The Federal Government rejected the interference in the internal affairs of Nigerian political development by some foreign forces, even as it assured that it will ensure credible general elections this year.
A Presidential source who would not like his name mentioned, said: “We reject any interference or perception management that promotes apprehension; citizen’s distrust or undermines the transparency and acceptability of the outcomes of our electoral process.
“Nigeria reserves the right to be insulated from suggestions and or interference with respect to wholly internal affairs and commends international laws, customs and norms that mandate and require nations and the comity to respect this prerogative to all.
“Nigeria is confident of its electoral processes and her preparation for the imminent elections and the federal government has supported the independent electoral umpire in both its independence and resources needed to accomplish our desire and insistence on free and fair elections.
“In addition, the Federal government has ensured the independence of all organs, institutions and arms of government to perform their functions in a manner that is transparent and is not lacking in integrity whether institutionally or by persons within such institutions or organs and will continue to do this.
“Although the question of foreign interference, whether state sponsored, promoted or otherwise has dominated recent elections and outcomes globally, the federal government assures citizens and the global community that it will fiercely and assiduously promote the will and the right of Nigerians to choose and elect their leaders without pressure or assistance from persons or entities that are not constitutionally empowered to participate in the process.
“Citizens are encouraged to confidently exercise their franchise in an orderly manner with the assurance of the federal government to their security during and after the electoral process as well as the readiness of the security forces to confront any plan or attempt to interfere with or disrupt the process whether by elements within or from outside the country.”
New Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad has advised 250 Chairmen and members of the Election Petition Tribunals to ensure that they are answeraibel to God only in the discharge of their duties.
Justice Tanko, who swore in chairmen and members of the electoral tribunals today, Saturday said: “I am delighted to address you all on this occasion of the swearing-in ceremony for the newly appointed Chairmen and members of Election Petition Tribunals for the 2019 General Elections that is around the corner.
“Therefore, it is from this oath that your duties and responsibilities as chairmen and members of the Election Petition Tribunals in your various places of assignment spring forth and has a binding effect. This is an ethical undertaking to justice as well as upholding the rule of law in our courts.
“As such, I implore you to discharge your onerous duty diligently and with the fear of God Almighty.”
The acting CJN, who replaced Justice Walter Onnoghen, said that the judiciary is in the trying time and advised them to stand to protect and uphold the integrity of the judicial arm of government.
“I therefore congratulate you on this appointment and I urge you to see this assignment as a call to greater service to your nation.
“I encourage you to uphold and enhance the honour and standing of the judiciary and I pray that the Almighty God will bestow upon you strength, good health and wisdom in the performance of your duties’’, Muhammad said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Sidi Bage was one out of the remaining 15 justices of the Supreme Court that attended the ceremony along with the acting CJN.
Australians are suffering sweltering heat waves that are wreaking havoc on people and wildlife.
It was reported that yesterday, Thursday, Adelaide experienced warmest weather on record for an Australian city at 46.6ºC (115.9ºF) while temperatures in the town of Port Augusta soared to 49.1ºC (120.4ºF), making it the hottest spot in the country.
While people get snowed in from blizzards across North America, Australians are taking shelter from the heat of the Southern Hemisphere summer. But some of the nation’s iconic animals have nowhere to hide, and are dying from exposure to the extreme conditions.
About 90 feral horses were found dead in the Ltyentye Apurte Community of the Australian Outback this week near a dried-up waterhole, having perished of thirst. The Central Land Council, which represents Aboriginal peoples in this region, decided to euthanize more than 50 additional horses because they were suffering and unlikely to recover.
The CLC expects that more horses, camels, donkeys, and other animals are likely to die due to the heat, and the organization is bracing for severe problems as global temperatures rise.
“With climate change well and truly upon us, we expect these emergencies to occur with increasing frequency and nobody is truly prepared and resourced to respond to them,” said CLC director David Ross in a statement.
Though the current temperatures are breaking records, it’s not the first heatwave this summer to deal serious damage to Australian wildlife. From November 26 to 27, temperatures exceeded 42ºC (108ºF) in northern Australia. Scientists estimate this spike killed a staggering 23,000 spectacled flying foxes—about a third of the nation’s entire population of this large bat species.
Meanwhile, about 10,000 black flying foxes, a close relative of the spectacled bat, also died from the heat.
The death of these bats from heat stress is “a canary in the coal mine for climate change,” ecologist Justin Welbergen said.
“It is clear from the present data that these [heat] events are having a very serious impact on the species and it’s clear from climate change projections that this is set to escalate in the future.
Aquatic species are also vulnerable to the extreme conditions. Droughts and alleged water mismanagement resulted in the deaths of up to a million fish in the Murray-Darling River basin in southeast Australia this month.
A group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) group has described the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Nkanu Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari as timely and necessary in order to safeguard democracy.
Reacting barely two hours after the suspension of the former CJN, the the human rights organization in a statement by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said: “the former CJN has lost the confidence of Nigerians. He has seriously tarnished the image of the judiciary. No serious government can retain such a character at the helm of its judicial system. Those who sit on the bench must choose between being gold merchants or agents of the bureau de change and being lords temporal.
“It is too dangerous to approach a general election with a character like the former CJN breathing down the neck of Nigerian judges. A man who is in love with bales of foreign currencies and wads of naira cannot have the courage to look away if tempted again. Onnoghen can only benefit corrupt candidates, opposition parties who have benefited and are still benefiting most from corruption as well as unscrupulous litigants who are hoping to get crooked court decisions.
“We therefore give his suspension full backing and unreserved support. Mr. President has acted in the interest of Nigeria and to preserve the good name of the judiciary. Whoever thinks otherwise should have a good explanation of where those strange lodgements into Onnoghen’s accounts came from. The fate of the former CJN should serve as a lesson for Nigerian judges. The judiciary must be fully integrated into the war against corruption if this country is going to be rid of corruption”.”
President Buhari suspended Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) earlier today, Friday, and swore in Justice Muhammed Tanko as the Acting CJN.
This followed an exparte motion granted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Wednesday 23rd January.
The Presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has advised the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari and the judiciary to resist the suspension.
Reacting in a statement, to the Presidential order suspending the CJN today, Friday, Atiku described it as anti democratic act which he, Atiku, had rejected “in its entirely and call on Justice Onnoghen and the judiciary to resist with every legal and constitutional means that they can muster.”
The PDP Presidential flag bearer also described the action as “brazen dictatorial act” which he said is the latest action in the ongoing rape of our nation’s hard earned democracy by those who dined with anti democratic forces, and is symptomatic of the increasing desperation that President Buhari and the cabal pulling the strings have as February 16, 2019 draws near.
“The fact that the unlawful suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen was announced just as it became public knowledge that the CJN was constituting the election petition tribunals is not lost on discerning Nigerians and the international community. This act of desperation is geared towards affecting the outcome of the 2019 Presidential elections. Indeed, it is not just the CJN that has been “suspended”, it is the Nigerian Constitution that has been infracted and, in effect, suspended, under the guise of the suspension of the CJN.
“The case involving the legality or otherwise of the charges against Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen is in court, as it should be. So far, the judiciary has ruled in Justice Onnoghen’s favour. So, why not allow the court to adjudicate on the matter? What is the pressing urgency?
“I want to seize this opportunity to call for unity amongst the judiciary. Do not let the Muhammadu Buhari administration divide you. Do not let this government turn you against yourselves. The judiciary is the last hope of the common man and the defender of our democracy.
“I also urge the international community to follow the commendable example of the United States and the United Kingdom by intervening to make those involved in this undemocratic act know that their actions will have consequences. Strong consequences.
“And to the Nigerian electorate, I call on you to save your beloved country from dictatorship by voting against President Muhammadu Buhari’s desperate war against the judiciary. Our country is falling apart under the leadership of President Buhari and it is time to stand up for democracy.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has accused the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Nkanu Samuel Onnoghen of not only endangering the course of justice in the country, but of shielding some corrupt Nigerians through legal technicalities.
The President, who pronounced the suspension of the embattled Chef Judge on the advice of the Code of Conduct Bureau following the case of none declaration of asset leveled against him, said: “it is no secret that this government is dissatisfied with the alarming rate in which the Supreme Court of Nigeria under the oversight of Justice Walter Onnoghen has serially set free, persons accused of the most dire acts of corruption, often on mere technicalities, and after quite a number of them have been convicted by the trial and appellate courts.”
Buhari said that Justice Onnoghen is being suspended final determination of the cases against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal and several other fora relating to his alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
The President lamented that the nation has been gripped by the tragic realities of no less a personality than the Chief Justice of Nigeria himself becoming the accused person in a corruption trial since details of the petition against him by a Civil Society Organization first became public about a fortnight ago.
“Although the allegations in the petition are grievous enough in themselves, the security agencies have since then traced other suspicious transactions running into millions of dollars to the CJN’s personal accounts, all undeclared or improperly declared as required by law.
“Perhaps more worrisome is the Chief Justice of Nigeria’s own written admission to the charges that he indeed failed to follow the spirit and letter of the law in declaring his assets, citing ’’mistake’’ and ’’forgetfulness’’ which are totally unknown to our laws as defences in the circumstances of his case.
“One expected that with his moral authority so wounded, by these serious charges of corruption, more so by his own written admission, Mr. Justice Walter Onnoghen would have acted swiftly to spare our Judicial Arm further disrepute by removing himself from superintending over it while his trial lasted.
“Unfortunately, he has not done so. Instead, the nation has been treated to the sordid spectacle of a judicial game of wits in which the Chief Justice of Nigeria and his legal team have made nonsense of the efforts of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to hear the allegation on merit and conclude the trial as quickly as possible considering the nature of the times in which we live.
“Whether deliberately or inadvertently, we have all seen the full weight of the Chief Justice of Nigeria descend on the tender head of one of the organs of justice under his control. There is simply no way the officers of that court, from the Chairman to the bailiffs, can pretend to be unaffected by the influence of the leader of the Judiciary.
“Not only the trial court, but others have been put on the spot. Practically every other day since his trial commenced, the nation has witnessed various courts granting orders and counter-orders in favour of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, all of them characterised by an unholy alacrity between the time of filing, hearing and delivery of judgment in same.
“The real effect has been a stalling of the trial of Justice Onnoghen, helped along by lawyers who insist that these orders, whether right or wrong are technically valid, and must be obeyed till an appellate Court says otherwise. No doubt, that it is the proper interpretation, but is it the right disposition for our nation?
“Nigeria is a constitutional democracy and no one must be, or be seen to be, above the law. Unfortunately, the drama around the trial of the Chief Justice of Nigeria has challenged that pillar of justice in the perception of the ordinary man on the street. For it is certain that no ordinary Nigerian can get the swift and special treatment Justice Onnoghen has enjoyed from his subordinates and privies in our Judicature.
“In the midst of all these distracting events, the essential question of whether the accused CJN actually has a case to answer has been lost in the squabble over the form and nature of his trial. This should not be so.
“If Justice cannot be done and clearly seen to be done, society itself is at risk of the most unimaginable chaos. As a Government, we cannot stand by wailing and wringing our hands helplessly but give our full backing and support to those brave elements within the Judiciary who act forthrightly, irrespective of who is involved.
“As you are all aware, the fight against corruption is one of the tripod of policies promised to Nigerians by this administration. Needless to say that it is an existential Policy which must be given adequate attention and commitment by all the three arms of government. The efforts of the Executive will amount to nothing without the cooperation of the Legislature and especially the Judiciary.
“Since there is nothing the Executive Arm can do after the apex court of the land has spoken on any matter, several of these individuals walk free among us today, enjoying what are clearly the proceeds of the corruption which for so long has defeated the efforts of this nation to develop and prosper.
“It is against this background that I have received the Order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal directing me to suspend the Chief Justice pending final determination of the cases against him. It also explains why I am not only complying immediately, but with some degree of relief for the battered sensibilities of ordinary Nigerians whose patience must have become severely over-taxed by these anomalies.
“In line with this administration’s avowed respect for the Rule of Law, I have wholeheartedly obeyed the Order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal dated 23rd January 2019.
“Accordingly, I hereby suspend the Honourable Mr. Justice Walter Nkanu Samuel Onnoghen, GCON as the Chief Justice of Nigeria pending final determination of the case against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
“In further compliance with the same Order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, I hereby invite Honourable Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed JSC, being the next most Senior Justice in the Supreme Court, to come forward to take the Judicial Oath as Chief Justice of Nigeria in an Acting Capacity.”
President Buhari insisted that his government can only stand a chance to win the fight against Corruption, and position the country for accelerated development “when we stand together to contend against it.
Private companies have now been given go-ahead to construct federal roads across the country on conditions spelt out in the new Executive Order 007 of 2019 on the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme which was assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari today, Friday at Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The private companies such as Dangote group, Unilver, Lafarge Africa and the rest are now allowed to construct major roads across the country and be paid in the form of Tax credit.
Giving the details of the Executive Order during the signing, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed said that the Scheme is based on the demand for road projects by companies and other corporate sponsors, who are willing to deploy their own working capital and financial resources to fund road projects located in the major economic corridors of the country where they have significant businesses and operations.
She said: “in this Pilot Phase, the following 6 private sector companies have chosen to participate in the Scheme: Dangote Industries Limited; Lafarge Africa Plc; Unilever Nigeria Plc; Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc; Nigeria LNG Limited and China Road and Bridge Corporation Nigeria Limited.”
According to her, these Investors will be investing in what she called 19 Eligible Road Projects, totalling 794.4 kilometer which have been prioritized in 11 States across each of the 6 Geo-Political Zones.
They are Construction of Ashaka-Bajoga Highway in Gombe State; Reconstruction of Dikwa-GambaruNgala Road in Borno State; Reconstruction of Bama-Banki Road in Borno State;
Rehabilitation of Sharada Road in Kano State; Rehabilitation of NnamdiAzikiwe Expressway / Bypass, in Kaduna State; Reconstruction of BirninGwari Expressway – Road in Kaduna State; Reconstruction of BirninGwari – Dansadau Road in Kaduna State.
Others are Reconstruction of Makurdi-Yandev-Gboko Road in Benue State; Reconstruction of Zone Roundabout-House of Assembly Road in Benue State; Reconstruction of Obajana-Kabba Road in Kogi State; Reconstruction of Ekuku-Idoma-Obehira Road in Kogi State; Construction of AdaviEba-Ikuehi-Obeiba-Obokore Road in Kogi State; Rehabilitation of Lokoja-Ganaja Road in Kogi State; Ofeme Community Road Network and Bridges in Abia State; Rehabilitation of Obele-Ilaro-Papalanto-Shagamu Road in Ogun State; Reconstruction of Sokoto Road in Ogun State; Reconstruction of Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonshoki-Ojota Road in Lagos State; Construction of Bodo-Bonny Road & Bridges across Opobo Channel in Rivers State and Rehabilitation of Benin City – Asaba Road in Edo State.
“In deed, we are actively soliciting for more serious proposals from interested Investors, State Governments and other stakeholders who may wish to take advantage of this Scheme to partner with the Federal Government in investing in roads. Our intention is for there to be at least one significant Eligible Road Project underway in every State of the Federation within the first year of the operation of this Scheme.
“In terms of process and governance, prospective road projects are to be submitted to the Government via the Scheme’s Management Committee. This Management Committee, which I chair, has the Minister of Power, Works and Housing as its Deputy Chairman, and the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance as its Secretary. The other members of the Management Committee are drawn from a number of relevant Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (‘MDAs’). They include:
a) The Federal Ministry of Finance;
b) The Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing;
c) The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment;
d) The Federal Ministry of Justice;
e) The Bureau of Public Procurement;
f) The Federal Inland Revenue Service;
g) The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission;
h) The Securities and Exchange Commission;
i) The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission;
j) The Budget Office of the Federation;
k) The National Bureau of Statistics;
l) The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority; and
m) The Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
“After carefully considering submissions by Investors, the Management Committee will forward the proposals, through the Chairman of the Committee, to Mr. President, who is empowered, pursuant to the Executive Order, to select Eligible Road Projects. Once approved, these Eligible Road Projects will be published in an Official Gazette, and modalities would be agreed upon with the Investors to accelerate the implementation of these projects, the verification of eligible project costs, as well as the issuance of tax credit certificates to the Investors.
“This Executive Order also provides mechanisms for groups of investors to pool funds together to invest in road projects – directly; jointly through special purpose vehicles; or indeed, in collaboration with institutional investors such as Pension Fund Administrators, Collective Investment Schemes, Insurance Companiesand Investment Banks. These measures have been adopted to enhance the ease of accessibility to the Scheme’s benefits by prospective Investors.
“The Scheme’s implementation is to be supported by a rigorous monitoring and evaluation (‘M&E’) framework, which draws from the traditional capabilities of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, and Bureau of Public Procurement (‘BPP’), as well as the more innovative M&E framework which we have adopted in the implementation of ourN2.5 trillion Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund,which is currently anchored by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (‘NSIA’).
“As is the case with all such tax expenditures, there is the need to ensure adequate safeguards to protect the National Treasury. In this regard, the Executive Order provides several prudential measures to enhance the integrity of the Scheme. These include the following:
“Investors may only be permitted to recover relevant project costs after these costs have been duly scrutinised by the Management Committee to ensure that only those costs that are wholly, reasonably, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the development and maintenance of the Eligible Roads are recouped;
“The quantum of tax credits that may be utilised by any participating Investor is restricted to ensure that in every tax year, the Investor must pay at least half of its normal corporate tax liability. However, unutilised tax credits may be deferred for use in subsequent fiscal years until the investments in the Eligible Road Projects are fully recouped;
“Investors shall not be entitled to claim any other tax credit, capital allowance, relief or incentive on relevant project costs incurred in respect of any Eligible Road Project under any law in force in Nigeria, in addition to the tax credits provided pursuant to this Scheme. This is to avoid a duplication of claims being made;
“The Scheme upholds the powers of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, pursuant to Section 22 of the Companies Income Tax Act, to set aside any artificial or fictitious transactions that may be used to evade taxes, in accordance with extant anti-avoidance laws; and
“Fiscal Implication Reports will be regularly generated to monitor and track the fiscal costs of the Scheme in line with extant laws.”
The minister acknowledged the diligent work that has been undertaken, since October 2017, when the Federal Executive Council first granted approval-in-principle for this Scheme. The Executive Order being signed by President Muhammadu Buhari today is the outcome of these efforts, and I thank the members of the Technical Steering Committee for their commitmentand industry.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has injected the sum of $289.76 million into the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) and CNY38.70 million in the spot and short-tenored forwards segment of the inter-bank foreign market.
The apex bank’s Corporate Communications Department Director, Isaac Okorafor, who confirmed the figures, said that the dollar-denominated interventions were for transactions in the agricultural and raw materials sectors.
According to him, on the spot and short-tenored sales in Chinese Yuan,are similarly for payment of Renminbi denominated Letters of Credit for agriculture and raw materials based on bids received from authorized dealers.
He reiterated the bank’s support to the inter-bank foreign exchange market, adding that the bank’s management is pleased with the level of stability at both the Bureau-de-Change (BDC) and the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market.
He that the CBN management is also satisfied with the current implementation of the Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement (BCSA) with the Peoples Bank of China (PBoC), coupled with a recent inflow of about US$2.8 billion Euro bond.
Okorafor expressed confidence that the foreign exchange market in Nigeria will continue to enjoy stability in the coming months and beyond, given the marginal increase in the country’s external reserves.
It will be recalled that the CBN last Tuesday, intervened in the wholesale, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisibles windows of the inter-bank foreign exchange market to the tune of the sum of $210 million.
Meanwhile, $1 exchanged for N361 at the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment of the foreign exchange market, while CNY1 exchanged for N53.
President Muhammadu Buhari has taken his time to educate the Southeast traditional rulers on the procedure for appointing service chiefs in the military system.
He said: “those of you who were in the military even in the Biafra Army, know that the entry point is the same and you go for basic training, until you go to your formations or institutions whether it is Army, Navy, AirForce or the police. The most competent or senior person is the one that gets there.”
President Buhari was responding to complain by Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, of marginalization of Southeast in the appointment of service chiefs by the government of Buhari. The President was in his palace today, Thursday, as he arrived to conduct his Presidential campaign in Anambra State.
The President went on: “if there are half a million soldiers, only one man can be the chief of Army staff at a time. This is so for the rest of the troop.
“In recruitment, we make sure that by states, people are recruited. At least, this is what I do; people are recruited from each state. For those who manage to get recruited, it’s up to them to get to the top if they are professional and work for it.
“The present chief of Army Staff, the Chief Air Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff even the previous Inspector General of Police that just left, I didn’t know them personally before I appointed them. I follow records.”
Buhari stressed that the current acting Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Adamu was also appointed based on merit.
“The same thing with the IGP that was appointed last week; I don’t think I have ever seen him. I followed records. So, appointments in the Armed Forces and other law enforcement agencies depend on individual performance after recruitment not where you think you come from. At least between me and God, this is what I do.”
On other appointment at the federal level, President Buhari said: “I think I tried to be fair. And you can ask these ministers. I never asked them how they are running their parastatals and or the boards. I appointed them and I trust them. I allow them work.”
He said the same complaints from the Southeast about marginalization have been coming from other parts of Nigeria but that they don’t reflect the truth.
“I don’t have to tell you what noise the other states are making, especially when compared to the votes I got in 2015. So, I think I try to be fair.”
The President however commended the courage of the traditional rulers from the Southeast in speaking their minds, as he insisted that he has remained fair to all regions of the country since his assumption of duty as President on 29th May, 2015.
“I am pleased that you have the courage to present issues about your constituency but I expect you to be more patriotic in your presentation.
“In the south east, there are five states; in the north, I think there are eighteen states. In the Southeast, out of the five states, I think five members of the Federal Executive Council, are from this region, trade and investment, foreign affairs, labour, science and technology. And seven of the northern states have only minister of state.”
The President emphasized that his government has done a lot in the provision of infrastructure for the entire Southeast region, including Anambra state.
“On the issue of infrastructure, a lot of you that are here know that the last time the Enugu/Onitsha road was done was during the PTF days and it was also done again from Enugu to Port Harcourt.”
Buhari advised traditional rulers in the state to support the government in improving the security situation of the country at the grass root even as he promised his government’s commitment to the development of the region.
He pleaded for the Igbos to vote him in the February 16 election.
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, minister of Labour, Chris Ngige and the minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fosola were in the President’s entourage.
The Senate has turned its back on the 2019 federal budget and adjourned plenary until after the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the legislative chamber today, Thursday, adjourned plenary till February 19, three days after the presidential and National Assembly elections.
He told his colleagues that they had exceeded the time of sitting going by their rules.
“Dear distinguished colleagues, in view of the fact that it is after 2pm, we cannot proceed any further so we have to adjourn accordingly. The senate hereby adjourns to Tuesday, the 19th day of February, 2019 at 10am prompt.”
The recess is coming only two weeks after the National Assembly resumed from the Christmas break.
The lawmakers had passed a bill seeking to increase the minimum wage to 27,000 for second reading.
The senate passed it for second reading after a letter by President Muhammadu Buhari was read by Ekweremadu for the consideration of the lawmakers.
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The Federal Government rejected the interference in the internal affairs of Nigerian political development by some foreign forces, even as it assured that it will ensure credible general elections this year.
Australians are suffering sweltering heat waves that are wreaking havoc on people and wildlife.
President Muhammadu Buhari has taken his time to educate the Southeast traditional rulers on the procedure for appointing service chiefs in the military system.
The Senate has turned its back on the 2019 federal budget and adjourned plenary until after the presidential and National Assembly elections.
