The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central), on Wednesday, said the Senate does not need to confirm the 11 judges appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari. He said according to Section 256 (2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the…

President Muhammadu Buhari has replaced two non-career ambassadors-designate earlier appointed. The president replaced the earlier nomination of Oboro Akpabio and Bwala Bukar from Akwa-Ibom and Borno, respectively, with John Usanga and Peter Gana from Akwa-Ibom and Niger State respectively. This is contained in a letter to the Senate seeking confirmation…

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Tuesday, explained why the Senate refused to declare the seat of a senator, Orji Kalu, vacant while he (Mr Kalu) was in prison. He said preserving Mr Kalu’s seat and his position was not only extraordinary but "the right and just thing for the…

A bill to amend the Police Act 2004 and prescribe a four-year tenure for the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has been read for the third time and passed by the Senate. According to the bill titled "Police Act CAP P19 LFN 2004 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2020”, the introduction…

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has described the controversy surrounding the planned employment of 774,000 Nigerians as an attempt by the National Assembly to bypass him in the implementation of the project. He said this shortly after the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige,…

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has apologised to the National Assembly joint committee on labour following a clash between lawmakers and Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment. The two sides were involved in a war of words last week over the planned employment…

The Senate on Tuesday passed the bill on sexual harassment in tertiary institutions after reading it for the third time. The bill titled: ‘A Bill for an Act to prevent, prohibit and redress Sexual Harassment of students in tertiary educational institutions and for matters concerned therewith, 2019’, was sponsored by…

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed 11 judges for FCT High Court. This was contained in a letter to the Senate seeking confirmation of the appointment. The letter was read out by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, at the start of plenary on Tuesday. They include Abubakar Useni Musa (Adamawa), Edward…

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has addressed the controversy surrounding the planned employment of 774,000 Nigerians by the federal government as well as the clash between the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, and the National Assembly joint committee on Labour. Both the minister and members of…

The Nigerian Law School paid N32 million illegally into the account of an unnamed cleaner over a period of 12 months, an official has said. The management of the school also in 2013 alone, paid N36 million 'several times' to its staff as dressing allowance. This was revealed to the…

With less than five days to commencement of domestic flights in Nigeria, preparations are in place to ensure that safety measures are adhered to during operations. The Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, made this known in an interactive session with the Senate committee on aviation on Thursday. Top among such measures,…

The Senate has summoned Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to brief the Senate Committees on Finance, Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes; Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions on measures being sought to curb revenue loss, and…

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed ldahagbon Henry as a commissioner representing Edo, Ekiti and Ondo States in the Federal Civil Service Commission. The appointment was contained in a letter which was read out by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday. The appointment, he said, is in accordance with the…

A day after lawmakers had a public spat with a minister, the National Assembly has 'ordered' a stop to the recruitment of 774,000 Nigerians under the Public Works Programme until the modalities for the exercise have been explained to the lawmakers. It also mandated its Committees on Labour and Employment…

The Senate has received the report of its committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters on the invasion of a federal high court by security operatives in December 2019. This comes six months after the incident and after the committee was asked to investigate the court invasion and rearrest…

An Anambra senator, Ifeanyi Ubah, has described the outburst of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, at the National Assembly, on Tuesday, as a display of rascality. He said he was surprised at the minister's statement that the lawmakers want to hijack the recruitment process. He…

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed 41 non-career ambassadors-designate for confirmation by the Senate. He also nominated Suleiman Sani (FCT) as a career ambassador-designate. This comes about three weeks after the Senate confirmed 42 career ambassadors-designate nominated by the president. He forwarded the names of the nominees to the Senate, seeking…

Barely a month after his release from prison, the chief whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu, has proposed amendments to the Criminal Justice Act of 2015. The bill titled 'Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 (amendment) Bill', 2020 was read for the first time on the floor of the Senate…

The Nigerian parliament remains a misunderstood institution because many Nigerians, especially the youth, have little knowledge about it, a former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has said. Mr Saraki made this revelation during a virtual meeting to celebrate the International Day of Parliamentarianism on Tuesday, Daily Trust Newspaper reports. The ex-lawmaker,…

While Nigerians have been told to get set for massive recruitment of about 774,000 unemployed and unskilled workers, 15 per cent of the jobs (116,100) have already been allocated to lawmakers, a minister has said. Festus Keyamo, the minister of state for labour, added that the lawmakers were still not…

What started like a peaceful committee meeting between the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, and the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Employment and Labour on Tuesday ended in chaos as both parties began exchanging words. The meeting was aimed at discussing the progress of…

The Senate resumed on Tuesday after a three-week recess. The lawmakers held plenary for a brief period and then adjourned their sitting to Wednesday after about eight minutes. The adjournment followed a motion by the Senate Leader, Abdullahi Yahaya, who formally announced the death of the Lagos senator, Bayo Osinowo,…

Electricity distribution companies in Nigeria (DisCos) have agreed to suspend the planned increase in electricity tariff after a meeting with the National Assembly leadership, an official has said. The DisCos reportedly agreed to suspend the increase till the first quarter of next year while the leadership of the National Assembly…

A senator, Ali Ndume, has given reasons why he agreed to be a surety for Abdulrasheed Maina who is being prosecuted for money laundering and pension fraud. Mr Ndume said Mr Maina is his constituent and also needed a serving senator to stand surety for him. While noting that it…

The 2020 Appropriation (Amendment) Bill on Thursday scaled second reading at the Senate. The bill seeks to reduce Nigeria's 2020 federal budget from N10.6 trillion to N10.5 trillion. The deliberation and passage of the bill was done shortly after the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, read out the executive communication from…