The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ex-Commissioner

  • Fayemi left N17b in Ekiti treasury, ex-commissioner tells court

    Fayemi left N17b in Ekiti treasury, ex-commissioner tells court

    A former Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Dapo Kolawole, has told an Ekiti State High Court that former Governor Kayode Fayemi left over N17 billion in the treasury by the time he left office on October 15, 2014.

    Kolawole also urged the court, presided over by Justice Cornelius Akintayo, to quash the warrant of arrest issued against him by the House of Assembly over his failure to honour the summons given him to give evidence on how the state finances were managed by the immediate past government.

    The former commissioner, in the suit seeking the nullification of the warrant of arrest issued by the Assembly, joined the House of Assembly and three other defendants.

    He refuted the allegations of financial misappropriation, which allegedly plunged the state into debts, as well as the alleged embezzlement of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) cash levelled against the Fayemi administration by the Ayo Fayose administration.

    According the court’s record of proceedings, which our reporter obtained yesterday, Kolawole, who was led in evidence by his counsel, Chief Rafiu Balogun, tendered some documents, including the resolution of the Assembly, the letter of invitation, his medical report and the transcript of a news item aired on Ekiti State Television (EKTV) in which he said he was maligned by two aides of Governor Fayose.

    Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Mr. Sunday Bamise, the former commissioner told the court that the House of Assembly Committee’s Chairman on Information, Dr. Samuel Omotoso, and the Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communication and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, appeared on an EKTV programme where they said he (Kolawole) and Fayemi stole state’s funds during their tenure.

    Kolawole said he had scheduled an appointment with the Assembly before the duo appeared on the television programme.

    The former commissioner said their action passed judgment on him, ahead of testifying before the lawmakers.

    He said: “I duly communicated with the House which, to the best of my knowledge, was acceptable to them by their subsequent correspondence, until the time I saw a member of the House on television, calling me a thief and other names.

    “I was invited twice to appear before the House and I responded on both times, requesting their permission to appear the third time, which I got invitation for.

    “I did not appear the third time because the House, as represented by Dr Omotoso, who was chairman of one of the committees, with Olayinka representing the Executive, going on air and accusing the former governor and myself. I was then instructed not to appear before the House for a hostile interview, as judgment has been passed on me and the Fayemi government.

    “The discussion of Olayinka and Omotoso touched on the fact that we stole all the money in Ekiti State and that the (then) new governor was crippled completely without noting the N17 billion we left behind and another N1 billion in another account, that is the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    “They never mentioned that the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) money, which was the issue of this case, the N852 million they alleged we stole, was actually withdrawn by Access Bank, the owner of the money. They never gave us credit for the interest on that account, taken by the present governor (Fayose).”

     

  • Police rescue don, ex-commissioner

    •Suspect arrested

    Enugu State Police Command at the weekend rescued Prof. Nduka Eya unhurt. One of the suspects in the kidnap was arrested.

    The command recovered a locally-made gun from the suspect.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Enugu-based Eya was abducted by gunmen last Thursday evening at Ezillo Street, Independence Layout, Enugu.

    Command spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said in a statement the rescue was possible through a joint operation with sister security agencies.

    He said the don was rescued on Saturday about 6:30 a.m.

    “Operatives of the Anti-Kidnap Unit, through intelligence information and coordinated operation conducted in the early hours of Saturday, rescued Prof. Eya.

    “He was rescued unhurt by the operatives following an operation carried out in a forest on Enugu-Abakiliki Expressway. One suspect was arrested.

    “A locally-made gun was recovered from him,’’ Amaraizu said.

    He said the suspect was helping the police in their investigation.

    “The rescued academician and statesman has been re-united with his family, while manhunt is on for other suspects.’’

    NAN recalls that Eya was secretary-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, an umbrella body of Igbo socio-cultural groups spanning nine states.

    He was Education commissioner in old Anambra State.

  • Peterside, ex-commissioner berate Wike for revocation of hotel’s C of O

    Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Petetside, and a former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, have berated Governor Nyesom Wike, for Sunday’s revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of Novotel Hotel, Port Harcourt.

    Peterside, who described Wike’s action as the worse trait of fascism, however, said he had forewarned Rivers people and the international community.

    The NIMASA chief, who was the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 election, yesterday in a statement by his media team, said: “In 2015, I warned Rivers people, the international and business community that Wike should not be trusted to protect their investments and stakes.”

    Tam-George, who recently resigned before Wike sacked his commissioners, also noted that if a business premises was suspected or established to be a crime scene, the police, acting on a court order, could move in to take control.

    The ex-Information commissioner said: “It is extraordinary for a state government to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy of a business, simply because opposition politicians lodged there.

    “Politicians in the state may think this is part of politics, but it is a hostile signal to the business and investment community that Rivers State is a turbulent environment, and that a 99-year land lease could be withdrawn erratically any minute, by the governor.”

    Wike announced the revocation of the C of O of Novotel hotel on Sunday, while speaking at the second session of the third synod of Anglican Diocese of Evo in Rivers State, claiming that the facility has become the centre of electoral fraud and malpractice.

    The NIMASA chief said: “Wike had sworn to uphold the Constitution without fear or favour, ill-will or malice against any citizen. It is now left to Wike and his conscience to check whether he has been faithful to his oath.

    “The revocation order is nothing but a reckless, irresponsible and draconian act that could have only come from the desk of a fascist, despot and a dictator.

    “When I heard that Wike revoked the C of O of Novotel Hotel, I thought it was a joke, until I saw a statement to that effect. In his trademark style of governance, he denied the management of Novotel Hotel any opportunity to respond to any accusation. Wike alone was the accuser, prosecutor, witness and jury in this matter.

    “It is sad that at a time when Rivers State needs every investment it can muster to create jobs for youths, arrest insecurity and stabilise social relationships, Wike is busy closing established multinationals, global chains and respected franchise to which Novotel Hotel belongs. In his maladministration, Wike blames everybody, but himself, for the woes that have befallen Rivers State since he shot into the Office of the Governor.

    “It is part of a government’s fundamental and social duty to create a conducive economic baseline for companies and firms to operate and expand their businesses, while new ones are attracted. Serious governments offer free land, tax rebate and other incentives to woo investors. But for Wike, his is to create joblessness and stifle companies struggling to break even.

    “In this singular action, Wike must have pushed not less than 500 people into the labour market. The social and economic reactions would be dire on families, state and country. He has also raised an adverse business advisory to would-be investors, that Rivers State is not safe for investment.”

    “By the singular act, he (Wike) advertised his contempt for hard work and industry. He twitched his nose against commerce. As a man who has no calculation of state interest in mind, he has added with his own hands to the pool of the unemployed in the state. It is frightful omen of unemployment in the context of the rise of criminality, violence, gangsterism and cultism under his watch as the chief steward of River State.”

    Peterside, a former member of the House of Representatives, also expressed concern that the Rivers governor had formed the habit of going to churches to make pronouncements that had been at best ridiculous and attempts to hoodwink Christians into believing some of his baseless allegations.

    He said: “I feel for him (Wike), because he will be disgraced out of power. Already, he is a shame in conduct, diction and association. Nobody can use the name of Christ in vain. God cannot be fooled and He cannot be mocked. The Church of Christ knows all political leaders and their antecedents.

    “Recently, he (Wike) said Rivers State is a Christian state, real enough. The Bible says, among my people are wicked men. All may be called to the Church of Christ in Rivers, but Wike is among those not chosen. ”

     

  • Ekiti 2018: Fayose grooms ex-commissioner as successor

    Ekiti 2018: Fayose grooms ex-commissioner as successor

    Indications have emerged that Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose is grooming former Commissioner for Works and Transport, Kayode Oso, to take over when his tenure expires on October 15, 2018.

    Oso, an indigene of Ado-Ekiti, served as Fayose’s Chief of Staff and later Commissioner for Works and Transport during his first tenure, which ended abruptly with impeachment on October 16, 2006.

    He narrowly escaped arrest while following his boss for an overseas trip at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos in July 2006 when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested some aides of the governor for alleged N1.4 billion poultry scam at the time.

    After Fayose’s dramatic comeback to power on October 16 2014, Oso was reappointed Commissioner for Works and Transport but quit on April 6, 2016 under controversial circumstances.

    The administration claimed Oso resigned on “health grounds” while Oso travelled to London shortly before returning towards the end of the year.

    The ex-commissioner holds chairmanship of key committees coordinating many activities in the Ado-Ekiti Government House.

    One of the committees holds regular interface with interest

    groups like artisans, labour unions, market women, students, youths and ethnic nationalities, serving as Fayose’s contact person.

    Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) governorship aspirants include former Minister of State for Works and spokesperson of the National Caretaker Committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye; former High Commissioner to Canada, Chief Dare Bejide, and former Deputy Governor, Chief Abiodun Aluko.

    They declined to drop their ambition for Fayose or his protégé.

     

  • APC has no pact with AD, says ex-commissioner

    APC has no pact with AD, says ex-commissioner

    Former Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy Lateef Ibirogba has said there is no alliance between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the July election in the state.

    Addressing party supporters at the a symposium to honour APC chieftain Olusegun Shodiya, titled APC For Shodiya On June 12 said some misguided elements from the opposition parties were spreading false information that APC and AD had a pack.

    He urged APC loyalists and the electorate to disregard the information, stressing that APC never had pact with AD, but the people.

    Ibirigba said the oppositions were out to mislead the electorate in order to gain support which they never merited.

    He said: “The people that are parading themselves now are the breakaway of the AD, who are trying to revive the party in order to make their gains. They are the one now using our party the APC because they are aware that is the party people are going to vote for.

    “They are aware that the APC is the only party that is genuinely interested in the progress of the people in Lagos and Nigeria. We have left the AD since 2006 and we are not going back to it.

    “We have advanced from AD to Action Congress (AC), from there to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and from there to a national party APC. We have no intention of backsliding, whatever information that was been given was concocted by anti progress elements, now parading themselves as AD.”

    He said issues arising from the recently held council primaries have been are solved  by the party leadership, noting that the APC was fully ready to participate in the election.

    “There is no way a woman will go into the labour room without spilling blood. Though there have complaints in certain programme undertaken by the party in the past, but we have managed whatever issues that were raise.

    “I want to tell you that today there are no issues, we are all one. That is why you have this hall filled to capacity. The members know their representatives and we are happy that APC has a pact with the people.”

    Lagos State House of Assembly member Hon. Bisi Yusuf urged the APC candidates to render service, adding that the electorate is now sophisticated.

    He said Lagosians were hailing Governor Akinwunmi Ambode because he surpassed their expectation. He stressed that the benchmark created by the governor would put all other elected politicians in the state on their toes.

  • Ex-commissioner seeks prosecution of defaulting NDDC contractors

    A former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Akwa Ibom State, Chef Victor Iyanam, has called for the arrest and prosecution of contractors who abandoned projects of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), if they fail to return to site.

    Works Commissioner Ephraim Inyang recently blew the whistle on contractors, mainly members of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who allegedly abandoned NDDC projects in the last 16 years.

    In a programme on Planet FM, a private radio station in Uyo, monitored by our reporter, Iyanam said the prosecution of such contractors was necessary to restore sanity to the system and serve as a deterrent to others.

    He said: “Those contractors must be prosecuted and made to refund the money they collected. If people are not punished for committing crimes against the people, they would continue to do so.”

    He said it was irritating that Inyang was championing the campaign against NDDC whereas he is “a man who has his hands full with uncompleted and abandoned projects of the state government”.

    Iyanam said the attacks on the NDDC Managing Director, Obong Nsima Ekere, allegedly sponsored by the state government, were because of the perception that he was interested in the 2019 governorship race and not because he was responsible for the abandonment of the projects, since he was barely six months in office.

  • Enugu ex-commissioner rues demolition of property

    A former Commissioner for Lands in Enugu State Deacon Okey Ogbodo has protested the alleged illegal demolition of walls of his property by the Enugu Capital Development Authority (ECDA).

    He urged all and sundry to prevail on the ECDA to backpedal, adding that in seeking redress he would follow due process and God’s leading.

    He said, “I do not have the power or might to reverse overnight this illegal action committed against me and my family, but I shall rely on the due process of the law of the land and the Supreme God whom I serve to hold the perpetrators of this dastard act, to account, sooner or later.

    But in a swift reaction, the Commissioner for Enugu Capital Development Authority, Mr Chidi Aroh, a lawyer, dismissed Ogbodo’s claim, pointing out that the property was pulled down based on reports from the state ministry of lands which marked it illegal structure.

    The fence, according to Aroh, was not part of the original master plan of the layout, hence the need to bring it down.

    Ogbodo, in a press statement he personally signed and issued in Enugu, accused the ECDA officials of compromising their duties.

    The said structure located at Onah Lane, off Agbani Road Enugu, had been under dispute, as St. Patrick’s Catholic church and some residents of the area had petitioned the state ministry of land and ECDA, claiming that the fence was obstructing free flow of movement of people and waterways in the area, adding that it was lying on access road.

    The petitioners had also claimed that the controversial fence has continued to make life unbearable for residents of the area, insisting that it be removed.

    But, the ex-commissioner accused the church of being determined to wrestle the said piece of land where the fence was erected from him at all ýcosts, “even after I had made it known that, being an ancestral inheritance bequeathed to me and my siblings, I was not in a position to dispose of the land.”

    Ogbodo, who also served as Finance Commissioner, said: “I restate without equivocation that there has never been any such layout plan in existence. If the ECDA officials actually pulled down the walls of my property in satisfaction of the fake layout plan bandied about recently, then they have committed a heinous, unforgivable crime against, not just a law-abiding citizen, but a servant of God.”

    He alleged that the church connived with some corrupt town planning officials to manufacture a fake layout plan which purportedly designated the said land as lying on an access road” And may I ask, access road to where?

    “In the past three months, I have cried out to the whole world, and made formal representations to the Enugu state Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi, detailing the dubious machinations of the church and its paid agents in government ministries and parastatals to have the land taken from me.

    The ECDA Commissioner said that his office acted based on reports from the ministry of Lands which carried out thorough investigation and established that the controversial fence was actually an illegal structure, which was creating serious problem for residents.

    Aroh, explained that prior to the implementation of the report on the demolition, his ministry had received several petitions from the Catholic church and residents of the area, complaining bitterly about the difficulties they go through as a result of the blockage of their access road by the fence.

    Besides, the Commissioner said that Deacon Ogbodo, had more than 60 days to take any action, aimed at stopping the demolition, including court injunction, but he failed to do so, until the structure was brought down.

  • Ex-commissioner laments lack of attention in young persons

    Ex-commissioner laments lack of attention in young persons

    A former Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, has decried the lack of attention in youths.

    Mrs. Semenitari, the executive director, Archdeacon Brown Education Centre (ABEC), spoke at an event to make this year’s World Book Day and International Women’s Day celebration in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital yesterday.

    She said: “More and more, we are losing the attention pad of the young generation; it is difficult for them to sustain conversation. Take a look on discussions on the social media, you will discover that they are not able to engage in, sustain a robust argument/discussions, they easily lose track and vide off the discussion topic.

    “They are easily given to abbreviations, even when the word they are writing is of few letters. These are the things that shorten their attention. They are not patient to engage meaningfully in conversations; these are the issues that shorten their attention pad.”

    She went on: “Already, books, newspapers and magazines are facing extinction and social media has worsened the situation.”

    On women, she said: “Women are asking for an equitable world, a world where they get  the chance to compete favourably and sustainably  alongside the male, instead of the present day one step forward, seven steps backward.”

    A poet, who was a guest in the event, Titi Horsefall, stressed on the need to educate women to build a virile society.

    “Science has proven that intellect, knowledge, survival instinct of a child is extracted from woman’s gene. So, if a woman sits back and does not take charge, did not develop herself, it is possible that her children will not have those genes developed in them after birth,” she said.

  • Synagogue’s auditorium has no permit, says ex-commissioner

    Synagogue’s auditorium has no permit, says ex-commissioner

    The auditorium of the Synagogue Church of all Nations (SCOAN) of Ikotun inLagos has no valid building permit, former Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr OluwatoyinAyinde said yesterday.

    Ayinde, told Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of the Ikeja High Court that the church contravened town planning rule by converting its permit for a five-story auditorium to the one of eight-story. This conversion, he said while testifying in the trial of the SCOAN trustees and four others over the collapse of the church’s guest house on September 12, 2014, invalidated the permit. 116 persons died in the incident .

    The trustees, two engineers, OladeleOgundeji and AkinbelaFatiregun and their companies, Hardock construction and Engineering company and Jandy Trust ltd, are facing trial for alleged criminal negligence, manslaughter and failure to obtain building permit.

    Led the evidence by the director of public prosecution (DPP) Mrs IdowuAlakija, Ayinde, a consultant urban planner and a fellow of the Institute of Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeriaý, said his preliminary investigation showed that the permit did not cover the site of the collapsed building.

    He said:”The building collapse occurred on a Friday, I got in touch with the District Officer of the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) to confirm if the Synagogue Church had any building approval in the system.The Electronic Document Management System was searched and the approval for the church did not cover the site of the collapsed buildings.”

    The former commissioner said an approval is normally issued to enable owners of buildings get adequate compensation in the event of road construction or compulsory acquisition by the government.

    He said: “The document, a five– storey building approval was meant for the church auditorium but as at the time of the collapse, the church auditorium had gone from five floors to eight floors.

    “By the Ministry’s definition, the approval the church had for the auditorium is no longer valid and there was no application for approval registered for the collapsed building”.

    The Building Control Agency, he said  pasted its sticker on the auditorium because it had surpassed the approved five–storey building, adding that no sanction was placed on the other building of the church because it had already collapsed.

    Of his duties as a commissioner under former Governor Babatunde Fashola, Ayinde said: “As a commissioner, I occupied a supervisory role over the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and its three agencies.

    “The agencies are Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA), Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) and Lagos State Urban Renewal Agency (LASURA), he noted.”

    The writers said there were too many first responders at the site of the collapse building on his first visit, stating:”I visited the site two days after the collapse as I was attending a retreat outside Lagos when the incident occurred.With me were the General Managers of LASPPPA and LASBCA as well as the Commander of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) as an advanced team to receive Governor Fashola.

    “The first thing we noticed were there were too many first responders, many of whom were church members whom we ordered out of the site because they were clogging the responsibilities of the rescuers, I gave a directive that the rescue work should stop at ground zero to enable the material testing laboratory to conduct tests on the foundation and columns on the debris.”

    Hearing continues today.

     

  • Ex-commissioner joins Ondo race

    A former Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development in Ondo State, Yekini Olanipekun, yesterday declared his intention to contest the November 26 governorship poll under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform.

    Olanipekun, who spoke to reporters at Arigidi-Akoko, Akoko North West Local Government, appealed to stakeholders to allow the northern senatorial district produce the next governor.

    He said doing so would bring justice, fairness and equity to the rotation of power.

    The aspirant, a former House of Assembly member, said continued delivery of good governance was the major drive for his ambition.

    He said he was ready to serve the people  and ensure that they enjoy the dividends of democracy.

    Olanipekun noted that with his experience in public offices, he would deliver good governance to the people.

    Olanipekun said: “We will ensure that ministries function very well and there will be a special consideration for people with special needs like the less privileged, orphans, the unemployed among others”.