Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has said that for every activity which his government undertakes since he came to power, there had always been financial gains to the people in different socio-economic categories; from the highly placed to those at the lower rung of the ladder.

Akinwumi, who spoke at a dinner he held in honour of the Presidential media team, under the umbrella of State House Press Corps, at the Lagos government House, Alausa last night (Friday), said that even the 50^th anniversary of Lagos state, which is being celebrated with fanfare, has many benefits to the residents of the city and the state as a whole.

Members of the Presidential media team from various media organizations both in Nigeria and abroad, arrived in Lagos on Thursday evening for the annual retreat, and seized the opportunity to go round a few of the project which the governor had executed in his two years in office.

Governor Ambode said that those who criticized the golden Jubilee celebration as waste of scarce resources, might have understood that the money being spent is returning to the pockets of the people, including laboures, cleaners and housewives.

According to him, musicians, artisans, comedians, housewives, cleaners and others are making money by their participation in every aspect of the celebration, saying that the same money goes round the still come round within Lagos.

“we carry out projects no necessarily because we want to fulfill our electoral promises, but also to create opportunity for people to be gainfully engaged in making money by being employed to work on those project.”

The governor, who had earlier in the day, commissioned two road project at Epe, hs country home, about 80 kilomtres to Lagos and Ogudu inside the city, described himself as a messenger that had been placed by the people to better their lives, and would continue to do his best to fulfill the yearnings of such people.

The chairman of the State House Press Corps, Malam Ubale Musa thanked the governor, his information and strategy commissioner and the Chief Press Secretary, for hosting them even at a short notice.

He commended the governor for the landmark achievements his government had made within his tow years in office and wished that he would have the opportunity to continue to do more.

Meanwhile, at the commissioning of the road projet at Epe, Governor Ambode thanked tax payers in the state for performing their civic obligations,and that the taxes paid had been judiciously utilized to make life comfortable for the people through implementation of several projects.

The governor said that tax payers deserved to be commended for their efforts, saying: “our government is very grateful to Lagosians for their prayers and support particularly in the discharge of their civic responsibility through payment of taxes. It is my belief therefore, that we will continue to enjoy your unflinching support as we work together in transforming our state to the Lagos of Our Dream.

“On our part, we shall continue to ensure that your taxes are judiciously managed and utilized towards making life more comfortable for everybody,” he said.

Speaking at Epe, Ambode revealed plans by his administration to construct a standard eight-lane road from Ikorodu to Epe via Agbowa, Itoikin and Ijebu-Ode.

He said the road project would be delivered through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, while a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to that effect would be signed next week.

The governor also revealed that in a bid to scale up the socio-economic integration of the South West region, the State Government in partnership with Ogun State, would construct a top-class road from Mojoda to Ijebu-Ode junction.

The roads reconstructed and upgraded under the Epe Phase 1 Project included Lagos Road (Oke Osho/T. Junction/Aiyetoro Roundabout), Professor Agbalajobi (Aiyetoro Garage/Ita Marun-Ottin) and Oloja Estate (Bature/Otunba Adeniyi/Omotayo/Uthman Mustapha/Adekunle Rahman) roads.

Ambode, while commissioning the roads, said the completion of the project was in line with his promise during electioneering to address the challenges of gross infrastructural deficit, flooding and erosion that the people of Epe had lived with for decades.

He said: “It gladdens my heart to see that two years into the tenure of this administration, the dream of transforming Epe and its environs into a modern city is becoming a reality. The narrow roads are being redefined to give Epe a face lift. The network of roads have been complimented with street lights to provide illumination, improve security and enhance socio-economic activities.

“This is consistent with our pledge to ensure inclusive growth, where no part of the State will be left behind or neglected. The ongoing infrastructural development in Epe is a foundation for economic progress and development.” [myad]

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of about N449.6 million found in an abandoned Bureau de Change (BDC) shop at Victoria Island, Lagos, to the Federal Government.

The money was recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The forfeiture order was made by Justice Mohammed Aikawa, following a motion on notice taken before him by the commission.

The judge ordered that the money should be forfeited to the federal government as nobody had come forward to claim it.

Aikawa had on April 19, ordered temporary forfeiture of the money and adjourned for one Mohammed Tauheed, who was joined as a respondent or any other interested party, to appear.

When the case was called today, Friday, counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Idris Mohammed, told court that the interim order of April 19 was advertised in a newspaper on May 11, to bring the case to the notice of Tauheed and any interested party.

He said that apart from the newspaper publication, Tauheed was also served with the motion on notice.

Mohammed urged the judge to order the final forfeiture of the money since neither Tauheed nor anyone else came forward to claim it. Aikawa, in a short ruling, granted the application.

He said: “This court ordered, among others, that the respondent (Tauheed) and any other interested party should show cause,within 14 days, why the interim forfeiture of N449, 597,000 should not be made final.

“As far as my record shows, neither the respondent nor any other interested party has filed any affidavit or any other process to show cause why the interim order should not be made final.

“The respondent has, additionally, not filed any process in response to the motion on notice. In the circumstances, I have no option but to grant the application as prayed.

“Accordingly, I hereby order that the sum of N449, 597,000 found in possession of the respondent, which sum is reasonably suspected to be proceeds of an unlawful activity be finally forfeited to the federal government.” [myad]

Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, has complained that he was not part of the wheelbarrow story that has been trending in social media. The governor, out of anger, order immediate removal of his name from wheelbarrows which pictures have been circulating on the internet.

There have been speculations that the wheelbarrows were ’empowerment items’ to be distributed to youths in the State by the Governor.

The media aide to governor Ortom, Tever Akase, in a statement, said that the Governor has nothing to do with the wheelbarrows.

According to him, the wheelbarrows which were in possession of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), were recently donated to the state by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), for victims of crisis in parts of the state.

The statement said that the Governor couldn’t have claimed credit for the gesture, adding that the Ortom administration has numerous laudable empowerment schemes for youths of Benue and that the donation of wheelbarrows to the youths is not one of such schemes.

The statement reads in full: “The attention of Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has been drawn to pictures of wheelbarrows bearing his name and posted on social media suggesting that he plans to empower youths of the state with the carts. “We wish to make it clear that the consent of the Governor was not sought and he did not give approval for anyone to inscribe his name on the said wheelbarrows. “Governor Ortom is aware that the wheelbarrows in possession of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA were recently donated to the state by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, NCFRMI, for victims of crisis in parts of the state so he couldn’t have claimed credit for the gesture. “The Ortom administration has numerous laudable empowerment schemes for youths of Benue but the donation of wheelbarrows to the youths is not one of such schemes. “Consequently, the Governor has directed Secretary to the State Government to issue a query to the Executive Secretary of SEMA to explain why the said action was taken by his office.” [myad]

The Director-General of the National Agency for the prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, (NAPTIP), Julie Okah-Donli, has called for the arrest and prosecution of foreign-based human trafficking rings and mafia whose activities constitute major threat to the global anti-human trafficking efforts.

She specifically tasked members of the European Union and other international organizations to provide useful intelligence on the operations base and location of the human trafficking “lords” for the purpose of bursting their rings and making them to face the law.

The NAPTIP boss stated this while playing host to a delegation from the Spanish embassy who were at the NAPTIP headquarters to brief the management on the scope and the implementation strategy of the 11^th European Development Fund project. (EDF).

The team was led by Mr. Raphael Mouib. The Director-General also gave the same message when she received the Director, Migration Dialogues and cooperation of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) Martijn Pluim. She also met with the Police Attaches of the Embassies of Germany, Mr. Muller and the Embassy of the Netherlands, Captain Bert Kiburg.

It would be recalled that the NAPTIP Director-General had, on assumption of office, declared total war on human traffickers saying that the Agency will do everything possible to protect Nigerian youths and secure their future from heartless traffickers.

The Director-General told the visiting envoys that blowing the lead off the European-based human trafficking barons who have continuously mounted pressure on their home-based pimps for massive recruitment of victims would be a major boost to the current onslaught on human traffickers.

According to her, “the arrest and prosecution of those human traffickers that are based in any of the European countries is very crucial to our latest efforts to end human trafficking in Nigeria.

“We are imploring you to join hands with the Government of Nigeria and precisely NAPTIP in the area of intelligence sharing aimed at exposing those foreign based human trafficking “madams “ who are believed to be behind the exploitation of our youths.

“We want them to be exposed and made to face the wrath of the law. This is one of the ways of ensuring success of the latest fight against human trafficking” NAPTIP DG said.

While assuring the donors of NAPTIP continued cooperation and unhindered assistance towards human trafficking related projects, the NAPTIP boss disclosed that the Agency was in the process of developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will clearly spell out the procedure for the implementation of a Spanish sponsored project.

Earlier in his presentation, leader of the visiting envoys, Mr. Raphael Mouib, had informed the NAPTIP management of plans to commence the implementation of the 11^th European Development Fund (EDF) project which was designed to address some of the human trafficking issues in the country.

The main objective of the project is to reduce trafficking in persons (TIP) and smuggling of migrants (SOM) at national and regional level, and between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) continues with specific emphasis on women and children.

The various component of the project which will be managed by the International and Iberoamericana Foundation for Administration of Public Policies (FIIAPP) include capacity building for Officers of the Agency in the areas of investigation and prosecution as well as awareness creation. [myad]

The Nigeria military authority has protested against the allegations by the Transparency International that its men and officers are corrupt, saying that the issue of corruption cannot be traced to the current crop of military officers.

The Defence spokesman, Major General John Enenche, in a statement today, Thursday, described the allegation as untrue because: “a lot has been done to train, boost troops’ morale and procure vital equipment through due process.”

The Transparency International had said earlier in the day, that corruption in the military had weakened the efforts to battle Boko Haram insurgents.

The report of the Transparency International underlined the difficulty of achieving two key promises of President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2015 election campaign: tackling endemic corruption and defeating an insurgency that has claimed over 20,000 lives and displaced millions.

“Corrupt military officials have been able to benefit from the conflict through the creation of fake defense contracts, the proceeds of which are often laundered abroad in the UK, U.S. and elsewhere,” the watchdog said in a statement.

Last year, Nigeria’s vice president said around $15 billion had been stolen from the public purse under the previous government through fraudulent arms procurement deals.

Transparency International said this had left the military “without vital equipment, insufficiently trained, low in morale and under-resourced”.

“This has crippled the Nigerian military in fighting an aggressive ideologically inspired enemy such as Boko Haram,” the watchdog said, pointing to cases of soldiers taking on the militants without ammunition or fuel.

But reacting, the army spokesman said that the military will continue to get better with the right kind of leadership that we have today.

He said that the military, under President Buhari, had recaptured much of the territory claimed by Boko Haram since the conflict began in 2009. But the reclaimed areas are often razed towns or islands of relative safety and highways connecting them to larger cities.

He said that under the Buhari administration, the troops are getting the required training and equipment and will get better.

Sources: Reuters, AI Reports. [myad]

Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has identified maternal and child mortality as a serious health challenge, which requires support from all quarters.

She was speaking today, Thursday, at the foundation stone laying ceremony of a Maternity Clinic at the Daura General Hospital, Katsina state, on Thursday, May 18, 2017.

Aisha Buhari lamented the challenges women face trying to access medical care during pregnancy, at childbirth and while raising their babies.

“Women go through serious challenges when they are at their most vulnerable state, so they need a lot of support. This support is one of the mandates of Future Assured, my programme.”

She said that the project will also support Federal Government’s policy of establishing healthcare facility in every political unit in the country.

“The Maternity Ward is another way of reducing the challenges faced by women and making their lives better.”

She drew attention to the need for stakeholders to pay more attention to the needs of women in all communities.

Wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo in her remarks commended the courage, hard work and dedication of Mrs. Buhari to Nigeria and Nigerians, and said this is what drives her to do the good job she is doing in the lives of women and children.

Wife of the Governor of Katsina State, Hajiya Zakiyya Aminu Masari commended the effort of Mrs. Buhari and thanked her for choosing Katsina state to commission this project.

Mrs. Buhari paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumin Kabir Usman, who in his welcome address commended her for the new project and used the opportunity to call on leaders to protect women against maltreatment which as he said, is becoming more rampant.

The Maternity ward will have a 50-bed capacity and is being constructed by a donor through Aisha Buhari Foundation, who will hand it over to the hospital on completion. [myad]