The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, on Wednesday said Nigerians in Diaspora remitted to the country a total sum of $21 billion in the last one year. He made the remark during a press briefing to mark the 2016 Diaspora Day. Lawal, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Political Affairs, Office of the SGF, Olakunle Bamgbose, also said the Federal Government is partnering with Nigerians in Diaspora on meeting the needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country. To this end, he said the government has approved waivers for drugs, roofing sheets and other items imported by Nigerians in Diaspora to aid youth empowerment. He said, “This year’s conference will be a complete departure from our past experiences, when our nationals come home only to highlight the challenges that confront our nation. The government and citizens of Nigeria at home are not ignorant of our challenges as a nation. What our nation requires are solutions to specific problems. “This year’s conference, in essence, will focus on obtaining firm commitments from Nigerians in the Diaspora, directed at solving some of our national challenges. This administration is ready to partner with Nigerians in Diaspora on how they can assist Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Northeast; on how through medical interventions they can improve healthcare delivery across the country and on how they can assist government in youth empowerment and employment generation. “I am happy to confirm that already, we have received commitments from Nigerians in line with the new thinking. We intend to obtain more commitments during the conference and as follow-up to ensure that such commitments are redeemed.” He disclosed that this year’s conference will be declared open by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while the Ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs will make presentations amongst other speakers. He added, “Let me assure you that the Federal Government will continue to partner with our compatriots outside the country. This is because we appreciate the invaluable contributions they continue to make towards the growth and development of the nation. This partnership is more critical today that we pursue a total national rebirth.”

ExxonMobil subsidiary Mobil Producing Nigeria has declared force majeure on exports of Nigeria's Qua Iboe crude oil, the country's largest export stream, a spokesman said on Friday. The declaration came after the company observed a "system anomaly" during a routine check of its loading facility on July 14. "We are working to ensure loading activities at the facility return to normal. We cannot speculate on any timeline for repairs," the spokesman said. "Qua Iboe Terminal is operating and production activities continue." Nigeria has struggled to maintain its crude oil production following a spate of militant attacks and technical problems that in May pushed production briefly to 30-year lows. While the cause of the latest issue was not immediately clear, traders said it would take least two to four weeks to repair. Earlier this week, Exxon denied claims from militant group the Niger Delta Avengers to have blown up the Qua Iboe 48" crude oil export pipeline operated by the company. Spokesman Todd Spitler said on Friday there was no connection between the force majeure and militant attacks. Exxon has struggled to bring production of Qua Iboe back to normal after an accident in May on a drilling rig that damaged a pipeline, after which the company also declared force majeure. Since lifting that declaration in early June, there have been roughly three revisions to loading schedules, attributed to a slower-than- expected re

Speaking in an interview with the State House Press Corp shortly after their behind closed door meeting, Mr. Obasanjo said he had discussed with the Gambian leader an array of issues including the current situation of the continent. “It is quite some time that the President and I have not had opportunity to exchange views on the situation between our two countries, our region of West Africa, ECOWAS and the situation within our continent of Africa. The last time the President and I had very short opportunity to have such exchange of views was after I won election and the President was around for an ECOWAS meeting. So on this occasion we were able to update ourselves on the situation in Nigeria and The Gambia,” he said. “From our discussion, the President brought me up to date on the situation here, what is going on, the preparation for election and what the electoral commission is doing and so I also briefed him on the areas where he expressed some form of anxiety about the situation in Nigeria. So on the whole, I came out feeling quite informed and I believe the President is also fairly informed about the situation in Nigeria and we jointly agreed that there are areas where we have to work for progress to be made in ECOWAS.” According to him, during his recent meeting with ECOWAS, they talked about a common currency and what they need to do about the sub-regional bloc. “We have ECOWAS that has been in existence for forty years and we haven’t really gone beyond the so-called free movement of goods and people and even that free movement is shackled; you try to move between here

Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Apo, Abuja, will on Friday hear a N500m suit filed by an ally of Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, Abiodun Agbele, seeking an order releasing him from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Agbele was reportedly arrested on June 27 for his role in the handling of over N1.219bn on behalf of Fayose during the Ekiti State governorship election in 2014. The money was said to have been part of the N4.7bn that was siphoned from the Office of the National Security Adviser and deposited into the bank account of a company belonging to the sons of a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro. In his suit filed on his behalf by his lawyers – Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Olalekan Ojo – Agbele urged the court to declare his arrest and detention unlawful and award N500m as compensatory damages against the EFCC for his unlawful arrest and detention. Agbele argued, in the fundamental rights enforcement suit, that his arrest and continued detention beyond the 48 hours allowed by the Constitution, amounted to violation of his rights to freedom of liberty, human dignity and the right to acquire and own properties. He said unless and except the court comes to his rescue, the EFCC will continue to infringe on his rights to freedom of liberty.

A militant group,
Niger Delta Revolutionary
Crusaders, NDRC, based in
Bayelsa State, Wednesday,
declared a two-week
armistice within which it
urged President Muhammadu
Buhari to review his hard-
line stance to consequential
dialogue with militants and
first-rate leaders of Niger
Delta to prevent total
devastation of crude oil
export facilities.
This came as the Niger Delta
Avengers, NDA, accused
ExxonMobil of telling lies
about the bombing of its Qua
Iboe 48-inch crude export
pipeline on Monday evening.
Spokesperson of the militant
group, self-appointed Brig
Gen Mudoch Agbinibo, stated:
“ExxonMobil can deny and
fool the general public about
their Export Pipeline blown,
yesterday (Monday). How
long can they lie to their
investors? Just in matter of
days, the whole world will
see the truth. Qua Iboe 48”
crude oil export pipeline is
down, so said the
Avengers.”
NDRC, which recently blew up
the Brass Creek Manifold,
the largest in West Africa,
situated in Peretorugbene,
Ekeremor local government
area, Bayelsa state, said:
“With clear evaluation of the
happenings and advice of
well- meaning Nigerians and
Niger Delta stakeholders, we
hereby declare a two- week
ceasefire for a sincere and
proper dialogue.”
Spokesperson of the group,
WOI Izon-Ebi, said in a
statement: “We want the
Federal Government to
consult distinguished
personalities, royal fathers
and chiefs of the Niger Delta
communities. Government
should disassociate itself
from negotiating with political
jobbers in Abuja, but come
down to the Niger Delta
communities.”
“If after the two weeks of
ceasefire, nothing meaningful
happens, we have no option
but to redirect our next
phase of action to the
exporting terminals to stop
total export of our
resources.
“We hereby call on Mr.
President to do the needful
by being sincere to himself
and Nigerians to engage in
meaningful dialogue to
ensure a lasting peace in the
Niger Delta and Nigeria in
particular,” it added.
NDRC asserted: “We have
lived all our lives as victims
and like fishes constantly
immersed in pools of
pollution, so it is no longer
new to us,” adding, “Come to
talk about explosion and
degradation it does not start
today, it has been for the
past fifty (50) years. That is
why the colonial masters
pointed it out categorically
clear to Nigerians before
independence that the Ijaws
and the Ogoni communities
are priority areas of
concentration and
development by the Nigerian
government.”
“All what we need is a clean
environment devoid of
pollution, development, good
drinking water, motor-able
roads cutting across our
communities, electricity,
universities, resource
control,” it said.
The militant group, however,
expressed reservation
about the Minister of
Transport, Rt Hon Rotimi
Amaechi, saying, “He is
taking his hatred against
former President, Dr.
Goodluck Jonathan and Ijaw
nation too far, which is too
bad for the peace and unity
of Niger Delta and Nigeria in
general.”
“Maybe Mr. Rotimi Amaechi,
the current minister of
Transport is not a good
historian; otherwise, he
should have known that the
three higher institutions in
his Ikwerre land except
Rivers State Polytechnic
were established by an Ijaw
man, Chief Diette Spiff, the
then military administrator of
Rivers State. They are
Rivers State University of
Science and Technology and
University of Port-Harcourt,"
NDRC said.
“Why should a man that has
three universities in his
land, Ikwerre, recommend the
scrapping of the one and
only Maritime University in
Ijaw land, which if fully
operational will create
qualified manpower to man
the petroleum and maritime
sectors. Is Rotimi Amaechi an
instrument in the hands of
Niger Delta oppressors
manipulating him in order to
achieve their Northern
agenda? The militant group
asked.

The Petroleum and
Natural Gas Senior Staff
Association of Nigeria
(PENGASSAN) and
Nigeria Union of
Petroleum and Natural
Gas Workers (NUPENG)
have suspended the
strike after a meeting
with the Federal
Government on
Wednesday.
The meeting which ended at
1am was attended by the
Minister of Labour and
Employment, Dr Chris Ngige,
the oil unions and
international companies.
They discussed issues on
job security, causalisation of
workers and improved
welfare.
Dr Ngige appealed to the
companies not to lay off
workers as government is
trying to make the
environment more conducive
for their businesses.

President Muhammadu Buhari has requested the House of Representatives to expeditiously pass the 2016 budget proposal of 38 federal government agencies and corporations to enable them to effectively execute their mandates.
The president’s request was contained in a letter dated June 30, 2016, addressed to the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, which was read on the floor of the House on Tuesday in Abuja.
In the letter, Mr. Buhari sought the House’s approval for the 2016 budget proposals of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority and Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority.
Others include Nigerian Ports Authority, National Maritime Authority, Nigerian Shippers Council, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.
Also in the list were Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Radio Nigeria, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), among others.
The president’s letter, in compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, however noted that budgets of agencies and corporations that had been privatised or otherwise ceased to exist were not included in the proposal.
“May I please pray the House of Representatives to expeditiously consider and approve the budgets of these agencies and corporations to enable them to effectively execute their mandates,” the president wrote.

The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu on Tuesday said the current government takes into cognisance the life of every Nigerian. Shehu, in a terse statement on his Facebook page, made the declaration in the wake of the recent killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen across the country and soft attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in the North East. “The life of every single Nigerian matters to this government and the security agencies, under the command of President Buhari, will continue to exert all its powers to ensure that every Nigerian is safe from the brutality of terrorists and terrorism. Good Morning!,” Shehu said.

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - Nigeria's Trans Niger Pipeline, one of two major pipelines that carries the Bonny Light crude grade for export, was shut down on Monday, an industry source familiar with the matter said.
The cause for the shutdown or impact on production was not known.
Oil major Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) , which manages exports of Bonny Light, could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting By Julia Payne; Editing by David Goodman)

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)is investigating more personal aides of former President Goodluck Jonathan. According to an official of the agency, who preferred anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, the decision to investigate the ex- presidential aides –– some of who were Special Advisers and Personal Assistants –– is not unconnected with some findings which allegedly linked them to fraud-related offences and other financial improprieties. It was gathered that preminary findings suggest varying levels of involvement of the ex-aides in the alleged large-scale frauds. Although the source refused to disclose whether or not the allegations against the former aides were related to the arms procuments deals probes, he said documentary evidence indicting the aides in various frauds necessitated the investigation. The affected aides, according to the source, included some ex-service men and full-time politicians from the Southsouth, Southwest and North. He added that the affected Nigerians were yet to be invited for interrogation. The source said the names of all the indicted aides in the alleged financial improprieties would be sent to the offices of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister for Justice for further clarification and legal advice. “We have gone far on our investigation on the affected aides. We are concentrating on the ex-service men among them for now because we are working on the substantive and overwhelming documents at our disposal to carry out the investigation after that we will move to other individuals or core politicians. “We are not on a witch- hunting mission; we rely on information from members of the public to uncover financial frauds. Going by preliminary findings, most, if not all the affected former presidential aides involved in the allegations would soon face the wrath of the law.” The commission’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujare’s mobile telephone number was not available when he was called to comment on these issues as at the time of filing this report.

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, says the party is sad that a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is the Deputy Senate President.

Reacting to a comment by Senator Dino Melaye that the APC should be grateful that it didn’t lose the National Assembly leadership to the PDP instead of persecuting Saraki, Oyegun told Punch that “the thing that rankled us most was the election of Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President.”


“Saraki is a member of the APC, much as the main line of the party would have wished a different result and a different scenario but we all find it very, very difficult to accept the emergence of a PDP person as his deputy”, he declared.

On investigation of PDP over its campaign funds, while there are no prosecution of APC members over its own campaign funds, Oyegun replied: “We are not investigating PDP campaign funds. We are investigating records as to how public funds were hijacked for illegal purposes which were not budgeted for by the National Assembly.

“Nobody in business who contributed a lot of money has been dragged to any tribunal because he gave PDP funds. Public funds, public resources, money that belongs to you, me and the people of this country were stolen and diverted.

“Crude oil was being illegally sold to fund the campaigns and other political activities. Not just the campaigns, people just shared money and pocketed.


“Anybody who steals from the treasury either to fund campaign, or to put in his pocket or to buy an estate in every part of the world would be asked questions. It must not be allowed.

“Nobody must be allowed to get away with that. It is not the same with campaign funding. We are not investigating PDP campaign funds.”

Insisting that the APC did not make too many promises, Oyegun stated that “The President promised security; he promised the people jobs.

“He promised the people revitalisation of the economy and strongly promised the people the taming of corruption.

“A lot of things are under this and up till today, we still stand by this and we stand behind because these are the things he promised and he is determined to do them for the people.

“The results are already showing all over the place. The President did not make too many promises. A lot of other things people are saying are neither here nor there; people are saying things he never said.

“Things like: he will make the Naira equivalent to the Dollar; he never said things like that but people just manufacture and read what they want to read into these issues.‎”

Italian energy company Eni confirmed Friday that it was the target of sabotage in the Niger Delta, with a minorimpact on its equity production.A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengerstook creditfor an attack on pipeline infrastructurein the southern Bayelsa state that's operated by a subsidiary of Italian energy company Eni. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the attack in a statement emailed to UPI. About 4,000barrels of oil equivalent production equity to Eni was impacted, though the spokesperson said overall operations were still under force majeure, meaning it's freed from fulfilling its contract because of circumstances beyond its control.The attack come nearly one month to the day after the group said it blew up a pipeline in Bayelsa state said to be the largest operated by Eni's subsidiary in the Niger Delta region.The Niger Delta Avengers surfaced early this year, launching a militant campaign against national and international energy companies working in the Niger Delta. The group accuses the government of Nigerian PresidentMuhammadu Buhariof favoring oil and gas interests over the interests of the people in the Niger Delta.

Attackers blew
up an oil pipeline in Nigeria's
southern Bayelsa state
operated by a subsidiary of
Italy's Eni on Friday, the
Nigeria Security and Civil
Defence Corps (NSDC) said.
Nobody has claimed
responsibility for the blast,
the latest in a spate of
attacks on oil and gas
facilities in the OPEC
member's Niger Delta region
over the last few months
which have pushed oil
production to 30-year lows.
The attack took place at
Lasukugbene, said
spokesman Desmond Agwu.
"There was a blast (on the)
pipeline and my men were
exchanging fire with some of
the hoodlums," he said.
Eni, which operates in
Nigeria through its
subsidiary Nigerian Agip Oil
Company, could not be
reached for immediate
comment.
Petroleum Ministry sources
said in late June that a
month-long truce had been
agreed with militants but a
group called the Niger Delta
Avengers, which has carried
out most of the attacks, said
it did not "remember"
agreeing to a ceasefire.
The Avengers have claimed
responsibility for at least
five attacks since Sunday,
after aroun

• Sagay’s anti-corruption panel trains 20 teams led by SANs

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

The Federal Government has set up 20 teams of prosecutors, comprising 80 lawyers, who will handle a number of high profile criminal cases investigated by law enforcement agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The PUNCH learnt that each of the teams had four lawyers with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as the leader.

The identities of the lawyers, who were said to have been specially trained for the tasks ahead, have not been made known.

It was learnt that the Prof. Itse Sagay-led Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption was involved in the training of the special prosecutors.

Our correspondent gathered that the training, which ended in June, lasted for over one month.

Sources in the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja confirmed to our correspondent on Thursday that one of the teams of prosecutors had been assigned the forgery case recently instituted against Senate President Bukola Saraki; his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, and two others.

The new prosecuting team will fully take over the forgery case from the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Diri, when the trial resumes on Monday, a source confirmed to The PUNCH.

The Federal Government, through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minster of Justice, had, on June 10, preferred against Saraki, Ekweremadu and others, two counts of criminal conspiracy and forgery of Senate Standing Rules used for the leadership election of the presiding officers of the 8th Senate on June 4, 2015.

The two other co-accused persons are a former Clerk to the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, and his then deputy, Benedict Efeturi.

The Federal Government stated that the offence of conspiracy is punishable under Section 97 (1) of the Penal Code Act and offence of forgery with “fraudulent intent” punishable under Section 364 of the same law.

On June 27, the four accused persons were arraigned and they pleaded not guilty to the charges before Justice Yusuf Halilu of a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi, Abuja.

Shortly after their arraignment on June 27, they were granted bail on the conditions that each of them should produce two sureties, who must have property either in Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse 2 or Garki (all in Abuja).

Sources confirmed to our correspondent on Thursday that the AGF and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, deliberately assigned the case to the special prosecution team for “efficient prosecution and management of the case”.

It was learnt that the team was given the liberty by the AGF to review the case file “and make necessary adjustments or amendments” where necessary to enhance the prospect of a successful prosecution of the case.

When contacted, the AGF’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Salihu Isah, confirmed to our correspondent that the forgery case was one of the high-profile criminal cases that had been assigned to one of the special teams of prosecutors.

“The prosecutors, 80 in all, are constituted into 20 teams. After they were trained, cases have been assigned to the first six and one of the cases is the Saraki’s case that you mentioned,” Isah said.

Though he declined to mention the names of the lawyers in the team, Isah said the matters assigned to the various teams varied from terrorism to corruption cases, among others.

According to him, the National Prosecution Coordination Committee, inaugurated by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, would review some of the cases either being prosecuted or still being investigated by the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission and others agencies.

The committee, he added, would also recommend the re-assignment of suitable cases among them to the teams of prosecutors.



“The teams will take up cases investigated by the various law enforcement agencies – ICPC, EFCC, DSS – and even some being handled by the ministry,” he said.

A source explained that some of the cases that would be assigned to the teams of prosecutors were the over 1,500 terrorism cases said to have been filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja since last year while the accused persons had yet to be arraigned.

President
Muhammadu Buhari on
Thursday, commended the
military for the progress
recorded in the clearance
operations in northern
Borno.
This is contained in sallah
message by the president to
the 119 Task Force and
Armed Forces Special Forces
Battalions’ temporary
harbour at Kangarwa.
The message was conveyed
to the troops by the Chief of
Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur
Buratai, who visited them at
the base.
Buhari acknowledged the
impact of the operations on
the North-East, and said
that Nigerians were proud of
them ``grateful for the
sacrifice’’.
He said the entire country
was behind the troops and
praying for the successful
completion of their task in
the region.
He reiterated his
administration's commitment
to troops’ logistics and other
needs required to finally
clear the remnant of the
Boko Haram terrorists on
Nigerian territory.
In his address to the troops,
Buratai commended their
efforts and urged them to
sustain the tempo as they
advanced towards other
border communities in
northern Borno.
"The president is proud of
you; he is satisfied with your
progress and he conveys
his greetings to you all.
"Since you advanced from
Baga, you have made
progress and I must
commend you for it.
"I am aware of the
challenges you are facing
and we will address them
accordingly.
"You must continue with the
good job that you are doing;
the remnant of these
criminals must be flushed out
as soon as possible," he
said.
Buratai later told newsmen in
an interview that more men
and equipment would be sent
to the unit as they advanced
to other hideouts of the
insurgents.
He expressed satisfaction
with the troops' conduct
since the commencement of
the northern Borno operation
tagged "Operation Gaman
Aiki".
He said that the operation in
the area would be intensified
in the coming days as ground
forces cleared remnants of
terrorists in northern Borno.
"I am here to further raise
the troops' morale in the
fight against insurgency.
"We will ensure that the
morale remains high amid the
momentum and to also keep
the initiative on our side.
"This area extends to the
border toward Niger and
Chad; this is also where
these insurgents sneak into
the country whenever they
are pushed in Niger, Chad or
even in Nigeria.
"We are on the final push to
ensure that we defeat them;
they are the remnants of the
Boko Haram insurgents that
we have been talking about,"
he said.
The Commanding Officer of
the Battalion, Lt. -Col.
Muhammadu Ali, conducted
Buratai and the Commander,
``Operation Lafiya Dole’’,
Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor,
round the unit's defensive
positions.
NAN also reports that the
army chief distributed food
and drinks to the troops in
the spirit of the Eid-el-fitri
celebration.
The ground clearance
operation is strongly
supported by aerial
reconnaissance and
bombardments by Nigerian
Air Forces fighter jets

PORTHARCOURT- NIGER Delta Avengers, NDA, shifted its hostilities from Delta State to Rivers State, Wednesday, blowing up a Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, pipeline at Eleme leading to the Nigeria Liquefied National Gas, NLNG in the state.

The militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying on its Facebook page Niger Delta Avengers: “By 3.00 am, yesterday, strike team 2, carried out a major strike, bombing NNPC pipeline at Eleme leading to NLNG. You won’t stop us.”

Meanwhile, the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, JNDLF, yesterday, threatened to set seven flow stations ablaze in Bayelsa state.

However, the Egbesu Boys of Niger Delta, a militant group said that the ongoing warfare in the Niger Delta region was an Ijaw fight for self-determination and not Niger Delta struggle as generally assumed by many.

Before the Rivers attack, NDA daringly posted at about 8.12 pm on its Facebook page: “Another major pipe about to go up in flames! Brass, LNG, Boom.”

It said any attack by the Nigeria Army might result to human casualties but the group does not want to take life, otherwise, it would have dared the army.

“”For every life you take, we take two. We have our reason, we play cool, we are ready, and we must cripple the economy. Boom, Share,” the group added.

Former Deputy Governor of
Osun State, Otunba Iyiola
Omisore, on Monday
contended that the Economic
and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) has given
him stringent conditions for
his release.
Omisore in a statement by
his spokesperson, Prince
Diran Odeyemi, and
made available to THISDAY
on Monday in Osogbo , noted
that “EFCC in a letter handed
over to Senator Omisore
after several hours of
interrogation asked him to
produce two serving
Directors In any of the
federal ministries or
agencies with landed
property in millionaires
quarters of Maitama or
Asokoro area of Abuja while
the sureties must
submit the original C of O of
the said landed properties.”
According to him, “We know
too well of a standing
instruction to serving civil
servants not to stand as
sureties in any matter and
wonder why EFCC is giving a
condition they have already
blocked.”

Some officers and soldiers of
the 121 Task Force Battalion
based in Pulka, Borno State,
have voiced their grievance
against officials at the
Nigeria Army Headquarters in
Abuja, accusing the officials
of indifference to their needs
and effective abandonment
of soldiers in the frontlines
of the war against Islamist
insurgent
Some of the soldiers told our
correspondent that they had
been deployed to the war
zone since 2013, spending
three years on the front
lines without rotation to
another, less stressful
location. “And yet there are
soldiers and officers who
have never been to the
frontline since the
insurgency began,” one of
the mid-level officers at the
base told our correspondent.
A number of the soldiers
complained of a prolonged
loss of a sense of normalcy
in their lives. Two of the
soldiers, who are both
married, stated that they had
had neither physical contact
nor communication with their
spouses, children and other
loved ones. “We have no
connection with even our
wives and children because
we don’t have
telecommunication network
here,” one of them stated.
The soldiers disclosed that
all masts in the war zone had
been destroyed, adding that
the lack of communication had
frayed relationships.
“Let the world know that we
came in here as a battalion
with a full battalion strength,
but now we have been so
much battered that we are
less than a company
strength,” said a sergeant.
He added, “We are losing
hope in the commanders in
Abuja. The Army
Headquarters have now
officially withdrawn our unit
(121 Task Force Battalion)
only in name, but we, the
troops, are still here, now
attached as a company to
another unit just coming into
Operation Lafiya Doyle.”
The soldiers said they were
demoralized, adding that
their low morale was rubbing
off on the newly deployed
troops. “We feel we are on
our own, and some of us may
stop giving it our all as we
used to do. 250 of us came
here. Now we are not up to
100. Some of us were killed
in action while others are
missing in action,” one of the
dispirited soldiers said.
Photo Credit

The All Progressives
Congress (APC) on Sunday in
Enugu accused Deputy
Senate President, Ike
Ekweremadu, of a deliberate
attempt to rubbish the
administration of President
Muhammadu Buhari before
the international community
following his communication to
various international bodies,
including the United Nations,
European Union and the
United States Congress over
his arraignment last week at
the Federal High Court,
Abuja, for alleged forgery of
the Senate’s Standing Rules.
The party also rose in
defence of the Attorney
General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice,
Abubakar Malami for his
refusal to honour the
invitation of the Senate’s
Committee on Judiciary to
explain his role in the
forgery suit against Saraki,
Ekweremadu and two others,
, that doing such would have
amounted to succumbing to
intimidation from the senate.
Ekweremadu had written the
international community in the
wake of the arraignment of
Senate President, Bukola
Saraki himself and two
others by the federal
government, warning that
Nigeria’s democracy was
under theat and as such
needed urgent intervention
of world bodies.
The lawmaker, who
represents Enugu West
Senatorial district at the
National Assembly, raised
the alarm over what he
described as attempt to
truncate Nigeria’s democracy
and silence him as the leader
and highest ranking member
of the opposition party in
Nigeria.
Briefing newsmen at the
party’s Secretariat at the
GRA, Enugu, the chairman of
APC in the state, Dr. Ben
Nwoye said the action of the
Deputy Senate President was
totally uncalled for, noting
that the law must be allowed
to take its full course no
matter “how highly or lowly
placed, the persons involved
are”.
Nwoye wondered why a top
member of the nation’s
legislative arm should take
an internal matter of a
sovereign nation to a foreign
land, adding that the action
was only aimed at impeding
the judicial process as well
as to tarnish the image of

The Governor of Bayelsa
State, Mr. Seriake Dickson,
has cautioned the new
Commander of the Federal
Government security outfit in
the Niger Delta, Operation
Delta Safe, to be
professional in addressing
security challenges in the
region.
The Governor gave the
warning when he received
the new commander of ODS,
Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie,
a statement in Yenagoa on
Friday by his Chief Press
Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-
Markson, has said.
Dickson emphasised the need
for the law enforcement
agents to be neutral in
dealing with criminal
activities.
While commending the
Federal Government for
retaining the headquarters
of the Operation Delta Safe in
Bayelsa, Dickson said the
security outfit, especially its
maritime component, had a
crucial role to play, as the
state is predominantly
riverine in nature.
Dickson, who expressed
confidence in the ability of
the officers and men of the
new command, called for
non-interference in their
activities in the interest of
national peace and stability,
saying the Niger Delta
occupies strategic position in
the country.
He said the state
government on its part would
continue to support security
agencies in the fight against
criminality and brigandage
such as kidnapping, piracy
and the wilful destruction of
strategic national assets,
with its attendant
degradation of the
environment.
Paying tribute to all the
commanders of the defunct
Operation Pulo Shield for
their contributions to the
peace in the region, Dickson
said dialogue remained the
best option to resolving the
security issues in the area.
In his remarks, Okojie said
the Federal Government
deemed it necessary to re-
engineer the security outfit
as part of the efforts to
tackle insecurity effectively
in the country.
According to Okojie, the task
of achieving enduring peace
and stability, remains a joint
effort involving the
governments, community
leaders and other
stakeholders of the affected
states, particularly in the
maritime areas covered by
ODS mandate.
The new Commander, who
resumed duty on June 26,
2016, allayed people’s fears,
saying that the outfit would
adopt a holistic approach in
maintaining law and order
rather than use brute force.
He, however, warned
criminal-minded individuals to
steer clear of the region as
the ODS has acquired
adequate resources to deal
decisively with those bent on
sabotaging the government’s
efforts towards promoting
economic growth and
prosperity.

The Secretary to the
Nigerian Government,
Babachir Lawal, has said the
Attorney General of the
Federation, Abubakar Malami,
acted right in arraigning top
officers of the Senate for
alleged forgery of Senate
Rules used in electing them
to office.
He however denied that the
President Muhammadu
Buhari-led federal
government had a hand in
the current trial of President
of the Senate, Bukola Saraki
and his deputy, Ike
Ekweremadu.
A former Clerk of the
National Assembly, Salisu
Maikasuwa, and a Deputy
Clerk of the National
Assembly, Ben Efeturi, are
also on trial over the matter.
Mr. Lawal, who said he was
familiar with the issue for
which Messrs Saraki and
Ekweremadu were being
tried, said the AGF merely
acted on a petition forwarded
to his office about a year
ago when the two senate
leaders were elected.
The SGF, who made this
remarks in Yola on Saturday
while fielding questions from
journalists, said instead of
turning the federal
government into a punching
back, Messrs Saraki and
Ekweremadu should rather
allow justice to take its
cause.
He advised the lawmakers to
stop making their trials
appear as if it was a battle
between the executive and
the legislative arms of
government.
“The Federal government is
now everyone’s punching
bag,” Mr. Lawal said. “But I
don’t know why are they
blaming the Federal
Government or any person
for this.
“When this issue started, I
was in the party as the
National Vice Chairman, that
was in June. After the
election and emergence of
the leadership of the senate,
some senators petitioned the
police that the document
used to conduct such election
was forged.So the police
received the petition and
sent their recommendation to
the Attorney General of the
Federation who in turn
decided that a prima facie
case of forgery was
established and decided to
prosecute those involved.
‘’It’s the duty of the
attorney general to
prosecute where a crime is
committed. So,where is FG
role in this?
He expressed concern that
since their arraignment and
subsequent granting of bail,
Messrs Saraki and
Ekweremadu had issued
separate statements that
contained messages “far
from being complementary to
the person and government
of President Muhammadu
Buhari.”
“From their statements, the
two leaders of the Senate
also gave this erroneous
impression that by their
arraignment, it is the entire
Senate and indeed, the
legislative arm of
government that is on trial.
They want the public to
believe that their
prosecution by the FG is in
utter disregard for the
constitutional provisions of
separation of powers and
that preferring the forgery
case against them is a
vendetta exercise.

Amidst renewed violence in the Niger Delta, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday appealed to traditional and opinion leaders in the troubled area to appeal to the people of the region to be patient with his administration. He promised that his government would properly utilise the nation’s resources to rebuild the country, including the region. According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke while receiving a delegation of the Niger Delta Dialogue and Contact Group led by the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, Bayelsa State, King Alfred Diette-Spiff, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Buhari promised that under his watch, Nigeria would witness judicious utilisation of resources. “We intend to rebuild this country so that our children and grand-children will have a good place they can call their own. A lot of damage has been done, so I want you to tell the people to be patient. “When you get together with other leaders, please pacify the people. We will utilise the resources of Nigeria with integrity and rebuild the country,” the President told his guests. Buhari also said the gazette on the Niger Delta amnesty programme by the Umaru Yar’Adua administration was being studied with a view to determining what had been fulfilled, promising that whatever is left would also be addressed. “I want to get as much intelligence as possible on the situation in the Niger Delta. I have encouraged law enforcement agencies to contact leaders like you in order to have enough information to deal with the issues once and for all, “the President said. He sympathised with investors who borrowed money to invest in the Niger Delta and have not recouped their investments due to insecurity. He reiterated his appeal to those who perpetrate violence to embrace peace and give government a chance. Diette-Spiff said the group was made of peace builders, dedicated to peace and stability in the region.

The deputy clerk of the
National Assembly, Benedict
Efeturi, confirmed to police
investigators that the
senate’s standing orders
used for the 2015 elections
of Bukola Saraki and Ike
Ekweremadu as senate
president and deputy
respectively, were different
from the 2011 version which
should have been in use at
the time, details of police
investigation seen by
PREMIUM TIMES show.
Mr. Efeturi made the
disclosure to the Criminal
Investigation and
Intelligence Department of
the Nigerian Police, which
investigated allegations that
the rules were forged to help
Messrs. Saraki and
Ekweremadu to their posts.
He however said the
alteration, which some
senators denounced as
illegal as lawmakers were not
informed about, was based
on the directive of the
former senate leadership,
led by its president, David
Mark.
He said the amendment was
done “by convention and
practice” and not be
“procedure”, as previous
versions of the rules were
amended by the same
method.
Messrs. Saraki, Ekweremadu,
Efeturi and a former clerk of
the National Assembly, Salisu
Maikasuwa, have been
charged with forgery. They
were arraigned on Monday
before a High Court in Abuja.
They deny wrongdoing. The
senate president and his
deputy accuse President
Muhammadu Buhari of bias,
and argue that the case is a
violation of the independence
of the legislature.
In his statement to the
police, Mr. Efeturi, who is
also the Clerk of the Senate,
said the leadership of the
seventh Senate under Mr.
Mark ordered the 2015
Standing Rules be amended
“not necessarily by
procedure” but “by
convention and practice”.
According to the report, he
“stated that the leadership
of the National Assembly of
the 7th Senate ordered the
2015 Standing Rules as
amended by their convention
and practice. (He stated) that
the Senate Standing Orders
2003, 2007 and 2011
followed the same procedure
as that of 2015. He
emphasized that in the
Parliament, amendment of the
Standing Orders is by
practice not necessarily by
procedure.
“He further stated that
during the ruling of the
Senate President on the 24th
of June 2015, that the
Senate Standing Orders of
the Senate 2015 is authentic,
final, relevant and cannot be
challenged. He attached a
copy of the debates of the
Senate on Wednesday, the
24th of June where the
Senate President ruled (that)
the Senate Standing Order
2015 as authentic Standing
Orders of the 8th Senate.”

Nigerian President
Muhammadu Buhari on
Wednesday vowed to
sustain the tempo in the
ongoing campaigns against
contemporary threats across
the country.
Speaking at the inauguration
of the Nigerian Army
Resource Center in Abuja,
the Nigerian leader
reaffirmed his support to the
Armed Forces of Nigeria in
ending the myriad of security
challenges plaguing the
nation, including terrorism
and militancy.
The president who was
represented by the Minister
of Defense, Brig.-Gen.
Mansur Dan-Ali, commended
the efforts of the Nigerian
armed forces in containing
the security challenges,
restating that security
remained top on his
administration's agenda.
"I want to emphatically state
that one of the top priorities
of this administration is the
enhancement of the Armed
Forces to discharge their
duties," he added.
"We will continue to provide
the much needed support to
the Armed Forces of Nigeria
to deliver efficient services
and to effectively discharge
their duties," he said.
"I also appreciate the
successes of the Armed
Forces of Nigeria in the
counter-insurgency
operation in the North East
and urge you to sustain the
tempo," the Nigerian leader
told his audience.
Buhari said the activities of
the security agencies in the
country would be further
enhanced to actualize the
objective of the present
administration in making
Nigeria a safe haven for
investment.
Earlier, the Chief of Army
Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai
said the vision behind the
establishment of the
resource center was
anchored on the need to
optimize the capability of the
Army.
He told his audience that
contemporary security
challenges in the country and
around its borders had
stretched the Armed Forces
close to its limits.
Buratai said the need to
optimize the capability of the
Army to meet emerging
security challenges could not
be over emphasized.
He assured citizens of the
Army's readiness in
conjunction with sister
agencies to rid the country
of criminal elements
operating in the guise of
militants, terrorists and
others. Enditem

*Claims allegations aimed at derailing counter-terrorism efforts

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Federal Government has come to the defence of the embattled Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, concerning the acquisition of properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying he was transparent about it.

The Minister of Defence, Brig-Gen. Muhammad Mansur Dan-Ali (rtd), gave this backing on Monday in a statement signed by his Principal General Staff Officer (PGSO), Brig-Gen. Mohammed Sani Ahmed.

Dan-Ali noted that the Army Chief did not hide the properties, as he declared them on more than one occasion to both the Nigerian Army and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

“It is on record that Lt-Gen. Buratai has declared his assets as Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force and as Chief of Army Staff to the Code of Conduct Bureau. These facts are verifiable with the Bureau,” he stressed.

The Minister posited that the report was deliberately released to embarrass and tarnish the image of Buratai with the ultimate aim of derailing the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the North-East.

Dan-Ali noted that there has been a series of attempts in the past to soil the image of the COAS by those he described as “disgruntled and unpatriotic elements”.

He said: “The Ministry of Defence has observed with dismay the online media report of involvement of the Chief of Army Staff and his family over ownership of property in Dubai.

“It is noteworthy that there has been series of concerted efforts in the past by the same medium and its cohorts to tarnish the image of the person of Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai for the reason best known to them, which failed to achieve their desired ulterior motives.

“The Ministry of Defence views this as an attempt by some unpatriotic and disgruntled elements to distract the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces from the successes of the war against terror particularly in the North East,” he added.

The Minister said that “while appreciating the role of the media in nation-building, it wishes to equally advise the media to exhibit a high sense of professionalism in the discharge of their duties ,especially when it comes to security and defence related matters”.

In an exclusive gotten by THISDAY Newspaper monday, the new acting Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, was said to have on Friday last week, allegedly written to the presidency to retire 30 senior officers.

The officers who are of the rank of Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of police, were said to have been penned down for immediate retirement.

The reason for his move might not be far fetched. Even though they are all coursemates, they are his senior in terms of promotion.

Already, some of the attempts made by some AIGs to meet and greet him was said to have proven abortive as they were blocked off.

A source who spoke to THISDAY said, “There is serious tension at the Police Headquarters in Abuja. We have heard that the new acting IG wants to retire both his seniors and coursemates.

” On Friday, he wrote to the presidency, through the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, and it was approved and forwarded to the desk of the President for final approval.

“According to what Idris wrote, his reason why he asked for their retirement is that he cannot work with them. He said he wants to in all sense of the world take charge of the police.

” He said since he has been given the responsibility to provide security, it was imperative that these AIGs be removed because they might be a clog in his wheel of progress.

“With this move, there is a tendency to make 14 Commissioners of Police AIGs since the available and compulsory vacancy for AIGs is 26.

“Already before now, 12 AIGs were promoted. From the 12, they will take seven of them to become Deputy Inspector General (DIGs) of Police and then they will be forced to go to the CP rank to fill up the AIG rank of 26.

” We wonder why they are removing experienced hands that would have helped him steer the police to greater heights.

“These officers that will be retired, are the last set of senior policemen that were trained abroad, or have gone for short courses.

“I don’t know why we are wasting manpower. By removing these old hands, we will have to expend huge amount of money to train the new crop of AIGs and CPs.”

Buhari’s Aides, Senators, Police To Testify As Witnesses
Legal fireworks begin today at the Abuja High Court as the Federal Government arraigns the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu and two others over alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rules.

The Federal Government had, last week, filed a two-count criminal charge against Saraki, Ekweremadu, a former Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa and his deputy, Benedict Efe turi, bothering on criminal conspiracy and forgery. In the charge, Maikasuwa is listed as the first defendant, Efeturi (2nd defendant), Saraki (3rd de-fendant) and Ekweremadu (4th defendant).

Justice Yusuf Halilu had, last week Tuesday, fixed today for arraignment after ordering substituted service of the charges on the defendants. The order, made by the court, followed the complaint by the prosecution that several attempts of personal service on the defendants had failed.

While granting prosecution’s request for substituted service on the defendants, Justice Halilu ordered that the charges be pasted on the notice board of the National Assembly. However, the central government had listed among its witnesses against Saraki, two aides of President Muhammadu Buhari – Senators Ojudu Babafemi and Ita Enang.

Others listed, as witnesses are Senators Solomon Ewuga, Ahmed Lawan, Abdullahi Gumel, Kabiru Marafa, Gbenga Ashafa, Robert Borrofice, Abu Ibrahim and Othman Hunkuyi. There were indications last night that Saraki and Maikasuwa may not attend the court session today for the arraignment.

A source, who pleaded anonymity, stated that Saraki’s absence in court will be as a result of an application filed by his counsel last week which the court has not sat on. For Maikasuwa, the source stated that the order of substituted service made by the court cannot catch on Maikasuwa as he is no longer a staff of the National Assembly, and as such it is deemed under law that he has not been served.

Saraki, in his application filed by his counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN) last week, asked the court to set aside the charge, describing it as unnecessary distraction. If the two defendants are absent in court, then it follows that the arraignment will be stalled, as the new Administration of Criminal Justice Act ACJA did not provide for separate trials of defendants charged together. But, Saraki’s Media Adviser, Alhaji Yusuf Olaniyonu, simply told New Telegraph that: “When you come to court, you will report what you see.”

In a motion on notice filed at the registry of the court, Saraki is challenging his physical appearance at the court, thereby praying for an order of court dispensing with his physical appearance and arraignment. He also prayed the court for an order setting aside the service of the Charge/ Information Sheet, which was effected by substituted means on him.

In addition, he is praying the court to strike out or quash the charge against him in the Charge No. CR/219/16 between FRN v. SALISU ABUBAKAR MAIKASUWA & 3 ORS. He premised his prayer on ground that no prima facie case was established against him.

Furthermore, Saraki is asking the court for an order suspending or adjourning sine die all the proceedings against him in the case. He submitted that the notice of trial and information ought to be served on him personally.

He also submitted that there is no link between the proof of evidence and the allegations made against him in the charge. The charges are: Count 1 reads: “That you Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa, Benedict Efeturi, Dr. Olubukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, on or about the 9th of June, 2015, at the National Assembly Complex, Three Arm Zone, Abuja within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired among yourselves, to forge the Senate Standing Order, 2011 (as amended) and you thereby committed the offence of Conspiracy, punishable under Section 97(1) of the Penal Code Law.”



Count 2 reads: “Forgery contrary to 362 of the Penal Code Law” while the particulars of offence reads, “That you Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa, Benedict Efeturi, Dr. Olubukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, on or about the 9th of June, 2015, at the National Assembly Complex, Three Arm Zone, Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with fraudulent intent, forged the Senate Standing Order 2011 (as amended) causing it to be believed as the genuine standing order, 2015 and circulated same for use during the inauguration of the 8th Senate of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, when you knew that the said Order was not made in compliance with the procedure for amendment of the Senate Order, you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code Law.”

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome had condemned the charge filed against Saraki and Ekweremadu. His words: “I do not think that they have even looked at Section 3, Legislative Houses Privileges Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria which grants total immunity to legislators in act conducted on the floor of the house within the precinct of the National Assembly, whether in spoken form, in written form, by motion, bills, amendments,all of them spectacularly and completely privileged.

“Under Section 3 of that law, they also perhaps do not know that what they regarded as amended rules which provoked the whole of this political maneuvering is always the way it has always been done.

In 2003, you have 2003 amended rules, which is normally amended by the bureaucracy during the period of interregnum, when the National Assembly is on break and politics are going on.

“Neither the Senate President, nor his deputy nor the clerk amends the rule; it is done by the National Assembly bureaucracy, the civil servants who amend the rules to await the National Assembly.

“So after 1999, the one of 2003 was called amended rules, 2007 amended rules, 2011 amended rules, then you have 2015 amended rules. These rules are normally amended by the bureaucracy when the members of the National Assembly are being elected. It is that laws that guide the new Senate and House of Representatives’ members coming on board, not the old one.

“I think the people who raised this issue are the neophytes. They were new people in the Senate who did not know that is how it is always being done conventionally in a parliamentary system. They probably thought that some people went somewhere that morning to amend those rules.

Those rules are normally amended.” Ozekhome added that the case is more political. “It is all politics. My take on this is that the All Progressives Congress (APC) should take more than passing interest in what is going on.

If they succeed in removing the leadership like I warned last year, they will find a situation where the next Senate President and deputy will be PDP people. “This is not the time for all this, rather it is the time the presidency should engage the National Assembly to produce masses centred bills. Nigeria is no longer a banana republic,” he stated.

Yoruba socio-cultural group, Oodua People’s
Congress (OPC), on Sunday condemned what it
called unwarranted, diabolical and fatal attacks
on Yorubaland and its people as well as other non-
indigenous inhabitants by Fulani herdsmen and
Niger-Delta militants, saying enough is enough.
The group made the condemnation in a
statement signed by the spokesperson of its
National Coordinating Council (NCC), Comrade
Sina Akinpelu, and made available to journalists in
Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
It will be recalled that for two times last week
some communities in Ogun and Lagos States
came under attack by people suspected to be
Niger Delta militants leaving many dead and
injured.
While stating that the Yoruba people are peace
loving and accommodating people which has led
to the towns and cities grow in leaps and bounds,
Akinpelu warned that the
openness and hospitality of the race should not
be misconstrued for docility.
According to him, the OPC is able and ever ready
to match force with force if that should be the
only solution to the incessant attacks on
Yorubaland.
He then called on the attackers and those that
are aspiring to attack Yorubaland or its interests
to have a rethink, stating that there will be
immediate and far-reaching reprisals, the
type of which is easier imagined than
experienced.
He stated further while the group recognizes the
right of all people to self-determination, it also
believe that such right should not infringe on the
rights of others, particularly the peace-loving and
amiable Yoruba people.
Akinpelu then appealed to Northern and Niger-
Delta elders and leaders to call their people to
order, insisting that no group or race has
monopoly of violence.
MORE TO FOLLOW

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has described the call for his resignation as “laughable and absolute balder dash.”

He was responding to a protest staged by a coalition of civil society organisations and the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties on Friday in Ado Ekiti.

Fayose spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, in an interview on Saturday.

Adelusi alleged that those behind the protest were All Progressives Congress stalwarts.

He also said the state government had no comment to make concerning the alleged denial by Zenith Bank of their team coming to beg the governor.

“The photographs and video clips did reveal everything. But we are keeping our fingers crossed for the next line of step to take should Zenith Bank continued to be unreasonable.‎”

According to Adelusi, the delay in payment of workers’ salaries in Ekiti cannot be blamed on the Fayose administration because it was not his ‎administration that plunged the state into a huge debt which has now made the creditors to continue to deduct N1.2bn on ‎monthly basis from the allocation of the state.

Few days after being fired by the Federal Government, the National Association of Resident Doctors on Saturday bowed to superior force and suspended its ongoing nationwide strike. Consequently, the association directed its members to resume work Monday. The President of NARD, Dr Muhammad Adamu Askira, gave the directive in a communique read to journalists at the end of its extraordinary national executive council meeting held at the trauma centre of the National Hospital, Abuja. According to him, the suspension of the strike was to enable the government implement the agreements reached within the agreed time frame. While commending the role of the National Assembly in the impasse, particularly the Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, NARD said it would review the progress of the intervention, at the July NEC scheduled for between July 25 and 30. Askira said, “In view of the genuine intervention of the Hon. Speaker and other key stakeholders, NARD hereby suspend the ongoing nationwide indefinite strike action so as to enable government implement the agreements reached within the agreed time frame on or before Juky 14 2016. “Work will resume from Monday June 27 2016 at 8:am. This is with the view to relieve the impact of the strike on average Nigerians. We assure all our members to remain calm as they resume their normal duties and that no one would be victimized for taking part in this struggles.”

Fayose's shallow defence

Yesterday, the Ekiti state governor, Mr. Ayo
Fayose discovered that he could not invoke the
immunity conferred on him by section 308 of the
Constitution to stop the EFCC from investigating
the criminal diversion of N1.2 billion which has
been traced to his account. In denying the
serious allegation made by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the effect
that the stolen fund emanated from the Office of
the National Security Adviser Mr. Fayose has said
that it was contributed to his campaign fund by
Zenith Bank Plc and some unnamed friends. In
his characteristic loquacious manner the governor
has threatened to name other people who also
contributed to his political campaign.
In a sharp denial of Mr. Fayose's allegation, the
management of Zenith Bank Pls disclosed that
when the money was paid into the account it was
reported to the relevant financial regulatory
authorities in line with the provisions of the
Laundering Act 2011 (as amended). In a
desperate move to ward off the allegations, the
embattled governor appears to have resolved not
to go down alone. To divert attention from the
heinous crime of the diversion of public fund Mr.
Fayose is likely to carry out his threat of
implicating some people who allegedly fund his
governorship election.
However, assuming without conceding that the
bulk of the fund spent on his campaign was
donated by Zenith Bank Plc the governor has
unwittingly justified the investigation and freezing
of his account by the EFCC. He has also confirmed
that the humongous sum of money was
transported from Abuja to Akure in contravention
of the Money Laundering Act. By his utterances,
Mr. Fayose is simply saying that the management
of Zenith bank stole depositors' money and
laundered it to fund his political campaign
contrary to section 90 of the Electoral Act, 2010
as amended. On the basis of his own confessional
statement, Governor Fayose and the
management of the bank are liable to be
prosecuted for electoral fraud, money laundering
and criminal diversion of depositors' fund to the
tune of N1.2 billion. Therefore, the decision of the
EFCC to freeze Mr. Fayose's account is perfectly in
order.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is to investigate the withdrawal of over N11bn from the Rivers State Government’s account between October, 2015 and February, 2016 under the present administration of Governor Nyesom Wike.

The money was allegedly withdrawn from the Rivers State Government’s account with the Central Bank of Nigeria by the Director of Finance and Administration of the state’s Government House, Mr. Kingsely Fubara, in cash.

The anti-graft agency is also to probe the transfer of another sum of N1.5bn from the state’s account with the CBN to the Zenith Bank Plc account that belongs to one Mr. Samuel Anya “on or about January 27, 2016.”


An EFCC source confirmed to The PUNCH that the anti-graft agency received the directive to probe what had been described as “suspicious withdrawals” from the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, sometimes in March this year.

A document obtained from the source shows the alleged withdrawal of about N5.1bn by Fubara from the government’s account between October and December, 2015 in 10 tranches.

The document indicated that Fubara commenced the alleged suspicious withdrawals with N1bn on October 15, 2015, and followed by another N1bn six days later on October 21, 2015.

He was also said to have withdrawn N269m from the account on November 2, 2015; N300m on November 3, 2015, and N500m on November 4, 2015.

In December 2015, three of such withdrawals also took place with N200m withdrawn from the account on December 12; N240m on December 22 and N460m on December 23.

According to the document, Fubara also allegedly withdrew N6.1bn from the same Rivers State’s account between January 5, 2016 and February 9, 2016 in 11 tranches.

Five of the withdrawals, which took place in January, 2016, in the following order: N849.5m withdrawn on January 5, 2016; N300m on January 7, 2016; N250m on January 14, 2016; N750m on January 15, 2016, and N200m on January 22, 2016.

The rest of the six withdrawals in February, 2016, were N500m on February 1; N600m on February 2; N300m on February 4; N200m on February 5; N1bn on February 8; and N1.2bn on February 9.

Indicating the various sums of money was in cash withdrawal, the document stated that the money was “delivered and received by Mr. Fubara.”

The source added, “We were also asked to investigate the withdrawal of N1.5bn on or about January 27, 2016, by one Mr. Samuel Anya of 69B Forces Avenue, old GRA, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, from the state’s account with CBN through the transfer of the money to his account 0248922015 with Zenith Bank.”

The phone number Anya was said to have left with the bank could not be reached on Wednesday and Thursday as it was switched off.

But the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, described the claim by the EFCC as another bizarre fabrication.

Describing the move by the AGF as a national embarrassment, Tam-George pointed out that there seemed to be no end to the “total” erosion of the commission’s credibility as an institution of the country.

He said, “It is clear that the EFCC is now a fully integrated unit of the All Progressives Congress with the sole mandate of hunting down opposition politicians and critics of the Federal Government.

“When will this embarrassing media roulette they call anti-corruption fight come to an end?”

All attempts to speak with the spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, proved abortive as his phone indicated that it was switched off while a text message sent to his phone had not been responded to as of the time of filing this report on Thursday.