HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA

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FOURTH REPUBLIC 119 8 TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THIRD SESSION NO. 19 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA NOTICE PAPER Monday 30 October, 2017 NOTICE OF MOTIONS 1.

1 FOURTH REPUBLIC TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THIRD SESSION NO. 19 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA NOTICE PAPER Monday 30 October, 2017 NOTICE OF MOTIONS 1. Call for Removal of Structures Erected Under High Tension Wires to Prevent Harmful Incidents: Hon. Jimoh Abdulraheem Olajide: Notes that the Town and Regional Planning Law stipulates that a mandatory distance of 5.5 meters, 15.5 meters and 25 meters must be observed as setback from low tension wires, 11KV wires and 33KV lines, respectively by any person wishing to construct any structure in the country; Also notes the flagrant violation of the above law by property developers who construct structures under high tension wires and close to electricity transformers regardless of the inherent dangers in the practice to the occupants; Aware that many people have been electrocuted while properties worth millions of Naira were burnt when high tension wires fell on structures

2 erected under them, where people were living or carrying out commercial activities, in gross disobedience of the law; Recalls an incident sometime in April 2016, when no fewer than five persons were electrocuted while many houses were destroyed when high tension wires fell on houses in Kuta, Shirodo local government area of Niger State and also the case of Miss Deborah Faleke, who was electrocuted around Fagbenro Street, Alakuko, Lagos State on May 21, 2016 when an electric wire fell on her; Concerned by the nonchalant attitude of Distribution Companies (DISCOs) towards victims of electrocution and burnt houses following the falling of high tension wires on houses; Cognizant of the need to ensure enforcement of the law requiring that safe distances be given between high tension wires, transformers and structures where people live and transact businesses; Resolves to: (i) (ii) Mandate the Committee on Power, Works and Housing to interface with the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, the Nigeria Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), the Distribution companies (DISCOs), and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of States Governments to determine ways to ensure the enforcement of laws prohibiting the erection at structures under high tension wires or very close to electricity transformers; Urge the Inspector General of Police, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and other relevant agencies to lend support to the efforts to demolish structures erected under the high tension wires and maintain surveillance around the routes of the wires to sustain the tempo after the demolition.

3 2. Urgent Need for Security Agencies to Involve Experts in the Destruction of Illegal Refineries and Boats Laden with Petroleum Products to Prevent Pollution and Other Forms of Environmental Degradation: Hon. Owoidighe Ekpoattai: Notes that the increase of illegal oil refineries in the creeks of the Niger Delta has become alarming and added a new twist to the economic and security challenges confronting Nigeria as a nation; even with the plan of turning them to modular refineries; Also notes that the effects of acquiring crude oil illegally by nonprofessionals is devastating on the environment, wild and aquatic lives as well as the economic development of the nation resulting in an estimated loss of 10.9 billion dollars between 2009 and 2011 only; Aware that section 20 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, provides that the state shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air land, forest and wildlife of Nigeria while section 2 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, Cap E12, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 also provides for restriction on public or private projects without prior consideration of its impact or effect on the environment; Also aware that in a bid to curb this menace, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian navy have collectively destroyed at least 280 illegal refineries and barges loaded with petroleum products and secured the conviction of 40 perpetrators out of the 118 arrests made in the last one year in the Niger Delta region; Concerned that despite the commendable efforts of the various security agencies to curb the menace of illegal refineries, the methods adopted in the destruction of those refineries are further endangering the environment of the region and negatively affecting the general health and well-being of the people because waste emanating from the destroyed refineries and barges are washed into the creeks and the ocean; Observes that failure to involve experts while carrying out the destruction of the illegal refineries by security agents, poses environmental hazards just as the existence and operation of those illegal refineries themselves;

4 Resolves to: (i) (ii) Commend the security agencies for their role in checking the menace oil bunkering and operation of illegal refineries; Mandate Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream) Environment and Habitat, Army, Navy, Interior, Niger Delta and Legislative Compliance to interface with relevant Security Agencies to ensure that officials of the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA s) are involved in the process of destroying illegal refineries and boats laden with petroleum products to guarantee to an extent, retrieval of the stolen crude oil to avoid spillage, either on land or water, as well as minimize economic losses and also avoid pollution and degradation of the environment, and report back in six (6) weeks for further legislative action. 3. Need for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to Implement the 2017/2018 Dry Season Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) Programme: Hon. Munir Baba Dan Agundi Hon Muktar Dandutse: Notes that Nigeria is blessed with abundant arable land and water resources suitable for cultivation of varieties of crops such as rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, millet, groundnut, cotton, soya bean, beniseed, cassava, oil palm, cocoa, rubber, gum Arabic, horticultural crops and vegetables, all under both rain fall or irrigation, and also the rearing of animals such as cattle, sheep, goat and production of fisheries and aquaculture; Also notes that farming has become the main occupation of majority of the citizens, especially those living in the rural areas and of recent, some urban dwellers as the country has a vast irrigable land that is suitable for irrigation farming, coupled with available irrigation facilities from the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs); Further notes that the Federal Government established the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS) as a vehicle to ensure the equitable distribution of farm inputs to farmers nationwide;

5 Aware that the GES Scheme, based on its Implementation Strategies and Operational Modalities (ISOM), creates redemption centres (selling points) across the country which are close to the farmers to ensure the development and sustenance of the permanent input markets down to the grassroots where the targeted end user farmers reside; Also aware that the establishment of the GES Scheme ensured that procurement and distribution of farm inputs, elsewhere done directly by Government, has now been transferred to private sector operators, and in the same vein, the beneficiaries of the farm inputs are not only known by names, but by their respective chosen commodity value chains, while their locations and full biometric information are stored in the national database; Cognizant that the expected impact of the dry season farming, especially in the light of the country's determination to actualize self-sufficiency in rice, wheat and maize production cannot be overemphasized as through its implementation, the nation will meet substantial part of its food requirements and have excess for export to earn the much needed foreign exchange; Observes that available information on existing irrigable lands, their locations, sources of water and the optimum number of farmers that could utilize the irrigation facilities show that there are 1,179, hectares of potential irrigable lands, 2,869 number of irrigable facilities that could be used by 1,142,087 farmers during the forthcoming 2017/2018 dry season farming, out of the million farmers in the database; Resolves to: (i) (ii) Urge the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure the implementation of the forthcoming 2017/2018 dry season GES programme because of its importance to the nation's desire to ensure self-sufficiency in major staple food crops; Also urge the Ministry to support farmers with the required input package for the forthcoming 2017/2018 dry season farming in order to bridge the production gap created by non-implementation of the GES programme during the 2017 wet season; and

6 (iii) Mandate the Committee on Agricultural Production and Services to ensure implementation. 4. Need to Investigate the Remittance of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) into the Federation Accounts from 2007 till Date: Hon. Segun Alexander Adekola: Notes that the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, while evaluating the performance of Government Agencies, recently announced that for the first time in its 40 years of existence, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) remitted the sum of 5 billion Naira into the coffers of the government with a balance of 3 billion Naira still to be remitted, amounting to 8 billion Naira within nine months of the tenure of the current Management of JAMB; Also notes media reports that between 2011 and 2015, JAMB earned at least billion Naira from registration fees by candidates who sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) but remitted a meagre sum to the Federal Government, which, within the period, allocated over 2 billion Naira yearly from the budget to the Board; Further notes that the Accountant General of the Federation had, in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, stated that JAMB remitted N11,522,808 in 2011, N25,303,274 in 2013 and N13,926,402 in 2014 but did not make any remittances in 2012, 2015 and 2016 respectively; Observes that the total amount JAMB remitted to the Federation Account between 2010 and 2016 is N50,752,484, which is about 1% of the amount the Agency remitted to the Federal Government in 2017 alone; Conscious that the remittance of such an amount by a non-focal revenue generating agency underscores the importance of transparency in the administration and management of government business and desirous of the urgent need to beam a search light on other Government agencies to guide against flagrant misappropriation of public funds with a view to promoting probity in governance;

7 Resolves to: Mandate the Committee on Basic Education and Services to conduct an investigation into the management of the financial affairs of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) from 2007 till date as it relates to its earnings from prospective candidates and remittances made to the Federation Account and report back within six (6) weeks for further legislative action. 5. Call on the Federal Government to Set Up an Audit Committee to Conduct an Infrastructure Audit of Government Spendings in the Niger Delta Region from : Hon. E.J. Agbonayinma: Notes that an infrastructure audit report is a critical tool for any nation desirous of development and growth to make assessment for informed decision making; Also notes that the Niger Delta Infrastructure Audit Report will take a strategic approach in accessing the region s infrastructural needs, population growth, etc and provide a top-down assessment of reduced value, value added and direct economic contributions; Further notes that the Report will also consider demand for infrastructure over the next five decades and finally deliver an evidence base for future gap analysis, long term planning and future investments priorities; Cognizant that the need to conduct an infrastructure audit is paramount at this time if the government is desirous of developing the region in order to put a final end to hostilities in the region; Aware that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and other Government Institutions were established as interventionist agencies to develop the region in collaboration with International Oil Companies (ICOs) operating in the region but since its inception, the Ministry, the NDDC and other institutions have not been able to achieve above 8% of their statutory appropriation and responsibilities owing to the absence of infrastructure audit that would have informed decision making and project prioritization, thereby making the entire process to be lacking in direction and the IOC s are fully aware of these lapses and

8 are not forthcoming with their contributions to the development of the region; Concerned that over $40 billion has been spent by the Federal Government and Oil firms in the Niger Delta Region in the last ten years without meaningful development; Believes that the benefits of an Infrastructure Audit Report are enormous as it will bridge the gap between the current and prospective infrastructure project appraisal and project selection, including a consistent use and transparent reporting of cost benefit analysis, create an engagement of the communities throughout the decision making process as a key element of sound infrastructure planning, enhance integrated approach in infrastructure and land use planning, help deal with uncertainties of complex issue, increase productivity level through regular strategic investment in economic infrastructure, improve connectivity in infrastructure networks and gateways, link businesses, boost trade and improve access in work, thereby building a better Nigeria; Resolves to: (i) (ii) Urge the Federal Government to set up an Infrastructure Audit Committee to produce a comprehensive Audit Report on Federal Government spendings in the Niger Delta Region from 1999 to 2016; Mandate the Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to ensure implementation and report back in twelve (12) weeks for further legislative action. 6. Call for Monitoring of Science and Technology Projects in the Rural Communities: Hon. Oladipupo O. Adebutu: Notes that the rural areas, which are inhabited by majority of the population, is very vital to the nation s socio economic development as the rural population angage in economic activities that form the backbone of economic sustenance as they are the base for the agricultural products that

9 are the major source of capital formation and raw materials for the country s industrialization; Also notes that development practitioners will agree that given the contributions of the rural sector to the overall development of the nation, the process of developing rural communities into higher levels of living and better quality of life is imperative; Aware that the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST) and its agencies have outlined as part of their mandate Technology Transfer and Promotion Initiatives for Utilization which recognizes that cities and urban centres have been the greater beneficiaries of past development strategies and effort to the detriment of the rural communities; Also aware that the FMST and its agencies are now poised to enhance the ability of the rural sector for increased contribution to the overall national growth and development; and to leverage on the benefits of life sustaining technology initiatives that could help remote and rural areas become thriving and better- off; Further aware that in line with global best practices, the Ministry and its agencies are currently working to promote rapid development and modernization through technology based projects ranging from bio resource development centres, clean technologies, integrated waste to wealth systems to renewable energy and solar power projects etc; which are well designed to improve the lives of the rural populace and their environment; Convinced that all the rural focused projects will drive the local economy where they are located, and the rural communities will fully embrace and own these technologies in addition to other public goods and services; Resolves to: Mandate the Committee on Rural Development to assess the effective implementation of the rural centred projects of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and its agencies and the impact of such technologies/ innovations on the rural communities and report back in twelve (12) weeks for further legislative action.

10 7. Need to Investigate Abandoned Federal Government Projects from 1999 till Date: Hon. Francis Charles Uduyok: Notes the alarming number of projects which were awarded to contractors by Federal Government Agencies, Parastatals, Ministries, Commissions and Boards, but were later abandoned at various stages of execution; Also notes that a large number of the contractors handling those more than 20, 000 uncompleted projects have received advanced payments of not less than 50% which in total amount to billions of Naira; Aware that some of those abandoned projects include important establishments like dams, hospitals, buildings in higher institutions, secondary and primary schools, bridges, steel companies, and access roads, like the East West road, which was awarded in 2006; Also aware that abandoned projects are the pipes that drain the Federal Government s funds due to the inflation rate that occurs if the government decides to revive the projects many years after they were abandoned, sometimes it is the initial amount that was used to start and complete the project that may be re- quoted for the remaining phase of such project; Concerned that the trend of abandonment of projects is becoming endemic in the system and the uncompleted projects that dot the landscape have become homes to hoodlums and constitute eyesore to the scenery of the nation s cities; Resolves to: Set up an Ad-hoc Committee to compile a compendium of abandoned Federal Government projects, the costs of the award of those projects, the period of awards, the state of completion and constraints and make recommendations within three (3) months on measures to deal with the situation.

11 8. Need to Ascertain Federal Government s Investments and Proceeds from Solid Minerals and Steel Development: Hon. Johnbull Tiemlong Shekarau: Notes that mines and minerals are listed in paragraph 39 of the Second Schedule, Part 1 of Exclusive Legislative list in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999; Also notes that following the dwindling prices of oil in the international markets, new discoveries of oil across the African continent, exploration and exploitation of new and alternative forms of oil, all of which have made continued dependence on oil for revenue generation uncertain, the Federal Government is pursuing a diversification policy away from oil as the principal revenue earner for the nation; Aware that most of the nation s solid mineral resources are either undeveloped or underdeveloped and where they have been fully developed, the revenues accruing from their exploitation are not fully remitted to the coffers of the Federal Government as a result of corruption in the system; Concerned that given the expressed desire of the Federal Government to attain economic recovery and growth through diversification into solid minerals and steel development, the absence of proper supervision in the sector is having detrimental effects on the Government s quest as its huge investments in the sector has not been justified by expected dividends to the coffers of the Government; Also concerned that activities of illegal miners and cartels in the business and previous acts of neglect of the sector have combined to deprive the nation of the royalties, taxes, ground rent and levies that would have been yielding revenues for the development of the nation s economy; Cognizant that if the solid minerals sector is properly explored and exploited in accordance with the provisions of the laws guiding mining activities, the

12 much needed foreign exchange can be obtained to drive national development; Resolves to: Set-up an Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate the investments of the Federal Government in the development of solid minerals and steel sectors and the proceeds that accrued to the Federal Government from 2012 to 1017, and report back within six (6) weeks for further legislative action.

THE ROLE OF NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IN SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN BAYELSA STATE

THE ROLE OF NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IN SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN BAYELSA STATE DUKE EBIKELA Department of Banking and Finance, School of Management Sciences, Federal Polytechnic,