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Senate Inaugurates Standing Committee to Ensure Compliance with Resolutions
The Senate, Tuesday, Inaugurated its standing Committee on Legislative Compliance aimed at enforcing its resolutions on all its standing committees as well as all the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government.
The committee, chaired by Senator Musa Maidoki (Kebbi South), was inaugurated by the Leader of the Senate and Chairman, Southern Senators’ Forum in the ninth National Assembly, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele.
Speaking during the inaugural meeting of the committee on Tuesday, Bamidele noted that part of the mandate of the committee was to oversight other standing committees as well as all MDAs of the federal government.
He observed that the mandate given to the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Musa Maidoki “can obviously make the committee big if he likes. He can as well make the committee strong if he likes.
“The mandate given to the committee is indeed huge and of national significance considering the impelling need to ensure implicit compliance with all resolutions of the Senate on all its standing committees and MDAs.
“You have the mandate of the Senate to invite any individual, senator, ministry, department or agency with a view to ensuring compliance with all our resolutions. By implication, the Committee on Legislative Compliance is the police of the Senate.
“It is therefore the responsibility of the Committee on Legislative Compliance to duly follow up and ensure compliance with all our resolutions. You need to draw a comprehensive agenda to work with and ensure the functionality of the committee.
“The committee can be as big as the Chairman of the Committee wants it to be. It can also be as strong as the Chairman of the Committee wants it to be,” the Senate leader observed at the inaugural meeting.
Bamidele explained that the challenge of the country was not to make legislations, but ensure outright compliance with laws passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly.
The senate leaders added that the Committee on Legislative Compliance “has mandate of the committee to invite any senator who refused to comply with all the rules of the Senate.”
Bamidele explained that the Committee on Legislative Compliance “is not meant to be anybody’s friend, neither is it constituted to be an enemy to anybody, but to ensure that the resolutions of the Senate are complied with.”
Also, at the inaugural meeting, Maidoki, the Chairman of the Committee, assured the leadership of the Senate of complying with the directive of the upper chamber on the mandate given to them.
Aides, Allies Disown Him, Say You’re a Traitor, We’re not Leaving PDP
Barely two weeks after his defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), crisis has enveloped the political camp of a member of the House of Representatives for Obokun/Oriade federal constituency in Osun State, Oluwole Oke.
Indeed, these are not the best of times for him as his defection to the APC is eliciting rejection from his close circles and constituency.
His key allies who he groomed into politics and government positions have rejected his calls on them to join him to defect to the APC.
A source said that in the last few days, key aides and allies of the lawmaker have rejected his movement to the APC, describing it as a political tragedy.
“With the way he betrayed PDP, Oluwole Oke is like the proverbial Leopard that can never change the spots on its body. He will also betray the APC. We are staying back in PDP while severing political links with him”, one of his allies, Bamidele Johnson said.
Some of his allies were said to have openly declared that the defection marks a political waterloo for the 6th term legislator.
For instance, some of Oke’s allies in his Local Government scorned his move as “a decision borne out of greed and selfishness.”
One of them described him as “an ingrate who betrayed a party on whose platform he got married in life as a lawmaker and on whose platform he gained all his material riches.”
The Northern Youths Consultative Forum for Justice (NYCJ) has urged Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State, citing a complete breakdown of governance, law, and order.
In a statement issued on Monday in Kano, NYCJ President Dr Sanusi Rano described the situation in Zamfara as “organised abandonment of duty” by elected officials.
“What we are witnessing in Zamfara is not governance. It is betrayal of the people,” Rano said, pointing to the absence of a functional state House of Assembly and allegations linking officials to criminal activities.
The group highlighted the suspension of 10 lawmakers who spoke out against the deteriorating security situation, arguing that their removal has left Zamfara without a legally recognised legislative body.
“This is a dictatorship of silence,” said Rano, adding that the lack of checks and balances has deepened the state’s crisis.
“The same hands that should protect Zamfara are profiting from its destruction,” Rano stated.
Calling for decisive action, the group demanded the appointment of a non-partisan administrator to rebuild the state’s institutions.
“If this is not done now, Zamfara risks becoming a permanent state of anarchy, which threatens our democracy,” Rano warned.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on Monday, sentenced the husband of late gospel singer, Osinachi, Peter Nwachukwu, to death by hanging.
Nwachukwu was found guilty of culpable homicide resulting in the death of the deceased ( his wife) on April 8, 2022.
The judge held that the prosecution had proven the burden of proof placed on it by the law and subsequently found the defendant guilty.
Nwachukwu was arraigned on June 3, 2022 by the Office of Attorney-General of the Federation (OAGF), on behalf of the Federal Government, on a 23-count charge .
The charge was on culpable homicide punishable with death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, criminal intimidation of children, spousal battery, among others.
In the course of trial, the prosecution called 17 witnesses, including two children of the late Osinachi, who testified as fourth prosecution and fifth prosecution witnesses, PW4 and PW5 respectively.
The prosecution also tendered 25 documents as exhibits before the court.
The defendant testified for the defence and further called four other witnesses and tendered four exhibits in his defence.
Shortly before sentencing, the defendant, counsel , Reginald Nwali, in his allocutus pleaded with the court to be lenient in its judgment.
Similarly, the prosecution counsel, Mrs Aderonke Imala, urged the court to give force to the law as stipulated.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme subsequently sentenced Nwachukwu to death by hanging on Count 1, while he was sentenced to two years imprisonment each on Counts 2, 3, 8,9, 12, 13, and 18.
The court sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment on Count 10, three years imprisonment in Count 11, while he was fined the sum of N500,000 and N200,000 respectively on Counts 6 and 7 respectively. (NAN)