Politics
Assembly Watch
Lawmarkers in the Rivers State House of Assembly last week rejected a bill seeking to establish Internal Revenue Monitoring Agency based on the fact that an earlier law had covered the subject matter.
The bill, which was to be pronounced dead was however saved from immediate death and allowed to be put into the House pigeon hole.
Leader of the Assembly, Hon. Chidi Lloyd, who had earlier supported the bill to cure the leakages in the system, however, relied on House Order 34, Rule 12 to make another contribution to the issue at stake.
He urged the Speaker to read the mood of the lawmakers and defer debate on the bill indefinitely until such a time when the Assembly’s Business and Rules Committee would deem it necessary to reschedule the bill on the order paper.
Speaker, Rt Hon. Otelemaba Amachree through a unanimous voice vote allowed the bill to roll smoothly to sleep as there was no opposition to that effect because even the sponsor of the bill was absent from proceeding.
Earlier, the lawmaker representing Eleme and Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon. Josiah John Olu, said most of the sections contained in the bill were the same with the law recently passed by the Assembly and therefore urged the House to throw away the proposal.
To commence proceedings on Tuesday, Hon. John Olu, prayed God to grant the House members grace to carry out their functions to benefit Rivers people and equally asked God to touch the heart of the speaker to enable him make the lawmakers happy because the body was weak.
In another development, the repackaged Customary Court Law Amendment Bill was reintroduced to the House and given its first reading
The bill, which was earlier rejected by the House for structural defects, was sponsored by the lawmaker representing Etche Constituency II, Hon. Golden Chioma.
Presenting the bill, Tuesday, Hon. Chioma said the bill had been repackaged in line with the wish of the House and contains 18 parts with sections allowing the Customary Court to handle chieftaincy disputes, sharing of family property when a man dies without a will under the customary marriage.
Within the period under review, the Speaker read a letter from the Office of the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari requesting for a breakfast meeting with the honourable lawmakers.
He, therefore, directed the House Committee Chairman on Information and Training, Hon. Onari Brown to liaise with the Commissioner to arrive at a more convenient date and report back to him.
However, Tuesday’s sitting suffered a major set back as power failure hampered proceedings of the House for about one hour. The power outage came in the middle of the debate on the Revenue Monitoring Agency Bill.
The incident forced the Speaker to stand down the House for 30 minutes but only offered apologies on resumption to members.
Meanwhile, the much-expected first meeting between the Speaker of the Seventh Assembly and the House Press Corps scheduled for Thursday afternoon could not hold as the Speaker was said to be attending an emergency meeting.
Addressing press corps members who had waited for several hours, the Information and Training Committee Chairman, Hon. Onari Brown apologised on behalf of the Speaker and promised to facilitate the interface soon.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for political parties to submit the list of candidates for the 2027 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections from Saturday, August 8, to Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The commission announced the extension in a statement issued on Saturday and signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna.
According to INEC, the decision followed appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the submission process through the dedicated online portal.
“The submission window, which according to the revised Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the General Election was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, 8th August, 2026, has been extended to Tuesday, 11th August, 2026,” the commission said.
In a a related development, INEC announced the suspension of PVC collection in Osun State ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The commission said voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced Permanent Voter Cards would have until midnight on Sunday, August 9, to print downloadable copies of their cards.
The electoral body explained that the deadline was necessary to enable it compile data on downloaded PVCs and produce final statistics on the total number of cards collected ahead of the election.
INEC said PVC collection in Osun commenced at the Registration Area level from July 22 to 28, 2026, but was extended to July 31 following complaints about large crowds and difficulties experienced by voters at collection centres.
The exercise subsequently moved to the local government level and ran from August 1 to 7.
The commission also disclosed that replacement downloadable PVCs had been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas following the theft of cards during attacks on the two collection centres.
It stressed that the stolen cards could not be used to vote.
INEC reassured Osun residents of its preparedness for the August 15 governorship election.
“The commission reiterates that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
“INEC reassures the people of Osun State of its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on 15th August, 2026,” the statement said.
The commission said the deadline, initially set for Saturday, 8 August, has been extended to Tuesday, 11 August 2026, following appeals from political parties for more time.
INEC also announced that the window for voters who applied to replace lost, damaged or defaced PVCs to download their replacement cards will close at midnight on Sunday, 9 August.
The move is to enable the commission compile final PVC collection figures ahead of the 15 August Osun governorship election.
INEC said replacement downloadable PVCs have also been provided to affected voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central Local Government Areas after hoodlums carted away cards from two collection centres, stressing that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote.
The commission reaffirmed its readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive election in Osun State.
Gov. Kefas made the remarks over the weekend at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jalingo, during the flag-off of the second phase of the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach in Taraba State, organised as part of activities marking Prof. Yilwatda’s 58th birthday.
The governor commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing to mark his birthday by providing medical care to people in need.
“What Professor Nentawe did is a powerful demonstration of what leadership should be,” Gov. Kefas said.
He assured that his administration would continue to support initiatives that complement government efforts to improve healthcare delivery and the wellbeing of residents.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Yilwatda called on Nigerian leaders to embrace the culture of giving and use their positions to touch the lives of the less privileged.
He said his decision to celebrate his 58th birthday in Taraba State was deliberate and informed by the needs of underserved communities, particularly people who face difficulties accessing healthcare because of distance and financial constraints.
According to him, the intervention followed a needs assessment and was extended across the three senatorial districts of the state.
He said the exercise commenced on August 3 at Takum General Hospital and covered the Federal University Teaching Hospital, Wukari; First Referral Hospital, Sunkani, Ardo-Kola Local Government Area; General Hospital, Bali; General Hospital, Gembu; and FMC Jalingo.
Prof. Yilwatda said the intervention provided medical services to thousands of beneficiaries, including people who required surgical procedures.
He said sustainable national development could only be achieved when strong institutions placed Nigerians at the centre of development.
“Leadership is about service,” he said, urging political and public leaders to make giving back to society an important part of their responsibilities.
He reaffirmed his commitment to serving Nigeria and its people, saying his personal vision was to make every day of his life useful to humanity.
“Every day that I live, the vision is: let it be useful to humanity,” he said.
The Taraba State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bordiya Buma, commended the initiative, saying it was consistent with the Renewed Hope agenda and efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery in the state.
Dr Buma said the second phase followed the successful completion of the first phase, which was conducted simultaneously in six local government areas, with two LGAs selected from each of the three senatorial districts.
According to him, more than 10,000 patients were attended to during the first phase, including people with medical and surgical conditions.
He disclosed that 327 general surgeries, 71 eye surgeries and 575 dental procedures were carried out during the exercise.
The commissioner expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the Renewed Hope Medical Outreach and thanked Prof. Yilwatda for supporting the initiative and choosing Taraba State as a beneficiary.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, also commended Prof. Yilwatda for choosing Taraba State to mark his 58th birthday through a medical outreach.
Prof. Pate said making healthcare the centrepiece of the birthday celebration was significant because health affects everyone.
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