The Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies in PHCN on Monday said the Federal Government had invited the union for talks over the severance package. Mr Bede Opara, the President General of the association, told News Agency of...
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has been selected as one of the few securities from 19 African Stock Exchanges included in the FTSE African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) Pan African Index. The FTSE ASEA Pan African Index which was cre...
The House of Representatives has described outrage against the immunity bill passed by the House as due to misconception of the motive of the proposed law which it says will be limited only to words spoken during debates on the floor of the House or in committees.
It will be recalled that the bill for an Act to alter the constitution of the Federation Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by providing immunity for members of the legislature in respect of words spoken or written at the plenary session or at committee proceedings, to guarantee that freedom of speech, debates and proceedings in legislative Houses are not impeached or questioned in any court or place out of parliament and for related matters, scaled through second reading penultimate Thursday.
A similar bill which sought to amend the constitution to grant freedom of speech and legislative Houses actions of members of the National Assembly was consolidated with the bill and approved for further legislative action.
Spokesman of the House, Hon Zakari Mohammed who briefed the press with the co-sponsors of the two bills, Hon Ali Ahmed and Ralph Igbokwe over the weekend, explained that the spirit behind the bill is a passion to strengthen democratic institutions.
"I am disappointed at the controversy the bill is generating. Rather than focus on the intendment of the bill and its merits, the debate is on alleged attempts to create immunity for ourselves. It is not for any other purpose than for actions taken during legislative business", Ahmad said, adding that, "truth of the matter is that our parliament doesn't have any form of immunity as we speak. The only minimal one we have was annulled by the court in 2005. If that is the kind of parliament Nigerians want us to have, then so be it".
In his own contribution, Hon Igbokwe explained further explained, "If a member hits any member on the floor of the House and causes body harm to him, he is liable and will face any sanction for it. The same applies to other offences. This bill is for nothing other than to allow us express our opinion during debates without fear of being sued thereafter".
On safeguards against abuse of such immunity if obtained by members, Igbokwe said standing rules of the House have addressed such scenario against use of offensive words on the floor.
"Our rules which is also recognised by the Constitution already censored the use of offensive language during debates," he stated.
Spokesman of the House, Hon Zakari Mohammed gave an example of an incident in Malawi where seven Malawians lawmakers are facing trial for treasonable felony over what they said on the floor of the parliament.
"What we are saying is we don't have to wait until such happens in Nigeria before we take action," he said.
The lawmakers also noted that the amendment is not different from the provisions of the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges Act of 1953 which is old and gives very minimal protection to the Legislature within the legislative house premises.
Lawyers in Abuja have condemned the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the recent sack of Justice Charles Archibong of a Lagos high court over alleged judicial misconduct. Speaking to journalists, one of the lawyers, Mr. Ugochukwu Osuagwu, said the a...
A vibrant capital market is essential to the growth of the economy, especially in terms of raising much-needed long-term finance for critical infrastructure, housing and the manufacturing sector. Solid economic growth in any country is closely linked t...
When the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets today, it will be faced with considering a reduction in interest rates. This is because inflation rate remained within the single digit bracket in F...
The naira appreciated last Friday, halting a five-day decline, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was said to have sold dollars directly to the market outside of its regular currency auctions. The currency of Africa’s biggest oil producer...
In its determination to ensure that its on-going $1.9 billion fertiliser plant in Edo State is of world class standard, the Dangote Group has appointed TATA Consulting Engineering as its management consultants for the project. ...
Nigeria’s inflation rate climbed to 9.5 per cent in February, as a result of a rise in the prices of farm produce, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said. According to the Consumer Price Index Report for February released by the statist...
The House Committee on Finance has insisted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) has to pay N142.7 billion into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the federal government, being calculation of surplus from its Internally Generate...
The World Bank has concluded arrangements to commit the sum of $300 million credit to Nigeria, to tackle poverty particularly among the vulnerable. To this end, the Board of the Bank is to give approval for the release of the credit tomorrow for ...
The federal government is carrying out a comprehensive review of tariffs charged on industrial raw materials across all sectors of the Nigerian economy. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, made this known during the pres...
A female lecturer at the University of Uyo, Dr Ime Udotong, was on Friday night kidnapped by gunmen in front of her resident on Idoro Road in Uyo, an eyewitness said on Saturday.
Udotong, a lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, was said to be returning home from work when she was blocked and whisked away by the gunmen to an unknown destination.
The eyewitness who preferred anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Udotong works in the same department with her husband, Prof. Ime Udotong.
He said that Udotong, was driving a jeep while her abductors followed her with a salon car and blocked her way when she was close to her house.
``I suspect she was trailed from school to her house because there is no other way her place would have been known by people other than those close to her.
``I noticed that she had observed the car trailing her and she attempted to rush into her compound, when the kidnappers crossed her car and forced her into their own car.
``Immediately they got her into their own car, they zoomed off through a different direction,” the eyewitness said.
NAN gathers that following a distress call, the police arrived at the scene of the incident few minutes after the gunmen had made away with their victim.
The Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom, Mr Umar Gwadabe said, ``we have just received the report of the kidnap and we are working on it''. (NAN)
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state, Nigeria administered oath of office on 19 newly-appointed local government sole administrators in Imo even as eight nominees have yet to be cleared by the Imo assembly.