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Ninth National Assembly Most Productive -Buhari …As Lawan Says Buhari Is Most Parliament-Friendly President

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As the Ninth Assembly winds up in the next two weeks , President Muhammadu Buhari has described the ( Ninth ) National Assembly as the most productive just as the leadership of the Assembly lauded Buhari for being the most parliament-friendly President.
Buhari made the remarks while commissioning the permanent site of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), an agency of the National Assembly.
Buhari said the achievements of his government were due to the harmonious relationship between the Executive and the Legislature.
His words “As you are all aware, I have traversed all parts of Nigeria in the last few days commissioning several critical infrastructures that our administration has completed over the last eight years.
Our successes as a government are primarily due to the harmonious relationship between the Executive and the Legislature.
The Legislature is the cornerstone of any democracy. It is vital to ensuring that the wishes and aspirations of all Nigerians are considered during the lawmaking process. It also performs critical function of overseeing the Executive and ensuring government spending aligns with Legislative intents.
“From the moment of my election in 2015 and subsequently, I supported the idea of an independent National Assembly to decide it’s leadership and develop it’s agenda in line with the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress(APC).
“I refrain from meddling in the affairs of the Legislature and promote, instead, a culture of mutual respect and collaboration between the two arms.
“The numerous positive outcomes for our country underscore the importance of a harmonious Executive/Legislature relationship.
“Working with the National Assembly, we have passed an unprecedented number of Bills into law, provided funding for key infrastructure … and address some of the long standing challenges which have hampered economic growth and development.
“Our achievement in reforming the oil and gas sector, strengthening the electoral framework, diversifies our economy, improving transparency and accountability, tackling insecurity and entrenching good governance are easily verifiable.
“This Ninth Assembly will be remembered as one of the most productive in terms of output and outcomes. I thank the leadership of the National Assembly for giving me the support required to deliver on my promises to Nigerians,” Buhari said.
Earlier, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said Buhari is most parliament friendly President since the beginning of the Fourth Republic.
Lawan said Buhari had identified himself as one President who cared and catered for the National Assembly and expressed gratitude to him for the approval that he gave for the renovation of the National Assembly complex.
“I cannot leave this place without emphasizing what you have been able to achieve with us in the Ninth National Assembly.
“Whatever we have done here is because you allowed us to do it. Whatever the Executive had been able to achieve, and you have achieved a lot, is because this Ninth National Assembly has always been there to give you the kind of support that you need to achieve what you have so far achieved.
“About a week ago I cited a case of you being the most parliament friendly President since the beginning of the Fourth Republic. I am not saying the other Presidents were not friendly. They were but in varying degrees. Yours is total commitment to the Legislature.
“You have never interfered with what we do. You have never even asked that we should do this. You always believe that the National Assembly, especially this Ninth National Assembly, knows it’s challenges and therefore it can perform within the constraints.
“But one thing that you have achieved that past Presidents haven’t, is for you to within four years, 2019 to date, assent to over 100 bills that we have passed. And most of them are not common Bills. Very strategic, critical and crucial Bills, that will change the lives of citizens
“Our partnership has been working. It has worked in our work. It is working in our operations.
“I am going to take the opportunity here today to urge you Sir, that this(NILDS new building) is not only for National Assembly members, it is for all Nigerians and we will be pleased to see people from the executive arm of government coming to take some lessons in NILDS because that will help in understanding what National Assembly or parliament does.
“Also for us in the 10th National Assembly, having suffered serious and massive casualties of losing about 70 percent of our Senators and Members of the House of Representatives, it means we have to work hard on capacity building for the rest of us who will be new in the National Assembly.
“So this is an apt time to have NILDS permanent site commissioned and then NILDS will have to hit the ground running because there will be many who will need the capacity building that will be offered by NILDS.

By: Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja

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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.

He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.

“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.

“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.

 “We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.

“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.

He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.

Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.

He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.

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FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.

This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.

The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.

Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.

The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.

From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.

From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.

Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.

From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.

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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

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The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.

The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.

The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the  Polytechnic, recently.

Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.

He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.

This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly,  Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.

The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.

Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.

He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.

The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.

Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.

 

Chinedu Wosu

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