Ivie Omoregie: The Importance of Contracts;Especially When Dealing with Friends

by Legalnaija | Oct 11, 2016 | Uncategorized

The importance of
contracts

Over the years, in my
professional capacity, as well as in my personal life, I have seen extremely
ugly disputes erupt amongst people who would have once referred to themselves
as close friends or family; all because they attempted to do business or engage
in a project together which subsequently went pear shaped. I often tell people
‘even if you are going into business with your mum, make sure you sign
something setting out, in clear terms, exactly what is expected from each party’.

The importance of formally
documenting proposed business obligations cannot be over stated. Some people
believe it might be insulting to the other party if seemingly out of nowhere
they bring a document for that party to review and sign; but I always stress
that prevention is better than cure, and in most instances, to actually save a
friendship one has to be objective and follow due process.  If you were
doing business with a stranger, you would certainly mandate that the two of you
sign something to show each-others clear intentions…. So why should this change
because you are dealing with your “best friend”.

The Principals Behind
Legally Binding Contracts

The foundations of legally
binding contracts are premised on intention, an offer, acceptance of that offer
and valid consideration. Each party to a contract acquires rights and duties
relative to the rights and duties of the other parties.

Key elements for the
formation of a legal contract include: –

a.      Intention
– all parties must have intended to create relations by entering into the
contract;

b.     Offer
– there must be a valid, definite and clearly stated offer to do something;

c.      Acceptance
– this must be unequivocal and unconditional, and must be in accordance with
the terms of the initial offer; and

d.     Consideration
– this may be in any form accepted by both parties, aside from a monetary
consideration, it can also take the form of physical objects, promised actions,
services, absence from future actions and the list goes on.

The general position of
legal authorities is that any contract is legally binding and enforceable where
the parties to the contract, at the time of entering into the contract, had the
intention to be bound to the terms of the contract. All courts around the world
appreciate that the sole objective of a legal contract is to define the
agreement that the parties have consented to enter into, thus fixing their
rights, duties and obligations in-line with what has been clearly set out in
the contract. There is no legal body empowered to enforce the terms of a
contract which does not exist.

Capacity to Contract

In saying this, I must
stress that there are instances where a party to a contract may be deemed as
lacking the capacity to enter into the contract, thus the contract regarded as
unenforceable where some laws which relate to that nature of person are not
duly complied with.

These persons include: –

a.      An
Illiterate – this is generally a person who cannot read or write in the
language in which the contract has been executed;

b.     An
Infant – this is persons under the age of 21 (with an exception being
contracts for the sale of goods)

c.      A
Lunatic or Person of Unsound Mind – however
in these instances, a contract entered into with a lunatic at lucid intervals
is valid (here the test for determining whether someone is a lunatic is not
quite clear under Nigerian law, as we often see “many are mad but few are
raving”)

d.     A
Drunkard – again the test for differentiating a drunkard from someone
who likes to drink often is somewhat grey, however where it can be proved that
the drunkard was sober at the time of entering into the contract then the
contract would be binding.

Parties to a contract are
bound by the terms of that contract, even in instances where the terms are more
favorable to of the parties; as long as the contract is not the result of
duress, undue influence or fraud, it is not the duty of the courts to determine
the business viability of the contract terms.

Key Clauses

I must empathize that the
contract does not have to perfectly drafted to be binding, although advise from
a professional would always be a best case scenario, in the event that this is
not possible, parties may simply google the applicable template and adapt to
suit their needs, or write out some pivotal points on a sheet of paper and
sign. 

The following are some
vital clauses I would advised to be included in every contract: –

1.       Commencement
Date – this is the date upon which the contract will be deemed as validly
existing;

2.      Parties
– here you list the names and addresses of the parties to the contract, where
any of the parties is a company, one may also include the company registration
number, and the country in which the company was registered;

3.      Recital
– this is a clause which details briefly the facts surrounding the transaction,
and may be narrative or introductory by nature. For example, in a contract for
the sale of goods it would be narrative and would tend to specifically state how
the seller came about possession of the goods;

4.      Consideration
clause – as titled, this clause details the consideration for the transaction;

5.      Receipt
clause – here the party receiving the consideration accepts receipt of same, or
where the consideration is not of a tangible nature confirms acceptance of
whatever consideration has been proposed;

6.     Capacity
– this clause confirms the party’s capacity to enter into the contract;

7.      Termination
clause – this usually details what constitutes a significant breach or several
events which could lead to termination if not rectified within a specified
period of time;

8.     Choice
of law clause – this clause details which laws will govern the contract, there
must be a rational reason for the choice of law specified, as the laws of
different jurisdictions may affect the parties differently;

9.     Alternative
dispute resolution clause – this clause creates an obligation for the parties
to submit their dispute to any of the alternative dispute resolution options.
It may also detail a course of actions both parties need to take in order to
rectify any possible discrepancies; and

10.   Signature
– parties should bear in mind the signatory requirements of a company.

Conclusion

The truth is, there are
several multi billion naira industries, which have been successfully operating
in Nigeria over several decades, established by a simple gentleman’s handshake.
Many people believe that in an attempt to be over diligent one can end up over
complicating the matter and set the foundation for distrust; akin to getting a
prenup before entering into a marriage. 

Many people, especially in
the Nigerian jurisdiction, because of the difficulties experienced or the
tedious nature of the litigation procedure, believe that most contracts are not
worth the paper they are written on. They believe that in most instances when
one or more of the parties involved purposely and disrespectfully rescinds on
their contractual obligations, little to nothing can be done to immediately
rectify the situation. The truth is the Nigerian court system is over
saturated, with final judgment often taking several years from the date of the
initial application. However, where the dispute is amongst related parties, any
mutual friend may intervene and give their objective interpretation of the
terms of the contract.

Ivie is a commercial lawyer, with experience and keen
interest in projects and transactions work within the Sub Saharan African region.
She is called to practice in England and Wales and Nigeria.

Ed’s Note – This article was originally published here. 

Powers of National Security Agencies in Nigeria

by Legalnaija | Oct 10, 2016 | Uncategorized

According to Wikipedia, National security is a concept that a government, along with
its parliaments, should protect the state and its citizens against all kind of
“national” crises through a variety of power projections, such
as political power, diplomacy, economic power, military might, and so on.

Nigeria like every other
nation has Security Agencies in addition to the Police and the Armed Forces.
For instance the United States of America has the Federal Bureau of
Investigations (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security and the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA). The United Kingdom also has MI6. Likewise Nigeria
has its own agencies with similar duties as the agencies stated above.  

 These agencies are provided for in the
National Security Agency Act. The Act is An Act to
disband the Nigeria Security Organization and to create three security
agencies, charging each with the conduct of the relevant aspect of the national
security, and other related matters.

The Act states that
– 

There
shall, for the effective conduct of national security, be established the
following National Security Agencies –

       (a)       the Defence Intelligence Agency;

       (b)       the National Intelligence Agency; and

      
(c)        the State Security Service (SSS).

The respective agencies
also have their duties outlined. Section 2(1) of the Act provides that the
Defence Intelligence Agency shall be charged with responsibility for-

 (a)  the
prevention and detection of crime of a military nature against the security of
Nigeria;

  (b)the
protection and preservation of all military classified matters concerning the
security of Nigeria, both within and outside Nigeria;

 (c) such other responsibilities
affecting defence intelligence of a military nature, both within and outside
Nigeria, as the President, or the Chief of Defence Staff, as the case may be,
may deem necessary.

  Subsection 2 of the
Act provides for the duties of the National Intelligence Agency and states that
it shall be charged with responsibility for-

  (a) the general maintenance of the security of
Nigeria outside Nigeria, concerning matters that are not related to military
issues; and

    (b)such other responsibilities
affecting national intelligence outside Nigeria as the National Defence
Councilor the President, as the case may be, may deem necessary.

 Furthermore Subsection 3
provides for the State Security Service and provides that, The State Security
Service shall be charged with responsibility for-

(a) the prevention and detection within
Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria;

 (b) the protection and preservation
of all non-military classified matters concerning the internal security of
Nigeria; and

 (c)such other responsibilities
affecting internal security within Nigeria as the National Assembly or the
President, as the case may be, may deem necessary.

 The National Intelligence
Agency is Nigeria’s version of the Central Intelligence Agency, while the State
Secret Service (SSS) is Nigeria’s version of the FBI.  The Act States in Section 4, that the powers
of these agencies shall have effect regardless of any law to the contrary. It
should be noted that the exception to this provision will be the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  However,
the Supreme Court noted in Dokubo -Asari
v. F.R.N. (2007) ALL FWLR (Pt. 375) 558 at 585; Paras B – E & F – H (SC),
that “where national security is threatened or there is the real likelihood of
it being threatened, human rights or the individual right of those responsible
take second place. Human rights or individual rights must be suspended until
the national security can be protected or well taken care of”. 

This rule of law is not
new as the court further posits that, “the corporate existence of Nigeria as a
united, harmonous, indivisible and and indissoluble sovereign nation, is
certainly greater than any citizen’s liberty or right. Once the security of
this nation is in jeopardy and it survives in pieces rather than in peace, the
individual’s liberty or right may not even exist”.

 The Act also makes provision for 2 advisory
councils namely The National Defence Council and The National Security Council,
while also providing for their duties and functions. 

 The above mentioned
agencies are established by the Act to promote and protect the National
Security of Nigeria. 

Adedunmade Onibokun Esq.

@adedunmade 

dunmadeo@yahoo.com 

Photo credit – Premiumtimesng.com 

Who will speak for the judiciary – Dunmade Onibokun

by Legalnaija | Oct 8, 2016 | Uncategorized

Who will speak for the judiciary – Dunmade Onibokun

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak
out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not
speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to
speak for me.

 
by Martin Niemöller

In
the past 24hours, the homes of various judicial officers across the country have
been besieged by officers of the Department of State Services (DSS), based on
allegations bothering on corruption. According to the Punch Newspaper, operatives
of the Department of State Service between late Friday night and the early
hours of Saturday simultaneously invaded the houses of two Justices of the
Supreme Court as well as two judges of the Federal High Court, including the
home of a judge in Rivers State.

The
commando style with which these actions were taken by the DSS is quite worrisome,
especially in a country that is called a democracy where everyone is entitled
to their fundamental human rights of freedom, equity and justice.    

This
scenario reminds me of the poem by Martin
Niemöller, where he described the penalty for keeping quiet in the face of
tyranny. When the DSS and the Police trampled on the rights of Nigerians, the
courts did not save them. When political opponents of the present government
administration were arrested and not given a fair trial, the courts held their
hands back. Now that they have come for the judiciary, who will speak out on
their behalf? Certainly not the common Nigerian, who has no belief in the
Nigerian legal system. 

Corruption
must be expunged from our system, we all agree but we must not in that guise
invite tyranny, disregard for the rule of law and dictatorship to take its
place. It is sad that we have become a country where official authority comes
before the rights of every Nigerian and the rule of law is being breached by
the very people put in place to safeguard them. 

The
Executive places itself as the leader of the various tiers of government,
forgetting that the doctrine of separation of powers still hold true till this
day. If as a people, we do not brace ourselves against the direct breach of our
legal rights by security agencies and raise our voices against the unlawful
acts of State agencies, we may as well put guns to our heads and pull the
trigger, for it means one day, the DSS will unlawfully lay siege at your house
and no one will be there to help.

Dunmade
Onibokun

@dunmadeo/Twitter

Photo Credit – www.timeforequality.org

Commendation to Nigerian Police on tattoos

by Legalnaija | Oct 8, 2016 | Uncategorized

I just stumbled on an article on the Linda Ikeji Blog about a lady
who was assaulted by the Police for having a tattoo. It’s so amazing the work
our Nigerian Policemen are doing. 

The sheer amount of intelligence
gathering and psychology that results in the identification of criminals by
their body art is one that should be shared with every police force in the
world.

For those who don’t know, a tattoo is a
permanent design drawn on a person’s skin. It is a popular form of self –
expression for many and also recognised by many tribes and cultures around the
world.

Never mind that the person is law
abiding, or is a respectable member of the society, as long as you have a
tattoo in the eyes of the Nigerian Police, you must be a criminal or prostitute
as the case may be. This level of professionalism in policing is unprecedented
and definitely unique to our police force. A reason why we always continue to
adore the police, our friends.

As the chief security agent of the
State, the agency with the mandate to protect the rights of the Nigerian
Citizen, uphold the rule of law and ensure our safety, arresting well-meaning
Nigerians just because they have tattoos is very commendable.

This exemplary work by the Police can
be found online, such as the case of Jerry
Guobadia and that of Jackie Awah.
You must agree with the Police that people with tattoos are a big problem to
the Nigerian Society, even though they may be musicians, performers, artists,
doctors or even bankers, the police should arrest them and prosecute them.

The police must have noted that the
high rate of   people with tattoos in Nigeria is directly proportional to
the high crime rate in the community. Hence the need to take down everyone with
a tattoo. Having a tattoo can also cause a severe breach of the peace, riot,
looting or even murder the Police must believe.

Even the Constitution that has a
provision for the fundamental right of every Nigeria not to be subject to
degrading treatment cannot fault this incredible work of the police. Neither
can Section 8 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act that provides that
suspects should not be subject to any form of cruel treatment be of any use
here.

Fellow Nigerians, we definitely have to
wake up and fight to protect our rights as a people, especially from those who
seek to spit on them such as our friends. Fundamental Human Right proceedings
commending the police for a job well done is a good way to start.

This is a
blog post by Adedunmade Onibokun. Adedunmade is a lawyer and blogger. He
practices in Lagos and publishes the law blog www.legalnaija.com. You can reach
Adedunmade on dunmadeo@yahoo.com

Ed’s Note – This article was originally published here.

Opinion: On Sambo Dasuki and the ruling of the ECOWAS Court by Raymond Nkannebe

by Legalnaija | Oct 5, 2016 | Uncategorized

The
considered ruling yesterday 4th October, of a three man panel of the Ecowas
court led by Justice Friday Nwoke that terminated in an order of immediate
release of the estranged former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki who has
been in custody of the DSS since last year, and cost against the Nigerian state
in the sum of 15 million naira is a welcome development. Nigerian security
operatives on no reason should be allowed in any guise to overshot the runway
of the law ostensibly to fortify the security of the nation.

The
right to Freedom of Liberty save in the exceptional cases must always remain
guaranteed. While some may argue that the circumstances bringing Dasuki within
this maze of legality falls within those exception encapsulated in section 35
of the constitution and as such should earn him a continuous detention at the
DSS, we beg to disagree and anchor our disagreement on a plethora of decided
cases by the supreme and appellate courts of this clime to wit :Abacha v state,
Bamaiyi v state, Fawehinmi v state Ani v state to name but a few. Where the
learned justices of both courts reechoed the attitude of the courts in
admitting to bail a person accused of an offence grave as they may be, to the
effect that where the accused would not prejudice the investigation of the
police; commit another offence or abscond from the jurisdiction of the courts
during the pendency of the trial; then bail becomes a right. 

It
is our submission that poor Dasuki has fulfilled or at one point or the other
undertaken to fulfill these conditions, yet his twin rights of Freedom of
Movement and liberty as enshrined in sections 38 and 35 of the constitution respectively,
remain breached by security agencies. 

More
so, one of the “exceptional circumstances” in the language of the
ACJA 2015 to be admitted to bail as provided in section 161(2)b is,
“extraordinary delay in the investigation, arraignment and prosecution for
a period exceeding one year”. It is common knowledge that Sambo Dasuki has
remained in custody beyond this window of the law. Therefore, it is safe to
conclude that our security operatives have breached both the judicial and
statutory requirements of the law in their desperation to secure conviction of
the former Security Chief. 

It
is lugubriously pitiable that whereas the role of the police in any democracy
is to prosecute accused persons, the police have taken to persecution and a
man-eat-man approach to justice. This judicial rascality and professional
indiscretion must stop. 

It
is on the sands of the fore going therefore, that the judgment of the Ecowas
court as a regional court of competent jurisdiction becomes instructive and
hence should be hailed. While many lawyers have argued that the judgment of the
court is at best persuasive and it’s sanctions prone to abuse by member
nations, it remains to be seen how the Buhari administration who rode to power
on the wings of democracy and Rule of Law and who therewith, told a beleaguered
nation at his inaugural address that he would uphold the rule of law and all
conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory to, would react to this particular
ruling of the court. 

Let
us conclude by paraphrasing the irrepressible late Justice Chukwudifu Akunne
Oputa in one of his legal sound bites. The prosecution in its pivotal role of
helping the courts come to the justice of a case must always remember that
their role is to prosecute and not persecute. A spectacle where the Law is
triumphant and justice prostrate therefore, must remain a sorry, and I dare
say, gory spectacle. For the law in the final analysis is but a hand maid of
justice.

The
writer, a lawyer and public affairs commentator wrote in from kano. He can be
reached via Raymondnkannebe@gmail. Twitter : @RayNkah 

Photo Credit 1 – Naij.com 

Photocredit 2 – punchng.com

Infograph on penalty for abuse of public office in Nigeria

by Legalnaija | Oct 4, 2016 | Uncategorized

 

 

Forward Recommendations On The National Automotive Policy – Senator Olugbenga Ashafa

by Legalnaija | Oct 4, 2016 | Uncategorized

Senator Gbenga Ashafa, Chairman Senate Committee on Land Transport

Senator Olugbenga Ashafa, the Senate
Committee Chairman on Land Transport on Tuesday 4^thOctober, 2016 at
the 2 day National Workshop for Chief Executives of Mass Transit Organisations
on the Nigeria Automotive Policy, urged the organisers to break away from the
culture of hoarding communiqués generated from such forums.

While delivering his good will
message, the Senator commended the Nigerian Institute for Transport Technology
and the National Automotive and Design Development Council for putting together
the all too important National Workshop.

Speaking further, the Senator
Representing Lagos East stated that “the functionality of our National
Automotive policy side by side our Mass Transit System is very important to our
economy hence; this workshop is timely as it directly affects the pressing
challenge that we face as a country today, which is the challenge of our
economy.”

  

Ashafa identified the important
issues that the Workshop needed to interrogate to include “how to ensure that
the National Automotive Policy remains a viable document on one hand and how to
ensure that the local manufacturing sector remains attractive to the investor
(both local and foreign).”

  

The Senator concluded by calling on
the organisers of the workshop to ensure that any recommendations requiring the
action of the Senate Committee on Land Transport, should be forwarded to the
committee without hesitation. In his own words, “I have observed a critical
missing link in how we make use of our body of knowledge after the brilliant
ventilation of ideas at such a forum as this. We have the habit of keeping the
resolutions to ourselves without forwarding same to relevant arms of government
for execution. Even when we do, we do not follow through to ensure that each
arm takes responsibility of his part of the job. I therefore urge that if at
the end of this workshop, you come up with any recommendations which you
believe the Senate Committee on Land Transport should push in form of a
legislation or a legislative agenda, kindly forward same to us.”

One Step Closer to Creation of State Police

by Legalnaija | Oct 4, 2016 | Uncategorized

Sometime ago, I wrote
about why we needed to establish State Police in Nigeria and empower local security agencies
here.
The advantages will be of course immense including employment for the teeming
youths, safer neighbourhoods and superior policing infrastructure. My voice is
definitely not the first and won’t be the last in support of this initiative
and I am glad we are moving one step closer as a nation to achieving this goal.

At the House of
Representative on the 27^th of September, 2016, the Bill which seeks
to alter the 1999 Constitution of the Federation, to provide for the
establishment of State Police and to ensure effective community policing in
Nigeria, standing in the name of Hon. Awoleye Abiodun Dada passed through its
second reading and was accordingly referred to the Ad hoc Committee on
Constitutional review for further legislative action.

Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution,
provides that there shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be called
the Nigeria Police and, subject to the provisions of this section no other
police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof. In
order therefore to establish State Police in Nigeria, this provision of the Constitution
must be amended. It is hoped that the Bill becomes law in the shortest possible
time. 

The Nigerian Police is
regulated by the Police Act, Cap.P19, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Section 10 of that Act provides that for public safety and public order The
President may give to the Inspector-General such directions with respect to the
maintaining and security of public safety and public order as he may consider
necessary, and the Inspector-General shall comply with those directions or
cause them to be complied with.

I believe the amendment
when passed will further lead to the State House of Assemblies passing their
respective Police Laws establishing the police in each state and enumerating
their duties, powers and administration. Most likely, the law will also empower
State Governors in regard to the security of their states as also provided for
in Section 10 of the Police Act. Also, the Police Act may be further amended to
properly outline the respective legal jurisdiction of the Federal and State
Police.

Adedunmade Onibokun

dunmadeo@yahoo.com

@adedunmade

Photo Credit – www.punch.com

Nigerian Senate Considers Report Of Ad-Hoc Committee On The State Of The Economy & Passes Five Motions

by Legalnaija | Oct 4, 2016 | Uncategorized

The Senate on Tuesday,
September 27, 2016 commenced consideration of the Report of its Ad-hoc
Committee on the State of the Economy. The Report presented before the Chamber
for consideration has seventeen recommendations. The recommendations were
extensively deliberated upon by  Senators and at the end most of them were
adopted by the Chamber.

According to the report,
the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria conducted a two-day intense and
wide ranging debate on the state of the Nigerian economy. It observed that the
negative GDP growth of 0.36% and 2.6% in the first and second quarters of 2016
technically plunged the national economy into recession. This contraction was
largely due to the fall in oil revenues and further exacerbated by the
vandalism of the nation’s oil assets in the Niger Delta region as well as the
country’s plummeting foreign exchange reserve from more than $60 billion in
2007 to $24 billion currently.

Major highlights of the
report is the decision of the Upper Legislative Chamber, urging President
Muhammadu Buhari not to sell the country’s national assets, and the suggestion
to raise a team of experts that would engage the youth of the Niger Delta for
amicable resolution of the crisis in the region. The report also summoned the
Chief Financial Reporting Officer of the federation to brief the Chamber.

Similarly, five Motions
were also debated and passed by the Senate, they include:

1) Inconclusive Elections,
sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu (Enugu West) and the
Senate Leader, Muhammed Ali Ndume (Borno South). The Motion sailed through with
three prayers below:

A) Call on the President
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to immediately nominate suitably qualified
persons to fill the vacant positions at INEC in line with the constitution to
enhance the capacity of the Institution to conduct conclusive elections.

B) Call on INEC to
immediately conclude all pending re-run elections in the country.

C) Constitute an Ad-hoc
Committee to hold a public hearing to review the performance of the INEC
 in the last one year with a view to ascertain the factors that may have
caused the perceived decline of the electoral system.

2) Unscrupulous violation
of Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous) Act, sponsored by Sen. Dino
Melaye (Kogi West). The Motion noted with serious concern the repatriation of
$13.92 billion illegally out of Nigeria by the Mobile Telecommunication Limited
(MTN) through its bankers between 2006 and 2016. The Motion scaled through with
single resolution below:

A) Mandate the Committee
on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to carry out a holistic
investigation into the matter and report back to the Senate.

3) Earth Tremor and the
preparedness of Nigeria to deal with the intending consequences, sponsored by
Sen. Danjuma La’ah (Kaduna South). The law-maker noted that the Earth tremor
that occurred in Kwoi and its environs in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna
State on Sunday, through Monday September 11 and 12, 2016 as well as the
increasing Earth tremors occurrence in Nigeria in recent time, there is the
likelihood of witnessing Earth Quake in the near future. The Motion was passed
with three prayers below:

A) Urge the government at
all levels to take the Earth Tremor warnings in parts of the country serious
and begin to take proactive measures to educate the populace on what to expect
and how to react when it occurs.

B) Urge the National
Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Security Agencies to move in
immediately through public enlightenment and drills to prepare the people
against any eventuality as the resources required at this stage would be
minimal.

C) Mandate the Committee
on Environment and Solid Minerals to undertake tour of affected communities and
report back to the Senate.

4) The need to ascertain
the Degree of Local Content in Nigerian Oil and Gas industry, sponsored by Sen.
Gershom Bassey (Cross River South). He stated that the Senate is aware that the
National Committee on Local Content Development (NCLCD) discovered that the
local participation in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry in
Nigeria was less than 5% meaning that 95% of the yearly expenditure of about $8
billion left the country. The Motion also sailed through with two resolutions
below:

A) Mandate the Senate
Committee on Petroleum Upstream and Gas to conduct a public hearing to
investigate the implementation of local content with a view to determine the
degree of compliance with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development
Act (NOGIC) by the industry operators.

B) Mandate the Senate
Committee on Petroleum Upstream and Gas to investigate the utilization of the
Nigeria Content Development Fund.

5) Looming crisis in the
Nigerian Aviation Industry, sponsored by Sen. Samuel Anyanwu (Imo East). The
Law-maker noted with concern that the looming crisis in the Aviation sector
portends grave danger to air safety and operations. He added that the sector
has been gasping for survival over some years now but worsen by the current
economic recession. The Motion was passed with two prayers below:

A) Mandate the Committee
on Aviation and the Ministry of Aviation to liaise with the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority (NCAA) to urgently look into the problems faced by the
airlines in order to fashion out possible solutions to the problem and avert
latent danger inherent in the crisis.

B) Mandate the Federal
Ministry of Transport to urgently commence the rehabilitation of major highways
and the rail system to serve as a viable and safe alternative to air travels.
 

Ed’s Note – This article was originally published here

Ashafa Says Senate Is Ready For 2017 Budget

by Legalnaija | Sep 29, 2016 | Uncategorized

The senator representing Lagos East at the
8^th Session of the National Assembly, Senator Olugbenga Ashafa, on Thursday
29th September, 2016 highlighted some of the efforts of the National Assembly
to assist the economy and also encourage more local content in the Nigerian
economy. He also seized the opportunity to join his voice to the call by the
Senate President on the executive to transmit the 2017 budget estimates to the
National Assembly in good time.

He made this call at the fourth day of the
Made in Nigeria Summit which took place at the Eko Atlantic City with the theme
“Pathways to building the main economy: Legislative agenda for the main
economy.”

While analyzing the contribution of the
Senate towards encouraging local participation in the economy, the senator
stated ”The fundamental role of the National Assembly in the area of the
economy remains providing the requisite legislative support for both the
executive and indeed the Nigerian populace to thrive in their areas of
business.”

He stated further “The 8^th
Session of the National Assembly is very well aware of the task ahead of it in
this period of economic challenge and we are alive to this responsibility. I
will give you some instances: one is the amendment of The Public Procurement
Act which has effectively reduced
the time it takes government to process the award of contracts. Also, that law
is to make it compulsory for government to patronize locally produced goods.

The
Senator also spoke about the passage of the Nigerian Railway bILL 2016 which was spearheaded by the Senate Committee
on Land Transport of which he is the chairman and expressed his optimism on how
the new law will help open up the Rail sector to private sector participation.”

In concluding, the Senator stated that the
National Assembly is ready to receive the 2017 budget, calling on the Executive
to send the budget estimates for the year 2017 to the National Assembly in good
time to afford the National Assembly the opportunity of carrying out a thorough
examination and timely passage of the document. “I agree that the National
Assembly can do more to encourage local content in the economy, however I think
it is important to state that since it takes the National Assembly averagely
about Four months to scrutinize the budget, we in the National Assembly are
ready to start work on the 2017 budget. If we receive the budget estimates
early, it gives us the opportunity of carrying out a thorough examination and
timely passage of the document.”