By Martin Odiete

The Senate on Thursday began moves to regulate Health Insurance in the country in a way that would allow poor Nigerians access to quality healthcare.

This, the upper chamber stated, can be realized by seeking the establishment of the National Health Insurance Commission.

The Upper Chamber while considering a bill For an Act to repeal the National Health Insurance Scheme Act, 2004, said the passage of the National Health Insurance Commission bill, 2019 under consideration by the National Assembly would guarantee the effective implementation of the country’s health insurance policy.

According to Senator Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe (APC, Kwara Central), the bill “is about every family in Nigeria as it is manifestly clear that it is poised to positively affect all Nigerian families.”

He added that the bill, amongst others, seeks to boost healthcare delivery in Nigeria, provide robust, affordable and sustainable financial mechanisms for health, and reduce the high mortality rate across the country.

Oloriegbe further stated that the NHIS Commission bill, when passed into law, will strengthen the implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund provided for in the National Health Act 2014, and enacted by the Seventh National Assembly under the leadership of Senator David Mark.

“Nigeria’s healthcare system is in urgent need of reform – the system must refocus to ensure it meets its laudable objectives and global best practices.

“It is time to provide the legal framework for a new policy shift in order to help poor and vulnerable Nigerians access to quality healthcare without any financial impediment.

“The bill as proposed, if enacted and properly implemented in the form envisaged, will make health insurance compulsory, boost the nation’s health indicators, improve productivity and economic well-being of citizens and enable the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, after consideration of the bill, referred same to the Committee on Health for further legislative work.

Meanwhile, the Senate also on Thursday urged the private sector not to leave funding of Nigeria’s health sector to the government alone if the attainment of universal health coverage by 2030 must be realised.

It also urged States in the federation that have not enacted laws on National Health Insurance to do so without further delay.

The resolutions were reached sequel to the consideration of a motion on “The 2019 International Universal Health Coverage Day”, sponsored by Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North).

Coming under order 42 and 52 of the Senate Standing Rules, the lawmaker stated that the United Nations General Assembly on December 12, 2012, endorsed a resolution urging countries to accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with emphasis that everyone should have access to quality and affordable healthcare.

He said that the goal of the UHC is to ensure that all people, no matter who they are or where they live, should be able to obtain health services they need without suffering financial hardship when paying for them.

……..Senate moves to end discrimination against Women Police

The Senate has commenced moves to put an end to discrimination against women in the Nigeria Police Force with Thursday’s consideration of the Police Act Amendment Bill, 2019.

The piece of legislation before the National Assembly essentially seeks to expunge the provisions of Regulations 122, 123, 124 and 127 from the principal Act.

Sponsor of the bill, Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi (PDP, Imo East) said the Act under amendment restricts female police officers assigned to general duties in the Police Force to telephone, clerical and office orderly duties.

According to the lawmaker, the Act also prohibits women police from drilling under arms; mandates female police officers to apply for permission to marry, while the intending fiancé is investigated for criminal records.

While prescribing discriminatory treatment – dismissal from service – for an unmarried police officer who becomes pregnant, the Act also stipulates that a police woman who is single at the time of enlistment must spend three years in service before applying for permission to marry.

“An analysis of the Police Act and other regulatory/policy documents governing the internal and external workings of the Nigeria Police Force reveals a preponderance of discriminatory regulations and workplace practices that reinforce gender discrimination.

“The examination of gender issues covers various spheres of policy and practice ranging from language, recruitment, training and posting; to marriage, pregnancy and child bearing.

“Many of the Police regulations particularly Regulations 122, 123, 124 and 127 are overtly discriminatory to female officers,” Onyewuchi said.

For instance, Regulation 127 in the Police Act states that “an unmarried woman police officer who becomes pregnant shall be discharged from the Force, and shall not be re-enlisted except with the approval of the Inspector-General.”

According to Onyewuchi, such regulations of the Police Act were enacted in 1968, “at a time when the societal attitude to women in the workplace was very different from what it is today.”

He added, “There is no rational justification for the imposition of these discriminatory provisions, since they do not in any manner promote the efficiency or discipline of the female police officer.”

“Women occupy very senior roles in the Police and have shown themselves to be just as competent and disciplined as their male counterparts.

“Since a male police officer is not subjected to the same inhibitions, the current regulations are inconsistent with section 42 of the Constitution and Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights which have prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex,” the lawmaker said.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South), in his contribution to the debate, lamented the level of discrimination against women in the Police Force.

He, therefore, called on his colleagues to support efforts by the upper chamber to amend the Act so as to give dignity to women police. 

The bill, which scaled second reading on the floor, was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Senate Committee on Police Affairs for further legislative work.

………2020 Budget:  Senate considers N232.8bn for FCT

The Senate on Thursday considered a Bill to authorize the sum of N232.8 billion for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for the 2020 fiscal year.

The consideration of the 2020 budget for the FCT comes barely twenty-four hours after the upper chamber received a formal request to that effect from President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Federal Capital Territory Statutory Appropriation Bill, 2020, which was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on FCT for further legislative work, was sponsored by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi.

Giving a breakdown of the FCT 2020 budget, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi in his lead debate on the bill, said out of the sum of N232,875,365,947 budgeted, N53,876,241,095 is for personnel cost, N57,070,343,435 for overhead cost and N121,928,781,417 for capital projects.

The lawmaker recalled that in the 2019 fiscal year, the FCT Administration received an Appropriation of N243,374,511,007 as its statutory budget.

A breakdown of the 2019 expenditure, according to Abdullahi, showed that the sum of N41,999,045,982.01 was spent on personnel costs, N32,445,971,579 on overheads and N46,292,431,523.09 on capital projects.

The Senate Leader stated that during the year 2019, a total sum of N120,737,449,084.07 accrued to the Federal Capital Territory as revenue, an amount which, according to the lawmaker, represents “about fifty percent level of performance.”

“The thrust of the FCT 2020 budget is to ensure an effective service oriented administration in order to ensure completion of ongoing projects and the provision of effective services to residents of the FCT,” Yahaya Abdullahi said.

Among projects to be implemented by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in the year 2020 are: provision of infrastructural facilities to districts and road construction in Jahi, Wuye and Karmo with the sum of N6.3 billion; reconstruction and finalisation of Lower Usman Dam and Gurara Road pegged at N1.5 billion, and N3.5 billion for proposed counterpart funding for Greater Abuja Water Supply.

Others are: construction of Cultural Centre and Millennium Tower at N1 billion; rehabilitation and expansion of Outer Southern Expressway from Villa Roundabout to Osex/Ring Road 1 Junction at N1 billion; N1.3 billion for completion of Roads B6, B12 and Circle Road, Abuja, Central Area, and N500 million for the provision of access road to Kabusa Garden.

Senators who contributed to the debate threw their weights behind the approval of the sum budgeted for the FCT in the 2020 fiscal year.

However, some lawmakers such as George Thompson Sekibo (PDP, Rivers East) and James Manager (PDP, Delta South) argued that the FCT budget be presented by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory to the National Assembly.

Responding to the arguments by both lawmakers, the Senate President explained that going that path would run contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution which allows only a sitting President to present the country’s annual budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.

Lawan also called on the Federal Capital Territory Administration to improve on revenue generation so as to be able to deliver on projects needed to further develop the FCT.

He also charged the Senate Committee on FCT to invite the Minister, Muhammad Bello, so as to review the performance of the FCTA in the 2019 fiscal year.

“On the performance of the previous year, I think our Committee on FCT will be there to represent us.

“I can’t imagine the Committee inviting the FCT Administration, the Minister and his people and not ask for review of performance of the Budget 2019.

“I believe when they (Committee) report to us, they should tell us what happened, including the area of revenue generation.

“On the FCT Minister coming to present the budget, I don’t know the Constitutional details, but I think that is not the only thing that we do differently.

“The laws that were passed with respect to FCT were never presented to us by FCT. What we know State Governors do is they sign the bills to State Houses of Assembly. Our bills come through the Federal Executive Council even if they are directly linked to the FCT.

“I think that is the spirit through which the budget is also brought to us here. Let’s just think for a minute that we go on a joint session for the FCT Minister to address a joint session of the National Assembly, I don’t know because that is what it is going to amount to.”

On funding for security in the 2020 budget for the FCT, Lawan said, “I want to also ask whether we have so much provision in the National Priority budget of the FCT for Security.  

“I’ve not seen anything for security here and I’m worried, because I think the security situation in the FCT, not necessarily inside the Federal Capital itself, but the satellite towns where people are kidnapped including one of our royal fathers.

“I believe that we need to look into that, definitely the security needs some attention from us, even if there is no provision. We should be able to prioritize and see which other subheads we can take money from to provide for security.”

……….Senate investigates alleged court invasion by DSS operatives

The Senate has mandated its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to investigate the recent alleged invasion of the Federal High Court, Abuja, by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS).

The Upper Chamber waded into the matter on Thursday during plenary following a point of order raised by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central).

Recall that operatives of the Service were alleged to have invaded the premises of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on December 6, 2019, to re-arrest the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, who was released a day earlier.

Opeyemi, relying on Section 43 of the Senate Standing Orders, said the reported invasion of the court room by alleged officials of the DSS is an issue that raised a lot of concerns in different quarters in Nigeria.

“The leadership and members of the Judiciary are particularly concerned about this development because they believe that the court room is meant to be a sanctuary.

“For us as a Senate, we cannot analyze issues based on conclusions without facts that we consider technical.

“Much as we cannot jump into conclusion, also is the fact that we cannot pretend not to know that Nigerians are concerned about this development.

“Mr. President, the reason I came under 43 is so that I will not generate any controversy or even make the Senate debate over an issue like I said earlier, we still need to have facts and evidence.

“As elected representatives of the people in whom Nigerians and including the Judiciary must find their voice, that we mandate our committee on National Security and Intelligence to interface with the security agencies to investigate what happened and report back to the Senate”, Opeyemi said.

However, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, in his ruling on Senator Opeyemi’s point of order, mandated the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters instead to investigate the alleged invasion of the Federal High Court by DSS operatives.

The Committee, which is chaired by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, is expected to turn in its report by next week Thursday.

………..Lawan Charges NILDS on Capacity Building For Lawmakers, Aides

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has charged the newly inaugurated Board of Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) to focus more on the capacity building for members of National and State Assemblies.

Lawan, who is the chairman of the Council made the charge on Thursday when he inaugurated the council in Abuja.

The capacity building, he said should include legislative aides to ease the burden of legislative work on the lawmakers.

“I want to assure the Director General and management of NILDS that this governing council is going to give every possible support that you will need.

“This is in our interest as legislature especially we in the National Assembly where the turn over of legislators is very high. It means after every four years we have to make some conscious and concerted efforts to do some capacity development for members of National Assembly and legislators across the country.

“This requires that you continue to review and revise your programmes so that they meet the needs of the legislature.”

He said since its establishment, NILDS has transformed, saying that, “in fact it is still going to transform because as our needs as legislators and as a parliament are dynamic so will be the activities of NILDS.

“We cannot afford to waste time but work as a council to give NILDS the kind of support it requires to continue to give us the capacity development for the National Assembly, state houses of assembly and the general public who are stakeholders in what we do.

“This requires that you continue to review and revise your programs so that they meet the needs of the legislature.”

On the training of aides, the Senate President said “we have our legislative aides who also requires some kind of capacity building.

“I believed that from time to time NILDS will have some programmes that will ensure that our aides understand why they are here and what is expected of them.

“Presently we are disadvantaged. Senators and members of the House of Representatives have five legislative aides each and of course the expertise that may be required to that extent is not there.

“That places a lot of burden on us because some things that ordinarily your aides will do for you, you will end of doing it yourself.

“So we want to ensure that the five aides we have now have the enhanced capacity, expertise and capability so that it will reduce the burden on us.”

Lawan assured the council of speedy completion of NILDS permanent site which he described as, “a landmark as far as democracy is concerned, not only for legislators but for universities and other research institutes”.

In his remarks, Speaker of the House of Representatives and alternate chairman of the Council, Femi Gbajabiamila assured the Institute of support in discharging its mandate.