₦airaland Forum

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/aluko-s-ny-penthouse-sold-at-36m.html

A yet-to-be identified buyer has paid $36million for the luxury penthouse at the One57 tower in New York formerly owned by wanted Nigerian oilman Kola Aluko. Quoting Bloomberg, Curbed reported that the 79th floor apartment was sold at a foreclosure auction. The transaction means a $15m loss on the property.
The oil magnate wanted in Nigeria by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for fraudulent oil deals estimated at $1.5 billion, bought the apartment in 2014 for $51m.
Aluko, along with his business partner Jide Omokore, also has a case to answer in the United States for alleged money laundering charges.
With oil deals closed in Nigeria, Aluko subsequently defaulted on mortgage and tax payments on the property.
The Luxembourg-based Banque Havilland which issued the mortgage on the One57 apartment had initially planned to put the apartment up for auction in July, but foreclosure proceedings were delayed after another one of Kola Aluko’s creditors came forward and claimed the Nigerian oilman owed it about $83 million for gasoline and jet fuel.
The bank attempted to sell the property in September for $39m but couldn’t get any buyer. So it was put back on the auction block.
The 47-year-old tycoon, linked to former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has vanished from the radar since he was being looked for by both the US authorities and the EFCC.
A Nigerian court tried to freeze Aluko’s assets, including his One57 unit, as part of the alleged scheme to defraud the government of oil sale profits.
But the court could not find Aluko to serve him with papers. It is believed that he may simply be floating around the world on his 213-foot yacht, the Galactica Star., bought at a cost of $80m, despite strong objections by Nigeria’s former oil minister, Diezani Alison Madueke.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/tension-in-asaba-over-plans-to-dislodge-arewa-community.html


There is tension in the Cable Point Area of Asaba following what
residents described as plans to evict them from the area they
claim to have resided in for over 200 years.
The development followed plans by the Delta State Government
in conjunction with a private development company, Rexwood
Nigeria Limited, to convert the area into “smart city” that will
include “leisure to playground, hotels, shopping malls, office
complexes, residency quarters and luxury apartments” in what
has been termed “New Dubai.”

Members of the community said they were approached three
months ago by one Mr. Ubaka J. Ubaka with proposals to
relocate them in order to build the New Dubai. They said they
kicked against the move because he did not provide any clear
plans for their future. “We have been living here for over 200
years,”

the Sarkin Hausa of Asaba, Alhaji Ibrahim Baba Gero
said. “I was born here. My father was born here and my
grandfather was born here. They came to trade and settled here
and this is home for us. We contribute to the economy of this
place; we have huge markets here and are engaged in legitimate
businesses. The graves of our ancestors are here and now they
are asking us to leave our houses,” he said.

Cable Point is a sprawling residential and market area in Asaba
with over 2000 houses and shops. The Hausa community said
they have about 20 houses of worship in the area and their
shops and business places.

In the last week, tensions peaked when some men came to the
community and started X-marking houses in the area. Members
of the community mobilised and chased them out.

“A week ago, some men came and started marking our houses,”
Danazumi Malam Garba, a youth leader in the area said. “We
heard rumours of this three months ago. We went to ask the DG
of the Asaba Development Authority and he confirmed that this
was the case but there is no date for the project yet. We told
him we are not interested in relocating.

“And then a week ago, some men came and started marking
houses with red paints, until they marked about 71 houses. The
Arewa community has 109 houses here. They were marking
houses and handing out power of attorney documents to
illiterate people and asking them to sign them,” he said.

The Sarkin Hausa, however, told the Daily Trust on Sunday that
the Director General of the Delta State Capital Territory
Development Agency (DSCTDA), Chief Clement Ofuani had told
them that they would be evicted from their houses to make way
from the project.
“He said we must leave,” Baba Gero said.

The development has led the community to petition the Police,
the Northern Governors’ Forum, the DG of the Department of
State Services, the Emirs of Kano and Zazzau, among others in
a letter dated 9th November, 2017 and titled “The Neferious
Activities of Ubaka Johnson Ubaka.”

In the petition, signed by the Sarkin Hausa, the community
accused Mr. Ubaka of serving “Power of attorney” in the Hausa
community of Cable Point, (Ogbe Hausa).

The residents vowed to resist any attempt to force them out of
the area.

Alh. Gero, who said his community is 30, 000-strong, insisted
that they don’t have plans to leave because they have no other
home than Cable Point, where their ancestors graves have been
buried since the 19th century.

“In compound alone, I have over 100 occupants. My father was
Sarki and he was buried here in the compound housing the
palace, same as his father. In most houses, you would find
graves. Our cemetery is also located within Cable Point and we
have over 10,000 grave sites there.

“We have reached out to our leaders in the North to intervene
and stop the Delta State Government from this planned eviction.
We have petitioned to the Sultan of Sokoto, the Arewa
Consultative Forum, the Inspector General of Police and other
security agencies.

“We have nowhere to go, all our lives we have lived here in
Cable Point, Asaba and you won’t believe it that most of our
children have never been to the North. This is not the only
Hausa community in Delta State; we have settlements in Warri,
Utomi Road, Agbor, Sapele and other major towns in the state
but Cable Point is the chief,” he said.

However, CEO of Rexwood Nigeria Limited, High Chief Ubaka
denied the allegations against him, saying that he was not
aware of any petition written against him or his company and
that his company’s plans to develop the area were well-
intentioned.

“There is no problem in Cable; there is no tension in the area,”
Mr Ubaka told the Daily Trust on Sunday yesterday. “You know
there is a market in that area and the government is saying they
want to redevelop Asaba and that area is marked to be
developed as a market.

“Government is trying to go into an agreement with us to
redevelop Asaba. Nobody is asking anyone to leave his house.
Nobody is pursuing anybody. What we are saying is that let us
look at what you have, even if it is not habitable, let the
government pay you and relocate you but most of them don’t
have documents for the houses and that is their fear.

“We don’t want government to acquire because you know how
government acquires, they could do compulsory acquisition but
I decided to intervene and make sure everything is done
amicably so they can move,” he said.

Mr. Ubaka said he had been in dialogue with the community
leaders for months. “Even the Sarki of the Hausawa knows me.
I was even on his house on Sallah Day, we ate together and I
told him that I don’t want the government to come in,” he said.

On the activities of his company in the area on November 5, he
said, “What we were doing was a census of the houses in the
area so that we will know the number of houses in the area, to
know who are living in rented property and know how to go
about the valuation of these property,” he said.

Attempts to speak to Mr Ofuani over the matter yesterday did
not succeed but the DG had during a parley with journalists at
the Correspondents Chapel office in Asaba recently, insisted that
government would undertake a renewal plan in the area.

According to him, the project was in line with the Okowa
administration’s urban renewal programme and the entire
expanse of land along the River Niger coastal lines from the
base of the Niger Bridge through Abraka/ Hausa market, Cable
Point down to Anwai-Asaba have been marked out for the Dubai
model project.

“The Asaba International Market Land has come under our
focus. The government has decided that we should turn that
place into a smart commercial city that has an economy and
life. From leisure to playground, hotels, shopping malls, office
complexes, residency quarters and luxury apartments that will
be reminiscent of a modern city with reference to global
standard,” the DG told journalists.

Kogi govt approves hospital bill payment for family of civil
servant who committed suicide



https://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/north-central/248826-kogi-govt-approves-hospital-bill-payment-family-civil-servant-committed-suicide.html

governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has approved the payment
of the hospital bill of the widow and triplets of Edward Soje, a
director in the State Teaching Service Commission who
allegedly committed suicide.

Mr. Soje’s body was found hanging from a tree behind the
Mammy Market at the Magumeri Barracks in Lokoja, the state
capital.

Reports said he took his life barely 10 days after his wife of 17
years gave birth to a set of male triplets at a private hospital in
Abuja. The couple were childless before the birth.

Mr. Soje was owed over 12 months salary before his death.

The State Head of Service, Deborah Ogunmola, had stated that
the salary of the Mr. Soje was withheld after proof emerged that
he falsified his age records.

Mrs. Ogunmola, however, wrote a memo to Governor Bello
asking for assistance to the widow and her kids to settle their
hospital bill.

In the memo, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the HOS told Governor
Bello that the widow left behind by Mr. Soje “are due to be
discharged from the hospital but are currently faced with the
dilemma of how to settle the accumulated hospital bill and a
suitable accommodation for the family.”

She also said the hospital bill as at November 4 , “stands at
N1,627, 000.00 (One Million Six Hundred and Twenty Seven
Thousand Naira Only) at the Grabbo Fertility Clinic Diagnostic
Centre at No. 23rd Avenue, Gwarimpa Abuja.”

Mr. Ogunmola in the memo dated November 6, with Reference
Number HCS/MISC/COR/VOL.1V/721, urged the governor to
kindly “consider and approve the release of the sum of
N1,627,000.00 00 ( One Million Six Hundred and Twenty Seven
Thousand Naira Only) in favour of Mrs. Grace Adebusola Soje
as assistance to offset the accumulated hospital bills of the
family on compassionate ground.”

The correspondence on the memo shows that Mr. Bello granted
approval of the request on Tuesday, November 7.

It is however unclear whether the payments have yet been made
to the hospital.

Governors in attendance were the chairman of APC Governors’ Forum, Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Yahaya Bello of Kogi who was the first to arrive at about 7:30pm,

when he has Notting to offer kogi people

olawalepopoola:
Fertilizer! Na fertilizer dem wan chop.

MOST CIVIL SERVANT KOGI ARE NOW FAMERS SO THEY FERTILIZER MORETHAN RICE

D RATE AT WHICH PEOPLE ARE HAVING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IN KOGI STATE IS INCREASING.MANY ARE DROPING DEAD QUIETLY DUE TO HARDSHIP.

BUHARI - NO
SECONDARY SCHOOL CERTIFICATE

OBASAJO CLAIM HE IS 70yr
EVEN BELLO DONT HAVE BIRTH CERTIFICATE, YET THEY RULE THIS COUNTRY

MOST PEOPLE USING AGE DECLARATION FROM COURT ARE PARADING FALSE AGE.

BELLO SHOULD PAY WORKER THEIR SALARY OR DID HE PUBLISH TIME TABLE FOR PAYMENT OF SALARY? IF THE MAN IS SURE OF GETTIN HIS SALARY BY SEPTEMBER, HE WONT COMMIT SUICIDE

NwaAmaikpe:


The only possible motive for his suicide is the scenario I'm painting below;

His wife gives birth to triplets and then he overhears her telling someone on phone that they are not his.


Ne'er trust these women.

AND HE WROTE A SUICIDE LETTER PRAYING FOR THE WIFE AND THE TRIPLET, PRAY NOT TO EXPERIENCE IT, U NEED CHECK UP

yarimo:
Mr road safety IGBOS are not terrorist, but IPOB members are terrorist

Thanks to their sitting governors who takes proactive measures in banning and proscribing ipob activities due to their violences/terrorist attitude

obonujoker:
Of cos... buh don't carry ur northern craziness into Niger delta....

Just obey the law of land, if u don't want a re-run

Baba has warn them to be careful and obey the law of the land, if they don't want a re-run. Nigeria 1967 - 1970 election is in-conclusive.

Aguyi ironsi created all this backwardness to Nigeria, now nmadi KANU is doing another one

Nigeria government need to overhaul the constitution if not, we will be going back and forth

hahahaha 50% salary with clocking system, why not reduce the working hour

sarrki:
The developers should be left off the hook oooo

They may constitute another ipob miscreant when release. but, ambode should temper justice with mercy, iIncarcerating 180 people in detention for 2 year because of street hawkin is not the way to go.

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has called
on the Lagos State Government to release 180
Ebonyi indigenes held in Lagos for hawking .

Umahi made the call on Thursday in Abakaliki ,
when he received a delegation of Ebonyi
indigenes residing in Onitsha , Anambra, who
visited him over the plight of some indigenes of
the town.

Umahi , represented by his deputy , Dr Kelechi
Igwe, said the government was dismayed by the
report from the Ebonyi Development Association
in Lagos concerning incarcerated 180 indigenes .

“ The 180 victims were accused of contravening a
law of the Lagos State Government on street
trading , but the intriguing aspect is that they had
been incarcerated before the law was enacted.

“ Most of them had spent over two years in
incarceration before the law was enacted, but
they were unfortunately charged under the same
law.

“ I will immediately consult and interact with my
Lagos counterpart to ensure the immediate and
unconditional release of the victims , ” he said .

The governor said the days of treating Ebonyi
citizens as second - class citizens in the country
were over, saying the government would extend
its empowerment schemes to its indigenes
residing across the country .

“ The government would immediately procure
over 130 tricycles to enable hawkers of Ebonyi
origin in Onitsha and environs to quit the trade
and be gainfully employed .

“ We would accommodate over 20 indigenes in
Onitsha in our empowerment scheme , which
would offer them a grant of N 250, 000 ea ch , to
quit street trading and be gainfully employed .
The leader of the delegation and the governor ’ s
Senior Technical Assistant, Onitsha Liaison Office ,
Mr Mathew Njoku , thanked the governor for the
reception and pledged to contribute its quota to
the state ’ s development

“ We thank you for graciously including Ebonyi
indigenes in Onitsha and across the country in
your empowerment schemes because it would
help to eradicate the humiliating experiences they
undergo while hawking and engaging in other
menial jobs . ”

“ Ebonyi indigenes are ranked among the most
successful exporters of goods in Onitsha and are
willing to transfer such business acumen to
enhance the state ’ s economy , ” he said.

http://punchng.com/illegal-hawking-ebonyi-urges-ambode-to-release-indigenes/

FKO81:
Raker pls don't post like afonjas, make more research about the person and clear details and pictures, please I don't what this thread to look like their carnival t hread. Udo!

that raker of a guy is turning ur ibo thread to a mockery due to desperation . u and laudate are trying, am enjoying ur revelry

Too many Battle for bello, less than 2 year as governor, he has already had 3 speaker in kogi house of assembly. Most he quarrel with everybody ? Well, igbera and quarrel are 5&6.

kogi governor should channel his effort and resources in recallin dino to other pressing issue in his state, because the process to recall a senator is too cumbersome.


inec, dino, apc and his constituent will be in and out of the court till april 2019.

MELAYE RECALL won't happen, bello is just a foooool

fiizznation:
lol. These guys are funny. BBC hausa interviewed the president and people expected buhari to speak English to a hausa service

did u say lessthan 2minute voice recording was an interview?

DieBuhari:


Rubbish.
How can you blackmail people into praying for that evil man?

am only saying this bcause of people like u, who insult pmb @will and call him unprintable name, let tune down our hate speeches.

nigerians should better pray for the good health and safe return of PMB back to nigeria. bcause with this voice recording and the ultimatum given by both north and south, nigeria may witness a spontaneous violence if pmb die
even before october 1st.

let all pray for his speeded recovery

vanguard news and evans

they can't verify these signature, bcause the list are fake. Most register voters name on list where not even aware of such thing is going on.

BOKO HARAM = APC WING
IPOB = PDP WING

I want nnamdi kano to reacts to this ultimatum, is too silent lately.

kingzizzy:
I still wonder if these people think we are fools? How can the SE senators make Biafra happen? Even if any of them moves a motion for Biafran independence at the National Assembly, will other regions vote to let Biafra go?

Are we kidding our selves that a Nigerian National Assembly will vote for the disintegration of Nigeria?

Biafra can never be achieved at the Nigerian national assembly and anyone who is alluding to this is someone who wants to be delibrately mischievous

MAKE A MOVE FIRST, LET YOUR REPRESENTATIVIES COMEOUT AND ASK FOR IT, IF THEY HAVE THE BALLS. THE NORTH MAY CLEAR UR DOUBT.

HiddenShadow:
If the North rejects the implementation of this confab, Nigeria will collapse earlier than plan


Restructure or Disintegrate

who will restructure Nigeria?

don't tell u believe anything good will come from Nigeria Senate, they only want to calm naive

even the NE development commission has not been sign by the president