Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo state has advised its members to stop dealing with the estranged national chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff, saying that he is a bull in a China’s shop.
“All party members in the state are enjoined to refrain forthwith from associating or in any way dealing with Alhaji Modu Sheriff, Hon Matthew Iduoriyekemwen and Hon E.J. Agbonayima pending the conclusion of the disciplinary processes now being undertaken by the party.”
The party, in a statement by the publicity secretary, Chris Osa Nehikhare, also advised the party members, who have been appointed into what it called ‘the kangaroo caretaker committee’ announced by Modu Sheriff, to ignore the appointment and stay away from the committee.
The party said that Modu Sheriff’s behavior is unacceptable, irresponsible and selfish, adding that the conduct of Amodu Sheriff and his team is not surprising as the State Working Committee has uncovered his unholy alliance with the Governor Adams Oshiomhole led government of Edo State to destabilize Edo PDP in their desperate attempt to retain power in the forth coming gubernatorial election.
“At this point, it is pertinent to note that despite this unholy plot, Edo people are wiser and are prepared to effect a change of government by voting in the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in the September 10 election.
“At the State Working Committee meeting held on Sunday, June 26, 2016, it was resolved as follows:
“All members of the party in the state are enjoined to disregard the antics of Alhaji Modu Sheriff and Hon Matthew Iduoriyekemwen in their desperate attempt to discredit the outcome of the governorship primary held on 20 June, 2016 at which Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was duly nominated as the candidate of our great party.
“The conduct of Hon Matthew Iduoriyekemwen in associating with Alhaji Modu Sheriff with the intention to destabilize the party in the state amounts to anti-party activity. Consequently, Hon Matthew Iduoriyekemwen is hereby suspended from the party for one month, pending further disciplinary action in accordance with chapter 10 of the Peoples Democratic Party Constitution of 2012 (as amended).
“For also associating with Alhaji Modu Sheriff with the intention to destabilize the party in the state, Hon Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayima is hereby recommended to be disciplined by the National Caretaker Committee in accordance with chapter 10 of the party’s constitution. The statement recalled that the process of the gubernatorial primary on the 20th June 2016 was adjudged to be free, fair and transparent was watched live on national Television and chaired by Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State.
“Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was declared winner with 584 votes, while Matthew Iduoriyekemwen scored 91 and Chief Solomon Edebiri 38 votes. “With the successful completion of the primary, the Party immediately activated its post primary conflict resolution mechanism by reaching out to the losers of the election in order to assuage their loss in the democratic contest.
“In as much as we tried, we discovered that one of the aspirants was adamant in working against the tenets of our party. His behavior and utterances immediately after his loss have become not only embarrassing to the party but also to the vast majority of Edolites who are yearning for a change of government and party in Edo State.
“He has teamed up with the embattled former national chairman of our party and even gone ahead to purchase a kangaroo nomination form for the same governorship slot which he lost just a few days ago.” [myad]
The Economic Confidential has predicted that Fifteen States may go bankrupt as their Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) in 2015 were far below 10% of their Federation Account Allocations (FAA) in one year from June 2015 to May 2016. The report of its investigation further indicates that the IGR of Lagos State of N268bn is higher than that of 32 States combined, excluding Rivers, Delta and Ogun whose IGRs are very impressive. The 32 other states merely generated a total of N257bn in 2015. Recently the Economic confidential, an economic intelligence magazine published the total allocation each state in Nigeria received from the Federation Account Allocation (FAA) between June 2015 and May 2016, which signified one year of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The latest report on IGR reveals that only Lagos State generated more revenue than its allocation from the Federation Account by 150% and no any other state has upto 100% of IGR to the federal largese. The IGR of the 36 states of the federation totalled N682.67 billion in 2015 as compared to N707.85 billion in 2014, a drop of N25.18 billion or a minus 3.56 percent. The report provides shocking discovery that indicates that 15 states may go bankrupt and may not stay afloat outside the Federal Account Allocation due to lack of foresight in revenue generation drive coupled with arm-chair governance. The states that may not survive without the Federation Account due to poor internal revenues include Yobe which generated meagre N2.2b compared to a total of N57.4bn it received from the Federation Account Allocation (FAA) from June 2015 to May 2016 representing about 3.9%. Others are: Zamfara with IGR of N2.7bn compared to FAA of N56.6bn representing 4.8%; Ekiti N3.2bn compared to FAA of N50.460bn representing 6.5%; Borno with N3.5bn compared to N78.7bn of FAA representing 4.5% and Kebbi with IGR of N3.5bn compared to N64.8bn of FAA representing 5.5% within the period under review. Others poor internal revenue earners are Taraba which generated N4.1bn compared to FAA of N56bn representing 6.4%; Nassarawa N4.4bn compared to FAA of N50.5bn representing 8.5%; Adamawa N4.4bn compared to FAA of N62.2bn representing 7.1%; Gombe N4.7bn compared to FAA of N49.8bn representing 9.6%; Jigawa N5bn compared to FAA of N73bn representing 7%; Bauchi N5.3bn compared to FAA of N72.6bn representing 7.4%; Imo N5.4bn compared to FAA of N71.6bn representing 7.6%; Katsina N5.7bn compared to FAA of N88.8bn representing 6.5 %; Niger N5.9bn compared to FAA of N74.8bn representing 8% and Sokoto N6.2bn compared to FAA of N69.7bn representing 8.9%. Meanwhile Lagos State retains its number one position in IGR with a total revenue generation of N268.22bn in the twelve months of last year. It is followed by Rivers State N82.10bn, Delta State N40.80bn, Ogun State N34.59bn and Edo state N19.11bn. However, these five states look good to be on top of the current economic challenges. They are: Enugu, Oyo, Anambra, Akwa Ibom and Kano with N18.08bn, N15.66bn, N14.793bn, N14.791bn, and N13.611 bn respectively. The Economic Confidential report further showed that the richest northern state is Kano which is the only state from the North to be among the 10 highest IGR earners while the rest are Southern States. The poorest southern State is Ekiti which is the only state from the South to be among the 10 lowest IGR earners while the rest in the category and bottom of the ladder are Northern States. Meanwhile the IGR of the respective states can improve through aggressive diversification of the economy to productive sectors rather than relying on the monthly Federation Account revenue that largely come from the oil sector. [myad]
A 24-year-old armed robbery suspect, Adeleke Rasaq, has confessed that bad economy had made it impossible for the robbery business to flourish like before. Adeleke Rasaq was one of the six suspects arrested in the recent busting of three ‘One- Chance’ gangs by the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command. The suspect was arrested along with his gang member; Lucky John, 22 in Abule Egba, Agbado Oke Local Council Development Area. Adeleke, who resigned as a factory worker to join the robbery gang told police officers: “we don’t make much money like before. The present economic condition in the country has greatly affected one- chance business. We have not been able to make much money, everywhere is dry. “Frankly, we have not made much money since Monday. We have been sharing N20, 000, N30, 000 and N40, 000. Unlike before, when I operate alone, I could make close to N150, 000 daily. Now, business is so difficult.” He said that he formed a partnership with John to improve his daily earnings, saying: “I teamed up with Lucky because pick-pocketing is not easy in Lagos these days. When you toil alone, you might not make much. It has not been easy working independently lately. So, we have to team up to make more money to survive. Both of us live in Badagry. Every day, we come to Abule Egba, Agege, Fagba, Egbeda to operate. As soon as we made enough money, we would retire for the day. “I resigned from the company I worked for when I noticed that a lot of my friends in Ajegunle, who were doing this kind of hustling, were living better than a lot of Chief Executives. Every guy does this in Ajegunle. We don’t see it as a crime, it is called hustling. “I started following them out. It was in the process that I mastered the art. It has been up to six years that I have been in this trade.” Members of the second gang, comprising Ubuke Michael, 26 and Obinna Okoro, 24, were arrested in Gbagada after their operational bus, with the registration number, FST 890 XM, had picked up two passengers who were going to Alaba International Market and Ladipo Spare Part Market to buy goods. Ubuke, the leader of the gang, had invited a bus driver and a conductor to join his group in the operation. “I invited a friend of mine who has a commercial bus. He and his conductor are familiar with the operation. I have so many commercial buses that I can call for operation. I called them to join me at a particular location. “The driver and conductor do their normal work while we collect belongings of the passengers, drop them off and pass them to the driver to hold on. The two passengers in the bus were our victims. One of them came out of a bank before boarding our bus, while another has bulky pockets. We were about to collect their belongings when we were arrested. We don’t normally carry more than two passengers during operations, “Whatever we make, we share with the driver and the conductor but our share is normally more than theirs. It is so unfortunate that the driver and conductor of our operational danfo bus escaped.” One of their victims, Boniface Anusionwu, whose phone was found with the gang said: “I just came out of a bank where I went to withdraw some money for trading and for my rent. I never knew they were robbers.” Members of the third gang, Steven Raphael, 25 and Samali Onafuwa, 27 were arrested in Fagba and Station Bus Stop, Ishaga. The Police spokesperson, Dolapo Badmos, said that there would be no hiding place for criminals in Lagos State, adding that the suspects would be charged to court when investigations are completed. The six suspects, who all grew up in Ajegunle, have been transferred to SCID for further investigation. [myad]
An anti-graft coalition, Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an alleged money laundering and funding of the 2014 Ekiti State governorship election campaign of Ayodele Fayose by the Zenith Bank.
In a petition addressed to the acting chairman of the commission, Ibrahim Magu and signed by CSNAC chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, the group said that if the public confession of Governor Fayose that the bank principally funded his election campaign is true, then Zenith Bank has ran foul of the law and acted in defiance of the law on money laundering and laid down rules and procedures.
Reacting to the report of the freezing of his accounts domicile at Zenith Bank by the EFCC on account of illegal funds from the Office of the former National Security Adviser, Fayose had while debunking allegations by the anti-graft agency that he received funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) or the former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, for the purpose of his 2014 election campaign, stated categorically that the said election campaigns was principally funded by Zenith Bank Plc.
“With this open admission and allegations made by Governor Fayose, the alliance, funding and political interference would have foisted upon us a series of crimes committed by both parties. Such contributions and donations by the Zenith Bank Plc are unconstitutional and illegal. The law forbids and criminalizes the donation or contribution of funds and gifts by companies towards the activities or for the benefit of a political party.
“Section 221 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) expressly states that “No association, other than a political party, shall canvass for votes for any candidate at any election or contribute to the funds of any political party or to the election expenses of any candidate at an election.”
“Furthermore, The Companies and Allied Matters Act Cap. C20 L.F.N. 2004 (CAMA) prohibits and criminalizes direct and indirect donation of money or gift to a political party, political association or for any political purpose.
“Section 38 (2) of CAMA provides thus:
“A company shall not have or exercise power either directly or indirectly to make a donation or gift of any of its property or funds to a political party or political association or for any political purpose; and if any company, in breach of this subsection makes any donation or gift of its property to a political party or political association, or for any political purpose, the officers in default and any member who voted for the breach shall be jointly and severally liable to refund to the company the sum or value of the donation or gift and in addition, the company and every such officer or member shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine equal to the amount or value of the donation or gift.”
According to CSNAC, “From the foregoing, it is established that Governor Fayose and Zenith Bank Plc are in gross violation of financial regulations guiding contributions by corporate organisations for political purposes.
“By virtue of the provisions of section 38(2) CAMA above, Zenith Bank Plc should be investigated for its role in the Ekiti State 2014 governorship election. If Fayose’s confession is factual, the directors and officers of the bank who approved and took part in the donation of funds to Fayose for his election should be immediately arrested and prosecuted in line with the law. The sum of money allegedly donated must be accounted for, retrieved and refunded to the bank.
“However, the crux of the matter now is the clear case of money laundering. The election fund was allegedly moved in cash with a bullion Zenith from Abuja to Akure to prosecute the election. The said cash movement is obviously in gross contravention of established rules by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011. Section 1 of the Act provides:
“No person or body corporate shall; except in a transaction through a financial institution, make or accept cash payment of a sum exceeding-
#5,000,000 or its equivalent, in the case of an individual; or
#10,000,000 or its equivalent in the case of a body corporate.
The petition reads further, “This transaction is a clear violation of the Act in reference and constitutes an offence within the powers of your Commission. The transaction, if found to be true, must have been conducted with the sole intention of circumventing the system in the illegal deal, in defiance of the law on money laundering and laid down rules and procedures.
“CSNAC is therefore by this petition demanding your urgent action on this matter. We thank you for your usual understanding and promptitude,” the group said.
The 8th Senate led by Senate President Bukola Saraki is enmeshed in a protracted crisis that has divided the chamber since inauguration on June 9, 2015. The two groups that fought hard to secure leadership of the Senate last year have remained at loggerheads over allegations of illegal amendments to the Standing Rules that purportedly aided the emergence of Saraki as President of Senate and Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy President. Daily Trust on Sunday brings you an in-depth report on major alterations to the Senate Rules and the controversies that trailed the amendments.
Reports of alteration to sections of the Senate Standing Rules have been causing ripples in the Nigerian political landscape since June 9, 2015. The replacement of ‘open’ with the ‘secret’ voting system, among other amendments to the rules, have set the stage for the prosecution of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, on allegations of conspiracy and forgery.
The forgery suit against Saraki, Ekweremadu, the outgoing clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa and the deputy clerk to the National Assembly, Mr. Ben Efeturi, is slated for tomorrow at a Federal High Court in Abuja.
The charge preferred against the quad, signed by the principal state counsel, Federal Ministry of Justice, D. E. Kaswe, reads thus, “That you, on or about June 9, 2015, with fraudulent intent, forged the Senate Standing Orders 2011 (as amended) causing it to be believed as the genuine Standing Orders 2015 and circulated same for use during the inauguration of the 8th Senate when you knew that the said order was not made in compliance with the procedure for the amendment of the Senate orders. You thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 364 of the Penal Code laws.”
The 8th Senate has not known peace since its inauguration on June 9, 2015. The crisis rocking the Senate originated from the bitterly contested leadership tussle between the camps of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan. Following the controversial emergence of Saraki as president, the Ahmad Lawan-led Senate Unity Forum alleged that Saraki’s camp; the Likeminds, conspired with bureaucrats in the National Assembly to “illegally alter the Senate rule with the intent of dubiously” ensuring his emergence.
Soon after the election, the Unity Forum reported the alleged forgery of the rule to the police for investigation. The present leadership of the Senate was elected based on the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended, which contains provisions that differ from the 2011 Orders submitted to the 8th Senate.
The contentious amendments
A comparison of the two documents by Daily Trust on Sunday shows amendments to the main provisions regarding the mode of election of the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President. A fundamental amendment to the rule is on the method of voting provided in sections 3 (3e) (i & ii), (f) and (k). The 2011 Standing Orders provides in section 3 (3e) that “When only two senators-elect are nominated and seconded as presidents of the Senate, the election shall be conducted as follows; (i) the Senate shall divide with proposers and seconders as Tellers; (ii) voting shall be conducted by the clerk-at-the-table using Division List of the Senate with the Tellers in attendance. The Clerk of the Senate shall submit the result of the division to the Clerk of the National Assembly; (iii) the clerk shall then declare the senator-elect who has received the greater number of votes elected as President of Senate.”
But the controversial Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended introduced electronic voting and secret ballot system to the procedure.
The document provides in section 3(3e) that “when two or more senators-elect are nominated and seconded as Senate President, the election shall be conducted as follows; (i) by electronic voting, or (ii) voting by secret ballot which shall be conducted by the clerks-at-table using the list of the senators-elect of the Senate, who shall each be given a ballot paper to cast his vote, with proposers and seconders as Tellers. “(iii) The Clerk of the Senate shall submit the result of the voting to the Clerk of the National Assembly, who shall then declare the senator-elect who has received the highest number of votes as Senate President-elect.”
The voting pattern proposed by the Senate Orders 2011 provides an election process where all senators are required to openly declare support for the candidate of their choice, while the allegedly forged 2015 version provides for secrecy in the voting procedure.
Another contentious amendment is the right of all senators-elect to vote during the inauguration sitting. Section 3(3k) of the Standing Rule 2011 provides that “all senators-elect shall participate in the nomination and voting for the president and deputy president of the Senate.”
But the 2015 amended version provides in its Section 3(i) that “all senators-elect are entitled to participate in the voting for Senate President and Deputy Senate President.” This provision is another major point of disagreement in the 8th Senate as some of its members did not attend the inauguration session. It would be recalled that Saraki emerged as the Senate President unopposed as his main rival, Senator Ahmed Lawan and several other APC senators were at the International Conference Centre (ICC) for a purported meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari when the Upper Chamber was inaugurated. They did not take part in the elections that produced Saraki and Ekweremadu as presiding officers.
Police investigation report In the letter to the police, challenging the amendments to the rules, members of the Unity Forum contended that at no time was the Senate Standing Rule 2011 amended during the 7th Senate. In the letter, signed by the secretary to the Forum, Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi (APC, Kaduna North), the group stated, “The Senate Standing Order 2015 as amended and used by the Clerk of the National Assembly and Clerk of the Senate to inaugurate the 8th Senate on June 9, 2015, was fraudulently produced as the 7th Senate did not, at any time during its tenure, amend the Senate Standing Rule.”
The police, after conducting its investigations, concluded that the amendment to the Senate Standing Rules was illegal as it failed to follow laid down procedures provided by Section 110 as amended. The police investigation report on the matter stated, “The allusion by the Clerk of the Senate, Benedict Efeturi, to the procedure of amending the Standing Orders of Parliament through ‘practice and not necessarily by procedure’ is a misplaced analogy and undemocratic because the Nigerian Senate has a clear procedure to be adopted in amending its standing orders.”
In his statement to the police, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business in the 7th Senate, Senator Ita Enang, said the standing order was not amended. Enang told the police that the committee proposed the amendment of the 2011 standing order, but up to the expiration of their tenure, the proposal was not debated and approved or rejected at any sitting.
But in his statement, the Clerk to the 7th Senate, Mr. Benedict Efeturi, said there was nothing wrong with the amendments. He told the police that, “The leadership of the 7th Senate ordered the 2015 Standing Rules as amended by their convention and practice. The Senate Standing Orders 2003, 2007 and 2011 followed the same procedure as that of 2015. In the parliament, amendment of standing orders is by practice and not necessarily by procedure.”
Another prosecution witnesses, Senator Abdullahi A. Gumel said, “During the induction course of the National Assembly, he was given a copy of the Senate Standing Order 2011 (as amended) as the rules book to guide their conduct and working in the Senate. On resumption of the 8th Senate, a new standing order 2015 as amended was shared to them with which all the businesses of the Senate are being conducted.
“In one of the sittings of the 8th Senate, Senator Kabiru Marafa raised a point of order that the new Standing Order 2015 (as amended) produced and shared was never approved by the 7th Senate, as such, it is a fraudulent document. At that point, it came to his notice that all the activities conducted from June 9, 2015 are null and void.”
In its recommendations, the police stated, “From findings, especially from the statement of the Clerk of the Senate who doubles as the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate Standing Orders 2015, which was used to inaugurate the 8th Senate on June 9, 2015 was ordered by the leadership of the 7th Senate without following Section 110 of the Senate Standing Rules 2011 as amended, which requires that any amendment to the rules must be debated and approved by senators on the floor of the Senate.
“This practice where some senators amend the rules of the Senate without following legal procedures is not only criminal but portends danger for our growing democracy. It should be discouraged.”
Procedure for amending the Senate Standing Orders Section 110 of the Senate Standing Order 2011 provides that “(i) any Senator desiring to amend any part of the rules or adding any new clause shall give a notice of such amendments in writing to the president of the Senate, giving details of proposed amendment; (ii) the president shall, within seven working days, cause the amendment to be printed and circulated to the members. Thereafter it shall be printed on the Order Paper; (iii) the mover or movers of the amendments shall be allowed to explain in details, the proposed amendments; thereafter the Senate shall decide by simple majority votes whether the amendment should be considered; (iv) if the decision is to consider the amendments, then another date shall be set aside by the Rules and Business Committee, whereby an opportunity would be given to senators to further propose amendments, but must strictly be confined to the original amendments; (v) two third majorities shall decide the amendments, and such amendments shall form part of the Rules of the Senate.”
However, speaking to Daily Trust on Sunday via telephone, the leader of the 7th Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said that at no time did the 7th Senate amend the Standing Orders 2011. He said, “The Committee on Rules and Business proposed an amendment, but it was not debated.” He, however, declined further comment as the matter is already a subject of litigation.
Checks by Daily Trust on Sunday showed that the Senate Standing Orders was last amended on May 18, 2011, to provide, among others, Section 3(2) that introduced ranking to the process of electing presiding officers and other appointments in the chamber. The amendment was a sequel to a motion for the amendment to the Senate Standing Orders 2007, sponsored by then Senate Majority Leader, Teslim Folarin. It followed all the procedures of amendment laid down in Section 110 of the standing rules.
The litigation Based on the recommendation of the police investigation report dated July 14, 2015, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, sued the accused before a Federal High Court in Abuja. Former Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa, outgoing Clerk of the Senate, Ben Efeturi, President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Deputy President of Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, are charged with conspiracy and forgery, an action contrary to sections 97 and 362 of the Penal Code law.
According to court documents seen by Daily Trust on Sunday, the prosecution contends that, “It is a prosecution’s case against the defendants, that about June 9, 2015, the defendants (Saraki, Ekweremadu, Efeturi and Maikasuwa) conspired among themselves to forge the Senate Standing Order 2011 (as amended) and caused the said forged document to be circulated among the elected senators for use during the inauguration of the 8th Senate of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It is the forged document that was used in the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly which paved the way for the election that ushered in the present leadership of the Senate.”
Punishment for forgery The offence of forgery carries a penalty of a jail term of 14 years, lawyers said.
In a telephone interview with our reporter, Mr. Festus Okoye said that forgery was a serious offence, but added that its punishment would depend on the law in which the accused were charged – the Penal Code (PC) or the Criminal Code (CC).
According to him, the first consequence of being convicted of forgery would be a sentence to a jail term. Secondly, convicts will not be able to contest elections again. He added, however, that for someone already in the National Assembly, it will be different.
Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said he would not want to comment on the matter.
Saraki’s camp threatens Ita Enang Mixed reactions have continued to trail the disclosure of the list of witnesses in the forgery suit. It has created tension at the Upper Chamber.
Pasted alongside the court summons at the National Assembly on Tuesday was the list of witnesses which include the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly (Senate), Senator Ita Enang. The list of the witnesses, which include both serving and former senators, has Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi; Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara Central); Senator Ahmed Lawan (APC, Yobe North); Senator Robert Ajayi Boroffice (APC, Ondo North) and Senator Abu Ibrahim (APC, Katsina South). Others are Senator Solomon Ewuga, Senator Ojudu Babafemi, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Dan’Azumi J. Doma and a police investigator, David Igbodo. In a phone interview, a senator in the camp of Saraki said the battle line had been drawn between them and Enang.
“You cannot be a liaison officer to the Senate and testify against us. If you are not with us, then you are against us. He cannot be against us and still be with us. There is a likelihood that he would be denied entry into the National Assembly in due time,” the senator said under condition of anonymity.
Efforts to get the reaction of Senator Enang yielded no result as he didn’t pick calls put through to him.
Senate mulls president pro-tempore Another source in the Saraki camp told our reporter that they had commenced arrangements for a president pro-tempore.
The Senate rules made provision for a temporary Senate president in the absence of its president and his deputy. The provision is contained in Order 27, which reads: “In the absence of the president of the Senate and the deputy president, such senator as the Senate may elect for the purpose, shall be known as president pro-tempore.
In a phone interview, the senator, who did not want to be named, said that Saraki and Ekweremadu “with the overwhelming support they enjoy, will nominate anybody of their choice as president pro-tempore. “If Saraki is going on trial, a president pro-tempore will be appointed if the need arises. Saraki can bring anybody of his choice from our camp. He can even bring Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West). You know that unlike the House of Representatives, there is no duration for a president pro-tempore at the Senate.
“In the Senate at the moment, our camp in the All Progressives Congress (APC) has 40 per cent majority, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 40 per cent and the anti-Saraki senators only have 20 per cent. They only have the capacity to drag the leadership to trial. They have disruption ability, but they lack the capacity to effect leadership change. You know the battle is that of number,” he said.
Last minute peace moves collapse Moves to make members of the Unity Forum who had gone to court over the forgery of the Senate rules to withdraw the case has failed. A peace and reconciliation committee was constituted in May this year to, among other things, facilitate the withdrawal of the forgery suit. The report of the Committee chaired by Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta South) was considered last Wednesday in a closed-door session that lasted about two hours.
At the end of the session chaired by Senate President Bukola Saraki, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the various camps stood their grounds.
A senator who attended the session said there was no need to compel the members of the Unity Forum to withdraw the suit as a date had already been fixed for the case.
However, a report of the committee obtained by our correspondent recommended the review and adjustment of the membership of the Senate standing committees to reflect equity and fairness.
It also recommended that all vacant positions for chairmen and vice chairmen of committees be filled up forthwith and that no senator should be chairman or vice chairman of more than one committee. The 12-man committee also stated, “Apparent discriminatory actions in choice of senators for overseas conferences, seminars and tours should be corrected.”
Reaction of the Unity Forum In an interview on Thursday, the spokesperson of the Unity Forum, Senator Kabiru Marafa, said they had no regret instituting a legal action on the forgery. “I have no regret at all. At my age and status, do you think I will do something wrong and be reluctant to apologise? I am of the conviction that what I did was the right thing. And for your information, I am trained to speak the truth.’’
Saraki, Ekweremadu fault suit In separate statements by their media officers, Saraki and Ekweremadu denied forging the Senate standing rules.
“Those who decided to smuggle the name of the Senate President into the charge sheet know perfectly well that only the leadership of the 7th Senate were invited for investigation. But they needed to implicate him in keeping with their declared vow to ensure that even if their current efforts to nail him through the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) fail, they would find other ways to carry out their vendetta.
“This so-called forgery case is another wanton abuse of the judicial process and making a mockery of the institution of justice. As the Senate earlier stated, the sponsors of this plot are not only gunning for Dr. Saraki, what they have just launched with this latest antics is a grand onslaught on the foremost institution of our democracy. Therefore, by seeking to cripple the National Assembly, they have declared a war on our hard-won democracy and aimed for the very jugular of our freedom,” Saraki’s media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu stated.
Also, Ekweremadu’s special adviser on media, Uche Anichukwu stated, “So far, everything is in the realm of the onslaught to malign, bully, intimidate, and divert attention from the real challenges presently confronting the nation. However, when the bird jerks in the air, we can fathom where it would perch.”
Both media aides insisted that their principals were never interrogated by the police.
The Assistant Force Public Relations Officer (AFPRO), DSP Abayomi Shogunle, told newsmen at the Force Headquarters on July 6, 2015, that although the police team met Mr. Salisu Maikasuwa, they neither invited nor interrogated Ekweremadu.
Not until the reported abduction of over 200 young school girls from Chibok in Borno State, North-East Nigeria in April, 2014, the menace of the Boko-Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria never gained prominence in global discuss. The#BringBackOurGirls awareness campaign on the Social Media sparked an international outrage and pressure on the Nigerian Government and the Western world to get their acts together to secure the release of the abducted school girls.
There have been reported cases of abduction in the North-East before the #Chibok incidence, several thousands of young boys and girls were forcefully adopted from their sleep, schools, homes and farms. In most cases, villages were sacked, police stations and posts were overran by these insurgents, leaving villagers to their fate. This was a common situation for years, living inside the forests of Borno was far more safe for residents than their homes and villages.
Today, there are over 2,000,000 internally displaced persons (mostly women and children) from the insurgency in North-East Nigeria and another 80,000 taking refuge in neighbouring Cameroon according to figures from the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The displacement of children from their homes is staging a huge problem for the region and the Nigerian government, these children are no doubt “out of school”. Record shows that Northern Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children in Africa and possibly tops the chart globally, before the outbreak of the Boko-Haram insurgency, the Nigerian government in association with diverse international organizations were stepping up campaigns and strategies to get out of school children to the classrooms.
The low literacy and numeracy rates are exacerbated by the number of children who are displaced, separated from families or orphaned; large numbers of displaced teachers; and schools that have been destroyed or closed due to the violent extremism in the area that targets the very education that is Nigeria’s best hope.
Government’s effort in arresting this huge humanitarian need as well as fighting the war on insurgency simultaneously cannot be rated successful without the inputs from“Good Spirited”Nigerians and International aid organizations providing relief materials for the displaced Nigerians.
The role of philanthropy in fighting the humanitarian crisis in North-East Nigeria cannot be carpeted, the last administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the Victims Support Fund Committee, with a primary responsibility of sourcing out support funds both from public and private pockets for victims of the insurgency in North-East Nigeria. The committee was headed by former Nigeria’s Minister of DefenseAlhaji T.Y Danjuma.
Africa’s richest man and billionaire, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the Borno State born Alhaji Mohammed Indimi and Nigeria’s Former Vice-President, AtikuAbubakar amongst others have been in the forefront in tackling the humanitarian crisis in the North-East.
So far, Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote has made donations and pledges worth over 3.2billion Naira ($16,076,384m) to displaced Nigerians in the North-East and most recently he made a delivery of 106 trucks of food and relief materials to IDPs camps across North-East Nigeria through the Dangote Foundation.
The AtikuAbubakar founded American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa State is also making huge mark in addressing the humanitarian crisis in North-East Nigeria. The AUN works in tandem with the Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative (API). The Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative was formed in January 2012. It was a reasoned response toincreasing threats of violence and growing mutual suspicion in Nigeria’s northeast.
API has ongoing projects such as “The Peacemakers” television show, annually celebrated PeaceDay, “Peace Through Sports” tournament, Peace Lecture Series, IT training and literacy programs, and the Grand Alliance for Adamawa with which the organization and the American University of Nigeria foster peace through education, empowerment, and community development.
This partnership unites academic leaders of the University and religious and community leaders ofAPI in the pursuit of peace and reconciliation.
Recently, the API launched theInsurgency Intervention Fund, a N1 billion (one billion nairacontributory fundraising program that is designed to assist in rehabilitating IDPs in violence proneAdamawa State.The N1billion Intervention Fund would be raised in tranches of N200 million (two hundred million naira only) over a twelve month period will seek to reach out to various individuals,local and foreign organizations.
So far, the AUN-API team feeds and houses over 300,000 Internally displaced persons in AdamawaState, according to available statistics,the AUN-API Team supplied food, medicines and relief materials to over 163,500 households through local religious and community-based organizations in the state in December 2015.
The AUN President, Dr Margee Ensign, who chairs the API, claims that the organization has initiated numerous programs in the community to benefit both indigenes and IDPs.
“We have the all-year-long ‘Peace Through Sports’ program, two major income-generating projects for community women, and a new literacy program christened ‘Technology Enhanced Learning for All’,”
In addressing pressing issues of education amongst displaced children in Adamawa State, theAUN is partnering with local religious and community leaders to establish a program for vulnerable Nigerian youths Christened “Feed and Read” program.The “Feed and Read” program offers a low-cost, highly scalable and replicable plan to address the situation. According to AUN President Margee Ensign: “Carefully targeted, modest amounts of assistance and practical intervention, make it possible to put the brakes on the accelerating suffering.Within six months our goal is to get all of the participants to be able to read and do basic arithmetic, addition, subtraction, division and multiplication of two digit numbers.”
InYola, North-East Nigeria, there are hopes for displaced and out of school children, even as government is vamping up efforts to return displaced persons back to their towns and villages.
No doubt, it remains a struggle betweenHumanityandInhumanity.
Grace Okagbare Writes from Kristiansand, Norway. [myad]
Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has described the seafaring as the unsung heroes that ensure that the wheel of global commerce keeps rolling.
At the commemoration of the International Day of the Seafarer on Saturday, Peterside said that seafarer profession is indispensable to the development and progress of commercial activities across the world, adding that it is important for humanity to understand and appreciate what seafarers endure at sea in harsh and turbulent waters at even personal danger to their lives just to make sure that goods and services get to their destinations safely.
“Today, presents a rare opportunity for the world to celebrate the Seafarer who is rarely acknowledged as the core component in the development of global shipping, perhaps the reason the IMO has its theme for this year’s celebration as ‘At Sea for All.’
“On our part as NIMASA, we will continue to enforce the relevant provisions of international instruments to protect and improve the working and living conditions of seafarers” the DG assured.”
Dr. Peterside who was represented by the Agency’s Director of Administration and Human Resources, Mr. Ibrahim Jibril said that the Agency has identified five critical areas in re-positioning the sector for greater efficiency of which welfare and capacity building are critical parts in ensuring the desired growth in the sector.
The NIMASA helmsman used the opportunity to call on all maritime stakeholders to identify with the theme of this year’s Day of the Seafarer campaign by appreciating the invaluable contribution of seafarers to our wellbeing.
Speakers at the event who appreciated the work of seafarers also called on relevant authorities and NIMASA in particular to enforce the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) and Decent Work Agenda both aimed at improving the well-being of seafarers.
The International Day of the Seafarer is a day set aside by the International Maritime Organization to celebrate the seafarer and show appreciation for their work that is indispensable to global commerce. [myad]
It has been established that millions of Britons whose vote sent the country out of the European Union (EU) are ignorant of what the body stands for.
Reports reaching us indicated that although leaders of the campaign to exit Europe are crowing over their victory, it seems many Britons may not even know what they had actually voted for.
But despite the all-out attempts by either side to court voters, Britons were not only mystified by what would happen if they left the EU — many seemed not to even know what the European Union is.
This must be very worrying discovery, for Leave EU campaign – they won because many voters didn’t know what the referendum was about and what was at stake for the UK
A Briton was quoted as saying: “even though I voted to leave, this morning I woke up and I just — the reality did actually hit me. If I’d had the opportunity to vote again, it would be to stay.” [myad]
Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), has confirmed that two prisoners did escape from the Kuje Medium Security Prison but that there was no jailbreak and that Charles Okah did not escape from lawful custody.
The NPS spokesman, DCP Francis Enobore, in a statement on Saturday said that Okah “is still in the prison, safe and sound,” explaining that two inmates escaped from the prison at about 7.30pm on Friday, though not through jail break.
He said that the inmates in question were awaiting trial for culpable homicide and had no relationship with Charles Okah as being speculated.
“Efforts are on in collaboration with sister security agencies and relevant bodies to recapture the fleeing prisoners. The Controller General of Prisons, apart from immediately dispatching a team to the Prison to carry out preliminary investigation, was also personally on ground to have a firsthand information about the incident.
“He directed the team to do a thorough job and expeditiously too in order to establish the circumstances surrounding the escape noting that any staff found culpable would be made to face the full wrath of the law.” [myad]
The Nigerian Army has confirmed that the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai own two properties in Dubai which he paid for under instalmental arrangement long before he became the army chief.
A statement by the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, obviously reacting to media report, said that the Buratai family have two properties in Dubai that were paid for instalmentally through personal savings three years ago.
“This, along with other personal assets, has consistently been declared by General Buratai in his Assets Declaration Form as Commander Multinational Joint Task Force Commander and as Chief of Army Staff.
“It is pertinent to state that the Chief of Army Staff does not have any account with Skye Bank as alleged, let alone making deposits in the imaginary bank account to the tune of the amount stated in the write up.”
Colonel Sani Usman said that the General has not been involved in any form of shady or dishonest transaction, not to talk of “contract scam,” saying: “General Buratai was never near either Defence Headquarters or Army Headquarters in 2013.
The full of the statement goes thus:
“The attention of Nigerian Army has been drawn to another round of campaign of calumny against the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai and his family by some unscrupulous elements as contained in Sahara Reporters story titled “Revealed: Buhari’s Chief Of Army Staff, General Buratai, Wives Own Dubai Property”.
They alleged that Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Tukur Buratai, and his two wives are joint owners of a Dubai property that was paid for in one transaction posted on the website.
It is important to know that these baseless allegations were not new.
In March this year, some groups of individuals under the aegis of “Concerned Citizens” tried same smear campaign to their disappointment.
It could not fly, because it is not true.
You will recall early this week, there was similar campaign of calumny by yet another online news medium, The Cable.
Therein, among other things, it alleged that wounded in action Nigerian Army personnel were abandoned by the Army, government and the nation which is not true.
Therefore, the latest round of smear campaign by Sahara Reporters is one of the series of campaigns of calumny by these faceless individuals to malign the Chief of Army Staff and the Nigerian Army.
Yet, typical of blackmailers and mischief makers despite failures, they did not give up, hence they now found a willing accomplice reputed for muckraking like the Sahara Reporters.
The online news medium this evening uploaded another campaign of calumny allegedly based on a petition by obviously fake and non-existent group it described as “Concerned Soldiers and Officers From the North East”.
The allegations contained in the Sahara Reporters write up are baseless and not correct.
It is a fact that the Buratai family have two properties in Dubai that were paid for instalmentally through personal savings three years ago.
This, along with other personal assets, has consistently been declared by General Buratai in his Assets Declaration Form as Commander Multinational Joint Task Force Commander and as Chief of Army Staff.
It is pertinent to state that the Chief of Army Staff does not have any account with Skye Bank as alleged, let alone making deposits in the imaginary bank account to the tune of the amount stated in the write up.
Similarly, he has not been involved in any form of shady or dishonest transaction, not to talk of “contract scam”.
In addition, General Buratai was never near either Defence Headquarters or Army Headquarters in 2013.
It is pertinent to also note that he was never a Director of procurement in Army Headquarters as alleged.
As a matter of fact, the Nigerian Army never had a Directorate of Procurement till when he established one last year when he became Chief of Army Staff.
In a bid to rubbish the hard earned reputation and good name of the Chief of Army Staff, these blackmailers will stop at nothing hence all these kinds of mudslinging.
It is really worrisome that some people could condescend so low to fabricate baseless allegation against the Chief of Army Staff for reasons that could best be described as mischievous.
It is equally worrisome that Sahara Reporters could lend space for this obvious mischief.
We really do not believe that it is because the price is right.
Consequently, the public and indeed all well-meaning persons should disregard this round of campaign of calumny against the Chief of Army Staff and similar ones because they are baseless and unfounded.
For the unscrupulous elements and their cohorts, these campaigns would prod the Nigerian Army and indeed the Chief of Army Staff to continue to serve the nation diligently and with utmost zeal.
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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo state has advised its members to stop dealing with the estranged national chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff, saying that he is a bull in a China’s shop.
Boko Haram: Humanity Against Inhumanity, By Grace Okagbare
Not until the reported abduction of over 200 young school girls from Chibok in Borno State, North-East Nigeria in April, 2014, the menace of the Boko-Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria never gained prominence in global discuss. The#BringBackOurGirls awareness campaign on the Social Media sparked an international outrage and pressure on the Nigerian Government and the Western world to get their acts together to secure the release of the abducted school girls.
There have been reported cases of abduction in the North-East before the #Chibok incidence, several thousands of young boys and girls were forcefully adopted from their sleep, schools, homes and farms. In most cases, villages were sacked, police stations and posts were overran by these insurgents, leaving villagers to their fate. This was a common situation for years, living inside the forests of Borno was far more safe for residents than their homes and villages.
Today, there are over 2,000,000 internally displaced persons (mostly women and children) from the insurgency in North-East Nigeria and another 80,000 taking refuge in neighbouring Cameroon according to figures from the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The displacement of children from their homes is staging a huge problem for the region and the Nigerian government, these children are no doubt “out of school”. Record shows that Northern Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children in Africa and possibly tops the chart globally, before the outbreak of the Boko-Haram insurgency, the Nigerian government in association with diverse international organizations were stepping up campaigns and strategies to get out of school children to the classrooms.
The low literacy and numeracy rates are exacerbated by the number of children who are displaced, separated from families or orphaned; large numbers of displaced teachers; and schools that have been destroyed or closed due to the violent extremism in the area that targets the very education that is Nigeria’s best hope.
Government’s effort in arresting this huge humanitarian need as well as fighting the war on insurgency simultaneously cannot be rated successful without the inputs from“Good Spirited”Nigerians and International aid organizations providing relief materials for the displaced Nigerians.
The role of philanthropy in fighting the humanitarian crisis in North-East Nigeria cannot be carpeted, the last administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the Victims Support Fund Committee, with a primary responsibility of sourcing out support funds both from public and private pockets for victims of the insurgency in North-East Nigeria. The committee was headed by former Nigeria’s Minister of DefenseAlhaji T.Y Danjuma.
Africa’s richest man and billionaire, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the Borno State born Alhaji Mohammed Indimi and Nigeria’s Former Vice-President, AtikuAbubakar amongst others have been in the forefront in tackling the humanitarian crisis in the North-East.
So far, Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote has made donations and pledges worth over 3.2billion Naira ($16,076,384m) to displaced Nigerians in the North-East and most recently he made a delivery of 106 trucks of food and relief materials to IDPs camps across North-East Nigeria through the Dangote Foundation.
The AtikuAbubakar founded American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa State is also making huge mark in addressing the humanitarian crisis in North-East Nigeria. The AUN works in tandem with the Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative (API). The Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative was formed in January 2012. It was a reasoned response toincreasing threats of violence and growing mutual suspicion in Nigeria’s northeast.
API has ongoing projects such as “The Peacemakers” television show, annually celebrated PeaceDay, “Peace Through Sports” tournament, Peace Lecture Series, IT training and literacy programs, and the Grand Alliance for Adamawa with which the organization and the American University of Nigeria foster peace through education, empowerment, and community development.
This partnership unites academic leaders of the University and religious and community leaders ofAPI in the pursuit of peace and reconciliation.
Recently, the API launched theInsurgency Intervention Fund, a N1 billion (one billion nairacontributory fundraising program that is designed to assist in rehabilitating IDPs in violence proneAdamawa State.The N1billion Intervention Fund would be raised in tranches of N200 million (two hundred million naira only) over a twelve month period will seek to reach out to various individuals,local and foreign organizations.
So far, the AUN-API team feeds and houses over 300,000 Internally displaced persons in AdamawaState, according to available statistics,the AUN-API Team supplied food, medicines and relief materials to over 163,500 households through local religious and community-based organizations in the state in December 2015.
The AUN President, Dr Margee Ensign, who chairs the API, claims that the organization has initiated numerous programs in the community to benefit both indigenes and IDPs.
“We have the all-year-long ‘Peace Through Sports’ program, two major income-generating projects for community women, and a new literacy program christened ‘Technology Enhanced Learning for All’,”
In addressing pressing issues of education amongst displaced children in Adamawa State, theAUN is partnering with local religious and community leaders to establish a program for vulnerable Nigerian youths Christened “Feed and Read” program.The “Feed and Read” program offers a low-cost, highly scalable and replicable plan to address the situation. According to AUN President Margee Ensign: “Carefully targeted, modest amounts of assistance and practical intervention, make it possible to put the brakes on the accelerating suffering.Within six months our goal is to get all of the participants to be able to read and do basic arithmetic, addition, subtraction, division and multiplication of two digit numbers.”
InYola, North-East Nigeria, there are hopes for displaced and out of school children, even as government is vamping up efforts to return displaced persons back to their towns and villages.
No doubt, it remains a struggle betweenHumanityandInhumanity.
Grace Okagbare Writes from Kristiansand, Norway. [myad]