The House of Representatives has reaffirmed its commitment to improving the quality of education and fostering excellence within Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, expressed this commitment on Wednesday at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja during a public hearing on a bill proposing the establishment of a National Polytechnic Commission, which is designed to supervise, regulate, and coordinate polytechnic education across Nigeria.

The hearing, organised by the House Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, also sought stakeholder input on two additional bills.

The bills aim to establish the Federal Vocational and Entrepreneurship Institute in Lagos State and the Federal Vocational and Skills Acquisition College in Yankaba, Kano State. These initiatives are part of a broader effort to advance vocational and polytechnic education in the country.

Represented by Hon. Jesse Okey-Joe Onuakalusi (LP, Lagos), Speaker Abbas opened the hearing by highlighting the growing recognition of technical and vocational education as crucial to national development.

He emphasised that by establishing these institutions, the House aims to ensure that high-quality education in science, technical skills, arts, and vocational training is accessible to all Nigerians.

“Today’s hearing perfectly aligns with our legislative agenda to improve Nigeria’s educational framework. In a rapidly evolving global landscape, it is crucial that we equip our youth with skills and knowledge that are both globally competitive and locally relevant.

“The proposed agency and institutions will stand as pillars of excellence, delivering high-quality education that adheres to international standards while addressing the specific needs of our communities,” Speaker Abbas stated.

Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Faud Kayode Laguda (APC, Lagos), explained that the public hearing is a procedural step toward the passage of the bills into law.

He noted that each bill is designed to improve Nigeria’s socio-economic development and promote sustainable human capital development necessary for building a self-reliant society.

“As you are aware, the establishment of vocational, entrepreneurship, and skills acquisition institutions in Nigeria aims to train technicians and middle-level personnel who will act as catalysts for rapid industrialisation and the development of our real sector,” Rep. Laguda said.

Stakeholders at the hearing unanimously supported the need for a regulatory body for polytechnics, lamenting the inability of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to oversee over 700 institutions effectively.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Muntari Dandutse (APC, Katsina South), stressed the importance of developing educational programmes that benefit future generations and assured that the Senate would expedite the relevant bills.

Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, praised the House for the timely introduction of the proposed legislation, expressing full support for the initiative as a means to align Nigerian polytechnics with international standards.

Prof. Idris Bugaje, Executive Secretary of the NBTE, described the proposed Polytechnic Commission as a long-overdue necessity. He noted that other education sectors already have specialised regulatory bodies and expressed optimism that the new commission would provide a robust regulatory framework and curriculum to enhance skills and productivity.

In separate submissions, major polytechnic unions also supported the establishment of the commission.

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), represented by Comrade Shammah Kpan

***Says it’s unfair to treat govt businesses as an orphan

 ***Reveals plan to conduct investigation alongside lower chamber

Amid pervasive allegations of sabotage in the petroleum industry, the Senate has raised questions over $1.5 billion approved in 2021 for the turn-around maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery with little or no result.

Consequently, the upper chamber lamented that it was unfair and wrong to treat government businesses or public companies as an orphan while private businesses were flourishing and thriving.

The Leader of the Senate and Chairman, Senate Ad-hoc Committee to Investigate the Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele raised the questions at a session with stakeholders in the industry at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja on Wednesday.

The session was attended by Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Malam Melee Kyari; Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr. Gbenga Komolafe and Chief Executive Office, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, among others.

The Federal Executive Council had approved the plan by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to rehabilitate and turn around the Port Harcourt Refinery with a whopping sum of $1.5 billion under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Despite the huge investment, the government-owned refinery is yet to function effectively, a situation that compelled the country to depend almost entirely on the importation of petroleum products.

At the session with stakeholders Wednesday, however, Bamidele expressed grave concerns about the dysfunctionality of the government-owned refineries despite billions of Dollars invested to carry out turn-around maintenance on the installation.

Bamidele observed that the federation “is undergoing a truly challenging period,” pointing out that the distribution and supply of refined petroleum products “has been irregular and problematic in the recent history of our fatherland.”

“The long queues at filling stations are obviously a testament to this challenge. A situation, whereby we now depend almost entirely on the importation of these products, even when we daily supply the global oil market no fewer than two percent of its crude oil requirements, is to say the least, highly worrisome.

“We also have at hand a grievous issue of national concern that directly borders on the importation of hazardous petroleum products and dumping of substandard diesel into the country.”

Under different administrations since 1999, Bamidele observed that the federal government “has invested billions of Dollars to maintain and turn around the state-owned refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri. But the refineries are not functioning.

“In 2021, specifically, the Federal Executive Council approved $1.5 billion for the turn-around maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery. Yet, this investment has not yielded significant returns.

“For us, in the Senate, we believe, it is unfair and unpatriotic to treat government businesses or public corporations as an orphan while private businesses are flourishing and thriving,” Bamidele pointed out at the interactive session.

To permanently nip these challenges in the bud, the chairman of the ad-hoc committee disclosed the plan of the Senate to jointly conduct investigation into diverse allegations of economic sabotage in the petroleum industry along with the House of Representatives.

Bamidele, equally, noted that there would be no room for grandstanding during the investigative hearing, promising that the committee would carry out its mandate fairly and impartially.

While insisting that nobody will be untouchable, Bamidele said the task of ridding the petroleum industry of malfeasance “is urgent and must be carried out in the spirit of nationalism and patriotism. We are ready to carry it out with all senses of honour and responsibility.

“We are also taking it seriously with a view to addressing fundamental issues that pose grave threats to our economic prosperity, fiscal stability and public health as a federation. In line with our mandate, we will definitely unravel factors and forces aiding sabotage in our petroleum industry.

“From our findings, we will craft a legislative framework that will entrench global best practices in the industry; open it up for more investments, especially in the midstream and downstream sectors and end vicious regimes of subterfuge in the petroleum industry.

“We are utterly committed to this mandate. We shall carry it out without fear or favour. We shall be equitable, fair and just to all parties with a view to promoting and protecting the strategic national interests of our fatherland,” Bamidele said.

He, therefore, promised that the National Assembly “is ready to carry out the investigative hearing with all senses of honor and responsibility,” citing impeccable professional backgrounds of the members of the committee.

Also, at the session, Kyari claimed that NNPCL “is loyal and faithful to the country,” saying its management vowed to protect the interest of Nigeria in the petroleum industry.

He observed that most problems in the petroleum industry “have nothing to do with NNPCL. We are faithful and loyal to the economic interest of this country. We are not criminals. We are not thieves. But we will protect our dignity and honour.

In his own remarks, Edun said the increase in the crude would stabilise the country’s foreign exchange market while expressing confidence in the leadership of the ad-hoc committee to conduct an unbiased and impartial investigation.

The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to increase the percentage of Ways and Means loans the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) can give to the Federal Government.

The upper chamber of the Nigerian legislature raised the credit facility obtainable by the Federal Government from the apex bank from 5% to 10%.

Known as the Ways and Means, the apex bank offers short-term financing to the Federal Government to cover its budget shortfalls.

To do this, the Senate amended the CBN Act to increase the total CBN advances (loans) to the Federal Government.

The bill for the amendment of the CBN Act was considered at plenary on Wednesday when it was read for the first time.

The Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele said the executive bill read for the first time on Wednesday is to enable the Federal Government to meet its immediate and future obligations owing to the government’s increasing needs for funds to finance the budget deficits and other expenses.

He explained that the loans would enable the provision of immediate funds to address budget shortfalls and finance essential government expenditures as well as help maintain financial market stability by preventing government default on its obligation.

Bamidele said the loans, when injected into the economy, will stimulate economic activity, potentially create jobs and enable the government to support critical sectors like agriculture, healthcare and infrastructural development.

He added that the loans will lower the government’s borrowing cost by providing cheaper funds than the traditional borrowing method.

Opeyemi and his colleagues argued that the margin of increase should be from 5 to 10 per cent.

They asserted that although the increase was necessary for economic development, adequate monitoring of capital projects should be enhanced to ensure that the funds are used for the sole purpose of infrastructure and legacy projects.

After consideration in the Committee of the Whole, the executive bill scaled the third reading and was passed.

President Bola Tinubu is expected to sign the amended bill into law.