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Tag: governor

  • Poll rates Ambode as top performing governor

    Poll rates Ambode as top performing governor

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is leading other governors in the poll organised by the African Leadership Magazine to determine Nigeria’s top performing governor, it was learnt yesterday.

    The poll, tagged: “Good Governance Polls for Nigeria’s Top Performing Governor”, started two weeks ago with Ambode maintaining the lead with increased 36.1 per cent of the total vote casts.

    Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano is closely trailing Ambode with 25 per cent.

    The poll, according to its organisers, was designed by the group as part of its strategic engagement tool to monitor performance and gauge the mood of the electorate in Nigeria.

    An overwhelming 35 per cent popularity rating for the Lagos State Governor, among other governors, shows his popularity as he continues to deliver good governance, promoting infrastructural development and people-centred policies that better the lives of the people of Lagos.

    Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun is in the third place with 8.8 per cent. Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike is in the fourth position with 7.9 per cent of the total vote casts.

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai sits in the fifth position with five percent.

    Voting is still ongoing and is expected to close in the next four days.

  • Critical financial situation of RSSDA-sponsored final year students abroad

    Critical financial situation of RSSDA-sponsored final year students abroad

    On behalf of the Rivers State final year students abroad under the aegis of the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), we would like to thank our amiable Governor, His Excellency, Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike for promising and assuring us that he will continue the sponsorship of the final year students abroad and also for the continued developmental strides and ongoing projects in Rivers state, even in this harsh economic climate. We wish you all the best and our continued
    support as you lead us to more progressive and sustainable development.

    Sir, as final year medical students graduating this year, we would like to bring to your notice our present predicament as a result of non-payment from December 2014 to date (over 1 year and 6 months).

    We are financially broke to the point that even food can no longer be found on our table, this is alarming but it is what we face day after day. It is embarrassing for us to inform you that, we now rely on begging from friends for even food. It is believed that, food is one of the fundamentals of existence, so how do we survive in strange, far away land without food and roof to cover our heads? Transport fare to the
    hospitals we do our rotations/clerkships is now very difficult to come by.

    More so, we have tried arranging with the landlords to give us some time to crack a means to pay them the rents owed them but all our efforts were declined, as we owe over 1 year rent. The landlords have used legal actions against us in order to get back their money, while some students have received court summons and are expected to appear in court in the following weeks if they are unable to pay their rents,
    others have been given a definite deadline to pay up the rent or face jail term. As a matter of fact, some students have already been evicted from their apartments; now more than seven students are living in one
    room just to stay under a roof, some are squatting in church members’ and pastors’ houses while others sleep on the streets with no shelter over their heads.

    The situation is unbelievable and unbearable as Rivers State-sponsored scholars and ambassadors of our great state and Nigeria at large; It is shameful and mind-boggling to inform you that most of the students have been forced to beg for donations from church members and friends just to survive as a result of Government’s inability to release funds for our upkeep. We really do not know what else to do to help our situations as every attempt to get help from the current government has been futile.

    Also, In addition to non-payment of students’ upkeep and accommodation allowances, tuitions have not been paid. As a reaction to that, the universities have stopped the RSSDA-sponsored scholars from
    attending classes and sitting for exams.

    In our Institution here in the Caribbeans, the final year medical students have been stopped from attending clinical rotations/clerkships,which means that we will not be allowed to sit for the final
    examinations or any licensing exams and may not be able to graduate this year due to the disruption. We fear that our several years of hard work in pursuing our medical degree may be in jeopardy especially considering the fact that we have barely a few months to finish. The situation we find ourselves is very critical as our education and future is at stake.

    As students, it is difficult for us to concentrate and study in harsh financial conditions, especially now that we should be preparing for our final exams and licensing exams. We do hope for a positive change as we face so many uncertainties. Our condition is now so pitiful that we are hopeless in a foreign land. Also, we would not be able to leave the country, as we are obliged to settle all debts owed and clear every
    financial commitment accrued (rent, utility bills and loans).

    We are hereby humbly appealing to the Rivers state governor, His Excellency, Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, the Rivers State Government, the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) and her partners (SHELL, NNPC, Total, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Agip, World Bank, USAID, DFID and NDDC) to please come to ouraid, as we are totally stranded, hopeless and frustrated.
    We do not know what will become of us in the coming weeks without theGovernment resolving this situation as we are facing uncertainties in a foreign land.

    Long live Rivers State,
    Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Friends desert governor over beef with EFCC

    On the Nigerian political scene, the fear of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has become the beginning of wisdom for friends of a controversial governor of one of the states in the South West. Most of his friends have vanished into thin air, while others who flaunted their relationship with him are now denying having anything to do with him.

    Before now, the home and office of the one-week-one-trouble politician were constantly filled with friends, politicians, contractors, favour seekers and hangers on. But now, his office is nothing better than a deserted island just like his home.

    The impending wrath of the EFCC has caused him to withdraw from the public glare until things cool off.

  • Tambuwal to Bill Gates: Come partner with us

    Tambuwal to Bill Gates: Come partner with us

    Sokoto state government has sought for a partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the development of agriculture and related sectors in the state.

    “We appreciate your efforts in improving healthcare delivery in Sokoto state in particular in Nigeria as a whole. I want to inform that the potential agricultural sector holds in Sokoto is enormous. We seek partnership with you to modernise the sector and improve the earnings of our farmers,” the state Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said during a video conference with Mr. Gates to assess the progress of Routine Immunisation in Sokoto.

    The immunisation programme is funded by the Gates, Dangote Foundation and the United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID).

    According to Tambuwal, with more than 85 percent of Sokoto’s population engaged in one form of agricultural activity or another, the partnership will create value for all parties and ensure rapid development of local farmers in the state.

    Agricultural development is one of the largest initiatives of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To date, the Foundation has committed more than US$2 billion to agric development efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

    In June this year, Gates launched a campaign to help extremely poor families in sub-Saharan Africa by giving them 100,000 chickens.

    According to him, raising and selling the birds can be efficient to tackle extreme poverty.

    Speaking on efforts to boost immunisation in Sokoto, Tambuwal assured the development partners that Sokoto government will meet its funding obligation, while a new data centre will be opened in the state ministry of health to ease collection and processing of data for proper planning.

     

     

     

  • Governor recalls sacked aides

    Party chieftains who were sacked or suspended for supporting Odubu have been recalled by Governor Adams Oshiomhole in the spirit of reconciliation.

    Oshiomhole announced this yesterday at a reconciliation meeting between him and Dr. Odubu.

    He said the party primary was to demonstrate internal democracy and distinguish the All Progressives Congress (APC) from other political parties.

    He noted that the step taken towards reconciliation was in the interest of the APC.

    He said: “The deputy governor and I have worked together, dined together, socialised together. For some time it’s being in the news that the deputy governor and I who I believe watchers of Nigeria politics will agree that Pius and I have had an extremely cordial relationship and I have had without any prompting that in my working with Pius I found him to be absolutely loyal, dedicated and committed.

    Responding, Odubu reaffirmed his commitment to the APC and victory at all elections.

    He said: “We will work even harder than we have ever worked because anyone who has occupied an office will want to leave a successor behind. We will want to leave with our party APC remaining in government. Political contestation is part of politics. We have gone through it all we have a winner and a loyal party man I am committed to working for the success of the party. I want to appreciate you Mr governor for taking back all those who were sacked.”

  • Bayelsa workers threaten to drag Dickson to EFCC over N1.2bn bailout

    Bayelsa workers threaten to drag Dickson to EFCC over N1.2bn bailout

    Local government workers in Bayelsa State, yesterday, reached a resolution to drag the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, to anti-graft agencies if after seven days he fails to produce the N1.2bn bailout he got from the Federal Government for their salaries.

    The workers vowed that Dickson and his officials would have a case with the Economic  and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) if they failed to produce the money.

    Workers in the state are undergoing economic hardship following the inability of the Dickson-led Restoration Government to pay them backlog of salaries.

    While the local government workers are owed over 13 months of salaries, civil servants have not been paid for about six months.

    Dickson got N1.2bn from the first tranche of bailouts doled out to local government areas by the Federal Government.

    The state has also been receiving allocations for local government areas from the Federation Account.

    Dickson, in the last Transparency briefing, while rendering account of how his government spent N95bn the state received from the federation account in the past one year, said out of the money, N12bn went to the eight local government areas.

    But the workers who rose from a joint emergency meeting under the aegis of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWUN) were angry that despite all the money, Dickson had refused to pay them.

    They were particularly unhappy that President Muhammadu Buhari pitied their condition, provided money for them but Dickson refused to pay them.

    The workers said they were going to also write a letter to the President to formally report their plight to them.

    The employees in a communique issued by a joint executive council of the two unions and signed by their secretaries, Mr. Tonye Jaja and Mr. Arafat Wibani, said they would ask the EFCC and the President to recover the money.

    “We will have no other option than to invite the Economic and Crimes Financial Commission to step in and recover the money”, they said.

    The workers further said they would not accept the proposal by the governor to pay them 50 per cent of their salaries.

    “The wages and salaries of workers are guided by law and cannot be slashed except the employees are convinced of the financial position of the state”, they said.

    They further called on the Commissioner for Local Government and Administration, Agatha Goma to always release the monthly statutory allocation to local councils after the Joint Allocation Committee (JAC ) as required by law.

    They urged the state government to without delay release the full January and February salaries to the genuine verified and confirmed staff of the local councils.

    They also advised the government to release 10 per cent of the Internally-Generated Revenue(IGR) and 20 per cent of the derivation funds for the running of the councils.

  • Abia: Court upholds INEC’s issuance of Certificate of Return to Ogah

    Abia: Court upholds INEC’s issuance of Certificate of Return to Ogah

    *Refuses PDP’s motion for stay of execution

    *Insists on Ikpeazu’s sack   

    *Judge slams Ikpeazu over Abia court’s order

    Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja on Friday upheld the certificate of return issued to Sampson Ogah as the Governor of Abia State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The judge also refused an application by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for stay of execution of its judgment sacking the incumbent Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu.

    He described as an abuse of court process, the two applications for stay of execution filed by the PDP, and proceeded to dismiss them.

    The judge berated Ikpeazu for going before the Abia State High Court, Osisioma to obtain an ex-parte order, with the intention of frustrating the execution of the judgment of his court.

    Justice Abang spoke while delivering two rulings on Friday in relation to the applications by Ikpeazu and his party, the PDP for the stay of execution of the court’s judgment in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1086/2014 and filed by a PDP member, Obasi Uba Eleagbara.

    The proceedings lasted about seven and half hours, from 9am to 4:30pm.

    The court had on June 27 gave two judgments sacking Ikpeazu on the ground that he was not qualified to contest the last PDP primary election in the state having made false representation about his tax status to INEC. The suits were the one by Eleagabara and Sampson Ogah.

    When the case by Eleagbara was called, Ikpeazu’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) told the court that he was not ready to argue the application for stay of execution filed on behalf of his client.

    Olanipekun sought an adjournment on the ground that he was new in the case and had not studied the application.

    But, lawyer to the plaintiff, Alex Iziyon objected to an adjournment and insisted that the application must be argued.

    On sensing that the judge was inclined to hearing the application, Olanipekun applied to withdraw the application. Iziyon did not object to Olanipekun’s application to withdraw, but told the judge to dismiss the application.

    Ruling, Justice Agang noted that having taken steps to circumvent the execution of the court’s judgment, the court could no longer indulge. Him.

    “Dr. Ikpeazu slapped the court in the face; went to a different court that is of coordinate jurisdiction and obtained another ex parte order that has the effect of neutralising the order of this court.

    “He slapped the court in the face, he cannot expect the court to grant him an indulgence. I so hold.

    “You cannot flout an order of court and expect the court to listen to you and grant you a discretionary indulgence. It is a serious matter to slap a court,” the judge said.

    While dismissing the applications for stay of execution by the PDP, Justice Abang he the party’s decision to file two application at the same time was an abuse of court process.

    He said: “The judgment of this court was given in favour of Dr. Sampson Ogah. One of the orders directed the PDP to forward the names of the person with the second highest votes at the PDP primary, Okezie Ikpeazu having been disqualified from contesting the primary, to INEC as the party’s candidate for the election.

    “The order made against Ikpeazu was rightly made. It subsists until it is set aside on appeal.

    “There is no issue of stay of execution. The judgment having been enforced by INEC, there is nothing to stay.

    “The judgment has been executed, certificate of return has been issued in favour of Ogah as Governor of Abia State.

    “There is no evidence that the motion for stay was served on INEC before it issued the certificate of return. Therefore, INEC lawfully issued the certificate of return to Ogah, which was issued in compliance with the orders of the court,” Justice Abang said.

    The judge awarded N40,000 cost against PDP to be paid to Ogah before it could take any further steps in the case.

    Earlier in relation to the case by Ogah, the judge elected to suspend further proceedings on the application for stay of the judgement in the case filed by Ikpeazu.

    The judge said his decision to stay further action in the case pending appeal, was informed by the concession by Iziyon that the appeal filed against the judgment had been entered at the Court of Appeal and that records of appeal had been complied.

    The judge said he would have proceeded to hear the applications pending before his court, including the one by the Ogah, which sought to set aside the order made the Osisioma High Court, but for the concession of Iziyon that the appeal having been entered, the trial court should stay all actions.

    Justice Abang, who drew a distinction between when a trial court could or could not stay proceedings because appeal had been entered at the Court of Appeal, said where it was an appeal against a final judgment, the trial court has the jurisdiction to hear an application for stay of execution.

    He relied on the provision of Order 7 Rule 3 and 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules to hold that a trial court could only stay proceedings where an appeal is entered at the Appeal Court if such an appeal was on an interlocutory decision.

    Justice Abang further held that where the decision appealed against was a final judgment of the trial court, such a court has the jurisdiction to first determine an application for stay of execution before such application is filed at the appellate court where the trial court refuses it.

  • Ogah: I’m not desperate to be Abia governor

    Ogah: I’m not desperate to be Abia governor

    A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Abia State, Dr Uche Ogah, yesterday said his demand to be sworn in as governor was not borne out of desperation.

    He said contrary to impression being created, his case against Governor Okezie Ikpeazu was far from being an ambush.

    According to him, his victory at the court is valid and not “a hurriedly executed legal ambush for the acquisition of political power as being insinuated by some persons.

    “My case is strongly anchored on facts, and the refusal of Ikpeazu to respond to the core issues and his resort to propaganda speaks volumes,” Ogah said.

    At a briefing in Lagos through his counsel Mr Monday Ubani, Ogah said his case commenced before Ikpeazu’s swearing in as governor and had reached the Supreme Court before returning to the lower court.

    Ogah said his claim was that Ikpeazu was not eligible to participate in the primaries on the basis that he failed to pay his taxes as and when due as required by the 1999 Constitution, PDP’s Guidelines and the Electoral Act of 2010. He said on the face of it, Ikpeazu’s tax clearance was questionable.

    The Tax Clearance form (Code PD002/G), dated November 4, 2014, and sworn to at the High Court Registry, Aba, shows that Ikpeazu’s tax receipt number for December 2011 is 0012849; that of December 2012 is 0012846 and that of December 2013 is 0012847 and 0012848.

    “Did he use one booklet to pay tax for three years? Is he the only one paying tax? How come the tax number which ends in 49 came first rather than last?,” Ubani asked.

    He said Ogah went to court soon after the primaries because the PDP’s appeal panel failed to respond to his complaints about Ikpeazu’s alleged non-qualification.

    When he filed the suit in 2014, Ikpeazu challenged the court’s jurisdiction. The appeal process got to the Court of Appeal until it was decided by the Supreme Court which ruled that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to hear the case.

    The first judge handling the case, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, withdrew from the case on the basis that he was accused of bias and returned the file to the Chief Judge. The matter was re-assigned to Justice Okon Abang.

    “If Ikpeazu is convinced about the rightness of his cause, he should vacate the seat, plead his case in a court of law and when granted victory come back rather than resort to propaganda,” Ubani said.

    According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should not be blamed for issuing Ogah with a certificate of return because the court ordered that it should be with immediate effect.

    Besides, there was no order to the contrary brought to INEC’s notice. “We got an enrolment order which INEC complied with,” Ubani said.

    The lawyer said legal steps would be taken to discharge the restraining order made by an Osisioma High Court stopping Ogah’s inauguration.

    “We have to vacate the order lawfully even though the judge who made the order did not indicate a return date,” Ubani said.

    On why Ogah should be sworn in, the lawyer said an appeal does not operate as a stay of execution in pre-election matters, adding that it is “absurd” for a court of coordinate jurisdiction to arrest an order made by another court.

    “The Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation should have ensured compliance with Justice Abang’s order in the absence of any contrary order, because the judgement says ‘with immediate effect’, and an appeal does not mean a stay of execution because it is not a criminal case,” Ubani said.

    He said Ogah would not take the laws into his hands but would pursue his case to the logical conclusion through the courts, adding that he was not desperate to be governor.

    Ubani said Ogah, an oil magnate, entrepreneur, investor and President of Master Energy Group, a conglomerate with over 15 subsidiaries and interests across a variety of industries with over 40,000 employees, “is not in the race for the money”.

    “He sees involvement in politics as an opportunity to have more solid and sustainable impact on Abia,” he added.

  • Akwaza: I’ll give myself up if the governor comes personally

    Terwase Akwaza, the ex-militant accused of complicity in the death of Denen Igbana, Governor Samuel Ortom’s aide, has said he will report to the police only if the governor visits him personally in his Gbishe home in Katsina Ala Local Government of Benue State.

    Akwaza also wants the Bishop of Katsina Ala Catholic Diocese and his kindred head, who led him to surrender his arms, to  lead him to the police.

    Akwaza, who was the first to surrender his arms, denied complicity in Igbana’s murder. He said since he enjoyed freedom under Ortom, he could not undermine his administration.

    “I told them many times that I have no hand in Igbana’s death. I even offered to help investigate his death but now that the governor has advised me to report to the police, I will, but only if he comes to me himself. The Bishop of Katsina Ala Catholic Diocese and my kindred head should also join him,” Akwaza said.

    He lamented that he was being blackmailed in the murder, reiterating that the bishop and his kindred head convinced him to believe in the amnesty programme, and he embraced it wholeheartedly.

  • Lawyer: governor can’t use immunity to commit fraud

    Lawyer: governor can’t use immunity to commit fraud

    A senior lawyer based in Ado Ekiti, Kolade Ilesanmi, has said the freezing of the personal bank account of Governor Ayo Fayose by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is in order and in line with the Act establishing the agency.

    Ilesanmi, who spoke in a chat with The Nation, contended that Section 28 of the EFCC Act 2002, empowers the commission to freeze the account of any suspect and obtain a court order thereafter.

    He argued that Section 28 of the EFCC Act gives the commission the power to go ahead and investigate Fayose, but cannot arraign him as he enjoys immunity from civil and criminal prosecution.

    Ilesanmi said the governor, his supporters and some lawyers sympathetic to his cause who are quoting Section 34 of the same Act were ignorant of the fact that it is not mandatory for the agency.

    The legal practitioner noted that while the provision in Section 28 carries the word “shall”,  that of Section 34 carries the word “may”.

    He noted that the latter is not binding on the EFCC while the former is.

    Section 28 of the EFCC Act 2002 reads: “Where a person is arrested for an offence under this Act, the commission shall immediately trace and attach all the assets and properties of the person acquired as a result of such economic or financial crime and shall thereafter cause to be obtained an interim attachment order from the court.”

    He stressed that if Fayose’s account was not frozen, the ‘res’ of the matter would be destroyed, arguing further that the ‘res’ must be protected.

    Ilesanmi said: “The word ‘shall’ is used there and under this present situation, the governor enjoys immunity under Section 308 (of the 1999 Constitution), he can’t be arrested or arraigned. He is immune from civil and criminal prosecution.

    “Where the world ‘shall’ is used, it is compulsory. Section 34 some lawyers rely on says ‘may’ and when the word ‘may’ is used, it does not impose compulsion and it means it is not mandatory for the commission to seek the order to attach the account or freeze the account.

    “The word ‘may’ in legal parlance is not mandatory; but under Section 28, the word ‘shall’ is used.”

    Ilesanmi added: “Where state funds have been stolen, are they saying the authorities empowered by law cannot recover the cash? The account frozen is the ‘res’ and where the ‘res’ is destroyed, where is the basis in the action.

    “You cannot use immunity as an engine of fraud, immunity is not absolute; it is there to protect the occupant of the office from distraction but they are misusing it in Nigeria.

    “If a governor had looted state funds and keeps it in a secret account, should they allow him to have access to it? What of if he wires the money out of the account or he dies, what happens to the money? We begin another round of legal bottleneck to repatriate the money.

    “The EFCC cannot wait and allow the ‘res’ to be destroyed; the action of the EFCC is in order and I quite agree with it.”