The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lawal Shuaibu

  • Oshiomhole vow to reposition APC

    …Orders “Fake Director” out of secretariat

     

     

    The new National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on Tuesday told staff of the national secretariat of the party to brace up for the new realities in the party and be ready the changes that will occur in the party in time to come.

    While holding a meeting with the staff of the party, moments after taking over from his predecessor, Comrade Oshiomhole took his first decision, sacking a man that has been parading himself at the secretariat for the past four years as Director of Finance of the party.

    The Nation gathered that at the moment, the party has only two full-fledged Directors and has not employed any Director of Finance since its inception.

    The “fake Director of Finance” identified as Timothy Akojuru was said to have worked with the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) as Director of Finance.

    Before going into a closed door meeting, Oshiomhole has publicly told the workers while taking over that he would improve their welfare and ensure that they were well enumerated, but must work hard to earn whatever they will be paid.

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    A source who attended the meeting said that the former Labour leader hinted of a possible downsizing of those working in the secretariat as all the staff must have one function or the other to perform.

    The source said that Oshiomhole told the staff that a situation were drivers for example were more than the available vehicles within the secretariat will no longer be allowed, stressing that all those who have no business working in the secretariat will not be allowed to remain.

    The source said when the new chairman asked the “fake Director” what is responsibilities within the secretariat was, he simply said “I’m a director of finance.”

    The source said “Oshiomohle was surprised and quickly asked the Deputy National Chairman, Lawal Shuaibu and the National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni to confirm the statement, but none of them could defend him.

    “Instead, Sen. Shuaibu was said to have asked him where and how he got his appointment letter, but Akojuru could not provide a satisfactory answer. At this point, the new chairman asked him to leave the meeting or he invites police to arrest him”.

    Akojuru was said to have applied for the position of Director of Finance in the secretariat, but has not employed nether was a letter of appointment issued to him, but has remained in the secretariat, reporting for duty on a daily basis.

    The former Edo State Governor was also said to have informed the staff that the secretariat, even though a party secretariat will be administered like every other office, stressing that all staff must henceforth report for duty as early as 8.00am when other offices open for business as the current resumption time of between 9 and 10 am.

    While assuring staff of better welfare, Comrade Oshiomhole also directed the staff to stop loitering around the secretariat during working hours.

    At the time of this report, Oshiomhole was locked in a meeting with members of the National Working Committee and senior staff of the party, with a view to charting the way forward.

  • Osibanjo, nPDP meeting reconvenes Monday

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) said on Thursday that the meeting between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and members of the new PDP will resume on Monday, January 4 to discuss specific demands put forward by the Abubakar Kawu Baraje led group.

    Deputy National Chairman (North) of the party, Senator Lawal Shuaibu who disclosed this however denied that the new PDP members demanded that the trial of Senate President before the Code of Conduct Tribunal he stopped during their meeting with the Vice President on Monday.

    Senator Shuaibu who is leading the party in the discussion with the aggrieved party members said the meeting between the Vice President, the party and the new PDP members agreed to reconvene with smaller delegation T9 discuss specific issues brought forward by the groups.

    Shuaibu said “There was no time during Monday’s meeting the condition was given that Sen. Bukola Saraki’s CCT trial must be withdrawn”.

    He said a smaller group of eight persons comprising the Vice President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Deputy National Chairman (North) and five representatives of the former nPDP members.

    According to him, Monday’s meeting which had in attendance twenty former nPDP members focussed superficially on ‘general discussions’, while the next meeting scheduled for next Mondaywill “go into the business of discussing the [former nPDP] specific demands”.

    Shuaibu said “When we got to the meeting venue in Aguda House, the Vice President felt we were too many. He said for the meeting to achieve any meaningful result, we needed a much smaller group. On that, there debates as to how many people.

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    “The Vice President suggested that the nPDP bring three representatives, and then himself, the Attorney General and myself to make up three so that we have six. But they (nPDP) insisted that they needed more than three representatives and we finally settled on five. From there we went into general discussions, nothing specific.

    “We said when they (nPDP) are ready with their five representatives, then we will sit down and go into the business of discussing the specific demands. There was no time during Monday’s meeting the condition was given that Sen. Bukola Saraki’s CCT trial must be withdrawn.

    “I don’t know where they got that story from. I have a strong feeling that whoever wrote that story was only being speculative because nobody could have said that.

    Sen, Shuaibu added that the basis for last Monday’s meeting was the content of the former nPDP’s letter submitted to the Party and copied to the President and Vice President, adding that “content of the letter which is now public, that is what the basis of their demands are. At the next meeting on Monday, we will go into the specifics. That letter will be x-rayed point by point.”

    On whether the meeting discussed the recently conducted ward, local government and state congresses, he said: “The letter did not even bring the issue of congresses because it was written before we started congresses. But the issue of congresses was raised in the meeting of Monday. The House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara raised the issue and we said when we come for the specifics, we will talk about that.

    “When certain issues come up, there are ways we can always address them. Are you saying we can’t make amends? Yes we can. Decisions are made and amends of such decisions are always possible. Politics is not madness, there must be a way of accommodating people’s grievances. There must be a way of carrying people along, especially those who are left behind in any process.”

     

  • FMBN issues 2,724 mortgages worth N20.237bn – Fashola

    FMBN issues 2,724 mortgages worth N20.237bn – Fashola

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola said that since 2015 to date, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria ( FMBN ) had issued 2,724 mortgages to Nigerians.

    Fashola disclosed this while inaugurating the respective Governing Boards of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and FMBN on Thursday in Abuja.

    The minister noted that the mortgages which were issued under the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme were worth N20.237 billion.

    He said the ministry was piloting a National Housing Programme and constructing houses in 33 states to ensure more Nigerians own homes.

    “We are doing this to validate and test what type of housing design responds to Nigeria’s diverse cultural, climatic and religious needs, so as to ascertain what is acceptable and affordable.

    “We are at different stages of construction in different states, and we have recommended these designs to FHA, without imposing them.

    “Our decision is informed by the evidence of previous housing initiatives that people did not take up resulting in empty houses that still abound in almost every state of Nigeria,’’ he said.

    The minister explained that the untaken houses in spite of housing deficit suggested that they were not affordable or acceptable to the people.

    He urged the newly inaugurated member of the boards to reposition their brands and provide guidance for the Managing Directors and Management teams of the orgaisations.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, let me state that the policy of government is to deliver affordable housing, acceptable to Nigerians.

    “The agencies, whose brands you will now administer are the implementing arms of government for housing delivery and housing financing.

    “You must, therefore, use your positions to affect the lives of millions of people who will partake and benefit of the prosperity that a housing economy can offer,’’ he said.

    In response, the FHA board Chairman, Sen. Lawal Shuaibu promised to employ collective efforts to reposition the housing sector.

    Shuaibu assured that national housing policy would be effectively implemented.

    Also speaking, Mr Adewale Adeeyo, FMBN board Chairman commended the laudable programmes of the ministry aimed at raising the standard of Nigerians.

    Adeeyo pledged that the FMBN board would make a monumental impact through provision of affordable mortgages to Nigerians.

    NAN

  • APC to INEC: Compel PDP to publish list of campaign fund donors

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prevail on the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to make public the list of those who donated the N21 billion to its campaign funds and the source of such money in accordance with the Electoral Act.

    The Deputy National Chairman of the party, Senator Lawal Shuaibu told journalists at his Abuja residence that the law does not allow anybody to take government money and use same for political campaign.

    He said if a governor takes money from the state account and donates same to the campaign funds, INEC has the responsibility to sanction the PDP for that and even prosecute such person.

    He explained that the electoral acts makes it mandatory for persons donating money to campaign funds to make public the source of such funds, adding that such funds will not come in sacks or bags, but will come in form of funds transfer, cheques or bank drafts.

    Shuaibu said: “If the Independent National Electoral Commission is serious about enforcing the provisions of the electoral act, the first thing they will do is to ensure that every member of the PDP who pledged a donation at the fund raising, the receipt is produced by the party and the individual or organization must show INEC the source of the money.

    “This is the law and the electoral act is very clear about this. When a governor says he has donated N1 billion, it must not be from government coffers. INEC knows that the governor has no right to take people’s money and donate.

    “The National, Chairman of the party, Adamu Mu’azu said part of that money will be used to complete the national secretariat and the rest will be used for campaign at all levels. There is provision in the law that says you can’t use government money meant for developmental projects for political campaign.

    “So, the party should show us the receipt issued to each donor by the party and let us see the accounts of the PDP because such money cannot come in bags and sacks, but through some instruments.

    “We must know the source of that money. If it comes from government’s account, government has responsibility to sanction the PDP or prosecute the person who stole government money for political campaigns. In our own case, we intend to do fund raising which is going to be very transparent, whoever donates money, we will publish it so that the whole world will see.”