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Tag: Nigeria newspapers

  • Breaking: Appeal tribunal set aside judgment sacking Osun governor Oyetola

    In a split judgment of four to one, the appeal tribunal in the Osun State governorship election dispute has set aside the judgment by the tribunal sacking Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.

    Justice Jumai Sankey, who read the lead on Thursday, held that the election tribunal was wrong in its majority judgment authored by Justice Peter Obiorah, in voiding Oyetola’s victory.

    While three other members of the appeal tribunal agreed with Sankey, one dissented.

    Read Also: Osun: Oyetola, Adeleke, others know fate today

    The judgment, which the first of four, to be delivered by the appeal panel, is on the appeal filed by Oyetola
    The appeal panel is currently delivering its judgment in the appeal by the APC. It will also deliver judgments in the appeal by INEC and the cross-appeal by Ademola Adeleke and the PDP.

    Details Shortly…

  • Updated: National Assembly releases its 2018 budget details

    Onyedi Ojiabor, Abuja

    The National Assembly leadership Friday released details of its 2018 budget.

    The release of the details of the fiscal document followed the directive of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who asked the Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Mohammed Sani-Omolori, to publish the budget details with line items for the interest of Nigerians.

    Saraki also mandated the Clerk to make details of the National Assembly 2019 budget available for passage into law.

    In a letter addressed to the CNA dated 26 March, 2019, Saraki said that full details of the National Assembly budget with necessary line items should be made ready for passage as part of the National budget.

    The letter signed by the Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, is entitled, “Subject: NASS budget details.”

    It read in part, “The President of the Senate has asked me to request you to please ensure that the NASS Budget Details with all the line items are ready for passage along with the National Budget when Senate resumes next week. Thank you.”

    The breakdown of the N139,500,000,000 showed that the National Assembly office was allocated N 8,576,260,225 for total personnel cost, N4,536,048,933 for total overhead cost, total recurrent cost is N13,112,309,158 while the sum of N2,276,926,754 as total capital amounting to N15,389,235,912.

    For the Senate, N1, 856,510,517 was voted for personnel cost, N28,791,110,014 for overhead, N30,647,620,531 for recurrent expendiyure. N4,934,465,168 for capital vote amounting to a total of N35,582,085,699.

    For the House of Representatives, the sum of N4,923,743,127 was voted for personnel cost, N47,735,756,179 earmarked for overhead, N52,659,499,306 for recurrent expenditure, N4,765,638,487 for capital vote amounting to a total of N57,425,137,793.

    The National Assembly Service Commission was allocated N1,175,626,305 as personnel cost, N1,250,662,999, N2,426,289,304 recurrent, N309,791,962 capital budget, a total of N2,736,081,266.

    The controversial Legislative Aides have a budgetary provision of N9,517,127,214 personnel cost, N534,968,714 overhead cost, N10,052,095,928 recurrent, N150,000,000 capital, a total of N10,202,095,928.

    Curiously, the legislative aides have always been at daggers drawn with the leadership of the National Assembly over alleged unpaid allowances.

    It is not clear whether the purchase of computer for legislative aides, allocated N100 million and the another of purchase of computers also allocated N100million are parts of the breakdown of the budget.

    Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was allocated N118, 970,215 for overhead cost, N118, 970,215 for recurrent amount to a total of N118, 970,215.

    For the House of Representatives PAC, N142, 764,258 was voted for overhead cost, N142, 764,258 recurrent a total of N142, 764,258.

    General services received N8,967,743,268 for overhead cost, N8,967,743,268 for recurrent, N3,416,928,811 capital vote, a total of N12,384,672,079.

    Read Also: Southwest youths back Lawan, Gbajabiamila for National Assembly posts

    National Assembly Legislative Institute got N433,771,911 as personnel cost, N1,223,988,826 as overhead cost, N1,657,760,737 recurrent cost, N2,716,052,859 as capital vote amounting to a total of N4,373,813,596.

    Service Wide Vote received N1, 145,143,254.

    Total allocation -N26,483,039,299 as personnel cost, N93,302,013,406 as overhead cost, N119,785,052,705 recurrent, N18,569,804,041 capital vote amounting to a grand total of N139,500,000,000 as the National Assembly 2018 budget.

    Other break down of the budget showed that furniture and fittings received N214.55m; photocopying machine and other office equipment N368.674m, health and medical equipment N191.501, purchase of power generating sets and upgrade of power supply equipment—, Purchase of learning and teaching aid equipment N5million; purchase of library books and equipment N60million; purchase of motor vehicles N657.394 million, purchase of security equipment N440 million; rehabilitation/ repair of office buildings N232.805 million

     

     

  • Out-of-School children’s figure drops – Minister

    The Federal Government says the number of Out-of-School (OSC) Children in the country has reduced from 13.2 million to 10.2million, following various interventions of the government and development partners.

    The Minister of Education Malam Adamu Adamu said this at the 12th Edition of the Ministerial Press Briefing on the OSC Phenomenon held in Abuja on Friday.

    Adamu, who was represented by Mr. Sonny Echono, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, said that conflicting figures of out-of-school children were being given, ranging from 10 -13 million.

    Ministerial strategic plan states that Nigeria has 10.5 million children aged 6-14, out of school.

    However, a recent Demographic Health Survey (DHS) has shown that the population of out of school children in Nigeria has risen from 10.5 million to 13.2 million.

    According to him, the reasons adduced for this unfortunate phenomenon include, though, not limited to the following: financial incapacitation, violent conflicts and ignorance on the part of parents/guardians.

    He added that lack of political will to confront the ugly phenomenon, socio-cultural complexities, distance to schools; physically challenged children, child labour, migration and orphanage were other challenges of the OSC.

    He listed the most endemic states of the OSC to include: Kano, Akwa Ibom, Katsina, Kaduna, Taraba, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, Oyo, Benue Jigawa and Ebonyi.

    According to him, the concerns of this administration are two-fold; to find an empirical means of getting the figures right and the best ways of reducing the number to the barest minimum.

    “ln the last four years, therefore, we have been making efforts to determine the exact number of out-of-school children.

    “However, the good news is that the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and other stakeholders have been working towards this common goal of determining the number of children of school age who are not in school.

    “Similarly, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the World Bank, United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF), and other development partners are collaborating to reduce the number of out-of-school children.

    “For now, based on the recently conducted National Personnel Audit of both Public and Private schools, Nigeria has an estimated out of school children population of 10,193,918,’’ he said.

    Adamu explained that the ministry has, however, encountered some challenges in a bid to reduce the number of OSC.

    He enumerated the challenges as inadequate security due to banditry/insurgency, misconceptions about the value of education and slow implementation of UBEC programmes by States Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs).

    He listed other challenges to include: low draw down of matching grant by SUBEBs, inadequate funds for special education, inadequate grassroots needs assessment before project execution and wrong location of projects.

    Read Also: Senate releases details of National Assembly’s 2018 budget

    Adamu added that the ministry in collaboration with the National Mass Adult and Non-Formal Education Commission had also developed a template to capture the OSC within the space of the next five years.

    “We have sent out our team to countries like Pakistan and Indonesia that have similar issues with Nigeria and find a way they were able to overcome it.

    “We have also carried out advocacy and sensitisation programmes on monitoring and mentoring of School Based Management Committees (SBMCs) on school governance in 36 states and FCT.

    “Steps are being taken under UBEC to construct 2,493 new classroom, 2,457 VIP toilets,19 laboratories, 91boreholes, 1,266 renovated, classrooms, procured 192,985 pupils and 10,038 teachers’ furniture,’’ the minister said.

    He said these interventions would further reduce the number of OSC in the country.

  • Boy drowns in stagnant pool in Kano

    A 14- year-old boy, Huzaifa Abdulrashid, has drowned while bathing in a stagnant pool called “Promise” at Gwarzo Road in Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State.

    The spokesman of the Kano State Fire Service, Mr Saidu Mohammed, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the incident happened on Friday morning when the deceased went to take his bath.

    “We received a distress call today from one Malam Habibu Ibrahim at about 07:35 a.m. that Abdulrashid’s body was found floating in the water.

    Read Also: House of Reps Speaker: Kano legislators endorse Gbajabiamila

    “On receiving the information, we quickly sent our rescue team to the scene at about 07:43 a.m.

    “Abdulrashid was found dead and his corpse was handed over to the Ward Head of Dandago, Alhaji Abubakar Sani,’’ he said.

    Mohammed advised the general public to be more careful when bathing in open water.

    NAN reports that there had been frequent deaths in open water through drowning since the commencement of the heat season in Kano over a month ago.

  • Supreme Court seals Rivers APC’s fate

    It was the end of the road on Thursday for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State as the Supreme Court struck out three appeals filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Patrick Cole and members of his faction of the party.

    The appeals were against the judgment that excluded the APC from fielding candidates in the last elections in the state.

    A seven-man panel of the apex court, led by Justice Ibrahim Muhammad held, in a ruling on Thursday that the three appeals were defective, incompetent and could not be heard by the court.

    The appeals were: SC/295/ 2019 filed by APC, with People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) listed among respondents; SC/266/2019 filed by APC, with Magnus Abe and others as respondents and SC/267/2019 filed by Tonye Patrick Cole, with Magnus Abe and others as respondents.

    Justice Muhammad, in the first ruling delivered on SC/295/2019, upheld that argument by PDP’s lawyer, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) to the effect that the notice of appeal filed by the APC was defective.

    Read Also: Rivers APC Primaries, INEC and Supreme Court uncertainty

    The judge noted that, rather the heading a portion of the notice of appeals “Reliefs sought from the Supreme Court,” it was wrongly headed “Reliefs sought from the Court of Appeal.”

    He said the implication of that error was that the appellant did not seek any relief from the Supreme Court, and thereby contravened the court’s rules, particularly Order 8 Rule 2, a development that rendered the appeal incompetent.

    The same errors were noticed in the other two appeals, which made the appellants’ lawyers, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN) and Tuduru Ede to withdraw both appeals, following which the court struck them out.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had, based on a judgment of a Rivers State High Court, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal, excluded candidates of the Rivers APC from its last elections.

    By the three appeals, the APC had sought a consolidation of all existing appeals relating to the dispute over the primary elections held in the state; the avoiding of the judgment on which INEC acted and the recognition of Patrick Cole and others as the party’s actual candidates.

    Patrick Cole (APC governorship candidate) and others had emerged from the primary conducted by a faction of the party, which the Senator Magnus Abe faction objected to.

    When the first appeal marked: SC/295/2019 was called, Okutepa, for the appellant, adopted the appellant’s brief of argument and urged the court to allow the appeal.

    Okutepa urged the court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which described the appeal by the APC against the judgment of the trial court as mere academic exercise.

    He urged the court to invoke it powers under Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to hear and determine this issue on the merit and grant the reliefs the Court of Appeal failed to grant.

    While responding, Ukala urged the court to dismiss the appeal for being unmeritorious and uphold his preliminary objection.

    Ukala in arguing his preliminary objection, referred the court to page 1768, volume 3 of the records of appeal and argued that the reliefs sought by the appellant, as contained in the page, are not grantable by this court.

    He noted that “all the reliefs it (the appellant) sought can only be granted by the Court of Appeal, because it is directed at that court. In this instance, there are no valid reliefs before this court.”

    Ukala, who argued that the error noted in the notice of appeal was fatal to the appeal, said it breached Order 2 Rule 8 and Order 8 Rule 2 of the Supreme Court’s Rules.

    He argued that, by asking the court to invoke Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act to determine the case on the merit and set aside the judgment in the suit marked: PHC/78/2018, the appellant wants the court to overrule itself.

    Ukala contended that the court had, in its earlier decisions in cases relating to the
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  • Alleged N544m fraud: Court fixes May 23 for trial of ex- SGF, others

    An FCT High Court in Maitama, on Thursday, fixed May 23 for the commencement of the trial of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal and three others, over alleged N544 fraud.

    The former SGF was arraigned on Feb. 12 alongside Hamidu Lawal, a director in his company, Sulaiman Abubakar, staff in the company and Apeh Monday, managing director Josmon Technologies Limited

    Also joined are two companies, Rholavision Engineering Limited and Josmon Technologies Limited.

    The case before Justice Jude Okeke, was fixed for May 23 , at the instance of the court with the consensus of all the counsel in the matter.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN ) reports that Lawal, was not in court but other defendants in the matter were.

    The defendants were dragged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 10-count charge bordering on conspiracy and unlawful award of contract to companies Lawal has interest at the sum of N544 million.

    Lawal was accused of benefiting illegally from the approval of N544,119,925.36 for the removal of invasive plant species and simplified irrigation.

    Read Also: EFCC fails to open trial in case against ex-SGF, Babachir Lawal, others

    The EFCC alleged that Babachir Lawal being the SGF and Hamidu Lawal, director of Rholavision Engineering Limited and Abubakar, staff about March 7, 2016 at Abuja conspired to commit the offences.

    EFCC said the defendants fraudulently acquired a property, contrary to Section 26 (1) (c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

    It also alleged that Babachir Lawal knowingly held indirectly a private interest in the consultancy contract awarded to Rholavision Engineering Limited for the removal of invasive plant species and simplified irrigation to the tune of N7 million and N6.4 million.

    EFCC claimed that it was done through the Presidential Initiative for North East (PINE).

    It further alleged that on March 4, and Aug. 22, 2016 contract for removing evasive grass worth N272.5 million and N258.1 million respectively were awarded to Josmon technologies but executed by Rholavision.

    The offences are contrary to Section 12 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

    They all pleaded not guilty to the allegations against them.

  • Banditry: Katsina donates 12 vehicles to Police

    As part of measures to tackle armed bandits and other violent criminal elements currently terrorizing Katsina state, the state government on Wednesday donated 12 vehicles to the Nigeria Police Force.

    The Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu who said the present security challenges could be won, directed the men of the Police Special Forces and other Tactical Units currently deployed in Katsina State to deal decisively with those terrorizing innocent citizens in the State.

    The Force Spokesman, DCP Frank Mba in statement in Abuja said the IGP gave the charge on Wednesday while addressing the combined Teams of Police Operatives at the Katsina Police Command Headquarters in continuation of his operational tour of the North Central and North Western States.

    The IGP while admitting the obvious security challenges facing the nation at different fronts, insisted that the security challenges are not insurmountable.

    Read Also: IGP vows to smoke out bandits and kidnappers

    He also assured that everything humanly and operationally possible is being done towards bringing a permanent end to incidences of armed banditry and other crimes in the country.

    The IGP had earlier paid a courtesy call on Katsina Governor, Aminu Masari, where he sought his support in the renewed fight against criminal elements.

    Responding, Masari who was represented by his Deputy, Alh. Mannir Yakubu, pledged full support of the State Government and the Citizens to ‘Operation Puff Adder’ and other security initiatives of the Nigeria Police Force.

    The Operation also got a boost in its operational asset as the State Government made a donation of 12 Toyota Hilux vans to the Police in the aid of the mission.

    Mba also stated that the IGP also visited the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Usman, where he sought his cooperation and other traditional authorities in the fight against criminals.

  • Assassins after my life, says AAC’s Awara

    The governorship candidate of African Action Congress (AAC) in Rivers State, Biokpomabo Awara, has raised the alarm on plots to assassinate him.

    Awara, an indigene of coastal Kula-Kalabari in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers state, told our correspondent on phone he was robbed of his well-deserved victory during the March 9 election by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He accused the officials of collaborating with leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The governorship candidate of AAC, who is being backed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), said: “Information reaching me is that some boys have been dispatched to trail and assassinate me, even in Abuja, since I have refused to give up on my March 9, 2019 mandate.”

    Read Also: Navy arrests three suspects with 416 bags of contraband rice

    Awara maintained that as at the time the collation of results of the polls was suspended by INEC headquarters in Abuja on March 10, he had 281,000 votes as against Wike’s 79,000 votes.

    He also expressed displeasure his agent, Dr. Lawrence Chuku, was prevented on April 2 and 3, from accessing the collation centre inside INEC office on Aba Road, Port Harcourt.

    He alleged the commission’s compromised officials and security personnel allowed Nenye Kocha, who was accused of impersonating AAC, as the party’s collation agent, despite AAC’s protest.

  • Judge withdraws from Okorocha’s certificate of return suit against INEC

    A judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Taiwo Taiwo has withdrawn from a suit filed by Imo Governor Rochas Okorocha with which he sought to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue him with a certificate of return.

    INEC has failed to issue Okorocha a certificate of return weeks after declaring him winner of Imo West Senatorial District with the returning officer claiming to have acted under duress.

    The decision by Justice Taiwo to withdraw from the case was informed by allegation of bias raised against him by the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the February 23 National Assembly election – Jones Onyeriri and Senator Osita Izunaso.

    Onyeriri wrote petition to the court’s Chief Judge, querying the judge’s neutrality while Izunaso filed a motion, asking the judge to disqualify himself from further hearing the case on grounds of likelihood of being bias.

    Justice Taiwo, while announcing his withdrawal on Wednesday, said he would return the case file to the court’s Chief Judge for re-assignment to a new judge.

    Onyeriri , in his petition, accused the judge of making utterances in which he “clearly prejudged the substantive issues that will be resolved in this matter and clearly showed he has taken sides with the plaintiff (Okorocha).”

    In an affidavit deposed to by a lawyer, Chijioke Nzekwe, on his behalf, Onyeriri claimed the judge told INEC’s lawyer, Wendy Kuku that the electoral body was responsible for the problems associated with the election.

    He added: “’The honourable judge went further to say that he has read through the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and found nothing therein that robs him of the jurisdiction to hear his suit.’

    Read Also: Igbo women chide INEC over Okorocha

    “This pronouncement shocked all the counsel who were present in court and even members of the public and press men, who were in the gallery because 2nd and 3rd defendant (INEC and Onyeriri) have notices of preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear this matter.”

    Izunaso, in his motion on notice dated April 8, 2019, asked for an order transferring the suit to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for re-assignment to any other judge of the court.

    In the motion, filed by his lawyer, Prince Orji Nwafor- Orizu, Isunso urged the judge to desist from further hearing the suit, on the grounds that “there is likelihood of bias on the part of this honourable court to continue to hear the suit as the honourable presiding Judge has expressed an opinion favourable to the plaintiff even without the hearing of the substantive suit.

    “The said utterances were made on April 5, 2019 which utterances clearly pre-judged the substantive issues that will be resolved in this matter and clearly showed that the Honourable presiding judge has taken sides with the plaintiff.”

  • 7 things you may not know about Aliko Danogte at 62

    Aliko Dangote, the richest African – as ranked by Forbes Magazine, celebrates his 62nd birthday today and here are some facts that you might not have known about the business mogul.

    1. Aliko Dangote has survived three plane crashes in his lifetime. One was in London in 1983, which left the pilot dead and co-pilot paralysed. He survived another crash in 1996 that killed his brother and another in Angola in 2008.

    2. He was exposed to the entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. From as early as when he was in primary school, he would bring a carton of sweets to sell to his peers for profit making.

    3. He fell in love and proposed to the woman of his dreams, Nafisat Yar’Adua (daughter of late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua) but was turned down.

    4. Dangote declared in an interview in 2010 that he had intentions of buying Arsenal club in 2020.

    5. His company, Dangote cement, is the largest cement production company in Africa with production capacity of 20M tons per year.

    6. Aliko Dangote has retained his position as the richest man in Africa for eight years straight.

    7. Back in 1977, he took a loan of N500, 000 from his uncle to start his own business.