₦airaland Forum

The National Vice Chairman (North West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Inuwa Abdul-Kadir, on Friday said that he was reliably informed that governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State intended to pull him down because of the party matters in their respective states.

He claimed that governor El-Rufai once threatened to beat him up and prevent him from coming into Kaduna in the presence of other governors from the Zone in his office when he made an appeal for him to take leadership and drive a process that will harmonise, reconcile and solidify the party in the state.

Abdul-Kadir said this at the APC national secretariat in Abuja while addressing journalists on the allegations leveled against him by Hajiya Aisha Kaita, the APC Zonal Women Leader (North West).

“A week before she issued the Press Statement, I was reliably informed that Malam El-Rufai intended to take on me over the APC crisis in Kaduna State….everything will be done to ensure that I am pulled down; and this they intended to achieve by teaming up with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the former Governor of Kano State as according to them, Senator Kwankwanso too is aggrieved by the party’s decision in respect of the chairmanship position in Kano State.

“However, this did not surprise me because of the previous encounters I had with Malam El-Rufai and his threats and outbursts,” the APC Zonal Chairman added.

Hajiya Aisha had accused him of not only misappropriating campaign and office furniture funds but also single-handedly operating a bank account in the name of the North West Zonal Executive Committee.

Reacting to the allegations yesterday at a media briefing also attended by the Zonal Secretary, Alhaji Tukur Abdulkadir Gusau, Alhaji Abdul-Kadir, claimed that the allegations were intentionally fabricated to ridicule his person and bring him to disrepute.

“I wish to state here that the only funds that were disbursed to the Zone were done through the party account which was opened and operated at the instance of Party’s National Secretariat. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has ever made any remittance from March 2015 to date into the account of the party. Since then to date, the Zonal Secretariat and the party vehicle are being maintained at my personal expense.

In addition to these, my movements to attend party meetings in Abuja and within the Zone are all being undertaken at my personal expense. These finances were duly presented, discussed and approved at the last NEC meeting of the party where Hajiya Aisha Kaita attended and made contributions,” said Abdul-Kadir.

He said the suspension and removal of Hon. Umar Haruna Doguwa, the erstwhile chairman of Kano State chapter of the party followed due process and was considered and unanimously approved by the ZEC at its meeting held on December 10, 2016 in Dutse, Jigawa Sate and attended by over 200 members, inclusive of 5 Governors and 4 Deputy Governors.

On the Kaduna APC crisis, Abdul-Kadir urged governor El-Rufai to give the necessary cooperation to the Aminu Masari-led reconciliation committee to restore peace, unity and consolidation of the party’s support in the state.

He said, “Disharmony amongst key stakeholders of the party in Kaduna State has become so evident and this is in no way helpful to the party. The party intervened and pacified the aggrieved members which brought about relative peace but Malam El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State on the platform of the party and who is a key stakeholder of the party has not been forthcoming in all efforts to harmonise and solidify the party leadership structure in the state.

“On several occasions, I had meetings with him where as the leader of the party in the Zone made passionate appeal for him to take leadership and drive a process that will harmonise, reconcile and solidify the party in the state.

“One of such appeals I made was in the presence of other Governors from the Zone in his office but his reaction was volatile and he threatened to beat me up and prevent me from coming into Kaduna. I kept my calm as a leader considering the volatility of Kaduna State in terms of political reaction which cannot just be ignored, and the attendant threat it poses viz-a-viz the tremendous goodwill and support the party is enjoying in Kaduna State.

“The other Governors share the same concern with me and he was pacified and it was agreed, after consultation with all concerned, to appoint a reconciliation committee under the chairmanship of Governor Aminu Bello Masari to put some more efforts in reconciling our members into harmony.

“The committee is yet to conclude its assignment. But I understood that Malam Nasir El-Rufai is yet to give the necessary cooperation to the committee which I still urge him to do so.”

THE foreign exchange scarcity and recent appreciation of the price of crude oil in the international market are threatening smooth supply of petrol in the country, Daily Trust has gathered.

Daily Trust gathered that for over three months now marketers have not been importing the product into the country due to the tricky nature of the situation.

“Right now government is not paying subsidy, even with the lower exchange rate of 285/$1, the increase in the price of crude oil has shot the landing cost of the refined product by about 40 percent,”, a marketer who asked for anonymity told Daily Trust yesterday.

“When the partial deregulation was announced last year the price of Brent crude oil was averagely at $45/ barrel but before the year ran out the crude price jumped to $56/barrel, the situation that pushed the price per metric tonne of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to rise from $400 to about $560 by the refiners”, the marketer said.

“Also, the gap between the current official exchange rate of N305/$1 and that of the petroleum import rate of N285/$1 at the liberalisation period left the marketers with the exchange rate differential of about $20 between the two rates.”

The partial liberalisation announced by the federal government in May 2016, had technically ended the subsidy regime, but the marketers say unless there is adjustment of price they can’t compete in the market.

With the country’s refinery operating in fits and start, Nigeria relies largely on the importation of refined products to meet its local needs of about 30 to 35 million litres per day.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday said it is targeting to make the country self-sufficient in product refining by 2019.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Mikanti Baru told the officials of Media Trust Limited yesterday that his management have ordered for the complete audit of the four refineries and talks are at top gear to bring in original equipment manufacturers to the refineries for the turnaround maintenance.

“We are pushing together various programs to ensure that we achieve at least 60 percent local refining this year, there are changing procedures a little bit, we are focusing on the process licensors to come and audit the process units of our refineries and with designers of the refineries which some of them have started coming in..” we hope if we do these systematically, geared towards 80 percent by the end of 2018 and with other efforts from other refineries that are coming on board we want to quit importation”.

The NNPC boss however pointed out that at the moment, the corporation is almost the sole importer of petroleum products unlike the situation in September 2016 when private sector companies were importing up to 50% of Nigeria’s consumption.

Industry analysts who spoke to Daily Trust said the country is once again sliding into what one of them called a pseudo subsidy situation with the only difference that it is now government to government with NNPC being forced to ask for the payment of the differential between the landing cost of refined products especially PMS which is pegged at 145 Naira per litre.

The analysts went on to say that having been forced to nearly double the price of fuel mid 2016, it is now politically difficult for the government to consider another hike even when other oil rich countries like Saudi Arabia are going in that direction.

lalasticlala

The Sokoto Hisbah Commission has seized the musical instruments used during the pre-wedding dinner of the daughter of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal for allegedly violating Shari'ah law being operated in the state.

Commandant of the Commission, Dr Adamu Bello Kasarawa said they had wanted to arrest the DJ that performed at the dinner but he escaped.

He explained that what happened at the dinner was not permissible in Islam and that it was their mandate to correct anything that was against Shari'ah law being operated in the state.

Kasarawa added that the instruments along with other devices seized across the state would be destroyed.

He said they recorded 157 cases of illegal pregnancies involving under age and those who were 18 years old and above in 2016.

The underage victims he said were handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Human and other Related Offences (NAPTIP) and the rest to the police.

Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari announced that very soon, Nigerians should expect a different cabinet from what obtains now. What this means is that while new persons are to be appointed into his cabinet, some of the existing ministers would be swapped with the hope that it would enhance productivity, efficiency and effectiveness in the Federal Executive Council. 

Since coming on board close to two years now, the incumbent government has been accused of being too slow and not responding fast enough to the needs of the people by alleviating their sufferings. Initially, when the cabinet composition was delayed several months after the inauguration of Buhari, many observers had thought the President was taking his time to get the best crops of professionals, technocrats and administrators that would make a difference. At the end of the day, many people expressed their disappointment at the ministerial list because many of the appointees have been in government for such a long time that they have been tagged as recycled politicians. 

Without prejudice, those to be appointed into his new cabinet should make more and visible impact. The first step in realising this goal would be for the government to look beyond party affiliation to getting patriotic and capable Nigerians that possess what it takes to deliver. Certainly, there are many hardworking, experienced and committed citizens in all facets of life that could offer the needed quality of leadership. While some are already proven and tested, many of them are largely unknown. Why is this so? They are neither into partisan politics nor believe in lobbying for appointments; a common feature of Nigerian politics. Unfortunately, experience has shown that at the end of the day, the best materials may never be chosen. This is where Mr. President has a lot of work to do by ensuring that the best materials are fished-out from their obscurity - home and abroad - and given the opportunity to contribute their quota to national development.

Without any prejudice, the President should begin by putting in place, a sound economic team that would revamp the country’s ailing economy within the shortest time in view of the biting economic recession. There is the need to save the naira from further slide against international currencies. The adverse effects of such a problem can better imagined for a country whose economy is heavily dependent on crude oil exports and imported goods. Severe inflation has become unbearable for many Nigerians as they continue to groan in pains while unemployment has become critical as many able-bodied young men and women continue to roam the streets without any hope of earning a living and with bleak future. These are some of the major economic problems that require urgent redress.

Another area that deserves urgent attention is the diversification of the economy from its over-reliance on oil. Even though the government has stressed the importance for the economy to be diversified, nothing much has really been done to actualize this.
The President should ensure that technocrats with passion and the requisite experience to make this work are invited to come on board to serve. Many of our natural resources remain neglected and untapped at the expense of crude oil that is fast depleting and losing value.

The perennial food scarcity facing the nation should be addressed. The incoming cabinet should make sure that enough food is put on the tables of Nigerians. The agriculture ministry should evolve sustainable policies that would encourage more people to go into farming by making access to funds a cheaper and easy. It is disturbing that many Nigerians celebrated the Yuletide in hunger when a full bag of rice sold for over N20,000, as against the less than N10,000, last year. Agencies of government that were set up to promote agriculture should be made functional to assist farmers in the massive agricultural production.

The terrible network of roads littering many parts of the country should give any serious government great concern. There is hardly any part of the country’s major road that is not a death trap. The same sorry state goes for power. Epileptic supply of electricity across the states has continued without any ray of hope in sight. It is high time the Federal Government unbundled the three federal ministries for more efficiency and effectiveness.

The ministry in charge of power, works and housing should no longer be put under the purview of a single minister as experience seems to suggest that in the last one year, nothing much has been achieved. While the works and housing portfolios could be fused, that of power should be isolated for better performance. We need to ask that the N8.4 billion provided for generators in the 2017 budget is not an attestation that we would not get it right with power?

The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Ministry of Justice should be better run in view of the commitment of the present government to fighting corruption. To ensure proper prosecution of cases and supervision of anti-graft agencies, there is the need to strengthen the ministry. This can be achieved by adopting a better strategy in the prosecution of corruption cases to a logical end as well as promote the administration of justice.

The information management machinery of the government should also be strengthened. A lot of policy issues need to be better understood than the way they are currently being projected. This disconnect continues to distance the government from the people. For instance, many people would want to know how much has actually been recovered through the anti-graft efforts and the plans for such funds.

When there is disconnect in the flow of information, rumours, half-truths and insinuations would become the order of the day. This also creates apathy rather that cooperation from the governed. The alleged case of the existence of ‘plastic rice’ in the markets and the weak public enlightenment on the controversy is another example.

It is saddening that various agencies of government continue to give conflicting statements on whether there is actually ‘plastic rice’ in the country or not. Also, the culture and tourism components of the information ministry appear to be receiving very little attention. They should be better harnessed in tandem with the government’s diversification goals and the many opportunities inherent in culture and tourism.

The country can still do better in sports. There should an opportunity to rejuvenate our sports administration in terms of improving the welfare of our athletes and officials for enhanced productivity. The Niger Delta ministry does not appear to have really impacted the lives of the people in the catchment areas. Restiveness and vandalisation of oil facilities are clear attestations to the fact that the ministry should still do more. The plight of Nigerian workers continues to worsen with the astronomical increase in the pump price of fuel to N145/litre without the corresponding increase in the minimum wage, as promised by the government. Fuel purchase consumes a large chunk of salaries of many workers! The labour minister should ensure that government fulfills this important obligation. The government should make the minimum wage increase a top in the New Year.

There are certainly other areas of national life that deserve serious and urgent attention. These include security, health, education and transportation, among others. Apart from ensuring that square pegs occupy square holes, Mr. President should allow the ministers to function by providing them with the necessary environment and prevent undue influence.

Finally, the Senate should do a thorough job by screening the nominees while the portfolios of the ministers should be attached to their credentials. It is only hoped that the nation would eventually be better-off with a new cabinet in place.

lalasticlala

I am barely 10 months into my marriage but I am finding it hard to cope with my husband’s sexual prowess and strange behaviour.

I met him in the church as a deacon many years back and he was a dedicated member.

The first day he professed his love to me during our ministry’s 10th anniversary, I didn’t think twice before I accepted him, because he was known to be my G.O’s right hand man owing to his dedication to the work of God.

Surprisingly, since we go married, whenever my husband wants to make love to me, he would rub a strong liquid, which he claims to be anointing oil, on his manhood.

Whenever we are done making love, I will be feeling some strange movements in my womb, like ants. I would be having stomach aches for days.

Each time I complained, he would tell me the oil is performing wonders in my womb.

The last time, I asked him to tell me the origin of the anointing oil or he won’t make love to me, he said our G.O gave it to him, that it has been blessed.

He claimed the holy oil would help me get triplet. As we speak, I only see my period twice in five months.

When I told him I will no longer take it, he left home angrily for six days and his phones have been switched off.

I am sorry for bringing my family issue to the public but I am confused, what do I do?

Accidental discharge occurred Wednesday at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Witnesses said a female staff member of the State House was injured in the process.

The incident happened at the reception of the administration block of the Villa.

The woman was said to have been rushed to the State House Medical Centre where she is currently being treated.

The woman, witnesses said, sustained injuries on her stomach and lap.

It was gathered that the incident occurred when an operative of the Department of State Security (DSS) was trying to drop his gun as requested by the security officers attached to the reception.

The DSS operative, according to sources, is not among the security officers assigned to the reception.

Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, says Nigeria will have a very strong, viable national airline before the end of 2017.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Sirika said the project would be private sector driven, and the federal government may own only three percent of the airline.

“When we came in we were very clear on our targets and goals and what we set out to achieve, and we did say that Nigeria does need a national airline. The national airline will be one that the government will have no hand in; normally it can have three percent,” he said.

“It will be private sector-led, private sector-driven. Except with the Ethiopian airline it has been proven that government doesn’t do well with this kind of venture.

“We are going to have a national carrier; it is on course and because it is a PPP thing it has to go through IC and C, and also has to follow all the due process. So it is time-consuming but I hope very soon before the end of the year we will have a very strong viable national airline.”

He said the carrier is necessary, considering the size of the market available in west and central Africa — equivalent to that of the US and Europe.

“For me, if any air line will have the capacity to deploy several aircraft with seamless operation, non disruptive, provide the service, go the long haul, take advantage and give other international airlines a run for their money, we don’t need to get involved; it is because there is none.

“The Nigerian Airways used to do all of these but in the wisdom of the then government they liberalised the sector, because of the absence of Nigeria’s capacity most of these airlines will come and leave as fast as they came in. But we are addressing all of these.

“We are going to establish this national carrier and it will give good service. This is the solution because Nigeria has the market, we are 180 million, we are sitting in West Africa and in the West African market we are 450 million and Nigeria is the major player.

“If you add the Central Africa, which is the Central belt, we are 600 million people, which is equivalent to the US market and also equal to the European market.”

Nigeria’s previous national carrier was the Nigeria Airways, wholly owned by the government and founded in 1958 after the dissolution of West African Airways Corporation, but it ceased operations in 2003.

lalasticlala

There were also indications that former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole is being considered to succeed APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun if the chairman accepts an  ambassadorial posting for which he is being considered by the Presidency.

Although Oyegun’s tenure is due to end in 2018, some power brokers in the Presidency are pushing for a “choice ambassadorial appointment for him in appreciation of his role in defeating the PDP in 2015.”

Oshiomhole is said to be favoured by some APC governors for the post in view of his antecedent as a labour leader.

But some APC leaders want Oyegun to serve his full term in office instead of being “compensated.’
Another source added: “From the look of things, Oyegun may get an ambassadorial posting which will make him to technically vacate office. They said Oyegun deserves a befitting appointment for leading an opposition party to defeat a ruling party.

“Some forces in the Presidency are looking forward to Oshiomhole as a respectable figure who can fit into the big shoes of Oyegun.

“Those who support Oyegun see ambassadorial appointment for a politician as a “sort of exile” which is not good.  They are reading a plot into the offer in order to ease out the APC National Chairman.”

Also yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari  met with Oshiomhole at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Oshiomhole’s visit was his first to the seat of government since leaving office in November.
Asked by State House correspondents to state his mission to the Villa, the former governor simply said he was there to exchange pleasantries with President Buhari in the spirit of the time.

During his state visit to Edo State in the twilight of Oshiomhole’s administration, President Buhari described Oshiomhole’s performance as “excellent”, adding that he would be useful at the federal level.

lalasticlala

By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor

ABUJA—Barring any last minute delay, Federal Government is to release the names of board members of federal agencies, boards and ministries.

This follows the fine-tuning of the lists of the nominees by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure lasting peace over the contentious issue.

It was learned last night that following the intervention of Buhari, the list of nominees already sent in by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF, has been adjusted to take care of all interest groups.

A competent source confirmed to Vanguard last night that the intervention of the President followed complaints by governors and other party big-wigs that they were not consulted by the OSGF before the list of board chairmen and members was compiled.

Under existing tradition, the OSGF compiles the names of chairmen and members of boards of Ministries, Agencies and Departments, MDAs, on the direction of the Presidency to reflect the interests of those who supported the making of the government.

However, it was gathered, yesterday, that the furore generated by governors and top officials of All Progressives Congress, APC, that they were schemed out of the nominations for boards of key parastatals, forced the Presidency to recall the list for what a source described as ‘further action.’

Reason for delay
It was learned that the list would be tampered with to accommodate the interests of all the key stakeholders to ensure continued party unity and cohesion, especially as the next round of electioneering is likely to kick off in a subtle way this year.

A competent source said that it was untrue to say Vice President Osinbajo had been appointed by President Buhari to replace the SGF, David Babachir, since they were not on equal rating.

The source defended Buhari, saying that he merely asked Osinbajo to ‘take a second look at the board nominations’ to ensure that all interests were catered for and to ensure justice, equity and fairness.

The source said: “Look, what the President has simply done is to ask his Vice to see what can be done to take care of all interest and does not in any way mean replacing the SGF because the two offices are not equal.

“There is no way the President would ask a Vice President to replace someone who is not equal to him in ranking.

“The list of nominees for board appointments they are talking about is the one that was compiled before and what the VP is simply doing at this time is to ensure that everyone will be happy at the end of the day, because Mr. President wants peace and stability in the country.

“The President wants his Vice to go through the list to ensure that everyone is accommodated and it is simply based on the template that had already been set by the OSGF and nothing more.”

The development runs contrary to media report that President Buhari has replaced the SGF, Babachir with Osinbajo as Chairman of the Presidential Committee on the reconstitution of federal boards and parastatals.

lalasticlala

A 32-year-old man identified only as Afolanya, was beaten to a state of unconsciousness and stripped naked on Saturday night for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl at Iddo-Babota village, along Airport road, Abuja.

A witness, Ishaku Musa, said the incident happened around 7:34 p.m. when the accused allegedly lured the victim with a token and took her to his room where he allegedly defiled her.

He said the accused, who is a taxi driver took advantage of the girl when her mother sent her on an errand.

He added that it was when the mother waited for her daughter to return but did not see her and decided to look around that a neighbour told her that her child was seen entering the accused’s room.

He said the mother rushed home to inform one of her sons who immediately went to the accused’s room where he caught him in the act with the girl and raised an alarm.

He said the accused, whose pieces of furniture were destroyed, was beaten to a state of coma.
Musa said the girl’s father who travelled for the Christmas was called on phone by the son, and he directed that the girl be taken to a clinic for test to confirm if the accused defiled her.

“In fact, the man was beaten to a state of coma, even as he denied that he only made an attempt when the girl’s brother came and forced the door open,” he said.

He said the accused was later taken away by some policemen from Iddo police outpost, who came with their patrol vehicle about 40 minutes later.

A police officer with the Iddo police outpost who preferred anonymity confirmed the incident, saying the suspect had been detained and investigation was still on after which he would be charged to court.

lalasticlala

Everest Amaefule , Abuja

Banks are no longer restricting the deduction of stamp duty on deposits made into current accounts, but now apply it to deposits made into savings accounts, investigation has shown.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had through a circular issued on January 15, 2016 directed the Deposit Money Banks to deduct N50 stamp duty on each deposit made into current accounts with a value of N 1000 and above in order to boost government’ s revenue drive and in compliance with Stamp Duties Act, 2004.

The apex bank anchored its directive on a court ruling obtained by Kasmal International Services Limited in 2014 to the effect that the 22 banks operating in the country should remit more than N 6 tn to the Nigerian Postal Services through the company as the stamp duty they were supposed to have collected since the Stamp Duties Act was passed into law.

However , the CBN exempted savings accounts from the deduction of stamp duty .

The circular stated, “ With immediate effect , all DMBs and other financial institutions shall commence the charging of N50 per eligible transaction in accordance with the provisions of the Stamp Duties Act and the Federal Government’ s Financial Regulations 2009 ; that is, all receipts given by any bank or other financial institution in acknowledgement of services rendered in respect of electronic transfers and teller deposits from N1,000 and above.

“ For the avoidance of doubt, the following receipts are , however , exempted from the imposition of stamp duties : payment deposits or transfers by self to self , whether inter or intra bank; and any form of withdrawals / transfers from savings accounts. ”

Investigation by our correspondent, however , showed that the banks had extended the deduction of the stamp duty to savings account transactions.

It was gathered that the Nigerian Postal Services , the implementation agency of the Stamp Duties Act, was against the exemption of any bank account except savings accounts held by children.

It was not clear as of press time when the collection of the duty was extended to savings accounts, but some bankers who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said the only exemption were deposits made by the owners of savings accounts.

This means that when a third party makes a deposit into a savings account with a value of at least N1, 000 , the sum of N50 is automatically deducted as stamp duty, which the bank has a responsibility to transfer to the NIPOST Stamp Duty Account domiciled with the CBN.

The Lagos Division of the Appeal Court had ruled that imposing a stamp duty on electronic transactions was illegal.

Ruling on an appeal filed by Standard Chartered Bank against Kasmal International Services Limited and 22 others, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa and four other justices of the Court of Appeal , Lagos Judicial Division , held that the Stamp Duties Act, 2004 did not impose a duty on the DMBs to deduct N 50 on bank deposits .

Four members of a robbery gang who raped nine women in Lagos have been arrested by the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police command.

A statement by the police on Monday said Sunday John, a 27 year old leader of the gang and serial rapist, arrested at Charity Bus Stop, Oshodi, confessed to have led three other members to rape the women in the last two weeks.

The suspect, a bus conductor in Oshodi from Akwa Ibom was reportedly arrested at Charity Bus Stop around 5:38 a.m. on Wednesday in company of his two gang members by the Decoy Team of the Rapid Response Squad.

The gang members are Saviour Daniel (23), Daniel Olayemi (18) and Abdulwahab Yusuph (17).

The statement said the operatives had on Tuesday evening arrested one of John’s colleagues while fighting with another group of boys over a Samsung tablet in Oshodi.

The suspect, Daniel Olayemi, a member of John’s gang, had disclosed to interrogators that he stole the tablet from a lady that was gang raped during one of their escapades in Charity Bus stop.

The revelation prompted early morning raid of Charity Bus Stop near Oshodi, where three other members of the gang were arrested according to the police.

Olayemi, in his disclosure to investigators revealed that they were four in John’s gang. He noted that in the last two weeks, the gang robbed 12 passers – by and raped no fewer than nine ladies in the bush at Charity Bus Stop.

Confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Dolapo Badmos, said that the suspects have made very useful suggestions to enable the police arrest other group members implicated in the crime.

The suspects have been transferred to SCID for further investigations.

Ifeanyi Onuba

The Federal Government has extended the execution of the N1.58tn capital component of the 2016 budget to the end of March 2017.

The development was confirmed by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, via a circular with reference number OAGF/CAD/026/V.111/108.

The circular, which was obtained by our correspondent on Friday in Abuja, was addressed to top government officials such as the Chief of Staff to the President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, ministers, National Security Adviser, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and all service chiefs.

Others are the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, all permanent secretaries (federal), Clerk of the National Assembly, Auditor General of the Federation, all vice chancellors of federal universities, all directors of finance and internal audit and all directors-general.

The circular, titled “Guidelines for financial activities for end of year 2016”, stated that while the implementation of the recurrent budget was expected to end on December 31, 2016, the capital component would be allowed to go on until March ending.

Idris said the need to issue the circular became imperative in order to promote probity, transparency and good governance.

The circular read in part, “It has become imperative to provide guidelines to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies and other arms of government on financial activities for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016.

“The objective of the guidelines is to promote probity, transparency, accountability and good governance in line with the policy of trust of the present administration.

“All ‘unspent’ balances in the recurrent expenditure cash books at the end of 2016 financial year will be closed.

“The Government Integrated Financial Management Information System platform will be closed by midnight of December 31, 2016 and the MDA balances will be mopped into the Consolidated Revenue/Treasury Single Account accordingly.

“The unexpended recurrent votes of the MDAs on the TSA-sub accounts under the CBN/Remita gateway for the 2016 financial year shall similarly lapse at midnight of December 31, 2016.”

It added, “Capital allocation and statutory transfer for the financial year ended December 31, 2016 will not be closed but extended to March 31, 2017.

“Accordingly, all MDAs will have access to their capital funds and statutory transfers up until March 31, 2017 as may be applied by the National Assembly.”

The circular, however, stipulated that the MDAs would be responsible for transfering the relevant legal or financial commitments into the New Year.

The transfer commitment, it added, would have impact on the 2017 budget including the capital budget transferred from the 2016 fiscal period.

It however, noted that such transactions would be separately disclosed in the consolidated financial statements of the Federal Government.

The N6.06tn 2016 budget, which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on May 5 had a recurrent expenditure of N2.65tn; capital expenditure of N1.58tn, with debt service of N1.47tn and fiscal deficit of N2.2tn.

So far, about N753.6bn has been released by the Ministry of Finance for capital projects with the Ministry of Power receiving the highest amount of capital releases of N209.24bn.

The Special Adviser on Media to the Finance Minister, Mr. Festus Akanbi, said in a statement that the Ministry of Defence had N69.5bn and the Ministry of Transportation followed with N30.5bn.

Others are agriculture, N29.5bn; water resources, N25.2bn; interior, N21.2bn; health, N18.4bn; education, N16.7bn; Niger Delta, N8.1bn; science and technology, N6.6bn; mines and steel, N3.3bn; and petroleum resources, N2.4bn.

The statement from the ministry also stated that the sum of N312.5bn was released to what it described as “others”.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, said a total of N753.6bn already released for capital expenditure in 2016 was the highest in the nation’s recent history, even in the era of high oil prices.

At an interactive session with members of the Senate Committee on Appropriation in Abuja, Udoma had said that in spite of the shortfall in revenue expectation, the government was committed to its debt obligations and had made efforts to fund the critical sectors to enable the government to function smoothly while seeking lasting solutions to the revenue shortfalls.

He explained that although the 2016 budget was well conceived, with reasonably conservative benchmarks, it recorded unanticipated revenue shortfalls along the line due to militants’ activities in the oil-producing Niger Delta region.

This development, he added, adversely affected the budgeted production levels for the 2016 fiscal year.

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Abdulmumin Jibrin, suspended member of the house of representatives, has told Yakubu Dogara, the speaker, to return the $600,000 he collected from James Ibori since he has denied the former Delta state governor.

On December 23, Dogara had denied claims by Peter Nwabaoshi, a senator, that the former governor influenced his emergence as speaker in June 2015.

But in a statement on Saturday, Jibrin said the sum allegedly collected by Dogara was used in his campaign.

He said Ibori also provided “huge support” to Dogara by mobilising legislators from Delta state, the south south and south east zone to support him.

“It is such a shame that Speaker Dogara denied the fact that former governor James Ibori provided huge support to his emergence as speaker by mobilising members from Delta state and some from the the south south and south east zone to support him,” the statement read.

“Since he has disowned Ibori, he should at least have the honour to return the $600,000 Ibori donated to his speakership campaign. I am sure he cannot deny the fact that he collected that money cash.”

Jibrin said that he had secured funding from two reputable international organisations “to establish an online platform that will serve as a central point to disseminate budget fraud, corruption acts and publish evidence.”

He also stated that he would hold series of public lectures and sensitisation programmes on budget fraud and corruption across the country.

“Our first event will hold in Kano on 9th January 2017 with 5000 youths across the country in attendance. Our anti-corruption crusade with be ruthless in 2017,” he said.

“I remain very proud that despite the organised witch-hunt against me using the institution of the house they have not been able to establish any offence that I have committed during the course of discharging my duties in the 5 years I have spent in the house.

“It is noteworthy that no member of the house has formally accused me of corruption or abuse of office as I have consistently done against the speaker and others.”

When contacted, Dogara’s spokesman responded with the same words he used on December 23, saying: “Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara does not have a relationship, political or otherwise with former Governor James Ibori of Delta state to warrant the insinuations.”

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A 41-year-old welder, Lukmon Kolawole, was on Thursday brought before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly stabbing a married woman with bottle for fighting his wife.

Kolawole, a resident of Aresanolu St. Agege, Lagos, is being tried for breach of peace and assault.

According to the prosecutor, Insp. George Nwosu, the accused committed the offence on Dec. 19 at his residence.

He said that the accused assaulted one Mrs Joy Asekharme by beating and stabbing her on her head.

Nwosu said that the accused came home and met his wife in a physical fight with the complainant.

“He came home to meet his wife in a fight with his co-tenant, instead of him to separate the fight, he joined his wife in the fight by punching the complainant all over her body.

“The accused was not satisfied with the punches alone so, he rushed inside to pick a bottle, smashed it on the ground and stabbed the complainant on her head,” he said.

The offence contravened sections 166 and 171 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Section 171 prescribes three years jail term for offenders.

The accused pleaded innocence of the offence and was granted bail a N50, 000 bail with two sureties in like sum.

The Magistrate, Mr A. A. Adesanya adjourned the case to Jan. 16, 2017, for mention.

The heads of two key federal agencies who are also close allies of President Muhammadu Buhari have been sparring over allegations and counter allegations of unprofessionalism and illegality.
The disagreement by the two officials appear to confirm insinuations of division among some leading lights of the Buhari administration.

The turf war stems from a letter written by the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Lawal Daura, to Mr. Buhari on September 8.
In the letter, the security chief accused the Nigerian Customs Service, (NCS), of introducing a $25,000 as new Temporary Import Permit (TIP), levy on each vessel that berths to discharge petroleum products in Nigeria.

PREMIUM TIMES sighted correspondences revealing wrangling between Mr. Daura, a kinsman of the President, and the Director-General of NCS, Hameed Ali, a retired colonel and ally of Mr. Buhari.

The said levy, as Mr. Daura reported to the President, was illegal as it was not provided for on the PPRA template, not receipted, and could increase the cost of petrol by 56 kobo per litre.

In international trade circle, TIP is a customs’ procedure under which certain goods can be brought into a country without payment of duties or taxes and without import prohibition and restriction.

Ports insiders further explained that it is a condition that the goods will be issued for certain period of time and exported back at the expiration of TIP.

But before it is issued, those knowledgeable about NCS operations regarding the issuance said an applicant must post a bond to cover the import duty and other charges inclusive of the 25 per cent penalty in case of violation of the terms.

In Mr. Daura’s memo, he further reported that the alleged introduction of $25,000 TIP levy followed the detention of a vessel, MT Histria Ivory, at Apapa by NCS operatives.

He reported to the President that Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) made the complaint that formed the basis of his memo.
A week after receiving the memo, Mr. Buhari forwarded it to Mr. Ali, demanding his “summary report of your considered view”.

In his response, Mr. Ali told the President that the SSS under Mr. Daura appeared to be more interested in smear campaign and personal vendetta than in thorough investigation and anti-corruption efforts of the administration.

He explained that the said vessel, MT Histria Ivory, was truly detained but that was after it was sighted discharging cargo at Apapa Jetty.
He said the detention was to ascertain whether it had TIP or liable for payment of duty.

While the investigation was ongoing, before Mr. Daura’s memo to the President, MOMAN alleged imposition of $25,000 TIP levy per vessel by the NCS via a letter copied to the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu; Minister for Finance, Kemi Adeosun; the SSS and the Customs chief.

MOMAN, PREMIUM TIMES learnt, wrote the complaint letter one week before Mr. Daura sent the memo to the president.

Mr. Ali told the President: “It was this letter copied to the DSS that the Department relied on without any investigation and reported to Mr. President that NCS is collecting $25 thousand TIP levy without issuing receipt any receipt.

“The DSS copied all the allegations of MOMAN almost verbatim without any input from them. The Department should have investigated the matter with a view to bringing the perpetrators of the alleged dastardly act to justice.

“This would have been in line with the Federal Government’s efforts of stamping out corruption in the country. It seems however that the DSS is more interested in smear campaign than doing what is right.”

Mr. Ali insisted that the issuance of TIP does not involve payment of money and that the NCS had stopped conducting cash transactions since 2001.
He further reported to the President that MOMAN which made the original complaint was invited by the NCS to bring evidence its members were being charged TIP levy.

In the MOMAN statement understood to have been attached to Mr. Ali’s reply to the President, the body reportedly said the payment which increased from $5,000 to $25,000 was made through shipping agents.

Mr. Ali said the NCS further pressed MOMAN to help identify culpable Customs officials involved in such shady deals.

However, up to the time of writing the letter no response was received from MOMAN despite numerous follow-up telephone calls, the retired colonel said.

He added that the agent of the detained ship, Integrated Shipping Service Limited, was also interviewed, and that stated “no Customs officer demanded for an unreceipted payment of $25 thousand from us or our client…”
The agent’s statement was attached to the NCS’ reply to the President, PREMIUM TIMES understands.

“Proper investigation should always be carried out on complaints such as this which casts serious doubt on the integrity of services and organisations with a view to ascertaining the truth or otherwise of such allegations before reporting such to the Mr. President.

“The DGSS should therefore be advised to approach issues professionally and not allow sentiments or personal vendetta to drive his actions,” Mr. Ali told the President and copied Mr. Daura, saying “above for your information please.”
The disagreement between the officials came to light weeks after Mr. Daura was caught in another controversy after he levelled allegations against the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, to frustrate the confirmation of his appointment by the Senate.

A fact-check by this newspaper showed that the allegations made by the SSS were substantially false.

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A Katsina State High Court sitting in Funtua on Thursday sentenced Mu’ammar Tukur, son of former District Head of Bakori, to death by hanging for culpable homicide.

Tukur, 32, whose late father represented Bakori/Danja Federal Constituency at Federal House of Representatives, was convicted for using knife to stabbed Shafir Muktar to death.

In his judgment, Justice Abbas Bawale, said the prosecution led by Mr Aminu Garba had established the case of culpable homicide against the convict beyond reasonable doubt.

Bawale said the prosecution called five witnesses and tendered four exhibits which established the three needed ingredients, including death of the victim, cause of the death and intention of the action.

He said the incident occurred on April 21, 2008 in a serial fight between the convict and the some of the prosecution witnesses at viewing centre.

The judge said the defence counsel, Mr AbdulAziz Olagoke, effort to contradict the evidence of the prosecution was futile.

He said the defence argument that the prosecution did not tender the metallic material used in committing the offence could not be sustained.

The judge held that the convict ran way between 2008 and 2013 and was arrested at the grave yard during the funeral of his deceased mother.

Bawale held that convict’s reliance on provocation was not material because he left the scene and came with the metallic instrument to perpetrate the action.

He said the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt as required by law and sentenced the convict to death by hanging.

The judge also said the plea for leniency could not be entertained because the court’s discretion was blocked by law and directed that the plea should be set to the state governor.

He advised the defence to file its appeal within 90 days.
NAN

Ejiofor Alike


The chief executives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Total and ENI are scheduled to meet early next month to decide the fate of the $15 billion Brass Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project located on Brass Island, Bayelsa State, THISDAY has learnt.

This is coming as uncertainty continues to loom over the fate of the $547 million already plunked into the Olokola LNG project situated on the border town between Ogun and Ondo States, following the withdrawal of the project’s shareholders and the recent decision by the NNPC to relocate its staff seconded to the project to Abuja.

THISDAY gathered that the shareholders of Brass LNG who have invested about $1 billion on early works, without signing a Final Investment Decision (FID), will meet in London between January 10 and 12, 2017 to take a decision on the multi-billion dollar project, whose FID has been kept in abeyance for a decade.

An official of one of the shareholders, who spoke to THISDAY on the condition of anonymity, maintained that the Brass LNG project remained on course and blamed the delay in signing the FID to the absence of political will on the part of the Goodluck Jonathan administration and what he called the protracted withdrawal of ConocoPhillips from the project.

According to him, the shareholders – NNPC, ENI, Total and ConocoPhillips – were at the point of signing the FID before the American oil major pulled out of Nigeria.

“It took them a very long time from the period they made the announcement to the period they finally pulled out, because they were looking for investors who will buy their oilfields in Nigeria and their 17 per cent stake in Brass LNG. When they found Oando, the company could only buy their oilfields
immediately. So, their withdrawal was very protracted and this affected the Brass project,” he explained.

“Again, we were to use ConocoPhillip’s cascade technology to build the plant. When they pulled out, they dragged their feet before they agreed to give us the licence to use the technology. Even when they agreed, they said that they would not be held responsible if anything happens to the plant in the course of using their technology,” he added.

The official, however, said the Brass LNG project remained on course, adding that LNG projects were viable. “You will recall that Nigeria LNG bailed out the federal government.

“The Brass project is viable but the past administration lacked the political will to pursue the FID. We are hopeful that Brass will go forward.

“The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu secured $80 billion funding from the Chinese and Indians and we are hopeful that Brass will benefit from this funding.

“We have done a lot of optimisation in Brass. We have reconstituted our team and changed ConocoPhillip’s model and we are now using the Nigeria LNG model.

“Our technology now is APCI technology used in building Nigeria LNG. The Managing Director is now from ENI. We have scaled down the cost from the initial $15 billion; it is now affordable to the shareholders.

“We wanted to start with two trains but we have reduced it to one. The shareholders have also warehoused ConocoPhillip’s shares. And there is a political will on the part of the present administration. So, after the meeting next month, the shareholders will make a statement,” he added.

THISDAY, however, gathered that 58 of the 70 personnel of NNPC, who were seconded to Brass LNG, were recently recalled to Abuja, leaving only 12.
Similarly, NNPC has relocated its staff seconded to Olokola LNG to Abuja, following the withdrawal of all the shareholders from the project.

THISDAY learnt that since the withdrawal of Chevron (14.25 per cent); Shell (19.5 per cent) and BG (14.25 per cent) due to what the shareholders called “varying constraints”, NNPC, which holds 46.75 per cent of the project, has continued to sustain Olokola LNG by funding minimal activities.

A source at NNPC, who confirmed the relocation of its OKLNG staff to Abuja, told THISDAY that the project expenses since inception amounted to about $547 million.

“This includes $4.5 million proposed for the 2016 work programme and budget, which is 100 per cent funded by the NNPC,” he said.

“OKLNG proposed a budget of $12.5 million for 2016 but with the relocation of OKLNG staff to Abuja, the budget was revised downwards to $4.5 million to reflect minimal activities while operating from Abuja,” he added.

According to him, with the withdrawal of the shareholders and the relocation of staff, there is uncertainty over the fate of the $547 million spent on site preparation and early works.

Brass LNG and OKLNG were conceived by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 to boost gas supply to both domestic and export markets.

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Usman, a Boko Haram suspect arrested in Utako market in Abuja, has warned of pending attacks in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, saying a lot of “colleagues are out there in the city to unleash mayhem”.

According to a statement by Kinglsey Madaki, spokesperson of the AMAC Marshal, the security agency that “arrested” Usman, the suspect was found at Utako market with a “Qur’an and a chaplet on his neck while trying to lobby people in the market.”

Madaki said AMAC Marshal was recently established by the Abuja Municipal Area Council.

He said the suspect had been handed over to the army at the Mabila Barracks. He called on residents to be watchful every time and report suspicious movements to security agencies to ensure the safety of live and property.

Insurgents have been reported to have fled Sambisa forest, a Boko Haram stronghold, following an invasion by the Nigerian army. One suspect was also arrested in Lagos.

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By Iheanacho Nwosu,Abuja

There is growing concern in the Presidency and security circle over alleged moves and utterances of key politicians believed to be nursing presidential ambition in 2019, Daily Sun learnt yesterday.

The development, a source at the Department of State Security (DSS) revealed, is considered a huge problem “because the country is likely to be on fire” if the unnamed politicians are allowed to continue in the direction they are going.

With the way things are unfolding, the source, who did not want his name mentioned, claimed both the State Security Service and other security agencies now weigh politicians as being more dangerous than Boko Haram.

He said: “What is giving security agencies grey hairs is the ambition of some prominent politicians. They are more dangerous than Boko Haram. They are sharpening their knives and taking other dangerous steps because they want to be president, governor or senator.

It is a very serious matter; the way to 2019 is already strewn with dangerous weapons. They want to set Nigeria on fire.”

According to the source, the worry over the activities of the politicians, who he said were being monitored, stemmed from their huge influence, massive wealth and high network across the country.

He alleged the politicians were making incendiary and divisive utterances in private meetings, while they pretend to be patriots in public outings.

“We are concerned because these politicians say one thing in the public and another in private political meetings.

They want to set this country on fire just because of their ambition,” the senior DSS official said.
He said “the media should all join hands to stop these politicians from unleashing terror on the country in the name ambition.”

He, however, declined to reveal what the security agents and the presidency were doing to checkmate the politicians, but assured nobody would be allowed to “set our nation on fire because of politics”.

The source said the challenge facing security agents at the moment was how to address the security threat posed by some Boko Haram members who fled Sambisa forest.

He disclosed that some of the fleeing sect members have been nabbed and are currently in detention.

“Our challenge is fleeing Boko Haram members. We are arresting them and we will continue to be on their trail. But it is a huge challenge for us at the moment.

“The good thing is Boko Haram is almost history now. We will handle the current challenge effectively and efficiently because the new development is not strange, it was expected. Security agencies are working together on this and it is paying off.”

He hailed the activities of the DSS, saying the agency’s exploits were getting accolades from the international community.

On herdsmen, the DSS source accused politicians of politicising the issue.

He said some legislations on the matter may worsen the situation and advised that caution must be applied by Nigerians on the issue.

From Okey Sampson, Aba

Barring any last minute change, Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Martins Azubuike may lose his seat this morning as members have concluded plans to impeach him.

A source close to the lawmakers said but for two, other members have signed an impeachment notice to remove Azubuike from office.

The source disclosed that members who signed the impeachment notice cut across the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the assembly.

Daily Sun gathered that the idea to remove the speaker, which was said to have received the blessings of top government officials and some chieftains of the ruling party in the state was to pave way for the son of a former governor of the state to become speaker, in line with a pre-election agreement.

It was discovered that the latest impeachment plot would be the fifth time Azubuike, who is serving his third term in the House and represents the Isiala Ngwa North state constituency, would be threatened with impeachment.

However, other names said to be on the line to replace Azubuike, in the event that that of the son of former governor does not sail through are Chikwendu Kalu (Isiala Ngwa South) and Kennedy Njoku (Osisioma Ngwa North).

When contacted, Azubuike’s Chief Press Secretary, Clinton Uba said contrary to the dummy being pushed out, his boss has not committed any impeachable offence.

“Mr. speaker is innocent. An attempt to impeach the speaker, who has been carrying every member along can only heat up the polity.

“The Sixth Assembly has been the most peaceful, despite its composition.

“The speaker has also been very supportive to the executive. Until we get to the House and see the alleged impeachment notice, I will be guided in my response but, I can confirm to you that the plot to remove my boss is no longer secret. My advice to the aggrieved members is to have a rethink and place the interest of the state above self.”

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Federal lawmakers are spending billions on constituency projects statutorily meant to be executed by various government agencies.

Daily Trust findings show that contrary to popular belief, the constituency projects are actually the lawmakers’ “bribes” of mostly their party executives and ardent supporters at the local levels to curry political favours.

This explains the lawmakers’ struggle to appropriate government projects and present them as theirs to their localities.

They also obtain bank loans to execute them before the constituency funds are paid.

There are several dozen agencies at the federal, state and local government levels saddled with the responsibilities being usurped now by the lawmakers.

The 469 senators and House of Representatives members have at least spent about N50 million, amounting to over N4.6 billion since the inauguration of the National Assembly in June last year.

Daily Trust findings showed that a lawmaker spends as much as N200 million in buying items that included transformers, air-conditioned vehicles, tricycles, motorbikes, sewing machines and tractors for distribution to their supporters.

Other projects by the lawmakers include free medical services, scholarships, provision of small scale business start ups, generating sets, skill acquisition centres, addressing environmental challenges by planting trees, health facilities upgrades.

A senator gets about N12 million, while a Rep receives N7 million monthly, totalling N47 billion for the National Assembly lawmakers as running costs annually, according to the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), 2009.

How it started

Investigations show that N100 billion was budgeted for “zonal intervention funds /constituency projects” in the 2016 budget. The six geopolitical zones are allocated N10 billion each. The N10 billion is further shared among the states in the zone on 40 percent for senators and 60 percent for House of Representative members.

The balance of N40 billion of the constituency project budget is shared equally by the leadership of the Senate and that of the House of Representatives.
Dr Haruna Yerima, a member of the House of Representatives from 2003-2007, said the concept of the constituency projects had been “bastardised and should be scrapped.”

He said at the beginning, the lawmakers were not involved in the cost of the projects and who the contractors were “but only suggest where the projects would be cited.”

“The lawmakers only ensure that the projects are executed. But they now either select the contractors or even execute the projects themselves,” he said.
The former lawmaker from Borno State said “most of the lawmakers now connive with the agencies to inflate the contracts or siphon the money without doing anything at all.”

He said sometimes the agencies buy these “items which the lawmakers appropriate and distribute to their party loyalties as if they were the ones buying them.”

Another lawmaker who chaired the senate committee on rules and business in the 5th Senate (2003-2007), Senator Umaru Tsauri said constituency project was conceived to ensure the spread of federal projects in all the 774 local government areas of the country.

“In our time, you select projects and it would be executed in your constituency. That’s all. The contractor will pursue his or her money. I don’t know whether or not the contractor that executed project in my constituency in 2004/2005 has been paid or not,” he said.

Bribes for party executives

The constituency projects are nothing but bribes for party executives, a serving senator from the northwest told Daily Trust in confidence for fear of backlash from his colleagues.

“I’m in support of its scrap because it does not benefit the masses. It only benefits our party executives. The projects are shared to them in order to curry their favours,” he said.

“If we are scrapping it, the masses should be sensitized so that they will zero their minds on it. Nigerians are yet to differentiate between legislature and executives,” he said.

When asked why they personalise the projects, the senator said: “If a state governor executes a project, you will say El-Rufai, Ganduje or Ambode has done this and that. And you know the projects were executed with government money and not theirs. So, what is wrong if I do same?”

“Because of pressure from our people, we went to banks to collect loans to execute projects in anticipation of the release of constituency project funds.”

The senator said a lawmaker from Kaduna state was in trouble because of the N120 million bank loan over the same project.

Another lawmaker was beaten by his constituents in Jigawa state last week for “not executing any projects for them,” he said.

Who spend what?

Senate president Bukola Saraki, in the last few months, flagged-off a N300 million water and road intervention projects for his constituency projects.
The Senate Leader Ali Ndume (APC, Borno) months ago distributed nine tractors to each of the nine local government areas of his senatorial district.

The tractors which were disbursed to enable the people of his constituency return to farms gulped over N200 million, according to one of his aides.

Another senator whose constituency projects attracted attention was Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna). He reportedly spent about N150 million on the provision of power transformers and hospital equipment.

Also, in the Southwest, Senator Duro Faseyi (PDP, Ekiti) in May this year distributed 250 sewing machines, 150 motorcycles, 10 cars, 100 tricycles and 200 grinding machines to his constituents.

Also, Senator Malam Ali Wakili of (APC, Bauchi) had provided mobile science laboratories to 25 schools, two ICT centres, land for Police station, 200 motorcycles, 50 cars, hundreds of tricycles and scholarship to his constituents.

Senator Rose Oko (PDP, Cross River) spent about N10 million on the provision of health care services to the people of her senatorial district.

In Abuja last week, Senator Philip Tanimu Aduda (PDP, FCT) announced the disbursement of N40 million as scholarships to students of the territory institutions across the country.

In the House of Reps, Speaker Yakubu Dogara (APC, Bauchi) had in April organized free medical treatment for about 5,000 people in Bauchi State.

The Deputy Speaker Yussuf Suleiman Lasun (APC, Osun), in April launched an empowerment scheme through which he distributed items worth N50 million to his constituents.

Items distributed at the occasion include 100 tricycles, 100 sewing machines, 100 grinding machines and N6 million to some beneficiaries, among whom were the aged.

Also, House Leader Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos), recently distributed tricycles, grinding machines, sewing machines, motorbikes worth millions of naira to his constituents.

Early November, the suspended former chairman of the House committee on appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin (APC, Kano), empowered his constituents with items worth N100 million.

Daily Trust further gathered that some of the lawmakers, especially the new ones, only enjoyed the un-executed constituency projects of their predecessors provided in the 2015 budget.

Diversion of legislative priority

The Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) Idayat Hassan has said the constituency projects “are a cesspool of corruption.”
She said after the budget padding allegations, the projects are now questionable. “It is questionable in the sense that very few members get more than the majority, that there is no equity in sharing but just another cesspool of corruption,” Hassan said.

“Some have even alleged that the monies are shared between the MDAs and members with no visible project sighted in the constituency,” she said.

She said the challenges had to do with the constituents not knowing the actual duties of legislators, which drive the lawmakers to make promises during campaigns and also force them to overreach themselves to attract projects at all cost to their constituencies.

The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani said, “Constituency projects allocation to lawmakers has no constitutional backing. What’s happening is diversion of legislative priority.”

“There is no policy legitimizing giving public funds to individual lawmakers to carry out constituency projects. They were elected to legislate for the good governance of the country. Introducing this to their work is not proper,” he said.

The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) executive director Dr Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi called for the probe of constituency projects previously executed.

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Suspended member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, has lashed at President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that he has allowed himself to be taken hostage.

The former Chairman House Committee on Appropriation, did not say who took the President hostage, but in a series of tweets on his twitter handle, @AbdulAbmJ, on Monday, the lawmaker asked Buhari to either fight those blackmailing him or give up the presidency.

In one of the tweets, he wrote, “A President must repel blackmail with all his arsenals or give up the presidency.

“You cannot be an effective president while in hostage!”

He accused Buhari of playing into the hands of people he (Jibrin) claimed did not believe in him.

Jibrin, a member of the All Progressives Congress from Kano State, tweeted, “Mr. President, you are playing into the hands of people who do not believe in you and your our government.

“You will come back to these tweets in 18 months.”
He further alleged that Buhari had turned his back on a lot of issues in the name of achieving political stability and harmony.

Jibrin noted that the President’s decision would later come to haunt him.

He added, “Mr. President, such ‘political stability’ and ‘harmony’ that compels you to turn away your face where you shouldn’t is useless to our country!”
It was not clear whom Jibrin was referring to, but observers said coming on the day the Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, turned 49 years old, Jibrin might have become frustrated in his bid to have Dogara prosecuted.

Buhari, had in a birthday message to Dogara, praised the speaker, saying that he (Dogara) inspired his trust in the youths of the country to deliver Nigeria out of challenges.

Jibrin had been suspended by the House in September after lawmakers dismissed his N40billion budget padding allegations against Dogara and three other principal officers.

The three others are the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yussuff Lasun ; Chief Whip, Mr. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; and the Minority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor.

Jibrin had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, the Police and the Department of State Services, seeking the prosecution of Dogara.

None of the agencies has acted so far by inviting any of the officers for questioning.

Jibrin later left the country for the United Kingdom on the excuse that his security was no longer guaranteed in Nigeria.

Femi Fani-Kayode, former Aviation Minister, has revealed his conversation with an unnamed retired General over the fall of Sambisa forest, the last stronghold of the Boko Haram sect.

Fani-Kayode, in the conversation he sent to DAILY POST Monday evening, noted that the claim by the Nigerian government that Boko Haram had fallen was a lie.

His words is reproduced unedited below;
“A retired General shared this perspective with me. He said the recent noise about defeat of BHT (Boko Haram terrorists is so deceptive.

“It must be noted as a mission in furtherance of their belief & propaganda to achieve 2 things. First to vindicate Islam by presenting it as not being responsible for all the evil done by this terrible Jihadists movement.

“He had devoted a substantial portion of his inaugural speech in trumpeting this deception. Much of what he had to say there was to insist that Islam was not responsible for the atrocities.

“That message was more of an imam’s speech . The fact is that the last regime had already positioned the military to finally destroy the BHT even while the tyrant & his APC were busy encouraging & profiting from the exploits of the evil organisation.

“Secondly, himself, his party & many Muslim fanatic military officers who were so committed to sabotaging the counterterrorist operations under Jonathan were mainly concerned that, Jonathan, an ‘infidel’ must not be credited with defeating an organisation identified with Islam.

“This to them would be an unacceptable aberration. Most of those officers sabotaging the operations under last leadership eventually became the earliest appointees to command in the NA (Nigeria Army) as soon as the tyrant assumed power.

“People fail to ask what really is his tangible strategic input of this tyrant to this defeat of BHT that he so much wants to be credited with? All the equipment used were procured by last regime. All the Special forces were trained under last regime.

“The MNJTF was an idea fully packaged by last regime. The massive recruitment, retraining & restructuring of NA all under last regime. The efforts to restore discipline which opposition politicians worked to undermine & incite was also not by this wicked regime of propagandists.

“In actual fact, part of the reasons anger of the tyrant’s regime agsinst Dasuki & leadership of military under Jonathan was because of the totality the efforts to roundly defeat BHT & terrorism in Nigeria.

“This is the background & the true narrative of the much noised December 2016 victory over BHT. I wish this understanding is available to Nigerians & historian on our nation’s travails.”

A 44-year-old man, identified as Sunday Ibrahim, has alleged strangled his 14-year-old son, Musa Ibrahim, to death, following the dissolution of the couple’s marriage by a court in Abuja.

His act, which happened in Kabusa village in Apo area of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, was said to be an ‘unimaginable show of heartlessness and an extreme case of hatred for his ex-spouse’, the Sun is reporting.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, CP, Mohammed Mustapha, confirmed the incident on Friday, saying the court granted the ex-wife custody of the couple’s children.

According to him, Ibrahim’s primary reason for the abominable act was to cause the ex-wife absolute heartbreak and ensure that she would never see the teenage son again.

The CP said, “After killing the son, Ibrahim ran to the house of his uncle, Haruna Isah, who resides at Airport road, Abuja, to confess that he had killed Musa.

“Isah promptly reported the matter at the Ido Police Station. He also arrested Ibrahim and handed him over to the Apo Police Station, from where the case was subsequently transferred to the homicide section of the FCT Criminal Investigation Department of the police command.

“When detectives took Ibrahim back to his residence to conduct a search, they discovered the sandals of the deceased teenager in the father’s room,” the CP stated, assuring that the suspect would be charged to court soon.

Isah, on his part, recalled that he brought him (the suspect) to Abuja and trained him.

He said, “I was aware that his wife was no longer with him again. It was one fateful day that Sunday Ibrahim came to my house early in the morning and confessed to me that he had strangled his son, Musa Ibrahim, and wanted me to help him.

“I was deeply shocked and momentarily confused. When I regained my sense, I quickly ran to Ido police station on airport road to make a report.

“I also arrested him and handed him over to the police. In the statement he made to the police, he said he did it to punish his ex-wife,” Isah confirmed.

Meanwhile, reports say Ibrahim had previously attempted to kill his 17-year-old daughter, Maimuna Ibrahim, by serving her poisoned food, although, she did not eat the food, after which Ibrahim threw the poisoned food away.

Speaking on the incident, Ibrahim’s ex-wife, Zanaib Ibrahim said, “I sued my former husband for divorce and the court dissolved our marriage in 2015.
“The court granted me custody of our six children, to take care of them. But my ex-husband had been monitoring Musa.

“He went to where the boy was learning tailoring and bought him suya and soft drink, which he used to deceive and lure him away and then strangled him.

“He did it to punish me. I waited for my late son but I didn’t see him,” she sobbed and continued, saying, “I went to meet the man who was training him, Umar Maitalata, who told me that my ex-husband took him away after the close of work.

“I called my ex-husband’s phone four times but he refused to pick my calls.

“The following day, I saw him and asked about my late son. He said that the boy was dead; it was somebody who showed me the corpse of my son at Kabusa farm.
“My ex-husband is an evil person and not a responsible husband. He attempted to poison my first daughter Maimuna, but she noticed the poison in the food and did not eat it.

“I want justice to be done over the death of my late son Musa Ibrahim,” she lamented.

In his confession, Ibrahim, an indigene of Adari Local Government Area, Kogi State said, “I was having misunderstanding with my wife.

“She was not contented with the money I gave her. Then, suddenly she packed her things and left my house. She sued for divorce and the court dissolved the marriage.

“So I took our son Musa to Ondo, to hide him there. But she traced him to the place and took him back and registered him to learn tailoring.

“I went to where Musa was learning the trade. I bought suya and soft drink for him and then took him away.
“I strangled my son, Musa, to punish my ex-wife.

“Immediately after killing him, I ran to a native doctor to perform some rituals for me. I also ran to my uncle, Haruna Isah and confessed to him that I had strangled my son and he got me arrested.

“I want my family to forgive me for the evil I have done,” the suspect pleaded.

…cart away musical equipment hours to songs fiesta

Aborting event akin to succumbing to the devil –Members

Truck crushes couple, cyclist…chicken survives

Scores escape death as tankers collide in Lagos

Police Commissioner worried by increasing cases of car theft Dare-devil armed robbers stormed the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Madalla in the outskirts of Abuja on Christmas Eve, truncating their celebration by carting away musical equipment worth millions of Naira slated for use during the event.

The church, located in Madalla New site, was decorated in glowing colours by its members in preparation for a night of songs and dances before men of underworld stormed the place, what members described as a sacrilege.

Sunday Telegraph gathered that the robbers broke into the well-decorated church hall and made away with entire music instrument estimated to cost over N3 million.

The robbers, who removed the protective iron rods and burglary proofs at the entrance of the Church, did not spare any item in sight.

List of music instruments carted away include, machine console, heavy speakers, drums, mixers, microphones, generator and other auxiliary music instruments of the church.

A frontline member of the church who confirmed the incident to Sunday Telegraph said the incident had been formally reported at the Madalla Police Station.
“We were fully prepared in anticipation to uniquely celebrate the Christmas with a bashing Christmas Carol. Our members had painstakingly rehearsed with our music instrument, good ones they were.

The church premises renovated, decorated with colorful ribbons as part of preparation for a befitting Christmas. The dream was almost aborted by midnight robbers who, in the wee hours, burgled the church and went with the entire music instruments.
Not a single item was left. The only microphone spared by their filthy hands was the one kept in daddy’s office.

I guess it was spared due to oversight. Every other item connected to music was taken away, though no cash was stolen because as a rule, we don’t keep cash in premises”, he said.

Asked if the musical fiesta had been put on hold because of the incident, he answered in the negative.
According to him, the night of carols will still hold but the choir will sing with their natural voices, adding that aborting it would be like succumbing to the acts of the devil.

In a related development, the Commissioner of Police, Sokoto State Command, Mr. Mohammed Abdulkadir has expressed concern over rampant cases of theft in Sokoto, the state capital and its environs.

Abdulkadir said this in Sokoto in his message at the End of Year Dinner and Awards Night organised by the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations (CONSD), Sokoto State Chapter. Abdulkadir, who was represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Charge of Operations, Mr. Anene Innocent, said the emerging trend of criminality is prevalent around the Automated Teller Machines of some banks, especially at nights.

He said customers park their vehicles with the intention of transacting business only to be shocked that the car is gone.

”It is a very worrisome situation and the command will not relent in its efforts to contain the obnoxious situation,” Abdulkadir said, urging the banks to boost security around their premises, and called on the residents to be more proactive and security conscious.

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

A woman, Ujunwa Obi has landed into trouble after she gave out money to local fraudsters (money doublers) who deceived her that they would print N10 million for her in exchange for N170,000 and subsequently make her rich.

The woman did not only lost the money she was promised, she equally lost her own money she staked in the business and went home frustrated.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the mother of two was accosted by the notorious fraud gang operating around Ikotun area and told her it was possible for her to become rich and she agreed.

They asked her to bring the money she had and they will double it to N10 million and she will become rich and will be able to solve all her pressing problems.

It was gathered that they did produced sample in her presence and printed few monies which made Obi to be more convinced because she was asked to use the money to pay for anything which she did.

When she staked the money and she was asked to come the following day to collect the money they promised which will be loaded in a box for her. On the agreed date, when she got there and met nobody. She then realised she had been duped.

She went to Ikotun police division and reported what happened and the police successfully trailed the gang and arrested one of the suspects.

The suspect, Ugonna Nwaele, 31 was arrested and charged before Magistrate’s court sitting in Ejigbo with conspiracy, stealing and obtaining under false pretence.

He pleaded not guilty.
The presiding Magistrate, Mr A.A. Fashola granted Nwaele bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum.

He was remanded in prison custody pending when he will perfect his bail condition.
The matter was adjourned till 23 January 2017 for mention.

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A Kenyan man of God, Pastor John Olang Abluza, has reportedly died from and overdose of Viagra after checking into a hotel room with his secret lover, eDaily reports.

It was gathered that the body of the 60-year-old Abluza was discovered naked inside the hotel room in a city called Oyugis which is in the Homa Bay County, while the woman he went with was nowhere to be found.

The pastor who was also a professional surveyor, had booked a room in the lodging facility at around 5 pm on the day of the incident and in anticipation of an all-night sex romp with the woman, he took an overdose of the Viagra.

But barely 30 minutes after they went into the room, the woman was seen hurriedly leaving the hotel without the pastor in tow.

The hotel management called in the police after discovering the body of the late pastor though the identity of the woman could not be ascertained.

The Homa Bay County Police Commander, John Omusanga, who confirmed the incident, said investigations have revealed that the 60-year-old man overdosed on sex enhancement drugs, which could have led to his death.

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

A 27-year old self-confessed cultist, Chibuike Samuel Ibenye has said that his greatest mistake in life was the day he joined Aiye secret cult with the false assurance that he will make money as a member.

Ibenye said it turned out that the group does not have such means to make him rich as his condition worsened and he ended up carrying loads for traders at market.

Ibenye was paraded by the police after he was arrested with arms such guns, axes, cutlasses, live ammunition loaded in the vehicle for an operation in Isashi area of Lagos.

An Orlu Imo State-born Ibenye revealed that when he realised that he had been deceived by joining the cult, he attempted to leave but was told it was impossible or he will pay the price with his blood.

He said all the hopes to become rich and promises made to him before he was initiated turned out to be fake, instead they sent him for supremacy fight between the rival cults in the area.

He said he had no visible means of livehood as he only squats in Isasi garage carry goods for customers while waiting for when their leader, identified as Fidel, will send them to the battlefield to fight opponents.

He said because of the cult, he had severed relationship with his family and when he ran into this trouble, his father who is a popular auto dealer refused to come for his rescue.

Ibenye, who claimed to be remorseful, said “if by the Grace of God, I was freed, I will change my entire lifestyle and live responsibly because I have learnt my lesson”.

Ibenye was arrested by the police with another member, Lekan Olawori after the police searched their vehicle and saw loads of weapons inside it.
Chibuike with co-suspect, Lekan.

They were initially arrested and suspected to be armed robbers but on further interrogation, it was discovered they are members of Aiye cult.

At the police command, where they were paraded, the Commissioner of Police. Mr Fatai Owoseni said they will be charged to court after investigation.

Paulchris( m ): Quote Post
President Muhammadu Buhari’s domestic and
international trips next year will cost
N978,688,792.

A 38-year-old woman, Amudalat Agboola, whose husband on Thursday approached a Lagos Island Customary for dissolution of their five-year-old marriage, has described her husband as a gold digger.

Amudalat, who owned a boutique but now seller hot drinks (paraga), told the court that her husband had collected all that she had and wanted to abandon her in the name of recession.

“I now sell `Paraga’ in the same shop I used to sell clothes from Turkey and Saudi Arabia,” she said.
She said that he tricked her into the marriage by lying to her that he was a Magistrate and would help her secure hers and late husband’s property from her in-laws.

“My husband lied to me that he was a Magistrate, but I got to know that he was a Court Registrar when he brought me to this court for dissolution.

“I met Agboola in 2010, he was the Community Development Association Chairman of Magboro Village in Mowe where my late husband and I built our four bedroom flat.

“He was chosen as part of a four-man delegate by the village to pay a condolence visit when my husband died.

“My late husband, Adulhakeem Aderoju and I met and got married in Saudi Arabia, where I was selling clothes and he was washing cars.

“We hustled together to buy landed property here in Nigeria. I later relocated here with our two daughters to establish my boutique business but he was still in Saudi.

“He got sick and came back to Nigeria and eventually died on Oct. 4, 2010, that was when my nightmare started.

“My mother and brother in-laws sold our two cars, raided the house while I was in the hospital with my husband and took gold jewellery and documents of our property.

“I only had the documents of the four bedroom flat that we occupy, which I was kidnapped by hired assassins and threatened to release but refused.
“I locked the house and started staying with my friend at Igbosere, that was where I saw Agboola again at the Magistrate Court.

“He said he heard all that happened to me and that if I moved close to people like him, as a Magistrate he would help me get back all my in-laws had taken from me.
“He persuaded me to go back to the house with my kids and said he would use the power of his office to put police men around the premises to guard us.

“On several occasions I have visited him at Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, he always come downstairs to see me all suited up, little did I know that he was a fraud,” she said.

Amudalat said that Agboola and her became close and promised to help me with the education of her daughters.

She said she was kidnapped and blindfolded the second time by hired killers who requested for the documents of the house but managed to escape.

“When I got home and told Agboola he said that he cannot risk his life to help me unless I marry him, so I agreed.

“My mother was not in support because she said his words were sugar quoted but I begged her to give her blessings.

“He later told me he was married and has four children. We got married on May 20, 2011, in Ilorin, my hometown.

“Two days after the wedding we came back to Lagos, when we got to Obalebde he packed the car and said he had an unpleasant news for me.

“He said he has not been able to secure an apartment for us, that the agent he paid returned the money and I have to squat at his friend’s house.

“I started staying at his friend’s house where he comes to see me. I later discovered I was pregnant.
“Agboola and I went to the house at Mowe to pack items such as two washing machine, plasma TV, gas cooker and generator.

“I never set my eyes on those items again, Agboola took them away.

“He later secured a one room apartment for me here in Lagos Island at Oshodi St., and he persuaded me to give my in-laws the key to the house which I refused.

“Agboola deserted me and my three children in the badly ventilated room which was also next to the toilet used by everyone in that house.

“Out of annoyance I wanted to return to my late husband’s house in Mowe but looked for the key I used to lockup the gate but could not find it.

“I called Agboola and he said he had given them to my in-laws, I almost went insane, that was the only property I had out of all my late husband and I worked to build.

“When I went to the house I learnt that it had been rented out by my in-laws, all effort to repossess the house proved abortive.

“Agboola does not come to see us again or carry out any responsibility on his child, all the promises he made to me were lies and I later discovered I was the third wife.

“On the day he promised to send money and I was expecting an alert was the day I was served by the court.

“He saw me as a widow and took advantage of that and the fact that I didn’t go to school, ” she said.

She prayed the court to help her recover all her items and her late husband’s property taken away and the one he conspired with her in-laws to take from her.

The husband, Abdulrasheed-Olakunle Agboola, a court registrar at the Isolo Magistrate’ Court, said that he wanted dissolution because of the present economic recession.

Agboola, who did not deny all that his wife had said, said he could no longer cope with the responsibility and that money was the cause of their problems.

He said he and his wife Amudalat were incompatible and that she sent him a text threatening him, so to avoid trouble he decided to come for dissolution.

The Court President, Mr Awos Awosola, said that Agboola who was in the best position to help the widow as an employee of the Lagos State Judiciary took advantage of her.

“You were in best position to help her secure her late husband’s property from her in-laws by telling her how to go about it through the Law but you used her.

“You changed her story from grace to grass, a boutique owner turned `Paraga’ seller, you took her from a four bedroom apartment to a `face me I face you’.

“This case will still be referred to a higher court because it is a case to impersonation and fraud.
“Now that you have wrecked her, you want to have nothing to do with her and you blame it on recession,” he said.

Awosola urged the two parties to maintain peace and adjourned the case to Jan. 1, 2017, for further hearing on the matter. (NAN)

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has assured states on 13 per cent derivation for mineral revenue following the approval by the Federal Executive Council.

“We have got approval for the implementation of the constitutionally guaranteed 13 percent derivation for mineral revenue to states, similar to the derivation that oil-producing states currently enjoy from the federation accounts,” he said.

He stated this yesterday at a two-day capacity building workshop on Special Purpose Vehicles, SPVs for beneficial participation of state governments in mining, jointly organised by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and the Sokoto State Ministry of Solid Minerals and Natural Resources Development.

Fayemi said the ministry had begun some reforms in line with the recommendations of the ‘Roadmap for the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Mining Sector’ which he noted emphasised the need for collaboration between the federal government and the states as well as build stronger co-operative processes and structures.

“We have reviewed our approach to licensing with regards to state ownership. While in principle we cannot give state governments licenses as separate legal entities, companies in which the states have an ownership interest can bid for and receive licenses,” he stated.

The minister said they were working with governments and relevant ministries to formalise and manage artisans miners while also working with defence and security agencies to curb illegal mining in the country.

He added that the ministry had commenced the modalities for capacity building in community-based organisations and other community representatives, helping them participate in key decisions in mining operations and processes.

Fayemi revealed that the conference was in furtherance of the road map and that it would highlight some of the key issues using the SPV in lieu of current regulatory factors and changing dynamics in the mining sector.

In an address, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal described mines and steel as the cornerstone of any industrial development.

He disclosed efforts of Sokoto government towards diversification of the state’s economy through exploration, mapping and identification of the locations of major solid minerals in the state.

The commissioner for Ministry of Solid Minerals and Natural Resources, Sokoto, Barrister Muhammad Bello Goronyo, disclosed that the state government had provided enabling environment and all necessary incentives for investors willing to operate in the state.

The occasion also witnessed the hand over of the Federal Mineral Buying centre in Sokoto to the state government.

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