Kaduna Power Holding Company has disconnected electricity supply to Zamfara State Government House in Gusau over unpaid accumulated bill of N400 Million.
Speaking to journalists today, Wednesday, the Business Development and Relationship Officer of the company in Gusau Area Office, Aminu Yakubu, said that the disconnection affected some other state government’s offices, including the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital.
Aminu said that the state government, which had a monthly electricity bill of between N15 million and N20 million, is now owing the company about N400 million, saying: “since there was no indication that the state government would pay, my head office directed that we cut the supply until the debt is settled, ” the officer said.
Aminu said that the state House of Assembly had already invited him to explain the reason company cut power supply to the state government.
“I explained the debt profile and the legislators promised to talk to the executive so that the money being owed would be settled.”
Trouble is brewing in the Mahin Kingdom in Ilaje local government of Ondo State, as a first class chief, The Amapetu, Oba Lawrence Omowole was deposed by kingmakers for alleged abuse of office even as the Oba tagged the kingmakers as blackmailers.
The kingmakers had alleged that Omowole was removed for what they described as misconduct having himself removed Oba Beniah Idiogbe as the Alaboto of Aboto and installed a foreigner, one Oyetayo Ofoaye as the new king of the town. They said that Ofoaye hails from Ukohi family who are total strangers and of refugee status in Aboto.
They recalled that the same Ofoaye with one Omolere Menukuro had challenged the appointment of Oba Idiogbe as the Alaboto of Aboto at Okitipupa High Court in 2007. They added that the suit was consequently dismissed.
The decision to remove the first class monarch was taken at a meeting attended by Mahin Obas, Olojas, Baales and youth organization, held on February 14, 2017 at Igbokola, the headquarters of Ilaje local government.
The letter of his removal was signed by four out of the five kingmakers, who claimed that the copies of the letter had been served on the embattled king, the local government and the state government.
The kingmakers, who signed the letter sacking the first class chief are Urayen Ogefun of Mahinland, High Chief Akinyemi Omoyele, Asaron of Mahinland, High Chief Roju Malumi, Jadigba of Mahinland, Olibamayo Aladetan and Yasere of Mahin, High Chief Godwin Balogun.
The kingmakers asked the Yasere of Mahin, Balogun, who is the chairman of the council of chiefs to take charge of the affairs of the kingdom.
The letter reads: “that by our history, no one, not even the Amapetu, has the power or authority to concede an inch of Mahinland or allow any stranger to weat a crown within our territory.
“That after a catalogue of complaints by the Mahin people of different communities of the acts and omission of the present Amapatu of Mahin, particularly with respect to the kingdom teritorial integrity, land use, cieftaincy matters, including the issue of the Alaboto of Aboto and minor chiefs in Igbokoda; the meeting supported the decision of the Mahin Kingmakers passing a vote of no confidence on the Monarch and declaring the seat vacant for the time being.
“That we are conscious of the special stake of Mahin in the Ilaje project on account of our larger population, overwhelming land mass, ownership of the headquarters of Ilaje accommodating all groups and our strategic geographical location without which others Ilajes have no access to their kingdoms and homes.
“We shall however, not compromise our inheritance in any manner whatsoever including our kingdom’s territorial integrity, land use, chieftaincy and customs and tradition generally.
“That we urged the government of Ondo State to accord Oba Idiogbe all his rights and privileges as the Alaboto of Aboto and resist any prompting or temptation from any quarters not even the Amapetu of Mahin to appoint any other person or by any means contemplate appointment of any person not being of Mahin origin or descent as Oba in Aboto or any other part of Mahin land.”
But, Omowole denied the allegation saying that the kingmakers are only on a mission to blackmail him. He alleged that some of those who signed the letter were fake kingmakers.
Omowole made it clear that the kingmakers have no power to remove him, except his people, adding that his people are strongly behind him. [myad]
Organized labour in Nigeria has announced that it had reached a consensus with the federal government to review the National Minimum Wage on the proposed N56, 000 from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for all Nigerian Workers.
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja today, Wednesday, said that the consensus was reached during the sitting of the Technical Committee on Palliative. He added that the committee was meant to look into the framework to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians and cushion the effect of the increase in the price of fuel.
The NLC leader said that the report of the committee, which was also meant to discuss the issue of the minimum wage, was ready for submission. “I think there is a consensus on the fact that nobody has said that the minimum wage should not be reviewed. The palliative report is ready and it would be submitted before the end of the month. “At the last palliative meeting, labour leaders had requested that they needed to look at the main report of the committee before submission. “So, the technical committee will have to submit its report to Mr. President and not to the Minister of Labour and Employment.”
Wabba said that after the submission, the Presidency would then set up the tripartite committee that would involve the government, private and public sector.
The NLC President said that labour was hopeful that the minimum wage committee would be constituted soon. He said that labour had also received positive response from the National Assembly, saying that the Senate had promised to pass the bill. Labour unions had submitted a proposal to the government demanding for N56, 000 as minimum wage. [myad]
Katsina State House of Assembly sacked its speaker, Alhaji Aliyu Muduru and Chief Whip, Alhaji Bishir Mamman Dutsin-ma.
A member of the Assembly, representing Katsina Constituency and Majority Leader, Alhaji Hanbali Faruk, moved the motion for the impeachment, and was seconded by Alhaji Abubakar, a member representing Funtua Constituency, at the plenary session today, Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 23 out of the 34 members voted in favour of the impeachment and removal of the speaker, after which Alhaji Yahya Abubakar from Kusada Constituency was quickly elected as new Speaker. The new speaker was sworn-in immediately.
Also, Alhaji Nasir Yahaya, representing Daura constituency, was picked as new Chief Whip.
No reason was given to the sacking of the two principal officers of the House of Assembly. [myad]
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of telling lies by claiming that the Federal government withheld the state monthly allocation, resulting in the none payment of salaries for workers in the state..
In a statement today, Wednesday, the state APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said that contrary to Governor Ayodele Fayose’s misinformation and lies to instigate Ekiti people against President Muhammadu Buhari and blackmail APC-led Federal Government as responsible for his inability to pay workers, it is the governor that should be blamed for the breach of agreement he signed with the Federal Government to enjoy special funds approved by the Federal Government for budget support intervention in the states.
Fayose had on Tuesday called a press conference in Ado-Ekiti where he told reporters that the Federal Government was deliberately starving Ekiti State funds to cripple his development initiatives, including failing to pay workers, in order to set Ekiti people against his government to enable APC win the 2018 governorship election.
The APC spokesman said that Fayose was not saying the truth, and that failure of the governor to adhere to the terms of agreement in the approval of the money to the states was likely to be responsible for the stoppage of payment to Ekiti State.
He said that the workers should hold the governor responsible for barring the state from enjoying the facility like his counterparts in other states.
“All the states that are enjoying the budget support funds to enable them pay workers salaries signed an agreement to allow the Federal Government monitor and audit the disbursement of this special fund, which is different from statutory monthly allocation from the Federation Account, for salary payment.
“While other states have kept to the agreement, Fayose asked his Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Owoseni Ajayi, to write to the Federal Government that the state would never open its accounts to the Federal Government for monitoring and auditing and it is only Ekiti governor that is breaching that agreement to qualify for the Budget Support Fund.
“Curiously, Fayose never told Ekiti workers that the state was enjoying this facility until it was stopped over breach of agreement and now he is crying that the state’s allocation was stopped for political reasons, whereas it is the budget support fund that might have been stopped and not the monthly statutory allocation.”
Olatunbosun said that even though Fayose had been collecting N1.3 billion every month in the last nine months as budget support fund to pay salaries, he never told workers that he was benefiting from the scheme, as workers were being owed seven months’ salary.
He only “fraudulently” turned around to deceive the people that Ekiti allocation was stopped by the Federal Government for political reasons.
“Fayose administration’s fraudulent manner in conducting government business is responsible for the hardship workers are going through today. How could the workers have known that Fayose had been cruising home with N1.3b monthly which he has not accounted for?
“He is the only governor that disallowed the Federal Government from monitoring and auditing the disbursement of Budget Support fund as agreed with the Federal Government, the same way he is the only governor in the country who has refused to implement the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system; all these to enable him misappropriate Ekiti money without trace.
“We can see that in the secrecy surrounding the balances in the state’s internally generated revenue account, which no one knows anything about, and misappropriation of about N20b bailout he collected to pay salaries.
“Ekiti people, especially workers, should ask Fayose what he has done with N20b bailout he collected in two tranches, including the N10b he borrowed for capital projects which he has diverted through his contractors, N2b micro credit scheme which he allegedly pocketed, N2b Ecological Fund he can’t account for, N5b refund on roads and regular monthly allocation in the last 28 months that he has been in the saddle.
“Is the allocation of one month, which Fayose claimed was stopped, also responsible for non-payment of seven months salary of workers and nine months for pensioners after collecting N20b bailout and N1.3b Budget Support cash for nine months?”
Olatunbosun urged workers to hold Fayose responsible for their plights and not the Federal Government that had been releasing funds to Fayose to pay salaries but which he had misappropriated.
He challenged the labour leaders to come out and defend the workers now and stop being Fayose’s lap dog.
“We challenge the workers and pensioners to verify if Fayose has not been collecting monthly allocation and budget support every month. They should set up a committee comprising the workers and pensioners and even we volunteer to be part of such committee as a fact finding mission to investigate how the Budget support fund is being expended monthly. Olatunbosun berated Fayose for his greed.
“The budget support is not a national cake for Fayose to be putting in his personal account so there is no way the Federal government can fold its arms and watch Ekiti workers suffer why Fayose continue to divert money meant for their salary to his private pocket.
“The welfare of workers is paramount to the Buhari led administration and that’s why he has released such huge amount to Fayose who has diverted the money. This may have been responsible for the Federal government withholding the special fund.” The APC insisted that governor Fayose should sort out whatever accountability and transparency issues he had with the Federal Ministry of Finance and stop blackmailing the Federal Government over stoppage of Ekiti allocation, even as he said that the governor had allegedly ruined the state.
He said that the governor should be made to account for every kobo he received from the Federal Government, including the state’s internally generated revenue, since he assumed office. ‘[myad]
The Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has dared the federal government to face him squarely for the unending fight and leave workers of his state out of it.
The governor, who visited the headquarters of the ministry of finance today, Wednesday, demanding the release of the state’s N1.1 billion budget support facility for the month of January said: “if they want to fight Fayose, they should fight Fayose, not the civil servants of Ekiti, but I appreciate her promise to resolve the matter.”
The governor, who addressed news men shortly after emerging from the office of the minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who was said to be at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, attending the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, claimed that Ekiti is the only state that had yet to receive its January allocation.
The governor said that many workers in the state are currently suffering the negative impact of the delay in releasing the fund.
“I believe I should do a follow up today (Wednesday) to meet with the minister of finance for an update, but she actually called me on Tuesday that she just got back but will look into it today (Wednesday) and have it resolved as soon as possible.
“You will however appreciate that Ekiti civil servants are restive, having spent Christmas and there is no money in January, obviously there will be challenges.
“By the time I got here, the minister has already gone for the Federal Executive Council meeting, but I met the Special Adviser, who assured me that the matter will be resolved when the minister is back.
“What we are talking about is a part of the monthly allocation and the budget support which is about N1.1bn that have not been paid.
“I believe this should be done immediately and I want to believe also that it was a mix-up and not political. But if it is political, they will have a lot of questions to answer (about) why it should be so.
The governor said that if the promise of the finance minister is not quickly implemented, he would have no other option but to continue to raise the alarm by bringing the issue back to the public domain.
“It is only Ekiti that is involved and this is the second time, that explains why I was suspicious and have to act fast.
“I got a text from the Central Bank of Nigeia that the money has been paid and later I learnt that there is a withdrawal of that instruction that Ekiti was not included in the list out of the entire Federation.
“So, naturally I have to be and when it happened that it was just Ekiti State alone, I have to be suspicious. The minister has given me her word, at her level as a minister, that is good enough.
“If the promise of the minister to resolve this issue as quickly as possible is not adhere to, I will have to bring it back to the public domain.
“We are all in the court of the public opinion where the public is able to judge whether justice is served at all times. Governance is beyond all of us but I want to believe that they will do it.” [myad]
Ministers, today, prayed sincerely for the safe return of President Muhammadu Buhari from London where he is attending to health matter. The prayer took place shortly before the beginning of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja. In the picture are, from right: Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, FCT Minister Muhammad Musa Bello, Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibrin, Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed and others. The Meeting was presided over by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. [myad]
It is common knowledge that President Muhammadu Buhari is alive. This is heartening for well-meaning Nigerians but not mischief makers who had wished that the wicked rumour they deliberately packaged and instigated was real. Presidential spokespersons and other officials of government who have the duty to tell Nigerians and the rest of the world the truth about Buhari’s whereabouts, had put up a spirited defence of the president in the best ways possible, notwithstanding the proclivity by a vast majority of Nigerians to take them and their narratives with a pinch of salt.
They must, however, continue to disabuse the minds of Nigerians that Buhari is not incapacitated, until he returns to his desk at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. But the truth- around which is a national consensus- is that Buhari is not enjoying the best of health. And, this is understandable. At 74, he is easily vulnerable to physical exertions. After all, how many septuagenarians in our part of the world-where life expectancy is 47 years-enjoy the best of health? Some may want to posit that Buhari should have considered the age factor before deciding to present himself for the job. Good point, no doubt!
A counter point is that Buhari deserves commendation for responding to the urgency of national redemption without considering the incalculable damage the pressure of office could do to his age. This is a measure of his patriotism and love of country- that he took up the gauntlet to serve when some of those in power appeared to have misunderstood the political economy and wantonly mismanaged the wealth of the nation.
In taking up the challenge of governance, he was, perhaps, consumed by the wrong assumption that the Nigeria he ruled over in 1983 to1985- a space of 20 months- before he was ousted through a palace coup is the same country he had fought hard since 2003 to govern. He succeeded in 2015. He has, however, been humble enough to confess that it is not the same Nigeria and that he had, indeed, underestimated the problems confronting the nation. That is commendable.
It is also commendable that Buhari is fighting anyhow to recover the nation’s looted funds. It is a good starting point. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, under Ibrahim Magu’s command, must enjoy some plaudits for successfully driving Buhari’s anti-graft machinery along the line of recovery of stolen public funds. Even if this is the only achievement of Buhari in four years- recovery of stolen funds, their return to government’s coffer and prevention of officials of his government from perpetrating the same perfidy- he would have helped to inculcate in the bureaucracy a renewed sense of moral armament that underscores the truth that public fund is our commonwealth to be deployed for public good and not to be stolen to satisfy gluttonous personal aggrandizement.
Indeed, Buhari would have built a huge legacy that typifies a renaissance in the prudent management of public finance. Had the previous governments been judicious, they would have built up savings for us and invested heavily in administrative machinery that would have translated into accumulation of capital and development of sophisticated infrastructure that would have underpinned a robust economy that is largely immune to recession.
Nigerians should rally support for the president in his anti-graft war. I believe he will get the maximum support if the garb of alleged selectivity that makes the anti-graft agency seems to target only plunderers who happened to be in the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government is removed and the inquisition is made to include all who committed financial crimes regardless of party affiliation(s).
Besides, there is the impression being created with respect to overall outlook of governance- that Buhari promised to transform Nigeria in a year. That is not correct. Even the intervention by the minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, that Nigerians gave the APC government a four-year mandate and, therefore, should wait till the end of the term is also not the correct position. Buhari was very clear in his interview with The Cable in 2014 before he emerged as the presidential candidate of the APC that it would take a minimum of five years to take Nigeria out of the woods and had said that Nigerians should be ready to suffer for that long.
The PDP even made an issue out of this during the electioneering through a paid advertorial, with which it called public attention to the danger of voting for a man who had declared, point-blank, that they would suffer for five years. Nigerians discountenanced the public service announcement and voted for Buhari. It would appear they realised that change is always not a sweet experience and had accepted to cooperate with him in displacing the status quo and compromised officialdom that had been entrenched in our body politic over the years.
But the poor masses who are victims of the current economic hardship can no longer remain steadfast in their original support for him. It is, therefore, time to focus on the economy. The economy must be taken out of recession. It is doable. The president only needs to mobilise the nation’s economic potential. Where are the Nigerian equivalents of the British economist, John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), whose “Keynesian Solution” or ”Economics” had a major impact on modern economic and political theory and on many governments’ fiscal policies? He helped to formulate certain functions Britain and US should discharge to stabilise the international economic system. The bottom-line was massive state interventions.
We have them here in their numbers. Buhari should search out a solid economic team to chart the way forward. The countries that were badly affected in the western world during the depression, for instance, intervened to push up market demands by undertaking public works and financing them by money creation (deficit financing). This generated additional income and employment, with market demands for goods and services gradually picking up. Consequently, normalcy was restored and development resumed.
In the United States of America, it was called the New deal.The New Deal was the domestic programme of the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1939. The deal brought about immediate economic relief as well as reforms in industry, agriculture, finance, water, power, labour, and housing, greatly increasing the scope of the federal government’s activities.
The New Deal generally embraced the concept of a government-regulated economy aimed at achieving a balance between conflicting economic interests as opposed to the traditional American political philosophy of laissez-faire. Here, APC during the electioneering in 2015 successfully de-marketed former President Goodluck Jonathan with its mind-boggling promises. Buhari just flowed along. It is time to come to terms with the reality of fulfilling those promises.
And, one assignment that requires urgent attention is tackling the economic recession (or is it depression?). Roosevelt’s New Deal could be adapted. If not, there must be Buhari’s New Deal to save the economy. The suggestion by former governor of Lagos, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his recent National Defence College Course 25 Lecture that Nigeria should spend her way out of recession remains apposite. There is a need for serious state intervention. It is imperative to save the national economy. Buhari can make it happen.
A middle aged Nigerian man, whose name was given simply as Oscar, has discovered that a young man he raised from birth and who is now 32 years old is not his biological son, after all. The Nigerian man who resides in the United Kingdom, was forced to arrange for a DNA test to determine the paternity of his erstwhile son, Valentine, when his wife allegedly told their presumed son that Oscar was not likely to be Valentine’ s biological father. Valentine had dragged his supposed father, Oscar , to a DNA test centre in Britain after his mother informed him a month ago that the man who had brought him up for the last 32 years may not actually be his dad. As a doting father, Oscar had brought Valentine to England from Nigeria and put him through school. When the result of the DNA test was read to him, Oscar wailed in agony as the results said there was “no per cent chance” he and Valentine were father and son. Oscar wailed in despair as he asked: “He’s not my son?” Valentine was speechless. [myad]
Nollywood star actress, Tonto Dikeh has said that she and her husband, Churchill Olakunle, are no longer together and he has not called to check up on her and their son since she left.
She wrote:
“Dear ‘concerned’ fan, Good day. How are you and your family? My regards, love and greetings to them. Now to address a little bit of your letter, firstly I say I do appreciate your concern. Then I move on to say thank you. When a woman leaves her husband, she takes her child because absolutely nothing else matters to her but the child. This is what I did and I happily give all access for his father to see him. Now my question to you is that did your source also tell you that he has never called for once to Ask how his son is doing? I will admit, I personally blocked his access to me for the sake of my emotional stability. But nonetheless he has the nannys no, my assistants contact,my part time helps number, and many other mediums of reaching the son your source claims I “took away”. He could use all possible mediums wisely if he wished to. Secondly I will let you go on the ill talk on smoking as I would love to believe you were just sent and ignored my drug test result or you never even saw it in the first place.. As an acclaimed “concerned fan” I expect you to pray and not to indirectly throw “concerned” shades.. What goes on in my marriage and home is my personal life, i’m grateful for all the years of support you all have been giving me but when it comes to the matters of the heart have enough respect to let us go thru our moments alone.. Like I said earlier your prayers for wisdom on both parties wld be more appreciated. No one knows what goes on behind close doors…I chose to make you believe and see what I wanted you all to see in order to protect even those that did not deserve protection. My dear friend that’s called marriage!!! God bless you immensely for even thinking about my family, God has never failed, God never sleeps nor slumbers, He is a just God. He never brings us this far to leave us, We will be ok.. Once again thank you so much my “concerned” friend and have a blessed day!!!”
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