Politics

AMBODE: LAGOS SPEAKER, OBASA, ASSEMBLY AGREE TO MAINTAIN STATUS QUO

Published

5 years ago

October 30, 2019

…Lawmakers Plead For Time As Court Adjourns Till Nov 20

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Wednesday agreed to halt proceedings in the probe of former Governor of the State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, over procurement of 820 buses for public transportation.

Ambode had instituted a suit against the Assembly, the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa and others, to contest the constitutionality of the probe, accusing them of bias and misrepresentation of facts.

When the matter came up in court on Wednesday morning, Ambode’s lawyer, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), informed the court of his pending application for interlocutory injunction, saying that same had been served on the defendants.

In response, a team of lawyers of the defendants led by Mrs. Adenike Oshinowo and included Mrs. Adegbite and Ms. Olayemi Johnson confirmed service of the application, but pleaded for time since the processes were served at about 6pm on Tuesday.

They specifically requested for two weeks to respond but the date they suggested was not convenient for the court.

Responding, Oyetibo did not object to the application of the defendants for adjournment but urged the Court to direct parties to maintain status quo. In her response, the presiding Judge, Justice Yetunde Adesanya, said “it goes without saying” and called on Mrs. Osinowo for her response who also agreed that status quo would be maintained by the Defendants.

The court then adjourned the matter to November 20 2019 for the hearing of the motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction.

With the ruling, the former Governor cannot be summoned to appear again before the House probe panel as both parties have agreed to maintain status quo till the new hearing date.

According to his statement of claim before the court, Ambode had said contrary to deliberate misrepresentation of facts by the lawmakers, the procurement of the 820 buses was well captured in the 2018 Appropriation Law which was duly approved by the House.

“In section 1 of the Bill, the 1st Defendant (House of Assembly) authorized the total Budget for the year 2018 to be One Trillion, Forty Six Billion, One Hundred and Twenty One Million, One Hundred and Eighty-One Thousand, Six Hundred and Eighty Naira (N1,046,121,181,680.00) comprising the sum of Three Hundred and Forty Seven Billion, Thirty-Eighty Million, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand, Eight-Hundred and Seventy-Two Naira (N347,038,938,872.00) only and Six Hundred and Ninety-Nine Billion, Eighty-Two Million, Two Hundred and Forty-Two Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty Naira (N699,082,242,808.00) only as the Recurrent and Capital Expenditures respectively.

“Part of the items authorized by the Bill under Capital Expenditure was: “LAGBUS Public Transport Infrastructure (MEPB); Part financing of 820 buses” which was item 8 under schedule 1- Part C of the Bill,” the former Governor averred.

He added that having prescribed the manner of withdrawal of funds in sections 3 and 4 of the 2018 Appropriation Law, it was unconstitutional for the House to attach another condition in section 9 of the law for further approval to be sought before incurring any expenditure on the purchase of the buses.

Highlighting the specific breach of his constitutional rights to fair hearing by the House, the former Governor said on August 27, 2019 during proceedings of the Assembly, some lawmakers thoroughly vilified and disparaged him as having purchased the buses without budgetary approval and that the procurement was a waste of public funds, while at the end of the proceedings, the House resolved to constitute an Ad Hoc Committee to probe the procurement.

He said it was surprising that the very lawmakers who contributed actively in vilifying, disparaging and denigrating him constituted the bulk of the members of the Committee, which was a clear derogation of his right to fair hearing.

Ambode added that in continuation of deliberate misrepresentation of facts of the issue, the House falsely claimed that an invitation had been extended to him to appear before the Committee but that he failed to honour the said invitation.

“The Claimant states that no letter of invitation was delivered to him before the 4th and 5th Defendants made the false allegation against the Claimant which was widely reported by various national Newspapers in the country.”

He added that the House Committee and indeed the entire members of the House had already adjudged him as having committed wastage of public fund by the procurement of the buses in question and had also already determined that the procurement was done by him as opposed to the State Government.

He said it was obvious that the lawmakers were totally biased against him having regard to their pronouncements on the floor of the House by reason of which he believes that his right to fair hearing as guaranteed by the Constitution had been seriously compromised by the defendants.

He is, therefore, seeking among others, the court’s declaration that the power of the House to pass a resolution under section 128(1) of the Constitution to cause an inquiry into his conduct as Governor is subject to right to fair hearing as guaranteed by section 36(1) of the Constitution.

He also wants a declaration that the Resolution of the House setting up a 9-Man Committee comprising of the 4th-12th Defendants to investigate all transactions in respect of the 820 Buses said by the defendants to have been procured by him derogates from his right as guaranteed by section 36(1) of the Constitution and therefore is unconstitutional, null and void.

He is therefore, among others seeking:

“AN INJUNCTION restraining the Defendants whether by themselves, their servants, agents and or representatives from compelling the Claimant, in any manner whatsoever, to appear before the Defendants pursuant to the Resolution passed by the Defendants on 27th August 2019 or any other Resolution passed in respect of the subject matter of this Suit.

“AN INJUNCTION restraining the Defendants whether by themselves, their servants, agents and or representatives from representing or continue to represent to the Public that the Claimant, AKINWUNMI AMBODE, procured 820 buses in breach of budgetary approval.”

Politics

15th Hijrah: Muslim Clerics Task Nigerians On Good Morals

Published

11 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Sahara Weekly

15th Hijrah: Muslim Clerics Task Nigerians On Good Morals

– as Speaker charges religious leaders on impactful messages

Nigerians, irrespective of religious affiliations, must begin to embrace good morals and practise honesty, two guest lecturers at the 15th Annual Hijrah Lecture of the Lagos State House of Assembly, have urged.

This is as the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, also charged Nigeria’s religious leaders to teach messages with greater positive impacts on citizens.

Sheikh Sulaiman Onikijipa Al-miskinubilahi, general overseer of Al-Amani Islamic Organisation, and Sheikh Ridwanullah Jamiu, Chief Imam of the Central Mosque, Lekki Phase 1, said moral conducts and honesty would help create a decent society.

Speaking at the event with the theme: ‘The Increasing Wave Of Moral Decadence In The Society’, which held at the Assembly complex on Friday, the guest lecturers condemned the spate of moral decadence in the society.

Dr. Jamiu told guests that there was need to enforce laws against anti-decent practices like homosexuality, gambling, adultery and corruption.

According to him, Allah blesses those who are kind, just and are morally upright.

“People should run away from three things: indecency, aggression and wickedness. For a society to progress and develop, it must move away from what Allah kicks against.

“Justice means giving people their rights. As a boss, you have duties to your employees. Treat others the way you expect to be treated. Allah commands kindness and generosity,” he said while urging parents to be role models to their children.

On his part, Sheikh Onikijipa lamented what he described as a growing level of corruption in the society.

“At this stage of our existence, we all know that almost everyone is corrupt,” he said while urging leaders to be more transparent.

The cleric further stressed that leaders must be determined to end moral decadence in the society, adding: “See the way the government stopped the abuse of naira with necessary legislation. The same should be done for other forms of moral decadence in the society.

“There is no religion if we don’t have morals. If you observe all the five pillars of the Islam and you are morally corrupt, then you are deceiving yourself.

“If you pray regularly and you don’t have morals, then it is a waste of time. Indecent dressing should be condemned in all places,” he said.

While noting that Nigeria is challenged at the moment, Onikijipa appealed to citizens to be patient with the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

He urged religious leaders and citizens in the country to dedicate a day for fasting and prayer instead of embarking on a protest, which has a tendency to escalate into destruction of properties.

In his remarks, Speaker Obasa said everyone has roles to play in achieving an upright society.

Obasa, who said that Hijrah is meant to celebrate the clerics, added: “You would be proud of the group you belong to when people feel your impact. We should ensure that we change our immediate environment and make things better in our time.

“We must all join hands to make our society better so that we can all have a morally upright place. It is not enough to make laws, people must exhibit good qualities.”

Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Politics

Planned Protest: Tinubu, Sultan, Ooni, NSA, IGP In Emergency Meeting

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Planned Protest: Tinubu, Sultan, Ooni, NSA, IGP In Emergency Meeting

The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, has been scheduled to be held across all states in August.

As the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for August draws close, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday entered an emergency closed-door meeting with top traditional rulers, security top brass in his government and governors of his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The high-delegation meeting was held at the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The APC governors were led to the meeting by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma.

Some first-class traditional rulers were spotted at the meeting with the President. They include the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi; the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III; and other traditional leaders across the country.

The meeting was also attended by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; as well as ministers and other members of the President’s cabinet.

A delegation of Islamic scholars (Ulamas) later joined the high-powered meeting with the President.

Last-Minute Efforts
Tinubu, former Lagos governor, who was sworn in as President in May 2023, has appealed to displeased youths to shelve the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for next month.

As part of moves to placate aggrieved citizens, the President sent a bill to raise the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 to the National Assembly this week. Both chambers of the legislature speedily passed the bill on Tuesday, awaiting the President’s assent.

On Thursday, the military authorities warned that unscrupulous elements plan to hijack the protest and use it to stage anarchy like what was recently witnessed in East African country Kenya.
The police had also warned against bloody demonstrations come next month just as Uzodimma surmised that the protest could be hijacked and turn violent like the EndSARS nationwide protest against police brutality back in October 2020.

The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, has been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August. The organisers of the protest have been faceless.

Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last months, as Nigerians battle one of the country’s worst inflation rates and economic crises sparked by the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.

Politics

Tinubu mourns Iwuanyanwu

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Tinubu mourns Iwuanyanwu

President Bola Tinubu has extended his condolences to the family of the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, who passed away on Thursday.

Tinubu’s condolence message is conveyed in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled ‘President Tinubu mourns Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.’

The family confirmed his demise on Thursday evening in a statement that partly read, “The Iwuanyanwu family of Umuohii Atta, in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, announces the demise of our patriarch, Chief Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu-Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo.

“Chief Iwuanyanwu died on Thursday, July 25, 2024, after a brief illness. He was aged 82.”

He was an accomplished businessman and notable politician.

Ngelale said, “President Tinubu condoles with the Imo State Government, the friends and associates of the deceased, and Ndi Igbo over this irreparable loss.

“The President affirms that Chief Iwuanyanwu will always be remembered for his remarkable legacy.”

Tinubu, therefore, prayed for the repose of the soul of the departed elder statesman and comfort for his family