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donlino9:

You are too stingy

The Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Monday described as baseless a claim by the former All Progressives Congress Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, that their elections on June 9 were sponsored by oil barons.

Saraki and Dogara stated this in separate statements by their aides in Abuja on Monday.

Akande, in a widely publicised statement on Sunday, had alleged that oil barons who never liked President Muhammadu Buhari`s anti-corruption stance, sponsored the elections of Saraki and Dogara in a bid to stifle the new government.

Akande also alleged that some splinter groups within the APC were aligning with old and new Peoples Democratic Party forces to launch a platform for the 2019 polls.

Dogara, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, challenged Akande to name the oil barons.

The speaker said he expected Akande, an elder statesman, to play his fatherly role at a period of disputes within the APC’s family by seeking ways to reconcile the factions, rather than attacking his person.

Dogara said that the allegations existed only in Akande’s “imagination”, adding that he won his election based on the support of his colleagues, his competence and capacity to preside over the House as the Speaker.

The speaker recalled that the first investigative motion passed by the House after his election was to probe the alleged crude oil swap contracts awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

He noted that it did not make sense for him to back the probe of the same oil sector’s stakeholders Akande alleged to have sponsored his election.

Part of the statement read, “It is baseless and lacking in substance and merit and can best be described as figment of Chief Akande`s imagination.

“We challenge Chief Akande to name the so-called oil barons whom he alleged sponsored the election of the speaker.

“In case Chief Akande does not know, the first investigative motion adopted by the 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of the Speaker was to investigate the allegation of fraud in the oil-swap contract awarded by the NNPC.

“A resolution for investigation into the allegation was passed to constitute an ad-hoc committee to investigate the NNPC as well as its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, over the swap contracts.

“How then can the House, under the leadership of Mr. Speaker, order investigation into activities of those who allegedly sponsored its election?”

The speaker claimed that his anti-corruption stance was not in doubt as the Legislative Agenda of the 8th House of Representatives adequately captured it.

“Mr. Speaker has on different occasions reiterated his resolve to compliment President Buhari`s anti-corruption stance and insists that the present crop of leaders don’t have any excuse to give to Nigerians on the change promised them before and during the election that brought the APC into power”, he said.

Also, the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, described the allegations as mischievous and totally false.

Okocha, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said Akande’s claim gave a negative and dirty impression that the emergence of the senate president was aimed at sabotaging the anti-corruption posture of Buhari’s government and the ‘Change agenda’ of the APC.

He said, “Ordinarily, we would have ignored the report, but for the sole reason that some undiscerning readers might mistake the fiction for the facts.

“We also wish to state unequivocally that it was wrong and mischievous for the statement by Chief Akande to link what happened on the floor of both chambers to some unnamed oil barons.

“We dare say that the entire story was the figment of the imagination of the author.”

Okocha added that Saraki, as the chairman of an ad hoc committee in the 7th Senate, exposed the fraud and mismanagement in the oil sector.

He said, “Until Saraki raised his motion on the floor of the Senate, no one was in the picture of the rot in the sector or took any action.”

“Senator Saraki will be the last person the oil baron will want to see as Senate President. No doubt, we make bold to state that Saraki is the last person to be so sponsored by the oil barons or cabals.

“In that position, Saraki did not only lead his colleagues in exposing the rot in the scheme, but made very strong recommendations on how the system could be reformed and made corruption- free.”

Okocha said that it was on records that after Saraki’s motion on the floor of the Senate, the House of Representatives followed it up with the oil subsidy probe.

He recalled that the ministers of Finance and Petroleum were summoned and, at least, over N500bn was saved.

Okocha said, “During the Senate hearing on the missing $20bn, for those who attended the public hearing, Senator Saraki led the onslaught of difficult questions to the Minister of Finance, Minister of Petroleum and other federal agencies, despite being in the ruling party then.

“To this effect, Senator Saraki refused to sign the final copy of the committee’s report but rather, put forward a minority report with a press statement that followed suit.”

He added that Saraki opposed the inclusion of kerosene subsidy in the 2015 budget, adding that the senate president rejected the Petroleum Swap deal by the NNPC.

Okocha stated, “Let it be known, therefore, that the Senate Presidency of Dr. Bukola Saraki would not in any way be a stumbling block against President Buhari’s posture against anti- corruption.

“Rather, the 8th Senate under him as the president would give all necessary legislative support to the administration to fight and reduce corruption as his previous actions and bold steps taken against the so called oil barons indicate that Saraki is committed to anti-corruption.”

He said that Saraki was elected unopposed as the Senate President, adding that it was a lie that his election was sponsored by oil barons.

“Senator Bukola Saraki is determined and focused to achieve for the Senate targeted legislative agenda and he is committed to support President Buhari to deliver on his promises to the people of Nigeria,” Okocha said.


http://www.punchng.com/news/oil-barons-didnt-sponsor-us-saraki-dogara-reply-akande/

balling

lalasticlala ishilove seun

..

A Federal High Court in Abuja where Senate Leader Ali Ndume is being prosecuted for terrorism charges has granted him permission to travel for lesser Hajj.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole, ruling on Ndume’s application for leave to embark on the trip, ordered the Deputy Chief Registrar, Litigation, of the Federal High Court to release to him his passport and other travel documents.

‎Ndume, a Borno State senator, who is being tried for terrorism charges including sponsoring the terrorist group, Boko Haram, is billed to embark on the trip to Mecca on July 3.

‎He had deposited the passport and other travel documents with the court registry in fulfilment of part of the bail conditions given to him by the judge after he was arraigned on December 3, 2013.

‎In granting Ndume’s prayer on Tuesday, Justice Kolawole ordered the senator to return the travel documents to the DCR (Litigation) within 72 hours of his return into the country.

‎Prosecuting counsel, Muslim Hassan, did not oppose the application moved by Ndume’s lawyer, Miss R. Okotie-Eboh, during the Tuesday’s proceedings.

“Since it will not affect the date that has already been fixed for continuation of trial, we feel it is unnecessary to oppose the application,” Hassan had told Justice Kolawole on Tuesday.

‎Ruling, Justice Kolawole granted the prayer anchoring his decision on the fact that the prosecution did not oppose the application filed on June 23, 2015 and that Ndume had been granted such applications in the past.

‎The trial will continue on July 2 when the prosecution is expected to call its fourth witness.

Justice Kolawole had, during the previous proceedings on June 10, 2015, frowned on the prosecution for causing delay in the trial.

The lawyer who appeared for the prosecution during the proceedings, Mrs. G.N Okafor, had told Justice Kolawole on Wednesday that fourth prosecution witness, who was scheduled to be in court on that day, was absent because he took ill.

‎

The prosecution had, through its third witness, tendered on December 11 and 14, 2012, some call logs and three digital video discs containing call data records intended to prove the allegation that Ndume had interactions with some Boko Haram members.

Also admitted were documents containing findings based on the investigations carried out by a Special Investigation Panel set up by the Department of State Services on the case.

A prosecution witness told the trial court that there were 73 instances of communication between Ndume and Konduga.

‎Ndume was arraigned on four counts of terrorism after he was implicated by a suspected member of the violent sect, Ali Konduga, who had since been convicted and sentenced for terrorism charge‎.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was accused of sponsoring the Boko Haram sect, and failing to disclose the cell phone number of Konduga, which was alleged to be in his (Ndume’s) possession.

http://www.punchng.com/news/terrorism-trial-court-grants-ndume-permission-to-travel/

hiann

not cool

President, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, has raised the alarm over the plight of over 6,000 Niger Delta students on Federal Government’s scholarships in some foreign universities.

He said the authorities of the foreign universities had started delisting the students, majority of whom were Ijaws, due to the alleged Federal Government’s failure to pay the students’ fees.

Eradiri, who made the revelation at a news conference on Tuesday in Yenagoa, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and other well meaning Nigerians to wade into the matter to save the students.

He said the students’ plight was compounded by the vacuum in the Presidential Amnesty Programme because of absence of an administrator for the programme.

The IYC boss said the amnesty programme had of recent been beset with a lot of bureaucratic bottlenecks due to absence of an administrator.

He therefore urged President Buhari to appoint an administrator for the programme or do whatever he could with “the executive power he wields to ensure that somebody begins to take responsibility in that office.”

He said he had been under intense pressure in trying to maintain the peace in the region because stipends to ex-agitators had not been paid for the last two months.

Eradiri said he and other Ijaw leaders had been appealing for calm and for them not to take to the streets, nor go back to the creeks.

He stressed that they had been appealing to them to give President Buhari an opportunity to run government.

“I want to use this opportunity to call on the Niger Delta leaders, well meaning Nigerians and President Muhammadu Buhari to the fact that the cause of the vacuum in the presidential amnesty programme is as a result of the change in leadership.

“It has begun to tell on the lives of our young ones that are undergoing university training as a result of the amnesty programme in various countries – America, United Kingdom, London, South Africa and other African countries where we have young Nigerians.

“These young Nigerians who are undergoing education and training scattered round the world, because of the bureaucratic nature of the programme, the funding used to be month by month, most of the upkeep of the students is usually on a monthly basis.

But for two months now, the students have not been paid; the financial obligations to the institutions have not been met and so we heard the shocking news that some of the institutions have started delisting some of the students studying there.

“As for the UK, we know that rents are paid monthly and when the stipends are paid, these students also pay their rent. As I speak to you, a lot of them now are being thrown out of their accommodation; they are all on the streets.”

He said the matter was getting to a breaking point where they could no longer hold them (youths) back because “we have been doing that with just the word of mouth and the goodwill we enjoy as leaders. But when government fails to do their own part, then very unfortunately, we will not be able to maintain the peace as it was in the last few months.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/foreign-varsities-delisting-ndelta-students/

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