The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has announced the looming shake up in the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and other federal government owned media houses as a way of repositioning them for greater efficiency.

The Minister who spoke when he received the National Executive Committee of the Radio, Television and Theatre Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU) on a courtesy visit in Abuja, said that the government media organizations have to be retooled to provide compelling contents that will make them attractive to viewers and advertisers.

“As long as we do not improve on the quality of NTA, and other public media, we cannot compete with others. We need to restructure, we need to reinvent NTA, FRCN and all our other publicly-owned media because that is the only way we can compete favourably with other broadcasting outfits.”

Alhaji Mohammed reiterated that under his watch, no public media organization would deny access to the political opposition but emphasized that the media, especially the broadcast outfits, should always adhere strictly to the provisions of the Broadcasting Code in the performance of their duties.

The Minister assured that the Federal Government is committed to the diversification of the economy through an organized and coordinated approach to mainstream culture, tourism and agriculture into the economy.

“Agriculture is one area where our diversification is going to be felt but what we have done is that we are not just talking about agriculture in the abstract. We are picking a few crops and a few items that we intend to be self-sufficient in and these items are today taking a large chunk of our foreign exchange. So in diversifying in agriculture, we are linking it to the entire economy,” he said.

The Minister told RATTAWU that he has been studying the minutes of their meetings with the government on improved remuneration package for its members and promised to continue to engage the stakeholders in that regard.

Earlier, the President of RATTAWU, Dr. Yemisi Bamgbose, commended the Buhari administration for the successes it had recorded in the fight against corruption and insurgency and urged the government to extend the same vigour to revamping the nation’s economy.

He also spoke on the need to diversify the economy, improve the remuneration of media workers, curb the instability in the leadership of the public media and ensure their independence.

Dr. Bamgbose called for the review of the law t hat empowers Local Governments to collect radio licence fees because, he said, the third tier of government has no input in broadcasting. [myad]

Former Aide de Camp (ADC) to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Colonel Ojogbane Adegbe has told officers of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) that his boss, ex President Goodluck Jonathan used to hand him sealed parcels to be delivered to different people in the country, swearing that he carried out his duties in accordance with his oath of office.

Colonel Adegbe is currently being interrogated by the anti-graft agency in connection with an alleged N10 billion given to chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the instructions of Jonathan.

A source, privy to the interrogation said that the former ADC explained to his interrogators that he had cause to receive and pass over sealed parcels and documents from the Commander-In-Chief to individuals.

The source said: “the ADC told EFCC operatives that part of his schedule of duty includes to collect and hand over documents and sealed parcels from his Commander-In-Chief to individuals.

“He also stated that he was not in the habit of opening such parcels to view their contents before an onward transmission to whomsoever such parcels were addressed to. He said doing otherwise would be a betrayal of the confidence reposed in him.

“He also told them that as a serving military officer, he was bound by his oath of commission into the Nigerian Armed Forces and would not divulge official secrets which he swore to keep.” [myad]

The National Publicity Sec­retary of the Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, has told a Fed­eral High Court that the Eco­nomic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cannot prosecute him without inter­rogating former President Goodluck Jonathan regarding the source of the N400 mil­lion alleged to be part of arms purchase funds.
Metuh, who has filed a no case submission asking the court to discharge him from the seven- count money laundering charge preferred against him and his company, Destra Investment Limited, said the Prosecution Witness (PW5) evidence that presen­tation for which money was paid was made to Jonathan makes the investigation of his role as well as his evi­dence vital and indeed crucial without which no prima facie case can conceivably be said to have been made out. Chief Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) led Metuh’s defence team.
“Dr. Jonathan, to whom the presentation was made for which the payment was made, is therefore a material and in­dispensible person in order for a prima facie case to be present. Where the prosecu­tion failed to call such a vital witness, a strong presumption will arise that the evidence, if called, would be unfavour­able to the prosecution.
Metuh argued that the EFCC has not established a prima facie case against him in line with Sections 302 and 357 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 since the prosecu­tion has not made such case against him and his company.
“In any case, the “mens area’ of the defendants to the effect that former NSA, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (ret.) commit­ted a criminal offence cannot be inferred, but must be es­tablished by a competent evi­dence which must come from the prosecution.
It is the case of Metuh that no evidence was laid out by the prosecution that N400 million was the proceed of al­leged criminal conduct com­mitted by Dasuki, adding that if anything, all the documents presented by the prosecution in the case only point out that the former NSA complied with due process and the con­trary has not been pronounced by the court of competent ju­risdiction.
“In this case, by the evi­dence of PW3 who works in the Office of the National Se­curity Adviser (ONSA), the NSA is answerable to the then President Goodluck Jonathan only,” he said.
Metuh said Section 15 (2) (d) of the ACJA requires the proof that the money must be proceed of an unlawful act.
“In this case, it has not been established that the defen­dants knew that the ONSA engaged in any unlawful acts, adding that an unlawful act must be an act which is not authorized or approved and which has been found to be illegal.
“There was no evidence that the defendants were in­volved in any forged docu­ments to create a contract where none was in fact, in existence. “Pw8, the inves­tigator was emphatic that he found no relationship of any kind between the defendants and Col. Sambo Dasuki.”
Meanwhile, Metuh took a fresh plea of not guilty in the amended charge against him and his earlier bail was re­stored by the court.
The fresh charge has noth­ing substantial as it did not alter the earlier one, but was just to correct some legal wordings contained in the previous charge sheet.
Justice Abang Okon, had granted Metuh leave to file his written no case submis­sion after Ikpeazu moved an oral application that was not opposed by the prosecution counsel.
The judge ruled that the de­fence counsel is in control of his brief and at liberty to take any decision or action that was in the best interest of his client.
In granting the leave, Jus­tice Okon directed counsel to file written addresses for and against the no case submis­sion. While Metuh was direct­ed to file his process yester­day, the prosecution counsel upon receipt of service, was directed to reply within three days to enable the defence counsel to reply on point of law within 24 hours.
Further hearing was ad­journed to February 25 for adoption of written addresses.

Daily Sun. [myad]

Former Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro is being interrogated about by officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the 2014 Nigeria Immigration recruitment scam.

The rowdy recruitment exercise resulted into the death of no fewer than 20 Nigerian job-seekers.

Also being interrogated are the then permanent secretary in the interior minister, Mrs. Fatima Bamidele and a director in the Immigrations, Fire Service, Prisons and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, simply indentified as Ibrahim.

The affected former government officials were still with the anti-graft agency as at 9 pm today. [myad]

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed as Senior Special Assistant, a man, Dr. Samuel Inalegwu Ode Ankeli, who mobilized more than 24 million disabled persons in the country to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and his running mate in the 2015 presidential election campaign.
Dr. Inalegwu, who is visually impaired, would be responsible for advising the President on matters concerning persons living with disability.
The new Senior Special Assistant headed the  Directorate of Persons With Disability at the Buhari/Osinbajo APC presidential campaign headquarters, the first of any such department in a political party in Nigeria.
He hails from Benue State. He went to school in Giwa, near Zaria and Kaduna before reading veterinary medicine at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
He worked with the Benue State government before quitting to give time to his activist role in the promotion of the well being of the blind and people with all kinds of disability.
He leads a very active religious and sporting life.
He is married and has children. [myad]