Featured
Speakership: Low turnout as Gbajabiamila launches campaign for Tajudeen
By Lateef Taiwo
Members-elect for the 10th House of Representatives, on Wednesday, failed to honour the invitation of the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila for the sole aim of launching a campaign for Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, for the position of the Speaker for the 10th Assembly.
The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the President-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, had adopted Rep. Tajudeen, a Member representing Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State for the position of Speaker in the next Assembly, to be inaugurated in 2 weeks.
Zoning of the number four citizen’s position to the North West and the subsequent adoption of Tajudeen, it was gathered, was the brain child of the current Speaker, Gbajabiamila, who prefers to continue holding grip of the 10th House of Representatives thereby making it possible for Tinubu to control the incoming Assembly.
But Gbajabiamila, during a meeting organized Wednesday night by the Joint Task for the 10th Assembly, an umbrella body for the actualization of Tajudeen’s ambition as Speaker, denied ever influencing the choice of the Kaduna born politician.
“North West geopolitical zone alone contributed 30% of the total votes for APC in the last elections” and ” if you conduct a proper research, the North West zone has not been considered for the number four position in the history of our parliament”, Gbajabiamila laboured to explain.
He was, however, shocked to see a hall filled with Support Groups, Journalists and spectators as the target audience (Members-elect) who posses the voting powers, largely boycotted the meeting.
Sensing that the little number inside the hall might not necessarily be Honourable Members and Members-elect, whom he has sought to address, Gbajabiamila requested for an executive session, apparently to see if he has enough numbers to make his anointed candidate Speaker; only to be bewildered that only 73 Members and Members-elect actually honoured the invitation.
The visibly angered Speaker was seen leaving the Osun Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, just two minutes after asking for an executive session.
A Lawmaker who was in attendance and spoke to our Correspondent on condition of anonymity, explained that, “Gbaja was not happy seeing the number of Lawmakers in attendant and I think he has sensed danger, as an experienced politician, that his preferred candidate won’t fly”.
Asked if he was going to support Tajudeen, the Lawmaker who just won his election under the Labour Party, said he was actually at the meeting, like some of his friends, who got invitation that Rep. Gbajabiamila was going to address both returning and new Members, only to see that it was a forum to sell the candidacy of Tajudeen.
“Some of my Colleagues understood the reason for the meeting, but innocent me, like few of my friends I interacted with in the hall, didn’t get the notion behind the invitation, untill we got here and we decided to sit and listen to whatever they had to say. I was personally disappointed seeing just a few Members in attendance, because I had thought they got all the votes, since it’s their party that selected this man for Speaker.
“But since their own Members cannot honour their party and most of them stayed off, is it we from the minorites that would support APC? Even though we are more than them in number, we would not be used to project mediocrity or support the composition of a rubber-stamped Assembly. The institution of the National Assembly is supposed to be an independent Arm of Government and not an appendage of another arm of Government.
“The minority caucus has been meeting lately and we shall make our stand known soon. We shall throw our weight behind anyone we feel have the capacity and independent mind to make the 10th House work for the people of Nigeria and not for an individual. We shall support such a person, regardless of any region or State he or she comes from. About 358 Members are going to cast their votes to decide the next Speaker and I don’t think, this number I’m seeing here tonight can make one-quarter of the deciding votes”, the Member-elect added.
Featured
NAPTIP Restates Commitment To Fighting Human Trafficking
Joel Ajayi
… decries corruption in law enforcement, weak legislation
The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, has pledged the agency’s commitment to fight human trafficking.
Waziri-Azi gave the assurance during an anti-corruption radio program, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, in Abuja.
The commitment by NAPTIP follows an investigative report by Human Angle Media exposing how many Nigerians trafficked to Egypt are inhumanely treated and exploited by their sponsors.
Represented by the agency’s Director of Public Enlightenment, Mrs. Kehinde Akomolafe, decried the rising number of Nigerians who are victims of trafficking, pledging that “NAPTIP is fighting on all sides to curb human trafficking.”
Akomolafe disclosed that the agency is aware of the report of Nigerians trafficked to Egypt and has already commenced interventions to rescue them while warning citizens to be wary of “offers that are too good to be true.”
She identified weak legislation, lengthy judicial processes, and corrupt law enforcement officials as factors aiding and abetting trafficking in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world.
“Corruption is endemic and cuts across other countries of the world, and that’s why trafficking is easily perpetrated in Nigeria and around the globe. You find law enforcement officials aiding and abetting traffickers. Some of them know these traffickers from their operations either at the entry or exit point. They give them something or become too familiar with them.
“Apart from the bribery aspect, we also have officials turning a blind eye to trafficking activities, and that’s why for us at the agency (NAPTIP), we are not resting.”
According to her, the agency, from inception, secured 672 convictions, 67 in 2023, and 35 persons so far this year (2024). She added that “NAPTIP is winning the war against trafficking but still wants stiffer punishment for traffickers and the support of the judiciary in hastening cases.
“weak legislation is aiding trafficking. That’s why the agency continues pushing for amendments. Currently, NAPTIP is pushing for stiffer punishment against traffickers that will lead to confiscation of their monies and property.
“NAPTIP Director-General (Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi) is fighting on all sides against human trafficking.
“Where law enforcement officials are found complicit, NAPTIP Director-General does not take it lightly; she doesn’t compromise her anti-corruption stance even when a staff is involved,” Akomolafe stated.
According to the Editor of Southern Operations, Human Angle Media, Kabir Adejumo, many Nigerians trafficked to Egypt engage in forced labour. They are also living in fear as authorities go after illegal immigrants.
Adejumo said victims interviewed during the investigation are willing and interested in returning home, but their sponsors refuse to release their travel passports and threaten to implicate them.
He also revealed that the NAPTIP and Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) are aware of the plight of Nigerians trafficked in Egypt and have currently rescued one person.
On her part, the Programme Manager of the Human Angle Foundation, Angela Umoro-David, expressed satisfaction at NAPTIP’s response to trafficking cases while urging the agency to stay on course with their mandate.
Umoro-David called on Nigerians to use a Freedom of Information platform (foi.humananglemedia.com) to help citizens navigate requests for public records from different government parastatals and agencies.
She stressed that the platform “is a website where people can submit their FOI requests to us (Human Angle), and we’ll submit it on their behalf to the particular agency. So we act as middlemen, connecting these government parastatals to the citizens”.
Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program PRIMORG uses to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.
The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation
-
Featured5 years agoLampard Names New Chelsea Manager
-
Featured4 years agoFG To Extends Lockdown In FCT, Lagos Ogun states For 7days
-
Featured5 years agoNYSC Dismisses Report Of DG’s Plan To Islamize Benue Orientation Camp
-
Featured4 years agoChildren Custody: Court Adjourns Mike Ezuruonye, Wife’s Case To April 7
-
Featured3 years agoTransfer Saga: How Mikel Obi Refused to compensate me After I Linked Him Worth $4m Deal In Kuwait SC – Okafor
-
Sports2 years ago
TINUBU LAMBAST DELE MOMODU
-
News11 months agoJubilation In Kaduna As Tribunal Upholds Ekene Adam Winner Of Reps Election
-
Featured5 years ago
Board urges FG to establish one-stop rehabilitation centres in 6 geopolitical zones
