National Assembly Roundup: Death of member, controversial Samoa Agreement, other news from House of Reps

House loses member

Activities at the House of Representatives began on a sad note last week with the death of Olajide Akinremi, the representative of Ibadan North Federal Constituency of Oyo State.

The 51-year-old lawmaker passed away on Wednesday in Abuja after a brief illness .

Mr Akinremi’s death is the third in the current Assembly. Abdulkadir Danbuga died in October 2023, and Isa DogonYaro in May 2024.

Samoa Agreement

On Tuesday, the House debated “alleged LGBTQ clauses” in the controversial Samoa Agreement recently signed by the Nigerian government.

The debate on the Agreement followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Aliyu Madaki and 88 other lawmakers.

Following a heated debate, with lawmakers making many false claims on the floor of the House regarding the Agreement, the House resolved that the government should suspend its implementation until proper investigation by the House.

Surprisingly, however, hours after the resolution, the House made a U-turn, claiming that it did not ask the federal government to suspend the implementation of the Agreement.

The spokesperson of the House, Akin Rotimi, issued a statement making a false claim about the resolution.

Hon. Akin Rotimi (PHOTO CREDIT: Hon. Akin Rotimi Jr. Facebook page)

The debacle over the Agreement further exposed the inability of the legislators to deliberate on issues from an informed position. Many spoke on the Agreement, relying on social media commentaries and unverified reports.

House finally speaks on attacks against journalists

For months, there have been many attacks on journalists in Nigeria by security agencies, mainly citing the Cybercrime Act.

Despite the amendment of the section on cyberstalking, the police and other security agencies continue to illegally detain journalists while the lawmakers stayed quiet.

At last, on Thursday, the House finally spoke out following a motion by Clement Jimbo (APC, Akwa-Ibom).

Following the adoption of the motion, the House sent a warning to the security agencies against illegal detention of journalists.

On the same day, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen commissioned the renovated House of Representatives Press Centre and promised to collaborate with journalists to protect democracy.

Move to probe 2024 Hajj

In what has become a perennial issue, Nigerian Hajj pilgrims faced avoidable hardship during their stay in Saudi Arabia.

This year’s exercise was not different, and the hardship touched VIPs, including state governors, who did not get enough space in the VIP tents in Muna.

Some of the governors who have spoken out include Umar Bago of Niger State and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State.

Rightfully so, the anger has been directed towards the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).

FILE PHOTO: Hajj Pilgrims Boarding a plane

On Thursday, the House resolved to probe the commission over the alleged mishandling of the exercise following a motion by Umar Bio.

Consequently, Speaker Tajudeen set up a nine-member committee to oversee the probe. Sada Soli (APC, Katsina) chairs the committee.

Shouting bout: Thriller in Women Affairs Committee hearing

A hearing, organised by the House Committee on Women Affairs, into the alleged non-payment of contractors who did some work for the Ministry of Women Affairs turned into a shouting bout between the minister, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, and some members of the committee.

The minister had a showdown with the chairperson of the committee, Kafilat Agbara.

Women affairs minister, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye (PHOTO CREDIT: X Page @BarrUjuKennedy)

Ms Ogbara and members of her committee tried to get the minister to answer “yes or no” to some of the questions asked, but the minister would have none of that.

“What was budgeted for 2023 from the accountant-general’s office? Was it released to the account of the Ministry of Women Affairs? Yes or no?” Ms Agbara asked.

At some point, the minister responded, “It is a trap, but I am not going to jump into it. I fear nothing… nothing!”

Unless there is an intervention, this will not be the last of such encounters between the minister and the committee.

Proposed N1 trillion borrowing by NDDC

Despite Nigeria’s mounting public debt stock, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has proposed taking a N1 trillion loan to fund some capital projects in the Niger Delta region.

The amnaging director of the commission, Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this on Tuesday while defending the proposed N1.91 trillion 2024 budget before the House Committee on NDDC.

According to the document presented to the lawmakers, the NDDC plans to take N1 trillion from commercial and development banks to fund “legacy projects.”