Principal Officers: House Accepts Zoning, Rejects Imposition

Hon . Aminu Tambuwal , House Speaker

As the  House of Representatives  gears up to pick  its principal officers  this week, there are strong indications that it   has agreed to the principle of  zoning  but  has again rejected the bid by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to impose its “anointed   candidates” as principal officers.

The lower chamber, it was learnt, has decided that   rather than having its leadership pre-selected by the ruling party,   all its principal officers must emerge through an election.

As a prelude   to the elections scheduled for Tuesday,   both the Majority   and the Minority Party Caucuses of the House will meet separately behind closed doors to streamline their action plans and possibly reach a consensus on their candidates for the leadership positions.

A source close to the leadership of the House told THISDAY that the decision   to have open elections was in line with the new drive to ensure fairness and protect the independence of the legislature.

“We opted to go for the elections because that is the right thing to do and that is  what our rules stipulates.  We do not want any atom of imposition. We want an independent parliament and the best way to do that is to ensure that we choose our leaders ourselves,” he said.

The positions up for grabs include the House Leader, Deputy House Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy   Whip, Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Whip and Deputy Minority Whip.

The most contentious of these positions has been the post of the House Leader and Chief Whip which is usually held by legislators elected on the platform of the ruling party.

In a last ditch effort  to salvage the zoning principle,

THISDAY gathered that the ruling party  has zoned   the  position of House Leader   to the South-west  while the Chief Whip has been zoned to the North East.

In the same vein, the party has nominated Hon Mulikat Akande-Adeola as House Leader, but this is being resisted by some anti-imposition  lawmakers   who prefer that the race be thrown open to all ranking lawmakers from the zone.

This scenario has once again pitched Akande-Adeola(PDP/Oyo) against Hon Ajibola Muraina(PDP/Oyo), two candidates who were in the speakership race before the House rebelled against the ruling party and dumped the zoning   formula.

Akande-Adeola is said to be the favourite candidate of the Presidency while Muraina is again touted to be waxing strong with the support of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo , who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the ruling party.

The development appears to have effectively knocked off the ambition of the legislators from the South-South zone who had long been in the race.  Before now, Hon Andrew Uchendu (PDP/Rivers) and Hon Friday Itulah (PDP/Edo), Hon Ndudi Elumelu (PDP/Delta) and Hon Leo Ogor (PDP/Delta) and Hon Eseme Eyiboh (PDP/Akwa Ibom) were the front runners in the chase for the coveted seat.

In the race for the Chief Whip are two candidates from the North East namely Hon Yakubu Dogara(PDP/Bauchi)  and Hon Ishaka Bawa (PDP/Taraba). It is not clear where the pendulum will wing to as these two candidates are largely independent and do not seem to be deriving support from external forces.

As for the position reserved for the minority parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has already  nominated Hon Femi Gbajabiamila(ACN/Lagos)  as Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

Gbajabiamila, who represents Surulere 1 Federal Constituency of Lagos State was for most part of the 6th session of the parliament the Minority Whip but rose to become the Minority Leader of the House towards the end of the session. The party has also nominated Hon Samson Osagie who represents Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode Federal Constituency of Edo State as the Minority Whip of the House.

However, there are speculations that the other minority parties namely the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the  All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP)  may not be comfortable with these two key opposition slots going to the Action Congress of Nigeria.

Since the inauguration of the new House and the subsequent election of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Emeka Ihedioha as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively, the House has been bugged down by indecision over who joins the body of principal officers. This is due to the fact that the chamber was largely polarised between those who wanted the zoning formula sustained and those who wanted the controversial principle discarded on account of its perceived imperfections.

Under the old order designed by the PDP, the post of Speaker was allocated to the South-West geo-political zone; the post of Deputy Speaker was zoned to the North-East; the South-South had the House Leadership position while North Central Zone had the post of Deputy Leader. Similarly, the South East had the post of Chief Whip while the Deputy Whip was allocated to the North West geo-political zone. However, all that changed the moment the zoning formula was altered to pave way for the emergence of the current leadership of the House.

Since the election, Tambuwal and Ihedioha, the beneficiaries of the new order have been torn between going the whole hog to discard the party’s zoning arrangement and placating the party leaders by adopting zoning for the remaining offices. This has resulted in the delay in constitution the body of principal officers more than  one month after the inauguration of the 7th session of the House of Representatives.

Nigeria’s Growth Hinged on Non-Oil Sector

President Goodluck Jonathan



The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reiterated the need to pay greater attention to the Nigerian non-oil sector, saying that the sector will continue  to be a major driver of the economy. The NBS stated this in a report on Nigeria’s economic outlook for 2011 titled: “2011 Gross Domestic Product Forecast for Nigeria,” posted on its website weekend.

According to the national statistics body, the Nigerian non-oil sector is projected to grow at 8.84 per cent in real terms in 2011 compared with 8.49 per cent recorded in 2010.
It averred that the growth expected sector this year would be largely driven by improved activities in the wholesale and retail trade, finance and insurance, telecommunications, and building and construction activities.
The report said: “The Non-oil sector is expected to continue to drive the Nigerian economy in 2011 while the improvements recorded in the oil sector in 2010 will be sustained. Activities in the oil sector, with their associated gas components, are projected to result in a growth rate, in real  term of 3.40 percent in 2011 compared with the 4.56 percent recorded in 2010.
The Nigerian oil sector recovered from the recent unprecedented levels of disruptions due to militancy, vandalisation and facility shut downs. “Most of the onshore fields in the country that were shut-in due to insecurity of lives and properties were re-opened in 2010. The sector also would continue to benefit from the continued upsurge in world crude oil demand which has kept prices at high levels coupled with the relative stability in the exchange rate of naira against the dollar which is expected to continue in 2011.” It noted that on an aggregate basis, the economy when measured by the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by 7.98 percent this year, as against 7.85 percent recorded in year 2010.
“The two major output groups of the economy, that is, oil and non-oil sectors are expected to witness an increase in output in 2011. The non-oil sector would be driven by growth in the activities of the wholesale and retail trade, telecommunications, finance and insurance and building and construction sectors. The oil sector output is expected to remain stable as a result of the continued peace in the Niger Delta region following the Federal Government’s amnesty programme,” the report added.

Sambo Rates Garden City Festival High

Vice President Namadi Sambo

Vice President  Namadi Sambo, has said the 17th National Sports Festival, tagged Garden City Games 2011 hosted by Rivers State, has surpassed the previous sports festivals since its inception in 1973.

Sambo stated this Saturday night during the closing ceremony of the 17th National Sports Festival, at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt.

The Vice president said the improvements recorded in the provision of sporting facilities, organisation and the competitive spirit among athletes shows that Port Harcourt is back to take its pride of place in Nigeria as it has transformed the festival.

According to him, Garden City Games is one festival that has showcased huge talents which abound in the country, stressing that with the record of achievements, Nigeria will have athletes that would represent her in international sporting events.

He explained that sports play a critical role in modern society as most countries are reaping great benefits from sports, emphasizing that athletes at the festival gave their best to achieve results for their various states.

Sambo hinted that with the standard set at the Garden City games, the benefit of hosting the festival are now more enhanced and urged other states to show interest to harvest from the games.The Vice President charged the National Sports Commission (NSC) to sustain the innovation introduced in the 17th National Sports Festival to enable them nurture and harness the athletes that were discovered during the games.

  He commended the Rivers State Government for hosting and winning the highest number of medals, adding that the state has given the most colourful opening and closing ceremony.

In his speech, the Rivers State Governor , Hon.  Rotimi Amaechi ,  said the festival achieved its aim of fostering friendship, brotherly love and unity among the diverse groups in the country.Governor Amaechi remarked that from the onset the state promised to host one of the best sporting festivals in recent history, explaining that reports received indicate that the state has set another standard for future hosts of the festival.

The Governor noted that the state of the art sporting facilities at the sports complex has started receiving request for use by the various sports federations and promised to cooperate with those interests in the use of the facilities.He described the festival as most exciting and lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for his love for the youths of Nigeria as well as for sports development, pointing out that the efforts of the MOC and the LOC were immense in setting the high standard of the games.

The Governor said the commitment, dedication and hard work of the state was responsible for the high performance of team Rivers while commending journalists for the effective coverage of the festival.

Earlier, the Director General, National Sports Commission (NSC) Dr. Patrick Ekeji, said the festival which started in 1973 has witnessed great improvement as the athletes competed in 28 sports.

Ekeji said the NSC has introduced a number of innovations in the management of the sports festival and to evolve ways of strengthening it, noting that the impressive performance of athletes was encouraging for sports development in Nigeria.

He described the 2011 Garden City Games as great technical success in the history of the festival and congratulated Rivers State for hosting a remarkable festival which they also won with 135 Gold, 29 silver and 85 Bronze medals to place first while Delta and Edo states came second and third respectively.Highlight of the closing ceremony was the presentation of trophies to the winners and the putting out of the tough of unity.

N’ Assembly: No More Excuse for Budget Failures

Senate President David Mark

The National Assembly has vowed not to accept any excuse from the executive arm for failure to implement annual budgets forthwith.

Senate President David Mark, who made this stand known in Abuja Sunday while playing host to the two newly appointed ministers from his home state, Comrade Abba Moro and Dr. Sam Ortom, advised that everything must be done by the executive to comply with appropriation acts from now on.

He said the standing committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives to be constituted soon would be given a clear-cut mandate to be stringent on oversight functions, assuring that there would be no sacred cows and nothing would be compromised to get things done rightly.

Mark therefore urged the new ministers to brace up to the challenge of total transformation in all sectors of our economy in order to salvage the nation from the brinks. He maintained that Nigeria is no longer a toddler whose first faltering steps must of a necessity be tolerated, saying: "We have come of age and we must hit the ground running".

The Senate President reminded the new ministers that Nigeria is in a hurry to develop and therefore requires men and women of good conscience, competent, capable hands and patriots committed to the ideals of nationhood.

"It is God's appointed time that you are ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at this time of our history”, Mark told the new appointees. “You must therefore prove that you are the right choices. You must perform to make the positive difference. That is the only way you can justify your appointments and make us proud."

He however pledged the National Assembly’s cooperation with other arms of government to the extent that such synergy would impact positively on the lives of the ordinary citizen.

  "We would have failed in our responsibilities if our efforts do not affect the ordinary man on the street positively. We must therefore work together to achieve results because we cannot afford to fail", Mark stressed.

In their separate remarks, Moro and Ortom assured that they have already keyed into  the transformation agenda of the administration and would strive for excellence.

Specifically, Moro said he is not unmindful of the challenges but he is determined to make a positive difference and bring honour to Benue state and the nation.

Otorm, on his part, pledged that he would use the opportunity of the appointment to foster peace and unity between and amongst the diverse groups in Nigeria, especially in Benue state.

Fuel Subsidy’s Biggest Fraud, Says Saraki

Immediate past  governor of Kwara state,  Senator Bukola Saraki ,  at the weekend canvassed for the total deregulation of the nation’s downstream sector of the petroleum industry  in order to put an end to the illegal rackets that accompany fuel subsidy to stimulate  the economic growth of the country.

Saraki who stated this  in Ilorin while speaking with newsmen on the state of nation, said  if the government is able to do this, it would assist the government to get more funds that would be used to improve the social well being of the people.

According to him, “I see the subsidy as the biggest fraud in this country. That money can better be used to impact positively of the lives of majority of Nigerians.”

He said: at the moment  the country spend about $4billion  yearly on fuel subsidy and that means if shared among Nigerians everyone will have N4million per year”

Saraki added that “Fuel subsidy is supposed to be a palliative measure to help Nigerians, but at the moment, it has not served that purpose, most of the money ends in the pockets of few individuals and it will be worse this year as kerosene is being subsidized. It will be in the region of $6billion. It is almost the country’s capital expenditure for the year”

He stressed that “To move this country forward, we have to learn from the mistakes of the past. We should not allow the mistake of the past hold us back. We must have faith in  government.”

On Boko Haram activities in the county, the lawmaker said “ the Boko Haram menace poses a security threat to the country”, saying that “it is a great concern to all of us. One needs to see it as a problem for not only Mr. President or the executive governor, it is a problem for our country.”

He said, “We must apply all measures; we must be able to understand the reason why this is coming up. I believe dialogue must come along with whatever action is being  taken to curb the menace.”

He therefore said “Nigerian must address whatever their agitations are as a group and bring a halt  to all this. The National Assembly is committed in whatever ways necessary to support security agencies bring back the confidence of the group  There must be investment in our security apparatus; private sector will not stake its investment in insecure environment,” the former chairman of Nigerian governors’ said.