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Post Date : April 17, 2021

Nine govs stealing LG funds through cronies –NULGE

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees on Friday raised the alarm that about nine governors were diverting local government funds, in violation of the guideline issued by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit in May 2019. The union said the actions of the governors were depriving the people of the benefits that they should ordinarily have access to, as it threatened to shut down the 774 councils in the country if their demands were not met within 30 days. The union also called on the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to sign an executive order preventing any state that failed to conduct LG poll from accessing local government allocations. The PUNCH had reported that Ogun, Katsina Anambra, Kwara, Osun and Zamfara states had not conducted local government elections despite the expiration of elected officers’ tenures. Also, Imo and Oyo state governments sacked elected officers, whose tenures had not ended and replaced them with caretaker committees like the seven states mentioned earlier. Although Edo State has no local government caretaker committees, the local governments are being administered by heads of administration. Meanwhile, giving the ultimatum in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, the National President of NULGE, Hakeem Ambali, stressed that members of the union would storm the National Assembly and the state assemblies to express their dissatisfaction with the way the governors were running the third tier of government. Ambali said, “About nine state governors are diverting and pilfering local government funds, thereby denying the people at the local government level the right to benefit from social amenities that should be provided by the local government. “As a matter of urgency, Mr President should sign an executive order preventing any state government that failed to conduct local government election from having access to local government allocations so that even if the money is released to the local government account, it should be for salary payment alone. “They have to teach them (governors) a lesson; that is why NULGE would continue to be involved in agitation until the actualisation of political and financial autonomy for local governments. “If we are to get things right in Nigeria, it is time to approve local government autonomy because all these agitations about insecurity, unemployment, lack of belief and hope in the Nigerian nation, leading to agitation for self-determination and disintegration of the country is borne out of the greed of most of those who claim to be political elite, who corner local government resources and misappropriate them.” Efforts to get the NULGE President to name the governors were not successful as several calls to his line till 12:40am on Saturday were not answered. The PUNCH

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Post Date : April 16, 2021

“Some Nigerians aren’t happy about NIN linkage – Pantami denies sponsoring terrorists

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has denied links to extremist views, saying criminals and other entrenched interests are behind the attacks on him. Mr Pantami, in an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES, said the allegations were untrue claims being peddled by forces that are against the federal government policy of compulsory national identity registration for all Nigerians and those residing in the country. “I have no doubt about this. It has to do with the National Identification Number. Do you know one thing? This policy was started in 2011, it was not successful. Why? It was fought,” he said Asked to name the forces fighting against the policy, Mr Pantami said, “You have to try and investigate as a journalist. In 2015, it came up, it was not successful. In 2018 there was a time that there were meetings between government and mobile network operators. And it was actually announced that by the agreement with government, the deadline was January 2018. It is there online, I will share it with you if you like. By January 2018, it was not implemented, because there are forces against it. There are forces! “Now they have started coming with the news that people are coming from neighbouring countries to register. What they fail to understand is that the National Identification Number is not only for Nigerians; anybody in Nigeria can obtain it. Section 16 and 17 of the Act mention the registrable people in the country – citizens, legal residents, legal permanent residents, and legal residents for a minimum of two years. So, it is not only for citizens. And it is also important to know that this is not just an indication that they are citizens of Nigeria. It is rather an indication that you presented your biometric data, so government has control over your data. And that data of NIMC (National Identity Management Commission), nobody has an access to it in any way he likes. Getting access to it illegally is 10 years in prison. It is there in the law. But people will like to discredit it, because they don’t like it. “As long as it is implemented by government, it will go a long way in reducing crime and based on the statistics we have been seeing now, it’s really encouraging. “As government, our priority is the protection of lives and property of our citizens. Security is our priority as a government – whether in agric, digital economy, education or in health, in whatever. President Muhammadu Buahari is so passionate about security, and he directed me to do that because he knows I try to persevere despite challenges and do what is right in the interest of our citizens and humanity.” Mr Pantami said despite the attacks on him, he would remain focused on his job. “You know as a government appointee, and at this level, if you say you are going to be intimidated by everything, then you cannot do the work. You cannot do the work. I was with the Minister of Foreign Affairs this week, on April 12. I was with the minister. I was with the ambassadors of the U.K., the U.S., South Korea, and many other countries. “We had an official meeting with them. We explained to them, even the wisdom behind the National Identity Number. One of the representatives of the development agencies said ‘your work is excellent, but you should be patient, you will encounter many attacks’. This was said to me in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He said ‘you answered all our issues convincingly based on the wisdom and usage of NIN number, because criminals do not like it, criminals do not like it’. “Even this issue that we are talking about, based on our findings, preliminary investigation, many people are not happy with what we have been doing – linking National Identification Number with SIM. Because a situation will come that all the people using SIM to commit crime will not be able to do that. “If they do that government will be able to intercept them easily. This is what they don’t want to happen. And this is a mandate given to me by President Muhammadu Buhari. He personally signed the letter that ‘you are mandated to do that’. “As his appointee, I should either do it or say I cannot. So, since I am willing to serve my country, I must continue to do it to the best of my ability. “So, in my meeting with them, they even encouraged me to push it and make it very successful.”

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Post Date : April 16, 2021

WAEC releases new guidelines for collection of certificates, attestation of results

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria has released new modalities for candidates of its exams to collect their Certificates and Attestation of Results. By the new modalities, private candidates of the council’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination(WASSCE) can now apply and collect their certificates and attestation of results from any WAEC office of their choice across the states of the federation and the federal capital territory instead of the previous modality whereby candidates were mandated to seek for such services only at the states where they sat for the exam. Also, the school-based candidates who are SS3 students can now equally apply and collect their attestation of results from WAEC office of their choice nationwide while the collection of their certificates would still be through their schools where they sit for the exam. The Head of Public Affairs of WAEC Nigeria, Mr Demianus Ojijeogu, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday evening. He said the collection of either of the two or both attracts payment of a service charge to the council and also to cover the courier service to the destinations given by the applicants. He, however, did not mention any amount but added that the guidelines had taken immediate effect.

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Post Date : April 16, 2021

Ex-gov: Those In Charge Of Nigeria Are Clueless

A former governor of Niger State, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu, has chided the leadership of the country, saying Nigeria’s economy has been plunged into grave danger in the last six years. Speaking with reporters in Abuja on Friday, Aliyu alleged the country has been weakened by bad policies, poor implementation, wastages and plundering of resources. He said armed bandits and kidnappers have further worsened the state of the economy. “Those in the driver’s seat have been clueless on how to turn the economic wheel around out of its wood and the country has continued to slide into doldrums, greater pains, penury and uncertainty,” he said. He argued that the economic policies put in place in the past six years have been inconsequential and of little effect to redress the wobbling economic situation. He argued further that without true and real empowerment of citizens, “the superficial torch – the surface dressings” in the name of giving palliatives to citizens were adding no value on citizens as hardships bites harder every day. The former two term governor of Niger, who was Chairman, of the Northern States Governors Forum, described the federal government’s School Feeding Programme as a waste of resources. “Without a defined social security programmes for citizens, the federal government’s schools feeding programme is meant to fail from its start.” “What is paramount is for citizens, parents of children to be empowered so that they could confidently take care of their wards at home rather than giving school pupils rations and fragments of meals during schools hours,” he said. He said some years ago, the Peoples Democratic Party-led government implemented the school feeding programme on pilot scheme, in few states but realised its unworkability and had to jettisoned it quickly. On cases of abduction of school students, the former governor said our country’s security agencies should have known that the Kankara school boys abduction in Katsina State was a trial test by the bandits for subsequent schools invasion.

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Post Date : April 16, 2021

Edo 2020: Team Nasarawa Attacked, One Feared Dead

Contingents of Team Nasarawa were ttacked by gunmen, on their way back from the recently concluded 20th National Sports Festival held in Benin City, Edo State. According to a statement by the spokesman of the Nasarawa State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Eche Amos, the armed robbers accosted the team at Akeleku village, some two kilometres after Kadarko town, along Makurdi-Lafia express road. The 56-seater Team bus had rammed into the robbers who were already carrying out their nefarious act on other commuters on the highway on Thursday night, 15th April 2021. The heavily armed robbers who appeared in military camouflage uniform had asked the Team Nasarawa bus driver and other occupants to descend from their vehicle as they got positioned to unleash mayhem. But unknown to the men of the underworld, one of the escort officers attached to the Team Nasarawa contingent immediately opened fire, killing one of the gang members on the spot. As the Team Nasarawa bus was escaping the operation scene, some of the hoodlums who were hiding inside the bush returned multiple gunfires, bursting the tyres and shattering the radiator of the bus, which led to the occupants of the vehicle, the majority of whom were athletes and coaches, scampering for safety. More security reinforcements were immediately called and the ugly situation which lasted for over four hours was brought under control, as the entire Team Nasarawa contingent members were re-united unharmed and returned safely to their destination in Lafia, the State’s capital, in the early hours of today, Friday, 16th April, 2021, contrary to some social media reports that some members of the returning Team were injured and missing. Team Nasarawa attended the biennial sports fiesta with a 210-member contingent, and featured in twenty-five(25) events, winning a total of twenty-two(22) medals at the Edo 2020 National Sports Festival, with five Gold, four Silver and thirteen Bronze medals, to finish 18th on the medal table after fourteen days of sporting hostilities that saw Team Delta emerging overall best.

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Post Date : April 16, 2021

Imo govt to reactivate Poverty Alleviation Bureau

Imo State Government has stated its commitment to stimulate moribund Skills Acquisition Centres in the State and position them for effective service delivery. The Commissioner for Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition, Hon. Ikechukwu Umeh, who disclosed this during a facility tour of Skills Acquisition Centre within the premises of the State Bureau for Poverty Alleviation, said that arrangements were being made to secure other Skills Acquisition Centres in the three zones of the State. He expressed dismay at the state of affairs of the Bureau for the past nine years and assured that the present administration, under the leadership of Senator Hope Uzodimma, would reinvigorate the Poverty Alleviation Bureau and other Skills Acquisition Centres to serve the needs of Imo people. Hon. Umeh noted that the Skills Acquisition Centres would serve for practical skills training and charged the Management and Staff of the Bureau to gear up to their responsibilities of creating jobs for Imo women and youths. He further enjoined them to look beyond salaries and subventions from the government and explore other areas of generating income for themselves and the government. Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Artisans and Technicians, Hon. JohnDonald Ikegwuruka recalled that the Poverty Alleviation Bureau was created in the year 2000 by the then Governor Achike Udenwa to reduce poverty by providing skills and empowering Imo people for self-reliance and wealth creation He further pointed out that he equally benefitted from the scheme in 2009 and expressed optimism that the Bureau would receive the needed boost to meet its obligations. The Coordinator, Bureau for Poverty Alleviation, Mr. Lambert Nwamarabia, stated that the Bureau had not received government subversion since 2012 but had through self-efforts of the Management provided skeletal services to remain afloat. He assured the commissioner of their readiness to perform optimally and appealed for government support.

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Post Date : April 16, 2021

Insecurity Remains Global, Stop Ethnicising And Politicising It – Keyamo

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, (SAN), has urged Nigerians to stop ethnicising and politicising insecurity in the country, arguing that security threats remain a global issue. Keyamo made this call on Friday, in a brief statement shared on his official Twitter page. While making reference to recent shootings in the US, Keyamo opined that insecurity was a global phenomenon that has affected every country, adding that this threat is not one to be politicized. “Yet, another mass shooting in the USA today. The statistics in the US is staggering. “However, it is no excuse for our state of insecurity and it is immoral for us to compare and say ours is even lesser. “But we should stop ethnicism and politicising what is clearly a global phenomenon,” Keyamo tweeted. Yet, another mass shooting in the USA today. The statistics in the US is staggering. However, it’s no excuse for our state of insecurity & it is immoral for us to compare & say ours is even lesser. But we should stop ethnicising & politicising what is clearly a global phenomenon pic.twitter.com/mSYYehkdMl — Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) April 16, 2021

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Post Date : April 16, 2021

US imposes visa ban on election riggers in Uganda

The United States Government says it has imposed a visa restriction on some individuals for their actions during the January 2021 presidential election in East African country Uganda. US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Friday said all those who interfered with democratic process in the last election were, henceforth, banned from America. “There are consequences for interfering in the democratic process. Starting today, we are imposing visa restrictions on those involved in undermining democracy in Uganda,” he tweeted. The PUNCH had earlier reported that President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the East African country for nearly four decades, won a sixth term in office in January with 58 percent of the vote. Museveni’s main rival was Robert Ssentamu popularly known as Bobi Wine, who came second with 35 percent and decried the election as rigged. The singer-turned-lawmaker refused to accept the result and challenged it in court, saying he won the day. But the 39-year-old later withdrew his petition, saying the judiciary was stacked in favour of Museveni. Civil rights organisations had since condemned the election as unfree and unfair while Museveni had been accused of using state security forces to arrest, harass and victimise Bobi Wine and members of the opposition. See tweet by Blinken; There are consequences for interfering in the democratic process. Starting today, we are imposing visa restrictions on those involved in undermining democracy in Uganda. — Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 16, 2021

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Post Date : April 16, 2021

“It is ridiculous to say we planned attacks on banks in South-East – DSS counters IPOB

Claims by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) the Department of State Services (DSS) planned to sponsor attacks on banks in the South East region under the guise of the group’s Eastern Security Network (ESN) have been described as untrue and ridiculous. Top security sources, who debunked the claims exclusively to The Nation, said the outlawed group’s modus operandi is to raise false alarm and carry out such attacks to blackmail the Service and other security agencies. “It is not true and it cannot be true. So what they have done is that hours after they issued that alarm, they attacked a bank in Abagana, Dunukofia LGA, Anambra State. “If you are looking at their patterns, what they are doing now is attack, retreat and deny. “The allegation should be taken as a cheap blackmail designed by the illegal organisation to distract the public and indeed, the international community from what has become its pattern of violent attacks, retreat and feigning of nonviolent dispositions,” the sources said. They advised the public “to be wary of the antics of IPOB which hides under these methods to wreck havoc on innocent people and targets.” When contacted, Peter Afunanya the Public Relations Officer of the DSS, described the agency as responsible and further stated it would continue to work with other sister agencies to maintain law and order; protect lives and property. He called on citizens and corporate bodies to be security conscious and beef up protective measures around them.

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Post Date : April 16, 2021

Imo North: Supreme Court Affirms Ibezim As Senator-Elect

The Supreme Court has finally laid to rest the All Progressive Congress (APC) battle for Imo North Senatorial District bye-election as it declares Frank Ibezim as the senator-elect. In a unanimous judgment by the Supreme Court delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court held that the suit which led to the disqualification of Ibezim for allegedly supplying false information to secure nomination was statute-barred at the time it was instituted. Justice Emmanuel Agim, who delivered the judgment, held that the suit which led to disqualification of Ibezim for allegedly supplying false information to secure nomination was statute-barred at the time it was instituted. Justice Agim said in the judgment that the suit was not filed within 14 days when the cause of action arose. Specifically, the apex court held that section 285 of 1999 was grossly violated by the plaintiff in the suit because the mandatory 14 days for such suit to be filed was not complied with. Besides, the apex court held that the disqualification of Ibezim based on a statute-barred suit was a nullity because the burden of proof for false information allegations was not proved as required by law.. Justice Agim while setting aside the judgments of both the federal high court and that of the Court of Appeal held that the appeal of Ibezim against the two judgments was meritorious, enforceable and granted it. The Supreme Court subsequently declared Ibezim as candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the December 5, 2020 by-election and also as winner of the election. Ibezim had been kicked out as APC candidate on account of irreconcilable differences in the names on the certificates he presented to secure nomination and for supplying false information in his other documents. A three-man panel of Justices of the Court presided by Justice Abubakar Yahaya in a unanimous judgment had agreed with Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja that Ibezim submitted false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in aid of his qualification for the Imo North Senatorial by-election. Justice Ekwo had in a judgment delivered on December 4, 2020 sacked Ibezim as candidate of the APC for the December 5 by-election in Imo North Senatorial District. Ekwo had disqualified him from contesting the election on the grounds that he made false statements and declarations in the affidavit and documents he submitted to his party, the APC and INEC. The false information was said to be in respect of his West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate wherein the judge held that the names on the documents were not only different but irreconcilable and accordingly ordered his disqualification from the by-election. One of the certificates bears Chukwuemeka Frank Ibezim and another Francis Ibezim Chukwuemeka among other differences. Dissatisfied with the high court decision, Ibezim, the favoured candidate of governor Hope Uzodimma, then approached the Appeal Court with prayer that his disqualification be voided and set aside. However delivering judgment in the appeal, Justice Stephen Adah who read the unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal had held that the judgment of the high court cannot be faulted since it was evident that the appellant submitted false information to APC and INEC. Justice Adah had stated that no other person’s order than the institution that awarded certificates can lawfully effect correction on them. He advised that candidates must be diligent with the ways and manners they put their names in documents, stressing that it is a serious thing if a person’s name is misplaced or spelt wrongly. The appeal court had also disagreed with Ibezim that the case was statute-barred, adding that from available records, it was filed 11 days after the cause of action arose and not after 14 days as claimed by Ibezim. . According to the appellate court, the legal action was instituted on September 23, 2020, whereas INEC had received the said forged documents from the APC on September 13, 2020. With the Supreme Court fresh decision, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC will now proceed to formally declare winner of the election and issue Ibezim certificate of return as required by law for him to be inaugurated as a senator.

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