News

Nigeria’s Senator Jibrin Elected As First Deputy Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament

Published

6 months ago

April 5, 2024

Naijablitznews

…as Togo failed to attend inaugural ceremony

By Gloria Ikibah

Nigeria has been elected the first Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, with Senator Barau Jibrin clinching the position.

Naijablitznews.com recalled that President Bola Tinubu who is Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and government inaugurated the Sixth legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament on Thursday in Abuja.

The inaugural Session of the Parliament formally marks the commencement of the business of the 6th legislature, is in pursuant to Article 28 of the Supplementary Act on the Enhancement of the Powers of the ECOWAS Parliament of 2016, following the end of the Fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament on March 8, 2024.

Members were also expected to elect The Speaker of the Sixth Legislature to serve a four-year tenure, in accordance with the provisions of the Supplementary Act 2016.

And Article 24 of the Supplementary Act of the Parliament relating to the Enhancement of the Powers of Parliament provides that the position of the Speaker of the Parliament shall be allocated to Member States by the Authority, in line with an established rotational system based on the alphabetical order of Member States.

The Republic of Togo comes next in
alphabetical order of Member States after Sierra Leone which held the position of Speaker in the just ended Fifth Legislature.

And in this legislature the Republic of Togo will be fielding a candidate for the position of the Speaker but this didn’t happen as Togolese delegates were absent for this auspicious occasion.

However, the regional legislature was unable to elect a substantive Speaker to lead the Parliament following the inability of Togo which the position was zoned, to produce the Speaker due the political situation in their country.

For the election of the four Deputy Speaker to take place, the Bureau must be constituted and with the inability to produce a speaker due to the absence of the Togolese delegates, the parliament nominated a pro-temporal speaker.

Inpursuant to the Supplementary Act the oldest member and the two youngest memebers of parliament were selected to constitute the Bureau. After this a motion was moved by an MP to nominate Hon. Edwin Snowe Jnr as the Speaker Pro-Tempo to enable the Parliament elect the first, second, third and forth Deputy Speakers.

The motion to make Hon. Snowe the Speaker Pro-Tempo was seconded and unanimously adopted by the MPs through a voice vote.

Hon. Barau was nominated by a Nigerian member of Parliament, Awaji- Inombek Dagomie Abiante, in a session presided by Liberia’s Edwin Snowe as Speaker Pro-Tempo. His nomination was seconded by another Nigerian member of Parliament, Senator Ireti Kingibe and he was voted unopposed.

The office of the Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament is usually reserved for Nigeria anytime the country is not presiding as Speaker of the Parliament.

Also elected as Second Deputy Speaker was Hon. Adjaratou Traore Coulibally from Cote d’Ivoire, who polled 54 votes to beat Hon. Cecile Ahoumnon from Benin, who got zero vote.

The position of the Third Deputy Speaker was won by Hon. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo- Markin from Ghana in a unanimous voice vote.

The Fourth Deputy Speaker position was won by Hon. Billay Tunkara from The Gambia with 47 votes beating Hon. Orlando Pereira Dias from Cabo Verde who got 7 votes.

Outgoing Speaker of the Parliament, Sidie Mohammed Tunis, thanked the regional body for the opportunity given him to serve for four years even as he reaffirmed his commitment to the regional body.

Hon. Tunis was appointed ceremonial speaker, following the gap that exists because Togo, the country to which the Speakership was zoned, was not able to produce the Speaker due to some political situation in the country.

Earlier on Thursday, had announced his intention to travel to Togo to see how best to get a Speaker.

He said: “I will proceed to Togo to have a conversion with the authorities there with a view to encouraging them to have their delegation inaugurated as soon as possible so that we can have a Speaker to run this institution. It is very, very important. There are so many things to do in the sub-region, and the ECOWAS Parliament has a very big role to play in the sub-region but they will not be able to do so without the Speaker.”

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar in his address, noted that in the face of the various challenges confronting the region, including peace, stability, security, as well as the unity of the region, the role of the Parliament is more important than ever.

The Minister, who is also the Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, commended the outgoing 5th Legislature, especially its Speaker Mohamed Tunis, for their invaluable contributions to the ECOWAS Parliament and the Organization as a whole.

He said “it is, therefore, imperative that the Parliament continues to work in synergy with the ECOWAS Commission and other Institutions that serve as the executive and judicial arms of our governments”.

News

Shettima becomes 1st VP to lead Nigeria’s delegation to UN Assembly in 25 yrs

Published

17 mins ago

September 20, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has decided not to attend the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York this year.

The president has thus directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation.

President Tinubu, who returned to the country last Sunday after his trip to China and the United Kingdom, according to a statement yesterday by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, wants to focus on domestic issues and address some of the country’s challenges, especially after the recent devastating flooding.

“At UNGA 79, Vice President Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement to the General Assembly, attend important sideline events, and hold bilateral meetings.”

“The high-level General Debate, with the theme ‘Leaving no one behind: Acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations,’ will run from Tuesday, September 24, through Saturday, September 28, 2024,” the statement added.

Since return to democratic governance in 199, Shettima will be the first Vice President to Nigeria’s delegation to UNGA.

Only Goodluck Jonathan represented Nigeria as Acting president in September 2010 at the 65th UNGA, while late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua was away in Saudi Arabia due to his ill health.

News

Plateau Assembly approves N5.8bn for LG election

Published

21 mins ago

September 20, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Plateau State House of Assembly, on Thursday, approved N5.8bn for the conduct of the local government election in the state slated for October 9, 2024.

The approval by the House followed a communication from Governor Caleb Mutfwang, which was read at plenary by the Assembly Speaker, Gabriel Dewan.

The Speaker stated that the request was necessary as there was no budgetary allocation for the LG elections in the 2024 budget.

A member of the State Assembly, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak for the Assembly, confirmed the development to The PUNCH in Jos on Thursday.

The lawmaker said, “Governor Mutfwang, at Tuesday’s plenary, sought the House’s approval for N5.7bn as the 2024 supplementary, which was increased after upward review by the legislators.”

He continued, “The House leader, Joseph Bukar, presented the bill during our plenary. While soliciting the support of members for speedy passage, he said PLASIEC was running out of time in preparation for the election.”

“In their individual contributions, Hon. Kalamu Dal suggested a downward review of the budget size, while Hon. Daniel Nanbol urged for a critical review and deliberations. Afterwards, members approved a revised sum of N5.8bn, as opposed to the N5.7bn requested.”

The increase, as explained by Bukar, was due to an increase in security allocation for the election, from N2.7m to N4.2m. “So, that is what happened, and that is where we are at the moment regarding the forthcoming LG election,” the lawmaker concluded.

News

Enugu, Kwara tighten security ahead of LG polls

Published

23 mins ago

September 20, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Security measures have been intensified in Enugu and Kwara states ahead of their Local Government elections scheduled for Saturday, September 21, 2024.

In Enugu State, the Police Command has pledged to ensure the safety of lives and properties during the elections.

However, the peace accord signing for the elections was marred by the absence of major parties like the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, and Labour Party.

Only representatives from the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Accord attended but chose not to sign the accord, citing the lack of participation from the leading parties.

Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, said all wards and flashpoints had been identified, and security personnel would be on high alert to prevent any disruptions.

The Chairman of the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission, Prof. Chris Ngwu, said the commission was fully prepared for the elections with the support of the state government in procuring necessary materials.

In Kwara State, security agencies have been actively coordinating to ensure a smooth electoral process.

Over 3,000 personnel from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have been deployed across the state.

The Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission has completed arrangements for a trouble-free election.

Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer, Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, reported that a strategic meeting with heads of various security agencies, including the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, and others, had been held to ensure coordinated efforts for maintaining law and order.

The Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, guaranteed maximum security for the election period.

The NSCDC Commandant, Dr. Umar Mohammed, announced the deployment of 3,000 personnel to various polling units and emphasised their role in preventing violence, ballot snatching, and other disruptions.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission, Telumun Tombowua, announced on Thursday that eight political parties will participate in the upcoming LG elections in the state, scheduled for October 5, 2024.

Addressing journalists in Makurdi, Tombowua said the election would be conducted fairly and transparently.

He emphasised that the law establishing the BSIEC does not permit the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation Machines for this election.

Regarding the APC, Tombowua confirmed that the National Working Committee of the party had requested the commission to work with the seven-man caretaker committee appointed to oversee party affairs in the state.

He noted that while 14 parties had initially shown interest, only eight completed the necessary processes and submitted their candidates.