Senate Watch

The unusual PDP caucus meeting in Senate

Sola Shittu , 0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk There is a proverb in my micro African community that the witch cried yesterday and the baby dies today; who does not know that it was the witch that killed the baby? In other...

Making Nigeria financial hub of West Africa

Sola Shittu ,0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk Some of our actions in this country, I mean government actions, are sometimes belated and that is why many neighbouring countries, especially the francophone, trample on us without courtesy. That Nigeria is not the financial hub...

The day Senate blamed itself

Sola Shittu ,0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk Last week the Senate considered the report of the Senate Committee on Public Account, Chaired by Senator Hammed Lawan, on three Special Fund Accounts managed by the Federal government but unregulated by anyone. The three special...

Still on Senate’s rejection of pension for past military rulers

Sola Shittu , 0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk The Senate is a very interesting institution to study, especially if you take a careful look at the characters that make up the seventh Senate. Their mood determines a lot on the success of any...

Ita Enang: A lone voice of reason

Senator Ita Solomon Enang is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, also known as the engine room of the Senate. Enang is not new on the Job; he was an old hand, having held sway for eight years in the House...

Senate and the meeting with security chiefs

It was not the first time that a meeting would take place between Senators and security chiefs on the security situation in the country. Each time such a meeting was held behind closed doors, the senators always came out satisfied with the briefings or explanations...

Jonathan and State of the Nation Address

Sola Shittu , 0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk Last Wednesday a bill empowering the National Assembly to summon the President to give account of his stewardship through a State of the Nation Address to the National Assembly was passed by the senate. The...

PIB: Re-Shaping the politics of Nigeria

PIB: Re-Shaping the politics of Nigeria Sola Shittu,  0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk When the Senate declared the whole of plenary days last week to the debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), I knew Senators were in for serious business. For months, the PIB has remained an albatross;...

A democratic conflict

A democratic conflict Sola Shittu,  0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk I am often surprise on many occasions when the Nigerian media scream with their banner headlines “NASS, Presidency at loggerheads or Executive, Legislature on war path”. I think Nigerians especially really need to study the American...

NASS and the burden of democracy

NASS and the burden of democracy After nearly six decades of its existence, there is a pervasive feeling that India’s democracy is in crisis. But what is the nature of this threat? Pratap Bhanu Mehta, in a beautifuly crafted essay reminds us what a bold experiment bringing democracy to a largely...

Maina: The gods are not blame

Maina: The gods are not blame Sola Shittu , 0803 850 2103 (Text only please)e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk The Gods Are Not To Blame is a play by Ola Rotimi. An adaptation of the Greek classic Oedipus Rex, the story centers on Odewale, who is lured into a false sense of security, only...

The Merger Excitement!

The Merger Excitement! Sola Shittu , 0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk The air now in the Senate is dominated by the merger spirit and it affects almost all the opposition senators. I said ‘almost’ because some still have their reservations for the merger, even though many...

A strange budget!

A strange budget! Sola Shittu , 0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk Something strange happened to the passage of the 2013 Fiscal Act although not so strange in the real sense of it because it was just in compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007....

Again, the bulldozer option for Abuja residents

Again, the bulldozer option for Abuja residents Sola Shittu, 0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk After the ignoble demolition of Maroko by the military junta of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida in the 80s there was nothing similar to that until the return of former President Olusegun Obasanjo when the then...

This House is divided

This House is divided Sola Shittu , 0803 850 2103 (Text only please) e: solasitu@yahoo.co.uk At the budget defence of many Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) throughout last week, the main comment of the Directors-General and even the ministers was the condemnation of the idea of envelope for the...