₦airaland Forum

By Hendrix Oliomogbe, Asaba

For stabbing Mrs. Stella Avwenayerhe, the wife of his flatmate to death with a kitchen knife, an Ughelli, Delta State, High Court yesterday sentenced one Mr. Narebor Stephen Donbrapade to death by hanging.

Justice F. O. Ohwo, in suit number UHC/21c/13, convicted Donbrapade on a one-count charge of murder. The accused, a 49-year-old administrative staff of the Delta State Judiciary from Esama town in Bomadi Council, on or about January 31, 2013, at Otobor Street, Ughelli, murdered one Mrs. Avwenayerhe, an offence punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code Cap C.21, Volume 1, Laws of Delta State, 2006.

Donbrapade, popularly called “Honourable,” shares a room in a three bedroom flat with the husband of the deceased. However, on the fateful day, the accused and the victim were said to have had a minor quarrel after he stepped on the rug in the sitting room without removing his shoes.

Determined to teach his co-flatmate’s wife a lesson for having the audacity to challenge him, the accused was reported to have dashed into his room, only to appear with a knife and stabbed the deceased on the chest.

She was rushed to the Ughelli Central Hospital by neighbours who came to her rescue, and was confirmed dead on arrival by doctors. In his defence, the accused, who pleaded not guilty, alleged that some unidentified hoodlums in the area stabbed the victim to death.

Justice Ohwo faulted the accused, who he described as not a witness of truth, and believed the evidences of the four prosecution witnesses.

The trial Judge further ruled that prosecution proved beyond all reasonable doubt the essential ingredients of the offence of murder against the accused person and accordingly sentenced him to death by hanging.

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TheLogicalMind:
Wasn't this one of the bastards who was said to have raped a hotel maid in America some years back?


“The U.S. Department of State and the Cleveland Council on World Affairs received reports from employees of the Cleveland hotel where the representatives stayed, alleging the representatives engaged in the following behaviour: “Mohammed Garba Gololo allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited her for sex.



http://breakingnews.ng/2016/06/16/house-of-reps-members-try-to-rape-lady-names-included/

Following Tuesday’s assurances by Godwin Emefiele, the CBN says it will continue to intervene in the foreign exchange market, as it injected $185.86 million into the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS).

Isaac Okorafor, the bank’s acting director in charge of corporate communications, while confirming the auction sale, disclosed that out of the auctioned amount, only $3.14million was sold as spots, while the sum of $182.72million was sold as forwards.

Okorafor further explained that the overall picture of the inter-bank forex market was that of optimism, going by the level of access now being enjoyed by different categories of customers in both the wholesale and retail segments of the market.

Emefiele, while assuring Nigerians of the imminent end of the current recession in 2017, at the end of his meeting with the leadership of the Senate on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, declared that the Bank will continue its relentless intervention in the forex market.

Emefiele hinged the optimism of the CBN on the accretion to the country’s foreign reserve, which he said currently hovered above the $31billion mark.

According to him, “our reserves stand at above $31bn and that provides us enough of firepower or ammunition to be able to defend the currency, and we will do so with all intensity to ensure that foreign exchange is procured by everybody”.

He further reiterated the Bank’s assurance to all shades of genuine customers that the CBN would provide them the needed foreign exchange to meet their legitimate needs, stressing that the new forex window opened by the apex bank last week aimed at encouraging foreign investors in the country’s forex market.

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A new vista has opened in the alleged conspiracy of the US in the electoral defeat of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Jonathan has blamed former US President Barack Obama for his defeat in the 2015 presidential election.

He said Obama was desperate to have him removed, and he alleged that the former US president went as far as turning world leaders against him and sending warships into the Gulf of Guinea in the days preceding the election.

In an advance copy of ‘Against the Run of Play’, a book written by Segun Adeniyi, a renowned journalist, Babangida Aliyu, former Niger state governor and ex-chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, gave a hint of possible US involvement in the electoral trouncing of Jonathan.

He said the Obama administration invited 12 northern governors to the US to ascertain their level of commitment to removing Jonathan.

Although, Aliyu said he had no proof of this, he expressed the belief that the reason for their invitation to the US was deeper than discussing the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

“I have no proof of course, but I think the idea was to ascertain what the disposition of the north would be to the idea of another term for President Jonathan,” he told Adeniyi.

“That was my reading of the situation. I believe it was all about the 2015 election for which the Americans had resolved not to support Jonathan. They just wanted to size us up for the level of commitment to regime change.”

Aliyu said in one of the sessions, Murtala Nyako, former Adamawa state governor, accused Jonathan of sponsoring Boko Haram with the intent of destroying the north.

He added that Nyako’s accusation signalled to the Americans that the north was not in support Jonathan’s re-election bid.

He also said that if Jonathan had declined to re-contest and had allowed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to field a young candidate from the north, President Muhammadu Buhari would have pulled out of the race.

“If Jonathan had been clever enough to say he would not run and had stuck with the PDP zoning formula by supporting a young northern candidate, I am most certain Buhari would have shelved his ambition to contest in 2015, knowing there was no way he would win,” he said.

The book, which details how Jonathan lost the 2015 election, will be launched on Friday.

Adeniyi, the author, is the editorial board chairman of THISDAY.

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State chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some national officers yesterday registered their disappointment with the national leadership of the party over the inability of President Muhammadu Buhari to reward party members.

The party officials lamented that members who worked for APC’s victory in the 2015 general elections have been neglected almost two years after the polls.

The state chairmen and national officers, under the aegis of Non-National Working Committee (NWC) members, in their separate communications to the APC leadership and President Buhari, also decried the delay by the party in filling vacant positions in the state executives across the country. New Telegraph gathered that the 36 state chairmen of the APC and their Federal Capital Territory (FCT) counterpart, made their position known during a meeting with the party’s NWC in Abuja yesterday.

The forum of non-NWC, on its part, registered its displeasure in a letter signed by National Ex-officio and coordinator of the forum, Hon. Omolaoye Akintola. The forum argued that its members who worked assiduously for the success of the party during the 2015 presidential election have been neglected and marginalised in decision making in the party.

The national officers also decried the exclusion of a sizeable number of federating states from the scheme of things within the party as many states are presently not represented in the NWC. The forum, in the letter copied to APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; former Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Governors Abubakar Yari (Zamfara) and Rochas Okorocha (Imo) as well as Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, among others, called on President Buhari to take interest in the affairs of the party before it is too late.

The letter read in part: “We, therefore, deemed it necessary putting this letter across to Your Excellency, President Buhari, for your timely actions to save our great party from preventable, avoidable and unnecessary intra-party/in-house cracks that the present situation might generate.

“We wish to state that should things be allowed to continue in this manner, it will affect the party in the future and give room to NWC to completely neglect other NEC (National Executive Committee) members in the forthcoming appointments into boards and parastatals of government that were aimed to empower and keep the welfare of the party officials and others committed members at various levels. “We all worked hard towards the success of our party during elections and we are still doing the best we can (though no motivation) to sustain the tempo.

We, therefore, call for equal and adequate reward by way of appointments as chairmen and members of boards and parastatals.

“We also submit that the welfare of other members be given priority as once opined and observed by the President, where he observed during our last NEC meeting that the welfare of party officials is paramount because of the sacrifice they made and the risk in not doing so.”

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, who confirmed the displeasure expressed by the state chairmen said: “The issue the chairmen raised was the issue of reward for party members.

They expressed concern that the party members have not been properly rewarded. So, when we meet with the governors, we will discuss that by setting up a committee to look into their complaints,” Abdullahi said. He explained that the committee would be comprised of two chairmen from each of the six geopolitical zones.

The party, however, told journalists that a committee would be constituted after a meeting of the NWC with APC governors to resolve the issues raised. The meeting, according to him, will hold today. On the meeting with the state party chairmen, Abdullahi said it was meant to appraise the party and the on-going membership registration.

He also acknowledged that the need to replace some party officials, who have left for one reason or the other, was equally discussed at the meeting. “We met with all state chairmen of our party across the 36 states of the federation and FCT. One of the key issues we discussed was the state congresses. We need to fill vacant positions in the state executives across the country.

Vacancies that resulted after some people have been appointed, died, resigned or gone to another party. We also discussed the details of how and when these congresses would be held and modalities for these congresses. “Another issue we discussed was the issue of membership registration and issue of sustainable platform for party funding across the country.”

Meanwhile, five members of the APC NWC are among party members jostling for the governorship tickets of the party in their respective states. New Telegraph reliably gathered that the NWC members aspiring to govern their states are the Deputy National Chairman (South), Engr. Segun Oni (Ekiti); National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni (Yobe); the National Auditor, Chief George Moghalu (Anambra), National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi (Kwara) and National Youth Leader, Hon. Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo (Gombe).

While the governorship election in Anambra and Ekiti states would hold this year and next year, respectively, the other three would hold in 2019. Anambra State is presently governed by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA); Ekiti and Gombe states are governed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) while Kwara and Yobe states are under APC’s control.

Moghalu, a former National Secretary of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and its governorship candidate in the 2007 elections is expected to battle for the APC governorship ticket in Anambra State with likes of Senator Andy Uba, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, Chief Ifeanyi Ubah and others.

In Ekiti, where the governorship election is expected to hold next year, the APC Deputy National Chairman and former governor of Ekiti State, Oni, will contest the party’s governorship ticket with other party chieftains. Already, about 36 aspirants have indicated interest to contest for the APC governorship ticket in Ekiti State.

In Kwara State, where the governorship election would hold in 2019, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Abdullahi, will have to surmount the hurdle posed by two members of the House Representatives from the state, Zakari Mohammed and Razaq Atunwa and former National Secretary of the PDP, Alhaji Kawu Baraje.

In Gombe, the APC National Youth Leader, Jalo, who is a son in-law to a former governor of the state, Senator Danjuma Goje, will contest the governorship ticket with Inuwa Muhammad Yahaya, Abubakar Habu Mu’azu, Abdullahi Idris Umar and Farouk Bamusa.

The national secretary, Buni, is contesting for the governorship seat in Yobe State. According to a source at the National Headquarters of APC in Abuja, the respective governorship ambitions of the NWC members, is partly responsible for the row between them and their states governors.

The party source, who preferred anonymity, said: “Left with some governors, the NWC members should be relieved of their duties, so that they could go and pursue their governorship ambitions.”

The suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, may not return to his post, credible sources have confided in Daily Trust.

A decision to that effect has already crystallised, multiple sources within the government and the ruling APC said last night.

Babachir was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari last week for alleged contract fraud under the Presidential Initiative on North East (PINE).

He is already under investigation by a committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo which report is due to be submitted to the president next week.

The SGF’s fate is “virtually sealed,” a source said adding that the government is already looking beyond his era as it shops for his replacement.

A number of names are being bandied around as possible candidates for appointment to the most powerful position in government.

However, our sources said several of the names being mentioned are not in contention but such persons are themselves pushing their names forward to gain attention.

He said the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), who is from the North East, is one of the leading names of those being considered as the new SGF.

“As a former military administrator who equally worked very closely with President Buhari, he’s eminently qualified for the job,” he said.

He added that the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu is also being considered for the job of the SGF.

“Adamu Adamu is a long term ally of President Buhari; he served as his personal secretary during the PTF days and is now a minster who is doing pretty well in his calling,” he said.

But Joe Alfred, a legal practitioner in Yola, Adamawa State, said while Buhari should select a competent person with impeccable pedigree to replace Babachir, “he should be mindful of some obvious sensitivities of the people.”

But Joe Alfred, a legal practitioner in Yola, Adamawa State, said while Buhari should select a competent person with impeccable pedigree to replace Babachir, “he should be mindful of some obvious sensitivities of the people.”

Asked to speak further, he said, “Yes, knowledge of the job is one thing but it would be great if someone from the same zone with the removed SGF is picked, someone who the people would be happy with,” he said.

Another senator said there was pressure from the South East for Buhari to take the new SGF from there.

“The name of Chief Ikeobasi Mokelu from Anambra State is being mentioned for the job, I don’t know how it will work out,” he said.

He said Mokelu, a delegate to the National Constitutional Conference and former minister of information and Culture has been a close ally and had played vital role in the APC project that led to the emergence of Buhari as presidential candidate.

The senator said his selection will also calm frayed nerves in the South East, where political leaders feel marginalized.

Two credible sources at the APC national headquarters said the new SGF should come from the North East.

One of them said, “Political balancing is very important and since the suspended SGF is from the North East, his replacement, by no matter who should obviously come from the same zone.”

Another source said there was equal pressure from the South West but not necessarily for a candidate from the zone.

“The power bloc from the South West is working for the SGF to either emerge from the South South or from the South East, I think this is for some political scheming,” he said.

According to him, “They are rooting for Prince Tony Momoh who is from the Edo in the South South or the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu from the South East.”

Momoh had served as minister of information during the General Ibrahim Babangida era; chairman, Media and Publicity of the ANPP Campaign Organisation in the 2003 and 2007 elections and also Chairman of the Political Committee of the Muhammadu Buhari Organisation.

Onu was repeatedly touted for the post shortly after the 2015 elections.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is watching how the selection process unfolds, with credible sources saying the party would be glad to have someone that will help President Muhammadu Buhari in actualizing the mission, vision and manifesto fo the ruling party.

Daily Trust gathered that apart from the names of some retired technocrats that rose through the ranks in the core civil service that are being scrutinised by President Buhari, other people who have made their landmark in recent political developments are also being considered for the post.

A senator close to the corridors of power said that the fact that President had set up a committee to unravel the circumstances that led to the suspension of Babachir, with a mandate to tidy its work in two weeks, means that there will not be delay in taking a tangible decision on whether the embattled SGF will go back to his office or not.

“Though no decision will be taken until the Vice President Osinbajo’s committee report is submitted, Buhari is none-the -less being extremely careful in the selection process of the probable replacement.

“For those of us in the ruling government, the simple argument is that many factors were not considered during the selection of Babachir; it’s not about loyalty or compensating someone. It’s about getting someone who can drive the engine of governance which is vested in the cabinet office, that’s the office of the SGF.

“Remember, there are at least six or seven permanent secretaries in the SGF office and under normal circumstances, the overall head, the SGF if you like should have additional expertise and grounding in the workings of government,” he said.

Meanwhile, the suspended SGF, Babachir Lawal was yet to appear before the presidential panel probing him for alleged mismanagement of funds meant for the Northeast.

A Presidency official, who is close to the investigative committee, told our correspondent, last night that the panel had not yet opened Lawal's case.

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Two weeks to the end of the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan, the late Gordon Obua, who was his chief security officer (CSO) expelled Musa Ubale, a correspondent of German Radio, Deutsche Welle, from Aso Rock.

Obua also directed his men to withdraw the accreditation of Ubale before the reporter was driven out of the villa.

Ubale had drawn the ire of the powers that be for having the temerity to ask visiting President Idriss Déby of Chad some tough questions.

The reporter had asked Déby, who had just had a meeting with Jonathan, about the whereabouts of Abubakar Shekau, the Boko Haram leader, making reference to a statement by the Chadian leader who had said the sect’s leader had been seen in Dikwa, Borno state.

Ubale also asked about the relationship between the multinational task force fighting in Lake Chad and the South African mercenaries fighting with them in the Sambisa forest.

Deby had said he did not know the whereabouts of Shekau and also denied knowledge of the presence of the mercenaries.

The federal government had also denied the involvement of South African mercenaries, maintaining that Nigerian soldiers were only being trained on new weapons by foreigners.

After Déby left the villa, Ubale was taken aside and questioned, after which he was escorted into a waiting van and driven out of Aso Rock villa.

He was later allowed to return to pack his belongings at the press gallery, after which the security agents escorted him again out of the presidential villa, this time in his personal car.

Until Jonathan left power, Ubale was not allowed to report the activities of the president.

But in what was regarded as a heroic act, the Buhari administration recalled Ubale, who is the incumbent chairman of the state house press corps.

Speaking at a brief ceremony where Ubale’s press tag was returned, Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, had said the re-accreditation of Musa as a state house correspondent was in keeping with Buhari’s commitment to correct the wrongs of the past.

“Part of the change promised by President Buhari is correcting things that were wrongly done before,” Adesina had said.

“Mr. Ubale Musa’s accreditation was wrongly withdrawn. To redress the wrong done to him by the withdrawal, we have returned his villa press pass to him so that he can continue his work without hindrance.”

Will this government return the pass of Olalekan Adetayo, correspondent of Punch, that has just be withdrawn ? History just has a way of repeating itself, particularly in Nigerian politics.

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On Wednesday, April 19, 2017 the Special Adviser on Media to the President issued a press statement announcing the suspension from office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. David Babachir Lawal and the Director of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke on allegations of corrupt practices. The press statement reports that, “President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation into the allegations of violations of law and due process (emphasis is mine) made against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, David Lawal, in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East, PINE”.

The statement further states that “the President has ordered a full scale investigation into the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has made a claim. The investigation is also to enquire into the circumstances in which the NIA came into possession of the funds, how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to the NIA, and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds ”. According to the statement the President has set up a “A three-person committee comprising the Attorney-General of the Federation, the National Security Adviser, and headed by the Vice President, is to conduct both investigations ”.

The setting up of a special committee chaired by the Vice President to investigate these allegations is an impermissible usurpation of the constitutional and statutory responsibilities of properly designated agencies and therefore a violation of the constitution. By setting up the committee, the President has taken away statutory responsibility of the Nigerian Police Force, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC) and illegally conferred it on his Vice President, the Director of Department of State Security (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation. These officers of Mr. President do not have constitutional or statutory responsibility to investigate allegations of corrupt practice and violation of due process of law. Even the Attorney General of the Federation (a constitutionally recognized office) has no responsibility to investigate violations of law or corrupt practices.

The Nature and Extent of Power of the President

The President ostensibly set up the Osinbajo Committee pursuant to his executive power. By Section 5 of the constitution the executive power of the federation is vested on the president who may exercise such powers directly or indirectly through his Vice President, Ministers or other public officers. This power is for “execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the National Assembly and to all matters with respect to which the National Assembly has, for the time being, powers to make laws”. Under the design of the constitution the various branches of government share power in a manner that guarantees the freedom and liberty of the citizens and the continuation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Although the power of the president, as the embodiment of the executive branch, is enormous and plenary, it is limited to the extent that it is ‘subject to the provisions of the Constitution” and “the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly”. Therefore, the exercise of presidential power under the constitution is only valid if it is based on the express provisions of the constitution or any law made by the National Assembly. Any exercise of the executive power of the president that violates the constitution or a provision of any law made by the National Assembly is invalid and unconstitutional by virtue of Section 1 (1) of the constitution.
(See A.G. Abia State v. A.G. of the Federation (2006) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1005) 265
and P.D.P. v. C.P.C (2011) 17 NWLR (Pt. 1277) 485)

With respect to the President’s exercise of executive power the views of the United States Supreme Courts in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer 343 U.S. 579 (1952) that, “The President power to issue the order, if any, must stem either from an act of Congress or from the Constitution”, applies with force of logic to Nigerian president. The Nigerian President cannot act outside the clear provisions of the constitution or the Act of the National Assembly and clearly, not in violation of the Constitution or Act of the National Assembly. Although the Constitution commands the President to execute and maintain the constitution and all laws made by the National Assembly, it does not authorize the president to exercise the power to investigate a crime or offence or grant any of his officers or any other person the power to investigate such offences or crimes apart from those agencies that the constitution or the Act of the National Assembly has granted such powers, and in the manner the constitution or the Act of the National Assembly has granted it.

Section 214 of the Constitution establishes the Nigerian Police Force. Pursuant to the constitution the National Assembly provides for the function of the Nigerian Police Force in Section 7 of the Nigerian Police Act, which includes responsibility for enforcement of law. Furthermore, Section 6(b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act grants the EFCC the statutory responsibility to investigate all financial crimes in the country. In the same vein, Section 6 of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) Act empowers the ICPC to investigate allegations of corrupt practices and prosecute offenders. By these laws, the National Assembly has provided for how the power of the executive branch to investigate and enforce violation of law and commission of crime will be exercised. It is the EFCC that should investigate financial offences against any person or authority in Nigeria. If it is allegation of corrupt practices the Independent Corrupt Commission (ICPC) has the responsibility to investigate and prosecute.

The legislative intent of vesting the responsibility to investigate and prosecute offences and corrupt practices on agencies rather than leave it for the President is to protect the liberty and freedom of citizens and promote independence and objectivity required for the enforcement of law. By these Acts, the National Assembly has transferred the executive power to investigate offences and corrupt practices on these agencies and the President cannot take these power back except through an Act of the National Assembly. These laws therefore has subjected the executive power of the President to constitutional limitation and it cannot be exercised any other manner howsoever.

It is important to understand the contexts of these events in order to understand the unconstitutionality of the investigation committee. For months there has been allegations of breach of due process in award of contracts against the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The Senate, in pursuance of its oversight function under Section 88 of the Constitution, reviewed documents and concluded that the SGF acted corruptly and abused its powers in the respect of contracts awarded for the Presidential Initiative on North East. The Senate recommended to the President through a formal resolution to sack the SGF.

The Senate has also refused to confirm presidential nominees until the President acts on the resolution. In response to this situation, the President asked the Attorney General of the Federation to investigate the allegations. The Attorney General after investigation reportedly submitted a report to the President whereupon the President wrote to the Senate clearing the SGF of any wrongdoing on the issue. The Senate rejects the letter and insists that the SGF should be removed for corruption.

The issue for which the Director of NIA is being investigated by the presidential committee is in respect of an ongoing operation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. In that operation the EFCC discovered millions of dollars presumed to have been unlawfully taken from public treasury. The Director of NIA claimed that the money, kept in a safe vault in a private residence, is for NIA’s covert operation. The presidential committee is now investigating him for possible “breach of law or security procedure”. Investigation of crimes is part of law enforcement responsibility of the Nigerian Police Force, the EFCC and the ICPC. Law enforcement proceedings begin with investigation of the allegations. The issues involved are not mere administrative infractions that require internal administrative inquiry to establish.

These are allegations of crimes in the public domain where another branch of government (the legislature) and a statutory agency (the EFCC) have commenced actions and are now being either frustrated or stalled by this presidential intervention.

It is important to note that where the National Assembly has acted to assign a task on an agency- even an executive agency, the President cannot dictate how the task is to be performed (Bowsher v. Synar 478 U.S. 714 (1986). That will be an invalid aggrandizement of presidential power and a breach of the principle of separation of power implicit in the constitutional design. As a matter of fact, it is not just that the President cannot take over the task conferred by law on the police and the EFCC but he cannot validly even dictate the substance of the exercise of such task in the guise of exercising of his executive power.

The president may argue that the Osinbajo Committee is an internal matter of the presidency. The president surely can exercise his executive power howsoever he wishes provided he does not violate the constitution or breach the law. By the wordings of Section 5 of the Constitution the President can exercise executive power by himself or through his Vice President, Ministers. But he cannot directly exercise a power that has been vested on an agency by the constitution (as in the case of the police) or by an Act of the National Assembly (as in the case of the EFCC and the ICPC). It is clear that by the guideline rolled out by the Osinbajo committee that it is not a case of internal affairs of the presidency.

The Committee will take evidence from the SGF and the Director of NIA and other relevant officers and the public. The Committee will make findings of facts as regard the liability of the two officers. Furthermore, the responsibility of the committee in respect of the SGF is “ investigations into the allegation of violation of law and due process” . The nature of the investigation raises the bar of the proceedings to criminal proceedings and in line with the Supreme Court’s decision in Garba v. University of Maidugur i, the proceedings of the committee are beyond the powers of an internal administrative committee.

There is no doubt that the President retains the power to hire and fire members of the executive branch of government. In the case of the SGF and the Director of the NIA, their continuance in office is at the pleasure of the president. The concept of a unitary and effective executive branch, the constitution empowers the President to remove an office if the President no longer trusts his or her judgment, especially if such officer is tainted with allegation of corruption. The President can exercise this power at any time.

But where an officer of the President has been accused of commission of an offence or corrupt practice as the case of the two officers, only the Police, the EFCC and the ICPC have constitutional and statutory powers to investigate the allegations.

Already the EFCC is engaged with the investigation of the NIA case and the National Assembly has already indicted the SGF. The best the President can do in these circumstances it to authorize the EFCC and the ICPC to investigate the allegations in line with their statutory responsibilities. By setting up the Osinbajo Committee, the President has, perhaps unwittingly, preempted the ICPC and EFCC, create a situation of fait accompli and violated his responsibility to ensure “execution and maintenance of the law”. The President’s action in establishing a committee unknown to law to investigate allegations of corruption and violation against his officers is a violation of the constitution. Any action or proceeding by the committee in respect of these allegations violates the constitution.

For the interest of protecting the constitution and not violating the separation of power in the constitution, the President should disband the Osinbajo Committee and refer the allegations against the SGF and the DG NIA to the ICPC and the EFCC respectively for investigation and other consequential actions.

The police have arrested a man, only identified as John, over the death of a girl that had been staying with him for over seven years in Gwarinpa.

Police sources said the girl had been living with the man without the consent of her relatives who claimed they did not know her whereabouts for the past seven years.

The girl was said to have died in the man’s apartment.

The sources said the suspect took the girl’s corpse to her relatives’ house around Jabi Upstairs and that one of relatives reported at the Gwarinpa Police Station.

The Divisional Police Officer, CSP Nuruddeen Sabo, said the man was detained for questioning.

He said the man said the girl died after a short sickness adding that the case was transferred to the state CID for discreet investigation.

“We transferred the matter to state CID but the doctor’s report indicated that it was a natural death that nothing was done to her that could cost her life,” he said.

Sources familiar with the case however said the man had been released after an autopsy showed that the girl died a natural death while the family of the deceased withdrew the case.

“The corpse was released to the family on Friday,” the source said.

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Mrs Winifred Oyo - Ita Head of Service of the Federation has promised to give a house to the couple who recently delivered quintuplets at the National Hospital Abuja.

Oyo - Ita made the promise while visiting the children on Saturday in Abuja.

She said that the house will be given under the Federal Integrated Staff Housing ( FISH) Scheme.

She also promised Mr Imudia Uduehi, father of the quintuplets who is a graduate from the University of Ilorin, Kwara state a job with the Federal Civil Service.

Uduehi, at the moment is unemployed.


She described the children as great blessings given to the couple by God on a platter of gold. She said the job offer to Uduehi would enable him cater for the children.

“I am very happy for you and I am standing here this afternoon representing the entire civil service of Nigeria. Today is a day of joy for all of us.

“Indeed you are a couple that has been so blessed by God. You have been married for just two years and God has blessed you with five children at once.

“I want to tell you that the Federal Integrated Staff Housing programme will be made available to you, we will give you a house that can accommodate you , your husband and your five children. ”

Oyo - Ita also presented cash gifts and diapers to them, thanking the doctors for their efforts in ensuring the babies and mother are alive.

She applauded the medical team for taking care of the mother through the period of pregnancy and delivery.

Mrs Oluwakemi Uduehi, mother of the children who spoke on behalf of her family thanked the Head Of Service for her kind gesture.

She is a staff of the National Population Commission.

Dr Bunmi Ladipo who delivered the babies said they were delivered through caesarean section and there was no complication.

The remains of a young parishioner, simply identified as Kachi, was found hanging in the early hours of Friday inside the hall of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Port Harcourt.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the development is causing panic among residents of the area.

NAN gathered that the deceased , an indigene of Imo, was a devoted Catholic and former Mass servant of the church.

Some parishioners at the scene told NAN that the deceased was a taxi driver who plied his trade at the popular Aggrey/Borokiri road in the city.

The parishioners expressed shock over the incident and wondered why the deceased would commit suicide, especially as he was considered a devoted Christian.

One of the parishioners who identified himself as Magnus, said that late Kachi was popularly known as Fabregas due to his football skills and dedication to youth activities in the church.

“ Kachi, until his death, was about 20 years old ; unmarried and a hard working young man who was loved.

“We tried to locate where he lived , but we were unable to do so due to the fact that he moved to a new apartment, which was unknown to us.

“As we speak , nobody has come out to say exactly why Kachi killed himself, ” he said.

Another member of the church, who gave her name as Nkechi, alleged that the deceased took his life because the owner of the taxi retrieved the vehicle from him a few days ago.

“ Kachi was not married and had been sleeping in the church hall.

“ The taxi he drove was on hire -purchase and I learnt that the owner of the vehicle took back the car; maybe because he wasn't meeting up with conditions of their agreement.

“ I learnt that he took his life out of frustration caused by the seizure of the vehicle, ” she said.

The Rivers Police Command had yet to confirm the report, as the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Omoni Nnamdi, did not answer calls or replied to messages sent to his cell phone by NAN.

The church authority have not commented on the development either.

Meanwhile, the corpse of the deceased has been taken to an undisclosed morgue in Port Harcourt.
( NAN)

Hindi Livinus, Yola


Tragedy struck in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State last week when a 23-year old man, Fidelis Musa, committed suicide after an argument with his mother.

Musa’s lifeless body was found dangling in his room in Jimeta, Yola after a misunderstanding with his mother, which left her with a sprained wrist.

According to family members, the deceased, afraid that his mother may curse him following their brawl, decided to take his life.

Neighbours of the deceased said he was known abnormal behaviour, which his cousin, who identified herself as Suzzy, attributed to hard drugs addiction.

Suzzy said her cousin might have taken his life following the altercation with the mother , afraid that she might curse him.

She said it was the first time the deceased beat his mother, adding that his misconduct may not be unconnected to substance abuse.

An eyewitness, Innocent Henry, said on the day Musa committed suicide, he attacked his mother causing her to sprain her wrist and leg. “The man was restless throughout that day; he fought everybody that came to their house. He wounded his mother by breaking her left hand.

Already, we have taken the woman to a native doctor for treatment, ” he explained.

Henry further said that before his death, Musa’s family members were thinking of leaving the house for him over his erratic behaviour.

An uncle to the deceased, Ali Hassan, said he ( the deceased ) had behaved strangely on the day of his death.

“ I am the uncle to the deceased; he has been making negative confessions especially a day to the ill- fated day. He told everyone that someone among his family members would die the next day.

“He was a generator mechanic apprentice; we noticed the strange behavior without the premonition that he was going to commit suicide, ” he said.

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku in Lagos and Obinna Chima in Washington D.C.


The naira sustained its momentum on the parallel market yesterday, appreciating significantly by N20 in one day to close at N380 to the dollar, stronger than N400 to the greenback at the close of trading the day before.

Similarly, the local currency firmed up on the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment of the market yesterday, trading at between N376 and N378 to the dollar in Lagos, Abuja and Kano.

The gains were largely influenced by increased dollar liquidity in the economy, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sustains its intervention in the foreign exchange (FX) market.

The CBN pumped a total of $380 million into the market between Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

It also simplified the documentation process for small and medium sized businesses to enable them import eligible items and increased both the amount and number of sales to BDCs.

According to a source at the central bank, the naira is expected to appreciate further when the BDCs get another tranche of $20,000 from the CBN today.

Analysts had rightly forecast that with the forays by the CBN in the various segments of the market, the naira would strengthen against the greenback and other convertible currencies this week.

Financial Derivatives Company Limited yesterday said that the naira would strengthen further on the parallel market “in the days to come”.

CBN spokesman, Mr. Isaac Okorafor recently assured FX end-users that the central bank would sustain its dollar injection in the market.

He also asked market participants to abide by the rules to ensure the preservation of the external reserves, stability of the financial system, and growth of the economy.

Despite all dollars pumped into the market by the central bank, the accretion of Nigeria’s external reserves remained undented, rising by $279 million to $30.586 billion as of Wednesday, from $30.307 billion two weeks before.

Also, following the federal government’s bid to create the enabling environment for doing business in Nigeria, the central bank yesterday announced the reduction of documentation requirements for imports and exports.

The timeline for processing the Nigerian Export Proceeds (NXP) Form was also revised.

The CBN stated this in a circular signed by its Director, Trade and Exchange Department, CBN, W.D. Gotring.

It said the timeline for processing Form ‘NXP’ by authorised dealers shall be a maximum of 48 hours from the receipt of the application, subject to appropriate documentation.

Furthermore, authorised dealers are expected to submit returns to the CBN in compliance with the 48-hour timeline.
“All authorised dealers are therefore advised to take note and bring the circular to the attention of their customers,” it added.

It listed the revised import documentation as follows: Bill of Lading, Certificate of Origin (formerly Combined Certificate of Value of Origin), Commercial Invoice, Exit Note (formerly Exit Gate), Form ‘M’, Packing List, Single Goods Declaration, and Product Certificate.

Revised export documentation, according to the central bank, include Bill of Lading, Certificate of Origin, Commercial Invoice, Single Goods Declaration, Nigerian Export Proceeds Form, Clean Certificate of Inspection (CCI), and Packing List.

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Engr. Saleh Dunoma as the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

The President also confirmed the appointments of Captain Mukhtar Usman as the Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Captain Fola C. Akinkotu as the Managing Director of Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) respectively.

A statement issued by the Director (Press), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Bolaji Adebiyi, said the appointments take immediate effect.

President Buhari also approved the appointment of a new Board and Executive Management for Rural Electrification Agency.

According to the statement, the Chairman of the Board is Engr. Umaru Maza Maza, while the Managing Director is Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi.

Dr. Sanusi Mohammed Ohiare has been appointed as the Executive Director (Rural Electrification) and Engr. Muhammad A. Wasaram as Executive Director (Technical Services).

Yewande Odia was named as the Executive Director (Corporate Services), while Engr. Alozie Mac and Mr. Rotimi Thomas are appointed non-Executive Directors.

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr . Zakari Mohammed, says members of the National Assembly are not the highest paid political office holders in Nigeria.

Mohammed, who represents Baruten/Kaiama Federal Constituency, also denied that the legislators pay was a guarded secret.

The public perception of the National Assembly is in sharp contrast to the reality on the ground as far as the lawmakers take- home and other allowances are concerned, he told the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Gure , Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara.

According to him, chief executives of federal agencies earn more salary than the National Assembly members.

“ I can tell you that a Director-General of a Federal agency is far and above better than a member of parliament in terms of what he takes home in terms of pegs of office.

“Whatever a legislature does is within the limit of his allowances and the salary that he takes.

“ Whatever we do is within the income , we don’ t award contracts, we don't execute projects.”

Mohammed, however, advocated regular interface between the National Assembly and the public to address what he termed as current erroneous perception on the matter.

“ So for me, I believe it is a mindset and it is going to take sometimes to get it off Nigerians heads, and I believe a regular interface with the public will change the psyche with time. ”

The lawmaker noted that the legislature had been painted in bad light since the inception of the fourth republic.

“The National Assembly since 1999 has been living with image issue and of course I’m saying it without any fear of contradiction that it was caused by the then President ( Olusegun ) Obasanjo.

“ To me, it is matter of psyche . Nigeria must get it out of them that legislature is being painted in the kind of light that it is not supposed to be, because I have been a member of the house and know exactly what they are doing ”, he said.

The former House spokesman cautioned Gov. Nasir El - Rufai of Kaduna State against casting aspersions on the National Assembly.

He said the governor had taken the path of demonizing the National Assembly because of ‘‘individual inclination ’’ and his grouse with some lawmakers representing his state.

Mohammed described the governor ’ s recent outburst over the national Assembly budget as ‘‘hypocritical ’’.

Alexander Okere, Benin


Two teenagers have reportedly died in a swimming pool belonging to a hotel in Okhoro, in the Egor Local Government Area of Edo State.

The victims were identified as Ikponmwosa Isibor, 17, and 16-year- old Emmanuel Abuzu.

It was learnt that the deceased, who were friends, had paid to use the swimming pool before they reportedly drowned at about 4pm on Saturday.

It was gathered that the hotel, Okhoro Play House, said to be popular in the area, had been under lock and key since the incident occurred.

A source said some workers of the hotel had also been taken to the Okhoro Police Station for interrogation.

A worker at the hotel, who did not give his name, said the matter was being investigated by the police.

He said, “ The police are already handling the matter. I think you should speak with them.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Moses Nkombe, told our correspondent on Wednesday, that he was not aware of the incident, saying he was away on an official assignment.

It was, however, learnt that the case had been transferred to the homicide department of the state police command.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described the suspension of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, and the Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayo Oke, as diversionary.

He also described the setting up of a three-man Committee to investigate the discovery of over N13 billion cash by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos as an afterthought and a prelude to the official cover-up of the original owners of the money.

The governor, who said the Buhari-led government was becoming an embarrassment to Nigerians with its macabre dance of shame, asked: “Would the President have set up a probe panel if these scams were linked to anyone in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or those members of his party that are not in his good books?

“Most importantly, what business does Presidential Committee have with investigation of crime? Are they telling Nigerians that they have lost confidence in all the intelligence and investigative agencies of the government, including the EFCC and DSS?”

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said it was becoming obvious that President Buhari had lost control of his government, adding that “The Buhari-led Federal Government is operating like many governments within one government. There appears to be many Presidencies within the Presidency and this is the reason for the confusion everywhere.”

The governor declared that “the cat of President Buhari’s government hypocrisy in its fight against corruption has already been let of the nag”, adding that, “Nigerians can no longer be deceived by a government that protects its own people whenever they are accused of corruption while setting the DSS and EFCC to invade houses of members of opposition parties, especially those perceived as having presidential ambition in 2019 in the night to arrest and detain them indefinitely even when corruption allegations against them have not been proved.”

He said it was the inability of the President to take actions beyond his political party and ethnic sentiments that plunged his government into the present controversies.

He queried: “Did the President not write a letter dated January 17, 2017, to the Senate, exonerating the SGF? So what has changed in the case of the SGF? Was his announced suspension just for balancing?

“Why waiting for this messy OsborneGate to act on the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE) grass-cutting scam?

Could it have been a case of one Presidency (Buhari) writing the Senate on January 17, 2017 to clear the SGF and another Presidency suspending him today?
Whichever way one looks at it, it gives no other impression than that of confusion in the government.”

Speaking further, the governor asked: “Is their presidential committee also going to tell Nigerians those who abandoned N49 million cash in an airport that has CCTV cameras? What the owner of the N448 million the EFCC said it found in a shop at LEGICO Shopping Plaza, Ahmadu
Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos?

“In all these, what I see is a government trying frantically to cover-up corrupt acts of its functionaries but like I said before now, even though we know that the APC-led federal government has the capacity to sweep it under the carpet like many others before it, Nigerians will have it on record that they are being ruled by a government of the more you look, the less you see.”

lalasticlala

The board of directors of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) are planning to re-introduce the suspended Management Support Agreement (MSA) stipulating that 3 percent of the company’s gross earnings is shared among the board.

Under this agreement, the eleven-man board headed by Usman Bello would share N700 million, which is a backlog of the money that would have been shared in the past year if the program were not stopped by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), which considered the agreement fraudulent.

A source close to the NAHCO described the MSA as a loophole allowing the board of directors to milk company stakeholders and shareholders dry. He questioned why the board would reintroduce such a controversial agreement that enriches board members while workers’ salaries have remained stagnant for the past four years.

The source told our correspondent that two industry unions, the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the Nigerian Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), had in the past three years kicked severely against the introduction of the MSA without success until the SEC intervened in 2016 and canceled it.

“The current board membership of NAHCO has held a series of secret meetings where they planned to reintroduce an illegal agreement nicknamed the Management Support Agreement (MSA) whereby 3 percent of all gross earnings of NAHCO would be paid under a platform,” the source said.

“It would be remembered that the former chairman of the board had to relinquish the position under a controversial circumstances in 2016. In the process of that, questions arose as to what constitutes the MSA, and the Security and Exchange Commission directed that the money should be stopped immediately.

“This is the same organization that has over the years jettisoned staff salary increase, staff promotion is also stepped down and long overdue.”

The source added that the managing director of NAHCO, German national Norbert Bielderman, was not favorably disposed to the board’s plan. It was learnt that in one of the meetings held at the headquarters of the ground handling company at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, Mr. Bielderman insisted that he would not be a part of the plan, but the 11 board members overruled him.

Apart from this, our correspondent also gathered that the same board is also seeking the approval of N155 million at N15 million each from the management in order to pay for foreign training of its board members.

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