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Tag: dissolved

  • Court grants mother custody of child after dissolution of marriage

    An FCT High Court on Wednesday granted Mrs Enohuomen Unuane, custody of her four-year-old daughter, after her marriage with Dr Stanley Unuane was dissolved.

    The judge, Justice Peter Affen, in his judgment held that the evidence adduced by the petitioner (Enohuomen) proved that the marriage has broken irretrievably.

    “The issues of dissolution of marriage can only be granted only when the petitioner satisfies the provisions of Section 15 (2) (e) of the Matrimonial Causes Act, 2004.

    “ The petitioner adduced enough evidence to show that she and the respondent have lived apart for a period of two years preceding the petition.

    “ This fact was eloquently agreed by the respondent in his response and that shows that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. ’’
    “I cannot but rule that the marriage be dissolved, “ the judge held.

    Affen noted that the marriage was contracted on Dec. 8, 2012 at the marriage registry as well as Mary the Queen Catholic Church, Ekpoma.

    He held that the parties should discharge their parental obligations towards this girl- child, not withstanding that the marriage has broken irretrievably.

    “ This court is duty bound to consider the interest of the child as provided for in both the Matrimonial Causes Act and Child Rights Act, I hereby grant the custody of the child to the mother.

    “Since the child is of tender age and also has been with the mother since she was born, the right of custody should be given to the mother.

    “She should give the respondent the addresses of the house where she lives with the child as agreed and the respondent should make a monthly contribution of N40, 000 towards the education and welfare of the child, “ Affen held

    He said that this amount is subject to review and that the petitioner should not travel with the child outside the country without the knowledge of the respondent.

  • Etuemena: Heartland management has not been dissolved

    Etuemena: Heartland management has not been dissolved

    Chibuzor Goodfaith Etuemena has revealed that he still remains the chairman of Heartland and that the public should disregard the purported media reports credited to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Ugonna Ozuruigbo that the Naze Millionaires’ management has been dissolved.

    Etuemena in a signed press statement through the club’s Director of Media,Cajetan Nkwopara disclosed that the Imo State  government which appointed him as the boss of the Owerri side has not said anything contrary and has warned the  state’s Deputy Speaker who within his scope as the Supervisor of the club, not to hijack it.

    Etuemena said: “The facts remains that I was appointed the chairman of Heartland by the state government and the same government appointed Ozuruigbo as a supervisor in Heartland FC. If my position is to change, the same government will write and inform me that I am no longer the chairman of the club but this has not happened. I have checked and found that the government has not directed anybody to dissolve my management team.

    “I am ready to work with Ozuruigbo as long as he is willing to limit his activities to the areas of his appointment. He has no right to take over the running of the club from me. He is a serving law-maker and Heartland is a parastatal. I don’t know where in the civil service rule a sitting law-maker would be required to run a ministry or a parastatal while at the same time collecting his salaries and allowances from the same government source.

    “May I therefore, seize this opportunity to reassure our great players, hard working technical crew members and  staff as well as our loyal supporters club members and the general public that for now, nothing has changed and that Heartland FC are still intact while I remain the chairman.”

  • Agencies, boards dissolved

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has dissolved all its agencies and boards of parastatals in accordance with directive from the Federal Government.

    The directive was contained in a circularý signed by the Head of Service of the Federation and dispatched to all the affected agencies and parastatals.

    This was disclosed in a press statement signed by Assistant Director/ Chief Press Secretary to the FCT, Muhammad Sule.

    It read in part: “In compliance with the directive of the Federal Government on the dissolution of Boards, Agencies, Institutions and Government owned Companies, all Boards of the FCT Parastatals and Agencies stand dissolved.

    “It may be recalled that the FCT Administration had earlier conveyed the content of the Dissolution Circular signed by the Head of Service of the Federation to the affected FCT Parastatals and Agencies on Friday, July 24, 2015 with a reminder on Monday, August 3, 2015 to hand over all Government properties and documents in their disposal.

    “Accordingly, the Permanent Secretary, Engr. John Obinna Chukwu, FNSE, has further directed that the Directors of Administrations and Finance (DAF) in all the Mandate Secretariats should ensure strict compliance with the directive of Mr. President.

    “The FCT Administration will take appropriate measures against any official who flout the Federal Government’s directives.”

     

     

  • Why NNPC board was dissolved

    Why NNPC board was dissolved

    Only a few undiscerning  Nigerians and foreigners would have been surprised  by the dissolution,yesterday,of the board of the    Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    For as long as anyone can remember,the organization has  been stumbling from one corruption scandal  to the other,the latest  being the 2013 allegation by the immediate past Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) and now the Emir of Kano,Alhaji Muhammadu Lamido Sasusi ,that the NNPC failed to remit  up to $20 billion to the federation account.

    The allegation was to cost him his job at the apex bank even after forensic auditors appointed by the immediate past administration  said only $1.4billion should be remitted by the  firm.

    The NNPC   was established on April 1, 1977 following the  merger of the  then Nigerian National Oil Corporation and the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel with sole responsibility for upstream and downstream developments.

    It  is also charged with regulating and supervising the oil industry on behalf of the Federal  Government.

    Eleven years after   the birth of the  NNPC  it was  commercialised into 11 strategic business units, covering the entire spectrum of oil industry operations: exploration and production, gas development, refining, distribution, petrochemicals, engineering, and commercial investments.

    It  manages the joint ventures between the federal government  and such foreign multinational corporations like Royal Dutch Shell, Agip, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Texaco (now merged with Chevron).

    Through collaboration with these companies, the Nigerian government conducts petroleum exploration and production.

    The oil companies  appropriate portions of their revenue which is  nearly 60% of the revenue generated by the oil industry in this manner,to the government.

    With oil as Nigeria’s largest revenue earner,cash flow from the NNPC accounts for 76% of federal government revenue and 40% of the entire country’s GDP.

    But in reality,the corporation and many of its subsidiaries have failed in living up to their responsibilities.

    Its refineries hardly work with the result that Nigeria relies more on imported fuel .

    Thus, scarce foreign  exchange is wasted on importing fuel while billions of naira is also paid as ‘subsidy’ to importers.

    This mode  of business has since been found to be  a huge racket  on the nation.

    Several of such fuel importers are currently standing trial for defrauding  the country and Nigerians are not likely to forget in a hurry their recent harrowing experience when the importers  refused to do business.

    The ‘missing’ $20billion was a major dent on the reputation of the last government even if its key actors refuse to admit it.

    Nigerians are angry with the NNPC on account of its operations and alleged corruption.

    Most of the misgivings concern  the ‘missing’ $20billion and  perveived  mismanagement and abuse of the Petroleum Support Fund otherwise known as oil subsidy and lack of transparency .

    They are clamouring for its removal and  probe of those that managed the fund.

    With the then President-elect Muhammadu Buhari vowing in April to revisit   the ‘missing’ money issue,his anti-corruption reputation,and his vast knowledge of the oil and gas industry,it was to be expected that he would have  more than a  passing interest in the sector on his assumption of office.

    Observers believe that the NNPC dissolution is just a prelude to what is to come from Buhari in the industry.

    It should not be a surprise if he orders an inquisition into what is generally perceived as the financial indiscretion of successive administrations in the organization.

    He may not even limit the looming probe to the ‘missing’ $20billion.

    Nigerians and foreigners are asking questions on   other corruption related allegations against NNPC like  the  over $1million  bribes which  ABB Vetco Gray, a US company, and its UK subsidiary ABB Vetco Gray UK Ltd,  claimed to have paid to officials at NNPC subsidiary NAPIMS in exchange for obtaining confidential bid information and favourable recommendations from Nigerian government agencies;  the over $6.3million allegedly paid by another US company Willbros Group Inc,  to officials at the NNPC and its subsidiary NAPIMS, in return for assistance in obtaining and retaining contracts for work on the Eastern Gas Gathering System (EGGS);and  the allegation by the  Swiss Non-governmental advocacy organization – Erklärung von Bern –  of heavy fraud surfaced, placing the NNPC under suspicion of siphoning off $6.8 billion in crude oil revenues.

    The sacked board headed by the immediate Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke had as members  the Group Managing Director of the corporation, Dr. Joseph Dawha, Group Executive Director, Finance & Accounts, Mr. Bernard O.N. Otti – Group Executive Director, Corporate Services, Dr. Dan Efebo , Coordinator, Legal Services/ Secretary to the Corporation, Ikechukwu Oguine and other five members : Alhaji Abdullahi Bukar , Mr. Danladi Wadzani, Prof. Olusegun Okunnu , Mr. Danladi Kifasi and  Mr. Steven Oronsaye.

    The NNPC  was scheduled to hold its Group Executive Council meeting on Wednesday but shifted it to the following day.It never happened still.

    What followed was the  summon of the GMD to the Presidency yesterday to be told of the board dissolution.

  • Kwara United board dissolved

    Kwara United board dissolved

    The Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has approved the immediate dissolution of the Bamidele Aluko led board of Kwara United Football Club of Ilorin.

    The dissolution of the board was contained in a statement made available to SportingLife by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Isiaka Gold and signed by his Press Secretary, Idia Ameen on Wednesday in Ilorin.

    Ahmed has also approved the composition of a new management team to run the affairs of the team.

    The statement has Muhammed Haruna Maigidansanma the new General Manager of the club, Samson Unuanel as the Technical Adviser while Agboola Basambo retained his position as the Team Manager.

    Bako Ibrahim will serve as the secretary of the new Kwara United management.

    Kwara United was relegated at the end of last season to the Nigeria National League (NNL).

  • Why I dissolved Exco, by Fayemi

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said the dissolution of the State Executive Council was to ensure a better performance.

    Fayemi spoke yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, during the swearing-in of eight permanent secretaries.

    He said the dissolution was to reposition the executive council to meet the yearnings of the people.

    Fayemi likened the dissolution to the strategic approach of a coach in a football match, who at half-time can choose to reorganise the team by substituting tired players and changing the position of some players for better result.

    He said: “There are some players who are strikers and can score goals. There are also strikers who cannot score goals. Some score brilliant goals but lack the stamina to stay till the end of the match.

    “There are also those who are put in the wrong positions. All these must be reviewed for us to have a government that is connected to the people.”

    The governor said the appointment of the permanent secretaries was based on merit, adding that it was determined by the various examinations and interviews they were subjected to.

    He urged the appointees to maintain an open-door policy and shun favouritism.

    Fayemi said gone are the days of “god-fatherism” in the State Civil Service, adding that the “primacy of meritocracy has come to stay in the public service”.

    Urging the permanent secretaries to brace themselves for the “enormous responsibility” of implementing government policies and programmes, the governor said his administration would continue to provide a conducive working environment for workers.

    The appointees are popular broadcaster Mr. Kola Ajumobi, Dr. Joseph Adeyemo, Mr. Bamidele Agbede, Dr. Olufolakemi Olomojobi, Mr. Olusesan Alabi, Mr. Abegunde Ebenezer, Mr. Owoseeni Adeyemi and Mrs. Olufunke Falodun.

    Ajumobi hailed the government for giving priority to merit, adding that it would encourage workers to be hard working.

  • NASS workers union EXCO dissolved

    The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) has dissolved the executive committee of its National Assembly (NASS) chapter.

    It also froze the bank accounts of the chapter and urged the Registrar of Trade Unions (RTU) to audit them.

    In a communique at the end of the association’s emergency NEC meeting in Abuja, the national body asked the RTU to call to order one of its members.

    A NEC member and Chairman, Kogi chapter, Alhaji Mohammed Bello, who read the communique, said the hammer fell on the chapter “following acts inimical to PASAN’s well-being.”

    “This NEC decision was based on the dictates of Rules 19 (10), 20 (6), 13 (4) and F/1 20 (6) of PASAN’s Constitution. Thus, the NASS exco stands dissolved.

    “All the accruable dues in the chapter will now be paid to the national body, while its accounts have been frozen.

    “We also call on RTU to go on to audit the chapter’s accounts and take all actions it deems necessary to restore sanity in line with what we have in PASAN’s Constitution,” he said.

    Bello said NEC felt it had to take action as the NASS chapter was already over-stepping its bounds.

    “The NASS chapter is one out of many chapters in PASAN and it is duty bound to abide by all the laws of the association, which we all subscribe to through our constitution and which is the only legal instrument we have,” he said.

     

  • Pensioners want Pension Taskforce dissolved

    • Protest non-payment of arrears

     

    The Joint Committee of Associations of Federal Pensioners has called for the dissolution of the Pension Task Force, saying it has created more problems for pensioners.

    The body is also seeking the creation of a civilian pensions board.

    The older citizens held a peaceful demonstration recently to protest the non-payment of their pension arrears.

    They staged the protest outside the Office of the Head of Service at the Federal Secretariat. The pensioners blocked major roads leading to the secretariat; this resulted in traffic gridlock in the area.

    The Public Relations Officer of the Pension Reform Task Team, Mr Hassan Salihu, however, said the pensioners did not contact them before embarking on the protest.

    He said pensioners’arrears were being paid in batches after vetting of their claims by the task team.

    He said all genuine pensioners would be paid as the Federal Government had adequate funds to pay them, but the pensioners said the demonstration would not stop until the Federal Government meet their demands.

    The Chairman of the committee, Mr James Bassey, said some pensioners had been short-changed in the payment of their gratuities.

    “Due to wrong calculations of their terminal benefits, using wrong grade levels and steps, some pensioners have yet to be placed on the monthly payroll for their pension allowances since leaving the service,’’ he said.

    Bassey quoted the Director-General of Budget Office of the Federation as saying that funds had not been released to cover the payment of increment in the allowances of pensioners.

    President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 approved the upward review of allowances of pensioners by 53.4 per cent.

    But Bassey said money for payment of arrears to pensioners had not been released because they are waiting to clear ghost pensioners from the pension payroll.

    “We were told severally that the civil service is trying to sort out the ghost workers in the service; it is not enough reason for the delay in paying salaries and the Jonathan Award,’’ he said.

    Bassey stressed the need for the government to sanitise pension management and administration, adding that it would enhance the welfare and well-being of pensioners in the country.

    He called for the dissolution of the Pension Task Force, saying it had accumulated more problems for the pensioners instead of solving them.

    “We request for the dissolution of this pension task force while immediate consideration is given for the creation of a civilian pensions board.’’

    Also speaking, Mr Ehada Mohammed, who represented the General Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Mr Actor Zal, said the pensioners were only trying to ensure that their problem was addressed.

    He also said: “We believe that what we are doing is the right thing and this is the only way to address the issue so that we can recover our money fast after all the delay.’’

     

  • Kaduna United board dissolved

    Kaduna United board dissolved

    The Kaduna State government has dissolved the board and management of Kaduna United, SportingLife can exclusively report.

    A source told SportingLife that the dissolution is with immediate effect. A new board maybe announced in a fortnight.

    Team Secretary, Yusuf Jeshau, has since been told to take over the club affairs initially chaired by Sabo Babayaro.

    The technical crew and players who have since resumed from a two-week break escaped the hammer.

    It was learnt that the board’s problems started during the team’s participation in the CAF Confederation Cup in 2011 as the government was not happy with the way the sum of 150 million naira meant for the tournament was spent. The team crashed out in the group stage of the competition.

    In the 2011/12 season, players threatened to boycott the club’s first league game over the non-payment of their allowances.

    This did not go down well with the government who saw the threat as an embarrassment, thus leading to the setting up of a panel of enquiry to investigate the matter.

    “I can tell you that Sabo Babayaro’s led board has been dissolved by the state government. Also, the management headed by the Team Manager, Mustapha Zukogi has been disbanded as well. But the dissolution did not affect the players and the technical crew. I think the problem started since 2011 during the CAF Confederation Cup.

    “If you can remember we didn’t start the league on time because of the players’ protest over un-paid allowances. The State governemnt set up a penal of enquiry to look into the matter and probe about 150 million naira given to the board then,” a source told SportingLife.

    The source also linked Zukogi’s sack to his political ambition. It was alleged that he has the ambition of contesting for a vice-chairmanship position.