Niger Delta

Long-Serving Lawmakers, Assets To Nigeria’s Legislature — Ndoma-Egba

Published

12 years ago

April 23, 2014

Senate Leader Victor
Ndoma-Egba has called for continuity in the leadership of the National Assembly, saying long-serving lawmakers were valuable assets to Nigeria’s legislature.
Ndoma-Egba told newsmen in Calabar that the absence of constitutional provision for term limit for lawmakers was because the legislature “ is a peculiar institution.’’
He also stated that the stability in the Senate was largely due to the fact that more old members were returning “to provide stability and a pool for recruiting leadership.’’
The senate leader emphasised the need to strengthen the National Assembly, saying it remained an important institution for the sustenance of the nation’s democracy.
He also said his desire to seek another term in the Senate in 2015 was not for selfish reasons but to provide leadership and add value to the law-making process.
He said: “My sojourn in the National Assembly has nothing to do with me as a person.
“ The National Assembly is a peculiar institution. For instance, if you become president tomorrow you have a very elaborate bureaucracy that will service you.
“Your predecessor will give you a handing over note. So government continues, whether it is civilian or military. You take the judiciary, you have the hierarchy of courts.
“You go to the Customary Court if you are not satisfied with their judgment you go to the Magistrates’ Court, the High Court, Court of Appeal until you get to the Supreme Court.
“ When you get to the Supreme Court, whatever it pronounces becomes judicial precedent and is binding on the lower courts; there is certainty.
“Because of its sophisticated archival system, if you are looking for a judgment between Agbokim and Etung given in 1893 you will find it.
“ So in the Executive, you have certainty; in the judiciary you have certainty.
“But it is different in the National Assembly and parliaments the world over; this is because 109 senators for instance are equal.
“ So for want of an appropriate term, I will say you have 109 sovereigns.
“In the House of Representatives you have 360 sovereigns. You have a bureaucracy that services the NASS but if you come to my office, I have my bureaucracy.
“ It is part of my bureaucracy. Each of us has individual bureaucracy.
“And the legislative work needs your understanding of the rules, the understanding of the constitution and ability to network and create an appropriate working environment.
“So the day you are going, you go with everything you have acquired. In the legislature there is no handing over note.
“And that is why in virtually any constitution, there is a term limit for the executive but no term limit for the legislature.
“Most members of judiciary have a retirement age.
‘’In the U.S. they do not have a retirement age. In Nigeria there is a retirement age. When you get to 65 years you may retire and when you get to 70, you must retire.
“But if you go to the NASS, there is an entry qualification – 30 years with School Certificate equivalent for House of Representatives and 35 years for school certificate equivalent for Senate – but there is no retirement age, there is no term limit.’’
He also recalled the U.S. experience to drive home the call for more experienced lawmakers at the National Assembly.
“In established democracies like the U.S., if six serving senators lose their seats it is considered an upheaval.
‘’For instance, for you to be Chairman, Rules and Business Committee of the U.S Senate, you must have spent an unbroken 26 years in the Senate.
“The two most experienced senators that we have are Sen. David Mark and Sen. Bello Gwarzo who came in 1999.
“ If you combine both of them, they barely qualify to be Chairman, Rules and Business Committee of the U.S. Senate,” Ndoma-Egba said.
“May be in the future, Nigeria will get there but you can see the trend that we are moving there.
“ You can now see the stability of the Senate because we are getting more and more old members returning.
“It is stabilising and providing a pool for recruiting leadership.
‘’It is not about me but there is need for us to strengthen the NASS which is the weakling of our democracy even though it is the most important of our democracy,’’ he said.

Niger Delta

Stakeholders In Delta Seek Stronger GBV Action, Women’s Leadership

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

Stakeholders in Delta State convened in Asaba for a leadership workshop organised by Otdel Health Heritage and Environmental Initiative (OHHEI), focusing on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and women’s participation in decision-making processes.

OHHEI Project Director, Mr. Peter Olayinka, represented by a consultant, Juliet Obiajulu, urged participants to contribute meaningfully toward advancing women’s leadership and combating GBV across communities in the state.

He said the workshop aimed to strengthen participants’ capacity to influence policies, challenge harmful cultural norms, and reinforce initiatives designed to prevent and respond to GBV.

Olayinka said women often faced bias even when they occupied leadership positions, and stressed that gender diversity improved the quality of decision-making and promoted innovation and accountability in governance structures.

Speaking, the Chairperson of the Association Against Child Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Mr Eris Jewo-Ibi, identified cultural norms, domestic responsibilities, political resistance, and grassroots barriers as constraints to women’s participation.

Delta State GBV Desk Officer, Mrs. Rosemary Okpuno, emphasised that effective decision-making required women’s perspectives, adding that inclusion remained critical to addressing persistent gender-based challenges.

Voke Angbagh of the Delta State Ministry of Justice outlined penalties for rape and called for the establishment of special courts to handle sexual offences cases.

Angbagh said frequent adjournments delayed justice for survivors, stressing that dedicated sexual offences courts would ensure timely trials and stronger protection for victims in Delta State.

The Tide’s source reports that facilitators identified cultural acceptance of violence, unequal power relations, discrimination, poverty, limited education, and low self-esteem as major drivers of GBV.

They emphasised that violence and exclusion resulted in social, physical and emotional harm, imposed economic costs, reinforced harmful stereotypes, and widened existing gender inequalities.

The source also reports that OHHEI, a local non-profit organisation, focuses on education, health, environment, and social justice, promoting sustainable development initiatives with gender equality at the centre of its interventions.

Niger Delta

C’River Suspends Taskforce Activities Over Drivers’ Protest

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Cross River State Government has suspended all taskforce activities connected to commercial transportation and ticketing across the state.

The State Governor, Bassey Otu, announced the suspension at an emergency stakeholders meeting on Friday in Calabar.

It would be recalled that commercial drivers in Calabar metropolis took to streets on Thursday to protest alleged multiple taxation and extortion by government agencies.

During the protest, the drivers alleged that taskforce groups claiming to represent the state government openly harassed and extorted them.

Represented at the meeting by Ekpenyong Akiba, his Special Adviser on General Duties, Otu said the suspension would subsist pending further review of the situation.

The Governor stated that the state government did not commission anyone to extort drivers in the name of task force.

He urged commercial drivers and other road users to remain law-abiding while government worked out a lasting solution.

On his part, the Chairman, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, Calabar Metropolis, Mr. Sunday Dennis, expressed optimism that the dialogue would yield positive results.

He said the meeting had provided an opportunity for the aggrieved commercial drivers to present their concerns directly to the state government.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Unified Drivers Association, Mr. Nta Henshaw, described the harassment on drivers as worrisome, and urged the state government to be decisive in resolving the matter.

Niger Delta

A’Ibom Assembly Urges More Private Investments In Agriculture

Published

3 days ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Committee on Nutrition and Food Security has called for more private sector investments in agriculture.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Moses Essien, made the call when the committee visited Aviclaire Farms, a private establishment in Usung Idem, Uruk Usoh in Abak Local Government Area.

Essien, who represents Ibiono Ibom in the Assembly, commended the Management of the farm for partnering an NGO, ECEWS, to promote private investment in agriculture.

He commended the partners for adopting climate-smart agriculture initiatives in their operations, adding that such move would promote food security.

“Your interest in using transformative intervention to promote food security is a veritable way of complementing the efforts of the state government,” he said.

The lawmaker continued that adopting practical climate-smart agriculture model would help to generate employment, improve nutrition outcomes, and strengthen food sufficiency.

He further said he was impressed with the strides recorded by the partners, saying, “your investment has created jobs for no fewer than 2,000 youths.

”You are an example of an environment-friendly investor. I urge Akwa Ibom residents to embrace environment-friendly and technology-driven agriculture models,” he said.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, ECEWS, Dr. Andy Eyo, who conducted the committee round the farm, said the collaboration was conceived to demonstrate the viability of climate-smart farming in ensuring food sufficiency.

Eyo said the farm, which commenced operations with four greenhouses, had expanded to 14 within two years, and currently supplying high-quality produce to major markets in Uyo and neighbouring communities.

He said ECEWS was exploring cooperative frameworks to enable rural farmers and women’s groups to adopt greenhouse technology for sustainable livelihoods.

In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Aviclaire Farms, Mrs. Victoria Eyo, said the controlled-environment ensured precision cultivation and consistent yields.

She further said the farm served as a capacity-building centre for students, interns, and agri-business trainees.