Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

BAYELSA State has lamented the decline in revenue accruing from the federation account.

Commissioner for Finance Maxwell Ebibai, while announcing the state’s income and expenditure profile for August, September and October, said the state received a gross inflow of N12.8 billion for August.

He explained that the amount consists of statutory allocation of N3.14 billion, derivation (N8.8 billion), Value Added Tax (VAT) N1.97 billion, refund for Pay As You Earn (PAYE) N636 million.

Ebibai noted that deductions from the Federation Allocation Accounts Committee (FAAC) was N1.007 billion comprising foreign loans to the state, while Federal Government recovery was N42.171 million, restructured commercial loan N741.156 million, among others.

The commissioner, who announced N463.9 million as Internally Generated Receipt (IGR) receipt for July, said funds from other sources stood at N500 million.

According to him, total receipts from FAAC, excluding the deductions at source, amounted to N11.8 billion, including the IGR for July, which brought the total receipts to N13.159 billion.

Read Also: Bayelsa residents lament as robbers, cultists take over Yenagoa

For September, N10.285 billion was recorded as gross inflow, including statutory allocation of N2.981 billion, derivation (N6.030 billion) and VAT (N1.27 billion).

Ebibai announced N1.952 billion as total deductions from FAAC, noting that from the deductions at source for August, the total deductions for September was significantly higher by N933 million.

He said the state recorded a sharp drop in its revenue from the federation account owing to two major factors.

According to Ebibai, total recurrent and capital payments gulped N4.3 billion, leaving a deficit of N707 million. He noted that the balance brought forward from September was N995 million out of which the state had a closing balance of N288.7 million.

Our Reporter

Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development has supported a president of Igbo extraction. The coalition insisted that the presidency should rotate to the Southeast.

The group, which said its support was borne out of the need for every zone to have a taste of the presidency, flayed the marginalisation of the Southeast since 1999.

National Coordinator Zana Goni, and National Women Leader Mario Bichi, in a statement yesterday, appealed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to zone their tickets to the region.

It emphasised the need for all political interest groups to allow the Southeast rule Nigeria for the sake of justice and equity.

The statement reads: “Since President Muhammadu Buhari is from the north, the right thing is that the next president should come from Southern Nigeria and since Southwest and Southsouth have occupied the office, the Southeast is next in line in the spirit of the rotation principle, fairness, equity and justice.

“This will end the manifest marginalisation of the Southeast. It will foster national unity, and also close the bitterness of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war…”

Association of South East Town Unions (ASETU) has supported the quest for a president of Igbo extraction in 2023.

The union however said integrity, competence and credibility must be considered in selecting the candidate.

A communiqué read by the president, Emeka Diwe, after a two-day retreat in Enugu State, lamented that ‘the over-concentration of power at the centre has not helped the development, peace and security of Nigeria’. It added that power must be urgently devolved in such a way to engender involvement, participation and progress.

The communiqué reads: “The 1999 Constitution is in itself an encumbrance to the progress of Nigeria. It is a unitary document which ensures that backwardness, insecurity and agony subsist at the local levels while all the affluence of the country is placed under the control of a few in Abuja.

“It is a fraud which does not have the people’s consent, and does not reflect our aspirations as a country. The 1999 Constitution must be discarded in the interest of peace, unity and prosperity.”

The group also frowned at the exclusion of the Igbo from the security leadership of Nigeria, saying it cannot be rationalised on any grounds.

“It is a threat to national unity for Nigeria to continue to have preponderance and dominance of one ethnic group in all the security agencies in the country. This defeats the notion of federalism, and we reject it,” the group insisted.

By Bassey Anthony, Uyo

Akwa Ibom State has promised amnesty for repentant cultists terrorising Inen community in OrukAnam Local Government Area.

The Chief Judge, Justice Godwin Abraham, stated this at the weekend when he visited displaced victims of cult clashes taking refuge at Ikot Ibritam, headquarters of the council.

Items donated include garri, rice, beans, noodles and vegetable oil.

Justice Abraham, who hails from Inen, appealed to the warring groups to embrace peace as government was ready to talk with them.

He said: “The young men calling themselves cultists are not doing themselves any good, not even to the community. Some have died as a result of this unfortunate incident while others have fled from their homes to take refuge here.

“Children have not attended school; many economic activities are not going on. I appeal to them to drop their arms and embrace peace.”

Abraham assured the displaced persons that their plight would be communicated to government for necessary action.

“The governor loves peace. The moment they accept peace, this government would care for and rehabilitate them. There are legitimate ways of doing things. I am also trusting God that all the young men involved in cultism and terrorising their community will accept peace and allow government to take care of them.”

Paramount Ruler of OrukAnam Akuku Obosi lamented that activities of cultist have created fear and insecurity in the community. He reiterated Governor Udom Emmanuel’s capacity to ensure peace so that residents can return home.

“We appreciate Justice Abraham for visiting the camp to see things for himself and report same to government. Anytime our governor would visit this camp, we would take him to the affected community. I believe the government would rescue us from the hands of these cultists,” he said.

By Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

Chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Rommy Ezeonwuka has appealed to Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano to lift the suspension placed on some traditional rulers as part of his Christmas gift to the people.

Obiano had suspended 12 monarchs following their trip to Abuja without his approval. Ezeonwuka pleaded with Obiano to toe the path of a true Christian by lifting the suspension which had ‘served its purpose’.

He said: “As a true Christian and Papal Knight of St. Gregory the Great, it will only be ideal if the governor forgives the monarchs in the spirit of Christmas and New Year.

“If you use the right hand to slap a child for an offense committed, you equally use the left to console him as the slap had served its purpose.  Let us use this opportunity to make it known to Christians that Christmas gifts would not only be just about sharing money and clothes, or bags of rice and cows, it also includes love, peace making and forgiveness.

“That is why I am asking the governor to forgive the traditional rulers and lift the suspension placed on them.”

By Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja and Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed the purported suspension of some of its key leaders in Ebonyi State.

A statement on Sunday by the spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the news as misleading.

Senator Sam Egwu (Ebonyi North) and 23 other members were purportedly suspended. But the party said no PDP leader in Ebonyi State has been suspended. It added that the document purporting the suspension was fictitious and did not emanate from the state chapter.

The statement reads: “The PDP does not have a State Working Committee (SWC) in Ebonyi State as presented by the fictitious document.  As such, any such body said to have met to arrive at any decision, or any action claimed to have been taken by it, is imaginary.

“The public knows that the body vested with piloting party affairs in Ebonyi State is the State Caretaker Committee, which has since assumed its mandate to the approval of party leaders and members since the dissolution of our state executive.

“Our structure in Ebonyi is intact and the party has become stronger, more united and enjoying the people’s support more than ever before.”

The Concerned PDP youths has told Governor David Umahi that the state and Southeast remains PDP in its entirety.

A statement yesterday by Osita Ugorji said the governor’s dumping of the party will have no effect on its fortunes in 2023. The group maintained that youths in the state remain loyal to the PDP.

Ugorji however said the group supports Umahi’s agitation for a president of Southeast extraction.

The statement reads: “As an organisation poised to providing all-inclusive leadership drive and giving attention to power sharing, having a president of Igbo extraction is long overdue. It’s a right, not a privilege. It’s a cause that is worth fighting.

“Governor Umahi’s defection is more of a move towards actualising self-interest. This is because the All Progressives Congress (APC) he’s running to hasn’t zoned its presidential ticket to the Southeast and the possibility is still in doubt.

“In as much as we plead with the governor to rescind his moves, we are enthused that the house is full with its human-material strength. We shall continue to pay our loyalty to the PDP as it remains the party with the democratic ethos to drive the wheels of good governance forward to the most desired harbour.”

Our Reporter

The Federal Government’s N25b refund to Anambra State for its rehabilitation and reconstruction of federal roads has pitted Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (Anambra South) against Governor Willie Obiano.

Senator Ubah, at a news conference yesterday, gave Obiano 72 hours to address the people on why he discounted the promissory notes with about N8 billion  ahead of their maturity dates.

Ubah threatened to sue the government if Obiano fails to heed his request.

The promissory notes were issued to Anambra State by the Debt Management Office (DMO) in December 2018 and April 2019 to the tune of N10.097 billion and N15.146 billion. They had maturity dates of December 28, 2020 and April 1, 2022.

Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment C-Don Adinuba, in a statement, denied that the state raised money from ‘the DMO or the Federal Ministry of Finance under a bond, or any financial instrument from any institution or organisation’.

But Ubah, who had documents to support his claims, insisted that the N25 billion was expected to be paid in two instalments.

He lamented that of the amount, only N16.1 billion was realised by the government after Obiano discounted the promissory notes at 15 and 13 per cent, through a commercial bank.

According to him, the state lost N8.85 billion after the promissory notes were acquired at discounted rates.

He said: “The governor paid banks over N8 billion to cash out the promissory notes before their maturity dates, thereby ensuring that Anambra lost the amount from the transactions.”

According to the documents obtained from the DMO by Ubah, the amount and tenor of the first promissory note was N10,097,722,436.90 and issued on December 28, 2018, with a maturity date of December 28, 2020.

The second promissory note of N15,146, 583, 655.00 was issued by the DMO on April 1, 2019, with a maturity date of April 1, 2022.

The letter from the DMO to Ubah reads: “…these were the only promissory notes issued to the Anambra State government which fully settled the outstanding claims of the state as approved by the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly.”

Ubah also alleged that ‘in order for Governor Obiano to cash out on the N25 billion that hadn’t matured, he terminated the deal by giving up 15 and 13 per cent of the total sums per annum.

He added: “The governor paid about N3 billion in bank charges for N10 billion on the first promissory note and N4.5 billion on the second promissory note of N15 billion.”

The lawmaker, however, vowed to petition the House of Assembly and sue the governor should he fail to explain to the people why he threw away N8 billion in his rush to cash out the money before the maturity dates.

He also told the governor to explain what he did with the N16 billion he collected after making the state lose N8 billion as discounts, and why he allegedly lied about the funds.

By Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt

Rivers State Government has approved a contract for the construction of a sixth flyover to ease traffic congestion in Port Harcourt.

A statement by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, said new flyover to be located at the Kaduna Street Junction of Aba Road, was expected to change the aesthetic beauty of Port Harcourt and boost economic activities of the state.The statement quoted the Commissioner for Works, Eloka Tasie-Amadi, as saying that  the decision to approve contract for the sixth flyover was taken during the State Executive Council meeting in Port Harcourt at the weekend.

He said: “The Rivers State Executive Council presided over by His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, has approved a contract for the construction of a flyover at the Kaduna Street junction of Aba Road in Port Harcourt and also approved the award of the contract to Messer Julius Berger.

“The construction will involve a bridge of 593 meters and service lanes of about 770 meters. The reason behind this is that you will observe that the bridge (at Kaduna Street Junction) is a two lane bridge. And we are going to make it a four lane bridge, dual carriage.”

Tasie-Amadi explained that at the completion of the Rumuogba, GRA junction and Rumuola flyovers all other bridges on Aba Road would be four lanes (dual carriage) with additional four lanes on the ground.

He said the development would create a bottleneck at the Kaduna Street junction bridge following the free-flow of traffic from the Rebisi Flyover.

He said: “We, also recognise that there are implications when you have broken down vehicle on that bridge and possible security challenge when you have a broken down vehicle at night.

“So, these are the reasons why the Executive Council took this decision. We have also chosen Julius Berger to do the construction because of their track record as evidence from the recently commissioned Rebisi Flyover and the projects they are handling at the moment.”

The Commissioner said Kaduna Street Junction flyover project would be completed under 12 months.

Alao speaking, the Commissioner forrr Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, said the approval by the State Executive Coucil was a demonstration of a commitment to the urban renewal vision of Governor Wike’s administration.

He said: “This new flyover will also beautify the city; the aesthetics will change, economic activities will also get a boost. We have seen this kind of passionate commitment to restore Port Harcourt to its Garden City status.

“At a time when governance has shutdown in various states of the federation because of COVID-19, the visionary government led by His Excellency, Nyesom Wike is still rolling out projects.

“This kind of development we are seeing in the State is a pointer to the service delivery and the commitment of His Excellency to ensure that social contract he has with Rivers State people is not affected by the economic downturn in the country.”

Nsirim maintained that the governor had continued to change the narrative about governance, striving assiduously to make Rivers State a model.

He said the governor at the inception of his administration said he would ensure that Rivers  became a destination of choice for investors.

“What is happening within the state capital at this point in history is a confirmation that Rivers State, particularly, Port Harcourt,  will become investors choice in years to come.

“Our appeal to citizens of the State is that the time has come to rally round this administration; shun distractors of government, shun those who are out to de-market the State.

“It is time to be united as a people and then come together to work with this visionary government to ensure that the purpose, the New Vision blueprint as enunciated since 2015 comes to fruition as has been articulated.”