PHOTOS FROM WEDDING ENGAGEMENT OF SENATE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER

Photos from wedding engagement of Senate President's daughter Toyin  Saraki and  Prince Adeniyi Olukoya yesterday October 28th ...
Some of the dignitaries who graced the wedding include; Vice President Yemi Osibanjo and wife, Lai Mohammed, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,Chief John Oyegun, Ben Bruce and others.

POSTERS TO RECALL BUKOLA SARALI POPS UP IN ILORIN!

Trouble may be looming for Senate Presidnet, Bukola Saraki as posters calling for his recall begin to pop up in Ilorin, the Kwara State .

 The circulating poster was designed and shared by a group called 'Kwara Must Change', titled ' Itanje Dopin Ni Ilorin'.  So far, there's no official statement from the group or any response from the office of the Senate President.

SENATE PASSES NIGERIAN PEACE CORPS BILL

 The  Senate on Tuesday passed the bill seeking to establish the Nigerian Peace Corps in concurrence with the House of Representatives.

The Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, in its report, which was considered at the plenary on Tuesday, strongly criticised the establishment of the corps.

But the lawmakers adopted the report of the Senate and the House of Representatives’ Conference Committee, which was presented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Bayero Nafada.



The NPC bill was passed in the House of Representatives in June 2016, while it was passed in the Senate in November of the same year.

In the report represented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, David Umaru, at the plenary on Wednesday, the panel picked holes in the creation of the NPC but said there was the need to reciprocate House’s passage of the bill.

The report stated in part, “The powers, functions, e.t.c., of the Peace Corps call for concern and this committee would wish that they are subjected to further examination.

“The creation of jobs through this platform is laudable but this can be achieved by strengthening existing agencies and not necessarily creating a new one so as not to overburden the Federal Government; and that the Committee noted that the House of Representatives has adopted the Conference Report and the need for reciprocity.”

The report read in part, “After the presentation of the report (by Nafada-led committee), sundry issues were raised, which elicited debate for and against the consideration of the Conference Report.

“After extensive deliberations, the Senate in its wisdom deferred consideration of the Conference Report and mandated the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to look into the issues raised and report back.

“It is on record that the Senate is not considering the bill afresh but is addressing the uncertainties surrounding the Peace Corps that were raised at the plenary when the Conference Report was presented.

“The issues raised by distinguished senators at the plenary are fundamental and they go to the roots of the corps’ operations, which are subject of litigation.

“The operations of an organisation like the Peace Corps in other jurisdictions, particularly in the United States, the American Peace Corps which is used as a model does not operate as a permanent and pensionable employment as intended in Nigeria under this proposed legislation.

“Rather, its employment is for a limited period of five years only for regular employees and 24 months for volunteers.

“The operation of the Peace Corps is limited to social and economic development only in other jurisdictions as indicated in their mandate, pursuant to Section 591 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990, in the case of Nigerian Peace Corps.”

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, in his remarks, said, “The long journey has finally reached the Promised Land.”

"CUSTOM BOSS CAN WEAR WHATEVER HE LIKES AS LONG AS HE ENDS SMUGGLING"~~ SARAKI

The Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, retired Colonel Hameed Ali has been having issues with the Senate over his failure to wear Customs uniform.......
but he can wear jeans and T-shirt to office if he ends smuggling, Senate President Bukola Saraki has said.

Saraki said this while declaring open a public hearing on ‘Smuggling - A threat to Nigeria’s quest to self sufficiency in rice production’ yesterday.

Saraki, in the presence of Ali, said: “Once you end smuggling, even if you want to wear jeans and T-shirt, I will personally move the motion to support you”.

Edited from Daily Trust

ON OSINBAJO IMPEACHMENT BY Prof Itse Sagay.

Sagay comes hard on Saraki, Senate for threatening to impeach Osinbajo. Professor Itse Sagay wondered why the Senate is behaving as if it is not part of the current government headed by Muhammadu Buhari.

Sagay, who heads PACAC, warned that the Senate must prepare for the consequences if it truncates Nigeria's democracy. The threat to impeach Acting President Yemi Osinbajo if he fails to remove Ibrahim Magu, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has pitched the Senate against some Nigerians as they accuse Bukola Saraki of planning to truncate the nation’s democracy.

The Senators had said they would no longer confirm any appointee from the executive arm of government until Magu is removed. The Nation reports that while blasting the Senate for its decision, some of the Nigerians said the Senate does not possess such powers to direct Osinbajo, who is only acting, to remove Magu.

The chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Chairman, Prof Itse Sagay, warned the Senate to be prepared for the consequences of bringing down the government.
“This is a Senate that does not realise that it is part of the legislature and not an executive body. “And they want to do both the legislative and executive work together, which will totally eliminate the principle of separation of powers.

“That’s the sort of people they are. They’re legislators, but they’re hungry to be the executive body. “If they threaten to bring government to a halt, they will bear the responsibility and consequences that will arise. Let them be ready to take the consequences of their actions.

“In fact, it may be good for this country for them to expose themselves like that and let the country know the people who constitute a problem to good governance in Nigeria,”
Sagay said adding that no law empowered the Senate to direct Prof Osinbajo to remove Magu. An angry Sagay asked: “How can they say he should remove somebody? “That is an executive power. The constitution empowers the president to appoint the chairman of EFCC and other such agencies directly.

“So, if they’re uncomfortable with the fight against corruption and feel threatened by a man who is upright, committed and will not be distracted from doing his job, if they’re not comfortable with that, it’s unfortunate. But nobody is going to listen to them as far as that is concerned.

“If they want to indulge in the misadventure and danger of bringing government to a halt, then on their head will be the consequences.”

Cc: Tos Orelope

SENATORS CAN REMOVE MAGU ONLY WHEN SARAKI IS MADE ACTING PRESIDENT~~FALANA

Femi Falana, SAN, Constitutional lawyer and Humanrights activist, says the only way the senate can remove acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, from office would be to wait until Senate President Bukola Saraki is made an acting president.

Falana in a statement released yesterday, described the attempts by the senators to enforce the removal of Magu as illegal. He called on the presidency to disregard every attempt by the senate to remove Magu.

Read the full text of his statement below...
Mr. Ibrahim Magu was appointed as Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in November 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari. The appointment was made by the President sequel to section 171 (1) of the Constitution. After Mr. Magu had acted in that capacity for over a year the Senate refused to confirm his appointment as the substantive Chairman of the EFCC.

However, as President Buhari was satisfied with the performance of Mr. Magu he decided to retain him as the Acting Chairman of the EFCC. A couple of days ago, the Senate revisited the matter. In a rather bizarre move, the Senate decided to combine legislative powers with executive functions by passing a resolution which purportedly directed the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to remove Mr. Magu from the post of the Acting Chairman of the EFCC forthwith.

The resolution of the Senate was alleged to have been anchored on section 2(3) of the EFCC Act which provides as follows: “The Chairman and members of the Commission other than ex-officio members shall be appointed by the President and the appointment shall be subject to confirmation of the Senate.”

Before passing its resolution the Senate ought to have known from the clear and unambiguous provision of section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act that the it has not been vested with the power to confirm or approve any person appointed by the President to hold office in an acting capacity. To that extent, the resolution of the Senate constitutes an affront to section 171 (1) of the Constitution which stipulates that: “Power to appoint persons to hold or act in the offices to which this section applies to remove persons so appointed from any such office shall vest in the President.”

The offices involved are those Head of Service, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of extra ministerial departments of the Government. It is further submitted that Section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act relied upon Senate to justify the confirmation of the Chairman of the EFCC is inconsistent with section 171 (2) of the Constitution. Indeed, of all the positions listed in subsection 2 of the Constitution it is only in the appointments of ambassadors and high commissioners made by the President which require the confirmation of the Senate.
See section 171(4) thereof. Since the EFCC is an extra ministerial department of the Federal Government the appointment of its Chairman does not require the confirmation of the Senate. In other words, section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act is inconsistent with section 171 (2) of the Constitution. To that extent, the resolution of the Senate based on the EFCC Act is an exercise in futility. Although neither the Presidency nor the Senate has deemed to seek interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Constitution from the Supreme Court the power of the President of the Republic to make certain appointments without the confirmation of the Senate had been challenged. In Festus Keyamo v The President & 4 Ors. (See www.premiumtimesng.com) the plaintiff challenged the appointment of service chiefs without the confirmation of the Senate.

The trial court set aside the appointments as the power of the President to appoint service chiefs under section 218(2) of the Constitution is on the ground that the appointments were qualified by section 218(4)(b) thereof which provides that the National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the regulation of "the appointment, promotion and disciplinary control of the members of the armed forces of the Federation." As the Constitution has made the appointments of service chiefs subject to laws enacted by the National Assembly the court was on a terra firma when it ruled that the appointments so made required confirmation in line with the section 18 of the Armed Forces Act.

But in the case of Ebun Adegboruwa v Attorney-general of the Federation (Unreported) Suit No:FHC/L/CS/1405/2012 the plaintiff had challenged the appointment of Colonel Hameed Ali (retd) as the Comptroller-General of Customs on the ground it was not made by President Buhari in consonance with a Federal Government Gazette of 1985. The Gazette in question had provided that a new Comptroller-General of Customs must be appointed from the pool of Deputy Comptrollers-General of Customs.

 In dismissing the action the Federal High Court (per Hassan J.) held that by the combined effect of sections 5 and 171 of the Constitution the provisions of the Gazette could not restrict or limit the powers of the President to appoint the Comptroller-General of Customs from outside the public service. In the same vein, it is crystal clear that section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act cannot subject the appointment of the chairman of the EFCC to Senate confirmation contrary to the provisions of section 171 of the Constitution.

In view of the foregoing, the implementation of the resolution of the Senate on the removal of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the Acting Chairman of the EFCC should be ignored by the Presidency on account of its apparent illegality.

However, the distinguished Senators who are desperate to institutionalize official corruption and impunity in the country by removing Mr. Magu from office may have to wait for the planned installation of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki as the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

FINALLY SENATE PASSES BUHARI'S ANTI-CORRUPTION BILL

The Nigerian Senate has approved and passed the Bill on mutual assistance in criminal matters between Nigeria and other foreign states.

The executive bill presented to the senate by President Muhammadu Buhari, provides for the repeat of the money laundering offences, provide protection for employees of various institutions, provide appropriate penalties and other purposes.

After passing the Bill, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said “this Anti-Money Laundering Legislation is a key component of President Muhammadu Buhari’s war on corruption agenda. This act will facilitate the needed cooperation with other states to prevent individuals from escaping prosecution by fleeing to another country.

Under the passed Bill, the Nigerian government may request that any country where a money launderer is hiding out to aid in the prosecution of such person, or such person may even be prosecuted in accord with the law of the host country. Nigeria would also be able to supply the country with unending support to aid a conviction.

This is the kind of innovation and cooperative anti-corruption scheme that will truly discourage money laundering”