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Senate moves to unearth root causes of economic sabotage in petroleum industry
Bamidele gave the assurance in a statement he signed on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said the upper chamber is committed to unearthing the roots of economic sabotage in the petroleum industry in the national interest.
“We will also develope institutional mechanisms that will make the industry more efficient and functional”.
He said: “As we return fully to the parliamentary sessions, the National Assembly will, without ambiguity, revisit its decision to decisively address challenges in the petroleum industry.
“The industry is not optimal in its performance. This may not be unconnected to crude oil theft, endless turn around maintenance of public refineries, importation of substandard petroleum products and disruption of fuel supply, among others.
“Before we went on annual recess, the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, constituted an ad-hoc committee to beam searchlights on all these issues.
“The Senate later expanded the scope of the committee to deal with diverse allegations of economic sabotage in the petroleum industry.
“Contrary to some media reports, the Senate never suspended its Ad hoc Committee to Investigate Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry.
“What happened was that the committee postponed its public hearing due to the need to address issues that border on the rules of the National Assembly.
“Both chambers of the National Assembly will resolve the issues and possibly constitute a joint committee that will continue with the investigation from where the ad hoc committee stopped”.
He further said that a ot of events indeed happened between the period we went on annual recess and now.
“The events obviously ranged from the nationwide protests to the return of long queues to our filling stations; festering instability in the foreign exchange market and flood disaster that escalated humanitarian crises in some states of the federation.
“Each of these public concerns, again, reminded us about the complexity of our socio-economic challenges; people’s desperation for multi-pronged antidotes.
“And the crucial tasks of transforming Nigeria to a federation we shall all be proud of someday.”
Bamidele also said that the Senate was expecting a new Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) from the Executive.
” MTEF is an integral part of our budget culture that emphasises a multi-year public expenditure planning exercise; sets out the future budget requirements for existing services among others.
“We are equally preoccupied with the review of the 1999 Constitution. In the Senate, the Constitution Review Committee is chaired by Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Jibrin Barau.
“In the coming weeks, the Committee will hold retreats and strategy sessions; call for memoranda and organise zonal meetings on some sections of our grundnorm that should be amended”.(NAN)
A former national chairman of the defunct Alliance National Party, Asiwaju Moshood Shittu, has urged opposition parties considering a merger to back former Kano State governor and New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as their presidential candidate in the 2027 election.
Speaking at a press conference, Shittu, who previously served as the Director-General (North) of Kwankwaso’s presidential campaign council, emphasised that the opposition’s best chance of defeating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu lies in uniting behind Kwankwaso.
He described him as the only aspirant with the experience, credibility, and political reach necessary to lead the coalition to victory.
“Kwankwaso has the pedigree to carry the merger’s presidential flag to success,” Shittu said. “With his vast experience in governance, clean record, and strong political followership, he stands out as the best candidate.”
He highlighted Kwankwaso’s extensive public service record, including his roles as a former defence minister, special envoy to Darfur and Somalia, and a member of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board.
Additionally, he recalled Kwankwaso’s tenure as deputy speaker during the short-lived Third Republic, his two terms as Kano State governor, and his leadership in national security and legislative affairs.
Shittu warned that failure to rally behind Kwankwaso could spell doom for the opposition’s merger efforts.
He dismissed other opposition candidates, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party’s Peter Obi, as lacking the necessary moral and qualitative competence to defeat Tinubu in 2027.
“This is the time to act in order to save our nation,” he declared. “The opposition must prioritise credibility, competence, and proven leadership if it truly seeks to unseat the incumbent president.”
Kwankwaso, who placed fourth in the 2023 presidential election, remains a key figure in Nigeria’s political landscape. However, it is unclear whether he will accept the call to lead a potential opposition coalition.
The Federal High Court has dismissed reports that the newly assigned judge in the case of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has stepped down.
The FHC, in a statement signed by the Chief Registrar, Sulaiman Hassan, on Tuesday described the report as “false and misleading.”
A publication circulating on social media had claimed that Justice John Tsoho, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, was the new judge in Kanu’s case and had withdrawn, citing the illegality of his arrest.
However, in the statement, the chief registrar said the claim was “entirely unfounded, fictitious, grossly mischievous, damaging in intent and should be disregarded in its entirety.”
“The attention of Management of the Federal High Court has been drawn, with great concern, to an online reportage as above captioned.
“The court unequivocally refutes the false and misleading report, alleging that the Honourable Chief Judge, Hon. Justice John T. Tsoho, OFR, has stepped down from Nnamdi Kanu’s case and made statements regarding the legality of his arrest,” the statement read.
According to Hassan, the true position is that the Justice Tsoho, in his capacity as Chief Judge, has reassigned Nnamdi Kanu’s case from Justice Binta Nyako to another (‘new’) Judge.
Hassan said, “The report referred to, is, therefore, totally spurious.
“The defence team should hence prepare to receive instructions regarding the case, as may be issued by the new judge.
“The Federal High Court strongly cautions against deliberate misinformation to mislead the public and erode confidence in the judicial system.
“We urge the general public to be wary and rely only on verified information from official court sources.
“The court remains steadfast in upholding justice through due process of the law.”
NAN reliably gathered, however, that the case between the Federal Government and Kanu had been reassigned to Justice James Omotosho, following Justice Nyako’s recusal (withdrawal).
NAN
The House of Representatives has ordered total shutdown of porn websites nationwide.
It directed the Nigerian Communications Commission to enforce the immediate shutdown of the websites in the country.
The House gave the directive during plenary on Tuesday.
The lawmakers suggested that the internet providers must block access under the new directive.
Member representing the Faskari/Kankara/Sabuwa Federal constituency, Dalhatu Tafoki, sponsored the motion, calling it a step to “protect societal values.”
He said, “I would like to move a motion for the need to block internet websites hosting pornographic content and sanction the internet service providers responsible for the posting. The House notes that cyber pornography is fast becoming a global problem, and no concrete steps have been taken to cut its phenomenon in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is a highly religious country, and all the major religions in the country forbid nudity and obscenity in any form. Also note that countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have passed legislation that bans pornography in their domains.
“Renowned psychologists and sociologists around the world have issued stern warnings that there are psychological and sociological consequences for creating ponographic content.
“The immediate effects of doing ponographic content include a. promotion of adultery, prostitution, and other promiscuous behaviours, leading to addiction, escalation, and desensitisation, change of attitude towards oneself and family.”
The House adopted the motion and mandated its Committees on Communications and Legislative Compliance to ensure its implementation and report within four weeks for further legislative action.
The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abass, also warned that sanctions would be imposed on internet service providers that default while lawmakers put a voice vote in favour of the motion.