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ECOWAS parliamentarian calls for direct election of members

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ECOWAS parliamentarian calls for direct election of members

By: Michael Mike

A member of the 6th ECOWAS Parliament, Sen. Osita Izunaso has called for election of members directly by their constituents into the regional legislative body, rather than through nomination by their countries as it is today.

Izunaso, the First Rapporteur of the parliament’s Joint Committee on Public Accounts, made the call in an interview with journalists in Abidjan on Tuesday.

Izunaso (APC-Imo West) is a fourth-term senator, and longest serving lawmaker from the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones in the Nigerian senate.

Speaking on the sidelines of the parliament’s joint committee on administration, budget, finance, public account, macroeconomic policy, and economic research meeting, he suggested the amendment of the Supplementary Act for that purpose.

“The direct election of members to the ECOWAS Parliament is long overdue.

“We must borrow a leaf from the European Parliament, where members are elected directly by their constituents.

“I think we have to work out a framework for the direct election of members to the ECOWAS Parliament.

“That will go a long way in solving most of the problems of the parliament, and I strongly believe in it.

“I spoke about it when I was making my contributions and I believe that is the best way to go.

“The modalities have to be worked out, and it is one of the issues we are going to agree on in this conference.

“The committee that is in charge will be given that responsibility to work out a framework on how to hold direct elections to ECOWAS Parliament.

“When that happens, I’m sure more powers will be given to the Parliament,” he said.

Izunaso noted that through direct elections, the people’s representatives to the parliament will be elected directly, whether they have been parliamentarians or not.

According to him, it has to be open for people who want to contest to do so because it is not only parliamentarians who have repository of knowledge.

The lawmaker said there were non-parliamentarians that are more knowledge, who might even make better contributions if they were elected into the Parliament.

“The benefit of electing ECOWAS parliamentarians directly is that it will give them more authority, they’ll have more powers, they’ll have more checks and balances.

“This is as enshrined in the principles of Separation of Powers, because when you hold direct elections, you give more powers to the legislature.

“So, it will be more beneficial to the ECOWAS sub-region than it is today,” the senator said.

Izunaso also called for the amendment of the Supplementary Act to give total legislative authority to the ECOWAS Parliament, stressing that there were a lot of gaps that needed to be closed.

He observed that a situation where the ECOWAS Parliament does not have legislative powers with regards to budgeting, it would not augur well for the community.

“So, we are proposing that the Supplementary Act be amended to give more powers to the ECOWAS Parliament, in terms of budgeting and also auditing.

“This is because if you have a parliament that does not exercise legislative duties, then there’s a gap, something is missing somewhere,” he said.

The parliamentarian also proposed that the amendments should include mandating that some key appointments in the ECOWAS parliament be subjected to parliamentary confirmation.

He suggested that the appointment of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the commissioners, and other top management staff should be subjected to parliamentary confirmation.

On the threat of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to exit ECOWAS, the lawmaker said their exit would bring about the dual challenges of funding and exclusion.

“So, it’s not only about the need for more funding, but it’s more of inclusivity; If we say we are ECOWAS, every part of ECOWAS should be together.

“We’re not happy that any one of our member countries would want to pull out, because the more we are, the merrier, so we want them back.

“But I believe that the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of Government are working towards resolving the issues,” Izunaso added.

ECOWAS parliamentarian calls for direct election of members

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Troops clear bandits’ camps, rescue victims, recover arms in Bauchi

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Troops clear bandits’ camps, rescue victims, recover arms in Bauchi

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops under Operation WUTAN DAJI have cleared several bandits’ camps, rescued kidnapped victims and recovered arms during clearance operations in Bauchi State.

Security sources said troops of 33 Artillery Brigade Garrison, in conjunction with elements of the Brigade Headquarters and a team from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), carried out the operation in Kumbodoro forest and Kumbodoro village.

According to the sources, the operation was led by the Commander, 33 Artillery Brigade, Brig.-Gen. S.S. Shehu, as part of ongoing efforts to rid the area of criminal elements.

They added that several bandits’ camps, including Azuge camps, were cleared during the operation, while a number of the criminals were neutralised.

Items recovered include four skeletal rifles, four dane guns, two pairs of boots, three helmets, a power bank, a Startimes decoder, one FN rifle magazine, one AK-47 magazine, communication links, a jackknife, six mobile phones, arrows, radio chargers, ATM cards, photographs, identity cards, as well as several pairs of security agency uniforms and leg chains.

The sources further disclosed that eight kidnapped victims were rescued during the operation.

They said troops are currently holding position within the Kumbodoro forest to consolidate gains from the clearance mission.

In a related development, the sources said troops deployed at Duguri, in collaboration with local vigilantes, recovered 36 cows at Mushen Kura village following information that the animals were roaming the area.

“The cows are suspected to have fled from bandits’ camps due to the ongoing operations and are currently in custody for further action,” the sources said.

They noted that troops’ morale and combat efficiency remain high, while operations continue to deny bandits freedom of action in the region.

Troops clear bandits’ camps, rescue victims, recover arms in Bauchi

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Joint security forces raid herders’ camp in Rivers, recover arms and ammunition

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Joint security forces raid herders’ camp in Rivers, recover arms and ammunition

By: Zagazola Makama

Joint security operatives under the Joint Task Force, South-South, Operation Delta Safe, have raided a suspected herders’ camp in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, recovering arms and ammunition.

Security sources said the operation was carried out at about 1:30 p.m. on April 12 along the IPO community axis by troops of 6 Division Garrison in collaboration with personnel of the Air Force, Navy, Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and Civil Defence Corps.

According to the sources, the raid targeted identified herders’ and cattle rearers’ camps in the area.

They added that items recovered during the operation include one AK-47 rifle, one pump-action gun, 274 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and four mobile phones.

The sources noted that the operation is part of ongoing efforts to curb illegal possession of firearms and enhance security across the Niger Delta region.

Joint security forces raid herders’ camp in Rivers, recover arms and ammunition

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Zulum establishes quarry centre, procures 70 trucks for infrastructure development

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Zulum establishes quarry centre, procures 70 trucks for infrastructure development

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has announced the establishment of a quarry centre in Pulka, Gwoza Local Government Area, to accelerate infrastructure development in the state.

Zulum made this announcement on Monday while flagging off the distribution of 70 brand-new Howo pickup trucks to the Ministry of Works and the State Road Maintenance Agency (BORMA) at the Government House.

The 70 Howo trucks are designed to boost the operational capacity of the Ministry of Works and its supervising agencies. The trucks will enable the swift delivery of materials to sites and faster intervention on distressed roads.

According to the governor, the quarry centre will provide locally sourced materials including granite, gravel and sharp sand to support ongoing and future road projects, reducing dependence on external suppliers and cutting costs.

“We have achieved a lot in health, education, agriculture, security, and road construction among others. However, we still have challenges of constructing roads within the state, especially in rural communities,” Zulum said.

“My administration has established a quarry plant in Pulka with a processing capacity of 120 tons per hour. The State Government spent at least 3 billion to establish the quarry plant”, he added.

According to the governor, due to the prevailing insecurity, most contractors are not willing to work in Borno.

“You know, no serious contractor will take the risk of deploying his equipment to most of the implementing areas, so this is the reason we are here”, the governor reinstated.

“So, we have no option but to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Works, the capacity of Borno State Road Maintenance Agency (BORMA), the capacity of special projects, monitoring departments and other MDAs that are responsible for road construction.”

The brief ceremony was attended by the Secretary to Borno State Government, Bukar Tijani, Acting Chief of Staff, Dr Babagana Mustapha Mallumbe, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works, Engr Baware, BORMA Chairman, Engr Sadu Auno, the Special Adviser on Monitoring and Evaluation, Engr Bukar Gujubawu and other senior officials.

Zulum establishes quarry centre, procures 70 trucks for infrastructure development

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