Tinubu’s tax bills, CCT chairman’s removal, screening of army chief, other stories from Nigerian Reps

Reps’ hammer fall on embattled CCT boss

Last week, the House of Representatives invoked Section 17(3) of the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution to concur with the removal process of Umar Danladi as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

The Senate initially commenced the process but proceeded in error by using the wrong constitutional provision. On Tuesday, they admitted their error and used the correct one, while the House also applied the proper provision. However, the lawmakers failed to implement the section fully.

According to Section 17(3), “A person holding the office of the Chairman or member of the Code of Conduct Tribunal shall not be removed from his office or appointment by the President except upon an address supported by two-thirds majority of each House of the National Assembly praying that he be so removed for inability to discharge the functions of the office in question, whether arising from infirmity of mind or body, misconduct, or contradiction of the code.”

Despite the clear constitutional requirement that Mr Danladi can only be removed by a two-thirds majority of the 360 members of the House, the resolution was passed with fewer than 150 members present.

A two-thirds majority of the House requires 240 members plus the presiding officer. However, shortly before the motion was taken, PREMIUM TIMES conducted a headcount of members on the floor and found only 92 members present. Even allowing for a margin of error, the number of lawmakers present fell far short of the constitutional requirement.

Quick passage of the 2025–2027 MTEF

On Wednesday, the House considered and passed the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) submitted by President Bola Tinubu.

The legislation, which contains all the parameters to guide the government’s fiscal strategy, was approved by the House despite stiff opposition from opposition lawmakers, who argued that some of the projections were too “ambitious.”

The debate on the legislation lasted over an hour. However, it was a case of the minority having their say while the majority had their way.

This fast-tracked process has become the norm in the National Assembly. President Tinubu sent in three requests two weeks ago, all of which have since been approved.

With this completed, the next major legislation expected in the coming days is the budget. With less than 30 days until the end of the year, the House has to pass the 2025 budget in under a month to maintain the January-to-December budget cycle.

Confirmation of Oluyede as Chief of Army Staff

The House also screened and confirmed Acting Chief of Army Staff Femi Oluyede as the substantive Army Chief.

On Wednesday, the Joint Committee on Defence and Army screened Mr Oluyede, a lieutenant general, and presented its report to the House on Thursday. The report was subsequently approved.

The confirmation process for military chiefs is typically a ceremonial event to fulfil constitutional requirements.

Mr Oluyede had been acting in the role since late October.

Drama over Tax Bills Shifts to the House

In the coming week, the House is set to become the centre of debate on the controversial tax bills, taking the mantle from the Senate.

The Senate passed the bills for a second reading last week after significant opposition, particularly from some lawmakers from the northern part of the country, led by Ali Ndume and Abdul Ningi.

To avoid an open conflict, the House held a closed-door session on Thursday to discuss the bills. After the session, Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu announced that the House would have a special session on Tuesday to deliberate further.

The week will likely focus on the tax reform bills and the 2025 budget.

Reps to hold National Dialogue on Local Government

The Constitution Review Committee of the House held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing process.

Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu announced plans for a National Dialogue on Local Government and Constitution Amendment, scheduled for Monday at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.