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Reps Sets 14-Day Deadline For Dangote, BUA, Others To Attend Hearing

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The House of Representatives Joint Committee has issued a stern ultimatum to major cement industry players, including Dangote Cement, BUA, and IBETO, demanding their presence within 14 days to address soaring cement prices.

This ultimatum comes in response to their failure to attend a crucial investigative hearing on the matter on Tuesday.

The House’s Joint Committee, responsible for probing the sudden spike in cement prices, has summoned Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, to appear on Tuesday, May 21, following his absence from the initial hearing.

Meanwhile, major industry players, including Dangote, BUA, and IBETO, are ordered to appear before the committee on Monday, May 20, 2024, to address concerns about the price surge.

Chairman of the Joint Committee, Rep. Jonathan Gaza Gefwi, who also heads the Committee on Solid Minerals, criticized the companies for disregarding the invitation, stating that their actions demonstrate insensitivity to the challenges faced by Nigerians.

Rep. Gefwi emphasized in his opening statement that a comparative analysis of cement prices in countries such as Kenya, India, and Zambia in 2021 revealed that Nigeria had the highest cement prices when considering the official exchange rates of each nation.

He said, “Nigeria’s price of cement doubles that of India at a difference of 69%, similarily the price is 29% higher than that in Kenya and 39% higher in Zambia. Hence the need for us to come together and find out why. In order to bring succour to our citizens while protecting investors alike.

“Our concern is for all legitimate businesses especially cement production companies in Nigeria to thrive and deliver their objective and services to the people in such a manner that can foster development”.

The chairman of the Joint Committee stressed the significance of the public hearing and debunked the notion propagated by some companies involved in the investigation that parliamentary committees lack the authority to summon private entities.

He clarified, “There is no court order presented to restrain the committee from fulfilling its duties under section 88(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution as Amended.”

He emphasized that parliamentary committees routinely conduct public hearings to gather evidence from the public, guiding their decisions on matters directly impacting citizens, such as the current inquiry.

He added “However, an entity recognised as private under the Law, does not oust in entirety the Powers of the Committee to investigate its affairs especially when the attainment of the objectives of said entity heavily relies on the Resources of the populace.

“Let me also reiterate the objectives of the Legislative Powers and Privilges Act sections 4,5,6 and 7 on the Powers of committees to invite, investigate and summon any person for the purpose of extracting evidence on any matter, whether its public or private. Most especially when the matter affects the citizens and the people for which they represent”

Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce, Rep. Ahmed Munir, expressed concern that the failure of any invited entity to attend the joint committee session would strengthen suspicions that the surge in cement prices was a deliberate move to burden Nigerians unnecessarily and hinder government efforts to alleviate the housing shortage in the nation.

NEWS

Moghalu Prescribes Good Governance As Panacea To Ethnic Agitation

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The President of the African School of Governance, Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu has admonished state actors against resorting to brutal force in the bid to muscle out separatist agitators.

In the aftermath of Mazi Simon Ekpa, the Finland based Biafran nationalist agitator being caught in legal web and the Nigerian government moving swiftly to seek his repatriation, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned that ‘We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.’

ALSO READ: Finnish Police Arrest Simon Ekpa Over Terror-Related Allegations

The political economist, while expressing his hope in Nigeria, made it clear that “hope is not a strategy”.

He bared his mind in a series of posts on his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X on Friday.

Moghalu wrote, “Despite sustained contemporary difficulties, I am hopeful about Nigeria. But hope is not a strategy. We need to improve state capacity for effective governance.

“We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.

“We must learn to be honest with ourselves and address the root causes of our problems. Why ignore them, when the problem is actually quite solvable? The problem with continuing with this approach is that when the danger crystallizes, those who thought they were benefiting from

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NEWS

N1.7trn Loan: Atiku Blames NASS For Worsening Nigeria’s Debt Burden

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Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.

In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.

READ ALSO: CSR: Dangote Cement Fuels Education With Support Projects At Lagos Schools

He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.

The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.

“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.

He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.

“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.

Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.

“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said

He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.

“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”

Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.

He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.

“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.

“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.

He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.

 

 

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International News

ICC Issues Arrest Warrants For Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Others

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.

In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”

READ MORE: Osun Govt Decries Attempted Murder Of Park Mgt  Chairman By Police

The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.

Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.

The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.

With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.

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