Buhari congratulates new Tor Tiv
Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja
President
Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday congratulated Prof. James Ornguga Ayatse,
on his election as Tor Tiv, the paramount ruler of the Tiv people.
Ayatse,
a former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture,
Makurdi, is also the pioneer and immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the
Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State.
In
a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi
Adesina, the President expressed the belief that Ayatse’s emergence as
the paramount ruler of the Tiv people, is an affirmation of his strength
of character, integrity, and moral authority, garnered over the years
as a lecturer, erudite scholar and administrator.
While
urging all his subjects to rally round the new monarch to make his
reign as Tor Tiv , a resounding success, the President urged the
paramount ruler to use his revered office as a veritable platform for
conflict prevention, peace building and development in the grassroots.
Commending
the transparent process leading to the emergence of the royal father
after the demise of his predecessor, Alfred Akawe Torkula, Tor Tiv IV,
last year, the President offered his best wishes to the new monarch as
he prepares to ascend the throne of his ancestors.
“President
Buhari pledges that his administration will continue to recognise
traditional institutions as key partners in progress in finding lasting
solutions to sensitive issues in the country,” the statement added.
Buhari’s anti-corruption war is selective — Clark
Ovie Okpare, Warri
Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has
decried the way the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the
Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Commission are going
about the anti-corruption fight.
Clark, who expressed worry that the
anti-corruption fight would be lost with the way the EFCC and the ICPC
were prosecuting the campaign against corruption, said that the fight
was becoming selective.
The leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum
maintained that although President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against
corruption was genuine, the fight would only succeed if it was not
selective.
Clark stated this during a news
conference on Tuesday at his Kiagbodo country house in Burutu Local
Government Area where he read an open letter addressed to the Attorney
General of the Federal and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami
(SAN).
The Ijaw leader particularly condemned
and described as unimaginable the manner at which the anti-graft
agencies abandoned corruption cases in court for several years despite
enough glaring evidence to nail the accused persons in court.
Making references to the recent
re-arraignment of a former Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu;
and a former Governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Rasheed Ladoja, by the EFCC —
after their cases were abandoned for over nine years, Clark said such
an action smacked of selectivity.
Clark said, “While Nigerians appreciate
this, it must be observed that the activities of some of the anti-graft
agencies may seriously affect Mr. President’s fight against corruption.
All patriotic Nigerians are very supportive of President Muhammadu
Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade.
“He (Buhari) has done well in his fight
against corruption, and we all commend him for that. But for this fight
to succeed, there should not be sacred cows. Therefore, those heading
the anti-graft agencies must be seen to be above board in the discharge
of their duties.
“A situation whereby cases on
corruption have been abandoned in the courts for years is unimaginable.
Now that they want to reopen them, only a very few of them seem to be
selected for re-arraignment. This negates the principle of impartiality.
The war against corruption should be total.”
Clark demanded that other abandoned
cases involving ex-governors such as Gbenga Daniel (Ogun State), Ikedi
Ohakim (Imo State), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa State), Senator Danjuma Goje
(Gombe State), Sule Lamido, (Jigawa State) and his two sons be reopened
without further delay.
Saraki, Sheriff hold secret talks
John Alechenu, Abuja
The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki,
has held a private meeting with a factional chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party, Ali Modu-Sheriff.
The meeting, which lasted for a little
over 20 minutes, was held at an enclosure within the International
Conference Centre complex, Abuja, on Sunday.
Saraki made his way into the complex at
about 7.30 pm and left around 7.51pm and was received by Sheriff who
strolled with him to a corner of the hall where they held the meeting.
Although details of the meeting were not made public, it was gathered that they discussed issues of “mutual interest.”
There have been speculations about
political re-alignments ahead of the 2019 general elections even as
Sheriff is battling the Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the PDP over the
chairmanship of the PDP.
Both have separately vowed to reposition the party towards making it a better alternative platform for the 2019 general polls.
When contacted, the Special Assistant to
the Senate President (Print Media), Mr. Chucks Okocha, said while it
was true that his boss met with Sheriff, it had nothing to do with
politics.
He said, “My principal only went to felicitate with the Sheriffs over the wedding of their daughter.
“The Sarakis and the Sheriffs have been family friends for over 20 years.
“There is nothing usual about them sharing moments of joy such as weddings. It was just a social visit and that is what it is.”
Lagos generated N287bn IGR in 2016 – Ambode
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Sunday hailed
tax payers in the State for performing their civic obligations
faithfully, saying the State recorded more Internally Generated Revenue
(IGR) in 2016 than what was recorded in 2015 despite economic recession
in the country.
As of December 16, 2016 the State had raked in N287bn IGR for the year under review as against N268.2bn generated in 2015.
Speaking at a special evening of music and camaraderie held
at the Lagos House, Ikeja, to usher in the Yuletide season, Governor
Ambode said the taxes paid by the people had been judiciously utilised
to upgrade infrastructures and provide various services, just as he said
Lagosians deserved to be appreciated for cooperating with government in
that regard.
Speaking on the significance of the event which featured
performances by array of evergreen musicians and was attended by top
political leaders, captains of industries, media executives,
professionals in various fields, members of the diplomatic corps, among
others, Governor Ambode said the State Government was greatly
appreciative of the contributions of the people to the growth of the
State in the year under review, adding that the event was principally to
appreciate them.
He said, “You wonder what it is that we are doing? We said
it is an evening with the Governor but the truth is I just set this up
to appreciate all of you and to say a big thank you. Yes, people have
been saying that Lagos is working but Lagos is only working because of
the people who are seated here.
“The tax payers are the ones giving us the little energy
that we have and even when they say Nigeria is in recession, but somehow
Lagos has been able to do it and it is because people are paying their
taxes.
“The truth is that the people have been carrying out their
civic obligations and somehow we have been returning those obligations
with the services that we have provided and you found out that this
year; we have actually made more IGR than last year under a recession.
2019 election will be a Tsunami – Wike
Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has
said that the “invasion” of the state by security agents during the
December 10 legislative rerun was an indication that the 2019 general
election will be a Tsunami of sort.
Wike said Nigerians should expect
fighter jets to be used during the next general elections, wondering why
the military, 28,000 policemen and gunboats should be used for an
ordinary legislative rerun.
The governor, who addressed journalists
on Thursday night, observed that even Divisional Police Officers in the
state were transferred a day before the rerun.
He said, “If you can have an invasion by
the military, police, DSS and INEC for an ordinary legislative rerun
election, then if you have presidential and governorship election, it
will be a Tsunami.
“There will be fighter jets; they will
locate people’s houses and bomb them because that is the only thing
remaining. That is why I said anybody who is thinking about 2019 is
wasting his time.
“28,000 policemen, three gunboats and
others; even DPOs were transferred a day to the election. Some of the
security agents had charms in their vehicles for the legislative rerun.
They must bomb everybody who does not agree with them,” he added.
On the audio clip alleging that he
threatened officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission,
Wike described the material (audio clip) as contrived, adding that it
was sponsored by the All Progressives Congress.
He said, “When you look at certain
things, you just laugh. At no time did I speak to any electoral officer,
let alone issue threats to any electoral officer. There is nowhere I
spoke to an electoral officer, threatening him or her as the case maybe.
“It is totally not correct. The major
issue is: did the police participate in rigging election? Did the army
participate in rigging the election? Did INEC compromise?
“Let them face the reality and stop
chasing shadows. What is audio clip? What can’t this government do? I
don’t have an orderly; I don’t have a chief security officer, I don’t
have camp commandant. All were taken away before the election.”
The governor said rather than bring the
SARS Commander, Mr. Akin Fakorede, to justice for the roles he played
during the rerun, as captured on video, the police authorities arrested
the policemen who accompanied him (Wike) to stop the commander from
swapping Rivers East Senatorial District results sheet.
He said, “They have now arrested and
detained the policemen, who accompanied me to the collation centre to
stop him. Even Akin Fakorede, who was caught on video, has been released
so that police can bungle it. What kind of country is this?
But the State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Chris Finebone, said Wike was caught pants down and had nowhere to hide.
Finebone said, “It is important to state
that the APC have on several occasions in the past been brought under
scrutiny by Sahara Reporters to the amusement of Wike and the PDP. But
today, they have found it convenient to associate the APC with Sahara
Reporters.
“That is absolute falsehood coming from
him. Governor Wike should think of a better response, which we doubt he
has because the audio recording is clear to everyone that it is the
voice of the governor threatening to kill people.”
No time for academic pursuit in my military days –Buhari
Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja
president Muhammadu Buhari, on
Wednesday, said there was no time for officers to further their
education during his days in the military.
He said military men were only preoccupied with war, coups and counter-coups at the time.
A statement by his Senior Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, quoted the President as
speaking during the decoration of his Aide-De-Camp, Col. Mohammed
Abubakar; and the Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet, Air-Vice
Marshal Sadiq Kaita, with their new ranks at the Presidential Villa,
Abuja.
“I am happy with the intellectual
approach of the military. In our time, there was no time for academic
pursuit. It was all about war, coups and counter-coups,” the President
said.
He said modern military required superiority of intellect and imagination to achieve victory in warfare.
While expressing happiness with the
dazzling array of university degrees the newly-promoted officers had
acquired, the President urged all officers to ensure the translation of
academic achievements to performance in the field and other places of
assignment.
Buhari said in times of peace and
stability, military officers should use such opportunity to pursue their
intellectual transformation which should go side-by-side with hardware
transformation of modern armies.
The President urged officers to read
History, irrespective of their academic backgrounds, describing it as an
important prerequisite for strategic learning and success in the
military.
Buhari congratulated both officers on
their various achievements in their services, calling on them to always
be mindful of the welfare of those placed under their command.
Both Kaita and Abubakar had, prior to their current assignments, served the country in peacekeeping missions abroad.
Dollar rises over planned interest rate hike
Investors were sent scurrying on the prospect of tighter borrowing costs as the Federal Reserve positions itself for an expected jump in inflation if Donald Trump makes good on promises to ramp up infrastructure spending and slash taxes.
While the decision to lift rates had been a certainty, a plan to hike them three times rather than the expected twice jolted trading floors.
The news sent the dollar soaring well past 117 yen and its highest level since February, while it also bulldozed other currencies, particularly higher-yielding, riskier, units and those of emerging market nations.
“This is flat out hawkish, and the US dollar is reacting accordingly,” Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA, said in a note. “I thought we would be calling (Fed chief Janet Yellen’s) bluff this morning, as the market had expected at most a subtle shift in Fed language.
“However, the Fed’s forward guidance is in reaction to Trumpflation as Dr Yellen did little to quell the markets’ pent up view that both growth and inflation will accelerate in 2017.”
In Asian trade the greenback pushed towards 118 yen and jumped more than one percent against the Australian and Canadian dollar while their New Zealand counterpart was almost two percent down. The Mexican peso also tumbled.
The dollar was also up 0.7 per cent on the South Korean won and 0.6 per cent versus Indonesia’s rupiah. The Thai baht, Malaysian ringgit and Singapore dollar also suffered heavy losses.
In her post-announcement conference, Yellen said the rise was a reflection of “the confidence we have in the progress that the economy has made and our judgment that that progress will continue”.
However, the upbeat outlook for the key driver of global growth was unable to comfort Asian traders worried about a flood of cash out of their own economies as dealers look for better returns in the US.
N4.7bn alleged fraud: EFCC re-arraigns Ladoja eight years after
Ramon Oladimeji
the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission on Wednesday re-arraigned a former Governor of Oyo State,
Chief Rashidi Ladoja, alongside one Waheed Akanbi for an alleged fraud
of N4.7bn.
The EFCC claimed that Ladoja and Akanbi committed the offence in 2007.
The charge, marked FHC/L/336c/08, was
filed against them in 2008 and they were first arraigned before Justice
A. R. Mohammed eight years ago.
Their re-arraignment before Justice
Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday followed
the dismissal of their appeal against the charges which went all the way
to the Supreme Court over a period of seven years.
Seventy-two-year-old Ladoja appeared in court in a green agbada made of ankara fabric, a brown cap and black shoes while Akanbi was dressed in a black suit.
The eight counts pressed against them by
the EFCC border on money laundering and unlawful conversion of funds
belonging to the Oyo State Government to their own.
In one of the counts, Ladoja and Akanbi
were accused of converting a sum of N1,932,940,032.48, belonging to Oyo
State Government to their personal own, using a Guaranty Trust Bank
account of a company, Heritage Apartments Limited.
The EFCC claimed that they retained the
money sometime in 2007, despite their knowledge that it was a proceed of
a criminal conduct.
In another instance, Ladoja was accused
of removing the sum of £600,000 from the state coffers in 2007 and sent
it to Bimpe Ladoja, who was at the time in London.
The ex-governor was also accused of
converting the sum of N42m, belonging to the state, to his own and
subsequently used it to purchase an armoured Land Cruiser jeep.
He was also accused of converting a sum of N728,600,000 and another N77,850,000 at separate times in 2007 to his own.
The EFCC claimed that Ladoja transferred
the N77, 850,000 to one Bistrum Investments, which he nominated to help
him purchase a property named Quarter 361, Ibadan, Oyo State.
The EFCC told the court that Ladoja and
Akanbi acted contrary to sections 17(a) and18 (1) of the Money
Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and were liable to be punished under
sections 14(1), 16(a) (b) and 18(2) of the same Act.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty upon the charges being read to them.
The EFCC, lawyer, Mr. Oluwafemi Olabisi, consequently asked the court to fix a date for the commencement of trial.
But the defence counsel, Mr. Bolaji
Onilenla and Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, informed the court of their
clients’ bail applications.
Onilenla, representing Ladoja, urged the
court to allow his client to continue on the bail conditions granted
him in 2008 by Justice Mohammed.
“The first defendant has kept full faith
with the terms and conditions of the bail and there was no single
incident of default,” Onilenla said, while assuring Justice Idris that
his client would “behave himself” and make himself available for his
trial.
In his bench ruling, Justice Idris held
that the court could not deny the defendants bail on account of their
exercising their constitutional right of appeal, which resulted in the
delay of the case.
He adjourned till February 14, 15 and 16, 2017, for commencement and continuation of trial.
BREAKING: Presidency promises to pay protesting Falcons on Friday
‘Tana Aiyejina
Protesting members of the Super Falcons
have returned to their Agura Hotel, Abuja base after the Presidency
promised that the money owed them by the Nigeria Football Federation
would be paid on Friday.
Members of the female football national
team had on Wednesday morning stormed the National Assembly protesting
the non-payment of their allowances by the NFF.
The team won the 10th African Women Cup of Nations, beating hosts Cameroon 1-0 in an explosive final in Yaounde.
It was a record eighth title for the
Nigerian ladies but the victory instead of putting smiles on the faces
of the players, pitted them against the football body over the payment
of their allowances and bonuses.
Reports say each player is entitled to about $25,000.
The girls, however, returned to their
hotel after the Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari,
addressed them and promised to offset their bills in two days.
The players, who carried placards, were
hoping that President Muhammadu Buhari, who was due to visit the
National Assembly today to present the estimates of the 2017 budget to
lawmakers, would see them and put an end to their plight.
Some of their placards read, “We are your children, pity us”; “Let us respect women”; “female football deserves respect.”
The treatment meted out to the record
Aftican champions by the Nigerian authorities is in sharp contrast to
that received by runners-up Indomitable Lionesses from the Cameroonian
government.
The social media has been awash with
pictures, videos and stories of the lavish ceremony put in place by
President Paul Biya to honour the Cameroonian ladies despite finishing
as runners-up on home soil.
$400m Abacha loot: FG to pay Swiss govt $79m commission
Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja
The Federal Government may have agreed
to pay the Government of Switzerland $79m (N25.2bn) as part of
conditions for the repatriation of almost $400m (N128bn) recovered from
the family of the late military ruler, Gen. Sani Abacha.
The Chairman of the Civil Society
Network Against Corruption, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraj, said this during a
seminar to commemorate the 2016 International Anti-Corruption Day in
Abuja on Friday.
The event was jointly organised by
Nigerian anti-corruption agencies, the European Union, the United States
and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and had in attendance
senior diplomats and politicians.
It will be recalled that the Swiss
Ambassador to Nigeria, Eric Mayoraz, had said in July that his country
would return $321m out of the Abacha loot to Nigeria.
However, Suraj, who was a member of a
panel of discussants, said the original figure that was meant to be
returned to Nigeria was about $400m.
He said the Nigerian Government had secretly agreed to forfeit $79m as part of negotiations.
Suraj said this was disgraceful as the
Swiss Government was meant to pay Nigeria an interest instead of
dictating the terms of agreement.
He said, “Unfortunately, the government
goes to beg countries to get our money back rather than making demands,
we appeal for the money and beg them to return it. We are fed with half
information such that we even assume that we actually recover the amount
stolen.
“I had a very funny experience and it is
still ongoing. The $321m that the Swiss Government is meant to return
to Nigeria, we discovered three weeks ago that the original money was
about $400m. The legal process in Switzerland actually charged the
Nigerian Government about $79m and that is why we are receiving $321m.
“The $321m is now to be returned to
Nigeria with the condition that the World Bank will monitor how the
funds will be spent. I cannot imagine anything more insulting.”
Attempts to speak with the spokesperson
for the Swiss Embassy, Mr. Pascal Holliger, proved abortive as telephone
calls were not responded to while he had yet to respond to a text
message as of press time.
Also, an inquiry sent to the Office of the Attorney-General in Switzerland by email had yet to be responded to as of press time.
However, it will be recalled that the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Geoffrey Onyeama, had said in June that
the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo had paid the Swiss
Government over $100m as commission for the return of Abacha’s loot.
He had said, “If you remember the Abacha
loot in Switzerland at the time, Obasanjo’s government had to finally
agree to give them 10 per cent of the amount. This was about $100m and
so they returned $900m to Nigeria.
“If they (Swiss Government) had not
agreed and said they wanted to keep the whole money, it would have been
very difficult for us and that is why the anti-corruption summit and the
initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari is really focused on these
western countries to remove some of those barriers and lengthy
procedures that are in place and make it possible for these people to
delay (the payment).”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Mines and
Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has described fighting corruption
as a very expensive task.
He maintained that there was a need for the government to focus on crime prevention rather than crime fighting.
Fayemi, who spoke on the theme,
‘Corruption: An Impediment to the Sustainable Development Goals, said
Buhari, administration would promote transparency.
The Country Representative of the UNODC,
Cristina Albertin, lamented the high level of corruption in Nigeria and
other developing nations.
She said 37 per cent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product would be lost by 2030 if corruption wasn’t curbed.
A spokesperson for the Swiss Department
of Foreign Affairs, Noemie Charton, told our correspondent in an email
that he would find out the situation.
The message read, “Thank you for your
query. I have forwarded it to our colleagues in charge, and will get
back to you in the course of next week.”
Rivers rerun: If they slap you, slap them, Oyegun tells Rivers APC supporters
Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt
Ahead of Saturday’s legislative rerun
in Rivers State, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress,
Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has urged members of his party to retaliate
whatever action they get from loyalists of the Peoples Democratic Party.
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Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke at the mega
rally of the APC at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt on
Thursday, described the rerun as “the beginning of a rescue mission” and
encouraged the people not to be intimidated.
He said, “I am glad with what I am
hearing here today; very glad. If they push you, push them back. If they
slap you, slap them back.”
He expressed his satisfaction with the
turnout at the rally, and urged the people to head to the polling units
in droves on Saturday.
Odigie-Oyegun said,“I am very pleased
with the turnout here today. It shows you are truly ready. As you can
see, we came in force. The whole federal might is here. You have the
governors of this nation here today.”
He added, “We are sending one message,
and that message is clear. It is that we respect you the people of
Rivers State. We respect the courage of our members in this state. We
want to let you know that we have heard your cry; we have seen your
anguish; enough is enough. This is the beginning of a rescue mission.
Also speaking at the rally, the Minister
of Transportation and the APC leader in the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi,
said the poll would be an election of their (APC) lives.
Amaechi, who is a former governor of the
state, called on the APC supporters not to be afraid but to ensure that
their votes were protected.
He stressed that he would not entertain
any excuse on result sheet snatching and advised party faithful in the
state to retrieve any election materials taken away during the exercise.
He said, “This is what is called
election of our lives. You know I have never spoken like this before. Do
not kill anybody; but, don’t allow yourself to be killed. We also have
to protect ourselves.
“I don’t want to hear that they snatched
the result sheet from you. If they snatch it, collect it back from
them. My phone will be switched off. Nobody should call me. The only
time you will call me is from 6pm when you have won the election.”
No fewer than 12 APC governors, National Assembly members and other public office-holders attended the rally.
The Chairman of the APC Election
Campaign Committee, Alhaji Mohammed Ganduje, urged the APC supporters in
the state to take cover whenever they were shot at.
The Kano State Governor urged the APC
supporters in the state not to hesitate to shoot back at their attackers
during the election.
But the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, disagreed with Ganduje over his comments on the election.
Wike, who spoke through his Commissioner
for Information, Dr. Austin Tam-George, said Ganduje’s call on the APC
supporters to take cover and shoot was a way of inciting violence in the
state.
“This is a shameful and egregious invitation to violence by the Kano State Governor,” Wike said.
$793,800 bribe: EFCC grills Justice Ajumogobia’s children
Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission on Wednesday grilled the children of Justice Rita
Ofili-Ajumogobia at the Lagos office of the commission for several
hours.
Impeccable sources within the EFCC told
that the judge’s children were grilled as part of the investigations
into the allegations that their mother received a total of $793,800 in
several tranches from different sources unlawfully between 2012 and
2015.
Ofili-Ajumogobia was alleged to have
collected bribes through a company account in Diamond Bank, Nigel &
Colive Ltd, which she owns jointly with her children.
It was through the said account that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Obla, allegedly paid a N5m bribe to the judge.
It was learnt that the EFCC had invited the judge’s children since last week but they refused to honour the invitation.
Operatives were said to have
stormedOfili- Ajumogobia’s home located on 18 Lai Ajayi-Bembe Street,
Parkview, Ikoyi with a search warrant on Wednesday.
However, on getting to the home, the
children were said not to be in the house but the judge’s
brother-in-law, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia (SAN), who is a former Minister of
State for Petroleum Resources and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs,
went to speak with the detectives.
He was said to have promised to ensure that the children were brought to the EFCC office in the afternoon.
A detective said, “About a week ago, we
gave an invitation letter to Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia and asked her to
give it to her two children. However, they never honoured the
invitation. So, today (Wednesday), we went to the house with a search
warrant but they refused to open the door. A former Minister, Odein
Ajumogobia, who happens to be the judge’s brother-in-law, promised us
that he would bring the children around 3pm, so we left.
“We invited her children because their
names featured in our investigation. So, we invited them to hear their
own side of the story. The minister honoured his promise because the
children were brought to our officer around 3pm.”
It was learnt that the children were still being grilled as of press time.
The EFCC had on November 28, arraigned
Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia and Mr. Godwin Obla on 30 charges bordering on
bribery, corruption and money laundering.
The EFCC, in the charges, alleged that
Obla, while appearing in a suit numbered FHC/L/C/482c/2010 before
Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, offered a gratification of N5m to the judge to
allegedly induce the judge to refrain from acting in the exercise of
her official duties as a public officer.
Obla, the EFCC claimed, paid the money
from the account of his company, Obla & Company Limited, with United
Bank for Africa, to Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia through the bank account
of Nigel & Colive Ltd in Diamond Bank Plc.
The EFCC claimed that the judge and the
SAN acted contrary to sections 64 (1) and 97 (1) of the Criminal Law of
Lagos State, No. 11, 2011.
But they both pleaded not guilty to the offence.
The judge was accused of receiving a
total of $793,800 in several tranches from different sources between
2012 and 2015 “so as to have a significant increase in your assets that
you cannot reasonably explain the increase in relation to your lawful
income.”
The EFCC told Justice Oshodi that
Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia violated Section 82(a) of the Criminal Law of
Lagos State, No. 11, 2011.
The judge was further accused of forging
a deed of assignment between County City Bricks Development Co. Ltd and
Nigel & Colive Ltd dated July 5, 2010, which the EFCC claimed was
purportedly prepared and signed by Charles Musa & Co.
The offence was said to be contrary to Section 467 of the Criminal Code, Cap C17, Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003.
Stop making expensive demands from me, Buhari tells Nigerians
Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday asked Nigerian elite to stop making what he called expensive demands from his administration because things would no longer be done in the old way.
He warned them to stop insisting that things should be done the old way which impoverished the nation.
The President spoke during a meeting he had with a group of Nigerians in the Diaspora, on the margins of the 3rd Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa in Dakar, Senegal.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President said his administration was on the right track to improve the image of the country by entrenching accountability and probity in governance.
He told the 11-man Nigerian delegation of association leaders resident in Senegal and Cote D’ Ivoire, that the last 16 years of poor handling of the nation’s resources and infrastructure have continued to impact negatively on the country.
The President, “This administration is pleased we won the election, we are pleased Nigerians are cooperating with us. But the problems are so enormous that we need the cooperation of Nigerians, particularly the elite.
“They (elite) should reflect on the condition of the country, and stop making expensive demands because things cannot be done the old way.”
On the welfare of Nigerians in the Diaspora, Buhari assured them that the Federal Government would continue to promote good neighbourliness and improve the negative perception about Nigerians abroad.
“Nigerians are known for their competitiveness and I am very passionate about Nigeria. I will continue to preach good neighbourliness and work hard to improve the numerous human and material resources in the country,” he said.
Nigeria needs 2.4m litres of biodiesel daily
Nigeria needs 2.4 million litres of
biodiesel daily to successfully implement the Paris Agreement on Climate
Change, the Jatropha Growers, Processors and Exporters Association of
Nigeria has said.
The National President of JaGPEAN,
retired Maj. Gen. J. Omosebi, stated this at the second interactive
meeting of the national and state executives of the association in
Abuja.
Omosebi said this had underscored the
need for massive domestic production of Jatropha plant, which is a rich
source of biodiesel, to meet the required feedstock to implement the
agreement.
He explained that the association had
plans by to mobilise farmers to cultivate 100,000 hectares of Jatropha
farm nationwide in 2017, and 2.5 million hectares within the next five
years.
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the climate change agreement on behalf of the country in New York in September.
Buhari had expressed the country’s commitment to cut Green House gas emissions unconditionally by 20 per cent by 2020.
To achieve this objective, the country
is expected to blend 20 per cent of biofuel into every litre of diesel
and petrol to be consumed in the country before the deadline.
Already, the Ministry of Petroleum
Resources has started reviewing and updating the country’s Biofuel
Policy to boost local production and uptake of the critical product.
This, according to the JaGPEAN national
president, is a huge business opportunity for players in the Jatropha
value-chain, especially farmers.
He said, “Currently, about 12 million litres of diesel are consumed daily in Nigeria.
“Blending with the stipulated 20 per
cent biofuel means that the country needs 2.4 million litres of
biodiesel daily or 876 million litres annually to successfully implement
the agreement.
“Currently, the data of available
Jatropha oil in the country is very insignificant compared with the
quantity required for this policy.
“Therefore, there is need for massive cultivation of Jatropha to meet the required feedstock to implement the policy.”
The JaGPEAN national president said it
was important for the association to support the Federal Government ‘s
Biofuel Policy because it was favourable to the farmers.
He commended the government for
accommodating the interests of the association’s members in the policy
review, which they had been praying for over the years.
Buhari to present 2017 budget Dec. 14
Leke Baiyewu, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has notified
the National Assembly of his intention to present the 2017 Appropriation
Bill to the legislature on December 14, 2016.
Buhari’s letter to the Assembly was read
by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, during the plenary at the
Senate on Tuesday.
The President, in the letter titled,
‘2017 budget proposal and plans to lead Nigeria out of recession,’ said
he would also address a joint session of both chambers of the National
Assembly on the efforts being made by his administration to bring the
country out of recession.
The letter read, “I crave the kind
indulgence of the National Assembly to grant me the slot of 10:00hours
on Wednesday, the 14th of December, 2016, to formally address a joint
session of the National Assembly on the 2017 budget proposal and our
plans to get the country out of recession.
“Please extend, Mr. Senate President,
the assurances of my highest regards to the distinguished senators, as I
look forward to addressing the joint session.”
It is however uncertain if the 2017
budget will be independent of the 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure
Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, which has not been approved by the
National Assembly.
President Buhari had sent the MTEF/FSP,
which will form the basis for the national annual budget for the three
years, to the National Assembly for legislative approval. It narrowly
escaped being rejected the second time by the Senate on November 23.
The upper chamber of the National
Assembly condemned the projections of the proposal in the document as
unrealistic, even though it said the Presidency had set December 1 for
the presentation of the 2017 Appropriation Bill to the legislature.
The senators, who took turns to
criticise the new version of the MTEF/FSP as well as the officials who
prepared the document during the day’s plenary, submitted that it should
be sent back to the executive to include the “correct” figures showing
the true state of the economy.
The MTEF/FSP, had earlier been rejected
by the Senate over the failure by the executive to include some critical
details in the document.
The Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, had described the first version of the MTEF and FSP as “empty.”
Police recruitment: Commission releases names of successful applicants
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, the commission’s Head, Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, said the candidates comprised of 500 cadet Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASP), 500 cadet Inspectors and, 7,500 constables.
Mr. Ani said that names of the successful applicants had been uploaded on the websites of commission and the Nigeria Police Force.
He said the commission also concluded the recruitment of 80 per cent of the 1,500 specialists into the force.
Mr. Ani said the commission shortlisted applicants who applied under some disciplines that required further professional and expert interview.
He said the disciplines included engineering, laboratory science and community health.
Mr. Ani said the exercise was based on merit, federal character and geographical spread, adding that all successful candidates went through the required processes.
“These include state screening which involved the screening of credentials of the candidates and physical screening such as height, sight, chest, etc,” he said.
“A total of 338,250 applicants were later shortlisted, also electronically, and invited for screening at the state commands of the Nigeria Police Force.
“This figure was made up of 44,684 shortlisted for cadet ASP, 87,736 for cadet inspector and 205,830 for constable.
“This process was followed through from command to zone and finally, the national level, where the successful candidates were selected,” he said.
He said that the commission was guided by its enabling law, recruitment guidelines and the federal character as enshrined in the constitution.(NAN)
I won’t abandon APC, says Tinubu
John Alechenu, Abuja
The National leader of the All
Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has reiterated his
commitment to the governing All Progressives Congress.
Tinubu, who made his views known via a
series of tweets on his twitter handle @Asiwaju Tinubu, on Monday, also
denied links to the formation of a new party.
The party leader said he would not abandon the ruling party, which he laboured to build.
Tinubu noted that irrespective of
mistakes that had been made, he remained committed to the “ideas that
fuelled” the creation of the APC.
The former Lagos State governor added
that he had devoted his life to building the party, stressing that the
national purpose of the APC “is bigger than the desire of any
individual.”
In one of the tweets, Tinubu said, “This
is a party I laboured with others to build. We would not abandon it for
another. Millions of Nigerians who voted are watching and praying.
“I have devoted my political life to
achieving what has been achieved. My heart is too much for the people
and my mind too fixed on establishing a positive historic legacy… rather
than engage in destructive pettiness.”
He added, “This government, the APC, is
for the betterment of the people and the national purpose is bigger and
more important than any individual’s desires.
“In our journey to national betterment, plans and policies will be made, then amended. Mistakes will occur and then corrected…
“Achievements will be had and
replicated. Through it all, I, Asiwaju will remain true to the
progressive ideals that fuelled the creation of the APC.”
The latest statement from Tinubu is coming on the heels of reports linking him to plans to form a mega party.
There has been no love lost between
Tinubu and the APC’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, since
the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the President of the Senate.
The relationship was further strained
after the Ondo State APC governorship primary. Tinubu in a scathing
letter demanded for the resignation of the party chairman whom he
accused of several acts of malfeasance.
In response, the party chairman said the party leader was misinformed and that his letter was based on faulty foundation.
Lagos to build five stadia
The Lagos State Government is set to
build five new stadia in the different areas of the state in its quest
to promote excellence in sports and market the state through sports
tourism.
The Commissioner for Information and
Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, made the assertion on Wednesday in Lagos
while unveiling Lagos as the Host City, Beach Soccer Africa Cup of
Nations 2016.
Mr. Ayorinde said that the five stadia were already captured in the state’s 2017 budget proposal.
He said that Lagos as the Centre of
Excellence had been number one in sports and entertainment and believed
in using sports to sell the mega city.
Ayorinde said that the government was
sponsoring the 2nd Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations, holding from Dec.
13 to Dec. 18 at the Eko Atlantic, because it believed in showcasing
not just sports but its tourism potential.
He noted that two major components had
been built into the hosting — sports and tourism, arts and entertainment
— to achieve the state’s quest to make Lagos the sports hub in Africa.
Ayorinde said that the government had
partnered with countries that excel in sports and many organisations to
promote a culture of sports.
He said, “As you can see, FC Barcelona Youth Academy had started in Lagos because Barca has an ally in the state.
“The state government has planned a
package for the Yuletide which will commence immediately the competition
ended with the first ever Lagos City Carnival.
“It will also organise the Lagos State
fiesta which will hold simultaneously in Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu, Lagos
Mainland and Lagos Island divisions, ending on Dec. 31.
“This year’s events have been well
planned to ensure that people relaxed and enjoyed themselves during the
Christmas and New year festivities under tight security.”
The Chairman, Lagos State Sports
Commission, Deji Tinubu, said said that Lagos was hosting because it
wanted to showcase the excellence of Lagos through sports.
Tinubu said that the state had created
more opportunities and varieties partnering with organisations, noting:
“We are trying to create a sports culture where everybody can get into
sports.
“Copa Lagos has been running for six years but we are redefining beach soccer. We want Lagos to be a sports destination’’.
He said that there would be bus shuttle
from different locations for fans wishing to be at the venue to cheer
the teams at the six-day event.
He added that there would be events to showcase Lagos at the opening and closing ceremonies.
The President, Nigeria Football
Federation, Amaju Pnnick, thanked Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode for hosting the
event, noting that the hosting “will redefine beach soccer in its
annals’’. (NAN)
Ambode urges support for APC in Saturday poll
Toluwani Eniola
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday
paid glowing tributes to the late House of Representatives member
representing Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency, Dr. Elijah Adewale.
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The governor spoke during a rally to
drum up support for the All Progressives Congress ahead of Saturday’s
by-election which would be held to get a replacement for Adewale, who
died on July 20, 2016.
Ambode hailed the contributions of the
deceased’s family to the party and promised to commence work on the
mini stadium project in the area in the first quarter of next year.
The governor said the performance of his
government justified the need to vote for the APC candidate in the
by-election, Mr. Akinwunmi Olaitan.
Olaitan emerged the party’s candidate following the death of Adewale, who was elected in the last year’s election.
He said, “The past, present and future
belong to all of you. Ojokoro and Ijaye will move forward. In the last
one and a half years, Lagos has been working. We have not started
anything yet. Lagos will make greater progress next year. We will
implement the budget faithfully. We will fulfill our promises.”
After observing a minute silence in
honour of Adewale, Olaitan received the party’s flag from the state
Chairman of the party, Henry Ajomale. At the rally were the Lagos State APC
Deputy Chairman, Cardinal James Odunmbaku, a House of Representatives
member, Jide Jimoh, and other party chieftains.
The senator representing Lagos-West
senatorial district, Olamilekan Adeola, urged the people of the
constituency to repeat the feat of last year’s election by voting for
the APC candidate. He said, “This is the first time the
APC will vote under the Ambode administration. You should vote for the
APC in appreciation of the good works of the governor.”
Why I omitted Tinubu from my victory speech – Akeredolu
John Alechenu and Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja
The Ondo State governor-elect, Chief
Rotimi Akeredolu, on Wednesday, said he did not acknowledge a national
leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in his
victory speech on Sunday because it was not expedient to do so.
He said having acknowledged President
Muhammadu Buhari, who is the recognised national leader of the party,
and the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, it was safe to
infer that he had acknowledged all the party’s leaders.
Akeredolu said this while answering
State House correspondents’ questions shortly after he and his deputy,
Mr. Agboola Ajayi, met Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
They were led to the meeting, which was
their first after their victory, by the Chairman of the All Progressives
Congress Campaign Council in Ondo State, Governor Simon Lalong.
The governor-elect, who said the
relationship between him and Tinubu was cordial, explained that
mentioning the name of the former Lagos State governor specifically
would have amounted to him mentioning the names of about 37 other
leaders of the party.
He said, “On the names that were
mentioned in my speech when expressing gratitude and that I didn’t
specifically thank Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I thanked the President and the
leader of our party profusely for the leadership which he showed leading
to this election.
“I also thanked our indefatigable
chairman for standing by the truth and for his position on this matter
that led to this election. I have no reason to do otherwise.
“Party structure, to the best of my
knowledge, is very clear. You have the leadership of the party and that
is represented by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
“After an election, a chief executive
emerges, he becomes a leader of the party, you don’t have to personalise
and be looking for leaders all over the place.
“If we have to do that, then I will have
to mention 36 or 37 leaders. So, I believe the leadership as
represented by the President covers all leaders and that tells me it
would include Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it would include even Baba
Akande, (Ogbonnaya) Onu, and so many leaders.
“But President Buhari is the leader of the party. So, that is my position there.”
Akeredolu, however, added that Tinubu
remained one of the leaders of the party, noting that he (Tinubu) had
since sent congratulatory message to him after he won the election.
“For me, as a person, I believe he is
one of the leaders of the party and I don’t see any strained
relationship between us. And you would observe that he has sent in his
congratulatory message after the election, so what else do you expect?
“I mean all of us see this as a victory
for the APC, not for Akeredolu, not for us an individual but for the
party as a whole. I believe he is a member of the party. Mr. Femi
Adesina had issued a release but you journalists just want to put words
into our mouths,” he said.
Akeredolu also said despite his decision
not to probe the administration of the outgoing governor, Olusegun
Mimiko, he would not close his eyes if he stumbled upon established
cases of wrongdoing in the course of carrying out his responsibilities
as governor.
He explained that what he said on the matter was that he would not deliberately go out to probe Mimiko’s administration.
He said, “At the centre, the government
of President Buhari said we must look back in order to move forward, he
has been there for over a year now, has he instituted a probe?
“Looking back is not a probe and I
maintain that I will not probe any administration. This is responsible
leadership and I am elected to lead the people.
“The task ahead of us is enormous than
for us to start instituting probes. My own is not to institute any probe
against the last administration and that is what President Buhari has
done.
“But if we find out that wrongs were
committed, we have enough laws of the land to take care of people who
have committed wrongs.
“As we start our work, as we go ahead,
if there is any semblance of ‘Dasukigate’ in the state, the law will
take its course. That is different from probing. We will follow what Mr.
President is doing at the centre.”
The governor-elect also promised to implement his manifesto in line with the reality on the ground.
That, he said, did not mean that he would not deliver on all the five cardinal programmes he promised the people.
On Senator Yele Omogunwa who left the
PDP for the APC, Akeredolu said the lawmaker had joined his campaign
trail and that he only formalised his defection on the Senate floor on
Wednesday.
He said it would have been wrong for the lawmaker to remain in a factionalised party like the PDP.
Lalong had earlier said that he was in the Presidential Villa to present the governor-elect and his deputy to the President.
He said he would also be visiting the national headquarters of the APC to do the same thing to party leaders.
The governor-elect again said the APC was not responsible for the confusion over the candidacy of the PDP ahead of the election.
He said, “It was not the APC that went
to court neither was it the APC that gave the judgment, all we saw was
friction or conflict between the PDP and the PDP.
“If that judgment was going to help the
APC, so be it. But we were not parties to the case for somebody to even
assume that the APC was responsible for denying somebody.
“The APC is not the court; the court is a
separate arm. I am saying that as far as we are concerned, the APC was
not responsible for denying anybody the right to contest that election.”
Meanwhile, Akeredolu on Wednesday pledged his loyalty to Odigie-Oyegun, whom he said he owed a debt of gratitude.
Akeredolu said this at the APC national
headquarters, Abuja, where he presented his certificate of return to the
leadership of the party.
Akeredolu also promised to work towards
ensuring that the party repeats the same feat during the next
governorship election in neighbouring Ekiti State.
He said, “I owe you, my national
chairman, a lot. You have done well, I will be loyal. I remember during
my campaigns; I said that immediately we win Ondo, we will move en mass
to win Ekiti.”
Responding, Odigie-Oyegun urged the
governor-elect to ensure prompt payment of outstanding workers’ salaries
as soon as he resumes duty.
Odigie-Oyegun said, “People who work deserve their pay and I hope that would be your first priority.”
Ogun armed men chase Ondo monarch out of palace
Peter Dada, Akure
The traditional ruler of Atijere
community in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, Oba Samuel
Edema, has been chased out of his palace by some armed men from the
neighboring community of Makun-Omi in Ogun State following a communal
clash between the two communities.
Atijere in Ondo State and Makun-Omi in
Ogun State share boundary, but the two communities had been laying
claims to the ownership of a piece of land.
The ownership of the land was said to have been causing incessant crisis between the two communities.
The National Boundary Commission was
said to have intervened in the crisis before a fresh crisis erupted on
Tuesday between the two communities, leading to many residents deserting
their homes while some were injured.
The traditional ruler said he escaped
from being killed by the armed men who he alleged were sponsored by a
local government chairman in Ogun State. He explained that he was guided
out of the town by some of his subjects through the waterways.
He called on the state police command and the state government to come to their aid.
The traditional ruler said, “As I am
talking to you now, I am hiding in one of the communities in the coastal
area, while our people have been displaced. We are calling on the
government and security operatives to come to our aid before it is too
late.
“We invited the officials of the
boundary commission and they fixed a meeting between the two communities
where it was resolved that the commission will meet with us on Monday
November 28, 2016.
“But because of the Ondo State governorship election, we called for the postponement of the meeting.”
Police Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Police Command, Mr. Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident.
He said the command had deployed men in the area to restore peace to the area.
BREAKING: Oil resumes rise after OPEC cut
Oil prices resumed their rise Thursday and held above the
$50 barrier following OPEC’s decision to carry out its first output cut
in eight years.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at a
meeting in Vienna on Wednesday agreed on specific targets to enact a
preliminary deal struck in September designed to ease a global crude
supply glut and boost prices.
Many analysts had expected the producers’ cartel to fail to
reach a deal as major players like Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia remained
divided ahead of the meeting.
Crude futures prices surged more than 10 percent immediately after the OPEC deal.
At 0630 GMT Thursday, after a brief dip in early Asian
trade, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for January delivery was up
70 cents or 1.42 percent at $50.14, while Brent crude for February was
81 cents or 1.6 percent higher at $52.65.
“Not only had hopes of higher prices been realised, the
reputation of the OPEC has also been salvaged, prompting the surge,”
said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.
“Sceptics have now placed their focus on the implementation
of the OPEC deal where Saudi Arabia will be shouldering the bulk of the
cut.”
The 14-member OPEC agreed to lower its monthly output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 32.5 million bpd from January 1.
Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada said
non-member Russia committed to reducing its output by 300,000 bpd, half
of a hoped-for 600,000 bpd reduction from outside the organisation.
Prices had fallen to near 13-year lows of below $30 a barrel
in February from peaks of more than $100 in June 2014 largely due to an
oversupplied market outpacing demand.
Fidel Castro begins four-day journey to final resting place
The ashes of Fidel Castro begin a
four-day journey across Cuba Wednesday to his final resting place,
retracing the late communist leader’s revolution victory tour of 1959.
The “caravan of freedom” will leave from
Havana, making symbolic stops along the 950-kilometer (590-mile) trek
that will end in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba over the weekend.
The trip follows two days of tributes in
Havana where hundreds of thousands were encouraged by the government to
view a picture memorial to Castro at the Revolution Square.
The commemorations in the capital ended
with a massive rally Tuesday night at the square attended by Latin
American, African and Caribbean leaders, along with the Greek prime
minister — the only European leader at the event.
Raul Castro, 85, thanked the “countless
gestures of solidarity and affection from around the world” and ending
with the revolutionary battle cry, “Until victory, always!”
– ‘I am Fidel!’ –
But the presidents of Western powers, and even friendly nations including Russia, China and Iran, sent deputies in their place.
The absences underscored the divisive
legacy of a leader who defied the United States, backed guerrilla
movements in Latin America and deployed his army to conflicts in Africa
during the Cold War.
Leftist Latin American leaders vowed to
carry the torch of Castro’s revolution as they addressed the rally on
Tuesday night and the crowd chanted “I am Fidel!”
“Today it is up to us to raise the flags
of independence of the great fatherland, today it is up to us to hold
the flag of dignity and freedom of the people,” said Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro, whose late mentor, Hugo Chavez, had a special
bond with Castro.
Allies praised Castro in almost
religious tones, with Bolivian President Evo Morales saying, “Fidel is
not dead. …Fidel is more alive than ever, more necessary than ever.”
Castro’s death, however, comes as Latin America’s left is losing ground.
Maduro is facing a deep economic crisis
and fighting opposition attempts to hold a recall referendum, while
Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff was impeached in August and a conservative took
over in Argentina last year.
Castro — who ruled from 1959 until an illness forced him to hand power to his brother Raul in 2006 — died Friday at age 90.
US President Barack Obama, who along
with Raul Castro ended decades of enmity to restore diplomatic
relations, did not attend the rally, sending an advisor and a diplomat
without the status of a “presidential delegation.”
“We continue to have some significant
concerns about the way the Cuban government currently operates,
particularly with regard to protecting the basic human rights of the
Cuban people,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
– Reunion with Che –
Castro’s ashes were placed in a
rectangular, dark wood urn that was kept at the armed forces ministry
and only shown once on state television.
The urn will be laid to rest on Sunday
at the Santa Ifigenia cemetery, next to the mausoleum of 19th century
independence hero Jose Marti.
Before that, Castro’s ashes will travel
across the country, taking the reverse route that his band of guerrilla
fighters took after defeating dictator Fulgencio Batista.
From January 2 to January 8, 1959, the
bearded rebels traveled from Santiago to Havana, stopping in Castro’s
home region, Holguin, as well as the cities of Camaguey, Las Tunas,
Sancti Spiritus, Santa Clara and Matanzas.
One of the most symbol-filled stops of
this last trip will be in Santa Clara, where the ashes of his Argentine
comrade-in-arms, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, rest.
Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday
raised the alarm that another social crisis looms in the country if the
two million Nigerians displaced by the Boko Haram sect currently in
refugee camps were not properly resettled.
According to a statement by his Senior
Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President
spoke at a meeting he had with the world leader of the Tijjaniya Islamic
Movement, Sheikh Sharif Ibn Mohammad, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He was said to have lamented the destruction of public institutions in the North-East by Boko Haram terrorists.
“Government is faced with the problem of
repairing schools, health centres and whole towns. We must repair their
schools and recruit teachers otherwise they will become tomorrow’s Boko
Haram,” Buhari warned.
The President reiterated the importance
of justice in the affairs of governance, emphasising that men and women
in authority must show kindness and justice to all the people under
them.
In commending the religious group for
the prayers they had rendered for three days in Yola, Adamawa State for
the recovery of the economy and peace in the country, the President said
that the problem oil production was experiencing in the country and in
the global market had forced the imperative of agriculture on Nigerians.
“We are learning the hard way. The
mistake we made was to abandon agriculture. We came at a time of
difficulty the country has never experienced since the Civil War,” he
said.
Buhari also requested religious leaders to persuade Nigerians to embrace hard work, endurance and patience.
He assured Nigerians that his
administration would not relent in the effort to achieve self-reliance
and security for the nation.
In his remarks, Sheikh Mohammad commended Buhari’s sense of justice and concern for the people of Nigeria.
He assured the President that the
Tijjaniya movement was in full support of the administration and would
continue to pray for its success.
Obama says wife, Michelle, will never run for president
For anyone who might like to see
Michelle Obama run for president as a Democrat, it’s time to rein in
that early enthusiasm. Or so says her husband, President Barack Obama.
“Michelle will never run for office,”
the president said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine done the
day after Donald Trump’s surprise win, and amid some social media swirl
urging the first lady to consider throwing her hat in the ring.
“She is as talented a person as I know.
You can see the incredible resonance she has with the American people.
But I joke that she’s too sensible to want to be in politics,” Obama
said.
Her confidence and style struck a strong
chord on the campaign trail, where she supported Hillary Clinton. The
first lady slammed Trump’s attitude toward and treatment of women.
Obama, who will be 53 when she leaves the White House, is the first black first lady in American history. Her husband is 55.
A Harvard-educated lawyer, she will
leave the White House on January 20 enjoying sky-high ratings — approved
by 79 percent of the American public, according to a recent Gallup
survey. That makes her more popular than her husband, the first African
American president of the United States.
Asked about her ambitions in the past,
Michelle Obama has repeatedly said that she would not follow in the
footsteps of Hillary Clinton, who ran for the presidency her husband
Bill held from 1993-2001.
AFP
BREAKING: Senate approves fund transfer in 2016 budget
Leke Baiyewu
The Senate has approved the request for virement of funds in the 2016
budget by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In banking and finance, virement is an administrative transfer of funds from one part of a budget to another.
The Senate gave the approval during the plenary on Tuesday.
While the President requested for the virement of N180.8bn from the funds appropriated for Special Intervention (Capital and Recurrent), the House of Representatives, which is concurrently working 0n the request, had raised it to N208bn, while the Senate jacked it up to N213bn.
The virement is to fund critical recurrent and capital items in the budget, according to Buhari in his letter to both chambers of the National Assembly.
Ondo PDP suspends members of Sheriff’s faction
Peter Dada, Akure
Three days after the governorship election in Ondo State, the Peoples Democratic Party in the state on Tuesday announced the suspension of 22 members of the party.
This was contained in a letter signed by the Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Banji Okunomo, a copy of which was made available to out correspondent.
A source informed our correspondent that the affected members were sacked following their roles before and during last Saturday’s governorship election, which was won by the All Progressives Congress; while some of them allegedly belonged to the Ali Modu Sheriff’s faction of the party.
The sanctioned PDP chieftains include Mr. Biyi Poroye, Denis Alonge, Ebenezer Alabi, Olabisi Johnson, Olu Ogunye, Omololu Meroyi, Yemi Ajonibode and Musa Megida.
Others are Isaac Alase, Sola Ebiseni, Ademola Genty, Yemisi Akinyemiju, Dare Emiola, Yemisi Akinmade, Ade Adebawore, Bakita Bello and Adegboruwa Taiwo .
The party also suspended Mr. Omowole Oluwagbehinmi, Gbamila Ogunji, Abiye Ademoyegun, Johnson Alabi and Dara Akinbobola.
In the letter, the party said it carried out the punishment on the affected members “In line with Section 57 of the constitution of our party and the inherent powers conferred on the State Working Committee of the party.”
The party directed the affected members to appear before the disciplinary committee on Monday December 5, 2016 at the party secretariat in Akure, the state capital.
Okunomo however said there was no more division in the party, as the Court of Appeal has ruled that the Ahmed Makarfi faction is the authentic state executive.
Many of the affected members declined to react to the development, while some who craved anonymity said they would respond through the organs of the party at the appropriate time.
Buhari jailed me 18 months for being wealthy —Anenih
Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja
A former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih,
says the military administration of President Muhammadu Buhari kept him
in jail for 18 months between March 1984 and August 1985 because he was
a rich man.
Anenih said this in his biography titled, ‘My Life and Nigerian Politics’ which was launched in Abuja on Saturday.
He said when Buhari came into power
through a military coup in December 1983, he went about arresting
politicians arbitrarily and he was one of those picked up because he was
the Chairman of the defunct National Party of Nigeria in old Bendel
State.
Anenih said, “The military regime of
General Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon threw me into detention for 18 months
on the basis of an anonymous petition that as a prominent and wealthy
politician and leader of the NPN in Bendel State, the military
administrator would not find his footing unless I was removed from the
scene.
“I was sent to Kirikiri Prisons where I spent three months before I was transferred to Ikoyi Prisons.”
The retired police officer maintained that he did nothing wrong to warrant such treatment.
He said, “I must emphasise it again and
again that I did nothing wrong to anyone, the government or the state to
merit a detention. My crime was that I was a wealthy, influential and
highly respected politician.”
Anenih, who later served as the minister
of works and housing under former President Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999
to 2002, said while in detention, he met other prominent politicians
like former Governor Lateef Jakande of Lagos State, former Governor
Olabisi Onabanjo of Ogun State; ex-Governor Bola Ige of old Oyo State;
former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme, ex-Governor Ambrose Alli of old
Bendel State, Chief Solomon Lar and many others.
The ex-minister said their cells were bugged by security agents who monitored their conversation.
The PDP chieftain said the worst part of
the detention was that some governors who had sentenced some criminals
to death were locked up in the same cells.
Anenih said, “We were transferred to
Ikoyi Prisons because of the riot that took place while we were there.
The condemned prisoners whose death warrants had earlier been signed by
Alhaji Lateef Jakande when he was governor of Lagos State, broke loose
on sighting him as one of the detainees.
“They broke out of their cells and
headed towards the building where Jakande and the rest of us detainees
were kept. As the prisoners were attempting to force the iron door open,
mobile police were called in to quell the riot.”
The ex-minister, who gave an insight
into the living condition of the politicians in detention, described the
experience as hellish.
He added, “Where we were staying, the
bucket latrines or toilets had opening to the rooms. These buckets were
emptied maybe once a week from behind, and if for any reason the buckets
were not emptied once a week as the rule, you lived with the stench.
“At night, cockroaches, rats and lizards
passed through these holes housing the bucket latrines into our cells
after crawling on the buckets to disturb us. So, you could really not
sleep for one hour without getting cockroaches perch on you.”
Speak out on implications of $29bn loan, Abiola-Dosumu tells women
Lagos business woman and socialite, Mrs Erelu Abiola-Dosumu,
has called for the input of women entrepreneur on the government’s plan
to borrow about 29.9 billion dollars for infrastructure projects.
Abiola-Dosumu, who spoke at a round table conference in
Lagos on Tuesday, said that the money would be better invested to yield
income than to be used on infrastructure.
“I appeal that people like Mrs Nike Akande, President, Lagos
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) should speak out about the
implications of the loan,’’ she said.
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Oct. 28 sought the approval
of the National Assembly for external borrowing plan of 29.9 billion
dollars.
According to the President, the money if approved will help
to execute key infrastructure projects across the country between 2016
and 2018.
The Lagos socialite said that investing such huge amount
into infrastructure projects would be perishable and affect the future
generation.
“Let us invest money on things that will bring returns and put smiles on the faces of Nigerian citizens,’’ she said.
In her response, Akande said that the country needed to
re-diversify in the agriculture and solid mineral sector, especially now
that oil was not accruing the desired revenue.
She said that the country would not progress if it did not identify its challenges and find solutions to them.
She said that LCCI was planning to have a rice investment,
adding that LCCI would take leadership position on industry, trade and
investment.
Also, Mrs Kema Chikwe, former Minister of Aviation urged the
LCCI to take control of the business sector to attract more investors
into the country.
According to Chikwe, in Nigeria, seasonal fruits such as
mangoes are allowed to waste due to lack of processing and storing
facilities.
She decried the importation of tomatoes which had become expensive because of high cost of clearing goods at the port
Chikwe added that Nigeria was capable of producing its own.
I don’t take soft drinks; I love kunu — Reps spokesman
Some Nigerians feel that the House of Representatives is corrupt. What do you think is responsible for this perception?
It is a perception problem caused by the
fact that the legislature is a very young arm of government because for
a very long time we spent under military dictatorship which operated
without the legislature.
Because of the economic recession, there
is this hue and cry that our salaries and allowances are too much and
should be reduced as if the action will take Nigeria’s economy out of
recession. The truth is that the entire budget of the National Assembly
is less than two per cent of the national budget. Even the budget of the
National Assembly is not only meant for senators and members of the
House of Representatives, we have aides, which draw their salaries and
allowances from this budget; their salaries are about N10bn annually. We
also have civil servants, who are also paid salaries and allowances
from the National Assembly’s budget; there are about 3,000 of them.
Then, how much is the take-home pay of legislators?
This is another area I want Nigerians to
be educated about. We do not fix our pay; there is an agency of
government saddled with this responsibility, the Revenue Mobilisation,
Allocation and Fiscal Commission. It has a website where any interested
person can visit and see; you can even Google it. Don’t forget, most of
the elected representatives of the people both in the Senate and the
House of Representatives are men and women who have contributed to
nation building in various aspects before coming here. There are several
people who had distinguished themselves in the academia, business and
the civil service long before they became members of the National
Assembly. It is wrong to use the same brush to paint all of us as
never-do-wells or corrupt people. It is unfair.
What do you make of various corruption scandals that have dodged the House since 1999?
I think it is unfortunate. For a long
time, we have been dealing with public complaints from people who do not
understand how things work in the National Assembly and we think it is
this lack of understanding that is fuelling the negative perception
about us, but unfortunately today, somebody from within the system
(Abdulmumin Jibrin), who, out of a feeling of personal injury because he
was relieved of his position, feels that he alone can bring down the
House of Representatives and the Senate.
When you plan a budget, it has to go
through the Senate for it to become law. So, once you alleged something
happened here, indirectly, you are saying it happened in the Senate. He
is alleging that all of us, excluding him, are guilty of wrongdoing.
As a lawmaker, what can you say is responsible for the friction between the legislature and the executive?
It is normal because of the checks and
balances democratic governance imposes on us all. For example, the
executive has to propose a budget and we have to appropriate the funds.
The power to execute projects belongs to the executive and its agencies.
We cannot stop the executive from implementing the budget; the only
thing we do is to go on oversight and ensure that the budget is well
implemented. Some people (the executive) feel uncomfortable when we ask
questions.
How do you relax?
I have been in the media most of my
adult life. I like reading newspapers, magazines and periodicals. I also
like watching the news. I don’t enjoy watching films. Each time
something happens, I try to form a headline based on the journalistic
instinct in me. Even when things happen within the chamber, I begin to
imagine what the headlines will look like the next day. Journalism has
been my first love; even as a lawmaker today, I still see myself as a
journalist on sabbatical. I also spend time with my family.
Are you still in touch with your people?
I am here because of them and I render
account of my stewardship regularly. Whenever I am not in Abuja, or
carrying out oversight functions, I will be with my constituents at home
most of the time. I attend their naming ceremonies, weddings and
funerals and I do my best to attend occasions back home.
What is your favourite sport?
My favourite sport is wrestling even
though I like other sports like table tennis, badminton and to a lesser
extent, football. I am however not a fanatic, I watch when I have the
time.
What about your favourite drink?
Our local drinks like Kunu and Zobo, I don’t like sugary soft drinks like Coke.
And food?
I enjoy mostly our local foods.
Since you became a lawmaker, how have you handled pressure from female admirers, especially the famous Abuja girls?
I am not under any pressure. I take my
job here seriously. I hardly have time for myself let alone the kind of
ladies you are talking about. You have been here (the office) for some
time now, how many ladies have you seen coming to look for me? I don’t
have time for such distractions. Being the chairman of the media
committee, I have my hands full; I have to be up to speed about
functions of all the committees of the House, even at 12.00 midnight
sometimes, I keep receiving calls from my media colleagues to clarify
one thing or another. I have more official activities than personal or
private ones.
How then do you joggle your time between your work and family?
To be honest with you, members of my
family are complaining. I try to give them time but the job is taking
over 90 per cent of my time. Even when I am with them most times, my
telephones don’t stop ringing. Prior to my coming to the National
Assembly, I had more time for them than now. Having worked as Chief
Press Secretary to a governor, I know how demanding public life can be.
As Buhari’s $29.9bn loan request sparks public fears
Experts say the Federal Government’s
plan to borrow $29.9bn from external sources will jeopardise the future
of the country, writes JESUSEGUN ALAGBE
During his electioneering, President Muhammadu Buhari literally promised “heaven on earth” for Nigerians if voted into power.
From giving a monthly stipend of N5, 000
to 25 million poor Nigerians, to the creation of a Small Business Loan
Guarantee Scheme to create at least one million new jobs every year, to
the creation of an additional middle class of at least two million new
homeowners in his first year in government and one million annually
thereafter; the list of promises was endless.
It’s over a year since the President was
elected as the chief executive officer of the country, yet many of the
promises made to Nigerians have yet to materialise.
Expectedly, many Nigerians have since
started expressing how disappointed they are regarding the President’s
failure to fulfil his campaign promises.
However, President Buhari has on several
occasions said he is still committed to delivering his campaign
promises to Nigerians, and has, however, never stopped blaming the
immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan of the
Peoples Democratic Party for the country’s problems, including the
current economic recession.
He has accused the former President and
his party of “extravagantly” spending public funds and leaving almost
nothing for him to spend on development.
So, it is believed that Buhari has been
seeking several means to get funds to, according to him, provide
infrastructure and bail the country out of its current economic crisis.
In September 2016, the Federal
Government approached the African Development Bank for a $4.1bn
(N1.29tn) loan, which was approved by the bank.
The President of the bank, a former
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, said the loan package
includes $1bn in budget support, $300m to create jobs for 185,000
youths, $250m to provide infrastructure development in the North-East,
$1m grant to deal with the challenges of Internally Displaced Persons,
$300m for infrastructure development around Abuja, and $200m for the
Transmission Company of Nigeria to improve its facilities, among others.
Saying that Nigeria was the largest
shareholder in the bank, Adesina said the bank was in the country to
offer its support in the face of the tough time in the country.
A month after this development,
specifically on October 25, 2016, the Federal Government again disclosed
that it was planning to borrow $29.9bn (N9.4tn) from the World Bank,
the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Islamic Development Bank
and the China Exim Bank.
Asking the National Assembly to approve
the external borrowing plan, the Federal Government said the $29.9bn
loan would be used to execute key infrastructure across the country
between 2016 and 2018.
Buhari said the borrowings would target
projects across all sectors, with special emphasis on infrastructure,
agriculture, health, education, water supply, employment generation,
poverty reduction through social safety net programmes, governance and
financial management reforms, among others.
If the loan request is ratified by the
National Assembly, the Federal Government said it would take $25.8bn out
of the money, while states would get $4.1bn.
However, several experts said borrowing a
“whopping” $29.9bn by the Federal Government was tantamount to
jeopardising the future of the country.
Some of them even pleaded with the
Senate — which has already rejected the loan request due to “lack of
technical details” — never to ratify the President’s request, saying it
portends great danger for the country’s future.
For instance, a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, said the President’s loan request was as good
as mortgaging the future of the country’s unborn generation.
At a symposium recently organised by the
Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, tagged, “X-raying
50 years of military intervention in Nigeria’s politics,” the human
rights activist warned the President against chasing after the loan, but
rather engage in an aggressive recovery of looted funds stored up in
Western countries by past rulers and politicians in the country.
Citing how previous debts negatively
affected development in the country, Falana said, “Between 1978 and
1986, this country incurred debts to the extent that we did not know how
much we owed under the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. They had to
engage the services of a consultant in the West to tell us what we
owed, and of course, the London Paris Club gave us a figure.
“By the time [former President Olusegun]
Obasanjo was paying the debts, in one fell swoop in 2005, this country
parted with $12.4bn for the West to forgive us our debts. Meanwhile,
they were the real sinners. At that time, on both the principal and the
interest, we had paid $42bn. That amount alone could have eradicated
poverty in the entire Africa.
“Now again, President Buhari wants to
get a loan of $30bn. You know what that means? For generations unborn,
we will mortgage their future, except the money is genuinely meant for
infrastructural development, which is usually not the case once the
money comes in. So Buhari should forget about the $30bn loan when he can
get more than that if he goes after our stolen money in the West.
General Sani Abacha and one of his men alone stole over $17bn.”
Tasking President Buhari on other ways
of seeking funds to work with, Falana added, “Don’t go and borrow.
Engage in an aggressive recovery of our looted funds. If this government
is genuinely committed to the development of our country and wants to
fight corruption, we can raise up to $200bn. Go after the Western
countries, especially Switzerland that warehouses stolen funds all
around the world.”
Already, the country’s external debt
profile stands at $68bn and ranks 57th on the World Bank’s list of
countries by external debt.
Furthermore, recent figures from the
Debt Management Office show that in the past one year alone, the country
has accumulated over $13.2bn (N4.17tn) in external debt.
An economist, Henry Boyo, said with the
current fiscal landscape in which about 40 per cent of the country’s
annual revenue is already applied to debt servicing alone, getting a
$29.9bn loan would worsen the economic situation.
Describing it as what would be “the
largest borrowing in Nigeria’s fiscal history,” Boyo asked lawmakers to
ignore “predatory” suggestions that the country’s economy is relatively
under-borrowed.
In an article titled, “To concession is
more responsible than to borrow,” the economist expressed worry that a
$29.9bn loan would shoot the country’s debt profile to above $90bn.
He said, “Additionally, if the foreign
loan package excludes the widely reported offer of billions of dollars’
China loans and the trillions of naira which will also be borrowed from
the domestic market to fund future budget deficits, then of course, well
over 50 per cent of our actual annual revenue will be required just to
service our debts, while the balance income will be predominantly, as
usual, consumed by recurrent expenditure, with little left over for
infrastructure remediation.
“Unfortunately, serial defaults in
payment of service charges, as was the case before the 2006 debt exit,
will invariably instigate overbearing foreign creditors to exercise
their rights and insist on more socially oppressive economic reforms to
guarantee their investments.
“Besides, when completed, projects
funded with the $29.96bn loans would invariably become public utilities.
These prospects should be worrisome to us all, as our track record in
the management of public utilities has always been riddled with
corruption and deliberate negligence while some projects have become
moribund, even before completion, while other sporadically sustainable
operations have ultimately ended in dismal failure.”
In a similar manner, a development
consultant and public affairs analyst, Mr. Jide Ojo, also said more
loans would further plunge the country into crisis.
He said, “Previous loans have not been
used judiciously. Rather, the bulk of the loans were diverted to private
pockets with little or nothing to show for the projects for which the
loans were obtained in the first place. Two, the government should
account for additional revenues received from the increase in the pump
price of petrol from N87 to N145 per litre, N50 stamp duty collection by
banks on every banking transaction, looted funds recovered and the
Treasury Single Account savings.
“Three, the government stands to rake in
huge revenue from the sale of white elephants embarked on that have
become a drain on our resources. Over 11,886 uncompleted Federal
Government projects were discovered by the Alhaji Bunu Sheriff-led
Presidential Assessment Committee in 2012. I have earlier canvassed the
audit of these projects to be done. While those that are liabilities
should be auctioned off, those that will add value to our economy should
be funded to completion from the sale of proceeds from the white
elephants auctioned.
“Four, with the current attempts by the
Federal Government to reduce the cost of governance, bring more people
into the tax net, and block revenue leakages in the bureaucratic system;
there should be more money at government’s disposal to be used for
infrastructural development. Public-Private-Partnership infrastructural
finance model is also a viable option and is better than taking more
foreign loans.”
Some analysts believe that former
President Olusegun Obasanjo encouraged President Buhari to borrow the
money when he [Obasanjo] recently said the country should borrow, spend
less and earn more to get out of the current economic recession.
However, speaking on the effects of
government borrowing, a Lagos-based economist, Dr. Babatunde Abraham,
also said the $29.9bn loan could further worsen the economy rather than
improve it.
He said, “Oftentimes, the government
imposes taxes to finance its loan repayment programme. High rate of
taxes discourages people to work more. Although public borrowing
involves transfer of resources (from taxpayers to the lenders), the
negative effect of taxes (that is, the desire to work less when taxes
are increased) produce an unfavourable effect on income.
“Because of debt, present generation
obtains less capital. Thus public borrowing is not necessarily
expansionary. A lower volume of capital reduces production and
productivity of an economy. Also, getting loan leads to an increase in
money supply, which will put a great pressure on the prices of goods and
services. In this sense, the borrowing could be inflationary. Borrowing
should not be the only way out of this economic crisis. I believe there
are better options that the Federal Government could consider.”
Shortly after the Senate declined the
President’s loan request, there have been three closed-door meetings
between the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and President Buhari,
suggesting some sort of “romance” between them and leading to
insinuations that the Senate would sooner or later approve the loan
request.
But on Thursday, Saraki stated that his
recent meetings with the President had nothing to do with the loan
request, which was not rejected out of “personal” reasons, but in the
interest of the country.
Edo lawmakers approves N200m houses for ex-governors
The Edo House of Assembly on Wednesday
approved the construction of houses for former governors and their
deputies which should not be more than N200m and N100m, respectively, in
any location of their choice.
The approval was sequel to the
consideration of a bill for a law to amend the existing legislation on
the Pension Rights of Governors and their Deputies in the state.
Moving the motion for the consideration
of the bill, the Majority Leader, Foly Ogedengbe, moved that House rules
20, 27, 42, 43, 44 and 45 be suspended, to enable the assembly to
consider the bill.
The motion was seconded by the Deputy Speaker, Mrs. Elizabeth Ativie (APC -Uhunwode).
Considering the bill as a committee of
the whole, the lawmakers amended the law to read that a governor and his
deputy shall be entitled to a house each, at any location of their
choice.
The new law, however, provides that the houses shall not be more than N200m and N100m, respectively.
Court grants 15-year-old boy N500, 000 bail for rape
A 15-year-old boy (names withheld), who
allegedly defiled his neighbour’s eight-year-old girl, was on Thursday
granted a N500, 000 bail by a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos
State.
The chief magistrate, Mrs. Nwachukwu
Ipaye who gave the ruling said that the accused must provide two
sureties as part of his bail conditions.
Ipaye said one of the sureties must be a property owner in Lagos State while the other must be a blood relation of the accused.
She also ruled that both sureties should provide evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
Ipaye ordered that the accused should be
kept in the custody of the Correctional Institute for boys in Abeokuta,
Ogun, until the bail was perfected.
She directed that the case file should be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice and adjourned to Dec.15.
The accused, who resides at No. 23, Onajimi St., Pedro, Surulere , had pleaded not guilty to a charge of defilement.
She directed that the case file should be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice and adjourned to Dec.15.
The accused, who resides at No. 23, Onajimi St., Pedro, Surulere , had pleaded not guilty to a charge of defilement.
The prosecutor, Sgt. Anthonia Osayande had told the court that the accused committed the offence at his residence on Nov. 6.
She said the accused lured his victim to his parents’ apartment when they went to work and had a canal knowledge of her.
She said the accused lured his victim to his parents’ apartment when they went to work and had a canal knowledge of her.
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
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