GEJ Probe: EFCC carries out Buhari"s order, arrests GEJ"s nephew, wife, manager

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission EFCC has arrested former President Goodluck Jonathan Nephew, Barr. Azibaola Robert the Managing Director of Kakaatar Engineering Limited formerly known as Mangroovetech, his wife and his Manager, Mr Atukpa, they are believed to have been picked over billions of naira abandoned projects and other fraudulent involvement.

EFCC

This is coming after President Buhari gave the EFCC permission to probe cases relating to the former President, unfortunately, his Nephew is the first to be caught in this fraud web with his company Mangroovtech now kakaatar Engineering Limited being one of the favourite companies of the last administration that got juicy contracts worth billions of naira but most of them never saw the light of day.

It will be recalled that most media houses went agog with this shocking revelation mid last year immediately after the general election when former President Goodluck Jonathan kinsmen, the Ogbia elders asked GEJ to apologise for not calling his Aunt son, Azibaola Robert to order over all the abandoned projects in the state of Bayelsa.

The elders threw their weight behind Comrade Wisdom Ikuli, the Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) Action and Mobilisation Director who took Barr. Aziboala Robert to court over unpaid services rendered for the re-election of President GEJ. We later learnt that they tried settling out of court but Kakaatar MD reneged on the agreement to the dismay of the elders who called the peace deal on his instance in Otuoke.

An investigation also revealed that almost all the contracts awarded to kakaatar was directly approved from Federal Executive Council meetings, and many believed his company was used to siphon money for the last administration as many of those projects became dead on arrival. More proof emerged when Barr. Azibaola Robert rolled out The Goodluck Thumb campaign organization, a well-funded campaign organization for President Goodluck Jonathan and the funds came directly from the presidency. The company practically abandoned their projects and diverted monies meant for it into the funding of The Goodluck Thumb, this made the MD and his company untouchable.

Some of these projects we believe the company is answering for includes but not limited to;

• NIMASA awarded shipbuilding/dockyard construction (civil and infrastructure), Delta State at the cost of N18,457,283,591.91 NDDC awarded Opume/Okoroba 9.5km Road at the cost of N10Billion.


• FCTA awarded provision of engineering infrastructure, Kyami District, Abuja at the cost of N60,887,492,656.65


• NDDC awarded Otouke/Ikima Internal road network at the cost of N4Billion


• FCT awarded Karshi-Ara road in FCT at the cost of N4,097,185,656.30


• Bayelsa State Cargo Airport (Sandfilling) 4 Million Cubic of sand at N10Billion.


• Ministry of Works awarded 14km Mbaise-Ngwa road in Imo State at the cost of N2.94Billion.


• Ministry of Transport awarded Shore erosion control works at Akipilai, Ayakoro and Otuoke towns at a cost of N7,503,344,599.00 Maitama Extension and so many other contracts.

When a family member of his was contacted, he confirmed the detention but said his wife has been released to them two days ago. He insisted that his brother has not breached any laws, that those contracts were duly approved. He said the Barr. is being prosecuted because of his relationship with the former president. He advised President Buhari and EFCC to openly probe President GEJ, if they think they have to, not going behind to intimidate his relatives and errand boys. Barr. Azibaola’s lawyer could not be reached to ascertain if they have been any bail condition or if the case will be taken to court soonest.

The EfCC is yet to come out with an official statement on their continuous detention, but an insider said Kakaatar Engineering Limited benefitted hugely from Dasuki’s Billions of Dollars fraudulent arms deal and other petitions of fraud and money laundering.

It was learnt that the commission has already given them bail on the conditions that are yet to be met but it’s been kept on a low profile while investigation is still ongoing.

GEJ Probe: EFCC carries out Buhari"s order, arrests GEJ"s nephew, wife, manager

Change: Power generation crumbles to 0MW for several hours

Nigeria’s power generation collapsed completely on Thursday at exactly 12.58pm to zero megawatt and this persisted for about three hours

Power electricity

Data from the country’s System Operator showed that around 1pm on Thursday, no power generation company in Nigeria produced a single megawatt of electricity.

Industry operators told our correspondent that as a result of the complete collapse, no electricity distribution company received load allocation beginning from when the collapse was recorded up till around 3pm.

The SO stated that the 11 distribution companies got zero electricity load allocation during the period of the collapse, meaning that for about three hours on Thursday no part of Nigeria got power supply from the national grid.

Our correspondent, however, gathered that supply of electricity was restored around 3pm.

For instance, out of the 450MW that was due Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, the Disco only got about 50MW when the situation began to improve.

Before the collapse, AEDC got an allocation of 257.97MW and the nationwide generation level stood at 2,243.2MW.Sources in the sector blamed the complete collapse in power generation on the extent of destruction of infrastructure and gas pipelines vandalism that had happened in the industry over the past years, as well as the poor upgrade of power installations across the country.

“The power crisis being experienced nationwide since Tuesday this week has worsened on Thursday with a total system collapse at exactly 12.58pm this afternoon. At that point, the nation went to ground zero, with all the Discos receiving zero MW allocation from the System Operator,” an operator in the sector told our correspondent in confidence.

Officials from the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as well as private investors, had attributed the never-ending fall in electricity generation to vandalism of gas pipelines and destruction of vital infrastructure in the industry by miscreants.

“Aside pipelines vandalism, some miscreants have been involved in the destruction of vital power infrastructure and this has been affecting not just generation but transmission and distribution as well,” a senior official at the power ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, had said.

The official also stressed that the ongoing difficulty in the downstream oil industry was also impacting negatively on the power sector.

Change: Power generation crumbles to 0MW for several hours

INEC now under APC control, PDP alleges

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission is now under the firm control of the All Progressives Congress.

Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus

It cited the piecemeal release of results of the March 19 rerun election in Rivers State by the commission, which it alleged was done to satisfy the ruling party, as an example.

The Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, made this allegation in an interview with reporters in Abuja on Wednesday.

He alleged that the electoral body was taking instructions from the ruling party on what to do with the outcome of the Rivers rerun which he claimed his party won convincingly.

Before the suspension of announcement of the results, the commission had released the results in nine state constituencies and one federal constituency.

But in the results made available on Tuesday in Port Harcourt and signed by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Aniedi Ikoiwak, the PDP maintained its lead by winning three federal constituencies while it shared two state constituency seats with its main rival, the APC.

Secondus, who also appraised the conduct of elections by INEC since the assumption of office by the Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, expressed concern that all the elections conducted by the electoral body since then were inconclusive.

He cited the Kogi, Bayelsa and the recent Rivers states’ rerun elections as examples.

Secondus said, “Now in Rivers, because the PDP won all the elections despite the intimidation by the military, the results are being released piecemeal because the APC has failed woefully in all the constituencies.

“It is apparent that the commission has become a department in the APC. The commission is being controlled by the APC. The commission has lost its independence and we have empirical evidence on this.”

Secondus further alleged that the commission had yet to fix a date for fresh election in the state in the areas that were cancelled because it “was waiting for instruction from the APC.”

He said, “They haven’t fixed a date for rerun because of the APC. INEC is now being supervised by the leadership of the APC and the Buhari administration.

“They are no longer independent and we are losing confidence in INEC. In the Federal Capital Territory, election date was announced but suddenly, because they knew the APC was going to lose, they postponed the election after we had spent money and time.

“All these show that INEC is now a parastatal of the APC. The danger is that this current leadership that will conduct the general elections in 2019 has been compromised.

“The forthcoming Edo and Ondo states’ governorship elections are in danger. With what happened in Rivers, Nigeria is in danger.

“There may be no election in 2019 with the way INEC is conducting itself as a parastatal of the APC.”

The commission has however dismissed the PDP allegation, saying it would not be forced to announce result of inconclusive elections.

The Deputy Director, Voter Education and Publicity at the commission, Mr. Nick Dazang, who spoke with our correspondent, also denied the allegation that the electoral body was being controlled by the APC.

He said elections were stopped in Rivers because of many reasons.

He said, “As of the time of the suspension of further action by the commission, the exercise was at different stages.

“For example, the elections had been concluded in some constituencies with the declaration of results and return of winners by the respective Returning Officers; results declared and/or returns made under duress or by unauthorised persons;  collation had been concluded but no declaration or return made; voting had been concluded and collation was ongoing but yet to be concluded; voting concluded but collation yet to commence; and /or no voting at all or voting commenced but was disrupted before conclusion.”

He said these were the reasons why the election was stopped. Dazang called on the PDP, which he described as a formidable opposition, to stop peddling unfounded rumour.

INEC now under APC control, PDP alleges

EFCC probes 100 pro-Jonathan groups over N320m

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has traced N320m to the account of the Goodluck Support Group, a collation of campaign groups, driving former President Goodluck Jonathan’s bid for the 2015 presidential poll.

EFCC

The group, which coordinated over 100 pro-Jonathan groups during the electioneering, was headed by Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Political Affairs, Prof. Rufai Alkali.

The money, it was learnt, emanated from the account of the Central Bank of Nigeria and was distributed to the group.

A source at the EFCC, who pleaded not to be named because he was not authorised to speak, said the money emanated from the CBN’s account and went into the account of the Ministry of External Affairs Library, from where it was moved into the account of the Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited.

“It was from the Joint Dimension’s account with Zenith Bank that the money was shared to various individuals and organisations for purposes that are not stated,” the source said.

The JTDNL account was coordinated by the Director of Finance of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, Nenadi Usman.

Usman, a former minister, who the commission accused of collecting N36.9m through her Zenith Bank account no. 1000158311, is said to be in the United States.

All attempts to reach Alkali proved abortive as his two telephone sets indicated that they were switched off.

He did not also respond to an SMS sent to the sets.

Efforts to get Usman did not succeed as her mobile equally indicated that it was switched off, while she had yet to respond to a text message sent to her telephone as of the time of writing this report.

However, a reliable source within the party told our correspondent that the money was approved by the Presidency as there was a memo signed by the Permanent Secretary at the Villa, authorising that the money be paid by the CBN.

Meanwhile, the commission has begun investigations into the fresh contract scam involving the Office of the National Security Adviser.

It will be recalled that a presidential committee, set up to investigate how contracts were awarded and executed, in a report last week, indicted about 300 companies and over 12 dignitaries.

So far, the commission has traced N300m to the immediate-past Chairman of the House of Representatives on Security and Intelligence, Bello Matawalle, whose name featured on the list.

The ex-lawmaker was among those indicted for allegedly receiving payments without contractual agreements, according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.

A reliable source at the EFCC told our correspondent that Matawalle allegedly used his position as the chairman of the committee overseeing the affairs of the ONSA to receive N300m from the agency.

However, the anti-graft agency said the money was shared among members of the PDP caucus at the House ahead of last year’s general elections.

The source said the method of getting money out of the ONSA was to conjure a fictitious contract after which funds would be given to the individual involved.

He said, “Investigations revealed that many fictitious contracts were approved a few months to the 2015 elections. In order to cover their tracks, some officials of the ONSA approved some fictitious contracts, which were referred to them by the Presidency.

“Money was then transferred to these people but the terms of the contracts were never met because there was no contract in the first place.

“Investigations revealed that Matawalle received N300m from the ONSA and the money was shared among members of the PDP in the House. The funds were to assist them with their campaigns and to also campaign for former President Goodluck Jonathan.”

All attempts to speak with Matawalle for three consecutive days proved abortive as calls put through to his mobile were rejected while text messages were not responded to.

He was, however, said to be out of the country.

Similarly, the EFCC traced over N300m to one Mrs. Oluwatoyin Oluwagbayi, a former Special Assistant to Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, who is the wife of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

It was also alleged that she received N300m from the ONSA through her company.

Oluwagbayi was also said to be out of the country as of Wednesday.

However, one of her associates confirmed that she received money but refused to state the amount, explaining that the money was given to some selected PDP National Assembly candidates to assist them with their elections.

The source said, “She received money from the Presidency but she never knew that the money was from the ONSA. We have a list of how the money was spent and all those who collected the money and we spent it judiciously.

“The money was given to her by the Presidency. We were thus surprised to see her name on the list of those who received contracts from the ONSA. We were not in a position to ask the Presidency where the money came from.”

When contacted on the telephone on Wednesday, the spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said investigations were ongoing, adding that he could not comment on the matter.

EFCC probes 100 pro-Jonathan groups over N320m

Bayelsa APC tackles Sylva, demands minister’s resignation

The Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has dissociated itself from a letter purportedly written by ex-governor of the state, Timipre Sylva, seeking federal appointments.

The party also demanded the resignation of the Minister of State for Agriculture, Heineken Lokpobiri, whom it said, did not represent its interest at the federal level.

The Chairman of the Bayelsa State chapter of the APC, Chief Timipa Orunimighe, said this at a press conference at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday.

Orunimighe, who was flanked by members of the party’s state executive committee members, said the party was left with no option but to bring their case to the party’s national secretariat after attempts to resolve the issues internally failed.

He alleged that Sylva, who is regarded as a party leader in the state, had arrogated to himself power that he did not possess.

Timipre Sylva

The party chairman added, “Timipre Sylva wrote a letter on his personal letterhead to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation with a list of people with their CVs for appointments without consulting the party.

“For that kind of communication, the party leadership, after due consultation, writes such letters on the party’s official letterhead but this was not the case.

“We also ask the Minister of State for Agriculture, Heineken Lokpobiri, to resign because he is not in tune with the policies and programmes of the APC administration.”

He explained that the party had approached the minister at its formative stage, adding that it even offered him its ticket to contest (the state governorship election), saying the then National Assembly member turned down the party, arguing that the APC lacked the capacity to win elections.

The chairman said it was a sad day for the party when Sylva, for reasons best known to him, pushed for Lokpobiri’s nomination and subsequent confirmation as a minister to work in an administration formed by a party he never believed had the capacity to win elections.

The chairman also accused Sylva of trading with slots allocated to the state chapter of the party.

He said the party’s national leadership had assured the state executive that it would look into the matter and ensure justice was done.

When contacted, Sylva, who was the party’s candidate in the last governorship election in the state, dismissed the party chairman’s allegations as a non-issue.

He alleged that Orunimighe was simply venting his frustrations for failing in his bid to corner the ministerial slot for himself.

Sylva accused some members of the state executive of the party of being interested in promoting their personal interests rather than the collective interest of the party.

The ex-governor added, “When the ministerial slot came, the chairman told me he wanted to be a minister and he is not qualified to be a minister.

“His only experience in Nigeria is that he had been a local government chairman and I made him the local government chairman.

“I told them that the people, who are joining us, we need to give them a sense of belonging and so, Heineken was nominated. We also looked at the spread in the state.

“I was contesting governor from the East; he, as the Chairman, is from the Central and Heineken is from the West, and so, I felt we should take somebody from the West to be a minister and Heineken became a minister.”

Sylva accused the party chairman of hobnobbing with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state, alleging that soon after the APC lost the elections in the state, the state governor allegedly gave Orunimighe an undisclosed amount of money.

Bayelsa APC tackles Sylva, demands minister’s resignation

APC, PDP Senators ready to cash over Saraki"s code of conduct trial

There are fresh indications that the Peoples Democratic Party members in the upper chamber have perfected strategies to produce a successor to Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President if he is removed as a result of his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

Bukola Saraki

But the All Progressives Congress senators have vowed to resist any attempt by their PDP colleagues to take over the red chamber from them.

Our correspondent learnt that the PDP senators met for several hours on Monday night to take a final decision on the issue.

It was not clear whether the current Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, would be allowed to take over the top Senate seat.

A source at the meeting claimed that some people were of the opinion that Ekweremadu should resign alongside Saraki as a sacrifice while an APC senator from the North-Central would emerge as the deputy.

Confirming the development to journalists on Wednesday, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Peter Nwaboshi, said the PDP would produce the next Senate President.

He said, “Should the incumbent, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, is forced to vacate the office, we have perfected necessary arrangements to take over the upper chamber.”

He said the PDP was ready to replicate the current system in the United States of America, where the Republicans are in charge of the parliament, while the Democrats are in control of the executive.

He said, “Well, I wish the APC the best of luck if they are on a wild goose chase. But I want you to mark what I am saying. I was the first to address the press in Port Harcourt and I told them that Saraki was going to win the Senate Presidency and I gave them my reasons.

“Then, nobody ever thought that Saraki was going to win. People were saying that APC had decided. But it was clear to me that he was going to win and I had to address the press. Eventually, we went there, he won. If, but God forbids, because we don’t see it coming, by chance, Saraki is removed, I can tell you that the PDP will produce the next Senate President.”

Speaking on how the PDP intends to get the support of other lawmakers to produce the next Senate President, Nwaoboshi said, “We only need three and we have them.”

He added, “The calculation is very clear to me; the calculation is very clear to the PDP. When I told them that Saraki was going to win, I did a lot of mathematical calculations based on the facts on the ground and it is even clearer to me now that the PDP will win it.

“If anybody is thinking that a PDP man is going to vote against a PDP candidate, he is telling you a lie. We have people and we know how to get the people from the APC. We will win and that will be very interesting. What is happening in America is going to happen in Nigeria. America has a Republican Senate but the executive is led by Democrats.

“In any case, my party, the PDP, we have resolved in our meeting to support him (Saraki). So, there is no basis for him to resign.”

However, senators, elected on the platform of the APC, are not taking the plot of their PDP colleagues lightly as they held a meeting last week in the house of a former Sokoto State Governor, Senator Aliyu Wammako, in Abuja.

Although the meeting was initially said to have been called with a motive to get all Senators of the APC to unite behind Saraki, it was later learnt that senators at the meeting were more concerned about the embarrassment disunity was causing the ruling party in the Senate.

According to sources close to the meeting, the lawmakers wanted a situation in which the interests of government would be promoted at all times in the Senate.

The meeting was said to have resolved to work in the interest of the party to ensure that the opposition party never had its way on any matter.

But the APC was sharply divided in the Senate along the lines of those supporting the Senate President and those against him.

The unity forum senators had worked against Saraki after he emerged the Senate President in a controversial election but the like-minded senators were on his side.

Spokesperson for the SUF, Senator Kabir Marafa, confirmed that the two factions of the APC in the Senate met last week to close ranks and resist any attempt by the PDP to call the shots in the red chamber.

He said, “We sat for four days last week, brainstormed, agreed and at the end of the day, we came out with a three-point agenda. We felt if they are agreed upon, the APC caucus in the National Assembly can become one.

“Number one issue is the illegality of our committees. We said we must constitute the committees in tune with the Standing Orders of the Senate. Number two is that the APC members, especially the Unity Forum elements, who are marginalised in the formation of the committees, should be accommodated.

“Number three is the issue of leadership and how it affects our party.

“President Muhammadu Buhari talked about party supremacy and how we must obey. These are the three issues that were deliberated upon.

“Number one item in the list was agreed upon. We agreed that we will amend the rules to accommodate all committees of the Senate. Number two on the agenda was also agreed upon; that is the issue of committees, with a view to giving our party members what they deserve.

“We have a government in place and we are senators elected with that government. We are under the same canopy. We have a moral duty to support our government, President and our party.”

APC, PDP Senators ready to cash over Saraki"s code of conduct trial

Chibok girls not missing – Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Wednesday declared that no pupil was abducted by Boko Haram from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

Fayose vows to lead opposition against APC

Over 200 pupils of the school were reportedly abducted in 2014 by the terror group.

The governor said the report was politically motivated to influence public opinion against the Goodluck Jonathan  administration ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Fayose spoke while declaring open a two-day workshop on “Political Aspirants Capacity Enhancement” organised by Women Arise for Change Initiative. It was organised for  women from Ekiti, Osun and Ondo states.

He  said, “Today, many opposition leaders are underground. I don’t think any of these girls is missing; it is a political strategy. Who is fooling who? If you wanted to use it to remove some people, you have succeeded already.

“I don’t know if there are missing girls but no indication has shown that. It is a political strategy,  because I don’t think any girl is missing. If they are missing, let them find them.”

The governor  also took a swipe at #BringBackOurGirls campaigners, saying some of them are using it to look for appointments.

He lamented that  human rights groups had decided  to keep  quite since  President Muhammadu Buhari came on  board.

Fayose said, “I’m concerned about the activities of human rights groups. Today the government of the day is obeying court order of their choice, while human rights are not respected.

“We must talk about government providing cover for criminals. You are now using that person to harass innocent person. You will never have peace when you hide justice.”

He added, “Police came into town yesterday (Tuesday)  to  arrest political opponents. If you like, demonise me, I will demonise you. I don’t need the police and the SSS (Department of State Services) to walk in my state. It is when you are not popular that you walk with police.

“Any government that rises against me, that government will come down. I’m Peter the rock. By engaging me, you make me more popular and relevant and then court sympathy. I’m one person that is going places. That is why all these challenges are against me.”

The governor urged women seeking elective offices to be loyal to their husbands.

The President of the initiative, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said the objective of the workshop was to enhance women political participation and their inclusion in decision making process by promoting female political aspirants and appointees. She said it was to encourage a more massive political mobilisation of women.

She lamented that Nigerian women had not fully involved themselves in politics,  despite the constitutional provisions giving  them rights to political participation.

Chibok girls not missing – Fayose

Protest as naval officers kill three in Arepo

There was tension in Arepo, in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State on Wednesday after some naval officers allegedly killed three residents.

Murders

The victims, identified as Biodun Mohammed, Chicagoand Body, were said to have been rounded up on Sunday at a beer parlour in the area.

The men were said to have been taken away and shot dead.

Family members and friends of the victims, who found their corpses on Wednesday, blocked the only entrance into the Arepo community, preventing vehicular movements in and out.

The situation created traffic jam on the road, which spilled onto the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

When PUNCH Metro visited the scene of the alleged execution in Voera Estate, it was observed that the corpses had become bloated just as stench pervaded the air.

While two of the men were taken across a wooden bridge into the creek where they were shot, the last corpse was found inside a bush where flies were feasting on it.

As of 4pm on Wednesday, policemen from the Ibafo division had surrounded the place and stopped people from coming to gaze at the corpses.

It was learnt that 24-year-old Mohammed, an indigene of Ogun State, resided in Sagamu, Ogun State.

His widow, Motunrayo, said she confronted the military officers when they arrested her husband on Sunday.

She said, “On Sunday around 7pm, the military officers numbering about seven came to the restaurant where my husband was with a friend. I can indentify two of them as Jason and Ola. I asked them what his offence was, but Jason asked me to keep quiet.

“He pointed a gun at me and threatened to shoot me dead if I moved closer. He did not allow my husband or his friend to utter a word. They took them away.

“I went to report at the soldiers’ base in Ebute and they said they were not holding my husband. But this morning, some landlords in Voera Estate, where he was killed, came to inform me that they had found his corpse in the bush.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that the third victim was earlier arrested on Sunday.

It was learnt that Mohammed was into furniture making.

His mother, Safura, said the 24-year-old had come to Arepo to celebrate Easter with his family when the incident happened.

“I was the one that called him on Saturday that he should come to Arepo to celebrate Easter with us.

“On Sunday morning, he washed his clothes and ate. In the evening, he went to the restaurant when he was arrested. The soldiers took them from there and went to kill them in the forest,” she added.

Safura lamented that her son was killed in cold blood, calling for justice for him.

A resident, Jide Olorunsola, said the naval authorities killed the men in the creek to cover up the crime and make it appear that was where they were caught.

“They made it appear like they were vandals and that they caught them in the creek and shot them dead,” he said.

Another resident, who did not identify himself, accused the military of highhandedness in Arepo, asking the authorities to curtail their excesses.

He said, “If they find you outside at 9pm, they will harass you for no just cause. They go beyond their boundaries and even go as far as extorting money from residents.”

There was almost a confrontation with some OP MESA operatives at the Arepo gate as families of the victim insisted their patrol van would not go out.

Two of the officers at the back cocked their guns, which angered the protesters, who dared them to shoot.

A community leader, however, intervened by appeasing the protesters to allow the military officers to go.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State, DSP Muyiwa Adejobi, said the police had begun investigations into the deaths.

He said the police were also making arrangements to remove the corpses and deposit them in a mortuary.

He said, “The Ibafo division of the command got the information that three people were taken by some men at a beer parlour on Sunday around 8pm, and they were shot dead and their corpses were found in Arepo. We are investigating and we are going to get the perpetrators.

“Meanwhile, the Divisional Police Officer is trying to get an ambulance to see how we can evacuate the corpses.  The Deputy Commissioner of Operations has sent more policemen to the community to assist the DPO to forestall a breakdown of law and order.”

The acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, denied the involvement of military officers guarding the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s pipelines in Arepo in the killing.

He said pipeline vandals who had run out of business because of the activities of the military were out to blackmail them.

He said, “For more than one month now, we have not had any operation in that area, so how could we have killed those people? How can the troop deployed for Operation Awase kill them? How do you even believe that members of the armed forces of Nigeria would descend so low as go to meet people in a beer parlour to abduct them?

“The issue is that before our coming, there had been series of vandalism and siphoning of fuel in Arepo. Some people had made a lot of money before the government intervened and said no more of that due to the economic recession. It is this people, that are trying to blackmail us. Anyone saying we killed anybody should produce evidence. Who did it?

“However, as a security agency that is supposed to protect lives and property, we are concerned about the loss of lives. Last time, they ambushed our officers and some of them were killed; but did anybody make noise? The reason is that we take that as part of the risks of our job. People should not be using the media to achieve whatever is their plot.”

Protest as naval officers kill three in Arepo

APC Tasks Buhari to End Rivers Political Violence, Crack down on Perpetrators

…Commends Amaechi for ensuring that APC did not participate in the killings

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive action to end the lingering political violence in the State and to bring the perpetrators to book. The party made the request in a statement in which it commended the President for coming out boldly to condemn the needless carnage in Rivers and to describe it as “worrisome”.

APC data Centre

The statement, signed by Rivers APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, said: “We received with happiness the recent statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari that the murderous rerun election in Rivers State was shameful, unfortunate and barbaric. We agree with Mr. President that more Nigerians have been killed in Rivers than any other state in the country. What we are asking is, what are the steps to be taken by the Federal Government to secure the State and her people from the PDP/WIKE gang of killers? That Governor Wike has made Rivers State a killer field should give all Nigerians concern because we don’t know who will be the next victim as the Army, Police, Youth Corps members and hapless Rivers residents are not spared.”

The party expressed sadness that Governor Nyesom Wike could be so callous to celebrate the death of human beings and the turning of Rivers State into another Somalia where human beings are either buried alive or burnt.

“Sadly, the threats by Governor Wike to murder INEC officials and anybody that would stand in his way during the rerun elections were fully implemented as a Corps member, Samuel Okonta, INEC official, Army and Police personnel were all murdered in cold blood. This man has gone further to threaten the lives of President Buhari, the Army Chief of Staff and his predecessor governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi. To cap it all, he sent his Chief of Staff, Samuel Wite, to assassinate the DG of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside; Rivers APC State Chairman, Dr. Ikanya; and APC Deputy Governorship Candidate, Hon Asita O. Asita. The trio would have been dead if not for the grace of God and the gallantry of the DSS personnel that came to their rescue,” Rivers APC lamented.

The party asked: “Do we continue to tolerate this man and applaud him for turning Rivers State into the hotbed of violence? Do we wait until the life of our President or Amaechi is touched before we do something to call this man to order?”

As Wike continue to play politics with the lives of Rivers State people, let us state that, those who travel on the lane of falsehood, subterfuge and deceit will definitely get to their destination which is destruction. The blood of all those killed for the so called PDP/Wike’s victory will one day speak.

Rivers APC applauded the position of INEC not to conduct any other election in Rivers State if adequate security is not put in place. “In the same vein, we wish to further state that it is not acceptable if all those caught perpetuating evil and electoral malpractice, particularly Wike’s aides, are not duly prosecuted. If this is not done it may be difficult for us to participate in any election in Rivers State as we can’t continue to endanger the lives of our people because of election,” the party said.

It sympathised with the people of Rivers State over Wike’s tragic style of governance and for portraying the State in bad light “whereas we are a peaceable, resourceful and result-oriented people and not barbarians”.

The party meanwhile commended Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi for maintaining a peaceful disposition during the rerun elections, without which the State would have burned to the ground. It appealed to its teeming members and supporters to continue to maintain the peaceful disposition for which APC is known so as not to give PDP warmongers an excuse to unleash further violence on the State.

APC Tasks Buhari to End Rivers Political Violence, Crack down on Perpetrators

Fuel Scarcity: I won"t resign, fuel scarcity "ll end in nine days - Kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, appeared before the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) on Tuesday to give reasons for the acute fuel scarcity across the country and the efforts being made by his ministry to resolve the embarrassing situation.

Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Emmanuel Kachikwu

He regretted the situation and apologised to Nigerians, who he said were really going through difficult moments, and promised that the scarcity would end on or before April 7.

Kachikwu said he would not resign from his position as minister and instead asked those who were threatening to stage a protest in Abuja to save their money because he took the appointment to work for his fatherland.

The minister stated, “I will not resign. I am here to do my job. Those who are planning to stage a protest against me in Abuja should save their fuel money because I have a job to do, and I am committed to doing it well.

“I share the pains of Nigerians. I feel that pain every day. I walk the streets and those who are following my trajectories since I resumed office would see that even on Christmas day, I was at the refineries. On Easter Day, I was in Lagos monitoring fuel distribution at the depots.

“I have given 24/7 attention to the problems in this industry, which are unbelievable. I have continued to work with one sole purpose in mind, which is that every problem will have a solution.”

Kachikwu added, “I do apologise if a comment I make jocularly with my friends in the press about not being a magician offends some Nigerians; it wasn’t meant to be. It is a side jocular issue and I did go ahead to explain what needed to be done. I didn’t intend to create this kind of hyperbole that it did.

“Let me admit that I am not a typically experienced politician. I am a technocrat. Some of the phraseologies that I may use, while being acceptable in the arena in which I play, obviously will not be acceptable in the public political arena. If anybody’s sensitivities were offended by that, I totally apologise.”

He attributed the current petrol scarcity to the refusal by the major oil marketers to import, diversion of the product by marketers, pipeline vandalism, panic buying and non-computerisation of the distribution network to monitor trucks.

The minister lamented that since the payment of N600bn subsidy arrears, which the current administration inherited from the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, oil marketers had stopped fuel importation.

The development, he said, had forced the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to overstretch its capacity, human resources and facilities in order to bridge the gap, but that the corporation lacked the immediate capacity to handle the task.

Kachikwu said, “Let me put the reasons for the scarcity in three categories. First, when we came in August, this country had arrears of unpaid subsidy claims that were in excess of N600bn, which were not paid for over a year.

“Progressively, over a period of eight months, prior to my coming on board, people had been staying away from importation not at a heavy level, but by about 10 to 15 per cent of allocations were not being met.

“There was hope that ultimately, if the subsidy regime continued, they would get paid; so, some people continued to import, but by the time we came in, people had reached a breaking point and most of the companies didn’t have the liquidity even to go to the banks and open letters of credit, and that became a major issue.”

He said it was obvious that having cleared the N600bn subsidy claims, the country could no longer continue with the subsidy regime owing to dwindling oil revenue and the fact that monumental frauds were being uncovered in the system.

As of January 1 this year, the minister stated that the country was no longer paying subsidy, saving a cumulative amount of over N1tn in a one year period.

Kachikwu noted, “The second major issue was that once the N600bn subsidy money was paid, the ability of the marketers to import the product became a challenge, because they could not raise letters of credit, and up to this point, that still remains a major issue.

“So, even if they wanted to import, they needed letters of credit and adequate foreign exchange cover. Some of them were owing arrears of liabilities as a result of the commitment I had made on petroleum importation.”

As part of efforts to ensure a lasting solution to the problem, he stated that the nation was setting up for the first time strategic reserves of about two million tonnes to provide products always.

He said these would be operational as from May and would contain between five and seven cargos of fuel per reserve.

Kachikwu said, “Once we do that, we should be away from the incessant fuel crisis that we have.

We expect that between now and about the 6th to the 7th of April, the fuel queues will disappear, the DSDP will begin and the foreign exchange allocation will see us smoothly through the track.

“The refineries will be working and the volumes they will be producing will be sent to the strategic reserves to address difficult times. In April, we are expected to get 150 per cent of the volumes that will be needed. A lot of that will go to storage tanks. Hopefully, that should sort out the problem.”

He said privatisation of the refineries remained the best solution to end the fuel crisis in the country.

Fuel Scarcity: I won"t resign, fuel scarcity "ll end in nine days - Kachikwu

Wike playing politics with people’s lives – Amaechi

The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has accused the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, of playing politics with the lives of the people of the state.

Nyesom Wike and Romiti Amaechi

He also accused Wike of not taking the development of the state seriously.

Amaechi, a former governor of the state, said  this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

He accused Wike of  “twisting, butchering and turning the truth upside down; and in most cases telling outright lies in his failed bid to denigrate, tarnish and rubbish his towering image, person and laudable, landmark achievements.

He said that most troubling was Wike’s alleged propensity, without any qualms whatsoever, to play politics with the safety and security of the lives of Rivers people.

This, he said, was indeed most worrisome.

Amaechi said, “It is no secret that Wike plays politics with the development, welfare and well-being of Rivers people.

“But no government should play politics with the safety and security of its citizens like Wike is sadly and shamelessly doing.

“Governor Wike claimed that the brutal political killings and murder of the All Progressives Congress members and other hapless citizens in the state are cult-related or a result of cult clashes.

“What cult wars is he talking about? Since he claimed to have security reports, we challenge Wike to tell Rivers people the cult group that Franklin Obi, the APC Ward Chairman in Omoku, belongs to, that led to his being gruesomely beheaded and butchered, alongside his pregnant wife and teenage son.

“Or did Franklin suddenly become a cult member because he had the guts and courage to host a resoundingly successful ward meeting of APC faithful in the same ward as Wike’s Peoples Democratic Party State chairman, Felix Obuah, just a few days to the rerun elections?”

The former governor challenged Wike to tell Nigerians  the cult groups and the cult wars that led to the killing of the innocent youth corper, Chukwudumeibi Okonta, on the day of the last rerun election on March 19.

“Was the youth corper a cultist or a victim of cult wars or yet another victim of politically-motivated killings in Rivers State?,” he asked.

He also said that  Wike must tell Rivers people the cult wars that led to the brutal murder of hundreds of Rivers people since the election that made him governor was held, and the cult groups that all those that had been murdered, belong to.

He said that Wike’s cult wars/cultists claim was akin to insulting and spitting on the graves and memories of all those murdered and their families.

Amaechi said, “With pity, we watched as Wike tried to compare the political killings of the late Okonta and Independent National Electoral Commission ad hoc staff on the rerun  election day in Rivers State to the fire accident that occurred at the home of the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner  in Kano State days after the elections of 2015.

“How pathetic! Even for Wike, this is a new low.”

On the Rivers Monorail project Amaechi started, which Wike said that he would abandon, the former governor said Wike needed to know that the monorail belongs to Rivers State and not his “Amaechi’s” private monorail.

He said, “Pray, Governor Wike, which Rivers people told you not to touch the monorail project? Is it the same Rivers people that have consistently praised the project and see it as a catalyst to jump-start the local economy and place the state at the forefront of transport infrastructural development in Africa?

“Or is Wike aggregating the jaundiced views of the coterie of court-jesters that hang around him daily, as the opinion of the entire people of the state?

“It is sad, very sad that Wike has elected to play politics with this laudable project that was almost completed before Amaechi left office.”

He said that  Wike also described several ongoing projects in the state when he (Amaechi) left office as ‘abandoned projects’ that the former governor claimed to have completed or about to complete.

The former governor said Wike specifically mentioned the Ogoni-Andoni-Opobo Unity Road that connects the Island of Opobo to Andoni and the rest of the state.

“What a shameless lie! This project was ongoing and was almost completed as at May 29, 2015. May we also remind Wike that the Eagle Island- Diobu Road that he once claimed to have been abandoned was 90 per cent completed with just the final course of coal tar remaining as at when he succeeded Amaechi,” the former governor added.

Wike playing politics with people’s lives – Amaechi

Abducted colonel found dead in Kaduna

A Senior Nigerian Army Officer, Col. Samaila Inusa, who was reportedly abducted at gunpoint at  the Refinery Junction in Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State was  found dead on Tuesday.

The Nigerian Army authority told newsmen in a statement that Inusa’s body was found in Kaduna. He was suspected that he was killed the same day he was abducted.

According to a statement signed by the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, “Preliminary investigation revealed that most likely the late senior officer was killed the same day he was kidnapped by his abductors. This is because the body was found already decomposing  around  Ajyaita village off Eastern Bypass Kaduna, Kaduna State.

“The Nigerian Army wishes to regrettably inform the public that Colonel Samaila Inusa who was kidnapped on Sunday, 27th of March 2016,  was found dead today (Tuesday) at about 6pm.

“Arrangements  are in progress to move the body to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna. May His soul rest in peace, Amen.

“We wish to state in unmistakable terms that whoever is behind his abduction and murder would be fished out to face the full wrath of the law,” the statement read.

The late army officer  was abducted in his Mercedes-Benz car by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers around Kamazo, along Kaduna Refinery Road, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The abductors dropped off Colonel Inusa’s wife and left with him heading towards Abuja.

Abducted colonel found dead in Kaduna

Rivers PDP Rejects Disqualification Of Akuku-Toru Candidate, Faults Opobo/Nkoro Result

…Congratulates Winners Of State And National Assembly Elections

The Chairman of Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bro. Felix Obuah has rejected the purported disqualification of the PDP Candidate for Akuku-Toru Constituency 2, Tonye Awari Alalibo, describing it as not only illegal and mischievous, but highly vexatious, explaining that “no Election Petition Tribunal nor the Election Appeal Tribunal, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has the power to disqualify any party candidate (as provided for in the 2012 Electoral Act as amended), and for which the PDP and its candidate for Akuku-Toru State Constituency 2 are already in court.

PDP

Bro Obuah also disclosed that no Election Petition Tribunal or Appeal Tribunal has right to disqualify any candidate, when the issue of disqualification was not part of the subject matter before both the Election Petition Tribunal and Appeal Tribunal”. Accordingly, INEC lacks powers to disqualify the PDP candidate.

Therefore, the purported disqualification of our candidate for Akuku-Toru Constituency 2, when the PDP logo was on the ballot paper and our candidate participated and won the election is preposterous.

The so-called disqualification, according to Bro. Obuah is the handiwork of the APC that is doing everything possible to grab power, calling on Akuku-Toru people to remain calm and watch events as they unfold.

Similarly, Bro Obuah described the ceding of result of Opobo/Nkoro State Assembly Election to the APC as a rape of democracy, adding that the results collated from the polling units in all the wards showed Hon. Adonye Diri of the PDP as the clear winner.

The PDP Chairman accused INEC of colluding with the APC to satisfy the defeated governorship candidate, Adol Dakuku Peterside, who was said to have mobilized soldiers on the day of the election and used them to chase away PDP agents, from the collation centre in Opobo.

Meanwhile, the State PDP Chairman, Bro Obuah, congratulates candidates of the party who emerged victorious in the results so far released and declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The PDP chairman said the victory of the candidates of the party once again confirmed the popularity and acceptability of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State.

While also felicitating with the good people of Rivers State who voted for the emergence of the PDP candidates in those State and federal constituencies, Bro Obuah assured that the party would not let them down in the delivery of its campaign promises.

Bro. Obuah reiterated the obvious fact that Rivers State is 100% PDP, adding that the desperation, blackmail and intimidation by the APC and Rotimi Amaechi would not reverse the trend.

The PDP Chairman enjoined Rivers people to remain resolute as they await the release of the remaining results and new date for the re-run election in Local Government Areas were elections were suspended following the distribution of fake result sheets, noting that these delays were deliberate attempt by the APC to buy more time and fashion out strategies to manipulate the results.

Rivers PDP Rejects Disqualification Of Akuku-Toru Candidate, Faults Opobo/Nkoro Result

Osun group drags Bisi Akande’s brother, 9 others before EFCC over diversion of N.3billon College Funds

A Civil Society Organization (CSO) in Osun State under the auspices of Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) has dragged the younger brother to the former Interim National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, Mr. Oyeniyi Akande who is currently the Part-time Chairman of the

Governing Council of Osun State College of Education ,Ila-Orangun since 2013 and other nine(9) members of the top management of the College over illegal diversion of the approved N.3billion College funds for one projects or the other in the College Community.

Chief Bisi Akande

It was learnt that the members of the top management of the College that were named in the corrupt allegation included the College former Acting Provost, Dr. Basiru Gbadamosi, the Registrar and Secretary to the Governing Council, Mr. Aderinola Adeoti, former College Bursar, now Bursar College of Education, Ilesa, Mr. Akin Latilo, and Mr. David Olayinka Olojede, a member of the Governing Council.

Others involved in the alleged scam and diversion of Project funds were; Mr. Oyegbade Reuben Abayo, Mr. Amobi Yinusa Akinlola, Mr. Ayoola Peter Olajiola, Mr. Moses Oyewole Otitoola, and Mr. Kujeunbola Oluwafemi.

This was contained in a Petition Letter dated Monday 21st of March, 2016 with the titled “Request for investigation and prosecution of Mr. Oyeniyi Akande, the Part-Time Chairman, Governing Council, Osun State College of Education(OSSCE), Ila-Orangun, Osun state and nine (9) others for the offence of fraudulent conversion and diversion of N.3billion public funds approved for the Tetfund project i.e. the construction of Amphil-theatre and other sundry projects for the growth and development of the college community since 2014. Why Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) is demanding for investigation, arrest and possible prosecution of the culprits”, which was signed by the CSCEOS’ Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman and the copy was made available to newsmen on Tuesday, called for the thorough and credible investigation of the allegation

by the anti-graft body without minding whose ox was gored.

The Petition Letter which was received by the Abuja National Head office of the anti-graft Commission(EFCC) on Tuesday 22nd of March, 2016 and also forwarded to the Visitor of the College and Osun State governor, Mr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. Najeem Salaam, Federal Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu, Osun State Director, State Security Service (SSS) ,past leaders in Osun State including Governor, Deputy-Governors, Secretary to the State Government(SSG) and Head of Service(HoS) and the College

Provost, among others, for their notification and necessary action.

Comrade Sulaiman maintained that the massive corruption according to the available verified documents showed that the scam spread to fees for Certificates collection, College Transport account and College History among others, alleging that the authority of the College had purportedly spent closed to three hundred million naira (N300m) on the aforementioned projects since 2014 and the projects did not see the light of the day till this present moment, while all the funds released for the Projects have been diverted by Akande and his crime –in- aides, requesting that the anti-graft Commission should probe all the Banks’ Account used to siphon the College funds in question by the

aforementioned people.

The group alleged that sum of One hundred and seven Million naira (N107m) out of One hundred and twenty-five million (N125m) were released by the Federal Government through Tetfund as a Special Intervention fund to the College for building of a Lecture Theatre (Amphittheatre) which remained unaccounted for as the foundation of

the project has not been completed after two (2) years the project was awarded to the Contractor, Digitpro Engineering Technology Limited, Ibadan, adding that in January 2015, the sum of Five million One hundred and Thirty six Thousand, seven hundred and sixteen naira, Thirty Kobo were released to the contractor-Digitpro Engineering Technology Limited, Ibadan as part of fund approved for the construction of Amphitheatre

According to the Petition Letter: “To our dismay, at the one meeting of the College Governing Council where the failed Tetfund Amphitheatre Lecture contract was extensively discussed, the Council noted that though the sum of One Hundred and Seven Million naira (N107m) had been released to the contractor-Digitpro Engineering Technology Limited, Ibadan, the evaluators which the Governing Council brought from the Osun State Ministry of Works and Transport, Abeere, Osogbo valued the work done at the site of the project at Thirteen Million naira (N13m).

Surprisingly at the said meeting, Mr. Akande promised to handle the issue with “maturity”. His position to “maturity” rather than sanction and possible arrest is at variance with Mr. Akande’s make-belief anti-corruption posture. This position of Mr. Akande further confirmed our believe that Akande’s hand has been soiled with the project funds.

“Meanwhile, one of the members of the Governing Council, Mr. Yinka Olojede had earlier confessed that they shared the funds meant for the project in question (Amphitheatre) with maturity as being directed by Mr. Akande and Mr. Niyi Akande as well connive with one of his cronies who floated a Consultancy firm named JAC DIRAN LIMITED, through which he fraudulently collected about Twelve million Naira (N12m) from the amphitheatre project apart from N107million earlier approved to the Contractor which One Hundred and Two million (N102m) released to the

contractor.

“Furthermore, Mr. Oyeniyi Akande engages at will various Consultants, who are mostly his associates and cronies, to handle and or oversee the College’s projects and activities, even, where there were staffs of the college so designated to do the job. He unilaterally decides whooping amounts of funds to be paid these Consultants and many of them do not deliver the contracts to the specification. One of such was the College’s website (Internet facility) and several millions of naira was committed to the project and the Consultant/Contractor failed to deliver the job since three (3) years ago. Akande’s numerous consultants are the drain-pipes through which the College’s Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs) are being siphoned”.

The Petition further stated that, “under the chairmanship of Mr. Oyeniyi Akande, the Governing council threw decorum into wind by increasing the stipulate fees for collection of Certificates by the Students from five thousand naira (N5, 000) to twelve thousand naira (N12, 000) and Ten Thousand naira (N10, 000) to Twenty-two thousand

naira (N22, 000) for NCE and Degree graduates respectively. And, substantial part of the proceeds realized was siphoned by the Council Chairman.

“Also, the College engages in commercial transportation for convenience of the Staff and Students where two Coaster buses were procured for daily shuttle and hire and as at today, over Ten million naira (N10m) have been realized and squandered by the Governing Council Chairman, Mr. Oyeniyi Akande. It will interest you to hear that Mr. Oyeniyi Akande as Chairman of the Governing Council of the College, hides under the guise of being the younger brother to the former Interim National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, to use the hard- earned funds of the institution to run his Private owned Ila Technical College which had just only fourteen students for the Period of two session”.

It added that, “It is also on record that Mr. Oyeniyi Akande unilaterally increased his own monthly allowances from One Hundred and Ten Thousand naira (N110,000) to one Hundred and Fifty naira(N150,000) and those of other members of the Governing Council from sixty eight Thousand seven Hundred and fifty naira(N68,750) to One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000) since 2014 which contrary to the Osun State Government Circular with Ref No: S/PRI/23/187 (composition of Boards and the Remuneration of Members), due Process and College Edict.

The group therefore urged at the anti-graft Commission to request for all the flight tickets of all the travel allowance from Abuja to Ila-Orangun,Osun State, being claimed by the Part-Time Chairman of Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun, Governing Council, Mr. Oyeniyi Akande for the period of 2013 to March 2016.

Osun group drags Bisi Akande’s brother, 9 others before EFCC over diversion of N.3billon College Funds

School proprietor jailed 10 yrs for raping pupil

An Ekiti State High Court in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday sentenced a school proprietor, Mr Babatunde Ibitoye, to 10 years imprisonment after finding him guilty of raping a 10-year old pupil of his school.

Ibitoye, owner of God’s Grace Nursery and Primary School, located at Fayemi Market, Agric Olope Area, Ajilosun in the state capital city, committed the offence on June 10, 2013.

In her brief judgement, Justice Toyin Abodunde, said evidence by the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the convict had sexually abused the victim, who was her pupil as at the time the offence was committed.

The trial judge agreed with the averment of the Director of Public Prosecution and the victim’s evidence that the defendant was caught at the scene of the incident.

“I rely heavily on the evidence of the victim that the defendant had been having sexual relationship with her before he was caught. That some of the teachers even gave evidence that she bled profusely few days before that time further confirmed that she had been sexually abused.

“The fact that the defendant was caught pants down was enough to prove that the accused person committed the offence contrary to section 31(c)of the Ekiti State Child Rights Law 2013 and he is hereby sentenced to ten years imprisonment without option of fine.”

Ibitoye was caught on the June 10, 2013 in a bush near Fayemi market, where he was said to have sexually abused the victim under the guise that he

was taking her home after the school hours.

On that day, Ibitoye was said to have carried three other pupils in his bus and drove towards a bushy area near the market to excrete, but only to enter the bush with the victim.

Before entering the bush, Ibitoye reportedly sent other pupils on different errands. But some auto mechanics operating within the vicinity suspected him and immediately tip-toed towards the bush where they caught the convict having carnal knowledge of the pupil.

He was apprehended by the people and handed over to the Police at Ologede station in Ado Ekiti for onward transfer to the police headquarters for prosecution.

The then government of Governor Kayode Fayemi immediately ordered the closure of the school and it has not been reopened since.

The Chairperson, Federation of International Female Lawyers, Mrs Rita

Ilevbaren, who commended the judgement, urged the victims of rape to always speak out.

Ilevbaren lauded the State Ministry of Justice, the judiciary and the victim’s parents for diligent prosecution of the case, describing this as a landmark in the battle against rampancy of rape in the State.

School proprietor jailed 10 yrs for raping pupil

Fayose begins N5.7b flyover in Ekiti

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose on Tuesday flagged off the construction of a N5.7b worth flyover in Ado Ekiti, promising to deliver the project within 24 months.

Fayose

At the event, Fayose, who described the 1.2-kilometre flyover project as the first of its kind in the state said it was part of his plans to ease traffic in the state capital city.

The flyover will begin at Fajuyi area and terminate at Ojumose.

Fayose warned the contractor against unnecessary delay, saying the project must be delivered within the stipulated time.

“This was a project that has been in my heart desire during my first term. I nearly awarded it before that unfortunate incident happened. I saw it as a landmark achievement because you can’t get it in Ondo or Osun State.

“I have promised that I won’t abandon any project for my successor. I shall complete every project that I awarded, because I don’t want to leave any burden behind.

“Whatever we do will remain in our name, particularly the physical project and that is why I charge the traditional rulers to appeal to politicians to give peace a chance, because it is only under an atmosphere of peace that you can witness development.

“I am not going to limit physical construction to road alone, I will soon flag off the construction of ultra-modern High Court complex with modern facilities for effective and efficient administration of justice.

“Some of you will ask me how am I going to achieve this in view of the poor allocations to the state, but don’t worry, don’t be hopeless.

“I rely on the little taxes and rates to be paid by citizens to be able to boost our IGR to do all these. With your supports, all these shall be achieved,” he said.

The Chairman, Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Samuel Adedapo and the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo, who praised the governor for his zeal to develop Ekiti, appealed to politicians to give peace a chance to forestall unnecessary crisis that could cause distraction.

They said Ekiti will continue to appreciate Fayose’s efforts to develop the state in spite of the dwindling federal allocation.

 

Fayose begins N5.7b flyover in Ekiti

Jonathan called me 19 days after Chibok girls’ abduction – Shettima

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State on Monday said former President Goodluck Jonathan did not call him until after 19 days after the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, in 2014.

Jonathan in Borno

No fewer than 259 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram militants from their hostel in GSS, Chibok, on April 14, 2014 as they prepared for their West African Senior Secondary   Certificate Examinations.

A few of the girls managed to escape from the terrorists, who were said to have dressed like military men and loaded the girls into trucks and headed for an unknown destinations.

Over 219 of the girls are yet to be rescued since the unfortunate incident.

Shettima, however, said Jonathan, who was the President at the time of the mass abduction, only called him on the kidnapping about three weeks after the incident, which generated global outrage at the time.

The Borno State governor said this while receiving former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Government House, Maiduguri, after the ex-President arrived at the state capital on a two-day visit.

Obasanjo was on a visit to Borno on the invitation of the University of Maiduguri as part of the institution’s 40th anniversary celebration.

Trying to draw a comparison between the leadership style of Obasanjo and Jonathan, Shettima believed Obasanjo would have handled the issue of the kidnapping differently were he to be the nation’s President at the time.

He stated, “In our own case, Your Excellency, after the Chibok abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency. I brought this mainly to show the difference, because we will only appreciate scenarios when we make comparisons.”

The governor recalled that the current Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who was a top member of the All Progressives Congress in 2014, hailed Obasanjo’s leadership qualities in a conversation after the mass abduction.

Shettima added, “I was actually lamenting to him on governance at the federal level with relations to the poor handling of the Boko Haram insurgency.

“Chief Ogbeh said, ‘Look, I might have had some political differences with President Olusegun Obasanjo but to say it as it is, if Obasanjo had been President while this insurgency is happening in Borno and other parts of the North-East, you would have witnessed what responsive leadership entails’.”

Shettima noted that Obasanjo’s visit on Monday marked the ex-President’s first visit to the Borno State Government House since 1976.

The governor described himself as “lucky and privileged” to receive the former President as the governor of the state.

Obasanjo, in his reaction, said the Boko Haram insurgency would become a thing of the past judging from the military’s string of successes against the extremist group in recent times.

The former President, who was in Maiduguri in 2011 to initiate a possible dialogue between the Jonathan administration and the insurgents, commended  President Muhammadu Buhari’s strategies to fighting the terrorists, noting that peace was gradually returning to the troubled areas.

He said, “A lot of water has passed under the bridge in this part of the country. I must not forget to commiserate with all our people in this state and indeed the entire North-East, which have been victims of insurgency in the way we have never witnessed in this country before.

“I travel a lot in Africa and outside Africa, and wherever I have gone in recent times, what people want to know is what and how Nigeria is coping with the situation of insurgency.

“Today, I think we are not out of the woods yet but it would appear that we can see the light beyond the tunnel.

“There is no doubt that with the combined efforts at the local level, at the state level and at the federal level, and even at the community level, our security forces are on the ascendancy over the forces of destruction, the menace and danger of insurgency that we have experienced for almost six years now.”

According to Obasanjo, Buhari has shown that he is passionate about ending insecurity in the country, calling for support for his government.

He added, “Talking to the President (Buhari) about the issue of insurgency in particular and insecurity in general, I know that he is very, very concerned, and not only very concerned, he has got it right.

“He (Buhari) has ensured that where they (Boko Haram) have occupied is cleared of any mines. Where you have mines, lives are not only insecure, people feel intimidated for you never know when you may step on them.”

Jonathan called me 19 days after Chibok girls’ abduction – Shettima

Egypt Air hijacker surrenders after Cyprus airport standoff

An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir flight and forced it to divert to Cyprus demanding to see his ex-wife surrendered Tuesday after a six-hour airport standoff ended peacefully.

The hijacker, described by officials as “unstable”, had claimed to be wearing a bomb belt but no explosives were discovered after he gave himself up at Larnaca airport and was arrested.

Most of the 55 passengers were quickly released after the plane had landed but some escaped only minutes before the hijacker surrendered, including one man who climbed out a cockpit window.

“This is not about terrorism. This is about the individual action of a person who is psychologically unstable,” said the Cypriot foreign ministry’s permanent secretary, Alexandros Zenon.

The Egyptian interior ministry identified the man as Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa.

The man had reportedly dropped a letter in Arabic on the tarmac, making a number of rambling demands including to see his Cypriot ex-wife, with whom he has children.

Police said she had been brought to the airport along with a child but provided no further details.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades had earlier told reporters the incident appeared to be motivated by personal reasons.

“The hijacking is not terrorism-related,” he told a joint news conference with the visiting president of the European Parliament, Martin Schultz.

Asked about reports that the hijacker had demanded to see a Cypriot woman, Anastasiades laughed and said: “Always there is a woman.”

After searching the hijacker and sending sniffer dogs into the plane, Cypriot police said no bombs had been found.

The EgyptAir plane, which had been headed from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria to Cairo, landed in Larnaca at 8:50 am (0550 GMT), after the hijacker had contacted the control tower 20 minutes earlier to demand the diversion.

Egyptian civil aviation said he had threatened to detonate an explosives belt on the Airbus A-320.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said in televised remarks that the hijacker was an Egyptian and had demanded to speak to a European Union representative.

– Cockpit window escape –

Egyptian civil aviation officials said there were 21 foreigners among the passengers, and that the hijacker had demanded the plane land in either Turkey or Cyprus.

They included eight Americans, four Dutch citizens, four Britons and a French citizen, according to the Egyptian authorities.

Nearly all of the passengers were able to disembark shortly after the plane landed, but Egypt’s civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy told a press conference that the captain, a co-pilot, a flight attendant and a security guard, along with three passengers, had remained on board.

They were later seen exiting the aircraft, with several descending the steps from the plane and one clambering out of a cockpit window and dropping to the ground.

A man then emerged, walked across the tarmac and raised his hands to two waiting counter-terrorism officers. They laid him on the ground and searched him for around two minutes before taking him away.

At 2:43 pm, Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Twitter that “the hijacker has just been arrested”.

Officials in both Cyprus and Egypt then confirmed that all crew and passengers were safe.

– Flights diverted –

Authorities closed the airport — the main entry point for tourists to the resort island — and nearby beaches during the incident. Incoming flights were diverted to Paphos on the island’s western edge. The airport was later reopened.

Concerns were raised about security at Egyptian airports after a Russian airliner was downed on October 31 over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. The Islamic State group claimed to have smuggled a bomb on board the plane.

Larnaca is no stranger to hostage crises. Several hijacked planes were diverted to the airport in the last few decades.

In August 1996, a Sudan Airways Airbus A-310 was hijacked by seven Iraqis between Khartoum and Amman with 199 people on board. After a stopover in Larnaca it flew on to London’s Stansted airport, where the hijackers gave themselves up.

In 1988, a Kuwait Airways flight hijacked en route from Bangkok to Kuwait was diverted to Iran’s second city Mashhad and later to Larnaca, where hijackers killed two Kuwaiti passengers and dumped their bodies on the tarmac.

In February 1978, an Egyptian commando unit stormed a hijacked Cyprus Airways DC-8 at Larnaca airport, where 15 passengers were being held hostage. Some 15 Egyptian soldiers were killed and 15 wounded in a firefight with Cypriot forces. All the hostages were freed and the hijackers arrested.

AFP

Egypt Air hijacker surrenders after Cyprus airport standoff

Three oil workers die in Bayelsa pipeline explosion

Three oil workers have reportedly lost their lives in pipeline explosion in Bayelsa State.

The victims, said to be employees of an oil servicing firm, died on Sunday.

It was learnt that the pipeline explosion occurred in Olugboboro community of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

The pipeline is owned by Nigerian Agip Oil Company.

It was further learnt that the deceased were carrying out repair work on a leaking pipeline when the tragedy struck.

The explosion,  which occurred on Easter Sunday, according to community sources, also left several persons injured.

The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency on Tuesday confirmed the pipeline blast.

The Director-General, NOSDRA,  Dr. Peter Idabor,  who confirmed the development on the telephone, said that an employee of the agency escaped death in the explosion.

Idabor said that the survivor had allegedly drawn the attention of the oil workers to the breach of safety procedure and left the scene shortly before the incident occurred.

He said, “I received a report of the incident from our employee in Yenagoa office and luckily one of our officers on the team survived. Because of the safety conditions of the place after inspection, our employee left the place and he was not affected.

“ I am going to report the matter officially to the Minister of Environment today (Tuesday).”

It will be recalled that July 9, 2015 explosion at Agip’s oil field in Azuzuama, Southern Ijaw, left 14 persons dead.

A regulatory official of the Bayelsa Ministry of Environment and NOSDRA and 12 maintenance crew members were among the victims.

Three oil workers die in Bayelsa pipeline explosion

Tinubu vs Kachikwu: Buhari mediates as Senate invites minister over fuel crisis

There are strong indications that President Muhammadu Buhari has initiated moves to forestall the escalation of the festering feud between the All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu.

Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Emmanuel Kachikwu

The PUNCH reliably gathered on Monday that Buhari believed that Kachikwu’s statement and Tinubu’s criticisms could tear the party apart.

It was learnt that the President had therefore cautioned the APC chieftains and  members of his cabinet against taking sides in comments and issues that could divide the party and derail his government.

A member of the cabinet, who confided in The PUNCH, said the President was of the view that any comment by the APC on the propriety or otherwise of Tinubu’s statement would divide the party and his government.

It was gathered that Buhari had told the minister that he should concentrate on how to end fuel scarcity before May, the time Kachikwu had proposed that there would be smooth fuel supply in the country.

The cabinet member stated, “I am aware that the President has moved in and cautioned ministers and party chieftains against divisive statements on the seeming feud between Tinubu and Kachikwu.

“At this time of the nation’s history, the President needs all the support of Nigerians. There should not be any distraction. The minister has been told that his main focus should be how to end fuel queues.”

Kachikwu had, in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, said fuel queues could not be eliminated before May, adding that he was not a magician.

But Tinubu had, in a statement on Saturday, criticised the minister, saying Kachikwu’s position amounted to an act of insubordination to Nigerians, who voted public office-holders into their offices.

The National Secretariat of the APC on Monday kept mute over the controversy generated by Kachikwu on the fuel situation in the country, which was roundly condemned by Tinubu.

The National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and the party’s National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, could be reached for comments on Monday.

Calls to their mobile telephones indicated that they were switched off while responses to text messages sent to them were still being awaited as of the time of filing this report.

However, a source within the party said, “The statement by our revered leader is not ambiguous. I honestly don’t see any ambiguity; he issued the statement and signed it in his personal capacity.

“He, like every Nigerian, has every right to speak out when he sees anything going wrong in the polity; you cannot deny him that right.

“Besides, I understand that the matter is being handled at the highest level; it is an internal party affair.”

Meanwhile, the Senate has directed Kachikwu to appear before it on Tuesday (today) to explain the cause of the embarrassing fuel scarcity across the country.

The Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) issued the summons after carrying out an on-the-spot assessment of the fuel situation at major filling stations within the nation’s capital, Abuja.

Members of the committee were confronted with long queues of vehicles at many filling stations.

The operators  did not dispense the product to motorists, alleging lack of supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s depot in Suleja, Niger State.

The Acting Chairman of the committee, Senator Jibrin Barau, said the petroleum minister must appear before the panel to explain what led to the scarcity and the way to resolve it.

He said the fuel scarcity had become pathetic, forcing Senate President Bukola Saraki to call on the committee to assess the situation and the way to resolve it.

Barau added, “This situation is very bad and unacceptable, hence, the need for the minister to appear before us tomorrow (today) and unveil his plan of the way out to us.

“Even if he doesn’t have any plan yet out of the lingering problem, the Senate President and the entire members of the committee are more than ready to rub minds with him for that needed purpose.”

The Senate Minority Whip and a member of  the committee, Senator Philip Aduda, called on the Federal Government to arrest the situation fast by making fuel available to Nigerians.

Aduda said, “What Nigerians need is fuel and not blame game. The government should look for petrol and ensure that it is given to the people.

“This situation is very and unacceptable. We are Nigerians and it will be bad for us to continue remaining in queues.

“If the APC leaders like, let them blame themselves; that is their problem, but the most important thing is for us to have fuel in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“That is what we are looking for and that is what we want. We want to see all these queues disappear.”

One of our correspondents observed that  petrol marketers at various stations visited, lamented lack of supply and inadequate supply of petroleum products by the NNPC in recent times.

Isa Friday, the manager of Oando Filling station, Zone 4, Abuja, said it had been long the station got supply from NNPC depot in Suleja.

In a related development, the official pump price of petrol, otherwise known as Premium Motor Spirit, was largely upheld in just one state in the month of February 2016 out of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, the National Bureau of Statistics has said.

According to the bureau, the average monthly price paid by consumers for petrol in Edo State was N86.5 per litre, while in Ogun, the price was close to the official rate as petrol users paid an average price of N86.53 per litre during the period under review.

The official pump price for petrol as approved by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency is N86 per litre for petrol stations run by the NNPC, and N86.50 per litre for outlets managed by other major and independent oil marketers.

The NBS, in its PMS Price Watch for February 2016, revealed that petrol was sold for as high as N122.88 per litre during the review period.

A study of the bureau’s report showed that the average cost for the product in Abia was N112.5 per litre; Bayelsa, N120.6; Cross River, N116.65; and Yobe, N122.88. The average price of PMS in February was higher in these states.

States that recorded average prices that were close to the official pump price included Lagos, N87.03 per litre; Borno, N87.88; Delta, N87.5; Oyo, N87.21; and Katsina, N87.95.

In its bid to ensure strict adherence to approved prices, the Department of Petroleum Resources recently announced the constitution and deployment of special intelligence monitoring teams nationwide to ensure the prompt delivery of products to designated filling stations.

“The teams would enforce government approved price regime and ensure the right quantity and quality of products are dispensed,” the DPR had said in a statement issued in Abuja.

Also, motorists on Monday pleaded with the Federal Government to step up efforts in ensuring that fuel queues disappear.

Motorists, who spoke with one of our correspondents while waiting to be served petrol in front of some filling stations in Abuja, wondered why it was becoming difficult for Nigeria to complete a full year without experiencing severe fuel crisis.

“This is becoming something that we must experience every year and it’s not good at all for an oil producing country like Nigeria,” said Onyema Christopher, a motorist, who was in queue at one of the NNPC’s mega stations on the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway, Abuja.

“The government should please look for a lasting solution to this problem and let Nigerians, at least, enjoy one whole year without experiencing fuel scarcity and the problems associated with it.”

Tinubu vs Kachikwu: Buhari mediates as Senate invites minister over fuel crisis