Ned Nwoko, senator representing Delta north, says he was able to attract N1 billion worth of projects for his constituents. Nwoko said this when he appeared on ‘Mic On podcast’, a programme hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, a journalist with Channels Television. There has been renewed interest in allocations for constituency projects for federal lawmakers, after Jarigbe Jarigbe, senator representing Cross River north, claimed recently that some “senior” senators got N500 million for projects. Jarigbe made the claim when the senate deliberated on the allegation by Abdul Ningi, now suspended senator representing Bauchi central, who claimed that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion. Nwoko said he would have preferred a scenario where the constituency project allocation to every senator is fixed. “The way it is done now, you basically rely on your weights and contacts to see what you can get for your people,” he said. “Well, it is just the system. Just the system. It is a system in Nigeria… like I said, I’d have preferred a situation where we all know what we are getting — you don’t need to lobby for it and it is a standard thing. “All the 109 senators from the onset should know what is going on in their particular district. “A better approach would have been for senatorial uniformity. So if they say that everyone should get about N1 billion, so be it. But this way, you rely on your weight and contacts to see what you can get for your people. “This is not money for us. It is money for projects within our senatorial districts. So if you have roads, water projects, training programmes all aggregate to a certain sum.” Asked if he received as much as N1 billion in allocation, the senator said: “Of course, I did. That’s why I am who I am. But these are projects for my people.” The senator said he does not want to know who the contractors executing the projects are, but only cares about the delivery of the projects he has been able to attract to Delta north. On March 13, Ali Ndume, chief whip of the senate, said presiding and principal officers received more in constituency project allocation because “some animals are more equal than others”.

  Guinea announced on Saturday that the head of its national electricity company had been sacked after repeated power cuts sparked deadly protests in the military-ruled country. Laye Sekou Camara of Electricity in Guinea (EDG) was dismissed along with his two deputies, Fode Soumah and Abdoulaye Kone, in a decree signed by junta chief General Mamady Doumbouya. The managing director and deputy of Guinea’s national oil company were also dismissed in a separate decree. “Those responsible for this situation (linked to the power cuts) owe us an explanation and everyone must take their share of responsibility,” Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah told the press on Friday. The decision comes after two children, aged eight and 14, were shot dead amid violent protests on Tuesday in Kindia, 130 kilometres (80 miles) east of Conakry. Clashes also erupted between protesters and security forces in Conakry on Thursday after a power cut plunged much of the capital into darkness. In a statement, EDG said the blackout was the result of “an incident on a high-voltage pylon”. Guinea, which is poor despite considerable mineral and natural resources, has endured decades of dictatorial rule and suffers from fuel shortages and power cuts. AFP

  Digital infrastructure company, MainOne, has announced the successful restoration of services for a portion of its customers. The company said it was making moves to restore services for others by utilising capacity acquired on available cable systems. The company disclosed this in an update shared with PUNCH Online on Saturday. “We have restored services to some customers and are actively working on restoring services to others via capacity acquired on available cable systems “The estimated repair time is for our submarine cable fault to be fixed, to enable our services to become fully restored, and to independently supply capacity to our customers,” MainOne said. Related News Submarine cable repairs may last five weeks – MainOne MainOne unveils subsea cable system in Akwa Ibom MainOne’s acquisition finalised as Equinix announces ownership On Thursday, cuts to the undersea cable supplying Internet connectivity to Nigeria and countries in the West African sub-region led to a significant degradation of data services. MainOne provides connectivity and hybrid cloud solutions to commercial and microfinance institutions, including ISPs, government agencies, small to large enterprises, and educational institutions. On Friday, the service provider revealed that it had a maintenance agreement with Atlantic Cable Maintenance and Repair Agreement to provide repair services for its submarine cable. It said the repair process for its damaged submarine cable may take up to five weeks. With MainOne’s infrastructure crucial to banking operations, major financial institutions are seeking alternative solutions to ensure uninterrupted banking activities in the country amidst the service disruption.

  Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has said President Bola Tinubu is not the problem of the country but his appointees. He said Tinubu means well for Nigeria, but the government officials working with him are undermining his efforts. Enchanted by the Beautiful City near Cambodia Border – Nếm TV Onyema made this known in an exclusive interview with Vanguard. He lamented the ordeals his airline encounters despite the phenomenal support it is offering to Nigerians and the economy. Onyema, however, said that Tinubu will surmount the country’s challenges amid criticisms from Nigeria, saying that he faced a similar experience when he became Lagos governor. “However, what happened to those after him? Do they pick calls? Do they even listen to you? The problem is not President Tinubu. He means well but he should look at his appointees,” Onyema said. “It is the appointees of the government that cause problems, not the elected man. They block the elected man from seeing the truth about things. “As far as I know President Tinubu, he means well for the country. When Tinubu came on board in 1999 as governor of Lagos, on the back of Brigadier General Buba Marwa’s successes, people were not patient because Marwa created a large shoe. “For anyone to fit into those shoes, he had to outperform Marwa. When Tinubu came in, people were crying, just like it is happening now. But when he hit the road running, he outperformed whatever Marwa had done. “Sincerely, I believe it is the same way now. He inherited something not so good and I believe he has that vision, goodwill and good intent to help this country. What he needs is the right people to work with. That is all.” The Air Peace also said that local investments are what Nigeria needs to achieve a vibrant economy. He said, “Like I always say, it is only indigenous investments that can protect this country. Foreign investments are good, but you also have to encourage indigenous investments to stabilize and succeed. “Indigenous investments provide the real jobs and when the chips are down, they are the ones to save the country. When I talked, nobody wanted to listen to me, but I beat my chest and I am happy today. I am absolutely happy for what I have done for this nation in the last few days. “Do you know the millions of dollars or billions of Naira Air Peace has single- handedly saved for this country by what we did? From N17 million, we brought a Business class flight to London down to N4 million. From N6 million we brought economy class flight down to N1.2 million and even afforded our students a further 15 per cent of the N1.2 million.”

  FirstNews, an online news platform, says Segun Olatunji, its editor, was on Thursday abducted from his home in Lagos. Olatunji, a former Kaduna bureau chief of The PUNCH, was reportedly picked from his house in Iyana Odo, Abule Egba area of Lagos state by gunmen. In a statement issued on Saturday, the management of the media platform linked the incident to a recent story published by FirstNews titled, “Revealed: “Defence Chief running office like family business – Public Interest Lawyers”. It said the news article was also published by other online platforms. The management also said the abduction may be because of another report titled, “EXCLUSIVE: How contractor, company stole N100bn, laundered funds for top govt officials – Investigation”, which it said was later pulled down. According to the statement, his wife, Abiodun Olatunji, said the armed men numbering ten arrived at their residence a few minutes after 6 pm without disclosing where he was being taken to. “Some armed men dressed in military uniform totaling ten in number (two in uniform and the remaining 8 in mufti but all armed) arrived at our residence at Dauda Oriyomi street, Iyana Odo along Joke Ayo in Abule Egba area of Lagos State and took away my husband,” Abiodun Olatunji was quoted as saying. “They refused to state his offence and where they were taking him to despite all the efforts to make them do so.” Daniel Iworiso-Markson, publisher of FirstNews, said there has been no trace of Olatunji, as his phone line has been switched off. Iworiso-Markson added that no one has reached the family or the management of FirstNews to explain why he was abducted. “The management of FirstNews is using this opportunity to call on the military high command and the security agencies to let us know his whereabout and the reason why he was arrested,” Iworiso-Markson said. “FirstNews (online & print) is a reputable independent digital news network that prides itself on being a frontline media outfit committed to engaging her world-class audience with factual, authentic, and credible information. “We conduct our journalism activities with strict observance of the high standards of ethics, accountability, professionalism and legality, while exercising our rights to freedom of expression and information, all in a bid to ensure credible reporting of the news behind the news in Politics, Business, Education, Sport, Health, Entertainment and many more. “If there was any infraction that borders on national security, Olatunji should have first been formally invited rather that this gestapo style of arrest that reminds one of the dark days of the military era, where press freedom was stifled.”

  The Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, has ordered a probe into the tragic killing of four senior officers and 12 soldiers in Delta State. It was gathered that the slain military personnel responded to a distress call after the communal crisis between the Okuama and Okoloba communities, both in Delta State, before they were killed on Thursday, March 14. Confirming the incident in a statement on Saturday, the Acting Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, said the victims were surrounded by some community youths when troops of the 181 Amphibious Battalion were on a peace mission in the Bomadi Local Government Area of the state. The unfortunate incident occurred when the troops responded to a distress call after the communal crisis between the Okuama and Okoloba communities both in Delta State,” the statement read. “The reinforcement team led by the commanding officer was also attacked, leading to the deaths of the commanding officer, two majors, one captain, and 12 soldiers.” Arrests Made The defence spokesman said the incident has been reported to the Delta State Government, adding that the CDS has also directed that the culprits be unmasked. According to him, some suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident. He also reiterated the commitment of the military to its mandate of maintaining peace and security in various parts of the country. “The Chief of Defence Staff ( CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has directed the immediate investigation and arrest of those involved in the heinous crime. The occurrence has been reported to the Delta State Government. “However, the military remains focused and committed to its mandate of maintaining peace and security in the country. So far, a few arrests have been made while steps in place to unravel the motive behind the attack.