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Lagos Assembly Passed 300 Bills, 2000 Resolutions In 25 years – Speaker

Published

1 week ago

June 12, 2024

Editor

The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed 300 bills and 2,000 resolutions since the return of democratic dispensation in 1999.

The Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa stated this at a programme to commemorate 25 years of democratic governance on Wednesday in the state.

The programme, organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly was themed “Building a Brighter Future: A Journey of Hope and Aspirations”.

Obasa revealed that some of the bills and resolutions were historic.
He added that many of the bills eventually became laws which had impacted residents greatly as well as people outside of the state.

“Particularly worthy of mention are the Financial Autonomy law, Neighbourhood Safety Agency law, Regulation Approval law, and the Local Government Administration law, which created 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAS).

“This is in addition to the existing 20 local government areas in the state for the purpose of bringing government closer to the teeming Lagosians. The law also creates a four-year tenure for elected officials of the local government councils, making Lagos the first state in Nigeria to do so.

“Also, there is the Traffic Sector Reform law which created the Bus Rapid Transportation (BRT) system and the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) law.”

Our BRT law became a prototype design for many other states in Nigeria and some West African countries like Ghana and the Gambia.

“As a matter of fact, most of our laws, including our House Rules, have become models for other State Houses of Assembly in Nigeria,” he said.

Speaking on education, he stated that the Assembly had enacted the Lagos State University of Science and Technology law which converted the old Lagos State Polytechnic to a full university.

He noted that one of the beauties of law was that it would eliminate the discrimination against polytechnic graduates in the labour market.

Obasa added that the Lagos State College of Education was upgraded to the Lagos State University of Education through an enabling law, thereby increasing the number of universities established by the state to three.

The Speaker said in a bid to proffer solutions to the security challenges facing the country, the Assembly pioneered the agitation for the creation of state police.

He said due to constitutional constraints, an abridged form of security outfit called the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency was created to assist the police in maintaining law and order and enhance community policing in the state.

Obasa recalled that the very first session of the Assembly was headed by Mr Oladosu Osinowo (Ikorodu Urban II constituency) between October 1979 and September 1983.

He said Osinowo laid the foundation for the vibrancy of the House as well as the brilliant leadership for which the Assembly was revered.

He said at the time Osinowo was Speaker, Lateef Jakande was the state governor and that his administration built the Assembly complex.

He said the second Lagos Legislative Assembly was headed by Mr Oladimeji Longe (itire-Ikate constituency) between October 1983 and December 1983 while Shakirudeen Kinyomi (Ojo I constituency) was the Speaker in the third Legislative Assembly.

The speaker said that the Fourth Legislative Assembly, led by Dr Olorunnibe Mamora (Kosofe I constituency), was inaugurated by the then governor of the state and now President Bola Tinubu on June 2, 1999.

“The Assembly has enjoyed relative stability in its leadership with only four Presiding Officers in 25 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria.

“This has, in no doubt, enhanced innovation, competence and capacity. Mamora led the House between June 1999 and June 2003, followed by Mr Jokotola Pelumi (Epe II), who led between June 2003 and December 2005.

“Then, Mr Adeyemi Ikuforiji (Epe I) took the mantle and led between December 2005 and June 2015. In addition, I am the current and longest serving legislator and Speaker in Nigeria, I was first elected Speaker in June 2015, I was re-elected in 2019 and again returned in 2023,” he said.

He added that the Assembly’s avowed commitment to excellence in all its ramifications had made the state the bride of all since 1999.

Obasa said the Assembly had lived by its creed, reflecting positively on the constituents who had put their hopes on it as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for prompt, fair and effective dispensation of justice.
NAN

Headline

Why Only 300 Of 50,000 Hardcore Terrorists Arrested By Military Were Prosecuted – DG, NARC

Published

3 hours ago

June 23, 2024

Editor

Against the backdrop that statistics and records from intelligence agencies show that out of the over 50,000 hardened and hardcore Boko Haram terrorists arrested by the Nigerian Army and other security agencies, only about a paltry 300 of them have been prosecuted, the Director General of the Nigeria Army Resource Centre, Major General Garba Wahab (rtd) has said that the judiciary arm of the government needs to do more if insecurity is to be eradicated in Nigeria.

Hundreds of thousands of innocent Nigerians have been killed, abducted, raped and forcefully enslaved while houses, properties and government facilities were destroyed by these terrorists leading to millions displaced and in IDP camps but when the terrorists are arrested, little or nothing happens to them.

But speaking during a two-day round table discussion in Abuja at the weekend with the theme “Asymmetrical National Security Challenges, the Army, and National Development”, Gen Wahab disclosed that the judiciary must up its ante and perform its sacred role of dishing out deserved purnishment to terrorists to deter impunity.

His words, “One of the ways to curb insecurity is that the judiciary must be alive to its responsibilities and the local government authorities should be allowed to function.

“It is regrettable that in a Nigerian court, it will take 20 years for a case to be adjudicated upon and persons who have commited clear and glaring offences to be get just purnishment. That’s what is happening. A former president mentioned it saying It takes 10 years for a simple case of stealing to be decided in Nigeria.”

Wahab insisted that the local governments administration should be allowed to function well in the country pointing out that the localization of security in the country would also help in curbing some crimes.

“What we are asking those in government to do is to find a way of ensuring that the judiciary and local government are allowed to function well. When you allow local government to function, then you can localize the security architecture.

“In so doing, insecurity issues will be addressed at the battalion level We should go to the battalion level because these battalions serve the state and so they relate with the state and local government. We shouldn’t wait till we get to divisional headquarters whenever there is a problem. Divisional headquarters in most cases are busy attending to five or six States.”

Gen Wahab also called on the political class to avoid a situation where security agencies will feel that criminal elements receive protection even in instances where personnel are killed or injured through ambushes and other attacks thereby demoralizing the commitments of personnel in operations.

In his remarks, the Executive Director, Defence Space Agency, Prof. Okey Ikechukwu, said the round table seeks to drive a new narrative by getting various segments of Nigeria’s public to see and understand their roles in the wider national ecosystem of synchronized security.

He said, “We will use the round table to re-emphasise the specific and general roles of the military, particularly the Nigerian army, in the cocktail of structures, activities, and processes that constitute the national security architecture”.

He recalled that in April 2024, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, directed field commanders and troops to be adaptive and embrace innovation to ensure adversaries of the country are brought to their knees.

Lagbaja had noted that that the nation was in a more volatile and complex period than before and tasked Commanders to be innovative.

He also charged them to restore peace and stability in areas experiencing security challenges across the nation

The round table brought together, senior serving and retired military personnel, the media, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations among other stakeholders in the country?
VANGUARD

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PAP Boss, Otuaro, Calls For Unity, Promises To Capture Stakeholders Not Captured

Published

8 hours ago

June 22, 2024

Editor

The administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro, has announced plans to capture critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta region who are currently not benefiting from the interventionist programme.

Otuaro disclosed this Saturday at an ongoing stakeholders meeting in Warri, Delta State.

INFO DAILY reports that engagement meeting, which brought together various stakeholders of the Phase-2 of the PAP, is part of a broader consultation programme designed to refine, redesign and expand the Amnesty Programme.

The PAP boss said it’s necessary that some irregularities within the current system in the programme are corrected in order to ensure that the benefits of the programme are evenly distributed and accessible to all eligibles.

Otuaro stressed the importance of inclusive development, advocating for foreign scholarships and skill acquisition, extensive training programmes, and empowerment for those who have already undergone training.

Otuaro, while calling for unity among stakeholders, urged them to avoid divisive actions and to communicate any genuine concerns directly to him.

“If we can sustain this peace and generate great ideas, I am confident that we can present a compelling case to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Otuaro stated.

The PAP boss who noted that President Tinubu is committed to the development of the Niger Delta, expressed his belief that with the President’s support, the Amnesty Programme can reach new heights.

Otuaro further outlined strategic initiatives aimed at deepening the impact of the Amnesty Programme, which has been instrumental in fostering peace and development in the Niger Delta region.

Headline

Nigerians To Start Using Three-in-one ID Card August, Says Official

Published

12 hours ago

June 22, 2024

Editor

In two months, Nigerians will begin utilising the services of the proposed three-in-one identity card, the National Identity Management Commission has confirmed.

It said the single multipurpose card combining multiple functions of identity, financial and social services will be made available to citizens across the country by August this year.

A high-ranking member of the implementation team, who asked not to be named, disclosed the new information during an exclusive interview with The PUNCH.

The official stated that the commission had been working tirelessly to meet its goals, adding that the plan remains on track and would be launched in the upcoming months.

He also disclosed that the commission has begun the testing and deployment stage.

The official said, “We actually plan for July although there have been a few delays but we are still hopeful that it would come in July. So we are hoping to get it done between July and August. We are still on plan and if there is any shift, the public will know.”

The official added, “When you are deploying a new technology, there is a lot of work to be done, you need to configure the card, enable the outlet, and enable the wallet to work. We also have to do tests and that is what is ongoing.

“The deployment is ongoing, the portal that people need to access the service has to be deployed, and we have to make sure that it is scaleable and those are the ongoing works.

“There are integrations that all the banks need to do to enable the card and all of those little details are ongoing. We have that target and we are working extra hard to make sure that we achieve that.”

On Friday, April 5, 2024, the NIMC announced that it had launched a new card layered with payment capabilities and social service features in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System.

It explained that the identity solution was equipped with payment capability for all types of social and financial services.

According to a statement issued, the initiative represents a collaborative effort to offer increased options for domestic consumers while fostering the delivery of services in a more innovative, cost-effective, and competitive manner.

The identity cards will include a bank-enabled National ID card, a social intervention card, and an optional ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card.