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Opinion: Abuse Of Power By Public Officers And Spouses

By
James Orji
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Femi Falana

By Femi Falana

Of recent, some serving and former public officers and their spouses have been using the police and other security agencies to intimidate journalists, students and other citizens for daring to expose them for engaging in corrupt practices and abuse of power. In spite of the several judgments of domestic and regional courts which have upheld the fundamental right of Nigerian citizens to freedom of expression, the anti-democratic elements have behaving like the former British colonial officials.

Since the Attorney-General of the Federation and State Attorneys-General have failed to restrain the law enforcement agencies from being used to harass the critics of public officers and their spouses it has become necessary to remind the Federal Government of its legal obligation to defend and protect the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people including the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by section 36 of the Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

As far back as I983, the then Federal Court of Appeal had prohibited public officers from using the machinery of the State to silence critics. In the case of Arthur Nwankwo v. The State (1985) 6 NCLR 228 the defendant was charged with sedition under section 51 of the Criminal Code before an Onitsha High Court for publishing a book which had exposed some corrupt practices of Governor in the former Anambra state.

The defendant was convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment by the trial judge. But the conviction and sentence were set aside by the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the offence of sedition was illegal and unconstitutional, Speaking for the court, Olatawura JCA (as tlhe then was of blessed memory) held inter alia:

“We are no longer the illiterates or the mob society our colonial masters had mind when the law was promulgated…To retain S. 51 of the Criminal Code, in its present form, that is even if not inconsistent with the freedom of expression guaranteed by our Constitution will be a deadly weapon to be used at will by a corrupt government or a tyrant…Let us not diminish from the freedom gained from our colonial masters by resorting to laws enacted by them to suit their purpose.”

The laws enacted by the British colonial masters imposed on the country and retained by the indigenous ruling class include the Official Secrets Act and the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to sedition and criminal libel. As criticism is indispensable in a democratic society, Justice Olatawura charged the Nigerian people to defend their hard won freedom of expression at all times. According to his lordship:

The decision of the founding fathers of this present constitution which guarantees freedom of speech which must include freedom to criticize should be praised and any attempt to derogate from it except as provided in the Constitution must be resisted. Those in public office should not be intolerant of criticism. Where a writer exceeds the bounds there should be a resort to the law of libel where the plaintiff must of necessity put his character and reputation in issue.”

However, in May 2015, the Federal Government smuggled defamatory publications via the Internet into section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention) Act which provides that any person who knowingly sends a message or other matter by means of computer systems or that he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or causes such a message to be sent commits an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction for a fine of not more than₦7,000,000.00 or imprisonment for a term of not more than three years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

The obnoxious provision of the Act was challenged by the Plaintiff in the case of The incorporated trustees of Laws and Rights Awareness Initiative v Federal Republic of Nigeria (unreported Suit CW/CCJ/APP/53/18) on the ground that it was violative of the right of Nigerians to freedom of expression enshrined in Article 9 of the African Charter Act. In justifying the provision.

In justifying the law, the Federal Government claimed that the contentious section was not enacted to muzzle the freedom of expression but to curtail the activities of criminals using the internet.

It was further argued that the section was adopted as a legislative measure to give effect to freedom of expression as provided in Article 9(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and was in accordance with provisions of Section 39(3) of the country’s 1999 Constitution.

But the Ecowas Court rejected the arguments of the Federal Government and declared section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention) Act illegal, null and void as it was not in conformity with Articles 9 of the ACHPR and 19 of the ICCPR to which Nigeria is a signatory.

Since the judgments of the Court of Appeal in Nwankwo v The State and Ecowas Court in The incorporated trustees of Laws and Rights Awareness Initiative v Federal Republic of Nigeria are binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria it is submitted that the resort to draconian laws by public officers to settle scores with critics and political opponents is illegal in every material particular.

Therefore, public officers who feel offended by any defamatory publication are not without remedy. They have been rightly advised by the Court of Appeal to defend their reputation and bruised ego by suing for libel in a court of law. Otherwise, the police and other security agencies allowing themselves to be used by power drunk public officers and their spouses should be reported to the Police Service Commission which is currently headed by the Honourable Clara Ogunbiyi, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Finally, the authorities of the Nigeria Police should stop abusing the prosecutorial powers of the State by charging Aminu Mohammed, a student of Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State with criminal libel. The First Lady should be advised to sue the student for libel. Similarly, the police should discountenance the petition written by Mrs Bisi Fayemi, immediate past First Lady of Ekiti against a journalist. The police should equally advise her to seek legal redress in a civil court.

Falana, a human rights activist is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.

Niger Delta Govs Paid N2trn As Derivation-Minister

By
James Orji
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Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed,minister of finance

Crude oil-producing states have received N1.98 trillion as 13 percent backlog, the federal government has said.

The minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning disclosed this on Thursday during the sixth edition of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration scorecard (2015-2023) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Nigerian crude oil-producing states are paid 13 percent statutorily by the federal government for their contribution to the revenue basket.

Zainab’s revelation came barely one week after Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state accused other Niger Delta governors of mismanaging funds paid to them by the federal government as derivation.

The Rivers helmsman had revealed that the President Buhari administration paid all the backlog owed the oil-producing states, saying the governors have nothing to show for the payment.

Speaking on the issue, the minister said the administration met a backlog owed by previous administrations in the country that have now been paid fully.

She said the reason for paying the funds to states is to enable them to develop as federating units without hindrance from the central government, noting that the two levels of government must “work together as one to achieve the targets”.

According to the minister, “One of the key functions of the Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning is to support the states. We wouldn’t have been able to grow consistently without enabling the states to grow because it is a federation.

“Mr. President has been very uniquely generous in his support to states. I can say no president has provided the level of support provided to the states of the Federation. He understands that the federating units need to work together as one to achieve the targets that he has set for the country.

So everybody goes to support sub-national governments. In seven years, we have disbursed N1.98trn in funds to oil-producing states.”

Governor Wike had while appreciating  President Buhari for releasing the funds, challenged the other Niger Delta governors to account for the billions paid to them as 13 percent derivation.

The governor said: “Let me say it for the first time. So many people asked me: ‘where is he getting this money’? Let me say it. I want, through the Attorney-General of the Federation, to thank Mr President. Monies that were not paid to the Niger Delta states since 1999 — the 13 percent deductions — monies that were not paid, Mr President approved and paid all of us from the Niger Delta states.

“And for me, it would be unfair not to tell the public. It is not from FAAC money. It is the money that is supposed to be for Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Edo, and Bayelsa states. Yesterday, we commissioned the ninth flyover. In December, we will commission the tenth flyover. By February next year, we will commission eleventh and twelfth flyovers.

“So, I want to sincerely from the heart and on behalf of the government and people of the state, thank Mr President for this, because as an opposition government, he could have said ‘don’t pay’. You can’t do anything. Since 1999, the money has not been paid. Did we do anything? So, I want to sincerely thank him.”

OPINION: America, Watch Your Back!

By
The Source
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Azu Ishiekwene

By Azu Ishiekwene

Former US President Donald Trump didn’t just happen to the United States. He hit the world like the climax of a horror movie.

Scene after scene, act after act left the thoughtful in bewilderment, the reserved in shame, and even the incorrigible in doubt. Only the fantasts and ultra-rightwing extremists were impressed by Trump’s macabre dance.

It was a phase like no other when he freely abused the expression, “To make America great again”.

Apart from his British double and ally, Boris Johnson, only clips from Uganda’s past, without their bloody trail, throw up a shadow of semblance in contemporary history.

If Idi Amin, Uganda’s maximum ruler and self-styled conqueror of the British Empire, was alive, Trump would have had a living black effigy, a master of doublespeak. He shifts grounds from subject to subject, changing the narrative before the audience had time to think, and then closing the story with a conclusion neither relevant to the beginning, nor logical in its summation.

Although Amin declared himself Field Marshal and life president, he only lasted between 1971 and 1979 – roughly the same eight years Trump aspires to rule the US. Amin’s cleverer latter-day successor, Yoweri Museveni, has been, paradoxically, the one to live Amin’s dream of a life presidency.

Museveni, who led a guerilla warfare to “liberate Uganda from Amin”, has been in office for 38 years and still counting. Now the whole world is worried about liberating Uganda from him.

With Trump, facts don’t have to be factual. Any line makes a syllogism so long as it justifies his ends. His presidency reduced the most powerful country in the world to a theatre of absurdities, an endless circus of drama where Trump was the scripter, its director, lead actor, hero, critic and more.

It was under Trump that the world really doubted for the first time in many decades the primacy of the US in global affairs – whether it involved the climate debate, migration (legal or otherwise), the pandemic or even the nuclear arms challenge.

With skin tougher than a reptile’s, Trump drove through scandals, not batting an eyelid. He rigged the Supreme Court with conservative justices, trampled over Congress and bullied the press. Trump was not just a master of the alternative universe, he also sustained it with hysteria that left normal folks doubting their own sanity.

A darling of the Christian right, he may as well have borrowed his moral compass from the Crusaders, an earlier generation of Christians, who lacked the grace to accommodate what they could not change, but did not lack the courage to undermine or destroy them.

Trump was never wrong as long as he called the shots. He must have thought Nixon was foolish to have resigned at the mere triviality that was Watergate.

Coming on the heels of the remarkable era of Barack Obama, Trump had the very effect of that bull inside a China shop. Frequently seeking judicial reinterpretation of his indiscretions, America lost its sense of outrage under him! With brazen incorrigibility, he simply blew out one scandal with another.

When, after four difficult years Americans had the chance to choose again, the confused, frightened world prayed that American voters would find the courage to escort DJT out of the White House and back to his Towers. That’s where his alternative facts and self-serving narratives move mountains and form the operational blueprint.

But he didn’t only resist by stirring an insurrection on the Capitol, he would go on to ask the courts and whoever cared not to accept or confirm Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Sounds like a tale from a thriller, but we lived through it.

To be fair to American voters, the majority of them didn’t elect Trump. He was the product of the Electoral College – a warped and archaic electoral system which sometimes allows the majority to have their say, but the minority to have their way.

If that system was meant to provide some balance and comfort in America’s complex federation – and possibly stop the emergence of demagogues, as some argue – well, it failed to deliver in 2016.

The Electoral College, that 230-year-old political contraption, became the very vehicle that took Trump to the presidency. Hilary Clinton had trounced him with a margin of 2.8 million popular votes, but the counter-democratic wisdom of the electoral college overrode the popular will of Americans.

In the words of one of the founding leaders of the US, James Madison, the Electoral College was meant to ensure that the president is elected “by men most capable of analysing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favourable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.” Trump possessed anything but these qualities.

His Democratic opponent warned and admonished most prophetically, about the man lacking the temperament and wisdom befitting of the job. The electorate heard, and adhered, but the “College” did the reverse. The world felt the impact of that mistake, and America bore this burden for four long years.

And he stunned the world even more. He wouldn’t leave the White House without a fight and attempted a coup. He wouldn’t concede defeat or congratulate the man who beat him at the polls. He sulked, balked and bluffed. But in the end, he had to slink away like a bully humiliated by an underdog.

The mid-term elections in November in the US provided Trump with another opportunity to show-up in the ring again, hoping for a Red wave, which thankfully, did not happen. He still wants to make America great, to “save” America.

His fanatical crowds are unrelenting, cheering him at the podium like nothing happened before. And just like before, too, the world risks the mistake of under-estimating Trump, thinking he is going nowhere.

Whether Trump will succeed or not depends on the Republican Party, a party so beholden to Trump that it answers twice, even when he calls once. If he overcomes the loop, his brand of entrepreneurial politics and personality cult could generate a bandwagon effect that may be hard to stop.

As America approaches the 2024 elections, chances of a Trump on the ballot are a possibility not to be dismissed, considering how he pushed through the Republican primaries to the presidency in 2016. He feels even more surefooted now, despite the outcome of the midterm elections.

He claims he wants to save America. But America desperately needs to save itself from him. He’s never been short of this messianic complex. And he knows when and how to deploy it to devastating effect.

Trump 2.0 is a possibility and the man is seriously looking forward to it. He has the capacity of a brigand; he fights – fair or foul – he just fights, anyway. The end justifies the means. With Trump, the world should never say never until he has been retired by consent or by force.

Trump is not done, yet. And anyone who thinks otherwise should remember what his cousin, Mary, told The Guardian about him in January 2021: “He’s never had a legitimate win in his life. All that matters is getting the win, no matter if there’s an asterisk next to it.”

Why? Because asterisks are to a demagogue what the red flag is to the bull. America, watch your back!

Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

Wike Lashes South-South Governors; Says ‘We Are Not On Same Level”; Calls Them Small People

By
The Source
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Nyesom Wike

By Charles Igbo

Nyesom Wike, Rivers State Governor, has lashed out at his brother-Governors in the South-South. He asked them to go and work and, challenged them to, like him,   commission projects everyday for three weeks.

He said instead of doing that, they are using pseudonyms to attack him for publicly thanking President Muhammadu Buhari over the 13 per cent oil derivation arrears paid all of them.

Wike also reminded them that they were not on the same level with him, and dismissed them as ” small”

Trouble began when Wike, at the commissioning of one of his many projects, revealed that it was from the oil derivation fund arrears approved by the  President and paid them that he used to fund the projects. That public acknowledgement put other Governors on the spot as none of them had ever declared the arrears had been paid, and how much each of their States got.

Wike, in acknowledging the arrears thanked President Buhari profusely.

On Thursday, December 1, 2022, at the inauguration of a road  to Rumuogodo Communities in Emohua Local Government Area, said to be the first road ever constructed to lead to the area,  Wike said some of his critics have spent four years just to execute one project.

He said he would never spend four years on one project, revealing that the longest he had spent was 18 months.

Wike said instead of his colleagues to join him in thanking the President, they were using pseudonyms to place adverts in newspapers to attack him. He called them cowards, and dared them to show their faces. “I am waiting for you”, he declared.

Explaining the genesis of the problem, Wike asked: “What is my crime today in the Niger Delta States? I said God, I thank President Buhari for giving me money to do this road. Did I commit any offence? I don’t know the offence that I committed for saying thank you.

“Let me tell those who are making noise. Whether you are a Governor, I don’t care. Whoever you are, I don’t care. I came to run as  Governor of Rivers State. No Governor said I want to put you as Governor. I came on my own. We defeated the sitting Governor. Some Governors were brought by their godfathers. I never had a godfather to bring me as a Governor. The only godfathers I had were God and the people of Rivers State.

“So, when some Governors are talking, they should know those they are talking with. We are not on the same level. Let these small people keep quiet. If you are not prepared for governance  give up. I am prepared for governance. I will prepare until I leave.

“I am not a fan of Buhari. I am not one of those who go to Abuja to see them. But the truth must be told. When somebody had done well in an aspect, you say so. No matter how you hate me, won’t you give me credit that I did Rumuogodo road?

“Even if you don’t like Buhari, and I say he released money  that I am using to do something, is there anything wrong in that? Some people are not grateful in life, even when you help them, they can never be grateful.

“People open their mouths, and say three kilometer road in their State is more than how many flyovers in Rivers.

“Rivers is a Niger Delta State. It has riverine and land areas. I don’t know who can claim they are more riverine than Rivers State. I didn’t tell you to give account. All I said is thank Buhari. What I expected them to do is to join me and  thank Buhari. Now, they are saying we received this and that. What’s my business? If you say you have more water, do the ones you don’t have water let us see.

“I have never done any project more than a year and half. I challenge anybody. I can tell you the contractors doing jobs in this State. Name the ones doing jobs in your State. Do your own, not to do one project for four years. I will never do any project for four years.

“People have been sending their people to insult me and I laugh. Some people, they call them Akwa Ibom professionals. They were insulting me. I say tell the man who sent you to come out. We are not kids. I am waiting for you. Some people say Ijaw professionals. You are sending them out. It is you I am looking for, not all these fries.

“That we are doing 12 flyovers, did I ask you not to do? I am not only doing roads. Go and see what we have done in the health sector. See what we are doing in Yenegoa Law school. We put over five billion Naira  to recover that school in the South-south. When they gave us a licence, we built our own Law School Campus within ten months.

“I challenge any State to commission projects in three weeks everyday. So, what are you talking about? I am not running an election. I  don’t need to be a sycophant. But the truth must be told, at times. I have the capacity and I have told them to be careful.

“I have never gone to a meeting with anybody in life and we agree on something and I abandon it. I am not a betrayer. It is not in my blood. Tell them to face their problems. We started inauguration(of projects) on November 14. We will end tomorrow. By Monday, we will start flagging off new projects. I will pepper them. The politics today is not to talk, but operation show your report card.”

“You know why we are commissioning these projects. You remember on May 27, 2015, our brother, who was a Governor, on his birthday, while he was leaving office told us that there was no way we would get money to pay pensioners and gratuities not to talk of doing projects

“We said, God, you must show that you are God. God in his infinite  mercy showed the love he has for this State. He did not only provide money just to pay salaries,pensioners and their gratuities, He has provided money to do this road.

“God gave him all the money, yet, he refused to do this road. He thinks that Rumuogodo people will still be backward. God said no, the time has come for our people.”

He disclosed that he is commissioning the projects to shame his predecessor in office.

Wike’s predecessor is Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, the immediate past Minister for Transportation.

Student Mohammed: PSC Commissioner, Najatu Mohammed, Tackles Aisha Buhari, Says First Lady, A Tyrant; Calls For Her Arrest

By
The Source
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0

By Gideon Njoku

Najatu Mohammed, a Commissioner in the Police Service Commission, PSC, wants Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari prosecuted.

Mohammed’s demand stems from the arrest, alleged torture and prosecution, in Court, of Aminu Mohammed, a 24-year old final year student of the Federal University of Technology, Dutse, Jigawa State.

Mohammed was said to have tweeted, in Hausa Language, in June, that Mrs Buhari had become fat, feeding on poor masses. To demonstrate the point he was making, he attached two photographs of the First Lady to his tweet – one, a much slimmer Mrs Buhari, and the other, a robust Mrs Buhari who has freshened and fleshened out.

For that, Mrs Buhari, allegedly, ordered his arrest. That was done through her ADC who contacted the tracking department of the Nigeria Police Force to track down Aminu. The Police, not  the Department of State Services, as is being alleged in some publications, went to Dutse and tracked the student down within three days.

He was, subsequently, flown to Abuja where he was promptly detained. Unconfirmed reports allege that she was first taken to the State House where he was beaten, before he was detained by the Police. A couple of days ago, he was “secretely” taken to Court and has been remanded in Prison custody till January 30. Sadly, Mohammed’s final examinations will start on December 4, 2022.

An scandalised Najatu Mohammed, in an interview with Daily Nigerian, said that Mrs Buhari has crossed the borderline. She said Mrs Buhari has taken the laws into her hands, and has become a law unto herself. She said Mrs Buhari had no powers to order anybody’s arrest. She said Mrs Buhari has usurped the job of Security Agencies including that of her husband,  the Commander-in-Chief by ordering the student’s arrest.

She said Mrs Buhari has become a tyrant, and that Nigerians have had enough of her.

She, also, revealed that beaten along with student Mohammed was Mrs Buhari’s former Social Media Aide, Mrs Zainab Kazeem, to a coma for, allegedly, leaking information.

She recalled that this is not the first time Mrs Buhari would take the laws into her hands. She reminded Nigerians of the ordeal of the First Lady’s former Aide-de-Camp, ADC, a couple of years ago who was locked up, allegedly, on the orders of Mrs Buhari.

Her words: ” …this is not the first time she (Mrs Buhari) is doing this. She did it to her former ADC a couple of years ago when she accused him of stealing over two billion Naira that he allegedly collected on her behalf.

“In Hausa, they say, ‘ Ba rami  mai ya Kano rami?’ When did you start collecting billions to the extent that your own ADC will be collecting on your behalf?”

“That boy (ADC) was kept in prison for months. It took our intervention for him to be released.”

She, however, put the blame of Mrs Buhari’s alleged excesses on her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari. Said she: “Buhari left a vacuum in leadership, that is why all manner of people grabbed it.”

She said Mrs Buhari has become a tyrant and should be resisted by Nigerians. Her words: “The same woman who said Mamman Daura had taken over her husband’s Government has now become a tyrant.”

She called for the immediate release of the student, and the arrest of Mrs Buhari by Security Agents, and called on Nigerians to rise and condemn student Mohammed’s ordeal.

The PSC Commissioner said, in part, in the interview with Daily Nigerian:

“She (Mrs Buhari) doesn’t have the right to do that. In fact, she should be prosecuted for doing just that. She has taken the law into her hands. She has taken the place and the responsibilities of the Commander-in-Chief.

“I think Nigerians should rise up and say no to this. We will no longer accept this tyranny.

“Buhari left a vacuum in leadership that is why all manner of people grabbed it.

“The same woman who said Mamman Daura had taken over her husband’s Government has now become a tyrant. It is apparent she didn’t make that statement for God and the Country but her selfish interest.

Recalling the fate of the First Lady’s former ADC, Mrs Mohammed said:

“Secondly, this is not the first time she is doing this. She did it to her former ADC a couple of years ago when she accused him of stealing over two billion Naira that he, allegedly, collected on her behalf.

“In Hausa, they say, ‘Ba rami mai ya kawo rami?’ When did you start collecting billions to the extent that your own ADC will be collecting it on your behalf?

“That boy was kept in prison for months. It took our intervention for him to be released. This is really a terrible thing to have happened.”

Mocking the First Lady and the Police for the time they wasted to go to Dutse to track down the student, the PSC Commissioner posited:

“I want to ask our Security men, why haven’t they been able to track down bandits and killers all over the Country? Nigeria has become a killing machine. Women are being raped every single day, and their husbands are being killed.

“Millions have been made orphans. I have never known a time when Mrs Buhari even sympathized with these people, let alone get the bandits or culprits tracked down and taken to prison or even prosecuted. We have never heard that.

“She has become so egocentric, she has become the law herself, because of the irresponsibility of Nigerians who have allowed this to happen.

“This is our Country. We have permanent right over our leaders. We didn’t vote for Aisha Buhari or any of these hangers on around Buhari. We voted for Buhari, and the same peasants, artisans, students, and general people of this country that voted for Buhari are now getting the exact opposite of what they hoped for.

“Aisha Buhari must be called to order, we will no longer accept this. All well meaning Nigerians and civil rights organizations, we must stand up and say no to this tyranny.

“As a public figure, you should expect criticism. If you can’t take the heat then leave the kitchen. In fact, you are not even a leader Aisha Buhari, in any sense of the word. You are so petty for condescending this low.

“And it’s such a shame that you are allowed to do it by your husband who has failed to take up his responsibility. Well, we as Nigerians are saying no to this tyranny. Enough is enough!

“Aminu must be set free. You had him abducted all the way from Jigawa, flown to Abuja on taxpayers’ money, and you had the nerve to even beat him, yourself! No wonder you sprained your leg.”

National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has given notice that it would embark on a nationwide protest if Aminu Mohammed is not released immediately.

Alleged Unpaid Salary Debt Of N76 Billion In Osun, Fmr Gov Oyetola Says Successor Is Acting Drama

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By  Ayodele Oni

The Osun state government has raised alarm over what it described as a monumental debt in salaries, pensions, and insurance commitments incurred by the immediate past administration of Mr. Gboyega Oyetola amounting to N76 billion.

This revelation was made by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Bimpe Ogunlumade, while briefing officials of the new administration on the financial status of the state on Thursday.

Former Governor Gboyega Oyetola has however reacted to the allegation insisting that his administration during its four years tenure did not owe workers throughout.

The disclosure was contrary to the claim by the former Governor that he left N14bn in cash for the new government among other bogus claims that have now been found to be an outright falsehood.

A statement by spokesman to Governor Ademola Adeleke claimed that “The breakdown of the salaries and pension-related liabilities as disclosed by the Permanent Secretary are as follows:

“Salary: N29,875,191,128.64; Pension Arrears: N45,375,237,693.40; Group Life Assurance Scheme: N554,644,028.97

“Total: N75,805,072,851.01. The public is advised that this is not the total debt left by the past administration as briefings on other sources of liabilities continue tomorrow.”

Reacting through a statement, Chief Press Secretary to the former Governor, Ismael Omipidan said

“The claim by the Government of Osun that the Adegboyega Oyetola’s administration owed salary arrears and pensions to the tune of over N75 billion is not only outlandish but preposterous.

“Our suspicion is that they have gone to dig up the arrears owed by their partner and collaborator, the settlement of which they used to hoodwink some workers ahead of July 16 governorship contest.

“For the  umpteempth time, let me place it on record that for four years, we did not owe a dime in payment of salaries, while we made conscious efforts to reduce the backlog of pensions and gratuities we inherited.

“This also explains why for four years we did not witness any industrial dispute. By their figure, what it means is that we owed salaries for close to one year.

“Is that possible? The Labour Union can also bear testimony to the fact that we never left any salary unpaid in our time, just as we did not take any bank loan for four years.

“The new Governor and his team want to ride on a populism mantra. Unfortunately, They do not understand the concept and philosophy of populism.

“That’s why they have resorted to blackmail. On the day of inauguration, the Governor said it would take time for him to pay salaries because he needed to freeze government account to enable him to look at the books.

“Today, he is saying he frowns at delay in payment of salary. And for November salary, we actually signed off since November 20th. I am sure we are in for more drama.”

2023: YPP Governorship Candidate, Bassey Albert, To Spend 42 Years In Jail

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

The Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced the Young Progressives Party, YPP, Gubernatorial Candidate for Akwa Ibom State, Bassey Albert to 42 Years imprisonment for corruption.

Albert was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.  for corruption.

Albert, a serving Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East District, was accused of receiving bribes of 12 cars worth N254 million from an oil marketer, Olajidee Omokore, during his (Albert’s) tenure (2010 – 2014) as Commissioner for Finance in Akwa Ibom State.

He has been taken to Ikot Ekpene prisons, Akwa Ibom State, to serve his prison term.

Albert, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, before he defected, months ago, to the YPP, where he secured the party’s ticket for the 2023 Governorship election.

He was a major challenger to the PDP candidate, Umo Eno, in next year’s Governorship election in Akwa Ibom State.

Anambra Moves To Curtail Threats By Militia Groups, Votes N1.3 Billion To Equip Vigilante Groups

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

Sweating under continued threat by ethnic militias, the Anambra state Government  has earmarked N1.3 billion in its 2023 budget to fund the operations of vigilante groups in the state.

Since the inception of the present administration in the state, activities of militia groups such as Independent People’s of Biafra (IPOB) have forced the administration to employ services of vigilante groups as counter forces.

Commissioner of Homeland Affairs, Chikofi Anara disclosed this on Thursday in Awka, while defending the ministry’s budget before the State House of Assembly Committee on Police, Security and Boundary matters.

Anara explained that the vigilante groups have been assisting security agencies in community policing and maintenance of law and order across the state.

According to him, the relationship between the police and the vigilante groups was cordial, adding that the vigilante members take instructions from the police and other security agencies.

“If our 2023 budget is approved, we plan to train the community based vigilante groups, data capturing of vigilante personnel, purchase security equipment and intensify grassroots sensitisation on security matters.

“We plan to construct a rehabilitation centre for youths which will also serve as correction facility for repented criminals.”

Anara who restated the commitment of the government to the security of lives and property in the state added that “I am happy that with the support of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, security has improved in the state and we wish to sustain it.

“We are also telling Anambra indigenes outside the state that they can come home for the yuletide celebration because Anambra is now peaceful and safe for all.”

The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Onyebuchi Offor, commended the ministry for its efforts at improving security in communities across the state.

He called for constant training of vigilante personnel on rules of engagement to ensure safety and security in all communities in Anambra.

Father, Son, Two Others, Die In Gov Fintiri’s Convoy Accident

By
Ayodele Oni
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Gov Fintiri Convoy Accident

By Ayodele Oni

For the second time within a week, the convoy of Adamawa state Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri has been involved in a ghastly accident.

The latest one left four persons who are said to be security details dead.

The accident involved a Toyota Hilux conveying a detachment of vigilantes, accompanying Governor Fintiri, while enroute Mubi for a campaign engagement.

The accident, which occurred around Fadamareke, in Hong Local Government, while negotiating a dangerous bend, involved a RAMP 2 Toyota Hilux van used by Head of Fintiri’s vigilante.

Last week Saturday, two policemen were injured with one of them unconscious as Fintiri escaped unhurt after a truck crushed two vehicles in his convoy.

The incident happened shortly after the governor and some of his commissioners entered a black Mercedes bus at the end of a wedding at Agga mosque in Dougirei highbrow area of Yola, the state capital.

Three lifeless bodies of occupants in the van that includes Bako Kaura, head of PDP’s informal security arm and another victim identified as Adamu, Kaura’s biological son have been deposited at the mortuary of Hong Federal Medical Centre.

In the latest incident, five other occupants in the van who sustained various degree of injuries, were conveyed in the government house ambulance and another unmarked Hilux van, for treatment in a health facility.

The Governor’s personal physician and head of the government house clinic, Dr William Teri, who was among the first visitors at the crash also conveyed some of the victims to a hospital for treatment.

A source at the scene of the accident who helped with the evacuation and rescue effort, was quoted as saying “I took out three lifeless bodies, but there’s a fourth that I think can hardly make it out of coma because of the injury he sustained.”

Governor Fintiri, who also helped to coordinate rescue activities, was disturbed by tragic death involving his convoy.

Gov Zulum Flays Rise In Political Violence In Borno, Urges Security Agents To Deal With Perpetrators

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana  Zulum, has expressed sadness over reports of violence  involving some supporters of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), during their  recent campaigns in the state.

Governor Zulum, in a statement issued on Thursday by his spokesman Malam Isa Gusau, directed the  State Commissioner of Police to investigate and ensure that  culprits are arrested and prosecuted.

The Governor pointed out that the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in the state should not be allowed to degenerate to any form of violence.

He added that politicians found instigating violence will be made to face the wrath of law no matter their status.

The statement reads : “I have received reports on renewed acts of political violence in the state. I strongly condemn these extremely unnecessary acts of violence and hereby direct the Commissioner of Police  and the DSS to immediately investigate and ensure anyone involved is made to face the full wrath of the law.

“I am directing heads of security agencies under the Borno State security council to immediately convene a meeting with critical representatives of all major political parties, particularly the APC and PDP, get them to sign undertakings and strikingly warn against all acts of violence with punitive measures rolled out for any culprit.

“In the meantime, I strongly urge supporters of all political parties not to disseminate false statements that can insight violence. We should endeavor to promote peace.

“I have always been against political thuggery and for us in Borno State, we have seen enough of violence from our over 12 years of insurgency.

“Instigating political violence is simply being ungrateful to Allah for the peace He is granting us after over 12 years of prayers for His divine intervention.

“Many soldiers, policemen, personnel of the DSS and paramilitary as well as our volunteers in the Civilian JTF, hunters and vigilantes have given their lives in battles and many are still in the front lines, towards full restoration of peace in Borno State.

“With the peace gained so far across Borno State, we have safely resettled close to one million internally displaced persons and refugees in rebuilt communities.

“Our focus, is to sustain  ongoing construction of 10,000 new houses and rehabilitation of thousands of destroyed houses to continue our safe and dignified resettlement, alongside the provision of livelihood support.

“This will enable  our fellow citizens to cater for themselves through productive agriculture and other businesses in ways they can live without depending on the food and cash aides we are currently giving based on our routine humanitarian needs assessments for all communities.

“I urge all stakeholders of political parties in particular, party executives, candidates and  campaign teams to desist from any form of violence and to campaign peacefully and in accordance with all provisions of the electoral act and laws of Borno State.

“For me, electoral victory should be one that is earned not one that is forced through acts of violence.

“It is Allah that gives power to whoever He wills but that divine declaration by the Almighty Allah doesn’t include using unlawful means to acquire power.

“Moreover, for political offices to be meaningful, societies for which such offices are established, must first exist and do so safely.

“That safe existence of societies, is the fundamental basis of government and insha’Allah, we will ensure that Borno State Government lives to that sacred purpose of guaranteeing public peace and public freedom.”

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