News
N/Assembly Now Ready To Revisit Devolution Of Powers To Unbundle FG –Ekweremadu
The Deputy president of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has briefed the Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, on the ongoing constitution amendment exercise, stressing that hope is still alive on restructuring of the federation as being clamoured in many quarters in Nigeria.
Ekweremadu had raised the hope that the issue of restructuring and indeed, Devolution of Power which did not see the light of day during the last Constitutional Amendment process by the National Assembly would be revisited.
According to him, efforts were on to build consensus around some of the failed bills, especially the bill on devolution of powers, with a view to revisiting it to unbundle and make the Federal Government more efficient.
He met with the Forum at the Presidential Villa Thursday night, intimating them that of the 33 bills on the proposed amendments, 21 were passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, while 12 failed.
On the concerns that it would be an aberration of federalism for State Houses of Assembly and the Local Governments to draw revenues directly from the Federation Account, Ekweremadu explained that amendments towards financial autonomy for both only seeks to alter Section 162 of the Constitution to abrogate the State Joint Local Government Accounts and create the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State from which all allocations due to the Local Government Councils and the State Assemblies shall be directly paid from the Federation Account.
He said the proposed amendments would guarantee the democratic existence, funding, and tenure of local government councils.
He said that financial autonomy for Local Governments would not return primary education to the era of unpaid salaries.
He explained that although education remained the constitutional responsibilities of the Local Governments, provisions have been made to deduct from the source the monthly financial obligations of the Local Governments to primary education for remission into the account of state agencies overseeing basic education.
The lawmaker further maintained that altering Section 134 and 179of the Constitution would avail the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, sufficient time for INEC to conduct bye-elections; and section 225 to empower it to de-register political parties was not total.
“INEC’s power to deregister parties will apply strictly to non-fulfillment of certain conditions such as breach of registration requirements and failure to secure/win either a Presidential, Governorship, Local Government chairmanship or a seat in the National or State Assembly or a Councillorship seat.
“Bill No. 10, seeks to alter sections 58, 59 and 100 only seeks to resolve the usual situation where the President or Governor neglects to signify his/her assent to or veto of a bill from the legislature.
“So, the President or Governor will now have 30 days to signify his/her assent/veto rather than keep everyone in endless suspense, while passed bills gather dust in the shelf. In the United States, the Constitution provides for only two weeks. So, the intent is to enable timely passage of laws for good governance”.
On Bill No. 4, which seeks to set a timeframe of 30 days for the President and Governors to nominate the Ministers and Commissioners along with their proposed respective portfolios, he maintained that the 1999 Constitution did not envisage a situation where some governments would run without cabinet for months or years.
“It will also serve the nation better if members of the National Assembly can screen nominees based on specific portfolios. That way, we are able to ascertain their suitability as we see in developed democracies like the United States”, he added.
Ekweremadu allayed the fears that independent candidacy could make the electoral process cumbersome, noting that INEC would, by law, set the modalities for qualification as an independent candidate.
Ekweremadu said that Bill No. 16seeks to restrict a person who was sworn-in as President or Governor to only completing the term of the elected President or Governor from contesting for the same office for more than one term.
On Bill No. 21, he explained that the successful amendment of the Constitution in 2010, which set the timeframe for the determination of election petitions, had greatly improved the nation’s electoral system, hence the need to replicate it in the area of pre-election disputes.
Meanwhile, he said the National Assembly had not given up to the proposed amendments of Second Schedule, Part I & II to move certain items, such as railway and power, to the Concurrent Legislative List to give more legislative powers to States.
“Besides making governance difficult, concentration of so much power at the centre fuels the struggle for federal power. We believe that devolving some power to the States will improve good governance and also make the centre less attractive”, Ekweremadu stressed.
The headquarters of Heritage Bank at Victoria Island, Lagos, was besieged on Thursday by members of the labour union, protesting the recent dismissal of 1,000 support workers.
The National President of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees, Comrade Anthony Abakpa, led the demonstration, condemning the bank’s management for what he deemed a lack of adherence to due process in the termination of employment contracts.
Speaking during the protest, Comrade Abakpa asserted that the leadership of Heritage Bank failed to follow established protocols before executing the mass layoffs.
He emphasised the union’s commitment to pursuing justice for the affected workers, vowing to escalate their demands until the bank’s management rectifies the situation.
“We will intensify our demands for justice,” declared Comrade Abakpa, urging the bank’s management to take corrective action to address the grievances of the dismissed workers.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, clarified that Nigeria is not utilising its foreign reserves to bolster the naira, despite recent fluctuations in reserve levels.
Speaking from Washington DC, where he is attending the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Spring Meetings, Cardoso highlighted the influx of $600 million into Nigeria’s reserves account within the past two days.
While the naira has experienced a notable appreciation against the dollar in recent weeks, climbing over 40% from approximately N1,900/$ to about N1,000/$1, Nigeria’s foreign reserves have been dwindling. As of April 15, reserves dropped to approximately $32.29 billion, marking the lowest level in over six years.
Cardoso emphasised that the shifts in reserves are typical for any country, where various financial obligations, such as debt repayments, necessitate withdrawals.
He stated, “What you’ve seen with respect to the shift in our reserves is normal in any country’s reserves where, for example, debts are due and certain payments need to be made. They are made because that is also part of keeping your credibility.”
Continuing, Cardoso underscored the dynamic nature of the market, advocating for a system driven by willing buyers, willing sellers, and price discovery.
He emphasised, “The shift in our reserves has really little or nothing to do with defending the naira, and that is certainly not our objective.”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has made headlines by announcing a further reduction in the price of diesel, dropping it from ₦1200 to ₦1000 naira per litre.
The refinery’s decision comes on the heels of its recent supply at a significantly reduced price of ₦1200 per litre, which was introduced three weeks ago, signifying a remarkable 30 per cent decrease from the previous market price of approximately ₦1600 per litre.
This substantial reduction in diesel prices at Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to reiterate positively throughout various sectors of the economy, potentially serving as a catalyst in alleviating the persistently high inflation rate in the country.
In a statement last week, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual and the owner of the refinery, expressed his optimism regarding the potential impact of the price reduction on inflation in Nigeria.
“I believe that we are on the right track. I believe Nigerians have been patient, and I also believe that a lot of goodies will now come through. There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the naira devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about ₦1900,” he remarked.
As anticipation builds around the implications of this move by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stakeholders and consumers alike remain hopeful for the positive effects it could bring to the Nigerian economy in the coming months.
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