₦airaland Forum

Chai!

Despite the fact that the Federal Government ordered the closure of the country’s land borders 14 weeks ago, Daily Trust on Sunday reports that foreign rice and other contraband commodities still flood Nigerian markets.

Hamisu Idris (not real names) steps out into the hot afternoon sun that makes everything, including the air you breathe, hot, at this time of the year in Gwagwalada, Abuja. He will go for shopping, strangely at a bus station in the town. A driver is coming from Katsina State, ferrying passengers and goods; and Idris, whose store of rice, spaghetti and oil has finished, will have to meet him to restock.

All over the town are shops with rice, spaghetti and cooking oil for sale, but Idris will not buy from them because they are local. The closure of Nigeria’s borders since August has ensured that foreign rice and other contraband goods are not available at shops in the town. But smugglers are making sure that these commodities find their way through Niger Republic and journey all the way to customers with a taste for the foreign. The driver Idris is meeting specialises in moving the illegal goods by bribing his way across over a 500 kilometre distance to deliver them at Gwagwalada. When Idris meets him this time, the driver told him about slight increase in prices, but assured him about supply. “He was so sure that he asked me to just mention the number of bags I wanted and he would bring them,” Idris, said. He was told that a bag of foreign rice is now N23,000 and a jerry-can of cooking oil goes for N12,500.

A month earlier, Idris purchased a bag of foreign rice at the rate of N21, 000 from the driver. At the time, the driver told him how easy it was to supply foreign rice from Maiaduwa border to Nigeria’s capital, passing though hundreds of security gates. First, the bag of rice needs to be concealed inside a bigger bag that is padded with another food item, millet or corn. When it is not properly concealed, security agents, mostly Customs officers, will advise the driver on how to neatly disguise the original content, before accepting a bribe to let him pass.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/despite-border-closure-foreign-rice-more-get-into-nigeria.html

It was a tragedy for the Catholic community of Nnewi Diocese in Anambra State on Saturday, November 16, 2019, when, at the St. Peter Claver Catholic Church, Nnewichi, Nnewi, a midnight fire killed the Parish Priest of the church, Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Edmund Nwagbara, in his residence. The incident remains one of the darkest times for the parishioners and the Nnewi Catholic Diocese and they are finding it difficult to come to terms with the reality of what happened.

According to investigation, Fr. Nwagbara who was also the Dean of Nnewi, had served over 25 as a Catholic priest and was 60 years old at the time of his death. Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the late Fr. Nwagbara was a lecturer at the Bigard Memorial Major Seminary, Enugu, before he was posted to Nnewi Diocese. Spokesman of the Anambra State Police Command, Haruna Mohammed, said, “The inferno which cause is yet to be ascertained affected part of the church’s residential building.

As a result the Parish Priest, one Rev. Fr. Edmond Nwagbara, was burnt beyond recognition inside his room at the same premises.” Mohammed said at the time of the incident, the police patrol team attached to the Otolo Division, led by the DPO, visited the scene, and that the fire service department were alerted, but that before they reached the scene, the priest had been burnt to death. One of the priests in the parish, Rev. Father Francis Offia, told our reporter that despite his short stay with the late Fr. Nwagbara, he discovered that he was open-minded and free with everybody.

The Chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, Rev. Fr. Hyginus Aghaulor, described the late priest as “a gentle and resourceful academic” who made reasonable contribution to the church in the diocese. On whether, the late priest had any problem with anyone in the parish, Fr. Aghaulor said he (Fr. Nwagbara) was too humble and disciplined to have had problems with people in the parish. He further said, “He (Fr. Nwagbara) held a big position in the diocese that cannot be given to any person who is not peaceful, disciplined and a team player.”

On if the church suspected any foul play in his death, Fr. Aghaulor said the parish and diocese did not think of any foul play, and that the church and state had given security agencies in the state leave to do their professional job in the investigation. In a statement issued by the chancellor and made available to Daily Trust on Sunday on Friday, he said, “The fire engulfed St. Peter Claver Parish Rectory of Nnewi Catholic Diocese in the early hours of Saturday, 16th November, 2019, killing Rev. Fr. Edmund Nwagbara, the parish priest while leaving his first assistant, Rev. Fr. John Okosa, with burns.” However, since the incident, controversy has continued to trail the tragic death of the priest, as some people believe that Fr. Nwagbara might have been killed.

A source in the parish informed that there was neither a gas cylinder nor fuel container in the cleric’s room, which could have ignited the fire. It was learnt that the priest returned from a journey at about 04:00pm and was assisted to take his personal effects to his room; including some parcels. There are equally some views that the fire could have been caused by an explosion from an inverter battery in the priest’s room; while others are of the view that the fire came from a bomb either planted in the room when the priest was away or wrapped in a parcel he came with. A parishioner, who pleaded anonymity, said a look at the scene of the incident after the fire posed more questions than answers.

A family member of the late priest said, “Although police authorities in Anambra State reported that the priest died in a fire accident, security agencies, the church in Nnewi and the government must look deeper if they want to get to the root of the matter; if there were any known or established problems he had with anyone, and where did the priest come back from at that hour of the night? Whether he actually came back with parcels; who gave him those gifts? How could the contents of such parcels be ascertained? Was it true that another priest, Rev. Fr. John Okosa, was with him as at the time of the incident? If yes, he should lead the investigators into what transpired before the fire.”

A knight in Nnewi Catholic Diocese, Christian Ifejioor, told our reporter that it was not out of place for one to suspect that Fr. Nwagbara’s death was masterminded. Ifejioor said it was evident that only his apartment was affected by the fire, and therefore, asked, “was it possible that fire, not an explosive, could blow off the ceiling and roof of Fr. Nwagabara’s room without affecting other parts of the building?” He said looking at his corpse and the scene of the incident, one would not be deceived that mere fire killed the priest.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/controversy-trails-death-of-nnewi-catholic-priest.html

The federal government has directed that all unqualified teachers should be removed by December 31, 2019. The Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Olusegun Ajiboye, stated this while inducting over 200 Education graduates of the University of Ibadan.

According to him, quacks teaching Nigerian children would be replaced by qualified and certificated Education graduates to mould sound future leaders for the country. The registrar noted that teachers must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other professional groups in the knowledge-driven economy. While administering the Oath of Practice on the inductees, Professor Ajiboye reiterated that any teacher found wanting in the code of practice would be sanctioned. He also said Nigerian teachers now have a separate and unique career path with the recent approval of the Teachers’ Career Path by the National Council on Education. “It is worthy to stress the importance of today’s induction ceremony in line with government directives.

The federal government has directed that by 31st of December 2019 all unqualified people practising the profession of teaching would be swept from the classroom and their places would be occupied by young and vibrant professional teachers like you. We need to appreciate the fact that education unlocks the key to modernization, but the teacher holds the key to that door. He is the hub of any educational system and the major determinant of its quality. This is so because he is saddled with the responsibility of translating educational policies into practice and programmes into actions and therefore my dear inductees, you have a big role to play in changing the pendulum of affairs in your place of service.”

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/unqualified-teachers-to-go-in-december-trc.html

The Speaker of the 7th Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, has emerged the Best Performing State Assembly Speaker in Nigeria among other nominated State Assembly Speakers from Rivers, Lagos, Akwa Ibom and Nasarawa States. The Speaker was presented with an award to commemorate the achievement at a colourful and well attended ceremony organized by Igbere Tv at the Sheraton Hotels & Towers in Abuja on Thursday night.

The Speaker who was represented by the House Member representing Isiala Ngwa North State Constituency and Chairman, House Committee on Works and Project Monitoring, Hon Ginger Onwusibe, expressed his appreciation to the organizers and all those who found him worthy of the award, saying “it is a worthy recognition of our modest efforts at raising the bar of legislative functions in Nigeria in service to our people for whom we hold power in trust”.

He promised to continue to do more and not rest on his laurels. The organizers said, Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, emerged winner following his well documented sterling performances since his emergence as Speaker of the 7th Abia State House of Assembly.

President Muhammadu Buhari was among other recipients of awards at the occasion. It will be recalled that Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji has been hailed by Abians as one Speaker who has added verve to legislative duties of the 7th Abia State House of Assembly and carried all Abians along in their activities which has made the people see him as a man with sincerity of purpose, transparency and accountability

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/abia-speaker-emerges-best-performing-state-assembly-speaker-of-the-year.html

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Gowon our heroe

The Nigerian Government has moved closer to overturning the US$9.6 billion judgement debt awarded against it in favour of Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) by a United Kingdom court. The United Kingdom Commercial Court presided over by Justice Butcher on Thursday, November 28, 2019, accepted the application of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in its case against P&ID to vary the condition of the stay of execution of the enforcement order it had earlier granted P&ID.

Investigations carried out in the matter, over the past few weeks, have revealed incidences of fraud, bringing into question both the legitimacy of the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA) and the subsequent award itself.

The UK court had on Friday, November 22, 2019, rejected the application of the Federal Government for extension of time to comply with the deposit of $200 million condition but indicated its readiness to accept a “satisfactory bank guarantee” as proposed by the Federal Government towards the end of the hearing on Friday, November 22, 2019. However, on Monday, November 25, 2019, the court, while hearing the application for variation granted an extension of the stay till November 26, 2019, and subsequently to Thursday, November 28, 2019, when it finally varied the condition for stay, pending the hearing of the appeal filed before the UK Court of Appeal by Nigeria against the enforcement of the award based on a fraudulent Gas Supply and Processing Agreement purportedly signed by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources during the tenure of now deceased Rilwanu Lukman and P&ID. The federal government has maintained its decision to challenge the legality and validity of the GSPA both locally and in the UK where it is still contending that Nigeria is the seat of Arbitration.

The federal government had also insisted that no payment to P&ID could be made, as they are under active investigation for fraud and corruption. The court did, however, maintain that its deadlines must be complied with. For this reason, Nigeria proposed a bank guarantee as a variation to the previous order. This was approved by the court.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/uk-court-okays-fgs-plea-on-pids-9-6-claim.html

After spending more than 1,000 years in Rome, a wooden fragment worshipped by Catholics as part of the crib in which Jesus was born will be welcomed back to the Holy Land on Friday. The fragment, part of a relic stored in the Italian capital’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, was described by the Custody of the Holy Land, run by Franciscan friars, as a “gift” from Pope Francis.

“It has contributed for centuries to marking the religiousness of the faithful in Rome and from elsewhere,” the custodians wrote, saying that large numbers of pilgrims from around the world went there to worship it.

The fragment will first stop in Jerusalem on Friday morning, where celebrations including a Mass and procession are planned. It will then move to Bethlehem, traditionally known as Jesus’ birthplace, on Saturday, ahead of the start of the Advent season. The so-called Holy Crib relic will be put on permanent display in the Franciscan Church of St Catherine, next to the Basilica of the Nativity, for pilgrims coming to the Palestinian city to worship. According to the Custody of the Holy Land, the so-called Holy Crib relic was donated by St Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, to Pope Theodore I around the middle of the seventh century.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/relic-of-jesus-crib-to-return-to-holy-land-after-over-1000-years.html

Obj

good

I strongly believe that N250m is more than N4.5m

ojun50:
4.5m - #250

According to your own calculation N250m is less than N4.5m abi?

Ogegeodey:
Oga if you don't understand read again or ask



Big business for Sanusi. Collect N250 give me 4.5million. Na celebration be dat na

Wickedness

Unlucky politician

The estate is in bad condition due to our poor attitudes towards...

aayah

Prince Mustapha Mona Audu, son of a former Kogi State governor, late Prince Abubakar Audu, has said that his late father would not have stood for the violence that characterised the November 16 governorship and senatorial by-election in the state. Mustapha Audu, who was an APC governorship aspirant, while speaking to newsmen in Abuja on activities marking the 4th year of his late father’s death, said the former governor stood for free, fair and peaceful elections.

Mustapha, sixth son of late Abubakar Audu who was governor of the state from January 1992 to November 1993 and from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2003, said the family has held series of meetings to commemorate his late father’s name and to keep his legacy aglow. “Over the last few years, we’ve had a series of events, the book launch, and the things to do today. As a family we had decided previously to rename this building, Millennium Builders Plaza, to ‘Prince Abubakar Audu House’ and we are very happy as that will keep his name and his legacy going on.

“The Kogi State University has also been renamed after him. We’re very happy that has been done. So we just wanted to make a quick statement to remember him and to keep his honour and his legacies,” he said. On how Audu would have felt on the outcome of the November 16 election, Mustapha said he believed in peaceful, free and fair elections. “Election violence seems to have become synonymous with Kogi State.

It is a thing of shame for every Kogite that we cannot express our views freely. It is a thing of shame that we kill each other over things that should not have been. He would not stand for that. “I am sure if he was here today, he would have visited her family (Kogi PDP woman leader). It is unfortunate that we are having things like this happening,” he said.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/how-my-father-would-have-reacted-to-kogi-election-violence-audus-son.html

There was public outcry following the demolition of over 100 shops at Dangi Flyover and underpass being constructed by the Kano state government, in which some businessmen alleged that their shops were demolished without any form of compensation. The shops were built based on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement which would last for a period of 20years.

Some developers were consulted by the Islamic Foundation, a non-governmental organization, to develop a piece of land belonging to the foundation for the purpose of sustaining the Umar bin Al-Kattab Mosque at Dangi Roundabout, Zaria road Kano.

However, due to the underpass/flyover construction, the state government considered it necessary to use part of the land, based on which it agreed to compensate both developers and the Islamic Foundation in order to take possession of the land. But on Friday November 15, 2019, the State Commissioner for works allegedly spearheaded the demolition of the shops despite the fact that the compensation was yet to be paid to the owners of the properties. One of the developers who didn’t want his name mentioned told Daily Trust that “on Monday, November 18, 2019, our attention was drawn that our shops were set for demolition, so we should rush and see what we can do to evacuate our belongings from them.

“When I reached the site I discovered that some armed policemen were at the scene and hundreds of thugs who were also carrying different kind of weapons were saying that government had already paid everybody and whatever was remain there is like a booty.” He alleged that they had to bribe the police to give them protection against the thugs for them to salvage what they could from the shops. He further alleged that they had to give the thugs money on the advice of the police. The developer then pleaded to the Kano state governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to look into the matter and pay the compensation as promised. “I want to use this medium to appeal to His Excellency the governor, as Khadimul Islam, to reconsider the position of the government and to let him know that we invested much in this project and we have made our contributions toward the sustenance of the Mosque. He should, for the sake of Allah, consider our plight and that of the Mosque, and order for the immediate payment of our compensations,” he said.

On his part, Alhaji Muazu Shu’aibu, the Secretary General of the Islamic Foundation, owners of the piece of land where the shops were demolished, told Daily Trust that the foundation had consulted some developers who constructed the shops and agreed on Build Operate and Transfer, with the aim of taking care of the Umar Bin Khattab Mosque from the proceeds of the investment. He explained how the government approached the foundation and informed them that survey had shown that the shops would be affected as a result of which they sent estate valuers to evaluate and give an estimated figure each developer would get as compensation. “We have agreed that they would settle everything before they demolish the place and they asked for our account numbers, but we demanded for the amount each developer will collect before we give them our account numbers.

“That had delayed the process, because we demanded for the amount and one director who was there, directed that they should give us the figures, which they did.” He said “the amounts were given to us and we sat with the representatives of all our developers and showed them their respective amounts after which we submitted our account numbers. Then the government said we should await our payments.” He alleged that after the appointment of new commissioners, the new commissioner for works came and asked for our cooperation that he wanted to acquire the land for the completion of the flyover.

A letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of works, Dahiru Ada’u, sent to the Secretary of Islamic Foundation read in part “Based on the need for the timely completion of this important project for the benefit of the teaming members of populace of the state, I write to inform your good office that this ministry has scheduled to acquire the designated potion and continue with the execution of works. Accordingly, work shall commence in earnest on Friday, 15 November, 2019. It is in the light of the foregoing that I’m soliciting your usual cooperation on the successful, timely completion of the project, which will solve a number of traffic related problems in our great city.”

According to the secretary, “after that, we heard that compensations were paid and they gave 24 hours to the occupiers to evacuate their belongings for the demolition. I asked some of the developers whether they have seen any alert and they all said they didn’t receive anything. And even before the 24 hours ultimatum, the commissioner came personally and started demolishing a section of the shops and asked the thugs that were to take whatever they want as booty,” he lamented. When contacted, the State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engineer Muazu Magaji, confirmed government had taken over the land for the construction of flyover which is for public interest. He said government had no business whatsoever with any developer but rather they dealt with the rightful owners of the property which government had paid compensation based on the agreement entered. He added that the businessmen occupying the shops were crying just to pursue their personal interest, adding that government had just taken over the land and not the structures on it.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/outcry-over-demolition-of-shops-in-kano.html

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the allegation by former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, that he traded Bayelsa State election to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to escape being investigated over Malabu oil deal was wrong. Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Ikechukwu Eze, yesterday, said Mr Lamido’s comment did not reflect the position of the statesman he was supposed to be.

Lamido had claimed that Jonathan traded off the Bayelsa election in order to escape being investigated over the controversial Malabu oil deal, insisting that the leadership of the APC and the government blackmailed the former president into trading the poll for his freedom. He said: “We really do not know why Mr. Lamido, chose to speak like he did, especially with such hostility, contempt and lies against me, however, one thing is clear: In his anger and apparent bile-filled disposition, Mr. Lamido, an otherwise astute and erudite politician, obviously dropped the ball by electing not to speak responsibly like a statesman. “He actually came off the interview sounding like a sulking skunk, to whom logic or reason meant nothing.

It didn’t matter to him that, as a well-respected member of the society, he shouldn’t make such weighty claims against a former president if he was only guessing, like he admitted. “Apparently seized by some inexplicable resentment, Lamido held on to the lie currently being pushed by few mischief-makers to the effect that former President Jonathan helped APC to win the last gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State. Unfortunately, the former governor jumped into this convenient bandwagon of grovellers without first thinking of the burden of substantiating his claim. “In one breathe, Lamido alleged that Jonathan worked against his party ‘because he was very, very angry with (Governor) Dickson’, in another he claimed that it was ‘because he (Jonathan) sure knows his problem with Buhari and his government. And the issue of Malabu, I think, played a key role’.

“Where was Lamido and his ‘Malabu problem’ when Jonathan campaigned vigorously and helped PDP to win Bayelsa governorship election in 2015, under the same President Buhari? “It is true that Jonathan, who is a former deputy governor and governor of Bayelsa State, as well as former vice president and president of this country, is well loved and respected by his people. However, it will be tantamount to playing God for anybody to expect that the former president should command a vice-like grip on every Bayelsan in all the local government councils in his state.

“Rather than cast aspersions and throw shades because of pre-existing animosities and prejudices against the former president, what is expected of party leaders like Mr. Lamido is to seek to interrogate whatever went wrong in Bayelsa, to avert a repeat in another state,” the statement read.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/jonathan-replies-lamido-says-you-cant-blackmail-me.html

oshio baba

m

I am okay with 15 million naira

Elders in Egwu-Achi Autonomous Community, Oji-River Local Government Area of Enugu State have appealed to the state Governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi not to push their community into avoidable crisis by allegedly imposing a traditional ruler on the community. Some of the elders in Egwu-Achi community had led a peaceful protest to the Government House, Enugu to determine why the government issued a certificate of recognition to Chief Victor Meniru as traditional ruler of the community after a High Court in Enugu State had on June 4, 2019 voided his election, describing the process of his emergence as fraudulent, null and void.

Daily Trust recalls that in June, the natives of Egwu-Achi protested the said imposition of Meniru as Igwe of the community. The second time the natives are protesting this year. But Governor Ugwuanyi had cautioned them to maintain peace so as to usher in development projects within the autonomous community rather than bickering over traditional Igweship throne that might cause crisis and hinder development in the area. Governor Ugwuanyi also reportedly appealed to the protesters to allow him to invite Meniru to apologise to them so that he can remain the Igwe of the community, a request the protesters were said to have vehemently rejected outright, Daily Trust gathered.

The protesters brandished placards bearing inscriptions such as “High Court Decision must Be Obeyed”, “The Throne of Egwu-Achi Is Not For Sale,” “The Decision of Our People Must Be Upheld,” “Nobody Can Steal The Throne of Egwu-Achi,” “We Say No To Imposition of Meniru As Our Igwe,” “The Radio Announcement Is False, say Egwu-Achi People”, among others. The President General of Egwu-Achi Town Union, Chief Okechukwu Onwuka and other elders , who later addressed newsmen, said it was unbelievable that the Governor Ugwuanyi-led government could violate a High Court order which restrained Chief Victor Meniru from parading himself as the Igwe of the community.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/elders-to-ugwuanyi-dont-push-our-community-into-chaos.html

As the debate over the modality for the proposed national carrier gathers momentum, aviation analyst and former spokesman of the defunct Nigeria Airways, Mr. Chris Aligbe has added his voice to recent call for the conversion of Arik Air and Aero Contractors to a national airline. Both Arik and Aero are under receivership currently after they were taken over by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

Recently AMCON Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru stirred the debate when he suggested that Arik or Aero can be converted to national carrier, saying they are now positioned for profitability.

Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika however rejected the suggestion, saying neither Arik nor Aero is a perfect fit for the kind of national carrier the government plans for. But adding to the debate, Aligbe of Belujane Konzult urged the Federal Government to reject AMCON’s suggestion. He said the impression that government owns Arik and Aero is erroneous. He said, “There are still a few who believe that Aero and Arik are airlines that belong to the government. It is not true. If they were, they would be under Aviation not AMCON that has no statutory responsibility on aviation but rather on debt collection.

“Any attempt to move outside this statute will occasion international litigation that could be unresolved for many years. This is because both the original owners and creditors will head to court to challenge the Federal Government.” According to Aligbe, both Arik and Aero Contractors were never in the picture when the Nigeria Air project started. He said bringing in the two airlines into the national carrier project would only amount to distraction. He said, “Even the idea of merging two airlines which the proponents have acknowledged “are not doing well” to form a new national carrier is fraught with so many intractable challenges that will make the product a disaster abinitio. Some of those include, but not limited to the following pertinent questions.

“Can any healthy and virile establishment be founded on the back of unhealthy and struggling entities? Will any sensible investor invest in such establishment? “Where no investors come, such a national carrier will exist on 100% government equity, just like the liquidated Nigeria Airways. Have we so soon forgotten the bane of Nigeria Airways? “Can AMCON’s liabilities from Aero and Arik, vicariously or inferentially, be assigned simplicter to the Federal Government? Ditto the assets? If not, then the argument of Federal Government owning two airlines – Aero and Arik fails to sail. Have AMCON and Supporter – Proponents stopped to consider the “Outline Business Case” (OBC) of its proposition on the use of Aero-Arik merger to float a national carrier? “I ask this because in our present dispensation, all such Proposals/Promoters must first submit an OBC to the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Council (ICRC) for evaluation, guidance and approval.

For those who are not aware, the Nigeria Air national carrier project had gone through this process, passed two to three approvals by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), successfully concluded the Development stage and was at the Procurement stage in compliance with ICRC approvals and guidance.” Aligbe noted that though the current leaderships of Arik and Aero are doing their best, both airlines are not fit for national carrier. “My simple advice to the Minister of Aviation is to just ignore Kuru and his AMCON and move on.

The only and major success of AMCON as an institution has been to give the banks a debt-clean slate. Since CBN and NDIC can do this better, AMCON is an unnecessary and poor duplication. It should be wound up,” he added.

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/why-arik-aero-cant-be-national-carrier.html

Your Editorial of November 22, which was in honour of the late Prof. Tam David-West (1936-2019), reminded me of one of the two books he wrote on the then General Muhammadu Buhari, titled “The Sixteen ‘Sins’ of General Muhammadu Buhari”. I reviewed the book on July 29, 2010, more than nine years ago, before Buhari became President in 2015. The presentation of the book and my review took place at the Kaduna International Trade Fair Complex, General Buhari and Alhaji Balarabe Musa, the former governor of the then North Central State (now Kaduna state and Katsina State) graced the occasion.

Members of the erstwhile Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) led by their Chairman, Prince Tony Momoh, thronged the venue. Just like his first book, the book titled “Who Really is General Muhammadu Buhari’’, highlighted the idiosyncratic make-up of General Buhari. It is an important analysis of Buhari’s personality and the factors that determine his worldview. Now, after his first tenure as President, most of the issues that were raised by Prof. Tam David-West on the Buhari phenomenon are still relevant today.

The late Tam David-West epitomises the rear avatar personality cult that Buhari enjoys amongst his teeming supporters. although, the perceived ideological commitment of the defunct CPC under which Buhari contested for President in 2011, might have been diluted somewhat when it dissolved into the All Progressive Congress (APC), which is now the ruling party under President.

May the soul of Tamunuemi (Tam) Sokari David-West, rest in peace.

Ayo Dunmoye, ayodunmoye@yahoo.com

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/the-sixteen-sins-of-general-muhammadu-buhari.html

…Project on hold after gulping N6bn

A new propose official residence of the Vice President of Nigeria is yet to be completed and put to use almost a decade after construction started. Daily Trust findings show that apart from the presence of a few security personnel at the site, the building has now been overtaken by weeds and reptiles.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in 2009 approved a N7.1bn contract for the design and construction of a new official residence for the vice president. Announcing the FEC approval for the project to journalists, the then Minister of Information and Communication, late Prof. Dora Akunyili, said, “Council gave approval for the award of a contract for the design and construction of the residence of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the Three Arms Zone, Abuja, in favour of Messrs Julius Berger Plc. with 20 months as completion period.

The new edifice was designed to comprise the following: VP’s house, VP’s ADC’s house, his Chief Security Officer’s (CSO) house, a mosque, a chapel, security quarters, boys’ quarters, gate house, among others. Explaining why the building of a residence for the VP was considered a priority, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at that time, Adamu Aliero, said, “The vice president is staying in a guest house (Aguda House) meant for visiting heads of state. Aliero said, “It is not right, it is not befitting for the vice president. The former administration decided to give the house of the vice president to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), which was in line with what was contained in the Abuja master plan. “It became imperative for us to provide accommodation for the vice president.

The vice president has no accommodation; certainly you will agree with me that it is unbecoming for any government not to provide accommodation for its vice president. We will now embark on the construction of a befitting residence for the vice president.” Daily Trust reports that at least N6bn has already been spent on the edifice which the incumbent Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, had once described as misapplication of funds. Our correspondents who visited the site saw that work on the project had reached advanced stage before it was stopped.

It was gathered that if nothing is done urgently, some of the facilities that have been fixed, including the split air conditioning system some of the structures, may develop technical faults, thereby rendering them unusable. Vice President Osinbajo had in 2016 said the project would not be abandoned despite being a waste of resources. Osinbajo, who said the N6bn already spent on the project was a misapplication of funds, added that with the level of construction already done, it would be completed and considered for other use. “There is no need for a new residence for the vice president as the current one, called Aguda House, is up to standard with enough space and well managed.

“There is no need for a new vice president’s house; it is a kind of waste; we are now in a situation where we cannot abandon it; it has to be completed and used for a different thing,” the vice president said in February, 2019, while responding to questions at the Pastors and Leaders Retreat of the Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos. Daily Trust gathered that the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) abandoned the project after the refusal of the 7th Senate to accept the inflation of the contract sum by N9bn.

A former Minister of the FCT, Sen. Bala Mohammed, was said to have brought a request for an additional N9bn to complete the project in 2012, while the edifice was awarded in 2009 at N7bn. The request was greeted with condemnation when the variation was expected to accommodate a helipad. The then FCDA Executive Secretary, Adamu Ismail, was quoted to have told the Senate Committee on FCT that the proposed additional N9bn was slashed to about N6bn by the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).

Ismail said the variation was meant to provide furniture, fencing, two additional protocol guest houses, a banquet hall and security gadgets. The then Senate Committee on FCT, led by Sen. Smart Adeyemi, however, turned down the request for the variation, which was more than 100 per cent. Sen. Adeyemi said N13bn or N14bn or N16bn for the project were “indefensible”.

Also, a former Chairman of the House Committee on FCT, Herman Hembe, was reported to have said his committee was disappointed at the way the contract was being managed. Hembe had said, “In all, about 87 per cent of the contract sum has been paid. You can go and take a look and see for yourself if the work done is commensurate with the funds so far paid. The committee has severally expressed disappointment over this very sad situation.”

It was gathered that no fresh work has been done on the site since 2013. When contacted on why the work on the site was stopped, the Executive Secretary of FCDA, Engr. Umar Gambo Jubril, said the ongoing construction at the residence of the vice president did not stop, but was suspended because of budgetary issues, and added that there had been no allocation in the budget for the continuation of the project.

“Anytime we have budget provisions for that project, work will continue,” he said. When asked for how long work had stopped at the site, the executive secretary said work stopped since 2016 as there had been no budget for it.

He explained that the work done was over 80 per cent and that what was left to complete it was not so significant. He said, “We are in a new regime of government, so we expect that something can come up certainly, and contractors will be mobilised back to site for the completion of the project.”

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/weeds-reptiles-take-over-abandoned-vp-mansion.html

The Ogun state Police command says it has arrested a 42-year-old woman, Temitope Akinola, for allegedly poisoning and killing her two-day-old granddaughter with a deadly insecticide, Sniper. The suspect, a resident of Isote area of Sagamu town, Sagamu Local Government area of the state, was arrested on Nov. 21 by operatives of the command. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement, said the grandmother was arrested, following the information received by the police in Sagamu division that the baby left in care of the suspect by her mother had been found dead. A

Oyeyemi said that the mother of the baby was reported to have gone to the bathroom only to return and discover the lifeless body of her baby. He noted that upon receiving the information, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Sagamu, Okiki Agunbiade, dispatched detectives to the scene where the suspect was promptly arrested. The police spokesperson explained that upon interrogation, the suspect admitted poisoning and killing the baby because she didn’t like her daughter getting married to the father of the baby.

“She confessed further that she had attempted to terminate the pregnancy, but her pastor had warned her against it, hence she waited for her daughter to deliver before carrying out her devilish intention. “She explained further that she poisoned the baby with a deadly insecticide known as Sniper,” he said.

Oyeyemi stated that the corpse of the baby had been deposited at the morgue of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu for autopsy. He added that the suspect had been transferred to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) for further investigation and prosecution. (NAN)

Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/woman-poisons-kills-2-day-old-granddaughter-in-ogun.html