Hon Abdulrazak Namdas, Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs has been elected as Deputy chairperson of the West African Caucus of Pan African Parliament.
The election took place Tuesday at the Pan African Parliament sitting in South Africa.
Hon Namdas was nominated by Hon Mohammed Muttaka of the republic of Ghana who was later unanimously elected unopposed by members of the West African caucus.
With this, Hon. Namdas has joined the leadership of the Pan African Parliament.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has congratulated Hon Namdas over his emergence as Deputy chairperson of the West African Caucus of Pan African Parliament.
The Speaker Dogara who described Hon Namdas as a worthy ambassador of Nigeria further urged him to deliver on his new mandate.
…Says Nigeria can only achieve greatness if we remain together
The speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has admonished the Muslim faithful to use the Eid- El Kabir Sallah festival to promote unity, tolerance, peaceful coexistence and the spirit of sacrifice.
In a statement to mark this year’s Eid el-Kabir Sallah celebration, issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, the Speaker, said Nigeria could only fulfil its great potentials as a nation if the citizens continue to foster unity, peace, security and stability as well as show greater respect and love for one another.
” This is a moment for sober reflections; I enjoin you to use the period to uphold the spiritual benefit of the celebration by extending A hand of friendship and solidarity across all divides and imbibing the spirit of sacrifice and obedience to the higher authority as exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim and upheld by Prophet Muhammed.
While wishing the Muslim Ummah a blessed and peaceful Eid el-Kabir Sallah celebration, the Speaker reiterated his call for sustained prayers for the leadership of the country at all levels.
” This is an opportunity for us to reflect and pray for our nation; pray for our dear President for God’s guidance and good health and pray for all those in leadership positions so that God in his infinite mercy will continue to guide them as they steer the affairs of the country “.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has hailed the national female basketball team, D’Tigress, on their victory over Senegal in the 2017 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket tournament in Mali and for qualifying for the 2018 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Spain.
The Speaker praised the doggedness of the team, for putting up an excellent performance in the final of the 2017 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket tournament last Sunday.
He noted that their victory portrays the spirit of determination of Nigerians, who are known to make outstanding successes, even in the midst of daunting challenges.
“I salute members of the glorious team and urge them to hold on to this winning spirit. We are aware that our sports men and women are faced with enermous challenges but wish to assure that the House of Representatives will not relent in its effort to improve the welfare and working conditions of our sportsmen.
“We, as a parliament, will support you in all ways we can as you prepare for the forthcoming FIBA World Cup,” he stated.
…says N/Assembly will break 9 year jinx of non-passage of the Bill.
The Bill for protection of Whistle Blowers is a vital tool against the war against corruption in Nigeria as it will greatly enhance disclosure of information on corrupt persons when it is passed by the National Assembly, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara has said.
Describing it as an essential element of the war against corruption, Dogara said it will also make it easy to uncover private collaborators who connive with corrupt public servants and provide adequate safeguards against victimisation of the person making such complaints.
The Speaker, who made the comments while delivering remarks at a workshop organised for the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes and members of the civil society on the Whistle Blowers Bill in the National Assembly on Tuesday, also argued that the Bill, when passed, will make more information available for investigation of alleged corruption and misuse of power by public servants.
Speaking on the proposed law, he said it is important to note that Nigeria does not currently have a law that protects whistle blowers, rather “what we have is the Federal Ministry of Finance’s whistle blowing programme which is designed to encourage anyone with information about a violation of financial regulations to report,” which has not yet been backed by any legal framework, and therefore, not legally enforceable.
He also noted that the burden of corruption in Nigeria is a peculiar one that inhibits our economic and social development and added that in order to fight this scourge and ensure a just and egalitarian society, the relationship between increased availability of information in the public domain, accountability and protection of person who expose alleged wrongdoing cannot be overemphasized.
“Disclosure of information for increased transparency is a necessary condition for accountability. The enactment of Whistle Blowers Protection law as a vehicle for the investigation of alleged corruption and misuse of power by public servants or their private collaborators and to provide adequate safeguards against victimization of the person making such complaint is therefore, an essential element of the war against corruption.”
Dogara added that the consequences of corruption are greater than just the diversion of public resources to private gain as it destroys societies and contributes to trust deficit and lack of confidence in governance, threatens sustainable economic development, ethical values and justice; destabilises the society and endangers the rule of law.
He expressed concern that the poor and vulnerable in the society suffer the harmful effect of corruption more grievously because they do not get to enjoy democratic dividends. He gave further assurance that the House of Representatives will continue to work towards enacting a robust legal framework on the Whistle Blower’s policy which will no doubt enhance quick and seamless recovery, forfeiture, and confiscation of property in respect of anti-corruption offences.
Furthermore, he expressed hope that the whistleblowers Bill will see the light of day through it’s passage into law “to break the jinx that has bedeviled this piece of proposed legislation since it was first introduced into the National Assembly in 2008.”
The leadership of the National Assembly yesterday dismissed as outright falsehood a claim in a report credited to a group known as Citizen Action to Take Back Nigeria (CATBAN) and published by an online medium, Sahara Reporters, in which it was alleged that the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and their deputies, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Rt. Hon. Lasun Yusuff collected money from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) as rent for their accommodation.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, the leadership of the National Assembly stated that though the four presiding officers are legally entitled to official accommodation, they have been living in their personal residences and do not get paid by any Federal Government agency.
“There is no truth to the claim by this group. In fact, during the preparation of the budget, the Senate President and Speaker directed the FCDA to remove the 10 billion Naira voted for the construction of their official residence to save cost. The current leadership of the National Assembly will not be part of any illegal payment to anybody”, stated Olaniyonu.
ABJ 