Fayose, threat to national security –APC

The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of conducting himself in a manner that threatens national security.

It said the governor’s recent utterances and actions suggested acts of sabotage targeted at rendering national institutions ineffective to perform their statutory roles for effective government.

The state Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said in a statement on Monday that Fayose’s unguided statements had exposed him as a man fighting a lone battle against the Federal Government.

He alleged that Fayose was nursing selfish motives to put millions of Nigerians in jeopardy of instability in an already tottering economy.

“We have heard of reports of Governor Fayose inciting the people to stone the operatives of the DSS anywhere they are seen. This is besides saying many unprintable things about the President (Muhammadu Buhari), such as saying that he would soon die and declaring the Director General of DSS, Lawal Musa Daura, person non grata in Ekiti State.

“It is regrettable that Fayose cannot separate his personal views as a man constantly at war with the Nigerian law from the views of lawful Ekiti people, who are ready to submit themselves to the Nigerian law where the rule of law and good governance flourish,” he said.

Fayose vows to lead opposition against APC

Accusing the governor of running a government built on his personal image, the APC spokesman said this misconception had “robbed Ekiti people the quality leadership with the right mindset to see governance beyond the prism of self-glorification.”

“This failure to see governance beyond personal appeal of the governor has cost our state good governance for the development of our people and her deserved place of honour in this country.

“Governor Fayose is overwhelmed with promoting cloudy characters, with several alleged crimes hanging on their necks far above Ekiti academic pride of the century, Ayodele Dada, who bagged the best graduating student award at the University of Lagos with a record 5.0 GPA.

“We are not surprised at the governor’s beatification of crime in this instance, because you can only give what you have and gold is usually sold to the person who knows its value. That is why Fayose would prefer to celebrate thugs and roughnecks to celebrating Ekiti golden boy that has put Ekiti State on the map of academic honour at the University of Lagos.”

Olatunbosun urged Nigerians not to be misled by Fayose’s many lies against the agencies of government in the prosecution of alleged crimes by him and his supporters, regretting that many Nigerians with scant knowledge of the governor’s politics had been deceived into believing the stories of an alleged invasion of the House of Assembly by the DSS to abduct the lawmakers.

“Besides suborning the staff of the Assembly to lie against the DSS by presenting purported spent bullets, there is no evidence to show the world that the DSS actually invaded Ekiti House of Assembly after police report on the matter and evidence by workers proved that there was no invasion of the Assembly by the DSS,” Olatunbosun explained.

He urged security agencies to pay more attention to the governor by putting him under close watch to forestall his threat to Buhari’s government.

But reacting through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose said he would not take issue with the APC since President Buhari had personally apologised to Nigerians over his “inadequacies.”

He said, “And we told him (Buhari) he should go beyond mere apology and address the lapses and provide sensible, responsible government and dividend of democracy to Nigerians who voted for him.

“The Ekiti State APC is crying more than the bereaved. Governor Fayose has no apology for criticising obnoxious policies of President Buhari. The statement of the APC has proved the collaboration between the DSS and the APC. Or at what point does the APC become the spokesperson and defender for the DSS? The APC and DSS are toothless and reckless.”

Fayose, threat to national security –APC

Rivers abandons Amaechi multi-billion naira monorail project

Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt

The RIVERS State Government may have abandoned the multi-billion naira monorail project embarked upon by the immediate-past administration.

Nyesom Wike

Governor Nyesom Wike, who gave this hint on Monday while speaking on a national television programme,Sunrise, said the people of the state did not want the continuation of the project.

Wike explained that  in spite of his administration’s commitment to the completion of the projects abandoned by the Rotimi Amaechi administration, the  monorail would not be one of such projects.

He said, “Rivers people have told me not to touch the monorail project left behind by the other government.”

Wike   said  his administration had taken measures to improve the security of the state through funding of security interventions and provision of logistics for security agencies.

The governor lamented that the state had been affected by the  regular  transfer of security chiefs from the state, blaming   Amaechi for the development.

He said, “I won’t make a promise that I will not fulfill I don’t politicise development. My interest is to deliver the best for Rivers people.

“In spite of distractions, we have succeeded in completing many projects abandoned by the previous government. We also have cleared the backlog of unpaid salaries and pensions left by the previous government.

“We have succeeded in restoring the judiciary and reopening courts shut down by the previous government. The Federal Government needs to allow security chiefs remain in Rivers State to do their jobs and ease  tensions.

“I have had over three Commissioners of Police removed since I became governor,” Wike, who lamented the death of a corps member in the state recently, added.

Reacting to the position of Wike on the monorail project, the immediate-past state Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Tolofari George, said, “The monorail is a laudable project that should be continued because it is a catalyst to jump-start our local economy and place Rivers State at the forefront of transport infrastructural development.

“The vision is to take the monorail up to the airport in future traversing the city. A lot of River’s taxpayers’ monies have been sunk into that project that it should not be allowed to die. But Wike has chosen to play politics with that project and it is most unfortunate.”

Rivers abandons Amaechi multi-billion naira monorail project

APC Queries Release of Wike’s Aides Arrested for Election Rigging, Violence and Assassination Attempt

….Urges supporters not to despair

The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has queried the hurried release, by security agencies, of aides of Governor Nyesom Wike who were arrested for malpractices and violence during during the  State and National Assembly rerun elections in the State.

APC Rivers State

The party equally raised eyebrows about the speed with which Wike’s aides arrested for attempting to assassinate the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Rivers APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, and the party’s deputy governorship candidate in the 2015 elections, Hon. Asita O. Asita, were allowed to go home and continue with their normal businesses.

“We are shocked and left speechless by the speed with which the Secretary to Rivers State Government, Mr. Kenneth Kobani, Wike’s Special Assistant on Special Projects, Mr. Cyril Dum Wite, and Wike’s Chief of Staff, Emeka Woke, were released and allowed to go home despite the overwhelming evidence against them,” Rivers APC said in a statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Ikanya.

It recalled that Mr. Kobani was caught red-handed aiding rigging during the Saturday, March 19 rerun polls while Wite was caught with N40 million, arms, Police and Army uniforms in his car. The party also recalled that the next day, gunmen operating in two jeeps belonging to Woke opened fire on a vehicle conveying Peterside, Ikanya and Asita, who were on their way from Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa. “Our hopes were initially raised when Wike’s implicated aides were arrested for questioning as we thought that justice would be made to take its source. We are disappointed that these men have been hastily released and left off the hook instead of being vigorously investigated and charged before courts of competent jurisdiction. This is sad and unfortunate,” Rivers APC said in the statement issued Thursday in the State capital, Port Harcourt.

The party challenged security agencies in the State to conduct their activities in a way that would convince everyone of their impartiality and advised them not to allow themselves to be bought by Governor Wike in his desperation to completely conquer and possess Rivers State by hook or by crook. It described the rerun elections as a violence-ridden sham and demanded its total cancellation by the Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC).

Rivers APC also appealed to its members and supporters not to be demoralised by the turn of events but to remain steadfast in their support for the party, knowing that those with God are in the majority and that evil will never outshine good. “We wish to remind Wike and his collaborators that one day the blood of those wasted to install and perpetuate his for his evil administration will speak and exact vengeance. Wike and his cohorts that are now celebrating and drinking the blood of seemingly hapless Rivers people will one day give an account of all their evil deeds either here on earth or hereafter before a just God that cannot be bribed,” Rivers APC said.

APC Queries Release of Wike’s Aides Arrested for Election Rigging, Violence and Assassination Attempt

Fuel scarcity: S’ South, S’East APC back Tinubu against Kachikwu

The South-South and the South-East chapters of the All Progressives Congress have supported the criticism of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu by the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Emmanuel Kachikwu

The South-South APC advised the minister  to resign if he was incapable of doing his job.

This was contained in a statement signed by the party’s National Vice-Chairman, South South,  Hilliard Eta, a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.

The statement entitled, “No split in APC: Tinubu right to critique Kachikwu,” the National Vice-Chairman said it was the opinion of the South-South chapter of the party that Kachikwu had yet to purge himself of his Peoples Democratic Party’s orientation.

Kachikwu, who hails from the South-South,  had in an interview with journalists  in Abuja on Wednesday, said fuel queues could not be eliminated  with a magic wand.

He said that despite government’s efforts, fuel queues would remain in the country in the next two months, adding that he was not a magician.

Supporting Tinubu, Eta said,  “The South-South Chapter of the All Progressives Congress feels that Kachikwu has not entirely cast off the orientation of the Peoples Democratic Party, where he was and this is manifest in his actions and utterances such as the recent one that attracted opprobrium from many Nigerians.

“Mr. Kachikwu must not be a cog in the wheel of progress and he should do the needful by resigning honourably if he is not capable of doing his part by effectively running the ministry assigned to him.”

The party chieftain noted that the minister, as a member of the President’s cabinet with a very important office, “it is incumbent on him to shed his haughtiness and climb down from his high horse to face his duties squarely.”

According to Eta, Tinubu’s observation about the utterances of the minister is in line with the core ideology of progressivism which the APC espouses as it is the very foundation on which the party rests.

Eta said, “This progressive ideology strongly emphasises government as a tool for service to the people who are the custodians of power in the first instance.

“In line with this, it is not wrong or out of place for Tinubu to caution the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, owing to the anti-progressive statements he made in the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, while fielding questions from journalists on the persisting scarcity of petrol.”

The South-South leader of the APC said Tinubu’s critique of the minister did not amount to a split in the APC.

He observed that if anything, it had further strengthened the commitment of the party and the government it had formed to be fully accountable to Nigerians.

It will be recalled that Tinubu had taken exceptions to comments made by the minister with regards to the lingering fuel crisis in the country.

Also speaking on the issue, the South-East Chapter of the party stated that Tinubu had voiced the frustrations of Nigerians.

The South-East Zonal spokesman for the party, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, said this in a telephone interview with The PUNCH, in Abuja  on Sunday.

He explained that Tinubu’s democratic credentials and his commitment to the Nigerian project were not in doubt.

Okechukwu, however, said calls for Kachikwu’s resignation in some quarters were hasty in the light of the realities on the ground.

He said, “Our National Leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, re-echoed the anger of the Nigerian people about the current situation we have found ourselves with regards to the shortage of petrol.

“We have been privileged to have attended the recent meeting the President held with stakeholders in the oil and gas sector where he outlined his policies and programmes with regards to how he intends to deal with the problem.

“It was part of his commitment to resolving these issues that made him (the President) take up the responsibility of the Minister of Petroleum.

“He has visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar and he has made a personal commitment to supporting private sector investment in the sector. Having this as a background, we wish to state that calls for Kachikwu to resign are hasty at this point.”

Fuel scarcity: S’ South, S’East APC back Tinubu against Kachikwu

Metuh lied, I didn’t know him, Abang tells CJ

Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court in Abuja has debunked the claim of the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, that they had known each other before the PDP’s spokesperson’s trial started in his court on January 15 this year.

The judge denied the claim and other allegations contained in a petition sent by one of Metuh’s lawyers, Mr. Emeka Etiaba (SAN), to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, asking for the re-assignment of the PDP’s spokesperson’s trial to another judge.

Olisa Metuh in Court

Our correspondent sighted Justice Abang’s response, dated March 23, 2016, which was addressed to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.

The judge, in his response, maintained that he never knew Metuh to be his classmate in the 1987/1988 set of the Nigerian Law School, which according to him, was made up of over 1,000 students.

He added that if Metuh had truly been his classmate, that would never change the facts of the case and the relevant laws.

Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited, are being prosecuted before Justice Abang by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The EFCC is prosecuting Metuh and his firm on seven counts of money laundering involving $2m cash transaction and contract fraud relating to the N400m the accused allegedly received from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November, 2014.

At a point when the prosecution led by Mr. Sylvanus Tahir had closed its case with eight witnesses, and Metuh was expected to open his defence, Etiaba sent the petition, dated March 11, 2016, to the Federal High Court’s CJ, asking for the re-assignment of the case to another judge.

In the petition, Etiaba claimed that Metuh was a classmate of the judge in the 1988 set of the Nigerian Law School.

He claimed that Metuh and the judge both practised law in Lagos before the PDP spokesperson relocated to Abuja and Justice Abang, on his part, was appointed a judge.

Etiaba also alleged that Metuh met and had discussion with Justice Abang late last year at the L’e Meridien Hotel in Akwa Ibom State, adding that his client was baffled at the views expressed by the judge during their encounter.

The lawyer also accused the judge of denying his client fair hearing by refusing to release to the defence team a copy of the records of proceedings of the court to enable them to appeal against some decisions of the judge in the course of the trial.

But Justice Abang denied all the allegations in his letter to the Chief Judge.

The judge stated that he could not recall either seeing Metuh while at the Law School or coming across him while practising as a lawyer anywhere in the country before he (Abang) was appointed a judge in June 2009.

Justice Abang stated that contrary to Metuh’s claim, he never attended any function at the Uyo hotel where the PDP’s spokesperson claimed they met late last year.

He added that he did not see Metuh at the Law School class reunion meetings which he recently attended in Abuja, Lagos and Enugu.

The judge stated, “With respect to the first issue that the petitioner, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), stated that the 1st defendant in Charge FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2016 was my classmate in the Nigerian Law School, my Lord, for the records, I was at the Law School in 1987/88 academic session.

“I am not aware that Olisa Metuh was my classmate in the Nigerian Law School.  I cannot recall seeing him in the time session in my time. In the Law School, we were over 1,000 students and we had then two sessions, morning that I attended.

“He is not from my place, Oron, in Akwa Ibom State. I did not see him as a student at the University of Calabar that I attended between September 1983 and June 1987. I have never met him in practice anywhere in the country before I was elevated to the bench in June 2009.

“Again, he claimed he met me at Le’ Meriden, Uyo, late last year. I was not at Le’ Meriden, Uyo, late last year. I had no function that I attended at the Le’ Meriden, Uyo, late last year. I did not meet him at Le’ Meriden Uyo late last year. If the records show that he is a lawyer and was called to the Nigerian Bar on November 3, 1988, which record I am yet to see, that cannot affect the facts and the law.

“I attended recently my class reunion meeting in Abuja, Lagos and Enugu, I did not see Olisa Metuh in the places I mentioned.  I am not related to Olisa Metuh in any way, I do not know where he comes from.”

Concerning the allegation that he delivered rulings in favour of the prosecution, Abang said Metuh’s lawyer ought to know what to do.

The judge also denied the allegation that he deliberately withheld the record of proceedings to scuttle Metuh’s plan to appeal against some of the court’s decisions.

The judge stated, “As regards the issue that I made interlocutory decisions in favour of the prosecution in the matter, my response here is simple, and that is that I am entitled to give decisions in matters placed before me for adjudication having heard parties.

“That is why there are appellate courts. If he is dissatisfied with those decisions, I think Emeka Etiaba (SAN) ought to know what to do.

“As regards the alleged non-release of the record of proceedings, I think Emeka Etiaba (SAN) is not fair to me at all. I will leave him to his conscience. He has an improper motive in this regard.

“For the records, my Lord, the defendant applied for the Certified True Copy of the proceedings at the time the proceedings were going on from day to day. I approved same and directed my secretary to type the proceedings.

“The proceedings were bulky in nature because I heard the case from day to day. When the secretary concluded typing the proceedings, I abandoned all other matters before me and concentrated on checking the typed proceedings to be in line with what were in the court’s records.

“When I proofread the proceedings and was satisfied that it represents what transpired in the open court, I endorsed same for certification and released the proceedings to them on March 15, 2016.”

The judge had on March 9 dismissed Metuh’s no case submission, declaring that the accused had case to answer and directed the defendants to open their defence.

But the case has since then been adjourned three times due to the inability of Metuh and his firm to call their witnesses.

Metuh lied, I didn’t know him, Abang tells CJ

EFCC revisits case against Obanikoro’s son over alleged subsidy fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is set to reopen a case of alleged subsidy fraud against an oil company, MOB Integrated Services Limited, which is headed by Mr. Gbolahan Obanikoro, a son of a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.

Obanikoro

The company was said to have made three transactions valued at N5,393,592,906.62.

Investigations, however, allegedly revealed that the company only made one transaction valued at N3,261,263,992.52 verified as legitimate.

The difference of over N2bn was said to have been allegedly diverted as MOB did not make the needed oil supply.

The Aigboje Imokhuede-led Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation had referred MOB and about 47 other companies to the EFCC and the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police for investigation in 2012.

Sources at the commission told our correspondent that after Obanikoro was appointed the Minister of State for Defence, the case was suspended indefinitely.

The source added, “Gbolahan Obanikoro is the Managing Director of the said company and the company was among those given subsidy money.

“The company was given N5,393,592,906.62 for three separate transactions for fuel importation. However, only one transaction worth N3,261,263,992.52 was verified. We believe that the remaining money was diverted.

“The SFU started investigations into the matter but it was then referred to the EFCC under the leadership of Ibrahim Lamorde. However, the matter was secretly quashed after Obanikoro was appointed a minister.”

Obanikoro’s two sons, Gbolahan and Babajide, are under investigation by the commission as part of the probe into the $2.1bn meant for arms procurement.

The EFCC had allegedly traced the sum of N4.75bn to the account of Silva McNamara Limited with Diamond Bank with links to the family of the former minister.

The two sons of Obanikoro were said to have been board members of the company when the said transaction took place.

They had, however, denied that they were still on the board of the company when the alleged transaction took place.

Investigations into the Obanikoros have been stalled due to the fact that they have all relocated to the United States.

When contacted on the telephone, a spokesperson for the Obanikoros, who did not want his name in print, said the allegation in question was an old one, adding that MOB Integrated Services had been cleared.

He said, “Authorities don’t announce to the media when they are set to launch or reopen an investigation. It is customary for them to extend a formal invitation. ‘‘Moreover, our company was thoroughly investigated painstakingly for over two years with maximum cooperation on the subject matter by both the EFCC and the SFU; so, one truly wonders the source of this story.”

EFCC revisits case against Obanikoro’s son over alleged subsidy fraud

Jonathan can be tried if he is linked to arms scandal - Buhari’s panel

The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, has faulted a former Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Suleiman, regarding the culpability of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the current anti-corruption cases.

Jonathan and Buhari

Suleiman, who is the spokesperson for the Peoples Democratic Party Ministers’ Forum, had said in a Sunday PUNCH interview that Jonathan could not be held liable because no stolen funds had been traced to the ex-president’s personal bank accounts.

The ex-minister had said, “All these issues of corruption under Jonathan happened between March and April last year. It was purely an election issue. Nobody has traced any money to Jonathan’s account up till now, but money was traced to Abacha’s accounts.”

However, Sagay told one of our correspondents during an interview on Sunday that although he could not say if there was a case against Jonathan or not yet, the ex-President could be held liable if it could be established that Jonathan made illegal approvals for funds to be paid into other people’s accounts.

He said if, for instance, it could be established that Jonathan gave the Central Bank of Nigeria a directive to pay someone money and the person was not deserving of that money, then the ex-President could be indicted.

Sagay, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, added, “Only the EFCC can say if Jonathan is culpable. Guilt in criminal law requires proof and there must be evidence. So, what I would say is that if a case can be established against Jonathan as regards public funds, then he has a case to answer.

“I don’t know if that has been done. I have not seen anybody who says he was given the money by Jonathan himself although one can say that instructions to any institution that public funds should be released to other people for purposes, which those funds were not designated, is in itself a criminal affair.

“So, it is not only when money is found on you that you have a case to answer. If you are a person in authority, and you issue directives to people under you, who are keeping public funds like the Governor of the Central Bank, and an illegal order is given to him for the release of funds, that, in itself, will raise a case for Jonathan to answer if in fact he issued such an order.”

Another SAN, Mr. Yusuf Ali, said it was too early to exonerate anyone as investigations into corruption that took place under the previous administration were still ongoing.

Ali stated, “The whole process is ongoing. Investigations are still ongoing. Until somebody is convicted, nothing bad can be said about such person. I believe when we get to the bridge, we shall cross it.

“There is no point for anybody to be excited or be happy for now until the whole story is in the open. Investigations are ongoing.”

On his part, a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, described Suleiman’s statement as provocative and highly irresponsible.

Ogunye said the fact that a number of persons, who served under the Jonathan administration, were facing criminal trial was enough grounds to charge the former President with conspiracy.

According to Ogunye, Jonathan, as the head of the executive arm, had liability for everything done by his subordinates because the buck stopped at his table.

Ogunye said, “That statement by him is provocative and highly irresponsible. And the reason I say that is that former President Goodluck Jonathan was the head of the executive arm of government at the time he presided over the affairs of the country.

“All the officials that are being held to account and during whose trials, as we speak, Nigerians are now learning about the mind-boggling  stealing or looting of public treasury, were answerable to him; they were running his errands and therefore Nigerians expect that being the person on whose table the buck stopped as of the time he was the President, that he would be able to superintend them and ensure that those his subordinates didn’t loot the nation’s treasury.

“It’s too early in the day for any Suleiman or anybody to give the former President or any other member of that administration a clean bill of health. When you are talking about no money has been traced to former President Goodluck Jonathan, what does it mean?

“On his instruction and while he was running for office, people turned our national security vote into a bazaar and they were giving this money out to his allies and acolytes. So, whose errand were those people running when they were distributing the money? Who wanted to become the President then? And based on those revelations alone, he is culpable, contrary to the claims of Suleiman that nothing has been traced to him.

“Can’t the former President be charged with conspiracy? He can, on the basis of those revelations because for what purpose was the money given to those people? On the strength of that alone, a charge of conspiracy can be sustained against the former President.

“For anybody to be annoying Nigerians with such a statement that nothing has been traced to the former President, one wonders what he was thinking. This is not theatrics, we are talking about things that have wrecked this country and then people are engaging in ludicrous polemics.”

Jonathan can be tried if he is linked to arms scandal - Buhari’s panel