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Prince Emeka Obasi To Be Buried April 14

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Emeka Obasi
Emeka Obasi

By Adesina Soyooye

The family of the late Prince Emeka Obasi has released the programme for his funeral rites.

Obasi, Publisher of Business Hallmark and a former Commissioner for Information in Abia State, under the Government of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, died on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.  He was, also, the Founder of Public Policy Research And Analysis Centre, organizers of the Zik Prize in  Leadership Awards.

A statement, on behalf of the family, signed by his first son, Prince Emeka Obasi, jnr, says  he will be committed to mother-earth at his country home, Umuaroko, Ndume Ibeku, Umuahia North, on Thursday, April 14, 2022.

The funeral rites will begin in Lagos, where he lived most of his adult life, and did his businesses on Friday, April 8, 2022, with a Service  of Songs at the Trinity House, Trinity Avenue, Victoria Island.

That will be followed by another Service of Songs at his country home, Umuaroko, Ndume Ibeku, Umuahia North, on April 13, 2022.

An Interdenominational Funeral Service will hold on Thursday, April 14, 2022, at the Community Primary School, Ahiaeke, Ndume Ibeku, followed immediately after by interment at his country home.

Obasi, 58, was married to his lovely and loyal Dr Betty Obasi.

Even Animals Save For Tomorrow From Today’s Surplus – Peter Obi

By
The Source
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0

Increasingly coming under attack, especially, in the past few days, over why he saved money for Anambra State, instead of investing such monies in infrastructure and projects in his eight years of Governorship, Peter Obi, in a release by his Media Office, says such talks are a product of ignorance or mischief, or a continued hatred of him, or a  combination of the three.

Real reasons Peter Obi Saved money for Anambra State

Often some  people who are not experts in finance and  statecraft question the rationale behind savings which Obi embarked on out of  mischief, display of continued opposition, hatred or pure ignorance. I often express surprise at their viewpoints, because even among animals, we see the practice of saving for tomorrow out of today’s surplus. However, among the human family, we need not save only when there is surplus. If, for example, one plans to buy a car next year, would one not start saving money  for that? Savings is about planning and, as Obi always said, “If you do not plan, you have planned to fail.”

As for those  in the habit of arguing against what they do not understand,  I hope you will commend the debt burden that will weigh Anambra down as revealed by Prof. Charles Soludo. May I present to you the rationale behind Obi’s savings in the State as he himself explained.

These are the reasons he is qualified for leadership at any level. In fact, we need such a man for Nigeria  to re-discover herself.

Obi’s explanation why answering query from the CLO

  1. 75 BILLION HANDED OVER: On the issue of N75 billion left in cash and investments, let me reinstate that this is absolutely correct, properly documented and can be scrutinized by anybody that wishes to do so.

However, the CLO’s question is on the 156 million dollars in denominated bonds, which is today valued at about $200 million dollars (over N70 billion), said to have been left or invested. On this I wish to state categorically that the amount of 156 million dollars being future savings for and on behalf of Anambra State was made as follows;

  1. WITH FIDELITY BANK PLC – $ 56 MILLION
  2. WITH DIAMOND BANK PLC – $50 MILLION
  3. WITH ACCESS BANK PLC – $50 MILLION.

And I want to state at this point that those funds, being long-term investments backed by law, if they are still available in the banks, and I earnestly wish they are, presently should be      worth about $200 MILLION as stated in the CLO inquiry. The reasoning behind savings in Foreign Currency was necessitated by a number of issues as follows:

  1. After our study of the Chinese phenomenal achievements as we were coming to the end of MDGs, we learned that the Chinese Regional governments were able to attract a number of investments because of the ability to contribute or partner with the investors in setting up productive facilities within their regions. For example, some of them effectively made equity contributions of 10 – 20 %, which they were able to achieve due to their robust savings.
  2. So, our calculation was that if the state would be able to save a particular amount ($18 – 20 million dollars) as we did in eight years, up until 2030 at the average interest rate of a little over 6%, we would be able to achieve about a billion dollars in savings and earnings. We would then use about 50% of this amount to attract investment, considering that the average Chinese Small and Medium scale Enterprise, SME, for example, was set up with about two million dollars. Our goal was that if we would be able to invest 25% in each enterprise, which is $500,000, we would be able to achieve 1000 SMEs facilities scattered all over Anambra State, which would jump start aggressive economic growth within the state, especially as income from oil is coming to an end.
  3. Additionally, we were seeking a 40-year non-interest loan of $120 million from the World Bank, especially targeted at supporting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and tackling our devastating erosion problem. The idea of $40 million education loan was hatched based on the United Nations report that there would be about 20 million jobs vacancies in the fields related to STEM studies by the year 2020, and having critically observed our solid achievements in education, the World Bank readily agreed to provide this facility while the $80 million was to effectively tackle the erosion menace around the state.

Even though the World Bank approved the $40 million dollars for Education and initial $40 million for erosion, my administration did not draw down from it. These facilities were to kick-start with the incoming government and we were certain that savings in foreign currency would help the state in meeting up with her obligations of payment without any impediment to her financial stability. This is because we would have so much still left after meeting with the obligations.

Since we are going to pay this money in the future, we carefully projected and started saving. Because we are going to earn a billion dollars by the time the loan matures; $500 million will         go to these SMEs, $200 million will go to others, $300 million will be left. Everything being          equal, by 2050, we will be hitting almost $2 Billion. Meanwhile, we have 1,000 SMEs out there, of which about 80% of them would survive, and if they do, shall be producing for export that would change the state.

Unfortunately, we live in a system where people do not think about tomorrow and do not plan for future generations but would prefer to obliterate accumulated income and put the     state in debt before exiting office.

We Cannot Be Blackmailed – PDP To Buhari, APC; Your Govt Insensitive

By
The Source
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0
President Muhammadu Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, says that it will neither be intimidated, nor blackmailed by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Government, nor the All Progressives Congress, APC, into abandoning the people.

The Party also said no intimidation or blackmail can stop it from pointing out the unprecedented sufferings of the Nigerians under the APC Government, and asking President Buhari to sit up or ship out.

The PDP, in a statement on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, was reacting to the accusation by the Buhari Government and the APC, that the PDP was planning to destabilise the country.

In what is turning out to be a war of words between the two main political parties, the APC had reacted to PDP’s earlier allegation that Buhari and his Government have abandoned Nigerians to their fate in the face of biting fuel crisis, food crisis and power crisis.  It had accused them of insensitivity and said the President is absent from duty.

But in response, the Buhari Government and the APC strongly accused the main opposition party of planning to destabilise the country.

However, in a strong denial of the APC allegation, the PDP  said that the allegation should be the other way round. “If there is anybody seeking to destabilize our nation, it is the sinking, confused and discomfited APC that is clutching to straws and making unguarded statements including boasting that ‘heavens will not fall’ over its refusal to address the lingering fuel crisis”, the PDP said.

Following is the full text of the Statement by the PDP where it again, accused the APC and the Buhari Presidency of insensitivity.

You Are Afraid of Your Own Shadows, PDP Replies Buhari, APC

…Says It Will Not Succumb to Blackmail

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the Buhari Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are running from their shadows and haunted by their failures in governance.

“PDP’s position is predicated on the outburst by the Buhari Presidency on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 against our Party for asking President Muhammadu Buhari to address the lingering fuel crisis and cautioning that the unrelenting culture of arrogance, impunity, suppression and corruption by the APC administration was akin to “kneeling on the necks of Nigerians.”

“From the outburst of the Buhari Presidency, Nigerians now realize that the APC administration does not care about the suffering, agony and life discounting experiences encountered by our citizens daily as a result of APC’s thoughtless and inhumane policies.

“If there is anybody seeking to destabilize our nation, it is the sinking, confused and discomfited APC that is clutching to straws and making unguarded statements including boasting that “heavens will not fall” over its refusal to address the lingering fuel crisis.

“The APC administration is afraid because its corruption, impunity and recklessness which are responsible for the biting petrol and diesel crisis, collapsed national grid, distressed aviation sector, plummeting currency and near collapse of the production and service sectors of the economy are being exposed by the PDP.

“APC is afraid of Nigerians for bungling the once thriving $550 billion economy (largest in Africa and 26th globally) handed over to it by the PDP in 2015 and reducing our nation to the poverty capital of the world where over 80 million citizens, according to official reports, can no longer afford their daily meals and other basic necessities of life.

“Why would the APC not be afraid of the people when it opened our nation to terrorists and bandits who it reportedly imported from neighbouring countries in 2015 to help APC muscle and rig the elections, after which APC leaders failed to honour their deal to pay the said mercenaries for the heinous ‘services’ they were contracted to provide against Nigerians by the APC?

“The APC is uncomfortable, having been indicted for human rights violations including reported cases of extra-judicial killings, torture, illegal arrests, detentions and other atrocious acts as contained in the June 2021 report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

“Moreover, in stating that the October, 2020 peaceful EndSARS protest by Nigerian youths signified “murder, mayhem, mass destruction, even cannibalism”, the APC administration has confirmed reports of its complicity and approval of the violent attacks and gruesome massacre of innocent youths at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos.

“Such stance on the EndSARS peaceful protest by our youths also questions the sincerity of President Buhari’s description of the protest as “genuine concerns and agitation by Nigerians”. The renewed negative tagging therefore appears to be a design by the APC to frame our youths for another onslaught.

“The PDP holds that the EndSARS peaceful protest signifies the resilience of Nigerian youths against injustice, suppression and insensitive system being foisted on our nation by the APC administration. Our Party therefore cautions the APC to perish the thought of venting its frustration on the PDP and Nigerian youths.

“It is often said that a bad workman complains about his tools; but a hopelessly irredeemable one (which the APC is) complains about others.

“The APC must know that the PDP is back. Our Party stands with the people and will never be deterred from exposing APC’s atrocities and fighting for the wellbeing of Nigerians as we march towards 2023 to Rescue and Rebuild our nation from the misrule of the APC.”

Nnamdi Kanu: Obiozor, Our Ally; Will Fish Out Those Who Bombed His House

By
Adesina Soyooye
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0

By Adesina Soyooye

The detained Leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has decried the bombing of the country home of Professor George Obiozor, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide.

Obiozor’s House in his Awo-Omanma, Imo State community, in one of the most  cruel acts perpetrated since insecurity engulfed the South-east, was bombed by hoodlums on Saturday, March 19, 2021.

The callous act sparked outrage within and outside Imo State. While the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma blamed politicians, President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement said Obiozor does not deserve the wicked  act.

Not a few people pointed accusing fingers at IPOB/ESN, but the Organisation vehemently  denied any hand in it. However, a number of IPOB watchers insist it was likely carried out by a rogue faction of IPOB, which had threatened guerilla warfare in the South-east if Federal Security Agents do not pull out of the South-east within 72 hours from the day it issued the ultimatum.

Since the expiration of the ultimatum, March 15, 2022,  insecurity in, especially, Imo State, has escalated.

To emphasise the non-complicity of IPOB in the bombing of Obiozor’s House, Kanu, according to one of his Counsels, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who visited him on Monday, March 21, at his detention facility, vowed that IPOB will never forgive those who bombed Obiozor’s House.

He said Obiozor was not their enemy, and has been instrumental to the behind- the-scene moves to release him from detention and stop his prosecution by the Federal Government. He also described Professor Obiozor as an ally, who, everyday of his Court appearance, sent a delegation to Abuja. Obiozor, he disclosed, had also made several attempts to visit him in detention, but was frustrated by Security Agents.

Prof George Obiozor - Ohanaeze President
Prof George Obiozor

Kanu, therefore, vowed that IPOB will never forgive the perpetrators, and would fish them out.

Following is the text of what Kanu said, as concerns Professor Obiozor, according to Ejiofor, in a statement he released on Monday, March 22, 2022.

“Onyendu ( Nnamdi Kanu) took sometime to express his anger and grave disapproval of the heinous act of destruction of the country home of the elder statesman  and President General of Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, Prof George Obiozor.

“He describes the said destruction as cowardly and barbaric and condemns it in very strong terms. He further describes it as uncharitable, noting that the said elder statesman has been in the vanguard of behind-the- scene endeavours, discussions and negotiations, all aimed at exploring and implementing the option of a political solution, as a parallel way of ending the prevailing state of affairs.

“He declares that the perpetrators of the heinous act shall not be forgiven and went ahead to direct that all persons who were in any way involved in committing the dastardly act be fished out forthwith.

“He reminds UMUCHINEKE (Biafrans) to be eternally conscious of several atrocities committed on our land by strangers whose primary objective is to destroy and plunder our land and then turn around to falsely accuse our people.

“He further notes that Prof Obiozor has been a commendable ally since his (Kanu) incarceration in June, 2021, and made the point that he is not an enemy of UMUCHINEKE.

“That being so, the elder statesman should be protected and encouraged for speaking up against the several multifaceted ills meted out both to him and to UMUCHINEKE as a whole.

“He further notes that the elder statesman has been instrumental to the regular presence which members of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo have shown in all the Court appearances of Onyendu.

“This socio-cultural group has steadfastly and consistently made Legal representation in the criminal proceedings pending against Onyendu at the Federal High Court  Abuja.

“Onyendu remains appreciative and eternally grateful to that body for this commendable gesture.

Further, Onyendu points out that it was at the instance of Prof George Obiozor that a delegation of Igbo elders, led by a former Governor of Anambra State, His Excellency, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, consistently showed visible presence in all his appearances in court and has gone ahead on several occasions to attempt to pay him a visit at the DSS headquarters, which attempts were frustrated by the personnel of DSS.

“Onyendu warns that our elder statesmen should be protected at all times and that the monsters desecrating Igbo land should be fished out wherever they are and severely punished, in order to serve as a deterrent to their ilks.”

Edo Digitalizes Transport System

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
Godwin Obaseki

By Ayodele Oni

Edo State Government is set  to bequeath a legacy of cashless and digitalised  road transport network in the State.

The Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, made this known in Benin at a meeting with stakeholders in the road transport business in the state.

The stakeholders were invited  to brainstorm on how the operators, especially bus drivers can key into the new regime of using newly constructed modern bus terminal.

The modern bus terminal, built in Benin, is said to be first of its kind in Nigeria and is due for commissioning soon.

According to the Deputy Governor, ” this is a one stop shop for commuters  in the state. The park is complete with all the necessary modern facilities like shops, security post, fire service center, water, restaurants and designated areas for sales of spareparts for the buses.

“In fact, it will have regular light supply because it’s hooked up to Ossioma Power Plant.”

The park is expected to  service both intra and inter-city commuters.

Shaibu pointed out that the park was supposed to be a joint effort between the state government and the two approved road transport unions in the state ( NURTW & RTEAN).

Unfortunately, he lamented that the unions failed in their own obligation, hence the state government’s resort to the private sector, using the PPP approach to build the park.

The deputy Governor said Edo state has remained a model among the 36 states, because it has scored first in different fields of human endeavours.

“As I speak, five states have come to under study our public transport system. We are proud to say it loud any where.

“We digitalised our public transport system and made it cashless about five years ago. We did not end it there, an executive Bill was sent to the House of Assembly so as to institutionalise it. Today, it has become law which we must all work with.”

He charged the stakeholders to make the new park work the way they have been operating the new law in the last five years, adding that more modern parks are under way across the state for the safely and comfort of commuters.

Stakeholders at the meeting were leaders of NURTW, RTEAN, MD of ECTS, MD of EDSTMA, Transport Ministry, Army(S&T Barracks), Chairman, ERS and Managers of Benin Central Park.

They all pledged their support for government’s efforts to modernise and sanitise the road transport system in the state.

It’s Fake; Federal Polytechnic Nekede Not Recruiting – Rector

By
The Source
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Federal Polytechnic Nekede

The Rector, Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Dr Michael Arimanwa, has categorically stated that the institution is not conducting any form of recruitment. He, therefore, warned members of the public not to be misled by racketeers whose stock-in-trade is to deceive and extort innocent people.

The Rector sounded this note of warning in a release, which he personally signed on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in order to alert the public on the nefarious activities of internet fraudsters who go about scamming desperate members of the public with a utopian promise of a job at the polytechnic, when indeed there is no such thing going on in the institution.

A release signed on the Rectors behalf by his Special Assistant on Media, De Ugochukwu Iwuji, said that “The new method devised by these unscrupulous elements is to clone the social media accounts of public officers to offer fake jobs at a fee, warning the public to be wary of them.

In his words, the Rector further cautions: “I have only one Facebook account and I have not been requesting friendship, lately. Do not become a victim. If you are already friends with me on Facebook, kindly ignore any further invitation for friendship. If you are not already my friend on Facebook, please be diligent enough to confirm by phone call, SMS, Whatsapp or any other means that I am the one requesting friendship.”

Meanwhile, the Rector has asked security agencies to investigate those found culpable in cloning his Facebook account and seeking to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. Accordingly, the Poly boss has stated unequivocally that he neither sends friendship requests on Facebook nor demands money from anyone under any guise.

Moving forward, the Polytechnic helmsman stated that that employment in the institution is purely by merit when the time comes, and no one pays any fee for it. He also added that people should avoid anyone, however close to him, who requests money from them in order to be favoured with a job slot, describing them as rogue elements.

Invasion Of OAU By Protesting Traditionalists: Gov Akeredolu Says Ivory Tower Has Lost Its Glory

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
Traditionalists at OAU

By Ayodele Oni

Ondo state Governor, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has expressed sadness that the glory in the ivory tower has vanished.

Governor Akeredolu, a product of the University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU) was reacting to invasion of the University by traditionalists who are protesting non appointment of Indigene of Ile Ife as Vice Chancellor.

The Governor stated that “The appointment of the Vice Chancellor, an erstwhile rancour-free internal process, has now become a subject of not only intense politicking among the academics and their non-teaching counterparts.

“The process has, deplorably, been extended to the town with the attendant malcontents.

“The latest news on the invasion of the campus by some Ife indigenes and traditionalists, allegedly, to protest the failure by the authorities to appoint “an Ife indigene”, showcases the extent to which the system has sunk, almost irretrievably.

“This is, perhaps, symptomatic of the pervasive rot in the academia. This thoughtless, reckless and misguided step forebodes untoward occurrences in the future.

Rotimi Akeredolu - Ondo Communal Clash
Rotimi Akeredolu

“A situation which sees totally extraneous elements to the university environment invade the serene ambience to offer support, presumably solicited and sponsored by those who may have lost out in the selection process, is lamentable.

“There can be no worse signs than these outward display of attitudes alien to the academia.

“There is bound to be this creepy feeling from all of us who have partaken of the glorious moments at that Fount of deep intellection and effervescent cultural expressions.

“To assert that we are disappointed is an understatement. All those responsible for this disgrace should be ashamed of themselves, and this is assuming they possess any sense of shame.

“This act should elicit the most strident condemnation from all good people. I condemn it without equivocation.

“Obafemi Awolowo University has been a pride of the South West Region since her foundation by the purposeful political leadership at that period.

“Her new status as a national institution notwithstanding, the people of this geo-political space possess this emotional attachment, traceable to the politics of her establishment, anchored on the vision for the redemption of a race from colonialism, its tendentious predilections and the attendant loss of identity.

“The motto of this great citadel is “For Learning and Culture”. Any attitude which detracts from this mission must be jettisoned and discouraged.

“The state of university education reflects the level of development in a society. A citadel of learning turned to a theatre for the most absurd display of inanities cannot contribute meaningfully to the advancement of any country.

“The collective pool of resources from the South West Region ensured the establishment of this beautiful university. The institution attracted the best from all over the world.

“Merit was the only yardstick necessary to undertake any venture and for inclusion in same. Capacity was pivotal in the building of the most beautiful campus on the Continent of Africa.

“Our founding fathers had a vision. They had a mission. They picked the best to fulfill these lofty dreams. The current absurdity represents a hope betrayed.

“The disturbing facts emanating from Ife over an appointment which is internal, almost entirely, reveal the depth of rot in that system.

“The intensity of campaign for an office which serious scholars declined to take in the past for the fear of distraction, gives a glimpse on the quality of research purportedly undertaken in most places in recent times. It is disheartening!

“This latest assault on intellection by elements who, ordinarily, should not have any business with that ambience is unsettling. The silence of the intellectuals in that university suggests complicity and connivance.

“The supervisory authorities should, as a matter of urgency, weigh in heavily on this strange phenomenon creeping into the university. A university should live up to its charter of establishment. Certificates are awarded on Character and Learning.

“The events of the last few days depict, clearly, that our universities seem interested in issues too distant from teaching and research.

“The painful reality which comes with the knowledge that our Great Ife has joined other erstwhile centres of excellence which deal with the burden of rapidly receding glory, is sad indeed.

“The fact that the ancestral home of the Yoruba is where this desecration takes place should goad our people to act fast before permanent damage is brought to bear on our collective psyche.

“If it is not enough to be a scholar and professor to be a Vice Chancellor, then we should stop looking elsewhere for reasons for the pervasive decadence in the country.

“The age of innocence is long gone. The Gown appears too eager to learn from the Town in many ways. The battle seems lost, irredeemably.

The glory has departed.”

Sanwo-Olu’s Nominee As Auditor General Confirmed By Lagos Assembly

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday confirmed the nominee of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the substantive Auditor-General of the State.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, announced the confirmation following a voice vote by members of the House during Plenary.

Salami had, earlier, appeared before the Lawmakers for screening.

In another development, the Lagos State aAnti-corruption and Transparency Commission (amendment) bill 2022 scaled second reading on the floor of the House after which  Speaker Obasa committed it to the Committee on Judiciary for further action.

Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti-Osa 2) and Hon. Victor Akande, while contributing to the debate on the bill, commended their colleagues for acting responsively and responsibly.

The Committee on Judiciary is expected to present its report to the Assembly in a week.

Three Years After, Ekiti Police Command Rescues 15 Year-Old Girl From Abductors

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
The suspects, Adewumi Ademiloye and, his mother, Felicia

By Ayodele Oni

A woman and her son are currently in the custody of Ekiti State Police Command over an alleged abduction and sexual molestation of a 15-year-old girl.

The suspects, Adewumi Ademiloye and, his mother, Felicia, allegedly abducted and sexually molestated the victim for three years.

Relations of the victim had been searching for her after she left home in March 2019 for an extra mural class in preparation for the West Africa Examination Council examination.

The Spokesman of the Police Command, Sunday Abutu, in a statement, explained that the teenager’s parents reported the case to the police, but all efforts to locate her proved abortive until a few days ago.

The statement explained:

“However, on 15/3/2022, that is, about three(3) years later, the victim’s mother received a credible information about her daughter’s whereabouts.

“She then alerted the Command’s Juvenile Welfare Center (JWC) of the State CID who then swung into action and traced the missing girl to the house of one Mrs Ademiloye Felicia.

“The victim was, immediately, rescued while Mrs Ademiloye Felicia and her son, Adewumi Ademiloye, were subsequently arrested for further investigation.

Abutu disclosed that investigations revealed that the victim was, allegedly, lured by Adewumi into his mother’s house and subsequently drugged.

The suspects, Adewumi Ademiloye and, his mother, Felicia
The suspects, Adewumi Ademiloye and, his mother, Felicia

The victim further told the Police that she could not go back home after consuming the drugs given to her and became a drug addict.

On sexual exploitation, the spokesman stated further, “According to the victim, Adewumi Ademiloye had series of sexual intercourse with her and has given her to different men on many occasions each time he does not have money who had sex with her and paid Adewumi Ademiloye an amount ranging from ten thousand naira (N10,000) to twenty thousand naira (N20,000).

“Further investigation revealed that the victim is about eight months pregnant, but has not been registered in any Heath Care Centre or visited any hospital for Antenatal Care.”

The Command said Adewumi has confessed to commiting the crime and would be charged to court alongside his mother for conspiracy to wit: abduction, rape and child exploitation.

Meanwhile, the victim has been taken to Ekiti State Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Ado-Ekiti, for medical attention.

Soludo Hits Obiano

By
The Source
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0

By Charles Igbo

The uppercut was unexpected. It came too soon. And couldn’t have come at a worse time when for former Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano.

A few days after he was sworn into office, the most popular Governor in the South-east today, Professor Charles Soludo has hit his predecessor,  Obiano, hard. He did that publicly,  on a National Television.

Speaking on Arise Television, Tuesday, March 22, Soludo summed up the state of the Treasury he met in the State as “funny.” Short of dismissing the Treasury as empty, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said it was better left undiscussed.

He said it was “pathetic.”

Soludo: “In terms of debt I inherited, it runs into hundreds of billions of Naira. In that of cash, we met about 300 million Naira, only.

“In fact, let’s not talk about it.  Our Treasury is funny. But, I hope we shall make money, henceforth, to help us fulfill our promises for infrastructure and development of the State

“But in terms of what I met in our coffers, my brother, it’s pathetic. Please, let us not go there. God will help us.”

Not a few people see this as a further indictment of Obiano who is in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

He was picked up at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, hours after he handed over to Soludo on March 17, 2022. He was on his way to Houston, Texas, USA. But the EFCC intercepted him, and wants him to explain how he spent  billions of Naira which belonged to the State.

Even though he has been granted  administrative bail by the EFCC, he has not been able to fulfill a couple of the conditions attached to it.

One of such conditions is that two Senators from his State would stand as Surties for him. Unfortunately, it is said, he was not in good terms with any of them while he was in office. They are Senators Stella Oduah, Uche Ekwunife and Ifeanyi Ubah.

However, many are of the view that Soludo should not have opened up on the state of the State’s Treasury. They say from Obiano’s claims, he spent much of Anambra’s money on Soludo’s campaign and election as Governor.

A couple of days before he left office, Obiano had declared: “Soludo is my project. He is my sole project.”

Said one of them who is trending on Whatsaap: “Part of the empty  Treasury that Soludo is claiming he met is part of the loot that Obiano used to get him elected.

“If I were to advise him, I will tell him to look forward, never to look in the rear view  mirror else, he will have a catastrophic accident.

“Soludo knowingly entered a bolekeja filled with thieves into Government House. He should close his mouth tight, and quietly swallow the bounty with the burden.”

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