₦airaland Forum

2019 was full of many twists and dramas in the Upper Chambers. Behind the historic moments were some senators that caught the attention of millions of Nigeria.

Here are the senators who courted and hugged controversies in 2019:


Senator Shabi Abdullahi

He was at some point the spokesman of the 8th Senate. The representative of Niger North district is Deputy Chief whip of the Senate. He sponsored the infamous hate speech bill. To make it worse, he proposed death punishment for violators, sparking a lot of outcries across the nation.


Senator Sani Musa

The billionaire businessman- turned- politician got elected in rather controversial circumstances after his party initially denied him the ticket in the primary elections. Having settled into the Red Chamber proposed the social media bill, which many Nigerians condemned as obnoxious.


Senator Dino Melaye

Although he is no more in the Chamber, Senator Dino Melaye succeeded in entertaining Nigerians as usual before he lost out in a fiercely contested rerun election. Loud, abrasive and quite wordy, Melaye could pass for a trade union leader instead of a distinguished senator.

In January, Melaye refused to surrender to the police following an allegation that he shot and almost killed a police officer at a checkpoint in Kogi on July 19, 2018. After laying siege to his apartment in Abuja for days, the controversial senator surrendered to the police on January 4, 2019 after fellow lawmakers persuaded him to resolve the situation with the police amicably.

Not done with his antics, Melaye developed an ailment to perpetually keep himself in ‘sick bed’ to prevent trial. The Police medical team had to give him a clean bill of health and transferred him from an Abuja hospital to the DSS medical facility.

On getting to the DSS hospital, the ‘ailing’ Melaye refused to enter the main building of the centre. The viral photos of Melaye sleeping on the floor within the premises of the DSS hospital painted a picture of a man who enjoys being at the centre of controversies.

In September, when his criminal trial resumed, the ex-Kogi West senator showed up as a stroke patient. He was assisted into the courtroom by two aides, who told the court that the senator could not walk. Melaye’s endless drama hit its climax in November when he lost the rerun of the Kogi West senatorial election to Smart Adeyemi, who he refers to as his political wife.


Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho

The Igala-born senator was largely anonymous during the year under review. While he did not see the need to remain in the background as he has always done, it remains a mystery. Instead, the senator representing Kogi East senatorial district displayed insensitivity by reducing the death of Mrs. Salome Abu, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP women leader in his state as a subject of politicking.

At a time the nation was shell-shocked over the brutal murder of a female politician, Echocho chose to play politics. He exonerated the perpetrators, saying that it was a retaliatory attack that left two others critically injured too.


Senator Elisha Abbo

The Adamawa-born politician started his journey to the Senate on a rather distasteful note. Weeks after the Senate settled down for business, a video of Abbo assaulting a nursing mother surfaced on the internet.

Abbo, who is one of the youngest senators in the 9th Assembly, thoroughly embarrassed himself and the sacred institution he represents. What followed after the video went viral, was at best only fit for comedy shows.

First, the senator vehemently denied the authenticity of the video. When he realised he couldn’t sustain the lie, he apologised to Nigerians in a hurriedly organised press conference. While some Nigerians began to canvass for him to be forgiven, Abbo showed up in court pleading not guilty.

Abbo is one of the youngest senators in the 9th Senate. In the space of one week, Abbo embroiled himself in another controversy when he had an altercation with Mrs. Remi Tinubu, a member of the Senate ad hoc committee investigating the incident between him and the nursing mother.

Tinubu had advised Abbo to comply with the rules of the committee or get suspended after the senator refused to swear an oath. Irked by the statement, Abbo lost it, saying, “I will not sit here and listen to you threaten me with suspension. I am a senator like you. You cannot threaten me with suspension.”

US soldiers and officers would return home in coffins in retaliation for the assassination of Major General Qassem Soleiman, secretary General of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, has said.

“When the coffins of American soldiers and officers begin to be transported … to the United States, (President Donald) Trump and his administration will realize that they have really lost the region and will lose the elections,” Nasrallah said in a televised address from Beirut.

Nasrallah noted that the response to the assassination of General Soleimani was not only Iran’s responsibility, but also that of the entire axis of resistance.

Nasrallah added that attacks on US military forces in the Middle East will be “fair punishment” for the crime, listing US bases, naval ships and military personnel.

The Hezbollah chief further noted that US act of terror marks the start of a new phase for the entire Middle East.

“The targeted killing of General Soleimani and Muhandis is the begging of a new era not for Iraq or Iran, but for the whole region,” Nasrallah said.
“We are witness to a heinous crime whose perpetrators are well-known. US President Donald Trump said he had ordered the (drone) strike (on the airport in Baghdad, Iraq).”

“More than three years into his presidency, Trump has failed to accomplish the goals he had defined at the beginning of his tenure. Previous US attempts to assassinate General Soleimani had ended in failure. All of Trump’s forms of pressure to subdue Iran have also failed to realize that goal,” he stated.—Fars News

Reacting to the demand of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP on Sunday, that President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice president Yemi Osinbajo and all 36 governors should declare their assets, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has strongly asserted that his principal is not compelled by any law to make public his assets for second term.
The spokesman made this statement on Monday evening on Channels TV.

SERAP, in a statement on Sunday had given President Buhari, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the 36 state governors seven days to make their assets public.

The organisation added that the non-public disclosure by public officials of their summary of assets seriously undermines the effectiveness and integrity of the constitutional and statutory obligations to submit asset declarations.


But, Adesina insisted that the decision to make the assets public is a matter of voluntary will and not a compulsion.

‘The President will do what the law requires of him and I can say for a fact that the President has declared his assets.’

‘Declaring that publicly is not in our law but voluntary therefore he cannot be compelled to do so.

The FOI Act, however, establishes the right of anyone to request information in the custody of any public official, agency or institution, with the exception of security files which are not of public concern.

Asked if the President will oblige if the FOI Act was invoked, Mr Adesina further affirmed that making the President’s assets public will be based on the discretion of the Code of Conduct Bureau.

‘If FOI Act is invoked, it will be left with the Code of Conduct Bureau to release such information. The President has declared and already deposited the documents to them. So, it’s left to them to make such a decision’, he ended.

On a flashback, both President Buhari and his Vice, Osinbajo made a public declaration at their first tenure in 2015.

The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has demanded further explanation on the $460 million Abuja CCTV camera project from the Ministry of Finance.

The Chairman of the committee, James Faleke (APC-Lagos), at a budget defence session with the ministry on Thursday in Abuja, said there was a need for Nigerians to get value for monies paid.

“Before this administration, we collected some loans and the one that strikes me the most is the 460 million dollars for CCTV installation in Abuja.

“I want to know the position of this loan, I am sure we are paying back but the CCTV is not working.

“Any time we take loan from China, the Chinese will come and do the job, they will bring all their equipment, the personnel and the goods and yet we do not have value for the money, especially that of the CCTV.

“Where are we? I need you to look into it and send us a memo on this particular aspect,” he said.

Responding, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, said Nigeria was servicing the loan but she had no explanations on the status of the project.

“We are servicing the loan but on the project, we will have to ask the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Authority because the project was deployed in the FCT, I have no information on the status of the CCTV.

“The conditions of the loans that we take from China always will be that a Chinese company will provide the infrastructure services.

“These are loans that are of three per cent, the rail lines are being rolled out, the Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan rails are all loans from China and are being executed by Chinese companies,” she said.

Mrs Ahmed said the Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano airport rehabilitation projects were done by Chinese companies and were supervised by the relevant ministries and the National Assembly to ensure quality work.

She said there were a lot of Nigerians working with Chinese on the projects.

On the 2019 budget releases, the minister said by October, the ministry had released 100 per cent for personnel cost.

Mrs Ahmed said for debt service, payment was also 100 per cent and that for overhead, six out of 10 months had been released.

She said some critical ministries had, however, received overhead for nine months.

The minister said as at October 15, N654 billion had been released for capital expenditures.

She said the plan is to ensure that by December, every Ministry, Department and Agency has received at least 40 per cent of its capital expenditure.

The Permanent Secretary, Mohammed Dutse, said N1.3 billion was earmarked for overhead in the ministry and N664 million released.

He said N3.3 billion was allocated for capital expenditure in the ministry but only N1.8 million had been released.

For the ministry’s 2020 budget, the permanent secretary said N4.36 million was proposed for personnel cost, N1.3 billion for overhead and N3.3 billion for capital expenditures.

Meanwhile, that Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has said plans were on to maximise the skills of Nigerian medical experts in the Diaspora to develop the medical system in Nigeria.

The minister made this known at an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora on Thursday in Abuja.

He said Nigerian medical experts abroad, especially in the U.S. and the UK, had often organised themselves to give back to the Nigerian society through free medical services.

Mr Osagie said a structure that would maximise the benefits of such missions and aid transfer of knowledge and experience to local experts was being designed.

The minister said there was a need to also make the Nigerian medical environment more comfortable for the experts to return to Nigeria.

The Chairman of the committee, Tolu Shadipe (APC-Oyo), said the committee had made a commitment to prioritise the life of every Nigerian in the Diaspora.

She said everything legally possible would be done to safeguard their lives for them to live side by side with other Nigerians peacefully.

Mrs Shadipe said the committee was willing to work with relevant agencies to maintain a progressive relationship that would benefit Nigerians in the Diaspora.

By Ahmed Tahir Ajobe,


https://cdn.dailytrust.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/A-suspected-robber-who-allegedly-uses-the-hijab-to-disguise-279x367.jpg
A suspected robber, who allegedly uses the hijab to disguise




The police in Niger State have arrested two students of Izom Science Secondary School, Gurara Local Government Area of the state for allegedly stealing used female pants.

Also arrested for the same offence, is one Mohammed Ali, a 24 year-old tailor of State Low Cost, Lapai town, Lapai Local Government Area of the state.

Spokesman of the police command DSP Muhammad D-Inna Abubakar said the students were arrested following complaints by victims.

“Acting on the complaints, our operatives of Kaffin-Koro Division arrested one Abubakar Sadiq aged 18 and Ephraim Isaiah, 19, both students of Izom Science Secondary, Gurara LGA in connection with stealing pants,” he explained.

He said the command became concerned because of the rising cases of the offence, adding that investigation showed that the culprits have clients waiting to buy the stolen pants.

The PPRO said one of the suspects, Mohammed Ali, mentioned one Malam Madaji Yabajeko of Agaie Local Government Area, who is at large, as the receiver of the pants.

Mohammed told newsmen that he had stolen three pants at different locations in the area, adding that he was on the verge of stealing another after gaining access through a broken window when a lady raised an alarm.

The command also paraded one Daniel Timothy Olamide, 32, who allegedly specialized in forging the State College of Education certificates for interested buyers at N14,000 each.

The suspect, who is also a graduate of the school, said he has been in the act since 2015, adding that a lady he assisted blew the whistle on him.

The command also arrested three suspected armed robbers who allegedly dressed in hijab to attack unsuspecting victims.

The number of full- time workers in the banking industry has been on the decline as contract employees have doubled in the past two years, rising from 20 , 237 to 46 , 235, investigation has revealed .

Figures obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday showed that the number of contract workers in the industry rose from 20 ,237 in the first quarter of 2017 to 32 ,013 at the end of Q 1 2018 .

The figure , which hit 43 ,955 at the end of the second quarter of 2018 , further rose to 46 , 235 at the end of the first quarter of 2019 , according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics .

Despite the increase in the banks ’ operations , the number of junior workers fell from 40 , 549 in the second quarter of 2018 to 39 , 980 in the second quarter of 2019 , the report added .

As banks embrace cheap labour as a way to cut costs , experts are worried that not many of the lenders are providing additional benefits for such contract employees such as pension savings, healthcare or insurance covers in case of death .

The President , United Labour Congress, Joseph Ajaero, described contract /casual employment and outsourcing as precarious jobs that should not be encouraged under normal employment schedule .

In most cases , he said, such jobs did not have any form of protection, adding that they were more prevalent in sectors without strong unions that could challenge the system .

He said, “ Although it is creeping into almost every sector , it is more prevalent in the banking sector. And from all indications , that does not give people living wages .”

Ajaero noted that if the casual workers belonged to a union , they would have the boldness to negotiate their monthly salary and other allowances , which would ameliorate the sufferings of the workers .

“ They could insist that instead of paying them N 20 , 000 a month, you must pay N 50 ,000 . They could insist on health facility and key into the new Contributory Pension Scheme .”

A former President , Trade Union Congress, Peter Esele , said, “ I don’ t think it is appropriate but you have to look at it from two sides . If the contract employees are being properly remunerated, it is a different ball game. But they are not well remunerated and the reason why they are going in that direction is that it is cheaper for the banks. In business , what majority of people seek is profit. ”

He said the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment should be interested in the welfare of all workers including contract employees in the banking sector .

Esele said the pressure groups within that sector or the union within the banking industry needed to take it up to ensure they were well remunerated.

By Wale Elegbede and Muritala Ayinla



espite appears not  in sight for the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, over a series of probes and investigations on his stewardship in the past four years.

Ambode, who served as governor in the nation’s commercial capital city between 2015 and 2019, in the past three months, has been linked to three different probes and investigations being carried out by the state House of Assembly and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The investigations are namely: the probe of the abandoned N7 billion ultra-modern cardio-renal centre at the General Hospital, Gbagada, by the lawmakers; the probe of the N9.9bn linked to the Office of the Chief of Staff during Ambode’s tenure, and the setting up of an ad hoc committee to probe the procurement of 820 BRT buses by the previous administration.

Sunday Telegraph scooped that some associates of the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, have insisted that the embattled ex-governor must be made to face the music for ‘daring the powers that be’ in the state before, during and after the 2019 general elections.
 
Ambode failed to secure a second term ticket after falling out with Tinubu who refused to back him but opted for the incumbent, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He is the first governor of the state to lose a re-election bid. Tinubu has anointed the last three governors of the state since serving two terms from 1999-2007.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an associate of Tinubu said the ‘sins’ of Ambode must be revisited and punished accordingly, adding that the immediate past governor had plans to derail the Lagos’ political structure that brought him to limelight in 2015.

The associate, who was a former member of the National Assembly, said the notion that Ambode is being “witch-hunted” is unfounded, adding that aside grounding governance in the state in his heydays, the former governor made attempts to upset the applecart of the state’s politics.

He said: “He (Ambode) is only reaping what he sowed. If not for the maturity of our leader, Asiwaju, this state would have been off our radar due to his utterances and disposition. But his actions just about when he was about exiting till recently have been appalling that I can’t say some of them that we know and could see.

“The truth is that Lagos is not like other states; here, we reverence leadership and we don’t bypass authority even when we are not comfortable with decisions. How could you be lobbying for a ministerial position and even pressing buttons to take over the federal revenue organisation where there are leaders of the party?”

When asked if there may be a soft landing for the ex-governor, the former lawmaker said: “The issue of soft landing does not arise. Anyone found wanting should be made to face the music. The most outrageous of all the issues is when people dress the whole development around Tinubu. It’s unfair because he is not the party, he usually consults with his associates in the party. For some of us, the House of Assembly has our support on this and we hope to see to the end of this.”

But an associate of Ambode insisted that the probes were a witch-hunt, saying, however, that if the ex-governor erred while serving, he should be held responsible, but noting that there was no ground the former governor would be found wanting.

Pleading that his name should be left out, he said: “The House of Assembly has the right to set up a panel and if you listen to the Speaker, he didn’t even mention the former governor’s name; but it’s all looking like a harassment and witch-hunt.

“Those invited by the panel will be called, including the House Committee on Transport at the time, but don’t forget that they don’t have the power to prosecute. They don’t have the legal power to prosecute him; I only see it as harassment.

“I am an Ambode person but I’m first a Lagosian. The same House setting up ad hoc committee to probe Ambode does not have committees to oversee executive projects, but they could quickly set up an ad hoc committee. Some of us can’t keep quiet in the face of injustice. They don’t have what it takes to intimidate the former governor. Let them set up panels upon panels, they cannot intimidate Ambode, they only want to stain him. Government is a continuum; there is system and process in governance,” he said.

Meanwhile, an erstwhile factional Chairman of the APC in Lagos, Fouad Oki, has called for caution over the on-going probes of the former governor, saying that it is a move that may backfire against many interests.

“What is happening to Ambode is very unfortunate. But we must look beyond him and call ourselves to order. How many former Northern governors are being probed now? If we are not careful, it might come back to haunt all of us because we continue to expose our weakness and we have allowed the northerners to tear down our invisibility. They are busy working, they are on the chess board ahead of 2023 but we are pulling ourselves down here.

“When I stood up for him (Ambode) the other time, it wasn’t for any personal gain, but for the respect of the Office of Lagos State Governor. When the going was good, he allowed himself to be used. He allowed exuberance to take the better part of him. It’s not immaturity. It’s not because of Ambode but we must run democracy as it should be run,” he said.

Ted Odogwu , Kano



The Coalition of Northern Groups on Sunday in Kano said that job opportunities meant for indigenes of the northern states had been hijacked by people from the South .

Briefing newsmen on the state of the nation , as it affected the North , the spokesman of the group , Abdulazeez Suleiman , lamented that northerners were being denied employment opportunities in the South .

According to him , all vacant positions available in the North , as guaranteed by the local content clause of the Federal character provision in the Constitution, had been surrendered to southerners, as a result of the negligence of the northern elite, who pose as political leaders of the region.

“ Whereas , the local content clause stipulates that all levels 01 to 06 positions in every government establishments must go to indigenes of the host communities in the North , the reverse is the case,’’ Suleiman said.

He also described the North as systematically crippled by multiple security challenges , which threaten the region’ s population and political unity , as well as inhibit its economic and social activities .

“ Recurring violence , involving cattle theft , abductions for ransom , attacks on civilian targets and other forms of banditry all over the North , poses a serious threat to peace and security, with the uncoordinated and inadequate responses by the Federal and state authorities , thereby deepening mistrust and perception of the authorities as biased ,’’ he added.

The coalition condemned the action of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State , who openly declared Rivers as a Christian state and went ahead to prove it by demolishing a mosque in Port Harcourt .

It said that the governor ’ s action was in breach of the guaranteed freedom of every Nigerian to practise their faith unhindered by any legislation or obstacle imposed by a state or a community .

Recalling another brutal encroachment of people ’s freedom by the Lagos State Government , the group accused the government of apprehending and humiliating dozens of northerners , who were seeking opportunities to lawfully run their businesses in the state , the same way people from other parts of the country carried out their respective trades of choice in the North .

In its resolutions , the group demanded from the Federal Government proof of its capacity to protect citizens in all parts of the North , as minimum evidence that it is serious about its responsibilities .

kunmiiii:
Lol, it's na! They never dissapoint with their yeye fake stories.

by Eric Ikhilae,



A former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Bayo Ojo (SAN) does not believe that the Irish company, Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID), deserves more than $250 million in damages as against the $6.5billion initially awarded by a tribunal in the United Kingdom (UK).

Ojo, who was part of the three-man arbitration tribunal that heard the case, noted that the majority decision of the tribunal failed to consider vital evidence presented by Nigeria and which would have assisted it to reach a just and fair conclusion.

He expressed this view in his dissenting decision, which The Nation sighted in Abuja.
Ojo who served in the Obasanjo Administration particularly disagreed with the various elements considered by the two foreign members of the tribunal, which sat in London, in arriving at the huge damages awarded against Nigeria.

Leonard Hoffmann and Anthony Evans had, in their majority decision, dated January 31, 2017 estimated the damages due to P&ID, to be paid by the Nigerian government, represented by MPR at $6,597,000,000, with 7% interest calculated from March 20, 2013 until payment.

They said, in the final majority decision, “This is the final award in the reference, the tribunal having previously issued two partial final awards.

By its first partial final Award dated 3 July 2014 the tribunal ruled that it had jurisdiction and that the GSPA (Gas Supply and Processing Agreement) was valid and binding. By its second partial final award dated 17 July 2015 the tribunal decided that the government had repudiated the GSPA and was liable in damages to P&ID.

“This final award deals with the quantification of the damages for which the government is liable. The effect of the tribunal’s decisions on what P&ID’s expenditure and income would have been if the GSPA had been duly performed is that the net present value of the profits which would have been earned is $6,597,000,000. This is the measure of damages.

“It is a very large sum because (a) it is the present value of income which would have been earned over a long period and (b) the GSPA would have been very profitable for P&ID and (although the tribunal has not had to make any findings on the point) probably for the government as well.

“We, Leonard, Lord Hoffmann and Sir Anthony Evans, having read the parties’ written evidence, pleadings and submissions and having heard their oral evidence and submissions, and having carefully considered the same and for the reasons stated above, make our final award as follows, namely we order the respondent (MPR of Nigeria) to pay to the claimant (P&ID) the sum of $6,597,000,000 together with interest at the rate of 7% from 20 March 2013 until the date of this award and at the same rate thereafter until payment.”

But, Ojo, who agreed with the earlier part of the majority decision, which related to introduction, the parties and their lawyers; the governing law and arbitration clause; procedural history and the finding on liability, rejected the conclusion as it related to damages.

He held that P&ID deserved to be paid $250million in damages, to cover only three years – 2015 to 2017.

Ojo said: “I am unable to agree with the conclusions reached therein. I hereby issue the following dissenting award. I shall now proceed to the measure of damages which is where I differ. The points of contention on damages relate to four broad issues namely: Mitigation, Capital Expenditure (Capex), Operating Expenditure (Opex) and Yield.”

On mitigation, Ojo faulted the majority decision that Nigeria did not prove that P&ID could have mitigated the loss it would have suffered for the duration of the agreement as a result of the country’s alleged breach of the contractual agreement.

He held that since the firm admitted that it was obligated, under the agreement to take steps to mitigate such loss, the burden of proof automatically shifted from the respondent (Nigeria) to the claimant (P&ID).

Ojo was also of the view that the claimant was only entitled to damages for three years, not the entire duration of the agreement, as erroneously held in the majority decision.

“As I earlier stated, contrary to the suggestion of the majority, the Claimant clearly admitted its duty to mitigate by stating in paragraph 28 of the Claimant’s written reply on the issue of damages that ‘it is accepted that P&ID was under a duty to mitigate its loss whether as a matter of Nigerian or English law.’ This admission cannot be disregarded.

“The claimant having admitted that it was under a duty to mitigate loss, and yet failed to continue with any of the projects it had put on hold; it is my considered view that the respondent no longer had the burden to proof same. It is not tenable to award damages on the supposition that the Claimant will not be able to find an alternative work or project for twenty years.

“The crucial issue is, for what part of the 20 years it is reasonable to compensate claimant, bearing in mind the admitted duty to mitigate and the fact that it had put other projects on hold and which It can return to immediately.

“Considering that the breach occurred in 20l3, and that the project could not have started yielding proceeds earlier than 2015, it means that the claimant had from 2013 to attempt the mitigation of its damage or loss. Therefore, a period of three years from 20l5 to 20l8 is reasonable.

“Mitigation of damages entails reduction or amelioration of the loss occasioned by the breach. The majority opinion seems to misconceive and misplace the duty to mitigate having been admitted by the claimant. In the instant matter, there is admission by claimant that It put other protects on hold in order to undertake the project contemplated under the GSPA.

“In any event, it is absurd or anomalous for claimant to admit the existence of a duty on itself, and then, without any evidence by way of a discharge of that duty, for the majority opinion to state that the respondent has not proved what other work claimant would have undertaken.

“The party that has the duty has the burden to prove the discharge of that duty under Nigerian law. The claimant clearly bore the duty to prove its effort at mitigation. It is inconceivable, untenable and indefensible for Claimant to fold its hands and ask for damages for twenty years.

“Again, as l earlier stated, assuming the claimant is paid for 20 years, does the respondent become subrogated to any income that claimant might earn from subsequent work within the 20-year period?
“In view of all the above, I find that the claimant is not entitled to damages for loss from the breach for more than three years,” Ojo said.

In faulting the majority’s reasoning in computing what constituted the claimant’s capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) Ojo noted that the other two members of the tribunal ignored most evidence led by the respondent on the issue, particularly as it relates to security and other challenges in the Niger Delta region.

He said: “It will be a travesty to ignore the evidence of the respondent on CAPEX simply because it didn’t follow the same methodology adopted by the Claimant. The burden is always on the Claimant to establish their case.

“The majority award suggested that respondent offered no evidence on this issue. The evidence of the respondent’s expert on CAPEX spans several pages of the record. The respondent was provided with the Claimant’s expert report on the issue of CAPEX.

“He, the respondent’s expert, testified to the fact that the claimant’s estimates, as contained in the Claimant’s expert’s report, were understated by about 40%. This was maintained by that witness throughout cross examination.

“He testified that the figures on CAPEX should be raised to 40%. This was after looking at the item by item estimates made by claimant’s expert. It would be grossly unfair to characterize such evidence as irrational.”

Ojo also faulted the majority conclusion on the estimated yield of the project and upheld the respondent’s argument as it relates to what would have constituted the percentages of yield and production time bearing in mind the challenges identified.

He then held the “claimant ought to have mitigated its loss and cannot sit and fold its hands for twenty years expecting a windfall from the respondent. As a result; I hold that the claimant is entitled to damages for only three years.

“However, in view of my decision on the obligation of the claimant to mitigate damage. I hold that the relevant period is three years from (20l5-20l8). This is because although the breach occurred in 2013, if the contract had not been broken. The claimant wouldn’t have started enjoying the fruit thereof until 2015. ”

Ojo further held that the operating expenditure (OPEX) that the claimant could have incurred had the breach not occurred should not be less than $75million, while the capital expenditure (CAPEX) should not be less than $US11,986,000 US dollars.

As against the majority’s estimation of over 90%, Ojo put the estimated annual operating percentage of the plant (had it been built) at “not more that 60% of the time in a year.”

He added: “Having considered the relevant contract, correspondence and other documents put before me, and having carefully considered the written submissions of the parties.

“I hereby find, award and declare as follows: the respondent shall pay the claimant the sum of $250million (250.000.000) US Dollars as damages for breach within ninety days from the date of this award.”

https://cdn.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/07173502/Jibrin-with-Baby-Farha.jpg


House of Reps member , Abdulmumin Jibrin , on Wednesday , said that after his exclusion from the House Committee chairmanship list , he had taken to babysitting .

He said this on his verified Twitter handle , where he shared photos of himself babysitting his baby girl, Farha .

He tweeted , “ Chairman Committee on babysitting and Member Babysitters party. ”
Jibrin , who represents the Bebeji / Kiru federal constituency at the National Assembly added in pidgin English , “ Make una no blame me o. .na condition make crayfish bend . When you no get Committee and somebody say “ u no be your party member ” , you have to look for job to survive o . NB , my baby Farha has grown so fast .”

Jibrin , who was recently suspended by the All Progressives Congress at his Local Government for alleged anti -party activities had not got any committee chairmanship position in the ninth assembly and this had set tongues wagging considering how he actively campaigned for the emergence of Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker.

Gbajabiamila had in a tweet clarified the situation and said, it was Jibrin , who had refused to accept any chairmanship slot .

The Speaker tweeted , “ Let me clarify that Abdulmumin Jibrin was not excluded from the leadership composition . He was involved in the composition process and declined to accept any committee leadership .

“ He had , repeatedly , made clear his intention to leave the House . My persuasions and that of some other leaders convinced him, reluctantly , to stay a bit longer .

“ Jibrin wants a fresh challenge and his preference will be to return to the university and pursue his professorial ambition , face his private business or serve in the executive arm of public service .”

Oluwatobi Akindele



The family of Ayo Oluwaniyi , the wife of one of the soldiers , who allegedly stole N 400m they were escorting , has lamented the arrest and detention of the woman and her three children by the Nigerian Army in Ondo State .

It was gathered that 37 -year -old Ayo and her children were arrested after her husband , Gabriel, was identified as one of the five soldiers alleged to have stolen the money they were escorting from Sokoto to Kaduna.

A family member , who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said Ayo and her children were being detained at the 32 Artillery Brigade, Owena Barracks , Akure.

She stated that they had been denied access to family members , adding that the family was worried about Ayo and her children’ s state of health .

The PUNCH had reported that five soldiers were confirmed to have stolen the money while on escort duty from Sokoto to Kaduna in the first week of July .

The former General Officer Commanding, 8 Division , Nigerian Army , Sokoto, Maj . Gen . Hakeem Otiki , had reportedly asked the soldiers to escort the money and deliver it to a Very Important Person in Kaduna.

The 8 Division spokesperson , Lieutenant Audu Arigu, had confirmed the incident , saying investigation had commenced and identified the runaway soldiers as Corporal Gabriel Oluwaniyi , Corporal Mohammed Aminu and Lance Corporals Haruna , Oluji Joshua and Hayatudeen Abubakar.

Army sources stated that the runaway soldiers turned in their rifles and abandoned their mobile phones at the Infantry Corps in Jaji , Kaduna State , before they escaped.

One of the sources said , “ Investigations so far showed that this was not the first time that the escort soldiers had conveyed such a huge amount of money for the officer . The soldiers all left their mobile phones in the vehicle , which has made tracking them difficult. ”

The Oluwaniyi family source stated , “ Ayo ’s husband is a soldier and he was deployed in Sokoto State . We learnt that that was not the first time they were escorting money on the instructions of their boss , so they decided to abscond with the money .

“ We learnt that they dropped their uniforms , guns and phones. It was through Ayo husband ’s phone that they got her number . They probably sent the information to the division here in Ondo and that was how she was arrested . We learnt that the wife of the other four soldiers had escaped.

“ It ’s been two weeks since Ayo and her children have been in detention . They won ’ t allow us to see them and they did not allow them to change clothes ; they just kept on telling us that she was not being maltreated . We are worried; one of her children is just about a year old .

“ They said the victims were being detained because they could not find her husband and probably she was in touch with him. She said she had not seen or heard from her husband , but they said maybe he would come out if Ayo and her children were held . We cannot speak with her; it is one of the soldiers guarding her that we speak to. ”

When the Brigade ’s Assistant Director , Army Public Relations , Captain Victor Olukoya , was contacted, he said he was not at the base, adding that he would get back to our correspondent when he returned.

“ I am not on the ground at the moment , I am attending a course . Anything you want to say , wait till I come back ; I will let you know when I come back ,” Olukoya stated .

By Victor Ahiuma-Young



Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, yesterday, issued a seven-day strike notice to the Federal Government to compel Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, to honour the agreement it reached with the union on June 20, failing which members would down tools and begin an indefinite strike.

In a statement signed by the President and General Secretary of NUPENG, Prince Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale, the union said : “NUPENG, with deep frustration and worries, would like to alert the general public and all relevant authorities of the blatant violation of agreement reached between Chevron Nigeria Limited Company and unions in the industry.

“It is public knowledge that unions in the oil and gas industry had a protracted negotiation with Chevron Nigeria Limited over 70 per cent labour manpower reduction which it (Chevron) claimed was required in view of reduction in their operations in the oil and gas Industry.

“After up to one year negotiation, brokered by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC; National Petroleum Investment Management Services, NAPIMS, and Ministry of Labour, it was agreed that considering the intervention of all the institutions mentioned above and the various justifications made, only 30 per centof the Labour Manpower Contract Workers will be relieved.

‘’Of the 1,856 contract workers in the company, NUPENG has 1,120; PENGASSAN, 213; and non-unionised, 523. It was agreed that the 30% reduction shall be spread in equal percentage among the three groups.

“It was also agreed that union executives (NUPENG and PENGASSAN) will not be affected by the reduction, that Chevron Nigeria Limited will not in any guise change the Labour manpower to service contracts.
‘’It was also agreed that anyone that voluntarily offers to go will be counted as part of the agreed 30%.

Unfortunately, immediately after the agreement was reached, Chevron started executing the exercise in blatant violation of the agreed terms, ostensibly to either put NUPENG in bad light as troublesome or for extinction because only NUPENG members have been exited from work, leaving behind the Non- Unionised workers and PENGASSAN members.

‘’It is further embarrassing to see that NUPENG executives are also part of those already locked out. From our record, over 500 of NUPENG members are being sacked. We further learned that the intention of Chevron is to change the contract to short term service contract and we see this as unfair and a breach of agreement reached with us in bad faith.

“All NUPENG executives should be called back to work, the percentage of reduction agreed should be spread to the three groups as agreed to avoid creating the impression that NUPENG was the target of the exercise.”

‘’The good disposition of the new leadership of NUPENG should not be taken for granted. Chevron should not be allowed to use this exercise to change the Labour Manpower contract to service contract in a disguised manner.

“Consequent on the above demands and having been pushed to the wall, NUPENG, hereby, puts all our members on red alert should Chevron Nigeria Limited and its contractors fail to honour or comply with our demands within the next seven days, we would also not hesitate to take all necessary legal options available to us, including industrial actions, to press home our legitimate demands.”

By Saliu Gbadamosi



A former Assistant Director in the Federal Civil Service, John Yakubu Yusuf, who was sentenced to six years imprisonment last year by the Court of Appeal for stealing about N24 billion from the Police Pension Funds, is reportedly enjoying his freedom.

But the acting spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Tony Orilade, when contacted, told Saturday Tribune on Friday that “the issue of John Yusuf is receiving attention and we shall speak when we have details on what actually happened.”

A source said that following a successful appeal that handed him a six-year jail term, in addition to a fine, it is surprising that Yusuf is not serving his jail term when it is not on record that he got a stay of execution order from the court.

This development, it was gathered, is a result of a cold feud between the EFCC and the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) over who ought to execute the Court of Appeal judgment against the convict.

Yusuf was in 2013 found guilty by Justice Abubakar Talba, then of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, and sentenced to two a year-jail term with an option of fine of N750,000, a decision which generated national and international outrage.
The lower court’s decision was, however, upturned by the Appeal Court on March 21, 2018 when the appellate court sentenced him to six years imprisonment and a fine totalling N22.9 billion.

The appellate court’s judgment followed an appeal by the EFCC which felt dissatisfied with the decision of the FCT High Court and prayed that the judgment of the lower court be set aside.

The appellate court unanimously held in its judgment that Yusuf pleaded guilty to three counts and thereby admitted to the conversion of an aggregate sum of N24 billion to his personal use.

The court further held that the sentence of the trial court did not serve as deterrent to the convict and others and, therefore, ruled that the sentence was “hereby quashed and deserves to be reviewed as follows: on Counts 17, the respondent is hereby sentenced to two years imprisonment with an addition of fine of N20 billion. On Counts 18, the respondent is hereby sentenced to two years imprisonment with an addition of fine of 1.4 billion. On counts 19, the respondent is hereby sentenced to two years imprisonment with an addition of fine of 1.5 billion.”

The sentence, the Appeal Court ordered, was to run concurently and the fine was to be cumulative.
However, more than a year after the judgment, reports said, the convict is yet to begin serving his prison term. Saturday Tribune learnt that this has generated a controversy between the two Federal Government agencies over whose function it is to execute the judgment.

A national newspaper on Friday quoted EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade, as saying that, “After a successful appeal by the EFCC, the appellate court, on March 22, 2018, upturned Justice Mohammed Talba’s judgement and handed Yusuf a six-year jail term.
“If there is any question(s) on the whereabouts of the convict, it should not be directed at the EFCC but the relevant agency that should take custody of Yusuf,” Orilade said.

The EFCC’s spokesman said Yusuf was further asked to pay a fine of N20 billion, N1.4 billion and N1.5 billion on counts 17, 18 and 19, totalling N22.9 billion.

A source in the anti-graft agency, however, confided in one of our correspondents that the issue was already causing controversy between the two government parastatals and subtly hinted that the whereabouts of the convict were unknown for now.

According to the source, “instead of you journalists to keep writing about this man, I think you can do better by finding out his exact whereabouts and come up with information on this and see if any actions will be taken or not.”

A lawyer in the chambers of Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) which prosecuted Yusuf up till the appellate court, when contacted by Saturday Tribune to speak on the issue, declined to comment officially, saying that he was not authorised to speak on it.

The source, however, confirmed that the chambers secured for EFCC, the conviction of the convict by the Appeal Court, saying that apart from the jail term and the N22.9 billion fine imposed by the appellate court, other properties and accounts containing some amounts were seized from Yusuf.

He said further that the convict, however, filed an appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge the Appeal Court decision and also filed a stay of execution.

He, however, stressed that the stay of execution was not taken since “it does not apply to criminal matter. Once you are convicted, you have to go and serve your term.”

In his own reaction, the spokesman of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), Francis Enobore, was quoted in the media as saying that it was the duty of the prosecuting agency, with powers of arrest, to ensure that a person against whom it secured conviction and sentence is delivered to the prison authorities, along with the decision of the court.

In other words, the EFCC was supposed to have delivered Yusuf to the prison authorities to serve his jail term.

In his response, the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata, told Saturday Tribune that the prosecution was by the EFCC and there was the need to read the judgment and the court proceedings before making comments.

For example, he said, “What transpired after the conviction? Was there an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal? Was there a bail application pending the appeal, etc?

“You will agree with me that there is the need to read and appreciate the judgment and to understand the legal status of the matter before comments,” Apata stated.

Lawrence Enyoghasu



https://sunnewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Mother-of-baby.jpg



There is a popular adage that says “whatever that does not break us will end up only making us stronger.” Mr. Abiodun Orebela and his wife, Lola, from Ogun State, stand today as living examples of the adage. This is because the couple who reside at No. 88 Maruwa Road, Satellite Town, Lagos, just had a baby after waiting for 10 years.

There is no doubt that the painful experiences they passed through during the waiting period was meant to break them and strain their relationship built on mutual love and respect, but instead it ended up making their union stronger.


How the problem began

After their well-celebrated wedding in July 2007, the two had their first baby in the same year. It was when Lola became pregnant with the second baby that the problem began. Her bodily feelings and signs showed that she was pregnant but gynaecological tests at both public and private hospitals posted negative and, sometimes, inconclusive results. And the confusion that ensued within the intervening years was to cost them not only their possessions, but also the honour and respect of people they love and the ones that love them.

But ten years down the line, God wiped away their tears by making it possible for Lola to be delivered of the 10-year -old pregnancy. They named the baby Miraculous. In a chat with Saturday Sun, they narrated how it happened.

Abiodun’s story: “We got married in July 2007 and had our first baby in October 2007. But after our first child, my wife took in about a year later. She registered for antenatal care and it went on for a year. When the test kept posting inconclusive results at Ajeromi General Hospital, Ajegunle, we decided to try a private hospital. Yet the issue remained unresolved.

“In fact, it went on for three years. In all the hospitals we attended, doctors and nurses told us to go and flush the womb because there was nothing there but my wife kept telling me that she could feel the baby moving within her. We started going from church to church. We started with Synagogue, then MFM and lastly we ended up in a native doctor/herbalist house at Ajangbadi. Rather than raise up my hope, the herbalist told me that my wife was going to die.”

The mystery intensified when they got to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and after going through scan, they were told that there was no sign of any baby in Lola’s womb, contrary to her insistence. Nobody could explain what was amiss. Who does one believe: the woman whose menses has suddenly ceased after she supposedly took in or the hospital tests that continue to post results that seem to contradict that fact? Confusion had never come to the couple in such manner and measure before!

“When we went to LUTH, we were told that there was nothing in the scan,” Abiodun recalled. “The situation almost divided the family. They told her that she should leave me because I was impotent, that I cannot impregnate a woman. There was pressure from my side too, especially from my mother, to look for another wife.”


Battling with a nightmare

Lola who once lived at Oke Aregba in Ita-Osin, Abeokuta, but also sold clothes at Balogun Market, Lagos, said: “If not for God and my husband, I would have died. My sister had prepared another man for me to marry. I was a cloth merchant in Balogun. I also frequent Ghana to buy clothes. My big sister gave me the option of leaving my husband. But I refused because she was not married. The first scan was inconclusive but the blood test showed that I was pregnant. I had stopped menstruating. My tummy was fluctuating. Sometimes it would grow big, other times it would become small. We went to see an Alfa in Ajegunle.”

The search for the solution to this mystery, from one place to another, from the church to native doctors’ homes, from there to hospitals, public and private, rendered the fairly well-to-do family poor. Abiodun added. “We have a car that was given to me but when the problem started, we sold it . In the course of seeking for solution the unorthodox way, I was told to buy a lot of things. We bought a cow, a lot of rams, fowls and hens. I sold all the things we had in my parlour. We were sleeping on the bare floor. There was a half plot of land somewhere. We had to sell it.”

His wife, Lola, remembered that “there were days he would come home and say that he needed to buy goats and fowls and we would sell our wares. There was a day he sold his best outing clothes to raise money to buy a goat for the herbalist.”

The search for the solution to the pregnancy mystery, in the course of time, became demanding and financially sapping that it alienated Abiodun from many political engagements and friends and loved ones.

He recalled the scorn their situation attracted to them from far and wide. “Friends betrayed me,” he sighed. “I was very shy to narrate the story to people. The few who noticed avoided us like a plague. My wife was always in the house. I was the one going to the market. It got to a point that a lady who we owed in our former house started insulting us. The woman said I could not take care of one child that God has given me. Every day my wife was in pain. She cried because of the insults she received and for the constant pain in her tummy.”


Divine solution, at last, to a seemingly intractable problem

It was while they were going through the harrowing experience that they were introduced to Prophet Favour Ugochukwu, the founder of Jesus Resurrection Prayer Ministry, Lagos. It is inexplicable, both the pregnancy thing and what followed after the contact! Through prayers, he and his fellow pastors eventually got Lola delivered of the baby after 10 years of pregnancy. Today, the couple has become members of his ministry.

As Lola sat besides her husband, during the chat with Saturday Sun, she was all smiles as she cuddled in her arms Baby Miraculous. And on her lap, sat the results of some of the scans she had over they years to prove the points she made during the chat. Today, they are nothing but relics of the past and the pains they went through all the years.

Recalling what happened on the day of the delivery, long after everybody had given up hope that she was truly pregnant, she said it was the presence of her neighbours and husband that saved her life when the labour suddenly started without prior warning. “There was a neighbour who was a matron, Mrs Tijani and one Mama Chioma that helped me with the child before I was rushed to a local hospital,” she said. “My husband also played a big role. He was with me throughout.”

“When they started attending the church a year and two weeks ago, I saw their challenges and I had the hope there was going to be a solution,” Prophet Ugochukwu said when contacted for his comment. “We kept praying and thanked God that their prayers have been answered. The only condition I gave them was that they should keep attending the church programmes.”

Muhammadu Sanusi II, emir of Kano, has replied a query issued to him by the administration of Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano.

The Kano Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission which probed the emirate had alleged that there was misappropriation of N3.4billion between 2014 and 2017.

Citing the report of the probe panel, the Kano government had asked the emir to respond to the allegation with 48 hours.

In a letter seen by TheCable, the emir thanked the state government for giving him the opportunity to respond to the allegations.

He said secretary of the emirate is the accounting officer and not him. Sanusi added that N1.8 billion was in the account of the emirate when he was appointed.

Abba Yusuf, acting secretary of Kano emirate council, signed the letter on his behalf.

Below is the letter which was obtained by TheCable:

I am directed to refer to your letter No. SSG/OFF/03/V.I, dated June 6th, 2019 to which was attached a copy of the report of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Chairman containing some allegations of financial misappropriation of the sum of N3.4 billion by the Kano Emirate Council.

You may wish to note that at the time His Highness was appointed Sarkin Kano, the exact amount in the account of the Kano Emirate Council was N1,893,378,923.38 (One Billion Eight Hundred and Ninety Three Million, Three Hundred and Seventy Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred and Twenty Seven Naira, Thirty Eight Kobo Only).

It is also important to note that His Highness, Sarkin Kano is not the Accounting Officer of the Kano Emirate Council, but the Secretary of the Council. We thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to the various allegations contained in the report and accordingly give our responses as per the attached.

Please accept our best regards.

The development comes less than a day after Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, and Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti state, brokered peace between the governor and emir.

The move by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to punish the Deputy National Chairman (North) Senator Lawal Shuaibu may back fire as he insisted that only the National Executive Committee of the party has the power to investigate and punish him.

In a letter to the Chairman of the five man Committee set up by the National Working Committee, and headed by the Deputy National Chairman (South), Otumba Niyi Adebayo , Shuaibu said the committee was an illegal creation and therefore lacked the power to invite him or investigate him.

He cited article 21 of the APC constitution to back his claim that the National working committee lacked the power to discipline him.

Article 21 of the party constitution states that “subject to the provision of this article and the right to fair hearing, the party shall have power to discipline party members. The power shall be exercise on behalf of the party by the respective Executive Committee of the party at all levels”

However, article 21 (B)(iv) states that “the Executive Committee of the party at the level where a complaint or allegation is made shall have original jurisdiction to hear and determine such complaints or allegation provided that the assumption of jurisdiction by such Executive Committee shall not breach the rules of fair hearing”

He insisted that the fact that the National Working Committee first passed a vote of confidence on the National Chairman before deciding to set up a disciplinary committee to investigate his allegations cast doubt on the entire process.

He informed the committee that he has never been intimidated and will not be intimidated, pointing out that if the party has resolved to punish him, it has no choice than to take the matter before the National Executive Committee of the party.

Shuaibu said: “I don’t know from where the National Working Committee (NWC) derived the power of discipline. The APC Constitution in Article 21 states that such Power shall only be exercised by the party through the respective Executive Committee of the Party at all levels.

“I am not a lawyer, but I have been in the political party system for about a decade now to be able to know that every decision of the party shall be in line with what its constitution stipulates. When I served as a National Secretary, my own National Chairman would insist that I worked with the National Legal Adviser for advice on every issue before any decision was arrived at.

“Given the NWC has the power, how can the Chairman preside over a meeting in which discussions that border on allegations against him are discussed? Let me repeat again as in my letter to the Chairman, You CAN’T BE A JUDGE IN YOUR OWN CASE! And to even say he was seated there to accept a vote of confidence as well as preside over setting up a committee to punish the member that accused him

“Those eminent leaders of the All Progressives Congress had fairness on their minds on matters of discipline and disciplinary procedures when they drafted the constitution. They entrusted the matter of discipline in the party to the larger Executive Committees and not a group of few members of the party some of who might probably be culpable in some instances.

“Otunba my honest advice to you is, since you are the closest NWC member to the Chairman, in order not to drive the party into the muds, always insist on following the due process of law in whatever he wants to commit the party to. All he needs to do is to work closely with the Legal Adviser and not to mock his adviser because if we find any failure in that instance, you cannot blame the Lawyer.

“Niyi, you are also a Lawyer. Why can’t you tell the Chairman when something is right or wrong? Since President Buhari and I met when he joined partisan politics in 2002, l have always known him to insist on due process of law.

“In those days in the ANPP, when he was trying to learn how the game was played, his consistent comment at NEC meetings was “let us do what the constitution says, in that way some of us that are learning the way it is done will understand quicker and better”

“Now let us look at the process, the fact that the NWC members, before resolving to set up your committee, had earlier passed a vote of confidence on the Chairman puts some doubt to its purpose.

“You have already put the cart before the horse. I never expected to receive your letter to investigate me on what I said of the Chairman as there couldn’t have been any need again.

“I was initially gladdened by an earlier statement by the National Publicity Secretary in his media reaction to my letter that “the issues raised in the letter are between two leaders I wonder at what stage it became a National Working Committee (NWC) issue again.

“I can equally imagine how the NWC, an important organ of the party could convene what was described as a regular meeting for which less than 24 hour notice was given, specifically to discuss my opinion on the chairman and even issue a communique in that regard. You are actually making me appear to be more important than I have always felt.

“I am not sure of the source of your meeting with respect to the other shocking allegations contained in your resolutions, but what I read from it in virtually all the Newspapers this morning painted me darker than I am. That I was inciting National Assembly members against the nominees of Mr. President is to say the least, that your meeting ran out of creative ideas on how to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

“They are weighty allegations, but I don’t get intimidated and for those who know me, I have never in my life played any double standard and they can tell you that I don’t tell lies for any favours, because I depend on God for all my needs and every other favour. That is why I stood my grounds in advising the Chairman to allow the party a breathing gap to heave a sigh and fly up once again without losing more feathers.

“However, with the aforementioned points in mind, let me state that with due respect to the National Working Committee, an important organ of my party, I will not appear before your committee as it is illegal and I am too informed to get involved in illegalities.

“If you want to punish me for saying what I still believe is true, then you have to take this matter to where you are avoiding, the National Executive Committee.

“My advice is please let us save this Party as a stitch in time saves nine. I assure you there is nothing personal about this except that my concern that the Party is drifting. Niyi, a stitch in time saves nine”

By Sanya Adejokun



WITH most states already reeling under the yoke of heavy indebtedness, the guideline of Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) on local government finance, which came into effect on June 1 is already putting state governors in severe stress.

Many of the governors rely heavily on local government statutory allocations to run the affairs of their states since debt service has eaten deep into allocations of their states.

A recent report put total debt by states at N3.9 trillion as of May 29, 2019 with Lagos leading the pack owing N1.043 trillion.

NFIU spokesman, Mr Sani Tukur, told Saturday Tribune on Friday that “any bank that honours cheques to withdraw money from any local government account when such cheques do not emanate from authorised local government functionaries will be made to refund any such amount withdrawn 100 percent.”

He insisted that “NFIU will not allow the whole country to suffer any international sanction for money laundering just because of the fault of a few individuals. Such individuals will be made to bear the sanctions.”

He reiterated, however, that banks have fully complied with the directive since it became operational on June 1.

In the original directive to banks on May 6, NFIU requested “all financial institutions, other relevant stakeholders, public servants and the entire citizenry to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the guidelines already submitted to financial institutions and relevant enforcement agencies, including full enforcement of corresponding sanctions against violations from 1st June, 2019.

“Having realised through analysis that cash withdrawal and transactions of the State, Joint Local Government Accounts (SJLGA) pose biggest corruption, money laundering and security threats at the grassroots level and to the entire financial system and the country as a whole, NFIU decided to uphold the provisions of Section 162 (6) (of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which designate “State Joint Local Government Account into which shall be paid allocations to the local government councils of the state from the federation account and from the government of the state.

“The amount standing to the credit of local government councils of a state shall be distributed among the local government councils of that state [and not for other purposes].

“As far as the NFIU is concerned, the responsibility of the account as a collection account is fully reinstated.

“In addition, taking such measures was necessitated by prompting reasons on the NFIU to respond to threats of isolating the entire Nigerian financial system by other international financial systems because of deficiencies in our anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing implementation.

“Therefore, it is no longer possible to allow the entire system to suffer the deliberate and expensive infractions or violations by public officials and/or private business interests.

“Henceforth, all erring individuals and companies will be allowed to face direct international and local targeted sanctions, in order not to allow any negative consequences to fall on the entire country.

“To be precise, with effect from 1st June, any bank that allows any transaction from any local government account without monies first reaching a particular local government account will be sanctioned 100%, both locally and internationally.

“In addition, a provision is also made to the effect that there shall be no cash withdrawal from any local government for a cumulative amount exceeding N500,000.00 per day.

Any other transaction must be done through valid cheques or electronic funds transfer.

“The complete guidelines have been released to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Chief Executive Officers of all banks and other financial institutions.

“Any state government that is willing to seek any expert economic advice in the unlikely event of these guidelines constituting an inconvenience to the management of the state can work with the NFIU and /or CBN,” the NFIU said.

According to Tukur, the directive was without prejudice to the constitutional provision of paying local government allocations through the Joint State/Local Government Account but they must be distributed to respective local governments before they would be spent.

He commended the banks for fully complying with the agency’s directive since its commencement date.

“Some banks have been calling to say they received cheques from state governments but they have not been cleared by the bank. Of course, they should know by now that only cheques issued by specific local governments will be cleared,” he added.

Undergraduate girls in the country’s various tertiary institutions are known to embark on various endeavours for survival and one of these is the trade of flesh. Those who do this are known as ‘Runs Girls’. In this piece, OBINNA OGBONNAYA (ABAKALIKI) and AGATHA CHITUMU (ABUJA) explore the lives of ‘runs girls’ in desperate battle to obtain certificates in a bid to secure for themselves places in the labour market later in the future It breaks essential moral code to note that some of the young girls sent to universities to acquire knowledge and become productive citizens in the state, have found a vocation in prostitution.

The students now ply the trade right inside and outside the school campuses as most times, they are even seen hanging around the school gate waiting for prospective clients that would drive down the school gate, openly negotiate price with them and zoom off with them. It is 8pm, a black Lexus Jeep had parked at a strategic point close to the gates of a popular polytechnic in one of the South-south states.

The exotic vehicle parked while its drivers blinked its headlamps as a sign to notify a group of young girls, aged roughly between 20 and 30. The girls could be seen dressed in skimpy fashion wears that expose almost every part of their bodies. All eyes on them, even the most religious young man in the campus would not resist the temptation to look as they cat walked into the car till it zoomed off.

Of course that is not going to be all for the day as others will join, depending on how arrangements were made and to who and where. As long as the campus lives, the ritual continues and weekends are better for it. They are campus runs girls (campus sex workers), schoolgirls who have turned to sex work for survival and the practice continues to be on the rise. In one of the states of the North-east, the strategy is different.

“In my school days, what these girls do was to leave their pictures and phone numbers with some security personnel at the school gate to show to client. When they come, they would take a look at them and make their choices, put a call across and a deal is activated”, said Yakson Yakubu, a graduate of a tertiary institution in the geo-political zone. Also in the North-central, campus prostitution is a big deal that keeps increasing like a funded industry.

In a third-generation university, two hostels, one with a religious name, are the major hotspots to pick up students for a short romp. Putting up this business is not a problem, all it takes to combine sex work and education is to look good, have make-up kits and get introduced to a campus love-vendor, one of the girls told our correspondent.

“And if returns are consistent in the business regularly, it is easy to jiggle academic pursuit and campus runs because they have everything needed to settle academic failure,” she added. Clearly, from South-west, the story is similar if not the same. And so the pendulum swings in the East. Campus prostitution has continued to cover more grounds in Nigerian tertiary institutions than anyone can think of.

It has become a norm that almost all campuses now have hot spots where girls could be picked up and dropped off after sexual transaction. In Ebonyi State for instance where the practice has not been seriously reported, prostitution among female students is said to be one of the most increasing way of life.

The case has become alarming. None of the institution in the state would claim ignorance of the activities of its female students. Despite the clampdown by the security agencies and the state government being against this illicit trade, the trade still flourishes.

From the state-owned varsity to the federal-owned, it is the business of the town among young female undergraduates. Regrettably, LEADERSHIP findings revealed that most parents and guardians of these girls of easy virtues are ignorant of the trade their children and wards engage in. The prices according to checks range from N5000 to N10,000 depending on the class of the female and the personality involved.

Apart from the usual standing on the major roads waiting for customers, it is also believed that some of the girls also get patronage from government officials. Investigations have also shown that most states government officials enlist the services of these young women especially when there are state functions and personalities are expected to come into the state.

According to investigations by our correspondents, when occasions like this occur, it is the sophisticated ones among them are contacted to keep some of the personalities busy in their hotel rooms for a few that would be determined by those that arranged the business. In government circles, it is allegedly known as “body no be firewood”. This happens most times when important events are celebrated.


But why?


“What do you expect of a lady who left home and her parents, her only source of income, could not afford to pay for her academic cost? If she is the type who wants a university certificate like me to secure a future and be respected by her husband, she would do anything to survive”, Emmanualla (not real name) an undergraduate in one of the affected institutions, asked LEADERSHIP Weekend. She continued, “I am the only daughter in the family. I have five kid brothers and three are in the same school with me.

My immediate younger one is about to graduate and I foot his bills. He was almost influence by bad friends to join Yahoo business but I told him it would not happen when I am alive. Bros gals gat to survive and God knows why. “The boys are there doing worse things but people see what we do as evil. Mine is to pay genuine bills.

Others do theirs for fun and I also know those who do it because they want to continue to live larger than life”, said Emmanualla who told LEADERSHIP she had no regret doing it. “We have to survive at whatever cost.

Have you not heard of lecturers asking their female students for sex to pass them in their exams? We do it for many reasons. To feed and to cloth ourselves while the lecturers take their portion to make for our grades. It’s all over my brother, said Preye Pedro, a student of another university. “You came to school initially with the hope to read but these old men won’t let you be. They asked for money to pass you.

What choice do you really have when you don’t have the connection? So, you go out and hustle to make money to pay your way out otherwise they will frustrate your life in the school. It is hustling for survival, not prostitution. Which girl does not have more than one boyfriend in the campus?” For Mimi, an alumna of a university in the North-central, it is two-way thing.

She said runs babes in campus go after men and men do go after young girls as well. She told LEADERSHIP weekend that it is not all runs babes in the campus that are genuine students. “Some are visiting friends who come not only to visit their female friends but end up staying as students of the university.”


Trade Hazards


According to Mimi, campus runs babes have connections outside school with ‘aristos’ and some lecturers but some of them have been reported ending up in the hands of ritualists. Mimi recounted a story of a familiar student during her time in the university who had a great outing with a man and on her return, she started bleeding in the hostel and was taken to the hospital where she died. A senior lecturer in Ebonyi State, Mrs. Victoria Ogba, who condemned the practice, said “female undergraduates are not only exposing themselves to danger, they are also mortgaging their future on the altar of quick money and instant sensual gratification”.

She fear that the dangers associated with such lifestyle outwear the financial benefit. Ogba who noted that Nigerian universities that used to be the source of pride to young girls that passed through them, no longer have the uniqueness and glamour to the institutions that was once known.

“It is quite unfortunate that those who are supposed to mentor the students are now taking advantage of them. How can a lecturer that has a young girl at home be demanding for mark for sex from a female student? And when the female student attempts to resist him, what does she get in return, she will fail the course.

“Those of them who are willing tools in the hands of the lecturers will simply give in but the brave ones always resist them. It is so disheartening that a parent would struggle to sponsor their child to higher education but what would she get in return, a sick child that may have contracted deadly infection or HIV in the cause of her prostitution.

Many of them are used for money rituals yet others would still not learn from the mistakes of others. “There is no gainsaying that those saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that this checked has largely left it unchecked and is spreading like wild fire.”


Moral decadence and a compromised society


Findings by this newspaper have shown that in one of the newly established schools within a state capital, the school management instituted a law that every 9pm, all the female students must answer a roll call. Unfortunately, this is far away from being achieved, as students who are in the trade would bribe their way through some of the security guards in the school to allow them go out and come back in the morning.

This is done under the very nose of some staff and security agents who also see the business of allowing them gain access back to the hostel in the morning as lucrative. A social welfare officer in the state, Mrs. Chibundu Onwe, attributed the ugly trend to the failure of morality among the student. She believes that both the government, security agencies and the university authorities have all failed in their responsibilities.

According to her, “how do you expect that the ugly trend would stop when at night security agencies will swoop on them, take them to their stations and collect N5000 from them and allow them to go that same night? It is also very unfortunate that those who can not afford to bail themselves allow the uniform men to also sleep with them and allow them go back to their business.

“We have had cases where the girls would be arrested and before you get to the station in the morning to see them and talk to them on the dangers of their activities, the information that you will get would be so frustrating and damaging.

Most of the girls get involved in the act because of peer pressure and misleading information. They need to be orientated but those who are expected to lead the fight against the trend are the same people benefiting from it.

Many occasions, the security agencies will surprise you by telling you that the students are adults and should know better, they allow them call the shots. “It is so disheartening that young girls in the campuses have devised ways to trading in prostitution both inside the campuses and outside,” he said.

He continued, “The trade is gradually taking a different dimension now in the state as many of them now operate outside the university campuses.

They now take their trade directly to their customers. Most weekends, you see them in their numbers, those who feel that the “real show” is not in Abakaliki, they move to Enugu, Port Harcourt and other cities that would give them maximum exposure to men willing to pay anything for sensual pleasure.

“At the popular Abakaliki Street in Awka Anambra State, you see many of them from the different higher institutions, they walk around the streets, since they don’t have anywhere to lay their heads until male customers, who are willing to patronize them comes.

“One aspect of the trade that has continued to be a source of worry to mothers is that the girls do not fear for their safety or health, they follow the customers to their homes, brothels or nightclubs. Someone they have never met before but the smart ones amongst them always try to disclose to their friends where they are being taken by the customer.

“Many of them who may not want their friends and relations to know the kind of business they are into always leave their campus hostels on Fridays, pretending to be going home for the weekend, when their actual destinations are major cities and night clubs.

What is their mission, to go look for customers and come back to school wearing the best clothes, live in the best furnished rooms and still disturb their parents for school fees, hostel fee and textbooks”, he disclosed. A former Student Union leader in Ebonyi State, Miss Chinyere Obioha, said that the major reason behind the rise in the trade is greed.

According to her, many of the girls when they gain admission into the school are innocent, homely and would have never gotten involved in such a trade but when they begin to mix up with friends who showcase their expensive phones, jewelleries and other things, the innocent ones out of greed would always want to belong to that class of big babes. She added, “It is very unfortunate that in the state today, the politicians are the major customers of the girls.

When you visit any of the campuses in the state, they will always come under the cover of darkness with their flashy cars, take the girls out of the town to Enugu, spend days with them, give them plenty of money and when they come back, they will present it to their friends who will not desire to benefit. Most times they will come with their friends and ask the girls to bring more girls.

“Most times many of their male patrons who may not want to be identified usually work with male undergraduates who help them in arranging students from their different hostels. They link up with the girls, fees are agreed upon and the girls are notified and given a time and place”, said the former students leader.

She also revealed, “The male student usually agrees on a percentage with the girl and immediately the business is executed, he gets his percentage and await another contact.” The trade, despite the dangers associated with it, is fast flourishing in across campuses in the country.

As new governors settle for duties after inauguration, the likelihood of some states defaulting on the new minimum wage is getting clearer by the day. Sunday Ojeme reports

Despite the seeming silence by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) over the new N30,000 minimum wage, an air of despondency still hangs around some states in view of its implementation.

Although most of the governors came out publicly to acquiesce to the new wage, findings by New Telegraph, however, revealed that at least four out of 26 states so far surveyed are likely to contravene the law considering the backlog of arrears currently owed civil servants under the now outlawed N18,000.

The Minimum Wage Repeal and Re-enactment Bill, 2019 was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly before the general election, the House of Representatives in January and the Senate in March, while President Muhammadu Buhari signed it into law in April and also put the effective date of implementation on April 18, 2019.


NGF’s opposition

Recall that prior to signing the bill into law, the NGF, through its Chairman, Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State had opposed the N30,000 proposed by the New Minimum Wage Tripartite Committee, saying that some states were not buoyant enough to pay.
The governors had given conditions including increase in their allocations as well as labour consenting to downsizing the workforce in states, as they insisted that all they could afford to pay was N22, 500.

Just recently, precisely at his inauguration, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, publicly declared that he would not pay the N30,000 minimum wage, calling to credibility of the erstwhile governor, who had promised that the state would pay the wage.

Besides Oyo, investigation by this newspaper revealed that states such as Imo, Cross River, Ekiti, Kogi and Benue might find it tough to implement the new wage, as they currently owe backlog of salaries and allowances.


Imo

According to findings, Imo State, with a monthly wage bill in the neighbourhood of N2.5 billion, N2.6 billion and a workforce of about 10,000, currently owe workers across parastatals and local government.
The state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Austin Chilakpu, stated in a telephone conversation with our correspondent that as far as labour was concerned, the state government still owe workers, despite the outgoing Governor, Rochas Okorocha, repeatedly voicing his commitment to implementing the N30,000 new minimum wage.

According to Chilakpu, “Ada Palm workers are owed 54 months; workers in the Due Process office are owed up to 10 months salary arrears; Imo judiciary workers are owed three months salaries while workers of the Imo State Action Committee on AIDS (SACA) are owed 24 months salaries.”

Also, although a government house source confirmed that government house workers, teachers and all the ministries had been paid, she, however, noted that local government workers and some parastatals were yet to be paid.


Cross River

In Cross River, about 31 workers of the Examinations Results Centre (ERC) in the Ministry of Education are said to be owed about 18 months, salaries. They were first engaged as ad hoc staff in 2015, and were absorbed as permanent staff into the state civil service in 2017.

Prior to the staff auditing that cut the workforce to 17,000, two years ago, the state had about 20,000 civil servants to cater for with a wage bill of about N3.5 billion.

On the new minimum wage, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor said that the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, had always promised to pay the new minimum wage “and has not said anything to the contrary since it was signed into law.”

He said the state had so far not computed how much it would pay as salaries, given the new minimum wage but that the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant General were working on a template to be made known at the appropriate time.


Ekiti

On the part of Ekiti, which recently sacked some civil servants employed by the immediate past governor during his last days in office, the civil servants are being owed not less than three months, while local government workers are owed a minimum of seven months.

Although currently operating with a wage bill of about N2.6 billion, the state Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has promised to pay the new N30,000 minimum wage if only it will have access to additional N2 billion for that purpose.


Kogi

In Kogi State, Governor Yahaya Bello owes the state workers salary arrears of six months, while local government workers including teachers received percentage payment, cumulating into over 30 months.
Before his emergence as governor, the workforce was over 18,000 with a staggering wage bill of between N2.6 billion and N2.7 billion.

Due to the backlog of unpaid salaries, observers have expressed doubts over the governor’s stance on the new minimum wage, as he vowed to be the first state to commence payment even when the state wage bill could be running close to N3.9 billion.

A labour leader in the state, who does not want his name in print, described the governor’s proclamation as a fluke, saying he was using it to impress his party for automatic ticket for a second term.
He advised the governor to pay workers what they are being owed and stop building castle in the air.


Benue

Also in the league of indebted states is Benue where civil servants are owed about five months salaries, while local government workers and primary school teachers are also owed about 11 months arrears.
This is just as the state government said it had reduced its wage bill, which initially stood at N7.8 billion down to N4.5 billion.

The high wage bill, government claims, has been responsible for its inability to pay the civil servants, whose current total figure is said to be slightly over 19, 000, while local government employees is said to be 25, 000.

Following this development, Governor Samuel Ortom had stated clearly that he has no capacity to pay Benue workers the newly approved N30,000 minimum wage.
Governor Ortom, who disclosed this while addressing workers, said he would have implemented the agreement but for lack of capacity.

“If I have the capacity, I will not hesitate to implement the new minimum wage even above N30,000,” he said.
“I have prioritised payment of workers’ salaries and this is exactly what my administration is doing,” he declared.


Last line

From the foregoing, it is obvious that crisis still looms as the conflict between organised labour and some states is yet to be completely settled for the fact that the former had insisted before the bill was signed into law that on no account should any employer pay less than the new wage.

Owerri – Residents of Umuobioma in Ozara, Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State are yet to overcome the unsavory scenarios which played out in their hitherto serene hamlet recently.

Following the death of one of their illustrious sons, Late Chief Mathew Ugwumba, several guests, made up of friends and relatives had assembled from far and near, preparatory to giving Mathew Ugwumba, a befitting burial, most deserving of his status in the community. Assorted dishes had been prepared.

Wines-local and foreign- had been bought and cooled, while different performance groups had been engaged; everyone was indeed looking forward to the glorious end of Chief Ugwumba’s journey in life as he gets lowered to his grave, having lasted up to 94 years, in a country where life expectancy still hovers around 49.

But this was not to be.

As the preparations were in top gear, the corpse was laid on a beautiful bed under a decorated canopy, waiting for the priest to conduct necessary rites for the burial.

Suddenly, a team of armed police personnel, who came from the Mgbidi Police Division, drove into the venue of the burial, alighted one after the other from their van and invaded the village.

There was serious confusion everywhere as the scene looked like a Nollywood movie. It was later learnt that the men in uniform had come to enforce a court order, restraining the burial from taking place. Some of those engaged for cooking and few youths who had been engulfed with the fun of the burial procession took to their heels, gathering at a distance to watch the rest of the movie.

Before guests and family members could begin to ask questions, Olivia Ugwumba, Late Ugwumba’s second wife and some other members of the Umuobioma hamlet were whisked away. This instantly threw spanners in the wheel of progress as far as the burial rites were concerned, exposing the entire village to a somewhat embarrassing situation. Late Ugwumba, who died on September 26, 2018 and had been prepared for burial was returned back to Demion Hospital Mortuary, Orlu, Imo State.

Revelations showed that the bone of contention was a court injunction, obtained by Julius Ugwumba, one of the sons of the deceased Mathew Ugwumba’s first wife (plaintiff), praying that his father should not be buried!

According to the suit with number: HOW/652/2019, the court order reads: ‘The Motion Exparte filed on 15/4/2019 praying for interim injunction restraining the Defendants from continuing with any arrangement for or concerning the burial of Pa Mathew Ugwumba, the alleged testator of the will dated 13th November 2017, pending the determination of the interlocutory injunction filed in this suit.

And after the hearing, K.A Nwakuche with Nkem Oputa of counsel for the Plaintiffs/Applicants, it is hereby, ordered that the Defendants be and are hereby in the interim restrained from continuing with any arrangements for or concerning the burial of Late Pa Mathew Ugwumba of Ozara, Oru West LGA or carry out the burial on 3rd May, 2019 or any other date pending the determination filed on 15th April, 2019.”

For many people in the community, the incident came as a rude shock, because so many consultations and peace parleys had been orchestrated prior to this period towards making sure that the deceased gets the rest he may have been yearning for as a living man.

According to the Chairman of the Community Development Association (CDA), Edmund Obodo Ebeloma, the lingering crisis which precipitated all these shameful developments were unnecessary as every effort had been previously made to forestall any problems.

He says: “This whole ugly development is unnecessary. The man in question, Mathew Ugwumba, was like a big uncle to all of us. We had agreed, as members of the same kindred that everyone should sheathe his sword and carry out this burial, which every one of us is responsible for and had been levied. Before this whole arrangement started, one of Mathew’s sons, named Julius had agreed that everything was okay. In fact, they invited all of us to the Parish Priest, who wanted to know if everything was alright before allotting a date to us for the burial. We had wanted the burial to take place on the 26th of April.

“This date however coincided with the burial of another prominent son of this town, which forced us to shift ours to May 3, because the other group got the date before us. The preparations were in top gear, and nobody was expecting any disruptions. But Philip, the second son and his brothers, fully aware of the entire plans, went to get an injunction to stop the whole process. And his reasons are rather amusing. He said one of his sisters, named Adaobi was not duly consulted; which is not true because some people went to inform her husband’s people of the burial plans. When Philip noticed that the excuse was not working, he came up with another reason that our kindred ostracised them.

“Again, that is false, because he voluntarily decided to leave Egbudike kindred and align with Umuonuoha kindred. You can imagine the embarrassment this is causing after guests have been invited and on getting here, the story becomes something else. If their problem is their father’s will, it is misplaced, because the man in question did not own any building in choice locations like Abuja, Onitsha or Lagos, that could be causing this kind of uproar. In fact, I am disappointed in this whole matter. So many innocent people have been detained over this lingering issue.”

Explaining further, Benedict Ugwumba, one of the relatives, confirmed that a piece of land was at the centre of this whole problem, which only recently culminated in the injunction, restraining the 94 year-old man from being buried according to Igbo custom. According to him, one of Pa Ugwumba’s sons, Anayo has been in detention since 31st December, 2017 on the accusation of murder.

“This matter should serve as a lesson to others. A piece of land which John wants is at the centre of this whole problem. Late Mathew has made it known that he did not give the land to him. In fact, as I speak with you, two of the step brothers had a fight over this in 2017, and the result has been a subject of controversy.

“One of them who died afterwards from other issues was said to have been killed by Anayo, despite the fact that the autopsy did not reveal so. And since 31st December, 2017, Anayo, who is being accused of that death, has been in detention. His brothers are spoiling for war to avenge that death, including stopping the burial plans of his father.”

As the order restraining the burial subsists, the hearing which was supposed to come up on May 15th 2019, could not hold due to some technical issues, and the implication is obvious: Late Pa Mathew Ugwumba’s spirit will still be hovering restlessly.

Michael Magoronga



A Zhombe man who was caught pants down with his uncle’s wife has claimed the woman was a dynamite in bed and has vowed to marry her.

Juda Muketiwa of Village 18 Bobs under Chief Gwesela in Zhombe was caught pants down with the woman in question, Letwin Masvaure, who is wife to his uncle Unity Nduku.

Muketiwa is son to Nduku’s elder sister.

The matter has since been heard before Chief Weight Gwesela’s court where Muketiwa was fined five head of cattle for adultery.

Nduku who is a gold dealer, was shocked when he returned home unannounced only to find his wife and his sister’s son having sex in his matrimonial bed.

Muketiwa is married to another woman with whom he has one child while Masvaure has two children with Nduku.

Chief Weight Gwesela confirmed that his court handled the matter and the man had since been fined.

“It is true we handled such a matter and the man was fined five beasts for the taboo. This is unheard of and we do not condone such activities. We have since fined the man and warned him against such actions,” said Chief Gwesela.

A source who also attended the court session said Muketiwa had since vowed to marry Masvaure whom he claimed was better than his wife in bed.

“He was heard after the court vowing that he was not going to let her go as ordered by the court saying the woman is good in bed. He vowed to pay lobola for the woman,” said the source.

The source said Muketiwa said the fine was a form of lobola and had since cemented their relationship.

“He said now that he has paid the five beasts, the relationship has been legalised and nothing was going to stop him from seeing her anytime he wanted,” the source further revealed.

Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja



Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has assured Nigerians that he and his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, will defend the trust Nigerians reposed on them as they begin their second term in office.

Osinbajo said this at the inauguration dinner/gala night, as President Muhammadu Buhari jets out to Saudi Arabia for the OIC summit on Thursday.

He declared that Nigerians’ best days had just begun as the next level administration kicked off.

Osinbajo said: “We will defend the trust Nigerians reposed on us.

“The best years of Nigeria begins today.”

According to Osinbajo, between 12 midnight on Tuesday and 10:30am on Wednesday, there were no president and vice president, and commended the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, for not taking advantage and trying anything funny.

The Vice President said: “From 12 last night to 10:30am, there was virtually no president and vice president. We were happy that there was no problem.

“I will like to thank Mr. Senate President for not doing anything funny.”

Meanwhile, guests had herculean task accessing the venue of the dinner as the traffic into the Presidential Villa both from Gate One which is accessed through the Asokoro axis and Gate Two, accessed through the Supreme Court was at a snail speed.

Invited guests including diplomats who  managed to get to the Banquet Hall, were pushed and shoved, as they were told the hall was full to capacity and could not accommodate them.

Osinbajo attended the gala in with his wife, Dolapo, along with Boss Mustapha, the Secretary of the Government of the Federation.

The gala night was attended by former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon.

Also in attendance was the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, who gave the toast.

He said those who thought Nigeria would be insurmountable were now having a rethink.

He said no matter the challenges the nation might be going through, the sum total is that Nigeria is bigger than her problems.

Former governor of Zamfara State, Abdul’aziz Yari, yesterday attended the inauguration ceremony of President Muhammadu Buhari with an official car bearing the seal of a chief executive.

While Yari was sighted at the Eagle Square in his official car, a Lexus 570, his successor, Dr. Bello Muhammad Mutawalle of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was taking his oath of office in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital as the new governor.

The former governor drove to the event in the car hoisted with both the national and All Progressives Congress (APC) flags, and a seal which the inscription: “Executive Governor of Zamfara State”, indicating the he was still in charge of the state of affairs.

He stayed through the presidential inauguration ceremony and was seen leaving the venue at about 12p.m.

The former chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) left many people at the inauguration wondering whether he was still in charge of affairs in Zamfara despite the decision of the Supreme Court which pronounced the candidate of the PDP as winner of the 2019 governorship election in the state.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, had, during the valedictory meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), extended an invitation to outgoing governors for the presidential inauguration.

NextTv, a new media and entertainment platform, is set to challenge the monopoly enjoyed by South Africa’s Multichoice Digital Satellite TV’s (DStv) monopoly in Nigeria’s payTV market. The platform, a joint venture partnership between Nigus International, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) and China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) pledged to make satellite television affordable with quality service delivery.

Under the new arrangement, Nigus International will be the lead partner holding a 75 percent equity stake, while NigComSat holds 15 percent equity and CGWIC holding 10 percent equity stake.

The Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, while speaking at the launch of the satellite service provider to the NigComSat Direct-To-Home (DTH) platform in Abuja, urged Nigerians to patronise and invest in the company. ADVERTISEMENT He said the partnership within the next few years would produce about 1.5 million set-up boxes and in doing that many more Nigerians will get jobs.

He assured management of the satellite television of government’s support to ensure that the new partnership makes huge entry into the market. Executive Chairman of NextTV, Mr. Malik Ado-Ibrahim, said, “We have flexibility from the market giving us tremendous opening to reach large number of people.

So we are very comfortable that Nigerians and Africa in general would be able to access our service and get quality entertainment contents. “NexTV is not just about entertainment but satellite communication, broadband connectivity and accessing digital content through different platform across Africa.

That is why we launched the OGT service and i think that is where we are going to be successful. There is mobility where you don’t need a TV but a smartphone to access contents,” Ado-Ibrahim said. Related NIGCOMSAT launches Direct-to-Home services Satellite: FG moves to stop N720bn annual loss NITDA seeks closer ties with NigComSat.

Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), got more than he bargained for when he stood in between Ibrahim Muhammad, acting chief justice of Nigeria, and service chiefs at the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.

The APC national chairman had joined Senate President Bukola Saraki; Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, and the service chiefs who were awaiting the arrival of the president at Eagle Square, Abuja.

A military officer had walked up to him and after a short conversation, Oshiomhole relocated just as the officer standing beside Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, filled the space created by his exit.

Below is the video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re-OnJd7mXI

Former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and former military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) and former Head of State Abdulsalam Abubakar were all absent on Wednesday when President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in for a second term in office.

The only exception was Former Head of State Yakubu Gowon who was present the event.

It is not clear at the time of filing this report, why all the former heads of state and presidents were absent from the event.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has budgeted N160 million for sewing of uniforms for its drivers.

The service also budgeted N825 million for refreshment and N250 million for security vote.

While defending the budget before a joint committee of the national assembly on Monday, Babatunde Fowler, chairman of the agency, said the N160 million was earmarked to sew the uniforms of the 850 drivers in the service.

Fowler said this is part of the efforts to make them fit properly into the structure.

The committee had said the cost was outrageous but the FIRS chairman justified it, saying security vote, for instance, was meant to attend to some “security issues.”

“The achievement of 2019 budget will be driven by increase oil and non-oil revenue tax collection,” he said.

“The service in realisation of this responsibility and challenges of doing manual collection will continue to implement automated tax collection for the critical sectors of the economy notably telecommunications, airlines and financial institutions.

“The deployment of these platforms is at no cost to the service and the consultants will only be rewarded on increased revenue generation.

“There will be increased enforcement activities nationwide to bring more tax payers into the tax net and increase compliance level.”

By John Owen Nwachukwu




Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has revealed that he had told President Muhammadu Buhari that he would not want to return as a Minister in his cabinet.

Lokpibiri said he had informed the President that he would contest the Bayelsa State governorship race instead.

Lokpobiri said this in an interview on Channels TV, yesterday, adding that he has learnt a lot under President Buhari and was eager to become Bayelsa governor to replicate all he had learnt.

He said, “I met the president a few days ago and I told him that I want to run for governorship in Bayelsa having thanked him for appointing me as a minister.

“I have learnt so much under him in the four years than what I learnt as a parliamentary for 12 years. I want to take that experience back home and see how we can build a Bayelsa beyond oil.

“Sylva is not my godfather. When I was speaker in 1999 he (Sylva) was special assistant to Alamieyeseigha. When I came to the Senate, he became governor.

“Yes, I must concede he came into APC and might have facilitated my appointment as minister but that does not make him my godfather. In 2007, when he got elected as governor, I got elected as Senator. In 2007, I was with Timi Alaibe and that was how I got the ticket.

“In 2011, we worked together even when former president Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Seriake Dickson were fighting him. I worked for him and not Dickson.

“The APC governorship ticket would not divide us. As far as I am concerned, it is going to be a family affair. We might go into primaries and whoever wins would fly the party’s flag and I believe I am going to win,” he said.

By Chijioke Jannah




Elders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Akwa Ibom State, have alleged that former governor of the state, Senator Godswill Akpabio is unfit to become a minister under the next administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The elders, in a letter to President Buhari, which was made available to newsmen yesterday, warned him not to dent his image by appointing Senator Akpabio as a minister because of the corruption allegations hanging on his neck.

The group, under the aegis of Ibom Integrity Initiative, in the protest letter, warned that appointing the former governor a minister will only be an invitation for crisis in Akwa Ibom.

The protest letter was signed by the executive vice president of the group, Dr. Asuquo Edidem Etim, and copied to the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, and the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.

The letter reads, “Mr. President, this second mandate affords you the opportunity to select your ministers in a manner that will ensure that they do not become liabilities to your government or dent your impeccable image. Characters with known corruption allegations or propensity for pettiness, mischief, treachery, profligacy and vendetta, should be avoided. Senator Godswill Akpabio, unfortunately, is one of such integrity deficient individuals.

“Many had thought that his (Akpabio) joining APC would bring cool breeze of good fortunes to the party in the state, but rather his highhanded nature and disrespect for internal democracy in the party and the will of the people to chose their leaders, became a raging storm that uprooted the recognized structures of the party right from the grassroots, as he imposed party leaders from the wards and even unit levels. Leaving many party men and women very bruised, trampled and disgruntled. This sadly affected the chances of our governorship candidate, Obong Nsima Ekere.

“Akwa Ibom has many respectable, level headed personalities that would represent the state with grace at the federal executive, just as our son, Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Economic Planning, has done creditably in the past four years. In terms of loyalty to the party and contributions to its development in the state, we have Party men including Chief Umana Umana and Senator John Udoedehe, among others who had toiled to keep the party afloat over time in the state,” the letter read in part.

Akpabio, a former People Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and ex-Senate minority leader, is among top senators who lost their bid to return to the Senate during the recent general election.