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10th House Poised to Drive Gender Parity in Nigeria – Speaker Abbas

Published

3 hours ago

March 4, 2025

Gloria Ikibah

…seek UK backing for constitutional reforms

By Gloria Ikibah

The Speaker House of Representatives, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, has affirmed that the 10th Assembly will play a pivotal role in advancing gender inclusion and balance in Nigeria’s political and governance structures.

The Speaker who stated this on Monday in Abuja when he received a delegation of British parliamentarians eemphasised that the 10th House has prioritised gender parity and is actively working on constitutional amendments to entrench this goal.

Highlighting the House multiparty composition, he assured the visiting MPs that beyond political diversity, the 10th Assembly is strongly committed to promoting the rights and participation of women and youth in governance.

He said: “The 10th House is quite a diverse institution in that for the first time in the history of this legislature, we have seven different political parties being represented in the parliament. For the first time, we also have created and dedicated two standing committees to women and two for the youths. The reason being that we are being very intentional about giving these two segments of our society adequate voice to be heard in the decision-making process.

“For the women, we have the committee on Women Affairs, and that on Women in Parliament. While we also have the Committee on Youth Development, and that on Youth in Parliament. We have ensured that we don’t leave any female representative without a key leadership position in the House so that they can use that platform to also advance the cause of women in the House”.

The Speaker assured the MPs that the House under his leadership will play a decisive role in actualising gender parity.

He said: “It would also interest you to know that we have passed so many legislations, and we have equally proposed some bills in the constitution amendment to ensure that this time around, we have the decisive term for women inclusion in governance. We have proposed a legislation that will cede 33 per cent of seats for women in parliament, and we have also proposed for 30 per cent of non elective positions for women across all tiers and arms of government — borrowing a leave from our brothers and sisters in Uganda and Tanzania where similar initiatives were done in the past and it’s really working for them.

“We want to see how we can be able to convince not only our brothers here and the senators, but also the subnational legislatures where 2/3 of them will have to vote in favour for the bills to become laws. And I want to use this opportunity to thank the President and the First Lady who are both ambassadors of the legislature – the First Lady is a three-term senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and who has also gotten involved in this fight of ensuring that this time around, our women get to their rightful places in our politics.”

The Speaker therefore called on the United Kingdom parliament for support in actualising the feat saying: “These are some of the initiatives we are working on and I believe a collaboration with you in the UK parliament will go a long way. We need advice. We need support on how best to achieve this. These subject matters have been on the front burner for many years through various assemblies without any success. But this time around we want to make sure that we break that jinx by getting them passed, and we will need your support and I assure you that the constitution amendment exercise will go on as planned and we hope to ensure that women have the inclusion that they deserve.”

Earlier, leader of the delegation, Kate Ofunne Osamor, a Nigeria-born British MP, told the Speaker that they were in the House to deepen the parliamentary diplomatic ties that exist between Nigeria and the UK, and to also find out about the place of diversity and gender inclusivity in Nigeria’s Legislature and other aspects of governance.

Other members of the delegation also asked questions on different areas of Nigeria’s legislative practices relative to what obtains in the UK, just as the Speaker of the House took time to explain the leadership structure and composition of the House and how they came about.

Other Members present also provided insights into the workings of the House through its Committees as enshrined in relevant sections of the constitution.

Related Topics:Abuja Lady Nigeria parliament president

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Reps Summon Labour Minister Over Failure To Constitute NSITF Board

Published

4 minutes ago

March 4, 2025

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has invited the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi to appear before it over his failure to inaugurate the board of Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund.

A non governmental organisation known as Obasi-Pherson Help Foundation, had petitioned the the committee with a complaint that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had appointed the Managing Director of the Fund but was yet to name and inaugurate the board several months after.

“This is a huge aberration as the absence of the board is giving way to a wide range of illegalities in the running of the affairs of agency”, the NGO wrote.

Reacting to the petition, Committee Chairman, Rep. Mike Etaba directed the Minister to appear in person to respond.

“The government is being indicted, so it is only logical that the Minister clears the air on the matter” he said.

The committee also invited the Managing Director of the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Faleye Mayomi to appear before it on the strength of a petition against the agency for suspected violation of its projects clearance regulations.

The petitioners, Advancement of Social Justice and Economic Development Initiative (ASJEDI), is seeking explanations from the agency on some of its action which they claim are at variance with their mandate.

“Ours is to serve Nigerians efficiently and ensure the right thing is done, always. Inviting the CEO is for him to throw more light on the issues at hand”, Etaba stated..

News

Tinubu appoints Shamsedeen Ogunjimi as new Account General of Federation

Published

23 minutes ago

March 4, 2025

Austin Ojomah

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi as the new Accountant General of the Federation.

A statement issued by the presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, explained that the appointment was made after a rigorous selection process.

According to the statement, the appointment which was approved on Tuesday, takes effect from 7th March 2025, the same day the incumbent Oluwatoyin Madehin will retire.

Ogunjimi, 57, was first named as Madehin’s successor last December.

“A selection committee later chose him through a competitive, rigorous, and merit-based process involving Directors of Accounts in the Federal Civil Service. The committee conducted the process through three stages: a written assessment, an ICT proficiency test, and oral interviews.

“The selection process underscores President Tinubu’s commitment to promoting transparency, excellence, and competence in key public service positions,” the statement said.

Ogunjimi graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. He also obtained a Master’s in Accounting and Finance from the University of Lagos.

He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

President Tinubu congratulated Ogunjimi on his appointment and urges him to discharge his duties in the service of Nigeria with integrity, professionalism, and dedication to Nigeria’s service.

News

EFCC nabs Akwa Ibom ex-gov, Udom over alleged N700bn scam

Published

46 minutes ago

March 4, 2025

Austin Ojomah

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have nabbed a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, over an alleged N700 billion fraud.

Emmanuel, who served as governor between 2015 and 2023, reportedly arrived at the EFCC’s corporate headquarters in Abuja around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday following an invitation from the anti-graft agency.

Emmanuel was reportedly detained after honouring the EFCC’s invitation to answer allegations of money laundering, diversion of funds, and stealing.

“We have arrested the former governor of Akwa Ibom over an alleged N700 billion fraud.

“A civil society organisation called the Network Against Corruption and Trafficking petitioned the EFCC, prompting our investigation,” the source was quoted to have said in a report by THE PUNCH.

He added, “The petitioner alleged that Emmanuel received N3 trillion from the Federation Account over eight years but left behind a debt profile of N500 billion and unpaid ongoing projects worth N300 billion. He was also alleged to be unable to account for N700 billion.

“Emmanuel arrived at our office around 12:30 p.m. and was arrested shortly after.”

The source further said that investigations uncovered the withdrawal of N31 billion in cash from a single account named “Office of the Governor.”

He added, “Our investigations have uncovered the withdrawal of N31bn in cash in one single account. The name of the account is Office of the Governor. The money was withdrawn in cash progressively between 2019 and 2023.”

Efforts to reach the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, were unsuccessful, as calls to his number indicated that it was switched off at the time of filing this report.