ACE comedian, Babatunde Omidina, a.k.a Baba Suwe, on Monday, asked a Federal High Court in Lagos, presided over by Justice Okechukwu Okeke, to vacate an order he gave last Friday, which empowered the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to detain him for additional 15 days.
The request formed part of a motion on notice he brought, pursuant to Order 26 Rule 11 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2009.
The artiste, while asking for an order of the court discharging or vacating the order issued by Justice Okeke, argued that the application for the order obtained by the NDLEA was grossly irregular and constituted an abuse of the processes of the court.
In the motion filed by his counsel, Bamidele Aturu, Baba Suwe also argued that the application for the order obtained by the respondent was contrary to public policy and constituted a wanton violation of his fundamental rights.
The motion is expected to be heard tomorrow.
The NDLEA, it will be recalled, had arrested the comedian on October 12, while trying to board an Air France plane to Paris, after the scanning machine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport had allegedly indicated that he had ingested substances suspected to be hard drugs.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA, on Monday, denied the rumour that Baba Suwe excreted wraps of cocaine or any other hard drugs.
Its spokesman, Mitchell Ofoyeju, in a telephone interview with the Nigerian Tribune, described as untrue, the rumour doing the rounds on Monday that the actor had started excreting drugs.
The rumour that Baba Suwe had excreted 16 pellets of cocaine led the Nigerian Tribune to call the NDLEA officials for confirmation, which they denied.
According to Ofoyeju, “the story is untrue, there is nothing new, he is still under observation.”
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
boko haram issues fresh warnings as it claimed the killing of journalist spying on them
THE Islamic fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, on Monday, issued a fresh warning that the group would not hesitate to kill anybody that stepped on its toes.
The group’s spokesperson, Abdul-Qaqa, according to an online medium, claimed responsibility for the killing of Zakariyya Isa, a cameraman with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Maiduguri Network Centre and further threatened not to take it lightly with whosoever dared it.
The sect said that “Zakariyya was responsible for his actions and the consequences that followed. Nobody, no matter can go free if he or she spies on us.”
“Zakariyya gave information to security agents that led to the arrest of many of our members. We sent him a text message and told him that we would visit him. We killed him not because he was a journalist, but because of his personal misconduct. His actions were against the ethics of his profession.
“And I want to tell you that we have no grudge against journalists that are working in line with the professional provisions of their work. Whenever they misquote or misrepresent our position, we normally call them and tell them to correct the error.”
Abdul-Qaqa stated further that “the group will not hesitate to kill anybody that steps on our toes. Zakariyya was responsible for his actions and the consequences that followed.”
Abdul-Qaqa, who said Boko Haram was responsible for Saturday night’s multiple attacks on a police station and banks in Saminaka, Kaduna State, as well as last week’s attack on a mobile police barracks in Kwami, Gombe State, added that the group was not ready to talk with the government and security agents.
“The group will continue to attack government and security formations in Nigeria. We cannot talk or dialogue with them because it makes no sense to us. How can you talk of dialogue when government and security agencies are busy arresting and persecuting our members?”
The online medium said when it contacted the Borno State Police Commissioner, Simeon Midenda by phone, the police boss said he was in Abuja.
Also, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, the head of field operations of the JTF, did not answer a call to his line.
The killing of Zakariyya had sent jitters down the nerves of journalists in Maiduguri, with many thinking of how to strike a balance in covering the crisis in the state. The late Zakariyya, who worked as a cameraman and Hausa translator at the NTA, was shot at close range on Saturday night in front of his house at Bulunkutu area of Maiduguri. Witnesses said two gunmen walked to the house and shot him in the head and chest before they fled.
A native of Potiskum Local Government Area of Yobe State, Zakariyya had worked at the Maiduguri network centre of the NTA for many years. He was married with children.
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The group’s spokesperson, Abdul-Qaqa, according to an online medium, claimed responsibility for the killing of Zakariyya Isa, a cameraman with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Maiduguri Network Centre and further threatened not to take it lightly with whosoever dared it.
The sect said that “Zakariyya was responsible for his actions and the consequences that followed. Nobody, no matter can go free if he or she spies on us.”
“Zakariyya gave information to security agents that led to the arrest of many of our members. We sent him a text message and told him that we would visit him. We killed him not because he was a journalist, but because of his personal misconduct. His actions were against the ethics of his profession.
“And I want to tell you that we have no grudge against journalists that are working in line with the professional provisions of their work. Whenever they misquote or misrepresent our position, we normally call them and tell them to correct the error.”
Abdul-Qaqa stated further that “the group will not hesitate to kill anybody that steps on our toes. Zakariyya was responsible for his actions and the consequences that followed.”
Abdul-Qaqa, who said Boko Haram was responsible for Saturday night’s multiple attacks on a police station and banks in Saminaka, Kaduna State, as well as last week’s attack on a mobile police barracks in Kwami, Gombe State, added that the group was not ready to talk with the government and security agents.
“The group will continue to attack government and security formations in Nigeria. We cannot talk or dialogue with them because it makes no sense to us. How can you talk of dialogue when government and security agencies are busy arresting and persecuting our members?”
The online medium said when it contacted the Borno State Police Commissioner, Simeon Midenda by phone, the police boss said he was in Abuja.
Also, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, the head of field operations of the JTF, did not answer a call to his line.
The killing of Zakariyya had sent jitters down the nerves of journalists in Maiduguri, with many thinking of how to strike a balance in covering the crisis in the state. The late Zakariyya, who worked as a cameraman and Hausa translator at the NTA, was shot at close range on Saturday night in front of his house at Bulunkutu area of Maiduguri. Witnesses said two gunmen walked to the house and shot him in the head and chest before they fled.
A native of Potiskum Local Government Area of Yobe State, Zakariyya had worked at the Maiduguri network centre of the NTA for many years. He was married with children.
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Tuesday, 18 October 2011
siasia regrets starting osaze, mikel
SUPER Eagles coach, Samson Siasia has admitted making a terrible mistake in starting Osaze Odemwingie and Mikel Obi against Syli Stars of Guinea in the last match Group B of the 2012 Nations Cup qualifier.
He also lamented the 1-0 loss suffered by Nigeria to Guinea last year in Conakry going as far as describing the loss as “a sabotage”.
“Siasia told the technical committee when he met them last week Thursday that he ought not to have at least started Osaze against Guinea, ditto for Mikel, who was fined for reporting late to camp,” a source close to the NFF technical committee informed MTNFootball.com
“He said he thought seriously of benching or even dropping Mikel for the game but was also very much aware that such a decision may also not be well received by the public.”
Osaze returned from a two-match ban imposed on him by Siasia for walking out on the Eagles in March, but was off from against the Syli Stars as he flopped several begging chances particularly in the first half of that ill-fated game that finished 2-2.
Siasia equally bemoaned the 1-0 loss to Guinea by the Eagles under caretaker coach Austin Eguavoen in October 2010.
That was the team’s only loss in the qualifying tournament, but in the end it had a huge bearing on determining the final qualifiers for the 2012 Nations Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
However, a top member of the technical committee told Siasia that this was not “a sabotage” and that the under-fire Eagles handler ought not to have taken up the team a month later, if he was not sure he could still qualify the team to the Nations Cup proper.
Meanwhile, FORMER Nigerian International, Victor Ikpeba has described Osaze Odemwinge as a disgrace to Nigerian football.
Speaking yesterday on Monday Night Football show on Super Sports, the Prince of Monaco tagged soccer star said for Osaze to have lied that he was struggling with an ankle injury for over two months and then decided to go for surgery, when actually he was not in peril at that time, showed the quality of the players he was and which should be condemned by all well meaning Nigerians.
He said "If Osaze were to be a German player, he would have been banned at least for a year or more."
His performance against Guinea in Abuja this month in a match that cost Nigeria a place in next year's Nations Cup would not go unforgotten and Nigerians would not forgive him.
"Osaze is not a good ambassador of the country and he needs to be banned to serve as deterents to others. He scored a brillant goal for West Brom on Sunday but failed to do the same for his country (Nigeria) last weekend," Ikpeba who is a member of the Nigeria Football federation (NFF) technical committee disclosed.
Ikpeba said Osaze cannot continue like that "He needs to apologise to Nigerians for his actions and utterances," he said.
He also lamented the 1-0 loss suffered by Nigeria to Guinea last year in Conakry going as far as describing the loss as “a sabotage”.
“Siasia told the technical committee when he met them last week Thursday that he ought not to have at least started Osaze against Guinea, ditto for Mikel, who was fined for reporting late to camp,” a source close to the NFF technical committee informed MTNFootball.com
“He said he thought seriously of benching or even dropping Mikel for the game but was also very much aware that such a decision may also not be well received by the public.”
Osaze returned from a two-match ban imposed on him by Siasia for walking out on the Eagles in March, but was off from against the Syli Stars as he flopped several begging chances particularly in the first half of that ill-fated game that finished 2-2.
Siasia equally bemoaned the 1-0 loss to Guinea by the Eagles under caretaker coach Austin Eguavoen in October 2010.
That was the team’s only loss in the qualifying tournament, but in the end it had a huge bearing on determining the final qualifiers for the 2012 Nations Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
However, a top member of the technical committee told Siasia that this was not “a sabotage” and that the under-fire Eagles handler ought not to have taken up the team a month later, if he was not sure he could still qualify the team to the Nations Cup proper.
Meanwhile, FORMER Nigerian International, Victor Ikpeba has described Osaze Odemwinge as a disgrace to Nigerian football.
Speaking yesterday on Monday Night Football show on Super Sports, the Prince of Monaco tagged soccer star said for Osaze to have lied that he was struggling with an ankle injury for over two months and then decided to go for surgery, when actually he was not in peril at that time, showed the quality of the players he was and which should be condemned by all well meaning Nigerians.
He said "If Osaze were to be a German player, he would have been banned at least for a year or more."
His performance against Guinea in Abuja this month in a match that cost Nigeria a place in next year's Nations Cup would not go unforgotten and Nigerians would not forgive him.
"Osaze is not a good ambassador of the country and he needs to be banned to serve as deterents to others. He scored a brillant goal for West Brom on Sunday but failed to do the same for his country (Nigeria) last weekend," Ikpeba who is a member of the Nigeria Football federation (NFF) technical committee disclosed.
Ikpeba said Osaze cannot continue like that "He needs to apologise to Nigerians for his actions and utterances," he said.
14 years old girl escapes from ritualist in Ekiti
FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD student of All Soul’s Anglican Grammar School, Ado Ekiti, Ranti Openiye, last week, came within the whiskers of death when she was abducted by suspected ritual killers at Basiri area of the town.
Miss Openiye, while recalling her escape from the kidnappers at the weekend, said she found two other female secondary school students in the bus in which she was taken away.
Openiye, who said she was abducted at about 4p.m. on Monday while on an errand by her grandmother, added that she was found on Thursday evening and taken to Christ Prayerful and Holiness Evangelical Church, also in Ado Ekiti, where she was revived during a prayer session.
According to her, six men in a blue bus parked beside her and controlled her into the bus, after which “they hit me on the chest and I lost my senses,” adding that “they covered my face with a cloth and I know they drove straight to the opposite of the direction I was coming from, meaning that they took us to somewhere between Iyin and Ado with the two other teenagers.”
She added: “They took us to a cave where I saw bodies of people who had died and those who were still alive. People were taken into the cave while we were thoroughly beaten. They shove all the hair on my body and it was only on Thursday that I realised that they had shaven my hair.”
On how she escaped, she said when they wanted to take her into the cave, she struggled with them and cried so much that a man emerged from the cave, ordered that she should be taken out of the place to where she was taken from.
Her elder sister, Mrs Kemi Olayiwola, also told journalists at the church that words just came to them on Thursday evening that Ranti had been found somewhere at Iyin Road, adding that they saw her barely conscious with her head partly shaven.
Olayiwola told newsmen that they had earlier searched everywhere in the state capital in search of the victim since she went missing on Monday before she was found.
Pastor Lanre Idowu, who was in charge of the church, told newsmen that he had to convene an emergency deliverance session before she could regain consciousness, adding that she could not even tell her name when she was brought to the church.
Miss Openiye, while recalling her escape from the kidnappers at the weekend, said she found two other female secondary school students in the bus in which she was taken away.
Openiye, who said she was abducted at about 4p.m. on Monday while on an errand by her grandmother, added that she was found on Thursday evening and taken to Christ Prayerful and Holiness Evangelical Church, also in Ado Ekiti, where she was revived during a prayer session.
According to her, six men in a blue bus parked beside her and controlled her into the bus, after which “they hit me on the chest and I lost my senses,” adding that “they covered my face with a cloth and I know they drove straight to the opposite of the direction I was coming from, meaning that they took us to somewhere between Iyin and Ado with the two other teenagers.”
She added: “They took us to a cave where I saw bodies of people who had died and those who were still alive. People were taken into the cave while we were thoroughly beaten. They shove all the hair on my body and it was only on Thursday that I realised that they had shaven my hair.”
On how she escaped, she said when they wanted to take her into the cave, she struggled with them and cried so much that a man emerged from the cave, ordered that she should be taken out of the place to where she was taken from.
Her elder sister, Mrs Kemi Olayiwola, also told journalists at the church that words just came to them on Thursday evening that Ranti had been found somewhere at Iyin Road, adding that they saw her barely conscious with her head partly shaven.
Olayiwola told newsmen that they had earlier searched everywhere in the state capital in search of the victim since she went missing on Monday before she was found.
Pastor Lanre Idowu, who was in charge of the church, told newsmen that he had to convene an emergency deliverance session before she could regain consciousness, adding that she could not even tell her name when she was brought to the church.
VCs and NANS says POST-UTME is unecessary calss for its scrapping
THE Association of Vice-Chancellors in Nigeria has warned the Senate not to be misled by some stakeholders in the education sector in the country, in view of its recent comment on the conduct of the post- Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) tests by the nation’s universities, saying the test is constitutional.
Speaking during a press briefing marking the 27th convocation ceremony of the University of Ilorin on Monday, the chairman of the association, Professor Isiaq Oloyede, said universities had the constitutional right to conduct and admit candidates based on the Act establishing them.
Oloyede, who is also the vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin, said there was university autonomy everywhere in the world, giving them the right to decide on who to admit, "because we are not under military rule.”
He noted that the post-UTME had helped to improve the quality of those admitted, adding that the aptitude tests conducted by the universities were only meant to test the ability of the students to receive university education and their preparedness and not to re-examine them on different subjects like JAMB.
He stressed that the association had taken up the issue and had written to the Senate on the need to know that “we have the right to be heard on the issue just like the JAMB had had their submission in the Senate.”
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has called on the Federal Government to proscribe the Post-UTME.
NANS President, Comrade Dauda Mohammed, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, described the Post-UTME as extortionate and designed to milk resources from unsuspecting tertiary education seekers.
He said it contradicted the essence of the law which made statutory provisions for the conduct of matriculation exams for entry into all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
Speaking during a press briefing marking the 27th convocation ceremony of the University of Ilorin on Monday, the chairman of the association, Professor Isiaq Oloyede, said universities had the constitutional right to conduct and admit candidates based on the Act establishing them.
Oloyede, who is also the vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin, said there was university autonomy everywhere in the world, giving them the right to decide on who to admit, "because we are not under military rule.”
He noted that the post-UTME had helped to improve the quality of those admitted, adding that the aptitude tests conducted by the universities were only meant to test the ability of the students to receive university education and their preparedness and not to re-examine them on different subjects like JAMB.
He stressed that the association had taken up the issue and had written to the Senate on the need to know that “we have the right to be heard on the issue just like the JAMB had had their submission in the Senate.”
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has called on the Federal Government to proscribe the Post-UTME.
NANS President, Comrade Dauda Mohammed, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, described the Post-UTME as extortionate and designed to milk resources from unsuspecting tertiary education seekers.
He said it contradicted the essence of the law which made statutory provisions for the conduct of matriculation exams for entry into all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
Clashes in Benue state as communities fight one another.
ABOUT 30 people have been killed with about 60 houses destroyed in Ugba town, headquarters of Logo Local Government Area of Benue State in a crisis in the last two days.
It was gathered that the crisis, which started late on Sunday, sparked off spontaneous reactions in the early hours of Monday, when some youths turned the town into a theatre of war, maiming and killing people on sight.
The traditional ruler's house was razed while four of his relations, including his wife, were murdered by the rampaging youth.
Both the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) traded blame over the crisis that has been tagged political violence.
Governor Gabriel Suswam, who addressed newsmen at the Government House, on Monday, after his visit to the area, confirmed that the traditional ruler of the community lost four relations, including his wife, while his house was also razed. The governor said he was able to visit the house of the traditional ruler and that of the first victim, whom he described as a money lender in the community, who died along with his friend.
But the state chairman of the ACN, Mr Abba Yaro, who spoke accused the ruling PDP of causing the crisis in the area, stating that some youths belonging to the PDP stormed the house of one of the politicians in the area and killed him and one other person.
He said that the ACN was a peace-loving party, which he said was “taking legal means to reclaim our stolen mandate.”
Governor Suswam who was visibly disturbed by the crisis said that he personally visited the house of the slain money lender on Sunday, stressing that the divisional police officer told him that no arrest had been made in connection with the death of the money lender but that the ACN unleashed terror on the PDP members in the council area.
Ironically, both the governor and the ACN governorship candidate in the state, Professor Steve Ugba, hail from the same troubled council area.
The governor, who accused the opposition party of being behind the spate of violence in the state in recent times, vowed that his administration would leave no stone unturned to unearth the perpetrators of serial crises in the state.
The governor said that soldiers and mobile policemen had been drafted to the area and stated that normalcy was being restored to the area at the time he left the local government area.
According to him, “I have decided to invite you to brief you gentlemen of the press about the ugly development at Ugba in Logo Local Government Area of the state, where some ACN supporters have burnt down houses and killed people. Some of the houses burnt were houses belonging to the party chairman in the council; one belonging to the women leader. Also, the house belonging to the town’s traditional ruler was razed down with four of his relations killed in the attack that started around 2.00 a.m. and so many houses.”
“Let me say emphatically here that the government will no longer tolerate the arson going on in the state. This arson is being perpetrated by the ACN chieftains. With all these, the ACN is going too far. This is no longer politics but criminality. A few weeks ago, the ACN chieftain was at the thanksgiving service where they made inciting statement. This government will no longer tolerate these utterances, falsehood and false alarm. The man that was said to have been killed was a money lender, the DPO of the area confirmed this to me and said that no one had been arrested in connection with this," Suswam said.
The state police spokesman, Mr Alaribe Ejike, confirmed the incident but could not give the number of casualties at the time of filing this report.
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It was gathered that the crisis, which started late on Sunday, sparked off spontaneous reactions in the early hours of Monday, when some youths turned the town into a theatre of war, maiming and killing people on sight.
The traditional ruler's house was razed while four of his relations, including his wife, were murdered by the rampaging youth.
Both the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) traded blame over the crisis that has been tagged political violence.
Governor Gabriel Suswam, who addressed newsmen at the Government House, on Monday, after his visit to the area, confirmed that the traditional ruler of the community lost four relations, including his wife, while his house was also razed. The governor said he was able to visit the house of the traditional ruler and that of the first victim, whom he described as a money lender in the community, who died along with his friend.
But the state chairman of the ACN, Mr Abba Yaro, who spoke accused the ruling PDP of causing the crisis in the area, stating that some youths belonging to the PDP stormed the house of one of the politicians in the area and killed him and one other person.
He said that the ACN was a peace-loving party, which he said was “taking legal means to reclaim our stolen mandate.”
Governor Suswam who was visibly disturbed by the crisis said that he personally visited the house of the slain money lender on Sunday, stressing that the divisional police officer told him that no arrest had been made in connection with the death of the money lender but that the ACN unleashed terror on the PDP members in the council area.
Ironically, both the governor and the ACN governorship candidate in the state, Professor Steve Ugba, hail from the same troubled council area.
The governor, who accused the opposition party of being behind the spate of violence in the state in recent times, vowed that his administration would leave no stone unturned to unearth the perpetrators of serial crises in the state.
The governor said that soldiers and mobile policemen had been drafted to the area and stated that normalcy was being restored to the area at the time he left the local government area.
According to him, “I have decided to invite you to brief you gentlemen of the press about the ugly development at Ugba in Logo Local Government Area of the state, where some ACN supporters have burnt down houses and killed people. Some of the houses burnt were houses belonging to the party chairman in the council; one belonging to the women leader. Also, the house belonging to the town’s traditional ruler was razed down with four of his relations killed in the attack that started around 2.00 a.m. and so many houses.”
“Let me say emphatically here that the government will no longer tolerate the arson going on in the state. This arson is being perpetrated by the ACN chieftains. With all these, the ACN is going too far. This is no longer politics but criminality. A few weeks ago, the ACN chieftain was at the thanksgiving service where they made inciting statement. This government will no longer tolerate these utterances, falsehood and false alarm. The man that was said to have been killed was a money lender, the DPO of the area confirmed this to me and said that no one had been arrested in connection with this," Suswam said.
The state police spokesman, Mr Alaribe Ejike, confirmed the incident but could not give the number of casualties at the time of filing this report.
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Tuesday, 11 October 2011
speaker of house of assembly and chairmen of committee summoned to presidency for budget meeting
There was disquiet yesterday between members of the House of Representatives and the Presidency over an emergency summoning of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, principal officers and committee chairmen to the Presidential Villa for briefing on the 2012 budget.
Members were angry that the summon was against the principle of Separation of Powers.
But the Speaker and some members defied the anger of their colleagues to go for the session.
The Federal Government is proposing N4.8trillion budget for 2012 with a $75 benchmark price for oil.
Apart from the take-off of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), the government is also proposing savings of about N1.2trillion from the withdrawal of fuel subsidy.
A source said that there are also some fiscal measures which will be implemented by the government to reshape the economy.
It was learnt that the President summoned the meeting to put House leaders into confidence on the issues in the 2012 Budget to avoid delay in passing it into law.
Members however felt the method adopted by the Presidency was wrong.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that most members were shocked by a sudden text message sent to them by the Chief of Staff to the Speaker.
The text message reads: “Dear Honourable, you are requested to join the delegation to State House for a briefing on the Budget from the Minister of Finance, scheduled for Monday 10 October 2011 at 8pm.
“Kindly join Mr. Speaker at the House of Representatives New Building at 7pm prompt. Kind regards. Chief of Staff to the Speaker.”
According to findings, the text was hardly circulated when members began to query why they had to be summoned to the Villa for a session on the budget.
It was gathered that the Minister of Finance ought to have come for a closed door session with the Speaker and members in the House.
A member of the opposition in the House, said: “We cannot understand why we have to be asked to come to the Villa like school children for briefing on the 2012 Budget.
“We have made our position known to the Speaker that respecting such an invitation could erode the principle of Separation of Powers between the Executive and the Legislature.
“When last did you hear President Barrack Obama summoning members of the US Congress to White House?
“Some of us believe that the Executive ought to have been more tactical in handling the matter.”
Another member said: “I think we do not need to be railroaded into a predetermined meeting at the Villa.
“Instead, the President should have asked the Minister of Finance to meet with us like top security chiefs did to the Senate and the House recently.”
A source in the presidency, however, said: “The meeting is part of the consultative policy of the President, it is not meant to undermine the Senate or the House in any manner.
“It is a kind of initiative to foster Executive-Legislature relationship. We want to avoid the usual disagreement between the two arms over grey areas in the budget since 2007.
“Of course, the issue of withdrawal of subsidy is throwing up some socio-economic issues which require the understanding of the members of the National Assembly.
“The government wants to lay its cards on the table, especially the true financial situation of the country and remedial steps being proposed to reshape the economy.”
A principal officer of the House, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have been pleading with our members to bear with the leadership over this briefing.
“We do not see it as erosion of separation of powers. If as president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan wants to see us and confide in us on state matters, we have to honour it.
“We decided to defer to the President as a matter of respect and not to sell out. Budgeting is an issue that affects all.
“Some of us prevailed on the Speaker to honour the session at the Villa.”
Members were angry that the summon was against the principle of Separation of Powers.
But the Speaker and some members defied the anger of their colleagues to go for the session.
The Federal Government is proposing N4.8trillion budget for 2012 with a $75 benchmark price for oil.
Apart from the take-off of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), the government is also proposing savings of about N1.2trillion from the withdrawal of fuel subsidy.
A source said that there are also some fiscal measures which will be implemented by the government to reshape the economy.
It was learnt that the President summoned the meeting to put House leaders into confidence on the issues in the 2012 Budget to avoid delay in passing it into law.
Members however felt the method adopted by the Presidency was wrong.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that most members were shocked by a sudden text message sent to them by the Chief of Staff to the Speaker.
The text message reads: “Dear Honourable, you are requested to join the delegation to State House for a briefing on the Budget from the Minister of Finance, scheduled for Monday 10 October 2011 at 8pm.
“Kindly join Mr. Speaker at the House of Representatives New Building at 7pm prompt. Kind regards. Chief of Staff to the Speaker.”
According to findings, the text was hardly circulated when members began to query why they had to be summoned to the Villa for a session on the budget.
It was gathered that the Minister of Finance ought to have come for a closed door session with the Speaker and members in the House.
A member of the opposition in the House, said: “We cannot understand why we have to be asked to come to the Villa like school children for briefing on the 2012 Budget.
“We have made our position known to the Speaker that respecting such an invitation could erode the principle of Separation of Powers between the Executive and the Legislature.
“When last did you hear President Barrack Obama summoning members of the US Congress to White House?
“Some of us believe that the Executive ought to have been more tactical in handling the matter.”
Another member said: “I think we do not need to be railroaded into a predetermined meeting at the Villa.
“Instead, the President should have asked the Minister of Finance to meet with us like top security chiefs did to the Senate and the House recently.”
A source in the presidency, however, said: “The meeting is part of the consultative policy of the President, it is not meant to undermine the Senate or the House in any manner.
“It is a kind of initiative to foster Executive-Legislature relationship. We want to avoid the usual disagreement between the two arms over grey areas in the budget since 2007.
“Of course, the issue of withdrawal of subsidy is throwing up some socio-economic issues which require the understanding of the members of the National Assembly.
“The government wants to lay its cards on the table, especially the true financial situation of the country and remedial steps being proposed to reshape the economy.”
A principal officer of the House, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have been pleading with our members to bear with the leadership over this briefing.
“We do not see it as erosion of separation of powers. If as president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan wants to see us and confide in us on state matters, we have to honour it.
“We decided to defer to the President as a matter of respect and not to sell out. Budgeting is an issue that affects all.
“Some of us prevailed on the Speaker to honour the session at the Villa.”
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