The two chambers of the National Assembly are set to postpone plenary to give room for its various committees to commence the review of the 2020 budget implementation.

As well as enable ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) defend their 2021 budget proposal. This is according to a disclosure by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.

The disclosure is the sequel to the passing of the 2021 Appropriation Bill for second reading last week. In addition, the National Assembly is expected to commence debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which was recently forwarded to the house by President Muhammadu Buhari.

What they are saying

Commenting on both bills, Mr. Lawan said: “On Tuesday, we will be taking the debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). This will be the last function that we would do in the plenary.”

He remarked further: “We will suspend plenary on Tuesday for the budget defense processes to start immediately”.

On an optimistic note, Mr. Lawan stated that the PIB which had scaled the first reading last week will also be passed for second reading today after the debate.

(READ MORE:U.S. budget suffers a deficit of $3.1 trillion in 2020, as pandemic slams the economy)

What you should know

The National Assembly has fixed the deadline for the 2021 budget defense in the red chamber by MDAs to be the first week of November 2020.

In lieu of this fact, Mr. Lawan urged all ministers and heads of government agencies to ensure they comply with the directives within the stipulated timeframe.

Why this matters

The recent development is a big boost in returning the country’s budget cycle back to the January-December timeframe which will expedite effective implementation of the budget provisions as funds will be released on time to concerned ministries, enabling them to execute capital projects and meet their recurrent needs.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) announced that it has submitted a report to the Presidential Investigation Panel on human rights abuse against the now-scrapped Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

As it seeks the prosecution of 35 indicted police personnel by the Attorney-General of the Federation. This was disclosed in a statement by the NHRC on Tuesday morning. The Commission said the report was submitted on Monday. The report contains names of all 35 indicted Policemen that served under the disbanded SARS and expects the AGF to consider their prosecution in accordance with the law.

NHRC SEEKS PROSECUTION OF 35 INDICTED POLICE PERSONNEL BY THE AGF pic.twitter.com/UdnQYGaFvp

— NHRC Nigeria tweets (@NhrcNigeria) October 20, 2020

Backstory

Recall Nairametrics also reported that the NHRC also constituted members of an independent investigation panel into the activities of the dissolved SARS, as the Federal Government finds a way to end the nationwide protests.

The AGF told the NHRC that the report will be implemented by the Federal Government and justice would be served to all parties involved. The NHRC said the report was conducted by listening to complaints of police brutality in the six geopolitical zones and “there were discoveries and all were encapsulated in the report.

“We have a mandate to establish a constitutional order,” the AGF said.

He added that the Police Act 2020 has provided solutions to some questions asked about the Police Force, including their operations and welfare captured in the Police Trust Fund.

Why it matters

The criminal prosecution of SARS personnel who have been involved in one form of abuse or the other has been a key demand of the #EndSARS protesters who have taken to the streets in the last two weeks to demonstrate against police brutality. They have declared that it is only in the transparent prosecution of these officers, amongst other demands that they will eventually call off their protests and vacate the streets.

The Lagos State Government has announced the imposition of a 24-hour curfew in all parts of the state, with effect from 4 pm Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

This is due to the raging #ENDSARS protests and demonstrations in the state which has been hijacked by criminals and hoodlums with attacks on innocent citizens and destruction of properties.

The announcement was made by the State Governor via a tweet thread on his official Twitter handle today.

Sanwo-Olu, in his statement, said, ‘’I have watched with shock how what began as a peaceful #EndSARS protest has degenerated into a monster that is threatening the well-being of our society. Lives and limbs have been lost as criminals and miscreants are now hiding under the umbrella of these protests to unleash mayhem on our state.”

 “As a government that is alive to its responsibility and has shown a commitment to the #EndSars movement, we will not watch and allow anarchy in our state.

“I, therefore, declare a 24-hour curfew in the state starting from 4 pm today, nobody except emergency responders and essential service providers should be found on the streets.’’

The governor said nobody, except essential service providers and first responders, must be found on the streets.

Dear Lagosians,

I have watched with shock how what began as a peaceful #EndSARS protest has degenerated into a monster that is threatening the well-being of our society. Lives and limbs have been lost as criminals and miscreants are now hiding under the umbrella
…

— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) October 20, 2020

Details later…