Senators divided over Lauretta Onochie's eligibility as NDDC Chair

Across the length and breadth of Nigeria, here are the biggest stories around Nigeria’s legislators and the institution of parliament you mustn’t miss this Friday:

NDDC: Senators divided over Lauretta Onochie’s eligibility as Board Chair

The Senate on Thursday. commenced screening of President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominee for the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), with lawmakers divided over the eligibility of the Chairperson-nominee, Lauretta Onochie.

During the rowdy session, some Senators insisted that Onochie was ineligible to head the NDCC board on the ground that she is from a community in Delta State that is not an oil-producing area. Some others were, however, in her support, citing precedence in Onyema Ugochukwu (Abia State) during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

.However, the three Senators and members of the House of Representatives from Ondo State rejected the nomination of Charles Ogunmola (Nominee from Ondo State) for the position of Executive Director, Projects at the NDDC, on the grounds that he is from Owo; a non-oil producing area of the state.

Petrol Scarcity: Buhari needs courage to break Oil Cartel – Rep Ogun

The federal lawmaker representing Esan North East/Esan South East, Sergius Ogun, has said that Nigeria needs President Muhammadu Buhari to be courageous to break the oil industry’s cartel.

Speaking on Thursday as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, Rep Ogun noted that oil suppliers and marketers scavenge for dollars at the black market to pay government agencies as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) doesn’t release forex to them.

“The President we voted for in 2015 is the man with steel but those that brought him in did not allow him to do a whole lot. How can you have a presidential memo that agencies should not collect dollars anymore and he is ignored? Where is the steel?” he asked.

Property Forfeiture: Court to rule on Ekweremadu’s appeal in January

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed January 25, 2023, to rule on the application of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, seeking a court order to set aside the verdict ordering the interim forfeiture of 40 of his landed property.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on November 4 secured an interim order from the Court for the forfeiture of the property linked to the embattled former Deputy President of the Senate, who has been in detention in the United Kingdom over alleged organ harvesting.

Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the motion and ordered the agency to publish the interim forfeiture order of the property in a national daily within seven days.

Governor Mohammed writes Assembly over LG Caretaker Chairmen confirmation

Bauchi Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, has written to the State House of Assembly, requesting its screening and confirmation of his nominees as Caretaker Chairmen and deputies in the 20 local government councils.

This request was contained in a letter by the governor, addressed to the Speaker of the Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, which was made available to journalists in Bauchi.

Presenting the message at Wednesday’s plenary, House Majority Leader, Tijjani Muhammad Aliyu, said Governor Mohammed’s request came on the heel of the expiration of the tenure of the elected local government chairmen and their deputies.

“Attacks on INEC Facilities will no longer be allowed” – IGP declares

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, has declared that all criminal elements attacking the facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) across the country should desist forthwith as it would no longer be business as usual for the criminal elements.

Baba’s statement was at a meeting with strategic Police Officers at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, held barely twenty-four hours after INEC’s disclosure that 53 attacks has been recorded on its facilities in different parts of the country between February 3, 2019, and now.

“We have also deployed personnel to deter the attacks. We have stepped up intelligence gathering. We have discovered that the criminal elements were using petrol bombs, dynamite at gunfire at distance to carry out their dastardly acts, but there will be hiding place for them.

The Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies are on the top of the situation. We are calling on the members of the public to assist us with credible information about these criminals,” the IGP stated.

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