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Saraki, Buhari media organization cross-fire takes new turn
Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Sunday reacted to a statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari’s Media Organisation, were the later cautioned and urged him to reconvene the Senate to attend to urgent national issues.
The organisation accused Saraki of postponing the resumption of the Senate, despite the ongoing issue in the country, especially the INEC budget and approval for foreign loans tied to several critical infrastructures.
Recall also that the organisation through its chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke opined that Saraki is the one laying siege on the whole country by using his position to undermine the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
But reacting on the issue, Saraki through his special assistant on new media, Olu Onemola said that the organisation’s statement was a careful and deliberate example of conscientious ignorance on full display.
Read the full statement below: “It is necessary to begin this response to the Buhari Media Organization by reminding us of the aforementioned fact.
This is because their statement is a careful and deliberate example of conscientious ignorance on full display. By now, the Nigerian people are aware that the Executive branch could have submitted INEC’s 2019 Election budget at the time it submitted the 2018 appropriations proposal last year.
Furthermore, the Executive had from January till June this year to submit the budget request. However, due to a lack of foresight, or the usual display of tardiness or an attempt to ensure that due process would not be followed — the INEC budget request was submitted by the Executive branch only a few days before the statutory National Assembly annual recess.
Regardless of this unforced error on the part of the Executive, the National Assembly has continued its work on this budget.
As it stands: the relevant Senate & House Committees have held individual budgetary hearings with the INEC Chairman & all his Commissioners on this budget.
The @NGRSenate and @HouseNGR have also held follow-up Joint Committee meetings to carefully scrutinize the provisions of the budget.
Furthermore, the Joint Committees are now scheduled to meet on Monday when they are expected to come up with a Committee report.
This Report will then be given to the Appropriations Committee, which will spell out how to source the President’s virement request through the concerned MDAs. Any person or organization that is conversant with legislative due process would know this. It is only after the Appropriations Committee has worked on the budget details that a plenary sitting is required to adopt the final report.
The Senate President, the Senate and the entire National Assembly, are committed to ensuring that the 2019 elections receive all necessary funding. However, this should not be at the expense of due process and stated guidelines.
Groups like the Buhari Media Organization that try to scapegoat the Senate President for the failure of the Executive to submit INEC’s 2019 election budget on time, know that the National Assembly has been working on this request through its Committees.
Nigerians want to know why President Buhari withheld his assent on the first Electoral Act passed by the National Assembly to help legalize the various innovations that are needed for free and fair elections. These are the questions @BuhariMediaORG should ask their principal. @BuhariMediaORG should ask their principal the following questions: “What is he afraid of in the very progressive proposals contained in the Electoral Bill?” “Why does he want to frustrate the 2019 election by not signing the much-needed enabling laws into effect?”
For the record, it is necessary to state that the Buhari Media Organization (@BuhariMediaORG), in its failed attempt to mislead the public, has been crying more than the bereaved.
During this process, INEC, that will utilize the funds and conduct the proposed elections has stated that it is confident and comfortable with the thorough and transparent response exhibited by the National Assembly.
Finally, it is necessary to once again emphasize that the public will continue to see through all attempts to mislead them with empty political grandstanding that is detrimental to the adherence to due process that the National Assembly’s leadership is committed to upholding.”
News
France Urged to Address Colonial Legacy as Senegalese Activists Call for Reparations in Dakar Roundtable
Reporter: Sandra Ani
France’s colonial legacy came under renewed scrutiny as journalists, historians, and pan-African activists gathered at African Memorial Square in Dakar for a powerful roundtable advocating reparations and economic justice.
The event highlighted growing demands for France to take full responsibility for its historical role in Senegal and across West Africa.
Organized by advocacy groups including the Association of Descendants of Senegalese Soldiers, the Front for the Withdrawal of French Military Bases (GASSI), and JIF’AFRIK, the roundtable brought together influential voices pushing for reparatory justice and structural transformation.
Among the key speakers were Babacar Dioh of the Thiaroye 44 Movement—a coalition of descendants of Senegalese tirailleurs—and Souleymane Jules Diallo, leader of JIF’AFRIK. Discussions centered on two central demands: official reparations for colonial-era injustices and the urgent renegotiation of trade and military agreements that activists say perpetuate economic dependence.
“The time for symbolic gestures is over,” said Dioh. “We are now filing an official reparations claim and taking concrete steps to hold France accountable.”
Speakers called for the dismantling of existing neocolonial frameworks, stressing the ecological, financial, and social harm that has endured beyond the colonial period. The roundtable marks a turning point in Dakar’s positioning as a hub for coordinated African-led advocacy aimed at restoring historical justice.
This event adds momentum to a growing continental movement seeking tangible reparative action from former colonial powers and reinforces the call for equity, autonomy, and acknowledgment of historical truths.
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
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