Senate rejects move for NSA to recruit staff, okays bitumen exploration bill
The House Representatives Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria has resolved to probe usage of N62 billion intervention funds in the country.
Chaired by Amobi Ogah, the panel while on an oversight visit to the agency, expressed disappointment over the absence of National Coordinators of National Malaria Control Programme and National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programmes.
He described the decision by the Chief executive officers of the aforementioned outfits to send one Dr Emperor Ochoma to represent them as indicative of their disdain for the National Assembly.
Ogah, however, acknowledged successes recorded in the fight against deadly diseases by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) under the leadership of Dr Aliyu Gambo as Director-General. He stated that the heads of government agencies and institutions are the major problem of the country.
Members of the committee were shocked by the data and statistics compiled by the agency on prevalence of HIV/AIDS across the federation. They directed the agencies to undertake sensitisation of the pandemic.
Besides, a bill to make the National Security Adviser (NSA) recruit permanent staff for his office with president consent failed to pass second reading at the Senate yesterday.
Senator Buba Umar Shehu (Bauchi South) sponsored the bill that seeks to provide a legal framework for the NSA to appoint permanent staff for his office instead of using “casual workers.”
The sponsor had argued that recruiting permanent staff in the NSA office would “enhance institutional memory and effective performance of the responsibilities of the National Security Adviser.”
According to him, the bill is asking for the NSA to be allowed to appoint his own staff with the approval of the President. But the proposed piece of legislation suffered defeat when the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, acknowledged Senator Seriake Dickson’s opposition.
The former Bayelsa State governor explained to his colleagues that “the current situation is that the NSA is the national security coordinator where officers from the various services are seconded.”
The motion was seconded by Senator Enyinaya Abaribe, who said the impression given that the workers are temporary staff is not so, adding: “they are personnel of the various services – Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, DSS, etc.” When the Senate President put it to voice vote, the opposition had the day.
Also, a bill to bring about diversification of the nation’s economy through massive bitumen production scaled second reading at the upper legislative chamber.
sponsored by Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo South), the bill, which seeks to provide a legal framework for the mining, production and exportation of bitumen in the country, was thereafter referred to the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals for further legislative input.
