₦airaland Forum

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has explained why the party welcomed the importation of crude oil from the Republic of Niger for refining at the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).

Oyegun said this became necessary due to the level of disruptions in supply from the oil facilities in the South.

He spoke yesterday during a courtesy visit by the Niger’s Minister of Petroleum, Foumakoye Gado and the country’s Ambassador, Mansour Maman Hadj Daddo at the APC national secretariat in Abuja.

Oyegun observed that the initiative “is already bearing fruit. For us it will make great economic sense for the refinery in Kaduna to function properly.

“Moreso, in the face of disruptions we have in the southern parts of our country. It is a major economic advantage for that project to be expedited and come to fruition as soon as possible.

“At the Party level, we assure you that everything will be done to ensure that those who are involved expedite the discussion and agreement so that the plan can be made operational as soon as possible,” he said.

Speaking, the Nigerien petroleum minister, said: “We acknowledge the cordial relationship between the President of Republic of Niger and Nigeria hence the need for us to come to the Party to strengthen the relationship. We believe this should be replicated at Party level.”

“It is line with this understanding that the two leaders (Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerien President, Mahamadou Issoufou) agreed to channel crude oil from Republic of Niger to the Kaduna refinery for refining.

“We have had discussion with the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Maikanti Baru, to facilitate the plan.

“The project is unprecedented because in Africa we are used to exporting crude oil instead of refining it within the continent. This is the first time two countries are coming together for this sort of bilateral crude-refining arrangement,” he said.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

yarimo:
OBIANO a professional scammer who is claiming to be improving the lives of anambra people

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated the Federal Government!s resolve to remain with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Spokesman of the ministry, Dr Clement Aduku, clarified the Federal Government stand in Abuja on Wednesday.

Aduku said Nigeria’s stand on the issue as explained by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, had not changed.

The African Union had in January during plenary at the 28th AU Summit in Addis Ababa called for collective withdrawal of its members from the Court.

The summit argued that African countries were not fairly treated by the court hence members should withdraw.

Onyeama had explained that there was a strategy adopted by AU for collective withdrawal from the ICC to which Nigeria did not subscribe.

The minister said that when the issue came up during a meeting, several countries kicked against it.

According to him, Nigeria and others believe that the court has an important role to play in holding leaders accountable, hence Nigeria fully stands by it.

“Nigeria is not the only voice agitating against it; in fact, Senegal is speaking very strongly against it. Cape Verde and other countries are also against it.

“What AU did was to set up a committee to elaborate a strategy for collective withdrawal.

“After, Senegal took the floor, Nigeria took the floor, Cape Verde and some other countries made it clear that they were not going to subscribe to that decision,” he said.

Onyeama said that a number of countries also took the floor to request for more time to study it before acceding.

He said Zambia, Tanzania, Liberia, Botswana and a host of others were not willing to withdraw from the court.

While faulting AU’s position on ICC, Onyeama stressed that each individual country willingly acceded to the 1998 Rome Statue on the setting up of the court.

“Each country free and willingly acceded to the Treaty and not all of the members of the AU acceded; each country acceded individually, exercising its own sovereign right.

“So, if each country wants to withdraw, it has the right to do that individually.’

“AU, which was not a party to the Rome Statute that established the court, should not be developing a strategy for a collective withdrawal for something that each country entered into individually.

“Those who feel they want to withdraw should do that individually,” Onyeama said.

NAN reports that three African states in 2016 publicly declared their intention to withdraw from the court in what seemed to be a continental domino effect.

The countries are Brundi, South Africa and The Gambia, with reports that Namibia, Kenya and Uganda were contemplating withdrawing from the ICC

The court has been repeatedly criticised by African states as an inefficient, neo-colonial institution of the Western powers to try African countries.

This argument is supported by the fact that nine of the 10 situations under investigation, with three others under preliminary investigations, involve African countries.

African state parties to the Rome Statute make up the biggest regional membership, comprising 34 of the 124 members.

From 2009, some African countries have called for collective withdrawal from the ICC.

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Paulpaulpaul:
AA all the way but malaria too de disturb AA

DONSMITH123:
make that guy no land for naija o. Na him obituary

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

By February 10, the tenure of Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), will constitutionally come to an end, unless the National Assembly confirms him as the substantive Head of the nation’s judiciary.

This is because, Section 231 (5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, stipulates that any person so appointed “shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment, and the President shall not re-appointment a person whose appointment has lapsed.”

The National Judicial Council (NJC) had on October 6 last year, recommended Justice Onnoghen to President Buhari to succeed Justice Mahmud Mohammed, who exited last year after attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.

In recommending Onnoghen, to the President, the NJC also acted in accordance with the law, as stipulated in Chapter 7, Section 31 (1) of the Constitution. The section, reads: “The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate”.

Chapter four of the same section states that; “If the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding has resumed those functions, the President shall appoint the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions.

The Constitution further states in sub-section (5) of the same section that; “except on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, an appointment pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment, and the President shall not re-appointment a person whose appointment has lapsed”.

But the confirmation of his appointment by the National Assembly can only happen when the President transmits a letter to the Senate, nominating him for that exalted position, a function; the President is yet to carry out, as at press time.

Although the presidency has in the wake of growing concern over the issue, assured that the name of Justice Onnoghen would be sent to the National Assembly for confirmation, stakeholders in the nation’s judiciary are afraid that there is a hiding agenda to deny him of the job.

Already, there is growing disquiet over the inability of President Muhammadu Buhari to forward Justice Onnoghen’s name to the Senate for confirmation as a substantive CJN.

This is expected because, it is the first time, a Chief Justice of Nigeria is appointed in acting capacity. The development is unsettling the judiciary and has equally raised serious concern across the country, with some groups and individuals alleging ethnic conspiracy to deny Justice Onnoghen, being the first Southerner in 30 years to merit the CJN position, based on established judicial convention.

Curiously, the next in rank to Justice Onnoghen is a Northerner. He is Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad from Bauchi State. But while Onnoghen has four more years to retire from service, Muhammad has a little over one year, to go.

The tension is being fueled by report making the rounds that the President was contemplating breaking the age-long tradition in the appointment of the most senior Justice, as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and was rooting for a private legal practitioner from the South-South region, where Justice Onnoghen also hailed from, as the new CJN.

This, according to sources, would disabuse the minds of many Nigerians from the South that the President was promoting a Northern agenda.

For this to happen however, our sources further disclosed, some Justices of the Supreme Court, would be sent on compulsory retirement, to pave the way for younger ones.

One of the sources added that President Buhari was bent on weeding the Supreme Court of Justices, that have soiled their hands with issues of bribery and corruption.

Some stakeholders who spoke on this development expressed deep concern that the non confirmation of Justice Onnoghen as the substantive CJN would throw up succession crisis in the judiciary and also bread division and hatred from the bench.

A former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), has warned that denying Onnoghen the office would endanger stability and peaceful succession at the apex court.

Besides, Olanipekun pointed out that such action would ultimately affect justice administration in the country negatively. He therefore urged President Buhari, to respect the constitution.

His words: “If Nigeria as a country can rightly not afford the luxury of a vacuum in the office of President of Nigeria for one day, I submit with every respect and force, that we should stop toying with the idea of creating an avoidable, but dangerous vacuum in the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria. The Judiciary is so sacred, central, unique, crucial, critical and pre-eminent to us as a nation, and we must do everything to safeguard its interest and protect its independence. Thus, all men of goodwill should join in the clarion call for the appointment of a substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria without any further delay!”

A constitutional lawyer and author, Mr. Sebastine Hon (SAN), in his contribution called on the President to quickly forward the name of Justice Onnoghen to the National Assembly for validation of his appointment.

He said: “I strongly counsel Mr. President to formally appoint Justice Onnoghen and immediately forward his name to the Senate for confirmation. This will not only create a North-South balance in the sharing of federal positions, but will also reassure the Judiciary that it is not being deliberately maligned.”

Also speaking on the issue, former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Chief Joseph Daudu (SAN), said that President Buhari’s tardiness in appointing a substantive CJN for the country’s judiciary was “unhealthy.”

Daudu said that the appointment of an Acting CJN by the President was unprecedented and unhealthy for the country’s judiciary, particularly when the NJC had recommended Justice Onnoghen as the candidate for appointment in a substantive capacity.

The senior lawyer declared that the appointment of a CJN was not the exclusive preserve of the Executive arm of government, saying, “it is a tripartite arrangement, which involves the judiciary acting through the NJC by way of recommendation, the Executive through the President by way of appointment and the legislature by way of confirmation of the said appointment”.

For another Senior Advocate, Samson Ameh, the situation was not one that could not be remedied as the NJC still reserves a constitutional right to intervene.

“The NJC can still intervene and prolong the period, possibly. So as it is now, if the period of three months is to expire, I will recommend the intervention of the NJC to enable the President take the decision that is to be taken,” said Mr. Ameh, who encouraged the presidency to “act in order to avoid a constitutional crisis.”

Mr. Rotimi Oguneso, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, in his contributions viewed the President as “having a penchant for stirring up needless controversies”.

He further said: “This is where I find a problem with this government. It appears the present government has a penchant for stirring up needless controversies.

“The NJC has recommended Justice Onnoghen, who is the most senior judge to be the next CJN. What the President needs to do is to send his name to the Senate and it will come into being”, Mr. Oguneso said.

“The government has not told us; I am not aware of any situation or any disability on the part of Honourable Justice Onnoghen. He has already been recommended even to the substantive office, why make him acting in the first instance? That is where the controversy started.

“The Nigerian government right from the Obasanjo era does not seem to like the collegial system of appointment; whereby it is the judiciary that has so much say on who becomes the Chief Justice. But the truth of the matter is that if they do not like it; why don’t they push for a constitutional amendment?

“The former President Obasanjo did express his reservations, that the executive doesn’t seem to have so much say; but I don’t see that as correct, because there is nobody who is appointed a judge whom the State Security Service will not have conducted an investigation upon. If the President has anything against a certain appointee, he should state it. Why not make it public?” Mr. Oguneso queried.

Another lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, also said that the situation should not degenerate into something worrisome as many Nigerians presume, adding that “the hysteria in town about the possibility of a doomsday that is looming; that once that three month clocks, then the judiciary will be thrown into a pandemonium, or a new CJN may then be appointed on a rotational basis; may not occur”.

He further said: “let’s apply the facts to that provision; the NJC currently is headed by this same acting CJN, so the NJC can exercise the power to say we want the present acting CJN to continue, and the president cannot override that recommendation,” Ogunye, said.

He however queried the President’s silence on the matter, saying “what this President has failed to do is to either forward his name to the Senate or, if he has any reason that is cogent and verifiable for not accepting the recommendation, he then consults with the NJC on that subject.

“The Third Schedule to the Constitution, in Part One, Paragraph 21 and 22, details the composition of the NJC and the powers of the NJC. Under those provisions you will see that the President is empowered to consult with the NJC on any matter pertaining to the Judiciary.

“So under that position that allows for consultation, the President or Governor of a state is obliged to consult with the NJC, if he has any reservation. And the President can have such an objection, because it is not a rubberstamp.

“So what this President has not done, which a lot of people find objectionable and unacceptable is that he has not exercised his power regarding this matter, and I have serious objection to that kind of dilatory and lethargic approach”, said Mr. Ogunye.

Other lawyers also drew the attention of the President to some of the landmark judgments delivered by Justice Onnoghen that earned him the reputation of a fearless, incorruptible and courageous Judge, deserving to lead the nation’s judiciary.

Some of the judgments included his minority decision, where he allowed the appeals filed by the presidential candidates of the All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Action Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar respectively, challenging the upholding of Yar’Adua’s election by the Court of Appeal.

His judgment in Buhari’s appeal left four out of seven justices of the apex court upholding the April 21, 2007 presidential election while the remaining three said it could not stand. Justices George Oguntade, Maryam Mukthar and Samuel Onnoghen, while delivering their judgments in respect of Buhari’s appeal, held that there was substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2007, which vitiated the election.

They consequently set aside the judgment of the Appeal Court, which had earlier upheld the election, and in its place nullified the presidential election. But, the remaining four members of the panel, namely, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Idris Kutigi, Justice Iyorgyer Katsina-Alu, Justice Niki Tobi and Dahiru Musdapher upheld the election.

Another courageous judgment delivered by Justice Onnoghen was that between Rotimi Amaechi V Celestine Omehia over the Rivers State Governorship seat.

Justice Onnoghen, who delivered the lead judgment had removed Omehia and installed Amaechi as the governor of the State, after holding that he was the rightful candidate of the PDP and that his consequent substitution on the grounds that his name was earlier submitted “in error”, was not cogent and verifiable reason as required by law.

Only recently too, Justice Onnoghen delivered the judgment of the Supreme Court that dismissed the appeal of Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), to try him.

Justice Onnoghen went further to declare that the CCT has quasi criminal jurisdiction and could issue a bench warrant.

Former CJNs React

As speculations are rife that President Buhari may abandon the age long tradition in the appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the immediate past CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, cautioned against subverting the age-long tradition of appointing the most senior justice of the Supreme Court to head the country’s judiciary.

Justice Mohammed who spoke at the opening of the 2016/2017 Legal Year in Abuja, said: “Permit me to restate that Section 231 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) is clear as to the procedure that must be followed in appointing a Justice of the Supreme Court or indeed a substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria. The National Judicial Council recommends, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria approves and the Senate confirms such appointments.

“While I would admit that there is no constitutional restriction as to where those to be appointed are selected from, the long held practice, which I daresay had been apolitical, transparent and fair, had been to appoint the most senior justice of the Supreme Court to the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

“The idea that we can appoint a legal practitioner, without the proven experience or the temperance of character developed through the years of active participation in adjudication, may indeed be fraught with risk, none greater than the risk of creating another sinecure for party loyalists or reducing the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria to one which can be ‘lobbied’ for. This will undoubtedly and irreversibly hurt our justice system and must be strenuously resisted”.

Also, another ex-CJN, Justice Mohammed Uwais, also criticised the idea of appointing a private legal practitioner to the apex court’s Bench.

According to Justice Uwais, “part of the problem is not just the ability of the judge you want, there is the issue of integrity; if you have been a judge at the High Court or Court of Appeal before coming to the Supreme Court, you would have done cases, whether you are a corrupt person, which would have been discovered. And from your judgments also, the Court of Appeal would have known how good you are if you are at the High Court. But if you are a legal practitioner, you haven’t written any judgment, there is no way you can be assessed in that respect.

“Again, you are not under the supervision of anybody when it comes to integrity and those are the two points why we felt anybody who is at the Bar who wants to go to the Supreme Court, should come to the Bench; let him start from the lower Bench”.

Nigerians spite fire

Some notable groups in the country have also lent their voices in demanding that Justice Onnoghen’s appointment as substantive CJN be validated by the National Assembly.

For instance, Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution (CDNDC), in a statement by the Co-Convener, Ariyo-Dare Atoye said any attempt by the present leadership to alter the existing tradition of appointing the CJN and other judicial heads to suit ethnic interest would spell doom for Nigeria.

According to the group, the consequences of ethnicising and politicising the judiciary would bring the nation to her knees.

“We must never allow this circle of impunity into our judicial system. When justice becomes ethnicised at the Supreme Court level to serve executive interest, we can as well kiss this country goodbye,” the group said.

Another group, Bini Lawyers Forum, accused President Muhammadu Buhari of plotting to sideline Justice Walter Onnoghen from becoming the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN.

The group, in a statement in Abuja, alleged that the President deliberately refused to forward Onnoghen’s name to the Senate for confirmation owing to the fact that he is a Christian.

“The forum wishes to note with dismay the plot by some Northern interest/forces led by President Buhari to jettison laid down rules, procedure and convention in the appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria by the planned removal of Justice Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria simply because he is a Christian and from the South-South zone of Nigeria, in order to pave way for the appointment of a Northern candidate.

“It is sad to note that the President has willfully and deliberately refused to act on the recommendation of the National Judicial Commission, NJC, by refusing to send the name of Justice Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria to the Senate for confirmation, three months after the receipt of recommendation from the NJC.

“In line with the written script of the Northern forces as executed by the President, Justice Onnoghen was sworn in as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria in order to perfect their plan to oust him at the expiration of three months to pave way for a Northern candidate.

“We wish to note that Justice Onnoghen, who is presently the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, by providence is the first Southern Justice of the Supreme Court to qualify for the position of CJN in about 30 years after the retirement of Justice Ayo Irikefe in 1987. It will be recalled that after the exit of Justice Irikefe, subsequent occupants of the position came from the North.

“In the light of the above, we humbly demand the immediate submission of the name of Justice Onnoghen to the Senate for confirmation as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria in line with the provisions of the Constitution.

We enjoin all well-meaning Nigerians to reject and condemn this dangerous precedent set by President Buhari in the governance of Nigeria, as the President has been driving governance on the wheel of ethnicity and religion since his assumption of office.”

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Standing5:
You 've not been reading my post with rapt attention then. . . I will never take sides blindly.

luvinhubby:
The guy is an extremist, he will not understand, do not bother replying to such 'things'.

The Senate has requested for the Bank Verification Numbers of some companies linked to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, who were contracted for various projects on the rehabilitation of the Internally Displaced Persons.

The Senate Ad Hoc Committee on the Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East set up by the Senate to probe the alleged mismanagement of funds meant for the IDPs may also re-invite Lawal for questioning, it was also learnt on Tuesday.

Speaking to one of our correspondents on the level of the probe and the final report on Tuesday, an official of the Senate, who is conversant with the inner workings of the committee, said the panel did not want to rely only on the statements of account of the companies.

The source said, “Apart from the statements of accounts submitted to us during the investigative hearings, we have also requested for the Bank Verification Numbers of the companies to authenticate the details of transactions provided to us and for us to know the operators of the accounts.”

The source also told one of our correspondents that the contractors engaged for various projects on the rehabilitation of the IDPs would also be summoned by the panel.

It was reliably learnt on Tuesday that the companies to be invited for questioning have been linked with the SGF.

The companies include Rholavision Engineering Limited, Josmond Technology Limited, Medina International Global Limited, Muby Ventures Nigeria Limited and JMT.

The interim report of the committee had indicted Lawal and the Presidential Initiative on the North-East being superintended by the Office of the SGF.

Based on the interim report of the committee, the Senate had on December 14, 2016, called for the resignation, probe and prosecution of the SGF over alleged mismanagement of funds meant for the North-East rehabilitation under his watch.

The lawmakers specifically called on security and anti-graft agencies to arrest and prosecute Lawal, who is overseeing the presidential initiative, for allegedly owning one of the companies awarded contracts in the rehabilitation of the North-East.

Lawal was alleged to have resigned his directorship of the company after becoming the SGF and after the company had executed the contract.

The SGF had denied the allegation, saying what the Senate said was “balderdash.” He said it was an attempt by the senators to malign him.

The source, who also dismissed Lawal’s claim, showed our correspondent letters from the Office of the SGF confirming the receipt of invitations from the Senate panel

One of such letters was signed by the Permanent Secretary (“SSO”), Mr. Aminu Nabegu, and dated November 28, 2016.

It was further learnt that the Senate was fast-tracking work on the final report.

The chairman of the committee, Shehu Sani, also told our correspondent that the final report would be released once all stakeholders had given their accounts on the management of the funds.

He said, “We are still inviting more companies, contractors and more public officials. What we submitted was an interim report. We are going to issue a conclusive report after the budget process.”

Sani has also said that nobody will prevent the Senate from continuing with the investigation of Lawal.

Sani said the committee was investigating ‘massive misappropriation of funds in the North-East’ which would be pursed to a logical conclusion.

He said while the party was not opposed to the ongoing probe, its leadership was concerned with his choice of words at the Senate when the matter was discussed.

Sani made the comment while speaking with journalists shortly after a meeting with the members of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress led by the Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Sani said he was at the national secretariat of the party to honour a summon by the APC leadership over his use of words at the Senate where he said that the President was deploying deodorant to fight corrupt elements in his cabinet and insecticides against others.

He said, “First, I wanted clarification from them whether the party is opposed to the probe of the looting of the funds of the Presidential Initiative on the Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East. They said the party is not opposed to it. I also ask them if the party is opposed to my interim report and they said no and so, I ask what their issues were.”

Standing5:
Politically we have APC and PDP, secretly they are one.

Fedayeen02:
Upon the whole money this lady had and she looks like this

Female worwor na bad tin


On Behalf of NL girls i say to the guy


GOLD DIGGER

Ogbuefi2020:
Premium Times is owned by a Northerner. Stop using ipob yoots as cheap escape route whenever buhari runs into trouble

AntiIPOOP:
[s][/s]

Imagine the kind of useless and senseless comment someone as old as you is making. Show us where SSS accused Buhari of being corrupted. IPod Yoot and lies are like......

Tbillz:
Pray Harder! You ve reached trekking kilometer limit! U need a car of your own bro!

ALMUSTAQIM:
OP,

YOUR WRITE UP IS RUBBISH

YOUR REPORT IS NONSENSE

YOU ARE A SERIAL RUMOUR MONGER

A man the State Security Service said was working for the interest of the Nigerian government was actually a money laundering suspect named in the mismanagement of about $118 million public funds, an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has shown.

In its controversial report to the Senate last year, the SSS said Stanley Lawson, a former Group Executive Director at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and an ally of ex-petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, was, “in actual fact, working in the interest of the Federal Government.”

The report was signed by Folashade Bello on behalf of the Director-General of the SSS, Lawal Daura, and addressed to Senate President Bukola Saraki on October 3, 2016.
Its details became public after senators said they relied on it to reject Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the anti-graft EFCC.

Mr. Daura said his investigation revealed that Mr. Lawson was “falsely accused by Mr. Magu” for “personal reasons.”
The claim was amongst several findings the SSS said it uncovered while investigating Mr. Magu’s activities.
But contrary to the claim by the SSS, not only was Mr. Lawson involved in the controversial deal, he also returned his share of the loot to the EFCC, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

A highly placed source at the EFCC told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Lawson’s name popped up when the EFCC in 2015 commenced the investigation of the alleged $118 million public funds Mrs. Alison-Madueke was accused of looting for electioneering purpose.

Anti-corruption officials said Mr. Lawson made a payment of $25 million (N7.7 billion) into Fidelity Bank and also facilitated the purchase of Le Méridien Ogeyi Place in Port Harcourt for Mrs. Alison-Madueke, who is currently under EFCC investigation for alleged involvement in large-scale corruption while in office.

When operatives traced the funds to him, he was arrested and subsequently made to refund N94.5 million he received as commission for his role in the purchase of the luxurious Port Harcourt hotel.

It is not clear if Mr. Lawson knew the funds were looted when he agreed to the deal, but EFCC investigators found he received exactly N94,516,000 from Mrs. Alison-Madueke as service charge for facilitating the deal that led to the takeover of the sprawling hotel.

PREMIUM TIMES also found that Mr. Lawson was never placed on any watch list by the EFCC after returning the N94.5 million.

This contradicts the claim by the SSS that Mr. Magu placed him on security watch list “in a bid to settle some personal scores.”

It remains unclear how the SSS arrived at the conclusion that Mr. Lawson was working for the Nigerian government in the controversial deal.

The secret police did not explain what tasks the former NNPC handled for the Buhari government in that transaction and why it became necessary to shield him from investigation and even clear him of any wrongdoing.
The SSS does not have a media contact who could have been asked to comment for this story and provide clarifications.

Mr. Lawson, who now serves as the managing partner at Financial Advisory and Investment Consultants Limited in Abuja, could not be reached for comments between Monday and Tuesday.

His office assistant told PREMIUM TIMES he was not available and provided the email contact of his associate, Don Lawson, for further contacts.

An email sent to Don Lawson with specific details about our enquiries was not returned more than a day after.
Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC spokesperson, did not also respond to calls and sms seeking the agency’s official position on Mr. Lawson.

Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, is seeking the National Assembly’s approval for the federal government’s borrowing plan.

Amaechi revealed that the China Exim Bank was ready to loan Nigeria $1.5billion for the Lagos-Ibadan rail line, but approval was needed before any agreement is signed.

He stated this while appearing before the Senate Committee on Land Transport on Tuesday.

Amaechi also promised that the foundation of the Lagos-Ibadan segment of the Lagos-Kano rail line, will be ready before the first quarter of this year ends.

He said: “In the first quarter of 2017, the foundation of the Lagos-Ibadan segment two of the Lagos-Kano rail project will be laid. The implication here is that we will start the Lagos-Ibadan rail line before the end of March.

“Our target is to commence from the Apapa seaport down to Ogun and then to Ibadan. That is our plan. The counterpart funding is ready, but don’t forget that we are borrowing the money from China. The China Exim Bank is processing it. Our 15 per cent is ready; so, we are waiting for China Exim Bank. They have managed to release and approve $1.5bn for the Lagos-Ibadan line.

“It is also envisaged that segment three of the Lagos-Kano rail project, which is the Kano-Kaduna stretch, as well as the first phase of the coastal railway line Lagos-Calabar, commencing from Calabar to Port Harcourt with extension to the Onne Deep Seaport will commence after the conclusion of the negotiation of a financing loan agreement.

“The National Assembly needs to give us approval for the borrowing plan so that we can commence work. We can’t sign the loan agreement with China unless there is an approval from the National Assembly.

“What the National Assembly has approved is the counterpart funding, but we need the approval to borrow the remaining money. If you look at $6.1bn in naira, and we are paying 15 per cent, you will know that the remaining amount is coming from China and until we have approval, we cannot do anything.

“Even now, the China Exim Bank has approved $1.5bn for the Lagos-Ibadan line. We are not able to sign the loan agreement because we need the approval of the National Assembly.”

ourema:
Lol Arsenal fans since they can't win the EPL they will manage unclad video

Lawyer and rights activist, Ebun-olu Adegboruwa, has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari and five others to the Federal High Court in Lagos over the non-confirmation of Justice Walter Onnoghen as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).


The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the Senate, the National Judicial Council, Hon Justice Walter Onnoghen and the Attorney-General of the Federation were joined as co-defendants in the suit.


In the suit, Adegboruwa is asking the court to direct the President, and in his absence, the Vice-President, to forthwith forward the name of Hon Justice Walter Onnoghen to the Senate for confirmation as the CJN.


He is equally seeking for an order of injunction to restrain the President and the Vice-President from appointing another candidate for presentation to the Senate, for the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, apart from Hon.

Justice Walter Onnoghen, who is the most senior justice of the Supreme Court and who has already been selected and recommended by the National Judicial Council (NJC).


Adegboruwa also wants the court to stop the Senate from accepting, entertaining, deliberating upon or considering the nomination of any other candidate that may be forwarded to it by the President and the Vice-President, apart from Hon Justice Walter Onnoghen.

PresidentAtiku:
even the lies, they can't lie