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9th NASS: Omo-Agege’s Emergence, Desecration Of Senate -HURIWA
A Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, yesterday, called for the impeachment of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as the Deputy Senate President.
It said the credibility of the 9th Senate would be eroded if Omo-Agege was not impeached, adding that the National Assembly would remain a “mere political circus ring and a charade even.”
HURIWA stated this while describing the election of Senator Omo-Agege as the Deputy Senate President and Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the House of Representatives as a desecration of the legislative arm of government when the duo is “yet to fully and transparently clear their names against very damaging allegations of misdemeanour and fraud.”
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the Rights group insisted that the election of the duo was a sacrilege on the parliament.
The statement reads: “HURIWA described their election as a desecration of the central law-making organ of government with lasting consequences on the moral justifications of the legislation to be churned out from the 9th session of the National Assembly and constitute also a grave sacrilege on the parliament because of the hovering doubts that will linger in the minds of decent persons globally about the ethical challenges that confronted the duo which were never treated or resolved to the satisfaction of the principle of rule of law.
“We also condemn the All Progressives Congress(APC) for insisting on foisting the duo of Omo-Agege and Gbajabiamila which offends section 15 (5) of the Nigerian Constitution which states that the Nigerian State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.”
The Rights group said it was the “peak of corruption that two persons with questions to answer which in some cases borders of alleged criminal conducts of fraud and aiding and abetting the criminal invasion of the Senate and the violent theft of the Mace, the symbol of authority of the Senate, just as the group said the emergence of these two persons as Deputy Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives smacks of irresponsibility and crass insensitivity to the opinions of millions of the Citizens.”
Speaking specifically on the emergence of senator Omo-Agege as deputy senate president even after he was indicted by the 8th session of the National Assembly over his alleged role in the theft of the Senate mace by suspected armed hoodlums, HURIWA stated that the credibility and integrity of the Senate has been eroded and massively damaged irretrievably unless senator Omo-Agege is impeached from the high office of Deputy Senate President.
HURIWA said, “called on the Senate to impeach Senator Omo-Agege from the office of Deputy Senate President,” stressing that “so long as Omo-Agege remains the Deputy Senate President, the 9th session of the National will remain a mere political circus ring and a charade even as any laws emanating from such a body will have little or no credibility.
“We invite the senators to take a good look at the preponderance of overwhelming rejection of the election of someone who disrespected the constituted authority of the 8th session of the senate when he was suspended by the leadership of the then senate in session only for him to now emerge as deputy senate president. “This is comedy taken too far and will water-down the respect the rest of the world would have on our senate. What this action conveys to Nigerian youngsters is that it pays to misbehave and disobey constituted authority. This election of both Senator Omo-Agege and tje allegedly discredited lawyer Femi Gbajabiamila if allowed to remain will amount to the Canonisation of Rascality and Misconduct”.
The statement added: “It would be recalled that the National Assembly joint ad hoc committee recommended the immediate suspension of the senator representing Delta Central, OvieOmo-Agege, for 180 legislative days over the theft of the Senate mace. The recommendation was made by the committee investigating the invasion of the Senate at the conclusion of their investigation. The committee also recommended that Senator Omo-Agege be prosecuted alongside six other suspects who allegedly accompanied him into the chamber on the day of the incident. They are to be prosecuted for treasonable felony, assault on National Assembly members of staff, conspiracy to steal and eventual theft of the Senate Mace.
“The committee also recommends a total review of the National Assembly’s security architecture. These steps were never taken by the law enforcement agency under the direct control of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration because Senator Omo-Agege was then positioned as the chief loyalist of the Executive at war with the then-Senate President BukolaSaraki. “
HURIWA argued that the emergence of someone with this kind of disciplinary record as Deputy Senate president has graphically depicted Nigeria as a banana republic whereby misconduct is rewarded.
Besides, the Rights group recalled that for many years, “Gbajabiamila, has been accused of perpetrating fraud in the United States where he obtained a law degree and where he practised until his return to Nigeria to join partisan politics from the platform of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD).”
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.