Osun Assembly passes bill extending judges’ retirement age to 70

Osun State House of Assembly,  on Tuesday, passed a bill extending the retirement age of judges and other judicial officers from 65 to 70 years.

The bill is entitled: “Osun State High Court and Customary Court of Appeal Registrars, Secretary to the State Judicial Council, State Counsels in the Ministry of Justice, State Magistrates and District Customary Courts’ Presidents Retirement Age Bill, 2023.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bill was passed during the plenary session, held at the assembly complex in Osogbo, after passing the third reading.

Speaker of the assembly, Mr Adewale Egbedun, said that the final copy of the bill would be produced and forwarded to the Governor, Sen. Ademola Adeleke, for his assent.

Egbedun expressed appreciation to his colleagues for the conduct of the 2024 budget presentation and defence by various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in the state.

NAN reports that the budget defence exercise, which lasted for 11 days, saw 90 MDAs appearing before the House Committee on Budget and Appropriation, chaired by Mr Saheed Fatunmise.

The last set of MDAs that appeared before the committee on Monday included: Osun Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Osun East, Osun West and Osun Central Education District Offices.

Others were: the Osun Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Osun Tourism Board and Osun Council for Arts and Culture.

(NAN)

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on Tuesday, revealed the new principal officers of the 10th House of Representatives.

They include Julius Ihonvbere (APC – Edo, House Majority Leader), Halims Abdullahi (APC – Kogi, Deputy Majority Leader), Bello Kumo (APC – Gombe, Chief  Whip), Adewunmi Onanuga (APC – Ogun, Deputy Chief Whip).

Abbas also read a letter from the Minority Caucus which detailed the names of the principal officers.

The letter named Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Minority Leader), Aliyu Madaki (NNPP, Deputy Minority Leader), Ali Isah (PDP, Minority Whip), and George Ozodinobi (Labour Party, Deputy Minority Whip).

In a similar vein, Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the principal officers of the 10th Senate, whom he said emerged by consensus.

The new officers are Senator Opeyemi Bamidele from Ekiti State as Senate Leader, Senator Dave Umahi from Ebonyi State as Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume from Borno State as Chief Whip, and Senator Lola Ashiru from Kwara State as Deputy Chief Whip.

Akpabio also announced the names of minority principal officers: Senator Simon Davou (Plateau North – PDP, Minority Leader), Oyewunmi Olarere (Osun West – PDP, Deputy Minority Leader), Darlington Nwokeocha (Abia Central – LP, Minority Whip), and Rufai Hanga (Kano Central – NNPP, Deputy Minority Whip).

Speakership: Wase congratulates Abbas, thanks supporters

The immediate past Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Wase, has congratulated Tajudeen Abbas on his emergence as Speaker of the House.

He also thanked members who voted for him, those who did not and others who wanted him but voted for someone else.

At the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly on Tuesday, anointed candidates of the All Progressives Congress had emerged as presiding officers of the Senate and the House, defeating their opponents who opposed their endorsements by the ruling party.

Godswill Akpabio defeated Abdulaziz Yari to become President of the Senate, while Jibrin Barau emerged as the Deputy President of the Senate.

Abbas had also contested against two opponents – Wase and Sani Jaji – and won his election as Speaker in a landslide, leaving them with three votes each. Benjamin Kalu emerging as Deputy Speaker.

Wase, in a statement issued on Wednesday and titled ‘10th Assembly Speakership Contest: Concession and Congratulatory Message by Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase,’ the former Deputy Speaker was tactically silent on the immediate past Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, who backed Abbas against him.

The statement read, “I wish to extend my sincere congratulations to Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu on their election as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively of the 10th House of Representatives. Although we were on different sides of the political space, we have, nevertheless, always acknowledged that we were all partners in the project of deepening our parliamentary democracy.

“I believe my contest in this speakership election was much more about making a case for what I considered a lack of equity and fairness in the manner in which my party’s zoning was done much more than it was about winning.

“As a politician who has been engaging in elections since 2007 and has returned to the House for the 5th term, I verily understand that every contest must generate its necessary contentions. However, in the end, we have to come together to confront the bigger matters of stability of the Parliament and enriching Legislative Governance to deepen our collective democracy.

“In this light, I wish to once again congratulate the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, on their victory and urge my supporters and well-wishers, as well as my fellow contestants, to give them all the cooperation required to achieve a stable and united 10th House of Representatives.”

Wase noted that he intends to “fervently and actively” participate in all legislative business of the 10th Assembly and would continue to proudly represent not only Wase Federal Constituency in Plateau State but Nigerians at large.

The ex-Deputy Speaker also said, “I thank my mentor and leader, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, GCFR, for his continuous fatherly support and counsel, which he has sustained from my early days in ACN till date. I am immensely indebted to you sir and will continue to be.

“I thank my constituents who have consistently demonstrated their unalloyed faith in and support for me by continuously returning me to the Green Chambers now for the 5th term to represent them. I will continue to represent you well. I thank my campaign team and supporters for their ceaseless efforts throughout the campaign. I am very much indebted to you.

“I thank all my honourable colleagues for their support and counsel. I thank those who voted for me. I thank those who did not vote for me. I thank those who voted my opponent even when their heart was with me. I am eternally grateful to you all and must say that I have been further enriched by the experience. I assure all my colleagues that I will continue to, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, show ‘Charity towards all and malice towards none.”