The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has assured that the House would commence work on the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) and the amendment of the 1999 Constitution next year, THISDAY reports.

Gbajabiamila disclosed this  yesterday at a retreat organised for chairmen of standing committees of the House by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), in Lagos.

The Speaker, in a statement issued yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, noted that both the constitution review and the PIGB were part of the bills that the House would prioritise in 2020.

He stressed that the House would do everything within its powers to give Nigeria the best in terms of laws that would promote peace and good governance in the country.

The Speaker, who tasked the chairmen of the committees to work with their deputies and other members of the committees as a team, noted that Nigerians had high expectations on the Legislature, hence they must work hard to meet such.

He stated: “We have been elected at a time of great upheaval at home and abroad. We are confronted with great peril; oil prices have fallen and refuse to go back up, our population growth continues to outpace economic growth, we are besieged on all sides by rising insecurity and its consequences.

“How do we build an economy that is attractive to investment, that creates jobs to meet our present needs, and grows apace to meet future demands? How do we build a society where the weak are not afflicted by the powerful, where our differences of gender and tribe, religion and opinion are not weaponised to deprive any citizen of life, of liberty or the freedom to pursue happiness?

“How do we achieve the promise of greatness that so long ago caused the world to look upon us and say, here comes the giant of Africa? These are the questions that should engage our interests and animate our efforts because in the answer to these questions lies the best dreams we have for ourselves and the highest ambitions we hold for our country,” the Speaker said.

The Speaker also commended the lawmakers for their commitment to the passage of the 2020 budget, which he said would bring the budget cycle to January to December.

He added, “Where it is the responsibility of the executive to implement programmes and execute projects, it falls to us to articulate through legislation, the broad objectives of our nationhood, and through oversight, hold the executive accountable to those objectives. The standing Committees you each lead are the principal instruments of legislation and oversight.

“Whatever we are, whatever we will achieve, and everything we will be remembered for in this House of Representatives depends on how well your Committees function and how effectively you serve as leaders of those Committees.

“Our ability to rise to the responsibilities of our offices are often constrained by institutional weaknesses that have been for too long left unaddressed. We are here to critically examine how we operate in the House of Representatives.”

On his part, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, commended the National Assembly for passing the budget on time “for the first time since 1999.

He said with the zeal and commitment exhibited so far by members of the 9th House under the leadership of Gbajabiamila, he believed they would achieve a lot in the next four years.

A former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, was Friday granted permission by a Federal High Court in Lagos, to travel abroad for medical treatment, DailyTrust reports.

Fayose is facing trial over an alleged N2.2bn fraud.

Following an application by his lawyer, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), Justice C.J. Aneke, for the second time, granted Fayose permission to go abroad for treatment. The judge had in July first granted Fayose permission for a foreign medical trip.

The prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), did not oppose the Friday’s request.

After granting the travel permission, Justice Aneke adjourned till January 16, 2020 for continuation of trial.

Three policemen from the Bayelsa State Police Command and four operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps have been arrested over an alleged theft of N40 million missing from a safe in Bayelsa Government House, Sun News reports.

Also in police net is a Government House staff attached to the Maintenance Unit, who had do some routine maintenance work in the office on the fateful day. The suspects who are already being grilled by operatives of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) of the Bayelsa State Command were attached to the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Bayelsa State Government House, Mrs. Ebizi Ndiomu-Brown. According to investigation, the alleged theft of the money, which occurred on Wednesday night, was discovered on Thursday morning as workers met the safe vandalised.

Sources at the Government House are baffled as to how those who allegedly stole the money had access to the safe because policemen were guarding the two entrances to the office of the deputy chief of staff where the money was kept. A reliable source at the Police Command said the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Uche Anozia who was infuriated over the development ordered for the immediate arrest of all the suspected policemen. Government House officials were said to have been shocked by the audacity with which the theft was carried out.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bayelsa Command, Asinim Butswat confirmed the arrest of the suspects, adding however that the money missing was N3.5 million and not N40 million.

The Senate has passed the 2020 appropriation bill.

The passage was a sequel to the presentation of a report by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Barau Jibrin.

The budget was increased from N10.33 trillion presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on October 8 to N10.6 trillion (10,594,362,364,830).

In the report presented by Mr Jibrin, N560.47 billion is for statutory transfers (a category into which the National Assembly budget falls).

While the Senate maintained Nigeria’s daily oil production rate at 2.18 million per barrel, it, however, increased the Oil Benchmark Price to $57 per barrel against the $55 proposed by the Executive.

The committee retained the inflation rate at 10.81 per cent and the exchange rate at N305-$1 as proposed by the executive. It also retained GDP Growth Rate at 2.93 per cent as proposed.

Mr Jibrin said the committee worked harmoniously with the Executive for the processing of the bill.

The breakdown

The Senate passed the budget with the breakdown as follows:

Statutory transfer –N560,470,827,235

Debt service – N2,725,498,930,000

Recurrent expenditure –N4,842,974,600,640

Capital expenditure –N2,465,418,006,955

Fiscal Deficit – N2.28 trillion

Deficit/GDP – N1.52 per cent

Mr Jibrin explained that the increase allows for intervention in critical areas like security, infrastructure, mines and steel development, social development, among others.

This, he said, is in line with the budget thrust of the government “which is focused on growing development and sustainable growth.”

He also said the committee adopted the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) as approved by the National Assembly.

This is as he urged his colleagues to adopt the recommendations of the committee.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, thanked his colleagues and the Executive for the cooperation, He also admonished the Executive to ensure the full and effective implementation of the budget of the budget.

He said the ninth Senate has achieved one of its key promises to return the budget cycle to January – December.

We have done so much in a short while; we have given the Executive everything they need – budget, finance bill, MTEF, among others, he said.

Mr Lawan said the Senate will interact with Ministries, Departments and Agencies on a quarterly basis in 2020 to monitor implementation of the budget.

“We hope that with this budget passed, the Executive will ensure full implementation for the benefit of all Nigerians,” he said.

A former Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, who was prosecuted on 27 counts by the EFCC has been jailed.

Kalu, now a Senator representing Abia North at the National Assembly, was jailed by a Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos and presided over by Justice Mohammad Idris.

He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for N7.65bn fraud.

Also convicted and sentenced are two other accomplices, his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited and Udeh Udeogu, who was Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House during his tenure as governor.

The judge also ordered that Slok Nigeria Limited be wound up and its assets forfeited to the Federal Government.