Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The House of Representative has resolved to probe the incidences of electoral violence before, during and after the November 16 governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.

Consequently, the House mandated its committee on Police Affairs, Army, Justice, Electoral Matters and Human Rights to undertake the probe.

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, who presided over yesterday’s plenary, said if there was any reference to any of the political parties that participated in the polls, the committees shall not be considered by the House.

This followed the adoption of a motion moved under matters of urgent public importance by Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu, calling on the House to investigate the violence that characterised the Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections.

Okechukwu decried the loss of lives in the two states during the elections, stating that the general election did not witness as much violence as seen in Kogi and Bayelsa during the last governorship polls in the States

He recalled  that “66,241 police personnel were deployed for the elections comprising 35,200 to Kogi and 31,041 to Bayelsa as confirmed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, AbdulMajid Ali in charge of Operations on November 14.

He lamented that  in “spite of such massive deployment of security personnel coupled with the intelligence reports, the elections witnessed such degree of violence resulting in the death of one Mrs. Salome Abuh.”

Also, yesterday, the House  mandated its relevant committees to get details of the agreement between Nigeria and Russia on the completion of the Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd.

The committees which include steel as well as treaties, protocols and agreements are to interface with the Minister of Mines and Steel Development.

This was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by Nkem Abonta (PDP-Abia).

Moving the motion earlier, Abonta said that it was in order to ensure a seamless ratification of such an agreement in line with the provisions of relevant laws.

Abonta recalled that the 8th National Assembly passed the Ajaokuta Steel Completion Fund Bill in 2018 and transmitted it to the president for assent, but he withheld assent to the bill.

Abonta said that the bill was reviewed and the concerns raised by the president addressed, and had passed the first reading in the 9th House of Representatives.

He observec that media reports claimed that President Mohammadu Buhari signed a government-to-government agreement with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin at the recently concluded Russian-Africa summit in Sochi.

He said that the Russian Engineering and Construction Group, MetProm, “is to undertake necessary work to bring Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd. into operation.

Abonta said that it would be financed by the state-owned Russian Export Centre, JSC, and the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank.

He said Section 12 of the constitution provides that no treaty between the federation and any other country shall have the force of law except to the extent to which any such treaty has been enacted into law by the National Assembly.

Abonta said that the parliament was also passionate about national development, including revamping the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd.

The House mandated the Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements to review all extant treaties entered into by the Federal Government and other countries with a view to invoking Section 12(1) of the constitution on implementation of such agreements.

In his ruling, the Speaker mandated the committees to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.