Author: Lawal AbdulSalam Olawale

The bill seeking to extend the retirement age of staff of National Assembly has scaled through Second Reading on the floor of the House of Representatives.

The private member bill was sponsored by the Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Aliyu Sani Madaki.

The controversial bill had during the 8th and 9th Assemblies suffered major setbacks following a series of opposition from various stakeholders who argued that the extension of the retirement age from 60 to 65 years and 35 service years to 40 years will create redundancy and stagnancy among the workers.

However in his lead debate 1o1n Tuesday,1111 Hon. Madaki explained that the bill seeks to make provision for a harmonized retirement age for staff of the National Assembly and make it independent.

The proposed legislation also proposed a retirement age of 65 years or 40 years of service, whichever comes first.

He stated that this extension will help for the efficiency of work of the professionalized staff of the National Assembly.

On his part, Hon. Ali Isa who supported the Bill stated that it will maintain the specialized experience of staff in the National Assembly.

He stated that Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has also called for this extension across board which is already in practice in many parts of the world.

Also speaking, Hon. Abdullahi Rasheed argued that the bill when passed into law will boost the morale of the staff of the National Assembly and ensure they deliver on the complex nature of the services they render.

After the debate, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Public Service Matters for further legislative action.

Recall that the Chairman of National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), Engineer Ahmed Amshi had in the wake of the controversy trailing the purported plan by the erstwhile Clerk for the National Assembly (CNA), Sani Omolori to unilaterally enforce a new condition of Service, directed that status quo on the 35 years and 60 years of age whichever comes first should be maintained.

According to the memo dated 15th July 2020 titled: ‘The National Assembly Service Commission approves the retirement age for the staff of the National Assembly Service as 35 years of service and 60 years of age whichever comes first.”

In pursuant to its mandate as provided in the National Assembly Service Act, 2014 (as amended), the National Assembly Service Commission at its 497th meeting held on Wednesday, 15th July, 2020 approved the retirement age of the staff of the National Assembly Service as 35 years of service or 60 years of age whichever comes first.

Disturbed by the rising number of awaiting trial inmates in the country and the delay in determination of cases in court, the Federal Government, on Tuesday, said it has concluded plans to convene a national summit on justice.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, made the disclosure at the opening session of a three-day national stakeholders’ forum on the review of the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 & Administration of Criminal Justice Laws of States.

Participants at the opening ceremony of the workshop, included the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola; President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem; the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory; the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba; as well as the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau, SAN.

Others, were; the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun; Representatives of the Nigerian Correction Center; Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, the Director General of the Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Buba Marwa; and Attorneys General of all the 36 States of the federation.

In his keynote address, the AGF, Fagbemi, SAN, maintained that a cardinal point of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, “is the commitment to ensuring that the criminal justice system of our country is more responsive to the demands of Nigerians for a simple, fast, efficient, effective, fair and trustworthy system for dispensation of justice.”

He said: “This forum will afford us the opportunity to collaboratively look back, evaluate and benchmark our performances in a journey that would lead to the improvement of our criminal justice system.

“It will help us to conduct a form of peer review of respective States approaches to the challenges of criminal justice administration, and also bring to the fore common approaches to common challenges confronting criminal justice administration.

“Accordingly, in conducting this review of the ACJA/ACJLs, we need to ask ourselves pointed questions regarding the nature and workability of the strategic amendments that we need to do in order to make ACJA/ACJLs respond to critical challenges and needs of our society.

We need to know what we could have done better, and how much further we need to go to enable us achieve the desired outcome.

“So much has happened since the passage of ACJA in 2015. Of great significance is the development of the National Policy on Justice, which was developed in 2017 through a collaborative platform.

“Indisputably, the National Policy on Justice identified some of the root causes of the failures and inadequacies in our entire justice system, and sought ways to consolidate on various reform efforts across justice sector institutions.

“The Federal Ministry of Justice is making plans with relevant stakeholders to convene a National Summit on Justice to consider and adopt a revised National Policy on Justice, 2024 – 2028.”

Continuing, the AGF, said: “The second intervening issue since the enactment of ACJA, which I would like to comment on, as it touches on the corrective aspects of our criminal justice system, relates to the recent amendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 by the 9th National Assembly – vide Fifth Alteration (No. 15) Act of 2023.

As we may all recall, the Fifth Alteration (No. 15) Act of 2023 deleted the legislative item “prisons” from the Exclusive Legislative List, re-designated it as “Correctional Services” and re-categorised it as a legislative item under the Concurrent Legislative List. The effect of these constitutional changes is that the Houses of Assemblies of the various States of the Federation can now make laws for their respective States in matters pertaining to Correctional Services.

“It has therefore become imperative to properly address issues arising directly from these constitutional changes. Central among these issues is the need for expedited collaboration and coordination between the respective States of the Federation and the Nigerian Correctional Service, for the purpose of ensuring proper structuration and delineation of responsibilities on custodial and other correctional matters.

“This will help in tackling issues of custodial rights and related correctional policies and its challenges,” the AGF added.

While the SGF, Mrs. Jedy-Agba, said the forum was a vital platform for collaboration, dialogue, and exchange of ideas on the implementation of the ACJA (2015) which she described as fundamental to the principles of justice, fairness, and accountability that underpin any democratic society.

The CJN, who was represented by a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Tijjani Abubakar, while declaring the forum open, said the meeting was apt and timely.

This is a step in the right direction. I ask that the same zeal that gave rise to the enactment of ACJA should also be channeled towards its implementation,” the CJN pleaded.

Reps Invite CBN Gov Over FX Ban Lifted On 43 Items.

The House of Representatives is to invite the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, over the new policy lifting forex restriction on 43 items.

The House wants a clarification on the policy and its implications on the economy.

Two weeks ago, the apex bank lifted forex ban on 43 items and also promised to intervene in the FX market from “time to time”.

The apex bank had in 2015 restricted the items from accessing FX from the I&E window, saying they were not valid for foreign exchange and could be produced in the country. Items affected include rice, cement, palm kernel, meat and processed meat products, poultry, soap, and cosmetics among others.

But weeks ago, the apex bank in a statement said, “As part of its responsibility to ensure price stability, the CBN will boost liquidity in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market by interventions from time to time. As market liquidity improves, these CBN interventions will gradually decrease.

“Importers of all the 43 items previously restricted by the 2015 Circular referenced TED/FEMFPC/GEN/O1/010 and its addendums are now allowed to purchase foreign exchange in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market

The lawmakers passed the resolution to summon the CBN governor, following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by a member, Sada Soli, calling for clarification on the policy and its implications on the economy.

The lawmaker drew the attention of the House to the fact that some of the initially prohibited items have tariffs to protect local industries.

Further worried that Nigeria will not be competitive in the African Continental Free Trade Area if its markets are flooded with imported finished goods, the House resolved that its relevant committees should invite the central bank governor for further explanation

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, on Monday evening said his core agenda remain the opening of nation’s blue economy virile private investments and Public Private Partnership (PPP).

He made the disclosure at the dinner session of the ongoing 29th Nigerian Economic Summit, holding in Abuja. The event was put together by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.

At the session themed: ‘Sailing to Success: Harnessing Nigeria’s Maritime Potential,’ Oyetola who is the immediate past governor of Osun State, reiterated his ministry’s commitment to fixing some of the challenges confronting the nation’s marine and blue economy and opening up the sector to private investments and public-private partnerships.

He noted that just as the country has witnessed the transformation in the telecoms and power sectors through private sector participation, he believes that enabling private sector investments is key to unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential in the Marine and Blue Economy sector.

Oyetola also spoke of government’s readiness to enhance efficiency at the ports and facilitate the establishment of private sector-led Maritime Development Zones for the co-location of ancillary services such as “wreck removal, wreck recycling, ship building, ship repairs, etc.

“We are also working to streamline the number of government agencies operating at the ports through the full implementation of the National Single Window initiative. We are also automating port operations through the deployment of a Port Community System and phasing out manual cargo inspections,” the minister was partly quoted.”

Report Ad

Report Ad

Oyetola further noted the importance of expanding the domestic shipping fleet by encouraging new shipping lines and enforcing the Cabotage Act more rigorously, adding that “it is imperative that we move quickly towards improving the navigability of our waters, increase the draughts of our ports, achieve 24-48 hours cargo clearance, and ensure adequate connectivity of our ports to the hinterland, with efficient road and rail networks.”

The minister added that “our goal is to build a thriving maritime and blue economy sector that makes a substantial contribution to Nigeria’s GDP. I commend the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, for being a leading private sector-led think-tank and for advocating economic policies and initiatives that will reform and transform our country’s economy.”

The Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence sitting in Ikeja on Tuesday sentenced the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Doctor Olufemi Olaleye, to life imprisonment for the defilement of his wife’s niece.

Justice Rahman Oshodi sentenced him after he found him guilty of the offence of defilement and sexual penetration of a 15-year-old girl.

The judge held that the prosecution was able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and that all the evidence before the court corroborated that of the victim.

Olaleye was arraigned on two counts which bordered on defilement and sexual assault by penetration of his wife’s niece, preferred against him by the Lagos State Government.

The convict was arraigned on November 30, 2022, and he pleaded not guilty to the offences.

The Director of Public Prosecutions Dr Babajide Martins had told the court that Olaleye had committed the offences sometime between February 2020 and November 2021.

He said the offence took place at No 17, Layi Ogunbambi close, Maryland, Lagos state.