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  • UPDATED: Court winds-up P&ID, local affiliate

    Upon their conviction on Thursday, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the winding-up of a controversial engineering firm, Process and Industrial Development Limited and its affiliate in Nigeria, P&ID Nigeria Limited.

    The court also ordered the forfeiture of their assets and properties to the Federal Government.

    Justice Inyang Ekwo, before whose court the firms pleaded guilty to an 11-count charge of fraud and tax evasion, gave the orders after convicting them on Thursday.

    The charge filed on behalf of the Federal Government by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is in respect of the firms’ unlawful conduct in relation to the controversial Gas Supply Project Agreement (GSPA), over which an arbitration tribunal that sat in London awarded damages estimated at about $9.6billion against Nigeria.

    They were, among others, accused of fraudulently claiming to have acquired land from the Cross River State Government in 2010 for the Gas Supply Project Agreement (GSPA).

    The two companies were represented at the arraignment earlier on Thursday by Mohammad Kuchazi, described as Commercial Director, P&ID Ltd, Virgin Island, and Adamu Usman, identified as representative of P&ID Nigeria Limited.

    The two men pleaded guilty to the charge. While Usman, who is a lawyer represented himself, Kuchazi was represented by a lawyer, Dandison Akurunwua.

    Upon the defendants’ guilty pleas, the prosecution, led by Bala Sanga called its sole witness, Usman Babangida, an EFCC investigator, who mounted the witness box, for the review of facts, which the defence team did not object to.

    Also, the defence did not object to the prosecution’s tendering of documents relating to the 2010 GSPA and EFCC’s investigation activities, which the judge admitted in evidence.

    At the conclusion of the prosecution’s presentation, Justice Ekwo proceeded to convict both firms.

    Read Also: P&ID agents admit fraud, tax evasion charges

    Akurunwua, while praying the court to be lenient with his client, urged the court to consider “the forthrightness and candour” of P&ID by pleading guilty and not wasting the time of the court in the trial.

    Usman, representing the P&ID Nigeria Limited, both as its personality and lawyer, equally spoke in similar manner.

    Responding, Sanga prayed the court to order the winding-up of the firms in sentencing them.

    In his judgment, Justice Ekwo held that the position of the law, in view of the facts, evidence and the defendant’s guilty plea, the orders for the court to make are for the winding up of the companies and forfeiture of their assets.

    The judge proceeded to order the forfeiture of “the assets and properties” of the two firms to the Nigerian government.

  • How Adamawa varsity survived adversities to attain 98% course accreditation

    The management of Adamawa State University, Mubi, has recounted how the institution emerged from Boko Haram occupation of its campus between 2014 and 2015 besides two other crippling challenges to attain 98 percent of its courses duly accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    The acting Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Kaletapwa Farauta, spoke when the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) paid a courtesy call on the university management.

    He stated that Boko Haram invasion and destruction of facilities was followed not long after resumption of academic activities in 2015 by long drawn disharmony between management and staff over entitlements and reduction in allocation to the university in 2017.

    She added that the university has weathered the storms through innovation and personal sacrifices by all members of management and staff.

    “This is the only university in the country where the insurgents gained entrance and sat where we are sitting today (Senate Building). The entire university was overrun, with buildings badly damaged and office equipment, furniture, vehicles destroyed or stolen,” she recounted.

    Farauta, who became acting VC in 2017, said she and other members of management who were appointed in place of a dismissed management team at the time over unending conflicts that involved management, staff and even students, met a polarized university.

    She added that the crisis-ridden environment was made worse by a cut in the subvention by the state government to the university.

    She recalled: “Before July 2017, the percentage of allocation coming to this university was 5%. From the day I walked in here as the acting vice chancellor (July 20, 2017), it was reduced to 3%.

    Explaining some of what have been the university’s surviving strategies, she mentioned prudent management of resources and innovation with accreditation by which the university uses internal staff to conduct mock accreditation exercises in preparation of courses for NUC’s accreditation, among other strategies.

    Read Also: U.S. ICT university to boost ICT in Adamawa

     

    She disclosed that of the 2% of courses yet to be accredited by the NUC, seven are set for NUC’s visitation, namely Mass Communication, Biochemistry, History, languages, Micro Biology, Biochemistry, Geology and Business Administration.

    The state Chairman of the NUJ, Mr Ishaka Dedan, who led other executives of the union on the courtesy visit to the university, appealed for admissions for members of the union seeking such opportunity.

    He pleaded they be granted rebate to enable them take advantage of the favour.

    “We have about 400 members in the state council of the NUJ. Many of this number got into the profession with diploma certificates. Those who may wish to come for higher qualifications, please open your doors to us,” Dedan said.

    He promised the university fair reporting of its events and issues by NUJ members in line with the union’s resolve to partner the university for a mutually benefitting relationship.

  • JUST IN: Osinbajo presides over National Economic Council

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday presided over the monthly National Economic Council (NEC) at the State House.

    In a tweet by Mr. Laolu Akande, the spokesperson to the Prof. Osinbajo, NEC is the constitutional body that advises the President on the coordination of the economic affairs of the country.

    He noted that Governors, the Central Bank of Nigeria governor and some members of the Federal Executive Council were in attendance.

    “Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is now presiding over the monthly National Economic Council, NEC meeting with state governor, CBN governor and some members of the FEC,” he tweeted.

    He then added that, “NEC is the constitutional body that advises the President on the coordination of economic affairs of the Nigerian federation.

    NEC under the leadership of Prof Osinbajo between 2015 to April 2019, passed 173 resolutions in 38 meetings.

    Read Also: Osinbajo raises panel to recover N5tr AMCON debts

    Some of the them include: the approval of $650 million seed funding as the Federal Government established Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund.

    NEC also approved Community Policing in Nigeria as well as synergy among security agencies in a bid to improve intelligence gathering and end internal security crisis which included kidnapping.

    The Council approved the National Transformation Livestock Plan (NLTP) which was launched by the Vice President in Adamawa on September 10.

    NEC under Osinbajo’s leadership approved Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) clinics to help MSME with loans, materials and to make the process of doing business easy.

  • FIFA tells Iran it is time to allow women into stadiums

    FIFA President Gianni Infantino has told Iran it is time to allow women into football stadiums and that the global soccer body expects “positive developments”, starting with their next home match in October.

    While foreign women have been allowed limited access to matches, Iranian women have been banned from stadiums when men’s teams have been playing, since just after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

    Infantino said in a FIFA statement he was hopeful that the Iranian football federation and government authorities had been receptive to “our repeated calls to address this unacceptable situation.”

    He added, “Our position is clear and firm. Women have to be allowed into football stadiums in Iran.

    “Now is the moment to change things and FIFA is expecting positive developments starting in the next Iran home match in October.”

    Iran, who have qualified for five World Cup finals, including each of the last two, host Cambodia on Oct. 10 in their first home game of the 2022 qualifying competition.

    This month, a female fan died after setting herself on fire to protest against her arrest for attending a match.

    Sahar Khodayari, dubbed “Blue Girl” for the colours of her favourite team Esteghlal, died in hospital after her self-immolation outside a court where she feared being jailed for six months, having attended the match in disguise as a man.

    READ ALSO: Why we banned Siasia for life, by FIFA

    Khodayari’s death has caused widespread outrage in Iran and internationally, prompting calls on social media for Iran’s football federation to be suspended or banned by FIFA.

    Critics say FIFA’s own statutes hold discrimination on grounds of gender punishable by suspension or expulsion.

    There were signs the situation regarding female fans in Iran was changing when a group of women was permitted to attend the second leg of the Asian Champions League final in Tehran last November, a match where Infantino was present.

    Female fans, however, have been denied access to matches since. At Iran’s friendly against Syria in June, women were locked out of the Azadi Stadium and detained by security forces.

    Infantino said a FIFA delegation was now in Iran. “I am looking forward to hearing good news from them,” he said.

    (Reuters/NAN)

  • Strike on Iran would mean ‘all-out war’, says Iranian minister

    Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that the consequence of a Saudi or U.S. military strike on Iran would be an “all-out war.”

    The rhetoric between the U.S. and Iran has escalated in recent days following attacks on two Saudi oil facilities that Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Tehran. Tehran denies involvement.

    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called the attacks an “act of war” by Iran.

    READ ALSO: There won’t war with US – Iran Supreme Leader

    “I make a very serious statement about defending our country,” Zarif told U.S. broadcaster CNN.

    “We believe that a military confrontation based on deception is awful … but we won’t blink to defend our territory,” he said.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • BREAKING: FIBA ranking: Nigeria moves to 23rd

    After the sterling FIBA World Cup outing, Nigeria Basketball Federation has moved up 10 places in the latest FIBA ranking. Nigeria is now ranked 23rd.

    D’Tigers who became the first country in the world to qualify for the World Cup won three games and lost two to finish on the 17th spot out of the 32 teams in China.

  • Xenophobia: Malawian repatriates displaced nationals from South Africa

    The Malawian Government announced on Wednesday that it had hired two buses to repatriate nationals, who were displaced, following xenophobic attacks on foreigners in South Africa.

    The buses left Johannesburg on Tuesday evening and the repatriated Malawians would be back home on Thursday, Secretary for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, Wilson Moleni, said in a statement.

    Moleni said the repatriation was decided after the government received a report from the Malawi High Commission in South Africa that 113 Malawians had been displaced.

    The displaced Malawians were being kept in temporary shelters set by the South Africa’s disaster management authorities in Katlehong town, 35 kilometres east of Johannesburg, the secretary said in the statement.

    Read Also: Xenophobia and Onyema’s patriotism

    He added: “Out of the 113 displaced Malawians, 76 expressed willingness to return home’’.

    Upon arrival, the repatriated Malawian nationals will be provided with temporary shelter in the commercial city of Blantyre before travelling to their various destinations, according to Moleni.

  • AOCOED Council sacks union leaders

    The Governing Council of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Ijanikin, Lagos on Wednesday sacked the chairman, Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (SSUCOEN) Wumi Ombugadu.

    The Council equally demoted the secretary and assistant secretary of the union Afis Adebayo and Afolabi Oladipo respectively.

    The Council, led by Professor of Economics Education Tunde Samuel, approved Ombugadu’s retirement and the demotion of two others based on the recommendations of the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee.

    Until her retirement, Ombagadu was a Principal Assistant Registrar in the college.
    The development provoked a protest at the college premises led by the National Vice President of SSUCOEN Mr. Nicholas Ogbusuo alongside the Lagos State chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Olufunmi Sessi who condemned Council’s decision as unjust.

    The protesters went around and chasing their members out from the offices.

    Ogbusuo said the panel that took the decision met outside the college, thus making the sitting illegal and condemned the action of the Council.

    He said the council and management ignored the memorandum signed by the state government, governing council, management and SSUCOEN but went ahead to retire and demote two others because they failed to give the management their congress resolution.

    Nonetheless, the Registrar of AOCOED, Mr Muhideen Shehu, described the protest as ‘lawless’.

    ”No constituted authority will accept such action. The management will not tolerate hooliganism and gangsterism on campus. We don’t have any letter about the protest by SSUCOEN. It was a disciplinary action and we surprise about the protest,” Shehu told The Nation.

    Shehu said Ombugadu was retired and paid three month salary in lieu of notice for failure to appear before the governing council’s disciplinary panel.

    Shehu recalled how the trio were initially queried for failure to appear before the panel on alleged infractions, but they flaunted the directive..

    According to him, the governing council had earlier rescinded its decision because of the intervention of the Lagos State government, which directed the three unionists to appear before the panel.

    Shehu said based on the government’s directive, the three were given another chance to defend themselves against allegations of confrontation against the Council and management.

    Muhidden noted that while the two others responded, Ombugadu refused to appear, a development which the Registrar said necessitated different sanctions meted out to the union leaders.

    Going down memory lane, She said after the Council and management agreed to promote the level nine workers, the state government asked the college to reverse the decision but SUUCOEN resisted the move and engaged the Council and management in confrontation.

    ”As I speak to you, Wunmi Ombugadu is no longer the staff of AOCOED. She was compulsorily retired by the governing council. She was paid three-month salary in lieu of notice,” he stated.

    ”Our students are writing their examination. As soon as the news of the protest reached me, I called the Chief Security Officer of the college to invite the police. Normalcy has been restored to the campus.”
    Last month, The Nation broke the story of the imminent sack of the union leaders following the Governing Council deliberations at an undisclosed location around Ikeja.

    Two days after the story broke, the union led another protest where the leadership of SSUCOEN sought Lagos State intervention on the matter.

    Eventually, government waded in and asked both parties to maintain status quo until the latest development.

  • BREAKING: P&ID agents admit fraud, tax evasion charges

    Two agents of the now controversial Irish engineering firm, Process and Industrial Development Limited – have admitted guilt in charges of fraud and tax evasion brought against them by the Federal Government.

    The two – Mohammad Kuchazi, described as Commercial Director, P&ID Ltd, Virgin Island and Adamu Usman, identified as representative of P&ID Nigeria Limited, pleaded guilty before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday to an 11-count charge brought against the firms by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The charge was directed at P&ID Limited (Virgin Island) and its affiliate in Nigeria – P&ID Nigeria Limited. Kuchazi and Usman pleaded on behalf of both companies during the proceedings before Justice Inyang Ekwo.

    They were, among others, accused of fraudulently claiming to have acquired land from the Cross River State Government in 2010 for the Gas Supply Project Agreement (GSPA), in relation to which an arbitration tribunal that sat in London awarded damages estimated at about $9.6billion against Nigeria.

    The companies were accused of committing the offences in relation to the Gas Supply Project Agreement (GSPA) over which a British court recently granted the P&ID the permission to seize Nigeria’s assets in to secure the about $9.6billion judgment given in its favour.

    While Usman, who is a lawyer, represented himself, Kuchazi was represented by a lawyer, Dandison Akurunwua.

     

    Details shortly.

  • Muslims, Oro worshippers in war of words over festival

    The controversy surrounding the celebration of Oro traditional festival in Iseyin town, Oyo State, on Wednesday took a new twist, as worshippers of the deity pointed accusing fingers at the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), for allegedly instigating the government to cancel the annual festival.

    The leaders of Oro deity had directed the worshippers to go ahead with their planned 17-day festivities, in defiance of a government order, which stopped the festival.

    The traditionalists, in a statement signed by one of their leaders, Chief Oloyede Orogbensola, said there was no legal pronouncement stopping the festival.

    Orogbensola, who signed a statement on behalf of the Traditional Religions Worshippers’ Association of Nigeria, accused NSCIA, Iseyin chapter, of intolerant of other religions.

    Read Also: Nine Oro members held for ‘attacking’ Muslims in Ogun

    The NSCIA had through its officials, including the Publicity Secretary, Maruf Mustapha, warned against the 17-day set aside for this year’s festival.

    It said such celebration usually impugned on the rights of the people in the area to go about their lawful duties without hindrance and also had the tendency for adherents to resort to violence and maim its members, as witnessed in the past.

    But Orogbensola urged Governor Seyi Makinde and the public to ignore the tissue of lies and misinformation being spread by NSCIA that Oro worshippers were violent and had been disturbing the peace of the town over the years.

    He noted that contrary to the lies that Oro worshippers had been attacking Muslims and non-Muslims in Iseyin, the worshippers and other traditionalists had always been at the receiving end of violent attacks from Muslims over the years.

    itual cleansing of Iseyinland.”

    He added that despite the unprovoked attacks on Oro worshippers by the Muslim groups, the festival would go ahead as planned on September 22 because there was no legal restraint against the annual festival.

    The traditionalists said the claim by the Muslim group that the Oro festival would last 17 days was another attempt at exaggeration and blackmail, noting that it is only slated for two of those days, the seventh day and the 17th day that women are banned from seeing the masquerade.

    They said the other days were for festivities.