News Post

Debate on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 started with a point of order 42 and 52 moved by Sen. Isa Hammah Misau (Bauchi Central) on matters privilege and urgent national interest. The law-maker drew the attention of the Chamber on the recent publications in both the conventional and social media on the reinstatement and elevation of formerly dismissed Chairman of Presidential Task Force Team on Pension Reforms, Abdulrashid Maina by the Executive arm of government.

Sen. Misau disclosed that Maina who was earlier dismissed by the Federal Civil Service Commission following his indictment by the 7th Senate; returned to the country recently and subsequently reinstated and promoted from the rank of an Assistant Director to a Director, a situation that caused media outrage and prompted President Muhammadu Buhari to set up an Investigative Committee on the matter. 

The following Senators lent their voices on the issue; Sen. Shola Adeyeye, Sen. Kabiru Marafa, Sen. Atai Aidoku, Sen. Bassey Albert Akpan, Sen. Taiwo Alasuadora, Sen. Dino Melaye, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu and Sen. Abdullahi Yahaya. Accordingly, the Motion scaled through with two resolutions below:

i) The Senate to set up an Ad-hoc Committee comprising of the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the Committees on Establishment and Public Service, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, EFCC and Anti-Corruption and Interior to determine the circumstances behind Maina’s return to Nigeria, his reinstatement and promotion by the Federal Civil Service Commission.

ii) Senate commend the President Muhammadu Buhari for taking prompt action on the matter.

Similarly, the Red Chamber has also debated and passed a Motion titled “The need for Senate’s intervention in the recent Etisalat (Nigeria) $1.2billion debt crisis”, sponsored by Sen. Adeola Olamilekan (Lagos West). The Senator noted that Etisalat telecommunication company; operating in Nigeria in recent times has been in public eye over $1.2 billion loan crisis. The Company acquired a syndicated loan in 2013 as a medium term, seven year facility to fund the expansion of its network from a consortium of 13 Banks in Nigeria.

Sen. Olamilekan added that the ownership of the company comprised of three shareholders; the United Arab Emirate Sovereign Wealth Fund through Mabadala Development Company, Abu Dhabi (45%), Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (40%) and Myacinth (15%) through Emerging Market Telecommunications Services. In 2016, Etisalat defaulted on its $1.2 billion loan obligation leading to a few bailouts from its parent company in Abu Dhabi.

The law-maker stressed that only 42% of the loan has been repaid, while the outstanding 58% of $696 million debt of the company has failed to be serviced since 2016. Consequently, the 13 Banks have been moving to take over the company in order to recover their funds. He expressed regret that about 4,000 jobs are at stake as a result of these suspicious dealings. Moreover, the decision of the Core Investors to pull out of Nigeria raises issues of suspicion, on the intent of a Company in obtaining a loan facility, defaulting and then pull out of the country, hoping that their shares would be used to write off the debts. The Motion sailed through with three prayers below:

i) Mandate the Committees on Banking, Communications, Capital Market, National Security and Intelligence to investigate the management and utilization of the $1.2 billion loan facility obtained from 13 Nigerian Banks.

ii) Mandate the above Joint Committee to make recommendations on ways the Nigerian Financial Governance Structure can be strengthened by legislation to prevent any future similar re-occurrence.

iii) Urge the relevant Financial Intelligence Agencies of the Federal Government to investigate the Management of Etisalat Nigeria and hold the defaulting parties accountable for their actions.

The Red Chamber has equally deliberated and passed another Motion captioned “The need to review the Privatization of Public Enterprises in Nigeria”, sponsored by Sen. Umaru I. Kurfi (Katsina Central) and Six Co-sponsors.

Accordingly, the Senate noted that the privatization of Public Enterprises is a bye-product of global economic recession in the 1980s where Nigeria and other African countries were advised by the Bretton Woods Institute (International Monetary Fund – IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to divest from their Public Enterprises as one of the conditions for economic assistance. The Motion sailed through with three resolutions below:

i) Direct the Committee on Privatization to have an interface with the National Council on Privatization and the Bureau of Public Enterprises to receive and examine a comprehensive report of current privatization status of Nigerian Public Enterprises.

ii) Direct the Committee to conduct Public Hearing to determine the Public Enterprise privatized/commercialized, current status of privatized enterprises, and extent of due process in the conduct of the exercise, enterprises whose privatization were reversed by the Federal Government, extent of compliance with post privatization conditions by the Core Investor and the impact of privatization/commercialization of Public Enterprises of Public Enterprises on the Nigerian economy.

iii) Make appropriate recommendations that will ensure functionality of the privatized/commercialized enterprises to realize the objectives of the exercise which will among other things reduce the impact of current economic challenge.

Meanwhile, the Senate has approved the 2017 Budget of Federal Inland Revenue Service, the passage of the Bill was sequel to the adoption of the Senate Conference Committee Report presented before the Chamber by Sen. John Enoh (Cross River Central). 

While, two legislation have scaled through second reading during plenary, the Bills include:

1) A Bill for an Act for the regulations in-vitro fertilization, to prohibit certain practices in connection with in-vitro fertilization to establish an in-vitro fertilization authority to make provision in respect of children born of in-vitro fertilization process and for connected purposes, 2017 (S.B. 127), sponsored by Sen. Barau Jibrin (Kano North). The Bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, to report back in four weeks.

2) A Bill for an Act to provide for the regulation and supervision of Assisted Reproductive Technology and for matters connected therewith, 2017 (S.B. 325), sponsored by Sen. Lanre Tejuoso (Ogun Central). The legislation has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, to report back in four weeks.