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Senate Reviews CCB Act …Bill Passes Second Reading …Tasks FG On Chibok Girls’ Rescue
L-R: Director-General Oganiru Enugu State Investment Summit, Mr Ike Chioke, Chairman United Bank For Africa, Mr Tony Elumelu, Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu and Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, during the 2016 Oganiru Enugu State Investment Summit in Enugu onTuesday
The Senate, yesterday, passed for second reading, a bill seeking to amend the Act establishing the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and its tribunal.
Leading debate on the bill, which was read for the first time on Tuesday, the sponsor, Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP Delta-North), said that the amendment would redraft section 3(d) of the Act.
Nwaoboshi said that the procedural codes that were being employed by the bureau’s tribunal were not provided for in the nation’s Constitution.
Senators who contributed threw their weight behind the amendment of the Act. Sen. Dino Melaye (APC Kogi-West) said that the amendment was very apt as it had become clear that the CCT was delving into criminal trials.
Melaye urged all senators to support the amendment, stressing that it was justified. Other senators who contributed included Jubrin Barau (APC Kano North), Sam Anyanwu (PDP Imo East) and the Minority whip, Biodun Olujimi.
Olujimi said “we are licensed as senators to look at Acts and Laws to see how we can make them better: there is no doubt that this Act needs amendment.
“We do not want the Act to be used inconclusively; this is a straight forward thing, it should go to the committee and we conclude.’’
However, Sen. Yahaya Abdulahi (APC-Kebbi North) while supporting the amendment, expressed reservations over the timing in view of ongoing trial of the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, at the CCT.
He said that although the amendment was apt, the perception of Nigerians, especially with regard to the timing should be taken into consideration.
“But for the credibility of this senate I think we should re-examine the timing of this,” he said.
In his remark Deputy President of the Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, who presided at the plenary, said that the amendment had nothing to do with the trail of the President of the Senate at the CCT.
He said that Saraki’s trial had already started before the amendment bill was introduced, adding that they had no link.
“This bill will not affect the proceedings at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
“We should not be afraid to do the job which the Constitution has given us.
“We support the CCB and the CCT but we must make sure that in doing their work, there must be fairness and respect for human rights.
“We must at all times be courageous to do our work,” he said.
The lawmakers voted for the passage of the bill for second reading and it was referred to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions and its Judiciary and Human Rights counterpart.
The committees were directed to submit their reports in two weeks The CCB amendment bill was laid on Tuesday alongside seven other bills among which is the amendment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
Meanwhile, the Senate, yesterday, resolved to invite the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno and other security chiefs to brief it on their efforts to secure the release of the Chibok school girls.
The upper chamber also commended the Bring Back Our Girls group for their doggedness in the campaign for the release of the Chibok girls.
It asked security agencies to do everything humanly possible to ensure the release of the girls.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion by Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) and three others entitled “Abduction of Chibok school girls-two years after.”
The motion elicited angry reactions from Senators who felt that two years was long enough for the government to have recovered the school girls.
Senator Melaye lamented the plight of the girls and their parents.
He insisted that the Federal Government cannot be said to have succeeded until the girls are rescued.
He said: “We cannot succeed as a government until those girls are released. Getting back the over 200 Chibok school girls into the society is important and a must for our security agencies.
“The abduction of over 200 girls by Boko Haram has wrongly affected us as a people as could be seen in the international condemnation of the government’s slow reaction to this unprecedented outrage committed against Nigerian womanhood. Never before has such criminal viciousness been perpetrated on Nigerian womanhood.”
Melaye noted that yesterday “made it 730 days, 17520 hours and 1,051 minutes that our Chibok school girls have been under captivity. It will be recalled the night of 14-15 April, 2014, 276 girls were kidnapped from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, the responsibility for the abduction was claimed by Boko Haram. Luckily, 57 of the school girls managed to escape making 219 still missing.”
He said that outside propaganda videos created by the Islamist militant group, none of the girls has been seen and the families of the missing girls have been traumatized because of their daughters.
Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, in his contribution said that Melaye and some other members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) used the abduction of the Chibok school girls to win last year’s general elections.
Akpabio wondered why those who led protests against the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan to rescue the girls have suddenly kept mum.
He said, “I remember in 2014, Dino Melaye used to wear T-shirt and he led the protest to ensure that the abducted school girls were released.
The Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) has unveiled measures to enthrone ease of doing business and win back the confidence of the business community.
The Director-General of the Agency, Dr Chamberlain Peterside, unveiled the plans at the Breakout Session of RSIPA at the ongoing 18th Port Harcourt International Trade Fair, at the Obi Wali International Cultural Centre, in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Peterside said the agency was poised to free the state from accumulation of wrong narratives that branded it over the years as unsafe for business.
He, however, admitted that many things had gone wrong in the past where regulators joined to make the business environment difficult for investors.
He announced that the agency was rather focused on actions, solutions, and results as adopted in the mission statement of the Board.
“Our task is no mean feat. We are dealing with the perception risk that over several years branded the state as unsafe. We are also faced with the challenges of dealing with the lack of cohesion amongst MDAs, policy inconsistencies, multiple taxation, incessant harassment by miscreants, red tape and delays in obtaining operating permits, high cost of operations and opaque public sector,” he said.
“It is about listening to the investors in the field and ensuring that MDAs are carried along, hence the imperative for the setting up of our One-Stop-Center”, he added.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, who represented the state governor, said the Fubara administration was ready to listen to the business community to see ways of reducing impediments to investments.
He listed the stages of actions being undertaken by the governor as outlined in his 37-page blue print to revive the economy of Rivers State.
The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, who was presented at the event as a star investor and promoter of Rivers State reputation, said for the plans of the investment promotion agency to materialize, an enabling law should replace the Executive Order that established the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency.
He said this would insulate the agency from political instability and remove fear in the minds of investors about its sustainability.
According to him, protection precedes promotion and Local Direct Investment (LDIs) is what attracts and promotes Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs).
“It is the rat at home that reveals to the one in the bush that there is fish in the kitchen”, he added.
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?The Mayor of Housing who is also the CEO of the Alesa Highlands Sustainable Green Smart City said that Port Harcourt is like a business empire under lock and key because it is not protecting its own and also not promoting its own enough for investors to come in.
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?In the area of land documentation and inventory, China urged Rivers State Government to borrow a leaf from Abuja and adopt the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in dealing with land and property registration and documentation for ease of doing business.
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?He said Lagos understood the power of business information, adding “this creates the impression that if you are not doing it in Lagos, you are not doing it in Africa.
“We need to shout louder than Lagos, because we need more investments than Lagos and the structural integrity of Abuja. When you marry both, Rivers State would be wonderful and become green with investments,” he said.
In her speech, the President of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Dr. Chinyere Nwoga, called on the state government to look into the menace of parked trucks now turning Trans-Amadi into a risk zone.
She outlined the activities of the PHCCIMA and invited investors and businesses to the Port Harcourt economic hub, saying peace has returned.
The Director, Investors Relations of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Mrs Lovina Kayode, urged Rivers State to make haste and catch up on Ease of Doing Business, saying the Council has come to help businesses in the state.
Mrs Kayode, who represented the Executive Secretary/CEO of NIPC, Aisha Rimi, commended the Mayor of Housing and his counterpart, Mr. Oliver Biedima of Rainbow Heritage Group, for their decision to invest in Rivers State, saying it is a proof that Rivers State is safe for investors and their investments.
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In his remarks, Oliver Biedemi of Rainbow Heritage Group urged government to give the private investors chance to develop the economy, saying ordinarily government does not have the funds to develop the economy.
Happy Birthday Chief Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON
Honourable Minister Federal Capital Territory
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We’ll Drive Tinubu’s Vision in Rivers With Vigour – Fubara …Inaugurates Dualized Ahoada/Omoku Road ….Debunks Rift With RSHA
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that he will lead Rivers people to galvanize support for President Bola Tinubu to drive the vision and objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda in the State with vigour.
The governor, who joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, explained that his decision to join the APC was not for personal interest but for the overall benefit of Rivers State.
Fubara disclosed these while inaugurating the extension of the dualized Ahoada/ Omoku Express road in Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
He commended the contracting firm, Julius Berger, for timely delivery of the project, saying the project is a campaign promise fulfilled which will bring economic benefits to the people and tackle issues of insecurity associated with the route.
He said his administration has remained focused in delivering democratic dividends in the state despite facing glaring challenges.
The governor thanked the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas for their continuous support, and urged his supporters to remain steadfast and also support President Tinubu who he said, has demonstrated love to Rivers State as a father.
Fubara denied having rift with the Rivers State House of Assembly, stating that his meeting with the lawmakers was stalled as a result of delay in the agreed meeting to be convened by former Governor Nyesom Wike and other stakeholders for him to meet with the state lawmakers.
“I have made every effort to meet with the Assembly members, but it is not within my leadership to initiate the meeting process.
“The arrangement was for my leader, Wike, and the elders led by Anabraba to call for a meeting with the the lawmakers.
“I’m a gentleman and principled. I can’t go behind to call them when we’ve already agreed. Whoever that tell them that I don’t want to meet with them, or I rejected proposal meant for them isn’t saying the truth,” Fubara said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry Works, Mr Austin Ezekiel-Hart, who gave the project description, said the delivery of the project was a fulfillment of long time dream by the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas.
He said the road was previously a single lane and has now been dualised to 14.6 meters wide, complete with solar-powered streetlights with drainages.
He said the road significantly would reduce travel time between Ahoada and Omoku while improving economic activity in the region.
In his welcome address, Chairman of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area, Hon. Chuku Shedrack Ogbogu, described the road as a symbol of unity, oneness, and development, thanking the governor for fulfilling his campaign promises.
On his part, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Engr. Peer Lusbash, said the project was awarded to his company in 2023 with a completion period of 18 months which was achieved in best quality.
He added that Julius Berger enjoyed a good support from the Fubara administration, and assured to complete all ongoing projects being handled by Julius Berger on specification, especially the Ring Road project which is a legacy project.
