wild cases and three circulating vaccine-derived cases which were recorded as transmission endemic in 2013 to now having no documented case of poliomyelitis in 365 days.
Senator Saraki disclosed how he undertook a bipartisan approach as the chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) by leading his colleagues, public-spirited groups and companies in private sector to partner with Federal Government and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a better and more extensive polio immunization in Nigeria.
He credited the successes recorded in the eradication of the virus to the introduction of the immunization Leadership Challenge.
He explained that the challenge, which was designed in partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to reward states in Nigeria that made significant improvements in polio and routine immunization coverage was to fast track achievement of the global milestone of interrupting further transmission of polio virus in Nigeria.
Senator Saraki urges Nigerians not to relent in this fight against polio which has been responsible for significant number of mortality and morbidity mostly in children under 5 years of age stressing that as long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting the virus.
The Senate President emphasizes the imperative need to continue the good work towards eliminating this crippling and potentially fatal virus until the World Health Organization (WHO) certifies that Nigeria is a polio free come 2017 and take Nigeria off the list of countries where the disease is endemic and for Nigeria as a nation to adopt this approach to tackle other diseases currently prevailing in the country.

Saraki Decries unnecessary deaths in Arepo Fire Incident
...Seeks improved security for Nigerians, national assets
Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, today (Saturday) decried what he called unnecessary loss of precious human lives as witnessed in the petroleum pipeline fire incident at Arepo, Ogun State.
He said he was shocked that over 100 Nigerians were roasted beyond recognition due to activities of oil pipeline vandals as people alleged to be scooping fuel from a burst Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline were trapped without needed emergency response to rescue them.
Saraki particularly lamented a situation where corpses of victims could not be immediately evacuated by relevant security agencies as a result of the inaccessible terrain.
He said: "The incident saddens me because I realize that these are Nigerians who have met their untimely deaths in such gruesome circumstances.
"I must say that the fire incident in that area was one too many at a time one would have thought that we have put issues of pipeline vandalism, blamed for the fire incident, behind us. It is also worrisome that security agencies and emergency rescue workers seemed helpless in immediately swinging into action to rescue the affected victims or curtailing the spread of the fire," he said.
He also urged Nigerians to be wary of scooping fuel from bursted pipelines as they are veritable source of danger capable of causing unimaginable calamity to lives and colossal economic waste.
He assured that the Federal Government would continue to enjoy the support of the National Assembly in all its current efforts aimed at securing the lives and property of Nigerians.
Saraki said: "Pipeline vandalism is evil. Apart from it being a heinous economic crime, it often leads to waste of lives and property just like we have again witnessed.
"The activities of vandals today challenge our security agencies to up their game and prove once more that they are more than equal to criminal gangs who daily sabotage essential economic infrastructure, leading to unnecessary loss of lives, heightened insecurity and above all resource leakages.
"Nigerians, especially those living in security challenged areas, must take the Arepo explosion as a call to national duty by partnering with the security agencies through timely intelligence so as to prevent recurrence of calamities of these very magnitude.
"Our citizens and national assets must be secured against security risks such as pipeline vandalism, oil theft and kidnapping etc, irrespective of where they live or are located in the country," he said.
He called on the joint task security team to urgently secure all national assets across the country, and equally ensure that bodies yet to be retrieved from the Arepo inferno are immediately evacuated.
Signed
Sanni Onogu
Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President.

SARAKI: PUTTING NATIONAL INTEREST FIRST
Source: Dailyindependent
By Agency Reporter
Friday July 24, 2015

Is it not weird and disturbing that rather than put the interest of the nation uppermost by applying the immense potential of the Nigerian Senate to the hilt, we are at each other’s throat on the inconsequential matter of why DR BUKOLA SARAKI should not be Senate President and why Senator Ike Ekweremadu from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP ought not to be his deputy? Just when we thought we had the change we desired after being forced with different shades of the same color for 16 years, some citizens are foisting on us needless distractions about the ineligibility of the Senate President simply because he is said not to be the choice of the party in power, All Progressives Congress (APC).

We should handle this matter with extreme care so it does not get out of hand to topple the noble vision of APC and deny us the much needed skills and experience of SARAKI. If all we do in tackling this issue is to personalise it by putting SARAKI at its center, APC shall be destroying its goodwill and rubbishing its national mandate. To harp on a so-called pursuit of disciplining its erring lawmakers as some of the party hawks are insisting is a lack of understanding of the balance between national interest and party supremacy.

There are stages of policy and diplomacy evolution when party gives way to patriotic instincts. And there are events that dictate that party surrender its stand to the state. No nation in modern times since the advent of party politics allows party sentiments to subdue its corporate essence. Of course this is not to diminish the role of the party to the point of instigating a revolt. No!

But what we must note is that we are unwittingly giving scant attention to the time we are wasting in not addressing the core of the matter. This core is that the legislature is the hub of representative democracy. If you have a robust legislative house, you will have an equally robust executive to administer the country. This would trickle down to engendering a strong social, judicial and economic superstructure. Why? The chamber of the lawmakers is where you brew an enduring canon of good governance that drives society and development.

The president is only symbolic of the spirit of government. The legislative arm is the pilot of the system, wheeled by a conscientious judiciary and an impartial and fearless media. Remove the legislator or neutralize him and the whole system corrupts, collapses, crashes, dies.

And judging from what has taken place, the business of government has been mired in the mud of the unnecessary quarrel over the headship of the National Assembly. President Muhammadu Buhari appears hesitant to present his cabinet to the Senate led by a man over whom his party is split. Yet the wise and popular counsel is that APC should move on and allow SARAKI to work in the interest of the nation which also in the long run is in the interest of the party. For if things go wrong and the APC fails to deliver on account of this selfish partisan bickering, the party would have betrayed the historic mandate the people gave it. That would amount to political irresponsibility of the highest order.

However there is a plus side to the whole affair. SARAKI, the man in the centre, is unfazed by what is going on. He has hit the ground running. As the leader of Nigeria’s 8th Senate, he has set an agenda that accommodates the architecture of change of the governing party. He made this clear during various meetings he held with such critical groups as the Nigeria Bar Association, Policy and Legal Advocacy Center, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce.

He has also hosted key members of the diplomatic community including envoys of the US, Britain, China and France. According to Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu, SARAKI’s Special Adviser on Media, ‘’the envoys…left  fully satisfied that a competent, mature, exposed and intelligent man is handling the new Senate and that there is no cause  for alarm[concerning]…the synergy that will exist between the two critical  arms of government in Nigeria that is destined to change for the better.

If, as someone recently reminded us while commenting on the current impasse at the National Assembly,”classical political science teaches that politics is about mutual co-operation and understanding based on concessions on all sides in the ultimate interest of society,” then the time obviously has come to move on and put the past behind us as SARAKI and the lawmakers have patriotically done in the interest of the nation. This is imperative because when APC was campaigning, its leaders never told us that grabbing power from PDP was about sharing the spoils of war through the prism of narrow individual prejudice.

Jiti Ogunye On National Assembly Crises


The Ife University management, then led by Professor Michael Faborode, had rusticated some Students’ Union leaders: Akinola Saburi (Malcom X), Ogunma Segun Adrew (Karl Marx), Taiwo Hassan (Soweto), Tunde Dairo(Barry Blacky) and others for politically-motivated reasons and had the very vibrant Union proscribed. The students, particularly we then freshmen, were left at the mercy of the University management and its notorious security men known as “crackers” (a group that fallout of the earlier Modakeke-Ife crises) whose mandates includes but not limited to harassing, intimidating and supressing students’ voice particularly students with progressive orientations and ideological groups on the campus. This was sometimes in 2006.
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I joined the ranks of the Union when its ban was lifted in 2008. Against all advice, and at great personal risks, I joined the movement to campaign for the reinstatement of the victimised activists. I particularly admired the invaluable role played by the Union legal adviser, Jiti Ogunye in seeing to the reinstatement of these lads. This was my faintest recollections of Comrade Jiti Ogunye. Akinola Saburi(Malcom X), the victimised Union President; Ogunma Segun Andrew(Karl Marx) his Speaker, were reinstated in 2011, the same year I graduated. I later came to know that for all his efforts; Jiti’s Chambers did all he did for us at no extra cost to our funds-starved Union. There is always a price to pay for holding fast your conviction!
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Recently, Comrade Jiti wrote under the title: SENATORS SARAKI AND EKWEREMADU’S ELECTIONS ARE A NULLITY, which contains his thoughts on the controversial National Assembly leadership election. I must say that I am still impressed by this man’s dexterity in his calling, but whether I agree with him on his opinion is another matter altogether.
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Before I proceed, let me make some germane clarifications. First, I am not a lawyer; therefore I must be quick to admit my limited knowledge of the technicalities in Law. Unlike Jiti, I will look at the issues purely from political standpoint(s). Secondly, I am not, and will never be in support of thuggery, hooliganism and utter recklessness as witnessed during the June 9 National Assembly leadership election. On these two points I guess I am still on the same page with Jiti.
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In the said article, he raised several points steaming from morality to legality to criminality. Let us start with the issue of morality. I noticed he mentioned more of “should” and “ought to” in the articles which connotes normative interpretations. I have learnt to stop using some words, as far as politics is concerned. The “shoulds”, “ought tos”, “supposed tos” etcetera form the bloc of words I avoid like a plague!

He made the following point: “…the APC, correctly and responsibly,…conducted a straw poll among its legislators to determine the popularity and acceptability of the aspirant and adopt consensus of the party for the position.” I agree it was acts of betrayal and gross indiscipline for Bukola Saraki and Yakub Dogara to proceed to contest the positions against the interest of their party, the APC. But if we agree with the German statesman, Otto van Bismarck, that “politics is the art of the possible, the attainable-the art of the next best” then we will see that interests have roles to play in politics.
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As far as this writer is concerned, even though we were thought in political theory classes that “what is morally wrong cannot be politically right” I know for a truth that this only ended just as it came-a theory. The morality in the issue is purely relative, while ambition is the key word. Politics is about negotiating and compromise, in some cases with the devil! If the APC missed out on this, then it’s too late to cry.
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It is not just enough for the APC to conduct a straw poll, it behoves the party to set up the mechanism to ensure its members to toe the party line. All before then, the PDP has been in crises, since it removed Alhaji Adamu Muazu, it suddenly found its lost unity and embraced its lost sheep in Saraki and Dogara. The PDP simply put behind it its presidential election defeat and braced up for a new challenge-the control of the Legislature. I see nothing unusual in this!
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Let me still take a look at the picture painted by Jiti. In the Senate, the APC had 59 members as against PDP’s 49. On the surface, it looks good for the APC to “control” the House. But what the party fails to realise is its own underestimation of the desperation of its rival, PDP on the one hand and the facts of precedence on the other hand.
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I have written in my earlier articles on the National Assembly crises (in all of which I placed the blame of the party’s post-presidential election strategies) that if there is anything the APC got wrong, it is their gross underestimation of the PDP’s ambitions. Someone with 49 “standing” or bloc votes out of possible 109 votes can only be underestimated at one’s own peril. Saraki only needed a minimum of 6 votes from the flesh of APC’s 59 to clinch the seat. Politics, again, is a game of numbers. How often have we heard this told?

There is also a question of precedence. In 2011, Aminu Tambuwal of the PDP came up against his party’s candidate, Alhaja Mulikat Akande for the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives. With the PDP’s votes largely divided, Tambuwal sort the support of the then, Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) which had about 71 members, the All Nigerian People’s Party(ANPP) and the Congress for Progressives Change(CPC). In addition to the votes he could get from PDP’s flesh, he won the election. It is instructive to note here that Tambuwal later joined the APC in the eve of the 2015 election. Can we say that Saraki played the same game the APC once won?
I am also tempted to delve into the issues of legalities and extra-legalities raised in the article. I must confess at this point, I have not read the Senate Standing Orders, either the one of 2011 or 2015(?) but one thing I know for certain is that the Standing Orders, derive their foundation from the sacrosanct provisions of the 1999 Constitution. Again, to be elected as Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives, one needs only 55 votes out of 109 to win a simple majority. I am not so good in arithmetic, but I know what simple means. If 57 out of 109 is not simple majority, then I don’t know the meaning of the term!
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While not holding brief for any party or faction in the crises, my take is that if there is a Presidential Proclamation declaring the National Assembly open, then 51 APC Senators’ absence when such an important function was going in the Senate is discomforting if not suspicious. As Jiti himself noted, the House will not wait for anyone who absent himself or herself from the session!
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Again, even if the 51 APC senators were on the floor of the Senate, they would have come against 49 PDP reunited with their 8 former colleagues now in APC. As far as my knowledge of the 1999 Constitution can serve me, only a simple majority (of senators voting) is required to will the election as Senate President. That also reminds me, in the case of the House of Representatives, where all the members voted, did that still prevented Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, the APC candidate from losing the Speakership?

That leads me the next point raised in Jiti’s article-Forgery. In my opinion, the case of forgery largely applies to Senator Ike Eweremadu who, as a PDP member, “won” election as Deputy Senate President in an APC-controlled House. It has been alleged that he forged the Senate Standing Orders, 2011 to accommodate his own ambition. I will reserve my comment on this matter especially now that the case is in Court. I am also aware that full scale police investigations are in top gear on the matter. Should anyone, including Senator Saraki, be found culpable, I submit not only should they lose their positions, they should also be made to lose their seats in the House, in addition to their being banned from holding political offices for an upward 20 years!
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It is very easy to “moralise” and “ethicize” the arguments now, but we I know, morality is a branch of study to which no one can claim to have sole authority because it is highly subjective. What transpired on the floor of the National Assembly was just a game of chess where one is beaten in his own manoeuvres. I am defending a fraud? I wish I hadn’t written this!
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Olalekan Waheed ADIGUN is a political risk analyst and an independent political strategist for wide range of individuals, organisations and campaigns. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Tel: +2348136502040, +2347081901080
Email: olalekan@olalekanadigun.com, adgorwell@gmail.com

Saraki Challenges Workers On Anti-graft War
...Says Senate Ready To Work Despite On-going Noise

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has challenged Nigerian workers to play their part in the war against corruption to which the present administration in the country has committed itself.
Saraki while addressing the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) lead by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba who visited him in Abuja, said the Senate under his leadership was ready to work for Nigerians despite the erroneous impression being currently propagated by some persons outside the Senate.
He said it was time for workers to help the government succeed in decisively and successfully tackling the corruption menace once and for all.
He noted that while the Senate has interacted with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), it also intends to engage the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to look at the areas where the National Assembly can assist to ensure that the fight against corruption is efficiently prosecuted with positive results that will be glaring for to see.
Saraki said past excuses will no longer be tolerated since the country now has the right leadership with avowed political will to fight corruption.
He said: "We in the Eight Senate have said there will be zero tolerance for the issue of corruption. Corruption is one issue slowing down development and some of the problems we are embarking on - whether you talk about our refineries not working, you talk of the issue of fuel subsidy, you talk about the high cost of governance, everything you talked about comes back to this issue of corruption and I think it is time for all of us, those of us in the National Assembly, the Executive and the workers to show serious commitment.
"This should not be aheadline-grabbing approach because at the end of the day, you are workers, when you talk about oil theft, we have Nigerian workers at the terminals who surely must know when this thing is going on. Every where that there is corruption, some workers are there either participating or observing. We now have a great opportunity to win the war against corruption because we have a leadership led by President Muhammadu Buhari that we believe has the political will to do the right thing", he said.
He added that people use to give excuses that when they blow the whistle on corrupt practices nothing was done because the system is corrupt right from the top but that such excuse was no longer tenable.
"We are assuring you that at the executive side, we have elected the President that will do it well. I am making the commitment on behalf of the National Assembly and myself that we are committed to fighting corruption. If you remember, I was the one that single-handedly in 2011 opened the lid on the fuel subsidy scam that everybody is talking about now.
"But at the end of the day, who are those people working in these places. They are Nigerian workers. They are not workers from anywhere else. So, I think I will also throw the challenge, now that we are getting the message that the political leadership is ready to take on this thing called corruption. I think we need the cooperation of our workers who know it all. They see it happen and when you look at the anti-corruption agencies, with all due respect, you will find out that 80 per cent of some of the cases are cases at the state level.
"You hardly see where people who are the real engine room which is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation or where most of these corruption cases on oil are being put on trial", he said.n
Saraki said that the internal challenges confronting the 8th Senate are being addressed and would be resolved soon and that the Senate under his leadership would not abandon its constitutional mandate on the altar of personal ambitions.
Saraki said: "You talked about the internal challenges that the NLC leadership is facing. I think I want to say the challenges are similar to ours. People contested elections, some will win and of course, some will lose but at the end of the day we all win when we all leave our personal interest and look at the interest of Nigeria. I want to assure you and Nigerians, we in the Senate are ready to work for you. We are committed to the work we are elected to do. I think there are more of the noise outside the Senate than in the Senate. We are committed and we want our actions and our words to speak for us.", he said.
He said he Senate leadership will continue to toe the path of dialogue to resolve all challenges.
Earlier in his remarks, the National President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said that Nigerians are confident that the 8th Senate led by Saraki will impact positively on their lives.
He said that the organized labour believe that Saraki's experience as governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum has adequately prepared him to give quality leadership to the Senate.
Wabba said: "We recall that as a Chairman of the Nigeria Governors' forum, your intervention helped to resolve the protracted teachers strike over their negotiated 27.5% teaching allowance. Similarly, not long ago, we had cause to condemn the 'passing of 47 bills in 10 minutes', by the 7th Senate on the twilight of its lifespan. We note that though you were a member of the 7th Senate, you were one of the few who felt honour-bound to publicly distance yourself from that regrettable incidence.
"Therein lies the source of our hope that the 8th Senate under your watch will be less opaque, less secretive, and will witness more transparency, more responsiveness to the yearnings and aspirations of the Nigerian people", he said.
Wabba said that the leadership of the NLC is ready to partner with the 8th National Assembly, especially the 8th Senate, "so that together we will work to transform our country from a country that is perpetually tall on 'potentials' to a truly great nation with solid democratic foundation, sound democratic principles and dependable public institutions."
The NLC President urged the Senate to work towards consolidating democracy, reducing poverty, bringing down the cost of governance, making National Assembly's finances open, prevent the withdrawal of fuel subsidy, halt the sliding of the value of NAIRA and work with the executives to create jobs.

>>>>> SAHARA REPORTERS AND ITS SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST SARAKI
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>>>>> Attention of the Senate President’s media office has been drawn to a malicious fabrication by an on-line publication (Sahara Reporters) aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the Senate President, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki.
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>>>>> First, as a Senator in the 7th National Assembly, the Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki never signed the report of the Ahmed Makarfi led Finance Committee investigation into the alleged non-Remittance by NNPC of $20 into the federation account. In his letter dated 3rd of June 2014 to the Committee withholding his signature he said and I quote “It is my opinion that this report as laid has not fully addressed the matter referred to us adequately and conclusively. The report has not been definitive on its findings and has failed to address some of the critical issues I had raised during our meetings. For this reason; I am withholding my support and signature.”
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>>>>> The records of the committee are still accessible in the National Assembly and a copy is here attached.
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>>>>> Secondly, It is still on record that Senator Saraki is the only Senator in the committee that refused to sign the report even in the face of severe duress and personal inconvenience. Sen. Saraki during the investigation was known to have been very probing with his questions, meticulously reviewing the data offered by NNPC to get to the bottom of the issue. It would be recalled that though he did not make the last meeting of the committee, when the news broke that the Committee has cleared the NNPC, he was the first and the only senator to rebut the report saying “the recent media reports claiming that the Senate Committee on Finance has cleared NNPC of any unaccounted revenue fund are not true… I have been very active in the investigation, nothing significant has changed to suggest clearing of anyone”. See Thisday Newspapers of the 29th of May 2014 and also a web link http://leadership.ng/news/380803/unremitted-49-8bn-oil-revenue-saraki-denies-signing-report
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>>>>> The newspapers publications relating to this is all over the print and electronic media for all who want to find the truth. How is it then likely that he could have cut a deal with government on this matter and maintained such resolute stands? Only in the world of the fabricators of this report is this possible.
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>>>>> Thirdly, it is evident that Senator Saraki’ commitment to see that the missing funds are found and paid back into the Federation Account was never in doubt from day one. It would be recalled that Senator Saraki during this investigation had gone out of his way to collaborate with the IHS Information Analytics Expertise and MJHC Limited London two renowned international organisations with specialty on oil financials to do further forensic review on this matter also underscore the length at which he left no stone unturned to help the committee unravel the mystery surrounding the missing funds.
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>>>>> Also, Sen. Saraki never met with Jonathan on this report (committee met last on the 16th of February 2014). So the thought of Senator Saraki working to bring down the number or amount unremitted with Goodluck Jonathan is completely false. For the avoidance of doubt, there has been no meeting of any type between Senator Saraki and former President Jonathan since the Senator left PDP. So any suggestion that Ex-president Jonathan sent Chagoury to Senator Saraki with gifts /money to seek support from him on the report is totally false. Both the Sarakis and Chagourys have been family friends for over 26years.
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>>>>> We hereby request the general public to disregard the antics of Sahara Reporters. We further call on Sahara Reports to immediately retract this offending publication and offer an unequivocal apology to His Excellency Senator Saraki, the National Assembly and the citizenry of Nigeria for this unprovoked, reckless and mindless publication.
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>>>>> The Media Office of the Senate President hereby uses this opportunity to put it on record that the posts by Sahara Reporters are completely false with no iota of truth whatsoever. We also challenge Sahara Reporters to either post facts or any documentation with proof or desist from misleading the reading public with dirty works of fiction apparently commissioned by some politicians in an attempt to destabilize the legislative arm of government and the country as a whole.
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> It is obvious that Sahara Reporters in the last one month has no interest in other stories other than to fabricate fallacies and falsehood against the person of the Senate President and members of his family. While we are aware that the online publication is only doing the bidding of its sponsors and simply joining forces with political detractors who after failing to achieve their partisan aims believe that all is fair in war, we believe that journalism is a public trust and those who hold the trust should, even under extreme circumstance, refrain from abusing the trust. We therefore call on fellow citizens and all members of the international community to treat the Sahara Reporters' publication as what they are: mere falsehood not to be accorded any measure of importance.
>
>> Signed
>> Bamikole Omishore
>> Special Assistant (New Media to Senate President)

@BukolaSaraki mourns Aminu Saleh
President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has expressed sadness over the demise of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Aminu Saleh.
In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Sanni Onogu in Abuja, Saraki described late Saleh as an exemplary public officer who contributed immensely to the growth and development of the country.
He said: "Late Saleh was one public officer who was very diligent and patriotic in the discharge of his duties to the fatherland."
He commiserated with the Government, immediate family and people of Bauchi State, and prayed the Almighty God to grant him eternal rest.
Signed:
Sanni Onogu
Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President

Between Tinubu, Senate Unity Forum and National Interest

By Ubong Etuk Akpan
Barring any last minute changes, the Senate is expected to resume plenary on 28 July, 2015. The shift in date according to reports is meant to give the two opposing All Progressives Congress (APC) Senators - the Senators of Like Minds (loyal to Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki) and the Senate Unity Forum (loyal to Senator Ahmad Lawan) - enough time to digest the terms of settlement recommended by the Governor Atiku Bagudu-led three man reconciliation committee. The Committee was floated by APC Governors' Forum to broker a truce  in the seeming intractable differences between the two contending groups for the post of Senate President of the 8th Senate which was won on June 9 by Saraki. The emergence of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator, Ike Ekewremadu as Deputy Senate President, had also fanned the flame and still a source of discontent among the APC and its lawmakers in the upper chamber. Ditto the insistence by some leaders of the APC that their 'handpicked candidates' must occupy the post of Senate Leader and Deputy Senate Leader respectively. The section of party leaders routing for Lawan hinge their contention on the need to entrench party supremacy. However, the APC Senators have continued to clamour for legislative independence. Many analysts including Saraki had explained that the APC would not have lost the post of DSP to PDP had some of its leaders not called out about 51 of its members to an ill-advised meeting - purportedly summoned by the National Leader of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari - on the day of the inauguration. However, recent events have shown that Buhari was rather 'invited' to the parley by the self-acclaimed leader of the South-West, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the assembly.

I know many a Unity Forum members who have continued to flaunt the doctrine of party supremacy just to achieve their quest for power. What is however amiss is whether Party Supremacy is a euphemism for Tinubu's Supremacy as being used by those in the Tinubu faction of the APC or the Supremacy of the APC as a party. The distinction needs to be made because when Tinubu was backing Senator George  Akume - a Christian from Benue - for Senate President, it was interpreted that he was the candidate of the party for the job. But when Tinubu made a volte face and latched on on to Senator Ahmad Lawan - a Muslim from Yobe - for the top job of the Senate, the Yobe North lawmaker was again paraded as the choice of the party.  Haba! We all know that President Muhammadu Buhari had made it clear that he had no preferred candidate for job. He underscored his message by saying that he would work with anybody that emerges as President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives. Saraki and Yakubu Dogara have emerged. Buhari has not rescinded his promise. Therefore, why are some members of the party being more papal than the pope by insisting that it's preferred candidates must be allowed to occupy principal positions in the Senate? If the National Leader of the APC and President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says he has no preferred candidate who is then higher than him in hierarchy to insist that Lawan and Akume be allowed to reap from where they did not sow? Granted that 'party supremacy' ought to be the norm, but what do you say of the APC national leadership who allowed the crises to ferment and fester in the first place by absolutely neglecting to act when the iron was hot? Where was the APC leadership - now hiding under the decoy of party supremo to reverse time and undo what has been done at the inception of the contest? Why did the party go to sleep in the morning only to wake up at midnight to start searching for a black goat? Nigerians expect the APC to honourably accept responsibility rather than trying to pin their political naivety on Saraki and the PDP for the outcome of the June 9 inauguration. 
 
Let the current internal crisis of the APC and their Senators not be allowed to result in the proverb that when two elephants tango, it is the grasses that will suffer. The grasses unfortunately in this scenario are the long oppressed Nigerian masses. Have Nigerians not suffered enough in the last 16 years when the PDP stung and economically asphyxiated them with poverty, epileptic power, ill equipped health facilities, unemployment, social dislocation and above all imposition of unpopular candidates through rigging, electoral brigandage, ballot box snatching and outright allocation of results during past elections. I must say that it was in order to escape from the oppressive regime of the PDP that Nigerians voted for the APC during the 2015 elections, as the change agent to turn things around for the better. The Senate and the APC Senators in particular cannot afford to derail the people's hope for a complete turnaround. To continue to bicker over spilled milk will not do a highly respected arm of government like the legislature any good. The election that led to the emergence of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, was not only transparent but was in tandem with the express provisions of the Constitution and the Senate Standing Orders. The Presiding and Principal Officers have emerged, save the position of the Chief Whip of the Senate which has not been announced. Be that as it may, Nigerians already know that Professors Sola Adeyeye from Osun State has been penciled down for the position. 

If truth be told, APC Senators  should realize that Nigerians now expect the Senate to as a matter of national interest quickly settle down and rally round the Senate President to begin to take out the filth that has so suffocated our people these past years. Nigerians expect the Senate President to as a matter of necessity and national importance to urgently name the 56 Standing Committees of the Senate. However in the absence of that, let him name essential committees to begin to carry out urgent and essential services pending when the entire standing committees would be unveiled. Again this should not take eternity. 

It is time for Senators still branding themselves as the Senate Unity Forum rather than Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria not to continue to dash the people's hopes through their war mongering. No body is happy to sow and another man reap. However the alleged forgery of Senate Rules and the emergence of a PDP Senator as the Deputy Senate President cannot be an excuse why the real issues that trouble the nation must be put in abeyance. I don't think that there is any Nigerian that would wait for Senators of the APC to fight over positions already contested and won before having uninterrupted power supply in their homes for instance. Mr. President has been traveling to seek international cooperation and collaboration to end insurgency in the country, repatriate stolen funds, and seek needed investors, among others. The Senate ought to be ready to speak with one voice and queue behind Mr. President to ensure a final solution to the evil of insurgency in our country. I have mentioned this because the nation's ability to deal with this evil will determine whether the APC has delivered on its mandate and thus eligible for reelection in 2019. Nigerians will most certainly not reckon with a scorecard of who threw the highest number of verbal or real punches on the floor of the Senate or those lawmakers who attempted to overpower the Sergeant-At-Arms and carry the mace to legitimize their planned illegality. I must say that any more day the Senate allows the ambition of a few lawmakers to disrupt it sittings would amount to an unpardonable disservice to Nigerians who voted for them in the first place. 

Besides, Saraki has left nobody in doubt that he has what it takes to both intelligently and charismatically pilot the affairs of the Senate in such a way that Nigerians would maximally benefit. Within one month as Senate President, he has unveiled his agenda for the Senate but has taken practical steps to ensure the realization of his laudable vision for the Senate as an efficient, transparent, accountable arm of government that is alive to its responsibilities of making needed legislation for the good, order and progress of the country. I am in essence referring to the setting up of the Senate ad-hoc  Committees on Legislative Agenda and Finance Review to ensure openness in the activities and finances of the Senate. The issue of constant and effective oversight remains key to be able to attain Saraki's resolve that all revenue generating Ministries,  Departments and Agencies (MDAs) remit these cash into the Federation Account fully. A situation where Senate Committees will summon the head of an agency and ask that head to give account of his stewardship especially in terms of capital allocation should be gone with the past. It would rather be better and more rewarding for committees to confront such agencies with facts and figures for either right or wrong doing and let such heads deny or accept responsibility for their actions or inactions. Again, Saraki recently directed the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to collaborate with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to recover N30billion illegal waivers granted to some rice and other importers as a way of shoring up the revenue of the Federal Government. The Senate must now unite to ensure that this is done for the benefit of the average Nigerian finding it difficult to survive from day to day. Thanks to Buhari for recently announcing a bailout to pay backlog of salaries but what happens when the over N700billion expected to be released as a relief package to states gets mismanaged or exhausted? Even though some party leaders who failed to realize their ambition to impose or install their protege's as both presiding and principal officers of the Senate, and the House of Representatives, have vowed not to let Nigeria move forward until their wishes are realized, but they must be told that the country must first exist before any politician can realize his economic, social and political pursuits.

The Unity Forum and its backers should shed the toga of war and embrace reconciliation as begun by the leadership of the party - APC. They cannot afford to constitute themselves into the agents of destabilization in the 8th Senate. Politics as they say is about give-and-take. Like they say in pidgin English parlance 'Na fight Nigerians go chop?' Need we beg the Unity Forum to allow the wheels of progressive to roll freely. The task awaiting the 8th Senate  cannot be abridged on that alter of personal ego and desperation displayed so far by some members of the Unity Forum.  Or do we ask the poor widows and pensioners to wait for Senators Ahmad Lawan, George Akume, Kabiru Marafa and Mohammed Hunkuyi to be named principal officers before the desire of Nigerians for change and good governance begin to manifest. Plans by Marafa and his cohorts to cause mayhem in the Senate on resumption must not be taken lightly by the security agencies. Nigeria is far greater and  bigger than any individual ambition! 

Akpan, a public affairs analyst wrote in from, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

@SaharaReporters fixation on @bukolasaraki shows clearly this has gone beyond of reporting news to obession. Every week for the past 5 weeks @YeleSowore finds a reason or the other no matter how senseless to attack @bukolasaraki. Today he is claiming Saraki connived with GEJ on the missing 20bn NNPC funds when clearly Saraki was the only Senator on the finance committee to refuse to sign the probe of NNPC clear stating the report is incomplete

it should also be noted that the Chagory's are Tinubu 's business partners so no the author of these lies might have just changed Tinubu's name to Saraki in this fabrication

As a Senator in 7th Assembly Saraki refused to sign the report by Senator Makafi because he believed the report wasn't complete he also provided a minority report to that effect.

HOW NASS CLERK STALLED PLOT TO STOP SARAKI AS SENATE PRESIDENT
Source: Tribune
By Taiwo Adisa
Monday Juky 20, 2015

IT emerged in Abuja, on Sunday, that the Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa, rejected plot by some politicians to stall the inauguration of the National Assembly on June 9.

The clerk also stalled the bid to stop the election of Senate President, DR BUKOLA SARAKI, after rejecting a proposal to call off the sitting of the Senate at 10.00 a.m. on June 9.

Sources in the National Assembly had told the Nigerian Tribune that following the rejection of the proposal to send reminder text messages to all senators and members of the House of Representatives for a meeting at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, by the APC national chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, leaders of the party behind the push resorted to the national secretary.

It was also gathered that the leaders sent three ranking senators to Maikasuwa to convey to him the need to keep the sitting of the Senate in abeyance.

Sources said the lawmakers told Maikasuwa that the Unity Forum, favoured by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Senate leadership positions, could not win the election on the floor if SARAKI was allowed to gain entry and get nominated.

The emissaries were also said to have told the clerk that the only option open to the party was to drag SARAKI and others before President Muhammadu Buhari, so that the president could appeal to the Kwara senator to withdraw from the race.

Sources, however, told the Nigerian Tribune that the clerk said he had prepared for the inauguration of the National Assembly, armed with the constitution and the Rule Book, adding that if the APC senators failed to appear at the sitting, the senators of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who are 49 in number, could form the quorum 40 inaugurate the House.

The ranking senator that led the delegation to Maikasuwa was said to have told the clerk that all APC senators were to stay away from the sitting.

But the clerk was said to have insisted that the PDP senators alone would form quorum in the Senate chamber that day.

The clerk was also said to have told the APC senators that the proclamation already issued by the president was more or less a law binding on him to conduct the sitting of the Senate at 10.00 a.m.

He was also said to have told his guests that the proclamation could only be issued once in the lifetime of a National Assembly, meaning that the one issued could not be withdrawn.

The clerk was said to have studied the aide memoir prepared by his predecessors while preparing the Rule Books of the Current Senate and the House of Representatives in 1998, ahead of the inauguration of the Fourth Republic in 1999.

Sources further said the leaders of the APC then got message to security agencies to block the entrance of the National Assembly and stop anyone from gaining entrance and that by so doing, the sitting could be frustrated.

Sources said words, however, later got to the presidency that the gates of the National Assembly had been blocked, prompting the Villa to get words across to the Inspector-General of Police to immediately ensure that gates of the National Assembly complex were thrown open.

The message enabled the pro-SARAKI senators and PDP lawmakers to gain access to the complex and enabled Maikasuwa to conduct the election of presiding officers of the Senate that day.

SCREENING OF SERVICE CHIEFS: SP @BUKOLASARAKI TO SET UP AD- HOC COMMITTEES
STRONG indications emerged Saturday that Senate President BUKOLA SARAKI would constitute an ad – hoc Committee that would screen and subsequently clear the service chiefs appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Ad- hoc Committee, the source told Vanguard would carry out the assignment in place of standing Committees which were yet to be constituted by the Senate.
According to the source, the ad- hoc Committee would be put in place to avoid a situation where the Senate would be seen as frustrating moves by President Buhari to move the country forward.
The source said, “On resumption of plenary on July 28, depending on a letter from the President, the senate president after reading the President’s letter, he will then set up a ad hoc committee to screen the service chiefs.
Details later

#PictureUpdates President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate President Federal Republic of Nigeria, DR Abubakar Bukola Saraki at the praying ground today.

PRESS RELEASE
Saraki to Nigerian Muslims: Pray to God for National Unity, Peace and Progress
Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has congratulated Nigerian Muslims and their counterparts across the world for the successful completion of this year's Ramadan fasting and celebration of Eid-el-Fitri while calling on them to intensify prayers for unity, peace and progress in Nigeria.
Saraki, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser (Media), Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said Muslims should adhere to one of the injunctions of Allah that formed the basis of sermons delivered in various mosques during the holy month that all citizens should pray for their leaders and their nation so that the leaders can receive divine guidance while initiating measures that will bring comfort and respite for the generality of the people.
"At this point in our national life, unity among all the different ethnic and religious groups will usher in peace and peace can only engender progress and development. We therefore need to learn to live together in peace, tolerate one another and eschew actions which can threaten the peace of the nation.
"Muslims, in particular, should continue to demonstrate the fact that the meaning of Islam is peace and therefore we should learn to live in peace with people of other faith and tolerate each other. We should also remember our fellow citizens in the North eastern part of the country who are being assailed by insurgents who call themselves Boko Haram", he said.
The Senate President urged all Nigerians to continue to pray for our military men who are engaged in the war against the insurgents so that by the period of the next Ramadan, peace would have been totally restored to the whole of the North East and other parts of Nigeria.
He added that good follower-ship is a sine qua non for good leadership and that Nigerians should always display patriotism, pay their taxes as at when due, eschew corrupt practices and protect public facilities as if it is their own.
Signed
Yusuph Olaniyonu
Special Adviser (Media) to the Senate President

Biased Reporting of the Senate Presidency Election by Olukayode Thomas

Media houses, especially reporters, must realise that their credibility is like virginity; once lost, due to the compromise of values, it can never be regained and the regrets of such acts of indiscretion may last a lifetime.

The Nigerian media’s reputation for bias and pecuniary journalism is legendary. Sadly, our performance in the run-up to and after the race for the leadership of the National Assembly shows that, like the leopard, we have not changed our spots. Thanks to a naive public that neither discerns nor filters information, the merchants of unprincipled journalism among us continue to thrive in a social space that willingly embraces the fantastical.

Societies with robust media and reputable journalists would have called for the resignation of the National Executive Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the poor handling of the Mock Elections that was to produce the party’s candidates for the top National Assembly jobs at the International Conference Centre (ICC) on June 6. That the party’s leadership bungled the exercise was the primary cause of the lingering crisis in APC that is affecting the running of the government.

Let facts speak. On the day of the Mock Election, the APC leaders chose the party’s consensus candidates for the House of Representatives leadership in the constitutionally and universally accepted open-secret ballot manner, which the party had adopted in all its previous elections. For the election of the party’s consensus candidate for the Senate, the party leaders declared it would be an open ballot, which is not only alien to APC, but was clearly meant to corrupt the voting pattern.

The Saraki group boycotted the exercise because they deemed it illegal. Apart from Premium Times that reported the event verbatim, most media houses hailed the ‘election’ of Lawan as sacrosanct. In saner societies, the media would not only have condemned the exercise as being dishonest, but they would have accused the party leaders of bias. But rather than condemn the illegality, the media lambasted Saraki for not toeing the party line. Talk of travesty of justice.

Earlier, during the party’s retreat for its elected senators at Ibeto Hotel, where a Mock Election was to be conducted to select the party’s consensus candidates, the Lawan group, once they realised they didn’t have the numbers to win, boycotted the exercise, opting to address a press conference where Ahmad Lawan and George Akume were presented to the media as the consensus candidates of the group for Senate President and Deputy Senate President.

This incident repeated itself at the International Conference Centre (ICC) on June 4, when the group also boycotted another exercise to elect a consensus candidate because they didn’t have the numbers. Elsewhere, members of the group would have been sanctioned by their party leaders for boycotting its programmes twice, but they didn’t even get a slap on the wrist, and we journalists, the supposed watchdog, looked the other way.

We, journalists, also failed to question the integrity of party leaders who mandated APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) to zone the positions of the National Assembly principal officers, and which zoned the Senate Presidency to the North-Central and the Speakership of the House of Representatives to the North-East. Certain leaders of the party, who felt offended because the zoning arrangement did not favour their anointed candidates, overruled the decision of the NWC. Till date, nobody is asking questions.

More ridiculous is our non-scrutiny of the allegation that oil barons spent billions of naira to enthrone Saraki so that the senate would not probe shady oil deals. There was also the ridiculous claim that Saraki described Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was ‘a mere commissioner’.

It is an established fact that the executive does not need a probe by the National Assembly to prosecute anyone. Once the EFCC or the police has enough evidence, it proceeds with prosecution. So, one wonders how some spin doctors think they can play on our intelligence by falsely claiming that oil barons sponsored Saraki to prevent their prosecution when we know this is impossible. How can we, as journalists, allow such unsubstantiated allegation to go without scrutinising it? Why didn’t we ask those making the allegations to prove it? We also swallowed hook, line and sinker the report that Saraki called the Vice President a mere commissioner. When was this comment made and in the presence of whom? In the presence of phantom sources?

A serious newspaper like The Times or The Guardian, both of England, would have given a gourmet treatment, instead of the fast food treatment, to the issue of President Buhari’s invitation to APC Senators to a meeting at the International Conference Centre on the day the Senate was inaugurated.

They would have probably devoted a whole week and several pages to asking questions such as: The President arrived from Germany in the wee hours of the inauguration day, so at what point and time did he contact the party leaders and set a meeting for 9 am? If he had contacted them from Germany, why didn’t PMB call all the principal characters and inform them about the meeting? Why fix the meeting for 9.00am when he had already written a letter to clerk of the National Assembly to inaugurate the house by 10.00am? Why was the clerk not instructed to move the inauguration to, say, noon? If the clerk was instructed and did not comply, why wasn’t he sanctioned? Any serious media house would raise these and several other questions and search for answers.

But not our media houses. We just take press releases as the gospel truth and run them verbatim.

Our biased and unprincipled reporting could also be seen in way we reported both candidates’ romance with PDP senators. With Lawan and Saraki ready to slug it out on the floor and PDP abstaining from contesting for Senate Presidency, it was clear that the PDP Senators were the beautiful brides and both candidates would seek their hands in marriage.

But only Saraki is being vilified for romancing with the opposition, even when a member of the PDP National Working Committee, Olisa Metuh, revealed that the National Leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu reached out to leaders of PDP and sold Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila to them, promising PDP lawmakers juicy committees if they voted for them.

Our media probably thinks like EFCC operators who prosecute only perpetrators of 419, whereas the victims, who are equally guilty of fraud, are set free. If Saraki deserves to be condemned for romancing PDP, Lawan too should also not be spared. The fact that his attempts failed does not mean he did not lobby the PDP Senators for votes.
‎
Saraki also deserves knocks for not articulating his positions in the media. He has behaved like Buhari did in 2011, when a reporter claimed he said Nigeria would be on fire if the 2011 election was rigged.

For several months, Buhari failed to articulate his position in the media. The lie became the gospel truth until he sued the reporter and media house – forcing them to beg for an out-of-court settlement. But the damage had been done.

Media houses, especially reporters, must realise that their credibility is like virginity; once lost, due to the compromise of values, it can never be regained and the regrets of such acts of indiscretion may last a lifetime.

We should also take cognisance of the sociological implications of our reports; thousands are making life-changing decisions based on our reports.

Olukayode Thomas, a two-time CNN African Journalist of the Year Winner, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

PRESS RELEASE

Saraki Clears Air on Tweets Concerning Service Chiefs Screening

The attention of the Media Office of the Senate President has been drawn to a story making the rounds to the effect that the Senate does not need to screen or confirm the new Service Chiefs appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, we want to make it abundantly clear that based on inquiries made to the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki on whether the Senate was consulted before the appointment of new Service Chiefs was announced, he had in response tweeted that the appointment of Service Chiefs is the exclusive function of the President as stipulated by the Constitution.
Let it be known that his comment is now being misinterpreted to say the Senate will neither screen nor confirm the new Service Chiefs. This is far from the truth.
For the avoidance of doubt, Saraki has said his comment is without prejudice to extant laws and court pronouncements on the issue and therefore that the Senate will do the needful when the list of the new Service Chiefs is sent to it by Mr. President.

Saraki in a new tweet today said: "This is to clarify the earlier position which was not up to date and does not represent the position of the Senate President on the issue of screening of the newly appointed service chiefs . The Senate will perform its constitutional duty when it receives communication from the President on the appointments."

Signed:

Sanni Onogu

Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President.

INTERVIEW: WHY I BACKED @BUKOLASARAKI FOR SENATE PRESIDENCY – @DELEMOMODU
He also explained why he backed former Kwara state governor, Bukola Saraki for Senate Presidency against the wish of a national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu.
 
Read the full interview below. 
You were, before the general elections, one of the unofficial spokespersons for  President Muhammadu  Buhari, who was then the APC presidential candidate.  But of recent, your thoughts about the president appears to be changing?

I am surprised  at your comment because I have never changed. I am the biggest supporter of  President Muhammadu Buhari today. All I have done is to tell the president what people are saying outside, that is my job. We don’t tell our leaders the truth. I told former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the truth throughout his tenure. This is detailed in  my forthcoming book, titled, ‘’Pendulum, a book of prophesy’’. Everything I told President Jonathan  happened. I owe that  to our president too  today.

Once you become the president in Nigeria, people stop telling you the truth. They only tell you what you want to hear. I am a stakeholder in this government. I wonder what would have happened to me if the PDP had returned to power. I was already under constant threat. I received threat messages.  I had to name all the numbers anonymous because they were all attacking me for supporting Buhari. I didn’t support the president because I wanted anything from him. I supported him because I believed  at this time of our lives, we need a father-figure, what I called the Mandela- option in Nigeria. And I thought Buhari, as a man of integrity, of impeccable character, fits that bill.

But, three months after the election, Nigerians are getting impatient  because most of them cannot wait for even one second. I was the first to write an article titled, ‘’In Search Of Patience’’, telling the people to exercise patience with  the man.  But being patient does not mean we should fold our arms indefinitely. There are things that can still be done. I found a proverb some where which says ‘’the meat of antelope tastes very good, but while it is cooking, we can still make do with groundnut’’. While we are waiting for that big action, some things must keep us going, whether pop corn, ice cream or something. If the National Assembly, within some minutes, approved about 15 Special Advisers; so, what is stopping us from picking our National Security Adviser, if we have to change the one there now.

How about the Chief of Staff, the Principal Secretary, the Secretary to the Federal Government. The longer it takes, the longer the tension, and also the longer the pressure on Mr President. I want  the president to know that if they begin to put pressure on him, things may begin to fall apart. Had it been some things are already  in place, I am sure the tension would have reduced.

But things have rotten  so much  so that many people support the president taking his time before making any appointments.

No. I was once a presidential candidate. Before a man says he wants  to be president, he must have his plans and blue print of things that he saw not working properly. As such, he thought he had solution to them. Yes, you might not have 100%  solution to the problems, but you have a fair idea of what needed to be done urgently. And you said you have the answer to them before you offered yourself to serve. And there is nobody more experienced than President Muhammadu  Buhari. He was there over 30 years ago. He also acted in other capacities before now.

So, I expect him to be able to know what he wants to do. Your principal staff, you will know who they are, and you will appoint them. Even the ministers, by now, there is no law that says all the ministers must be ready at the same time. The problems we have in Nigeria are so big that one second is like eternity. I pleaded with people few weeks back to be patient, but I am telling you that the public outcry is no longer favourable to our cause. And I don’t want us to lose that moment to the concerns of the people. It is like a plane that is about to take off.

The outcry, some have said, is genuine but that people are not well informed about the enormity of the problems at hand?

No one is crying foul. Don’t let us misuse language. They are only asking for action. They have the right to that. Their expectation was that of a magician. That was what I wrote in my article. What the Nigerians expect of you is like that of Jesus Christ turning water into wine, raising  Lazarus from the dead. I wrote another article, ‘’Buhari and the burden of expectations’’. To whom is given, much is expected. Nigerians saw him as magician. They believe he has talismanic powers to transform Nigeria from penury to prosperity. You can’t blame them. Nobody is blaming Buhari, we are just saying ‘please sir, time is not on your side’. I am not one of those who will rush him.

I am just reflecting the mood of the nation. I am a journalist. I gave him hints of what people expect him to do. I am not one of those  who write abstract nonsense. I write constructively as a patriotic citizen. I joined the struggle since my days at University of Ife  in 1978.  I have never stopped since then. I also  a country my children can live in and live in peace. I want a country where no girl would vanish into thin air for two years without any trace. I want a country where young school leavers would get jobs. I want a country where I will not spend all my  money to generate electricity. I want a country where the infrastructure meets international standard like other oil producing countries. I want a country where our people will not be too distant from their leaders.

Talking about sudden change, you were known to be a  friend and admirer of the APC National Leader, Ashiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, but suddenly you started supporting the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, against his party?

 There is nothing sudden in that. From day one, I supported Saraki for various reasons. I will say that, boldly, any where. And I stand by it. I supported him based on empirical facts of what I know. One of it…..

Cuts in)But you are not a member of the party? 

Yes, that is the beauty of it all.

So how come you are saying authoritatively that ‘’from what I know’’?

I interact with people. At my level, a 55-year-old man, I have friends everywhere. I have contacts. I say this with every sense of responsibility. I don’t know of anybody who worked harder than Saraki, Amaechi and the rest of them for Buhari. Yes, so many people worked for Buhari, but I am telling you that from my own stand point, from my interactions, these people mentioned almost worked themselves to death for Buhari. As a matter of fact, at a time, some people were saying  it was better to have consensus candidate for the party so that there won’t be rancour after the primaries; but some people refused, saying they were not ready to step down for Buhari.

Saraki was one of the first people who declared total and unflinching support for Buhari. Amaechi adores Kwankwaso. I know that for a fact.  Ameachi loves Kwankwaso to death. But because of Buhari, Amaechi refused to support Kwankwaso. I don’t know if Kwankwaso will forgive him for that. But, he was honest enough to tell Kwankwaso that ‘’I have given my word to Buhari, I cannot turn back’’.  Same thing with Saraki. I know for a fact that Saraki worships Tinubu. Quote me. Maybe our Oga (Tinubu)does not know it. You know, sometimes, you don’t know those who love you if you have a lot of crowd around you. But I am saying it to you that Saraki, the Senate President, worships Tinubu.

Then or till now?

I am sure till today. Saraki was one of Tinubu disciples. In fact, when some people were saying Tinubu wanted to hijack  the party by installing his men,  Saraki and Amaechi were among  those who said ‘no, we must give our leader whatever he wants;  we must not humiliate our leader’, because they(new PDP) had the power at that time to install their own candidate and they would have won, because the new PDP that joined APC at that time was formidable enough. But, they insisted they must defer to Tinubu. It is what I know, not that they told me.

Lesser Hajj: Saraki Decries Saudi's Visa Policy
Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has criticized the entry visa issuance policy of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Nigeria for this year's lesser hajj.
Saraki who arrived Medinah on Saturday listened to complaints from some Nigerians who are performing the lesser hajj and noted that the Saudi authorities, unlike other embassies in the country, refused to articulate a visa policy which potential visitors to the holy land can follow and obtain their entry visa without any difficulty once they meet the requirements.
"The present process in which visitors to Saudi must go through a third party has created artificial bottlenecks now being exploited by the travel agents and the embassy officials. Our people are now made to suffer indignities arising from conspiracy between the embassy officials and the so-called agents. The process is fraught with corrupt practices," he said.
The Senate President said some Nigerians informed him that they had to send their passports through Saudi embassies in other West African countries where the cost of the visa was less and they did not need to go through the hardship experienced in Nigeria.
"It is unimaginable the amount of money people paid to get visa for this year's lesser hajj and we do not want that to repeat itself for the hajj proper coming in a few months' time. You know this religious rites and obligations are very important to our people and so, despite these inconveniences, they still struggle to get here and we have a responsibility to ensure this exploitation and inconvenience stop immediately," Saraki said.
He reassured Nigerians who complained to him that the Saudi visa policy will be one of the issues the Senate will look into when it resumes plenary later in the month and that the Saudi authorities as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja will be engaged to find a lasting solution to the problems of visa issuance to Nigerians by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Senate President further called on all Nigerian Muslims on lesser hajj and those at home to devote the last days of Ramadan to pray for peace, security, development and progress of Nigeria.
He urged them to specifically ask for Allah's intervention in the search for a lasting solution to the Boko Haram crisis in the North-Eastern part of the country and for God to help President Muhammadu Buhari's administration to revamp the economy of Nigeria.
Signed
Yusuph Olaniyonu
Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to Senate President

SENATE: MOVING ON TO ECONOMIC ISSUES
Source: The Sun
By Yusuf Olaniyonu
Sunday July 12, 2015
Though the institution is on recess due to the formal suspension of its plenary on June 25 for about a month, but the Sen­ate had lived up to the promise made by its President, DR ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI that the members will continue to carry out differ­ent assignments and that plenary will resume anytime there is an urgent issue of national im­portance.
In the last one week or so, the Senate has fo­cused on gathering necessary facts and figures aimed at preparing members to deal with issues bordering on how to revive the nation’s ailing economy. In groups of 15 to 20 members, SENATOR SARAKI had gathered his colleagues to sit down with managers of the economy and the leadership of one of the anti-corruption agency to review the situation of the national economy, present efforts being made to save the country from the exter­nal and internal forces which struggle to keep the economy prostrate and discussing areas of pos­sible legislative intervention to further solidify the plans.
First to brief the Senators last week on July 2 is the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), an agency assigned the responsibility of collecting taxes, duties and levies on behalf of the Federal Government. Led by its chairman, Mr. Samuel Odugbesan, the agency congratulated SARAKI on his success at the general election and his sub­sequent emergence as Primus inter pares in the Senate. Odugbesan further said that the price of oil which is the nation’s main income earner has been on the downward slide.
He said: “Oil and gas which is key to the econ­omy has not been doing too well and this is as a result of many factors which are completely out of our control. The price of oil in the international market we all know has continued on the down­ward slide. Although in the last three months, it started gathering some momentum. As at today, I think it is average $59 and $62 but the average we have computed is about $59 and that is what is obtainable today.”
According to him, what is within the purview of the agency is to intervene to shore up the re­ceipts from the non-oil sector. “As at the end of June, we have not actually got the total figures for June yet. It just ended yesterday and JP Morgan that is assisting the Federal Government to collect foreign components of our collection will still be giving us a report even a week after the closure of the month. But so far, we will say that Pe­troleum Profit Tax has given us N697.07bn for the first six months, that could go up a little bit. For the non-oil component, you have conflict­ing contracts which has brought in N778bn be­tween January and June and Valued Added Tax N376billion”, Odugbesan said.
The essence of the briefing by the FIRS chief is to provide the Senate a detail explanation on why the revenue receipts into the federation ac­count is falling. Again, the Senate had the op­portunity to cross-fertilise ideas with the agency and decide on what the legislature need to do in support of efforts to block the loophole and shore up the revenue.
SARAKI in his address advocated for greater focus on tax collection to boost the nation’s revenue in view of the dwindling receipt from oil. He added that an efficient tax collection sys­tem in the country is sine qua non to the much needed economic revival at this time. The Sen­ate President said an effective tax regime will not only help revive the economy but will help the government to fund its various development programmes and redistribute wealth among the various strata of the society.
The Senate President said the FIRS should come up with proposed laws and recommenda­tions that can help to boost their operation in the area of adequate and efficient tax collection.
“The FIRS is one of the agencies that have requested to interact with the Senate and to show the importance that the 8th Senate places on per­formance. We decided to meet you as quickly as possible because we know that our country’s dependence on oil as a large source of revenue is very fragile and it cannot be a way forward for a country like us. You have seen it even by your own presentation. The way forward for our country is really to look at the area of our taxes, because it is more stable, reliable and not depen­dent on other issues outside the country.
“As you know today, tax is only about six per cent of our Gross Domestic Product, GDP, which is scored low compared to other coun­tries that are doing about 20 per cent. So, there is a lot of work for us to do. I think the success of our revenue going forward will depend on you as the Chairman and your team and that is the blunt truth. If we are going to be depending on the fluctuating fortune from oil, then, we are not planning for the future but we need to plan first on the non-oil revenue sector. I am happy you (FIRS boss) are a new person coming in, you have an opportunity to think out of the box, be creative and turn around things in the FIRS.
“I hope that we will be able to partner to­gether. We must ensure that everybody begins to pay the right taxes. When we talk about fight­ing corruption, it should start by ensuring that everybody pay the taxes that are due, everyone of us must be ready to do that. I know it is not going to be very easy but you can count on our support to make it happen”, SARAKI said.
The Senate President said the National As­sembly would henceforth carry out stringent oversight on the tax agency aside from partner­ing with the FIRS to deliver on increased rev­enue. He said: “For us in the 8th Senate, this is an agency we want to work very closely with and we want to be very stringent on our over­sights because honestly if we do not get it right in the area of taxation, I don’t believe we are going to get it right going forward. If you look at all the challenges before us, if the price of oil is good, we can execute our development policies and programmes but the fluctuation in the prices does not allow us to plan. Our non-oil revenue has to be stable enough to be able to address those issues and I think that is the area we need to work”, he said.
The Senate President added that it was time for the agency to address the concerns being raised by some states about lack of incentives in collecting the Value Added Tax (VAT). He added that some new taxes that were introduced to shore up revenue towards the tail end of the last administration have not yielded required dividends.
“The issue we have today is how can we expand the net, how can we ensure that every­body is paying taxes and not saying that you are imposing charges that will just make headlines. That is not going to take us anywhere. Let us ad­dress how do you for example improve on com­pany income taxes. You see a lot of companies today, when you look at their foreign exchange demand, some of them are bidding for $200 to $300 billion, yet they say they are mak­ing zero profit”, he said.
SARAKI directed the FIRS manage­ment to send a proposal to the Senate on areas where they need legislative sup­port to strengthen their operations and make them more effective and efficient in revenue collection and enforcement of relevant laws.
The next agency to be received by the Senate leadership is the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC). The sequence of the visits suggested that after being briefed by a revenue collec­tion agency, the Senate in its determina­tion to also block leakages that seem to drain the revenue and prevent it from be­ing channelled into projects, policies and programmes that will improve the stan­dard of living of the general populace shifted attention to the anti-graft agency.
ICPC boss, Mr. Ekpo Nta in his sub­mission to the Senate President and the other Senators said tackling corruption requires that the substructures that sup­port corruption in the system be ad­dressed before going after the “symp­toms of corruption.”
“Public officers have been put through a lot of destabilization during the changes. They have not had pen­sions paid and all these had accumulated to the point where they have to resort to self help. We discovered that if the civil service is working optimally and the shortcomings are addressed, the issue of corruption would be made unattractive”, he said.
The Senate President however prom­ised that the Senate will support the anti-graft body in combating the menace which has kept the nation down for so long. He said the Eight Senate which he is leading is totally committed to the zero tolerance for corruption position of the Buhari administration and that he and his colleagues would do everything to make the job of the anti-graft agencies easy and successful.
The Senate President also said most of the present problems confronting the country were a direct fall-out of the monumental corrup­tion in the system. He added that corruption in the land has almost reached a crisis point hence the need for bet­ter collaboration by all na­tional institutions to reduce it to the barest minimum, if not totally eradicate it.
“It is important for us to meet with you, to let you ap­preciate where we stand on the issue of corruption and to also listen to you for us to know some of the issues that are challenging to you because the ICPC, EFCC and Code of Conduct Bureau remain the most vital institu­tions in the fight that we are waging against corruption today.
We want to make the anti-graft war a priority for the Senate because we be­lieve that it has got to a stage where it is truly endangering the entire system and some of the symptoms that we are seeing in the areas where it is affecting our national devel­opment is becoming more and more clearer to all of us.
“The message we want you to take away today is that the 8th Senate is ready to work with you. The 8th Sen­ate is not going to provide any safe haven for anybody. The 8th Senate wants to work very closely with Mr. Presi­dent on this very issue and I am sure with the political will, both on the part of the executive and the legislative and the agencies, we might not be able to eradicate it completely, but we can bring corruption to a level that as a country, we can be proud of. I am very committed on this and so are a lot of my colleagues here. The party is over. Everybody needs to know that we need to sing a new song because without it, we have all seen that we are getting into a crisis and we need to admit it,” SARAKI said.
He noted that the cost of corruption in our national life goes beyond financial cost and that corruption has mani­fested in the inability of state governments to pay monthly salaries. “We are seeing it in the state of our schools, the impact on our education. We are seeing it in the state of our health institutions and the impact on maternal and child mortality. We are see­ing it in the ever increasing cost of governance, failure of public institutions and in­frastructures. When we all went round to campaign, one of the promises we made to Nigerians was that we have to fight corruption and as people elected by Nigerians, we must fulfill that promise and we have taken it upon ourselves that one of the de­liverables of the new dispen­sation is to bring an end to corruption”, he said.
“For the 8th Senate, mak­ing corruption a priority is a must and we are committed to that and our goal is to work with you, the EFCC and the Code of Conduct Tribunal to reduce significantly the level of corruption in our system. When a government gets to a stage that it cannot meet its obligations, then we know we are getting into a crisis and that crisis also requires dras­tic actions. If we are pussy-footing before, it is now time for us to be serious.”
Then the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took its turn with the Upper Chamber of the legislative house. Its Governor, Mr. Godwin Eme­fiele told the Senate that the CBN has continued to initi­ate measures to strengthen the economy and reposition the country for the next phase of growth and development. While outlining the measures taken so far, he said notwith­standing the shocks the global economy has witnessed, the nation’s economic fundamen­tals remain strong.
“Let me reiterate that with inflation at single digit, ex­change rate relatively stable and our reserves gradually rising from blocked leakages, our economic fundamentals remain strong. Going for­ward, the CBN will continue to be vigilant in the market to ensure that there is zero toler­ance for speculators and rent seekers.
“Nigeria’s foreign reserves remain our common wealth and we must all strive to work together to protect it and prevent speculators and rent seekers from plunging it. We will continue to find ways to rebuild our reserves and where possible accelerate ef­forts aimed at improving ag­gregate supply potentials of the economy. In this effort, I strongly crave the support of the leadership of the Senate as we march towards achiev­ing a more prosperous and self-sufficient Nigeria”, he said
SARAKI in his response directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to en­sure the urgent recovery of the N30billion which was the cost of waivers illegally granted to some category of importers, particularly those who trade in rice, chicken, palm oil, palm ker­nel, vegetable oil, poultry products, fish, tomatoes and textiles The Senate President said the measures were nec­essary to block all avenue through which the nation is losing revenue while the government’s banker also needs to champion the diver­sification of the economy in line with the agenda of Presi­dent Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. “I believe the recent policies you initi­ated on some selected items are good steps that will help our economy. But one of the observations you also made was that CBN alone cannot make the policies to work. We, in the Senate, are ready to give the right signals that will help the success of these policies. For example, you brought to our notice some of the waivers and taxes, waivers on import duties especially on rice close to N30billion that was given to some companies which must be repaid to the Federal Gov­ernment.
SARAKI said the policies of the CBN towards resus­citating the economy which Emefiele presented to the Senate can only succeed if smuggling is eradicated.
The signal therefore from the Senate and Its leader, SARAKI, is that there will be no quiet moment. No time to relax. There is so much to be done and the earlier the senior legislators settle down to the onerous task for which they are elected, the better for our country.

Nigeria in dire need of great leaders
leaders that will awaken our minds,
leaders that will bring people from all geo political zones together,
leaders that will resist the temptation of sowing seeds of discord through inflammatory statements,
leaders that dare to take bold steps in the interest of Nigeria,
leaders willing to defy the norm to chart a new path,
leaders that are ready to celebrate and help nurture the gifts of others,
leaders with foresight to see the big picture and having the will to work towards it,
leaders willing to work with all to achieve the best,
leaders who understand they are only first among equals.
Unfortunately, Nigeria is far from having leaders with above qualities. Sadly i see leaders who are fanning the flame of discord with their statements and post on social media all in the name of staying relevant. The evil seed they sow today might come to hunt them tomorrow. Now is the time for us to come together in the interest of our dear nation
Bamikole Omishore

Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has asked the management of the National Assembly to uphold the principles of merit, fairness and hard work in all their undertakings.
Saraki said it was necessary to reward hard work and be fair to all in order to increase productivity among the staff. A statement by the Media Office of the Senate President said that Saraki gave the admonition when he met with the National Assembly management led by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa.
He noted that it was important for the bureaucracy to bring their experience to bear on their activities in support of the Senate’s determination to deliver on its mandate to Nigerians. Saraki said:
“Our success depends on your cooperation, support and commitment. We appreciate your contributions to this institution. Many of you have been here for many years and have been contributing your own quota to national development. “We are at the beginning of our tenure of four years and it is our hope that we can work together as partners in the interest of the progress of this great country of ours.
“I think we have all seen from the last elections that the desire of Nigerians all over the country is the need for change, the need to move away from the business as usual habit and the need for us to try and reposition this country. “I think we are coming on that platform and we are committed to try and make sure we deliver to our people the dividends of democracy, but our ability to deliver also depends on you and how we work together.
“We don’t see any alternative now at this point in the history of our country than for us to try and meet the needs of our people and that is why we seek your cooperation. You have the experience, knowledge and ability,” he said.
He assured the management that the new leadership of the Assembly would be fair, equitable and just at all times. He said: “On our part, we will be fair, just and equitable.
We will ensure that merit is key; we will ensure that people are not pushed aside for one reason or the other, and we will ensure that there is justice at all times. “We want to see that merit and hard work are rewarded tremendously.
You have no cause for concerns. We will look at all your suggestions and what will make productivity better and we will do our best to ensure that”.

Lies Against Me Will Not Change My Focus To Deliver On My Mandate – Saraki
Since his emergence as Senate President, Bukola Saraki has faced several criticisms due to the circumstances surrounding his victory at the National Assembly elections. He has been called a traitor by many who went as far as digging up several stories about him and blaming him for the crack in the National Assembly. However, Saraki remains unfazed by the “negative lives” and promised to continue being focused regardless.
Reacting to stories about him via Twitter (@bukolasaraki), Saraki stated: “I’m aware of activities of certain online platforms being sponsored by mischief makers to post all sorts of negative lies against me.

“The lies will not change my focus to deliver on my mandate, which is to ensure legislation that will directly impact the lives of Nigerians.

“No matter the pressure, no special interest group can blackmail #8thSenate to do their bidding. I AM ACCOUNTABLE ONLY TO NIGERIANS.

By Henry Umoru
ABUJA- SENATOR James Manager, PDP, Delta South said yesterday that the election of both Senators Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as President of the Senate and Deputy President of the Senate respectively followed due process.
Speaking with Journalists yesterday, Senator Manager who has been in the Senate since 2003, explained that what took place on the Senate floor, June 9 was legal and in conformity with the 1999 Constitution, Senate Rules and Parliamentary convention, just as he stressed that the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC cannot blame Senate President Saraki for the emergence of Ekweremadu of the PDP as Deputy President of the Senate.
Senator Manager who was Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta, stressed that what happened June 9 has provided a balanced Senate in view of the closeness in the numbers of Senators belonging to the two parties on the floor, adding, “We had never had the parliament that was as balanced as this where the gap between the minority and the majority is slim, just 10 human beings. The type of transition we had recently is also alien to Africa hence we have to handle everything with absolute care and maturity.
“We must make sacrifices because so many things are bound to happen separately. We must display maturity and compromise so that the nation can move on. What we are experiencing now is democracy in action.”
Senator Manager who noted that the legality of the election of Saraki and Ekweremadu has been clearly stated in Section 5 of the Constitution, which spells out the process of convening the Senate and the election of Presiding Officers, said: “How elections are conducted to the National Assembly, and how a presiding officer can be removed, are provided for under Section 5 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
“Section 64 ( 1 ) of the Constitution reads, “The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each stands dissolved at the expiration of a period of four years commencing from the date of first sitting of the House. Section 64 ( 3 ) states that “Subject to the provisions of this constitution, the person elected as the president shall have power to issue a proclamation for the holding of the first session for the National Assembly immediately after he was being sworn in or for its dissolution as provided in this section.
“The president cannot wake up one day to dissolve the parliament because there is already a provision for that except the extra ordinary happens which we pray not to happen because democracy has come to stay in this country, so the new legislative year won’t come to an end until the 9th of June 2019.
“The proclamation was made and going by our rule book, Rule 1 ( b ) in all cases not provided for, hereafter or by sectional or other order, or practice of the Senate, the senate shall by resolution, regulate its own procedure.
“From 1999 till date, once a proclamation is made, the first sitting of the senate is the election of the presiding officers. That has come to stay. Of course, at 10:00am prompt. There must be a roll call. All senators are expected to be present at that time to answer his name.
“If somebody who was supposed to be there on that day was not there, and he is still in his home state, it is not the business of anybody. The request was made by the Clerk to the National Assembly after the roll call on June 9, whether there were people who want to nominate somebody to the office of president of the senate and there was a nomination.
“It is not the business of another senator looking around to see whether any other senator was there or not. As far as I am concerned, what happened that day, was in order because that is what National Assembly is used to doing. Everything about National Assembly is law and practice. I would not know whether some people were invited somewhere or not.”
When asked if the election of the two presiding officers met the required quorum, Senator Manager who admitted that a quorum was formed, however noted that the time has come for all stakeholders to face governance, adding,
“Those who participated in the election on that day formed the quorum. It is not correct that two-third was needed to elect presiding officers, the law only recognize simple majority and this is what happened.
“Let us come together in the interest of our people. If mistakes had been committed it is better to correct it so that the legislature would remain the same. Presiding officers had emerged and the principal officers are emerging.”

Senate Directs CBN to Recover Illegal N30bn import waivers
..Backs Apex bank on exclusion of Agric items from FX Market
Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki Wednesday directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure the urgent recovery of the N30billion which was the cost of waivers illegally granted to some category of importers.
Saraki, while receiving the Governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele and other members of the management team of the apex bank who came to brief the Senate on the state of the economy and measures the bank is taking to ensure financial stability in the country, also expressed his support and that of the Senate for the decision of the CBN to exclude importers of some items, particularly agricultural products, from the foreign exchange market.
The agricultural products whose importers the Senate President specifically said can be justifiably banned from the Foreign Exchange market include rice, chicken, palm oil, palm kernel, vegetable oil, poultry products, fish, tomatoes and textiles
The Senate President said the measures were necessary to block all avenue through which the nation is losing revenue while the government's banker also needs to champion the diversification of the economy in line with the agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration.
Saraki said: "I believe the recent policies you initiated on some selected items are good steps that will help our economy. But one of the observations you also made was that CBN alone cannot make the policies to work. We, in the Senate, are ready to give the right signals that will help the success of these policies. For example, you brought to our notice some of the waivers and taxes, waivers on import duties especially on rice close to N30billion that was given to some companies which must be repaid back to the Federal Government.
"It is our intention also, after we have resumed, to get the Customs to come and brief us. but before that, we cannot be taking some of these tough decisions while some people will get away by not paying what they should return to the government.
"We need to also tell you, CBN Governor that you and your team must go and collaborate with Customs to ensure that this N30billion comes back to government coffers so that we will know that you are serious in making these policies successful."
Saraki said the policies of the CBN towards resuscitating the economy which Emefiele presented to the Senate can only succeed if smuggling is eradicated.
He said: "There is also the issue of smuggling because no matter how good these policies on import substitution are, if smuggling can still be going on the way it is going on now, these policies will not be successful. The authorities must take tough stand against smuggling, especially by moving against the big smugglers that are well known. It is time to take actions to stop them", he said.
The Senate President added that the CBN must put measures in place to ensure fiscal discipline especially in income generating agencies. "The key issue also is fiscal discipline. The CBN must know the agencies of government that in the past have been used to not sending their revenues straight to the consolidated revenue and you must play a key role in ensuring that this is done.
"You must play a role to ensure that these agencies bring this money back and we have seen that in the slight increase in the reserves due to recent regime of fiscal discipline and that must be sustained."
He said the Senate would provide the CBN the needed support in terms of legislation and otherwise to enable it succeed.
He added: "By and large, the key issue is that we must diversify our economy. That is the policy of President Muhammadu Buhari because that is key. The policies you have initiated are geared towards that direction and more importantly also, we must renew the confidence our partners, investors that want to come and invest in this country, have in us. We must start looking at how we can start encourage local production, particularly, in the area of agriculture and mining".
Earlier, Emefiele told the Senate that the CBN has continued to initiate measures to strengthen the economy and reposition the country for the next phase of growth and development.
He added that notwithstanding the shocks the global economy has witnessed, the nation's economy remains strong.
Emefiele said: "Let me reiterate that with inflation at single digit, exchange rate relatively stable and our reserves gradually rising from blocked leakages, our economic fundamentals remain strong. Going forward, the CBN will continue to be vigilant in the market to ensure that there is zero tolerance for speculators and rent seekers.
"Nigeria’s foreign reserves remain our common wealth and we must all strive to work together to protect it and prevent speculators and rent seekers from plunging it. We will continue to find ways to rebuild our reserves and where possible accelerate efforts aimed at improving aggregate supply potentials of the economy.
"In this effort, I strongly crave the support of the leadership of the Senate as we march towards achieving a more prosperous and self-sufficient Nigeria", he said.
Signed:
Media Office of the Senate President

Management of National Assembly pledges loyalty to Saraki

By JACOB KUBEKA

The Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA), Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa yesterday led management staff of the National Assembly to pledge their loyalty to the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
The courtesy visit will be the first formal meeting between the Senate President and the National Assembly management since he assumed the position on June 9.

Speaking during the meeting, the CNA disclosed that the National Assembly would put in efficient service delivery to the lawmakers and Nigerians on the front burner.

“We are here to once again congratulate you on your election as president of the Senate and to assure you of the commitment of the National Assembly to ensure that we will partner with you so that you will be able to deliver on your campaign promises and the promises you made when you were delivering your acceptance speech during the inauguration of the National Assembly.

“We are a united bureaucracy and we are dedicated, we are very loyal and would continue to pursue effective service delivery in the interest of the National Assembly and Nigeria as a whole.”

In his response, the Senate President applauded his visitors for their contributions to the work of lawmakers and called on the management to cooperate with his leadership so that lawmakers could deliver on their promises to Nigerians.

According to him, “We appreciate your roles and contributions to this institution. Many of you have been here for many years and you have played your roles. We are at the beginning of our tenure of four years and it is our hope that we can work together as partners for the progress of this country.

“As the CNA had said, as politicians, who had the mandate of the people, we all saw the desire of Nigerians all over the country, the need for change so that it would not be business as usual again, and the need for us to reposition the country.

“We are committed to try and deliver to our people, but our ability and capability to deliver would also depend on the civil servants.
“On our part, we will be fair, just and uphold equity. We will ensure that merit is key.

“It cannot be business as usual because on our own part too, we have told Nigerians that things would change and we have to do our best to bring success and let the 8th Senate be the wonder that we will all be proud of.

“We offer our own hand of partnership so that we can work together for the progress of the country. Some of the things we will have to do together in terms of oversights and lawmaking, we will do it together. We cannot do it alone without your support,” the Senate President stated.

SENATE LEADERSHIP: APC should respect Buhari’s view on Saraki’s emergence, says Dino Melaye

The senator representing Kogi-West senatorial district, Dino Melaye, has called on his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, to respect the view of President Muhammadu Buhari on the emergence of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki. It will be recalled that, Buhari, while reacting to the controversial emergence of Saraki and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, shortly after they were elected, said he did not have any preferred candidates for the principal posts but added that he would have preferred that the choices of the party emerged. The choices of the APC for Senate presidency and speakership were Senator Ahmed Lawan and Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, respectively. Specifically, Melaye was referring to a statement by Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in which the President said that he was willing to work with whoever the lawmakers elected.

In a series of tweets on his official Twitter handle, Melaye faulted the APC leaders for attacking Saraki. He said, “President Buhari said the election of Saraki followed constitutional provisions. At that point, the party and its leaders ought to have slowed down. Mr. President said he would work with whoever was elected. At that point, the party leaders ought to have taken direction from Buhari, who is the National Leader of the APC.” “The President is the National Leader of APC. The moment he said he had no preference, the party should have respected Buhari. Nigerians must realise that the people’s sovereignty is far greater than the party’s supremacy. Just like the Bible is dearer to me than the constitution. “The gullibility of so many on the social media is embarrassing. I have no regret supporting Saraki. I worked and voted for competence. I will be the last person to support anti-party activities or support the satanic party that I assiduously helped to uproot.”

Nigeria's unity, panacea for sustainable growth - @bukolasaraki
President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday said Nigeria can only harness it's economic potentials when her people live together harmoniously, irrespective of tribal, religious and political affiliations.
Senator Saraki while receiving the Northern Reawakening Forum (NRF), led by Hon. Mohammed Umara Kumalia whose executives visited him in Abuja said the country is blessed with abundant resources and that the only way to ensure their efficient utilization is for all the geo-political zones to contribute their quota to the growth of the economy.
He said every part of the country is important and should be encouraged to actively participate in the development of the nation.
Saraki said: "It becomes a concern when any part of the country cannot meet up its obligation. Our objective in the Eight Senate is to encourage the diversification of the economy by developing other sectors like agriculture, mining, industrialization and other viable areas with the aim of creating employment and a robust economic environment across the country.
"We must set out our priorities. We must show that there is a difference in our legislative activities. We must meet up with the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians who have sacrificed so much for us during the last elections.
"I am confident that this Senate will continue to partner and work closely with every stakeholders in our resolve to give the nation the dividends of democracy."
Earlier, the leader of the Forum, Hon. Mohammed Kumalia, said his group came into existence three years ago with the aim of finding solutions to the myriad of challenges faced by the Northern Nigeria.
He said the association has been engaging governments at all levels on how to contain the inter-ethnic and religious crisis, high level of illiteracy, exploration of oil in the North, agricultural development and insecurity.
"We have convened series of meetings with the people, religious leaders and other warring groups aimed at bringing to end the spate of crisis in the North. We are keen on harmonious living between Christians and Muslims in this country.
"We suggested developmental initiatives to both governments and concerned groups through our teams of experts. We have to discuss the way forward. That is the reason why we are here.
Industrialization of the North, dredging of the River Niger, the PIB, insecurity, improved agriculture and investment in education are those lingering issues we in the North want this government to address as a matter of urgency", he said.
Kumalia who commended the Senate President for rising up to the challenges being faced by Nigerians also assured that the Forum would not relent in partnering with the National Assembly towards addressing the challenges.
Signed.
Media Office of the Senate President

I NEVER DATED GOVERNOR SARAKI---LOLA ALAO

Lola Alao is one of the wave-making artistes in the movie industry. But her fame was not instantaneous, she paid her dues before she started soaring higher than high.
To many who may not know her one-on-one, it would seem as if the light complexioned actress carry so much airs around her. But come close to her and you would find out that she is just like the girl next door, as Spectacles found out during her latest movie premiere held in Lagos last Sunday.

Lola’s acting career started years ago with her role in the soap, Ripples. She showed her diversity as an actress when she switched over to movies by taking part in Black Encounter, an English movie. But she did not become a household name until she started featuring in Yoruba movies.

Now, Lola has become not only an actress, but also a producer and a scriptwriter. Many may call it being Jack of all trade; Lola would calls it competence.

“I read Theatre Arts. I know what it takes to be a full-fledged entertainment person. I know virtually all there is to know in all genres of the arts, but I chose to restrict myself to just these three,” she said.

Before she established herself as an actress, Lola was an air hostess.

“I was an air hostess with Okada Airlines. I did that a couple of years before I left.”

For somebody who had been an air hostess, it was ironic that she suddenly developed phobia for flying. She quickly had to resign. Don’t blame her though, a plane crash that claimed the lives of some soldiers years back got her wary of flying.

“My father was a soldier. When a plane crash killed those soldiers, I had to have a re-think. I found out that the job was so risky, so I resigned.”

After her resignation, she was able to work in a few other places before making her first contact with the movie industry.

“I was in Zeb Ejiro’s Ripples. Thereafter, I featured in Fortunes as well as Magnet; and then, Super Story before I decided to produce my own movie, Bitter Encounter.”

Though she became a screen wonder, Lola decided to go to school to hone her skills in the acting world and to overcome inferiority complex.

“I believe that whatever you do, you should do it well and become a professional in it. I love acting, so I had to go get a degree so that when others are talking, I too will boldly step out as a graduate.”

Now, she has been shot to the limelight with well over 60 movies in her back pocket. She no longer dances to anybody’s tunes.

“It has gotten to a stage where I can dictate to producers and tell them what I want. They are no longer doing me a favour. I no longer beg for roles. It is no longer like those days we were looking for fame, and then we would bow down and tell them, ‘Thank you sir’, for using me in their movies.”

Many may not even know that this actress started off with English movies. Now, Lola is stuck with her roles in the Yoruba movies and she does not even intend to stop.

She speaks Yoruba language fluently and hardly would one know that she is not Yoruba.

“I am from Kogi State. I am an Igbira lady. But I love the Yoruba people. They are very accommodating and that was the reason why I changed from doing English movies to Yoruba movies.”

As she has gotten to the top (or close to it), Lola readily agrees that stardom has affected her lifestyle, both positively and negatively.

“If I am travelling now, I am treated very well at the airport. There was a time I was coming back from London. The Customs officers at the airport said they wanted to search me. I agreed. Just as they opened my bag and saw CD jackets of my movies with my face plastered all over them, they asked me if I was a star and I said yes. Immediately, they apologised and they let me through. In Nigeria, I get things at the snap of my fingers. However, Agberos (miscreants) would not let me rest. They would hit on the car and ask for money. You are no longer free to do whatever you want to do.”

If she could go through customs at the airport without the routine check, could she not use the opportunity to engage in drug peddling like some of her colleagues are doing, Spectacles asked.

“I tell you, I have a daughter that I love so much. I know the kind of home that I came from and I cannot afford to spoil the name I have built over the years. It really depends on the individual. As far as I am concerned, I cannot descend so low to engage in drug peddling.”

She has not been engaged in any drug-related scandal, but she has sure been linked with extra-marital scandals. It was rumored that this damsel was dating one of the most dashing governors in the North-Central. It was even rumored that Lola’s husband was ready to boot her out because of the affair she was having with the governor.

But the Ale Ariwo actress debunked such rumours as a pack of lies.

“For crying out loud! The governor in question is Bukola Saraki. I never had anything to do with him. I am a married woman. I don’t know how the rumour came about.”

But there is usually some truth in every rumour, Spectacles posited.

“As for this particular rumour, there is no truth in it at all. I met him at the City Peoples awards. We did not come together. We did not sit together. He was on his own and I was on my own. I still don’t know how they managed to link us. If I see him today, I might not be able to recognise him let alone visit him. I have never spoken to him in my entire life.”

Lola said if she was not married to a very understanding husband, her marriage would have packed up.

“My husband knows me well and believes so much in me. You can imagine what that scandal would have caused if he didn’t trust me.”

The scandal didn’t make her quit her job either.

“He married me as an actress. When we were about getting married, I told him he was going to support me and he agreed. He cannot ask me to quit because he has been very supportive of my career. He has been wonderful.”

Lola has been married for five years and she is having the greatest time of her life.

“My husband is a very quiet person. He does not believe in all these gossips or whatever people say about me. He is very caring. Though marriages have ups and downs, we have been able to overcome all challenges and we are still together. I thank God for him because he has been there for me.”

With the way she was going on and on about her husband, you would think they see each other every day. But the duo are seas and oceans apart.

“My husband is based in America. He stays like three months in the US and comes back home and stays like one month. We speak virtually every day on the phone.”

Does she really trust her husband that much to allow him stay far away from her, Spectacles asked.

“I don’t mind that he is overseas. Between man and God, I trust my husband with my life. I trust him to a fault. I believe so much in him and he believes so much in me. The problem of infidelity has no reason to arise at all.”

To up-and-coming actresses Lola advised, “Do not sell yourself because you want to be a star. I can boldly stand and say I never dated anybody in this industry. If I could do it and still was able to get to this level, then anybody can do it as well. Don’t give up on your dreams. If it is your destiny to get to the top, you will. Just trust in God."


Source:
http://www.nigeriafilms.com/news/1200/1/i-never-dated-governor-saraki-lola-alao.html

I NEVER DATED GOVERNOR SARAKI---LOLA ALAO

Lola Alao is one of the wave-making artistes in the movie industry. But her fame was not instantaneous, she paid her dues before she started soaring higher than high.
To many who may not know her one-on-one, it would seem as if the light complexioned actress carry so much airs around her. But come close to her and you would find out that she is just like the girl next door, as Spectacles found out during her latest movie premiere held in Lagos last Sunday.

Lola’s acting career started years ago with her role in the soap, Ripples. She showed her diversity as an actress when she switched over to movies by taking part in Black Encounter, an English movie. But she did not become a household name until she started featuring in Yoruba movies.

Now, Lola has become not only an actress, but also a producer and a scriptwriter. Many may call it being Jack of all trade; Lola would calls it competence.

“I read Theatre Arts. I know what it takes to be a full-fledged entertainment person. I know virtually all there is to know in all genres of the arts, but I chose to restrict myself to just these three,” she said.

Before she established herself as an actress, Lola was an air hostess.

“I was an air hostess with Okada Airlines. I did that a couple of years before I left.”

For somebody who had been an air hostess, it was ironic that she suddenly developed phobia for flying. She quickly had to resign. Don’t blame her though, a plane crash that claimed the lives of some soldiers years back got her wary of flying.

“My father was a soldier. When a plane crash killed those soldiers, I had to have a re-think. I found out that the job was so risky, so I resigned.”

After her resignation, she was able to work in a few other places before making her first contact with the movie industry.

“I was in Zeb Ejiro’s Ripples. Thereafter, I featured in Fortunes as well as Magnet; and then, Super Story before I decided to produce my own movie, Bitter Encounter.”

Though she became a screen wonder, Lola decided to go to school to hone her skills in the acting world and to overcome inferiority complex.

“I believe that whatever you do, you should do it well and become a professional in it. I love acting, so I had to go get a degree so that when others are talking, I too will boldly step out as a graduate.”

Now, she has been shot to the limelight with well over 60 movies in her back pocket. She no longer dances to anybody’s tunes.

“It has gotten to a stage where I can dictate to producers and tell them what I want. They are no longer doing me a favour. I no longer beg for roles. It is no longer like those days we were looking for fame, and then we would bow down and tell them, ‘Thank you sir’, for using me in their movies.”

Many may not even know that this actress started off with English movies. Now, Lola is stuck with her roles in the Yoruba movies and she does not even intend to stop.

She speaks Yoruba language fluently and hardly would one know that she is not Yoruba.

“I am from Kogi State. I am an Igbira lady. But I love the Yoruba people. They are very accommodating and that was the reason why I changed from doing English movies to Yoruba movies.”

As she has gotten to the top (or close to it), Lola readily agrees that stardom has affected her lifestyle, both positively and negatively.

“If I am travelling now, I am treated very well at the airport. There was a time I was coming back from London. The Customs officers at the airport said they wanted to search me. I agreed. Just as they opened my bag and saw CD jackets of my movies with my face plastered all over them, they asked me if I was a star and I said yes. Immediately, they apologised and they let me through. In Nigeria, I get things at the snap of my fingers. However, Agberos (miscreants) would not let me rest. They would hit on the car and ask for money. You are no longer free to do whatever you want to do.”

If she could go through customs at the airport without the routine check, could she not use the opportunity to engage in drug peddling like some of her colleagues are doing, Spectacles asked.

“I tell you, I have a daughter that I love so much. I know the kind of home that I came from and I cannot afford to spoil the name I have built over the years. It really depends on the individual. As far as I am concerned, I cannot descend so low to engage in drug peddling.”

She has not been engaged in any drug-related scandal, but she has sure been linked with extra-marital scandals. It was rumored that this damsel was dating one of the most dashing governors in the North-Central. It was even rumored that Lola’s husband was ready to boot her out because of the affair she was having with the governor.

But the Ale Ariwo actress debunked such rumours as a pack of lies.

“For crying out loud! The governor in question is Bukola Saraki. I never had anything to do with him. I am a married woman. I don’t know how the rumour came about.”

But there is usually some truth in every rumour, Spectacles posited.

“As for this particular rumour, there is no truth in it at all. I met him at the City Peoples awards. We did not come together. We did not sit together. He was on his own and I was on my own. I still don’t know how they managed to link us. If I see him today, I might not be able to recognise him let alone visit him. I have never spoken to him in my entire life.”

Lola said if she was not married to a very understanding husband, her marriage would have packed up.

“My husband knows me well and believes so much in me. You can imagine what that scandal would have caused if he didn’t trust me.”

The scandal didn’t make her quit her job either.

“He married me as an actress. When we were about getting married, I told him he was going to support me and he agreed. He cannot ask me to quit because he has been very supportive of my career. He has been wonderful.”

Lola has been married for five years and she is having the greatest time of her life.

“My husband is a very quiet person. He does not believe in all these gossips or whatever people say about me. He is very caring. Though marriages have ups and downs, we have been able to overcome all challenges and we are still together. I thank God for him because he has been there for me.”

With the way she was going on and on about her husband, you would think they see each other every day. But the duo are seas and oceans apart.

“My husband is based in America. He stays like three months in the US and comes back home and stays like one month. We speak virtually every day on the phone.”

Does she really trust her husband that much to allow him stay far away from her, Spectacles asked.

“I don’t mind that he is overseas. Between man and God, I trust my husband with my life. I trust him to a fault. I believe so much in him and he believes so much in me. The problem of infidelity has no reason to arise at all.”

To up-and-coming actresses Lola advised, “Do not sell yourself because you want to be a star. I can boldly stand and say I never dated anybody in this industry. If I could do it and still was able to get to this level, then anybody can do it as well. Don’t give up on your dreams. If it is your destiny to get to the top, you will. Just trust in God."


Source:
http://www.nigeriafilms.com/news/1200/1/i-never-dated-governor-saraki-lola-alao.html

Senate President Bukola Saraki on Monday attributed the inability of some state governors to meet their obligations to their workers and the entire citizens to the issue of corruption which, he said,  had assumed a worrisome development in the country.

Saraki stated this when the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission,  Mr.Ekpo Nta, led top officials of his agency to pay him a courtesy visit.

The senate president lamented that the embarrassing level of corruption in the country had taken a dangerous dimension to the extent that the three tiers of government were finding it difficult to pay salaries and provide basic social infrastructure.

He said, “The 8th Senate has a position on zero tolerance for corruption. We want to make it a priority. For us,  we have realised that it is truly endangering the entire system. It is affecting our national development.

“The cost of corruption on our national life is beyond financial cost. You see in some states now that they are not paying salaries, it  had led to poor funding of the education and health sectors and it’s affecting cost of governance and failure of public institutions and infrastructure.”

“For the eight senate,  making the fight against corruption a priority is a must and we are committed to that. Our goal is to work with you to reduce significantly,  the level of corruption in this country.”

He pledged that the eight senate would work closely with the ICPC and other anti graft agencies to fight the scourge.

He said, “There are  things we ought to do that would help prevention especially among the professionals. Bankers who notice that the account of an Assistant Directors is running into billions of Naira should have a way of blowing the whistle. We have to be creative to bring everybody along.”

The ICPC boss said the  Act that established the agency, which was enacted in year 2000, was the first Act of parliament that addressed corruption directly and that the United Nations convention against corruption came four years later in 2004.

He noted that the issue of corruption in the country has always been there, not that it was impressed upon the country by the International Community.

President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has condemned in strong terms Sunday’s bomb attack on innocent worshippers at a church in Potiskum , Yobe state.
“My heart is with individuals and families who were directly or indirectly affected by this ungodly, sadistic and evil act,” Saraki said in a statement from his Media Office in Abuja.
Saraki added: “Sending Nigerians to their untimely grave can never be the solution to any religious, political or economic grievances.
“Besides, the Federal Government has demonstrated enough political will to engage any group in dialogue aimed at bringing these vicious and sad attacks to a final stop.
“The recent position of the Federal Government that it would not oppose negotiation with the insurgents ‘if the Boko Haram terrorist group opt for it’ ought to be seen as an olive branch extended to the sect by the present administration. And I urge them to take advantage of that opportunity to drop their weapons.
“I urge Nigerians not to give in to fear or be discouraged as a result of these renewed attacks as the Senate and the National Assembly under my leadership will maximally support President Muhammadu Buhari in his determination to retool and motivate the Armed Forces to decisively prosecute the war against terrorism”, the Senate President said.
He commended the military for their timely response and urged them to do all in their power to prevent this type of dastardly attacks in future.
Saraki further urged all Nigerians, especially the Muslim faithful, to use the holy month of Ramadan to seek God’s intervention on ways and means to end all forms of insecurity in the country.

Senate Beyond the Noise
By Yusuph Olaniyonu
It is just three weeks since the Eight Senate was inaugurated on the proclamation prepared by President Muhammadu Buhari. Since then, a lot has happened within the institution which under normal circumstances should have attracted positive attention from members of the public, including the ardent critic of the nation's legislature. However, all the developments in that upper chamber of our legislature had been overshadowed by the din emanating from the circumstances in which its leadership emerged.
The quest and hunger for sensationalism and controversy by the press and its audience as well as the deliberate propaganda by a power group in the polity has made it impossible for people to see the Senate beyond the externally propelled and inspired schemings, quarrel and struggle for power that attended the election and selection of its leadership.
After the June 9 inauguration in which Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki was elected Senate President, he has continued to articulate the issues which he believed should be the focus of the eight Senate. The man had talked about the need for the Senate in particular, and the National Assembly, as a whole, to be prepared to support the programmes, policies and projects of President Buhari with enabling laws, motions and moral force necessary for their accomplishment. The President had spoken about addressing the issues of security, unemployment, corruption, development of agriculture and mining as ways to diversify the economy, improving on power and fuel supply, among others.
The Senate President therefore believe there is need for the federal legislature to develop a legislative agenda which will complement the identified direction of the Presidency. There are two indicators that can give anybody the direction that Saraki is already nudging the Senate. One is the various groups that the Senate President has hosted so far. Another one is the committees that he has set up and the address to the visitors and the committee members.
The Senate President had deliberately opened his office doors to visitors who can be of help to the realisation of his plans. First to visit was the civil society. They visited Senator Saraki exactly a week after his election as Senate President. Their visit was to open discussion with the Senate President on how to create an open, transparent and just process in the affairs of the federal legislature.
In his address to the group under the aegis of Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Saraki said the 8th Senate has an agenda to bring the lawmaking process through broader participation. " We are determined to have a more focused legislative session that will prioritise on bills that will help us deal with revenue leakages, inculcate accountability, reduce impunity and ensure prudence in our public governance through a concerted oversight function".
He enjoined the civil society to help "galvanize civil support and provide field feedback that will enrich the deliberation and implementation of these agenda". "We believe that this will further enrich our democratic process, guarantee public buy-in and ultimately empower our people". The ultimate aim of engaging with the civil society is "to help the government of the day to actualise its policy agenda of reducing unemployment, infrastructure renewal, improvement of the business environment, power generation, justice delivery and agriculture".
By June 24, the next critical group of visitors were the National Executive Council members of the Nigeria Bar Association led by Mr. Augustine Aleghe (SAN). The Senate President believe there is need for partnership between the bar and the law making institution so that the instrumentality of the law can be used to effect the positive change that APC promised Nigerians in the last general elections. He told the senior lawyers that " the NBA has been at the forefront of advocating and advancing legal and political reforms in Nigeria (and) the change that our people voted for is in line with the ideals the NBA has consistently advocated over the years : better justice system, accountability, improved business environment , reform of the criminal justice system and the advancement of our people's rights and opportunities".
He said the federal legislature under his leadership aim to help the executive plug the loopholes in the revenue mobilization and management systems which have made accountability of public funds very weak, leading to brazen corruption and mismanagement in the system.
From now on, he said the Senate will improve on the budgeting process to make it easier for scrutiny, interrogation and accountability.
Saraki appealed to the NBA to help the Senate to achieve a reform of the justice system to improve justice delivery system, strengthen alternative dispute resolution systems, reduce delay in courts, improve our people's confidence in its processes and incentive arbitration and remove regulatory bureaucratic bottleneck.
Then, the oil sector operators gathered under the umbrella of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce to discuss with the Senate President. The Senate President used the occasion to articulate the objective of the Eight Senate which included partnering with the government on how to deal with the common challenge of falling price of oil in the international market.
"We are desirous of having an oil industry comparable in structure, systems and output with international best practices...The oil and gas industry in Nigeria needs to evolve . We know the importance of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in making this happen", the Senate President's speech directly posed a challenge to the team led by Mrs Elisabeth Proust, the Managing Director of Total Oil.
As he told the OPTS, the Senate President in an earlier speech while receiving the delegation from Shell Production and Development Company led by the MD, Mr. Osagie Okunbor stated that the falling oil price presented a golden opportunity for the oil companies to retool and become much more efficient and proactive.
"It is high time we eliminated gas flaring in the country, deal with oil spills and third party related spills in a manner that is responsible and just to those affected", he said. He expressed the willingness of the Senate to work with operators in the oil industry to ensure that the PIB is passed into law to stimulate investment in the industry.
"We are open to your suggestions and opinion on how we can move the industry forward so that investment decisions are not tied down. We are determined to ensure that our partnerships endures and we can do our best to promote the growth of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria so that it becomes an index for measuring international best practices, competition, transparency and environmental friendliness", he said.
In the last three weeks too, Saraki played host to envoys from United States, Britain, China and France, all of whom came to assess the man and listen to his agenda, particularly to judge whether he shares the same goals and objectives with the new President of Nigeria. However, all the envoys had left fully satisfied that a competent, mature, exposed and intelligent man is heading the new Senate and that there is no cause for alarm in the synergy that will exist between the two critical arms of government in Nigeria that is destined to change for the better.
Incidentally, the Senate President had used all the occasions to also tell his guests about the two committees he inaugurated on June 25 with the aim of markedly defining the road map for the Senate. The Committee on Finance of the Senate is billed to submit its report this week. The report is aimed at opening up the financial process in the Senate for public scrutiny so that members of the public can easily access the facts and figures on the finances of the institution. The plan is to eliminate rumour and exaggeration concerning the budget and funding of the senate. This will encourage accountability, transparency and financial discipline in the Senate.
As for the committee on Legislative Agenda, their duty is to develop a plan of action for the Senate. The primary aim of the plan is to improve on service delivery to the people.. This plan of action becomes the barometer and standard with which members of the public can measure the success or otherwise of the Eight Senate. Thus, the Senate is putting itself up for public scrutiny, judgement and periodic assessment.
Accompanying the Senate President to these sessions were Senators from the two parties who also use the occasion to familiarise themselves with the goals and objectives of the new Senate leadership. One would think that debating some of these plans, goals and objectives emanating form these sessions with degrees will help the legislative institution to grow and serve the purpose for which the members are elected, rather than focusing on the issue of what complexion the leadership has and which camp they belong to or who is sporting their candidacy.

Olaniyonu is Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the Senate President.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki also condemned the recent Boko Haram attacks which took place in Borno State.
         
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has said that the Muhammadu Buhari administration is capable of effectively fighting the Boko Haram sect and ridding the country of insecurity.

Saraki also condemned the recent Boko Haram attacks which took place in Borno State.


The Senate President made the comments on Thursday, July 2, 2015, via a statement released by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu.

It reads:

"It was really a sad day for me to learn that suicide bombers unleashed attack on the people on a day the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, visited Maiduguri to see things for himself and also visit beleaguered families and communities whose lives and means of livelihoods have been adversely affected by the barbaric acts of the insurgents."

"Boko Haram is not invincible and I have no doubt that the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari possesses the requisite political will and determination to decisively fight the insurgents and restore security to affected areas."

"Any life lost in these type of tragic circumstances is a star dimmed and it is my firm commitment that the Senate and indeed the National Assembly under my leadership will continue to fashion appropriate legislation aimed at strengthening the capacity of the present administration to appropriately prevent and respond to life wasting emergencies such as we have just witnessed."

Meanwhile, Buhari is reportedly not on speaking terms with Saraki due to the Senate President's defiance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest and win the position.