Senators-elect on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party have also said they will weigh the offers on the table from the three APC senators aspiring to become the Senate President before adopting one of them.

While some are lobbying newly elected members, others are reaching out to the APC National Working Committee and presidency.

The PDP senators, who spoke with one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Senators Ahmed Lawan, Ali Ndume, and Danjuma Goje had been having regular discussions with them.

They also confirmed that they had given their terms and that the aspirants agreed to honour their part of the deal if elected.

Speaking to our correspondent on the telephone on Saturday, a source in the camp of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta-Central) said the lawmaker was lobbying the Presidency and the APC NWC after indications emerged that the Deputy Senate Presidency would be zoned to the South-South.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “Omo-Agege has reached out to other critical stakeholders outside the chamber and he now has the full backing of the Presidential Villa and the National Chairman (of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole). The issue is settled. The Deputy Senate presidency has been zoned to the South-South; it is true.”

The source also said Omo- Agege’s only South-South opponent in the race for the Deputy Senate presidency, Senator Francis Alimikhena, is from the same local government area with Oshiomhole in Edo State, which would be considered in the zoning plan.

Omo-Agege neither confirmed nor denied the steps he was said to have taken to achieve his aim. “I’m reaching out like every other aspirant,” he said.

Another aspirant to the Deputy Senate presidency, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, also wrote to senators-elect to congratulate them on their victory at the polls and sought their support for his ambition.

Boroffice, representing Ondo North Senatorial District, is one of the three ranking senators from the South-West to be in the 9th Senate.

In the letter, the lawmaker partly wrote, “With an excellent public service record, rich legislative experience and amiable personae, I consider myself the best candidate for the office of the Deputy Senate President.

“In spite of our different backgrounds, religious beliefs and political inclinations, the business of national lawmaking has pulled us together as friends and colleagues. I humbly seek your cooperation, support and prayers in this election. Together, we shall succeed.”

In the House, an aspirant from Oyo State, Mr Olusegun Odebunmi, who is Gbajabiamila’s only opponent in the South-West, hinted that he was reaching out to northern states.

When contacted on the telephone earlier on Tuesday, Odebunmi said, “As I am talking to you now, I am on my way from Katsina State and it is about my project. I won’t make the details public for now.”

Efforts to contact him since Tuesday to speak more on his campaign were not successful as the lawmaker did not return calls to comment.

Meanwhile, another aspirant from Niger State (North-Central), Mr Mohammed Bago, on Saturday visited the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, to seek his support.

A statement by spokesman for the Bago Campaign Organisation, Mr Victor Ogene, quoted Oba Ogunwusi as saying that to avoid a lacuna in the administration of the country, youths must be encouraged to assume leadership.

“Yes, we now have a ‘Not-too-young-to-run’ law but to complement that, we need to consciously bring the youths into leadership positions,” the Ooni was quoted as saying.

However, the PDP senators-elect, who spoke with one of our correspondents on Saturday, said a recent statement by the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, on the issue appeared to have affected their relationships with the aspirants.

Oshiomhole had said that the leaders who would emerge on his party’s platform in the 9th National Assembly would not share power with the PDP lawmakers, who he called “the devils”.

A PDP senator-elect from the South-West, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told SUNDAY PUNCH, “Oshiomhole seems to have truncated the discussions we have had with the aspirants. I was one of those who argued that the PDP should not produce a candidate for the presiding positions after listening to the APC aspirants.

“The three of them have good programmes and agenda, but it appears that the APC leadership would have an overwhelming influence on the chamber, which is supposed to be independent.”

The Federal Government will, on Tuesday, start the process of taking ownership of the five bank accounts lost by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, following his conviction last Thursday by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.

The CCT had, on Thursday, convicted Onnoghen on charges of breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officer by failing to declare as part of his assets the five accounts domiciled at the Wuse 2, Abuja branch of Standard Chartered Bank (Nig,) Limited.

The tribunal had convicted the former CJN on six counts including a specific allegation that he failed to declare his assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau between June 2005 and December 14, 2016.

It also convicted him on five other counts in which he was alleged to have falsely declared his assets on December 14, 2016, by omitting to declare his domiciliary dollar, euro and pound sterling accounts as well as two naira accounts as his assets.

Imposing the punishment for the alleged offences, the three-man tribunal, led by Danladi Umar, ordered Onnoghen’s removal as the CJN, and as the Chairman of both the National Judicial Council and the Federal Judicial Service Commission.

It also banned him from holding any public office for a period of 10 years.

The tribunal also ordered the forfeiture of the funds in the five bank accounts which the defendant was said to have failed to declare as part of his assets in breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.

Although the tribunal did not mention the amount in the accounts, calculations of the balances in the accounts released as part of the prosecution’s evidence in the course of the trial show that the total amount to be forfeited is over N46m.

The prosecuting counsel, Mr. Umar Aliyu (SAN), confirmed to our correspondent on Saturday that the tribunal would draw the order for forfeiture of the accounts from its judgment and the Federal Government would have it served on the bank, Standard Chartered Bank (Nig.) Ltd, on Tuesday.

He noted that without the service of the order of forfeiture on the bank, the Federal Government would not be able to take ownership of the accounts as ordered by the CCT.

He said, “The order of the court will have to be served on the bank.

“In line with the judgment of the tribunal, an order will now have to be drawn from the judgment to the effect that the money in the accounts should be forfeited to the Federal Government.

“Without that, the bank will not accede to any request by the Federal Government for the forfeiture of the accounts.

“We expect that after the Easter break (which ends on Monday), the order will be drawn up by the tribunal and would be subsequently served on the bank.”

The Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of the CCT, Mr. Ibraheem Al-Hassan, also confirmed to our correspondent that the order would be ready for service on the bank on Tuesday.

He explained that the order had not been drawn up from the judgment because there was no time to do so since the verdict was delivered late on Thursday, the last working day before the Easter break started on Friday.

Al-Hassan said, “The order would be ready by Tuesday. If you recall, the judgment was delivered late into the closing time on Thursday; so, there was no time to draw the order from the judgment. Friday and Monday are public holidays.

“So, the next work day is Tuesday. By Tuesday, the order will be ready for service.”

Only one of the senior lawyers that defended Onnoghen during the trial could be reached on Saturday as the telephone of others rang out or no connection could be established with them.

But the senior advocate that was reached by our correspondent said he could not speak on the matter since he was not in the country when the judgment was delivered.

While giving evidence as the third prosecution witness in the trial on March 21, an official of Standard Chartered Bank, Ifeoma Okeagbue, had given the details of the balances in the five accounts of ex-CJN.

Okeagbue, the Team Leader, Priority Banking as well as Onnoghen’s Relationship Manager at the branch of the bank in Wuse 2, Abuja, said all the bank accounts were still active as of the time of her testimony.

The banker said the accounts, opened separately between 2009 and 2010, were in euro, pounds, dollar and naira denominations.

According to her, the balance in the Euro account number 5001062686, as of December 2018 was €10,187.18. At N404 per €, this amounts to N4,115,620.72

She said for the Naira account, with number 5001062693, had N12,852,580.52 as its balance as of December 2018.

She said the Pounds Sterling account, with number 5001062679, had as its balance as of December 2018, the sum of £13,730.70. This translates to N6,411,910 at N467 to £1.

The second Naira account with number, 0001062667, was said to have had a balance of N2,656,019.21 as of December 2018.

The witness also said the dollar account numbered 0001062650, had the balance of $56,878 as of January 2019. At the exchange rate of 1$ to N365, the balance translates to N20,476,080.

The naira equivalents of the proceeds in the accounts amount to N46,512,210.45.

drightguy:
Guys am having issue with o.level. (operation fail) every other thing has been completed. Help

sirZoulahy:
please has any come across APPLICATION PENDING after signing up or is it only for applicant that choose STORE/ PROCUREMENT because I tried to register with another gmail and same profession but it still wrote application pending. please help me out on this ooo

dayoakinns:
I study business administration, please where do I fall in, in the category provided.

olatade:
This judgement is too lenient. He should be sent to jail.

Lehwah:

I sent it to this exact mail and got an auto response saying my mail would be attended to

Iseoluwani:


idiot u just paid them in between the month. 17th. because u now paid u quoted me. u dey craze no be small

npowerng:


It would be rectified, Check the mail address below

Volunteersupport@npvn.ng

Kindly check to be sure you’re sending your complaints to the right address

Lehwah: Have you received any reply from the mails you have sent?[

mypersin:
Into what field does public administration fall into, anyone?

Hahnemann:


Kindly list them

friidA22:

I miss represented my chest info. Which format shud I write, 1. 7 meter just 1. 7, cuz I have tried several time.
Need quik response please brother's n sister's.

friidA22:
Pleas I am stock in height n chest measurement, those who have gone pass that stage how did u do it, I imputed 1. 7 for chest n 0. 55 but I was still return back to that line. Please anyone who has an idea shud help.

mikemariabis:
Has anyone finally completed the application.. the thing don tire me, just de load since morning

emekaRaj:
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koby86:
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emekaRaj:
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omoeko001:
what is the way forward for those that are just starting to apply, I can't get pass the bio data stage. it's been saying loading page since

Bekeey:


Same here

The jostle for the Office of the Senate President assumed a new dimension yesterday following the backing of the Senate Leader, Dr Ahmad Lawan by two former Presidents of the Senate and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Some former governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have also joined the push for Lawan.

But Lawan and members of his campaign team yesterday met with more Senators-elect to explain their agenda of a United National Assembly.

According to an investigation by our correspondent, the two ex-Senate Presidents, ex-Speaker and former PDP governors (names withheld) were said to be backing Lawan based on principles and the “need for a more robust legislature.”

A few of the ex-governors hinged their support on “personal relationship they have had with Lawan irrespective of the position of their party.”

The affected former chairmen of the National Assembly have “rated Lawan as a lawmaker with enormous legislative experience.”

It was learnt that some of the foot soldiers of the ex-Senate Presidents had been meeting with Senators-elect to woo them for Lawan.

A top source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “The mandate given to Lawan and other APC lawmakers to reach out to top leaders and members of the opposition has started yielding results.

“At least two former Senate Presidents, a former Speaker, about three ex-PDP governors and some former ministers during the 16-year administration of PDP have joined forces with Lawan. They believe that Lawan’s choice will be better for the upper chamber.

“These leaders have directed their supporters and loyalists to serve as lobbyists for Lawan because of the “need for a more robust legislature. They believe the Senate is derailing and losing its maturity.

“At the appropriate time, all these leaders will publicly unveil their support for Lawan.”

But Lawan yesterday had an audience with more Senators-elect from PDP in Abuja on how to have a united Senate and National Assembly.

He pleaded with the Senators-elect to “rise above partisanship and give him a chance to lead the National Assembly.

One of the PDP Senators-elect said: “Lawan actually assured us of fairness, equity and justice. We are happy that he is promising that there will be no discrimination.

“So far, we are all weighing options because Sen. Ali Ndume has met with some of us too. Although our party is yet to come up with a position on the 9th Senate Presidency, this one-on-one initiative of Lawan has given us the opportunity to know who he is. When we get to the bridge, we will cross it.”

Borno elders ?deny endorsing Ndume, any aspirant

The Borno Elders Forum (BEF) has said it has not endorsed the aspiration of Senator Ali Ndume representing Borno South for Senate President.

Its Secretary, Bulama Mali Gubio, said: “First of all, the Borno Elders forum holds Distinguished Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume in very high esteem as an accomplished son of Borno State. However, the forum will want to issue a clarification to forestall any more confusion.

Last week, there were media reports claiming that Borno elders had endorsed the aspiration of Senator Ndume for the President of the ninth Senate. When we saw that report, we felt there was no need to respond to it since Ndume is a son of Borno and like other sons and daughters, he is entitled to the support of Borno elders.

To our surprise, this week, we saw another round of media report claiming that Borno elders have for the second time endorsed Ndume’s aspiration. Although the reports bear the names of other people in the state, it is, however, public knowledge that whenever the phrase ‘Borno elders’ is mentioned, what immediately comes to mind is the Borno Elders Forum which has gained prominence as a pressure group that promotes and defends the interest of Borno sons and daughters.

We have received so many calls in reaction to the first and second news reports of endorsement for Ndume and we felt it was necessary to clarify that while we have no objection to the aspiration of any Borno son or daughter, our forum did not endorse Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume for the Senate Presidency and the forum has also not endorsed anyone for whatever aspiration at the National Assembly.

Senate Presidency: APC zonal youth leaders seek NEC meeting

The Zonal and state youth leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday asked the leaders of the party to summon a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) without further delay.

The APC zonal youth leaders who spoke in Abuja said that convening the NEC meeting would help the party to address issues threatening the party including zoning of National Assembly leadership offices.

The North Central APC zonal youth leader, Comrade Terver Aginde, who spoke on behalf others, said that they also resolved to ask party leaders to ensure that all positions in the National Assembly were immediately zoned to accommodate the six geo-political zones for equity and fairness.

No zone, the group said, is less important than the other.

The youth leaders called for unity and reconciliation at all levels of the party and the immediate rescission of all purported suspensions in the name of the party.

The group said the party leaders should also ensure that various organs of the party at zonal and state levels were made functional in accordance with the laws governing the party and to reposition the party beyond President Muhammadu Buhari and 2023.

The APC youth leaders appealed to President Buhari to consult the youth organs of the party in his next cabinet appointments especially on issues that affect the youths.

Aginde said they have examined the various pre and post-election issues confronting the party and therefore resolved to draw President Buhari’s attention to “the dangerous drift of the ship of the party which if not urgently steered aright may be heading for the precipice.”

He noted that their goal is not to “fight the system but to correct some ills within the system, shape the direction of the party and ensure a successful tenure of Mr President and all our elected party officials.”

He added that the “overall objective is to ensure reconciliation, unity and restructuring of the party.”

Aginde said: “It is a known fact that President Muhammadu Buhari’s personage epitomizes the strength of APC as at today. “Every concerned party member must begin to ponder what becomes of the party after the president’s tenure in 2023, especially in the light of the highhandedness and perception of lack of internal democracy.

“We observed with great concern the recent suspension of some major stakeholders of the party including two outgoing governors who are also Senators-elect and the retinue of court cases with significant judgments against the party- Rivers and Zamfara. The mishandling of these issues by the National Working Committee and other crises led to our electoral loss in the affected states, particularly in Imo, Bauchi, Adamawa and Oyo.

“Whilst we agree with the initiative to determine National Assembly leadership within defined parameters of zoning and ranking to ensure stability and discipline within the ranks of the party, we must do so without undermining the independence of the legislature.

“We consider the micro-zoning as a recipe for chaos mindful of the experience of 2015. It is anomalous to have made a pronouncement on the position of the Senate Presidency and Speakership of the House of Representatives to the exclusion of other positions and other zones.

“It is pertinent for members of our great party to note that the purported NWC decision is suspect. Not even the respected and revered national caucus of the APC comprising of major stakeholders such as President Muhammadu Buhari, APC governors, party stalwarts and BOT members addressed the issue.

“We are curious to ask for instance how the decision was arrived at, who moved the motion for micro-zoning, who seconded the motion, who voted for micro-zoning and who was against micro-zoning.

“We dare ask who is benefiting from this micro-zoning arrangement, an individual or the party? Party members will be glad to see the minutes of the meeting where such a decision was taken.

“All these are the result of the absence of consultation and lack of input from party stakeholders. We know for sure the rules governing the APC as far as decision making is concerned. Consistent with the provisions of Article 13, Sections 13.3 and 13.4 of the APC Constitution (2014 as amended), we know for a fact that every major decision of the party must be ratified by National Executive Council.

“It is worthy to mention that even Mr President’s candidacy for party primary in the 2019 election which was rightly zoned to the North West by the party had to be subject to ratification by NBC.

“We know that every organ of the party has been constitutionally created and assigned specific roles, yet the zonal and state organs have been rendered inactive.”

Apart from Aginde other APC zonal youth leaders at the briefing included Maigari Bello Kasimu (North East), Abubakar Sadiq Saadu(North West), Odu Olisaemaka Onyeka (South East), Gabriel Iduseri (South-South) and Lawal Ola Kolade (South West).

AnnieBell2753:
Please who has been able to fill the O'level subjects?
Government is not among the subjects listed and I enrolled it, what do I do please any idea?
Thanks.

Ina2k:


it is allowed.
it will give u error if u don't write the name of ur school/center correctly

AnnieBell2753:
Please who has been able to fill the O'level subjects?
Government is not among the subjects listed and I enrolled it, what do I do please any idea?
Thanks.

ikorodureporta:

Our Govt & their mumu websites

Col. Ali, who was represented by the acting Deputy Comptroller General (DCG), Human Resources Development, Sanusi Umar, during a briefing at the NCS headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, said the recruitment exercise got the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and is in compliance with requirements of the Federal Character Commission (FCC).

“We are actively engaged with the Commission to ensure that the process will earn a certificate of compliance on merit,” he noted.

Further explaining the process, he said the recruitment will be conducted to fill 800 space in the Support Staff for Superintendent Cadre category, while the 2,400 space will go for Customs Inspector and Customs Assistant Cadre in the General Duty category.
To properly inform the public, he said the information is being carried by seven national dailies from today while a web portal for applications has been created as a sub-domain of the NCS website.

He gave the sub-site to be https://vacancy.customs.gov.ng adding that it will be opened for three weeks.

While it assured of a hitch-free process during the three week period of the online application submission, NCS said, “We are determined to conduct an exercise that is credible, fair and transparent. We will deploy all machineries within our powers to ensure that the integrity of the exercise is not compromised.”

It warned members of the public to beware of fraudsters and criminals who may be operating illegal sites and portals and collect money from applicants.

“I want to reiterate that the portal for this exercise can only be accessed through the official service website where NO FEES will be demanded,” Ali noted.

npowerng:
Good midnight!

Please note that all N-Power Beneficiaries will be taking a jet at midnight to Mars. Dress properly.

--------------------------
We hope you didn't finish reading that sentence before knowing it was a joke for April Fool's Day ���

How are you all doing?

#NPowerNG

Lehwah(f), a BATCH B Npower volunteer writes "Please i need help. I haven't been enrolled and paid since august. I have sent mails upon mails but nothing is happening. I don't know what else to do.
And I just put to bed n in need of money"

seunmsg:
Is Reuben Abati now a member of PDP?

It was confirmed on Wednesday at the CCT that Onnoghen’s lawyers have filed their final address.

The prosecution team is expected to submit its final address today.

Justice Onnoghen is said to have bungled his chances to meet with President Buhari to resolve the impasse amicably in the interest of the Executive and the Judiciary.

After Justice Onnoghen’s resignation, it was not immediately clear whether or not President Muhammadu Buhari would direct that his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal be stopped.

While some government officials wanted the trial concluded, some members of the Bench and the Bar insisted on the decision of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to retire Justice Onnoghen.

Read Also: The fall of Onnoghen
Although the President was said to be weighing options on the NJC’s report, which made recommendations on Justice Onnoghen’s future, a government official said his trial will be concluded.

The source said: “The government will not withdraw the case against Onnoghen in CCT in order not to set a bad precedent.

“We want the case to run its lifespan for posterity and to avoid reading of political meanings into it. When this case started, there was much uproar, that it was politically motivated by the presidency. We want the tribunal to decide the case on merit.

“The NJC’s report also did not say that the trial be halted. It only demanded the retirement of Onnoghen. This is why no directive has been given to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, which is prosecuting the case, to withdraw the charges against the CJN.”

The source, who stressed that there was no deal with Justice Onnoghen over his trial, claimed that the CJN bungled his chances to decide his fate in the interest of the Judiciary.

The source added: “There were moves to prevail on the President not to allow the CJN to be on trial in CCT. The first window came from the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) which sent a delegation to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The NBA team wanted soft-landing for Onnoghen. Some terms were agreed upon, including resignation or voluntary retirement by Onnoghen.

“The NBA team was mandated to prevail on him to quit honourably in view of some overwhelming allegations and investigative reports on him. The CJN, who was initially amenable to reconciliation, later backed out.

“The second mediation was about another proposed confidential session between President Buhari and Onnoghen, which was facilitated by some highly-placed Nigerians. They wanted the President to hear from Onnoghen to pave the way for his quiet retirement from office without subjecting him to trial.

“The CJN consented to the session with the President but he aborted it at the last minute without any justifiable cause.

“Onnoghen had over-relied on the outcome of NJC’s investigation – that it would be in his favour. He had no choice than to throw in the towel when the NJC advised Buhari to retire him. It was at this stage he chose to voluntarily leave office.”

Speaking with our correspondent last night, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Dr. Muhammed Isah, said: “We have not received any directive from the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, Mallam Abubakar Malami(SAN), who is the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, to discontinue the case.”