Pressure is now mounting on the new governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to probe the financial and administrative activities of his predecessor, Captain Idris Wada.

Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, a Kogi State-based NGO, Idris Miliki, threw the first salvo by asking Yahaya Bello to immediately set up a panel of inquiry to x-ray the activities of Wada’s administration.

In a statement today in Lokoja, the human rights activist noted that from 2003, the state had contended with problems of uncompleted projects, inflated contracts, huge and fake wage bills and huge debts of “unimaginable proportion” among other anomalies.
He said that the probe would help the government to ascertain the state of the economy, level of indebtedness and strategies to be adopted in reshaping the economy.
“It will be in the interest of the people of Kogi for the new governor to set up a judicial panel of inquiry with people of proven integrity to ascertain the level of indebtedness of the state (internally and externally).”

He asked the government to ensure that financial misdemeanours of key players of the last administration were exposed and brought to book even as he called on the governor to declare his assets publicly to elicit the confidence of the people.
“This will enhance the confidence, credibility and above all, trust of the people of Kogi and indeed, Nigeria as the declaration of his assets will make us to know his worth in materials and other resources. We must avoid the pitfalls of the past.” [myad]

The Nigerian Air Force has given a hope of the possible locations in Sambisa Forest, of some of the over 200 female students of the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, who were abducted by members of Boko Haram in April 2014.

According to the Director of Public Relations at the Nigerian Air Force, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, the soldiers are being careful in their recent bombardment of the Forest so as not to hit the places where the girls are suspected to be kept by the insurgents.

He told Channels Television that the Air Force is abstaining from attacking the area to make sure that the girls are not hit, adding that the latest aerial bombardment of Sambisa forest had been aimed at the logistics base of the Boko Haram sect.

“We have no fears that the girls are not there because that particular location has been under surveillance for quite a while and we suspected maybe, it is a kind of ammunition depot or maybe a workshop that they are using as their logistics place.

“Once you take off the logistics base, of course you gradually weaken the resolve of the enemy to be able to prosecute any campaign,” he said.

Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa said that one of the methods used by the Air Force to locate the girls is the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), which he said has become a force multiplier because it is cheaper to run the platforms.

You are not putting men there (and) the risk of losing human beings is greatly reduced. Again the UAVs have the capability to be airborne for up to eleven hours and its quite cheap to maintain. So, we have been able to employ the UAV to a great extent to carry out reconnaissance and surveillance basically for intelligence gathering on the activities of the Boko Haram.”

He said that the UAVs have also helped the Air Force to understand the terrorists’ pattern of movement and “how to be able to counter them should they want to strike or spring any surprise.” [myad]

In what is regarded as a mini-general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to conduct eighty (80) court-ordered elections between 27th January to 19th March 2016.
A Decision Extract of the Commission shows that the elections will take place across sixteen (16) states and they range from Senatorial, Federal House of Representatives to House of Assembly elections. States in which the elections are scheduled to hold are: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Rivers and Taraba.
A breakdown of the elections shows that ten (10) will be for Senatorial Districts: seventeen (17) for Federal House of Representatives; and fifty three (53) for State Houses of Assembly.
A summary of the dates for the re-run elections is as follows:
Adamawa state, 13th February 2016; Benue state, 20th February 2016; Kaduna state, 20th February 2016; Plateau state, 20th February 2016; Niger state, 20th February 2016; Nasarawa state, 20th February 2016; Kogi state, 20th February 2016; Taraba state, 20th February 2016; Imo state, 20th February 2016; Anambra state, 5th March 2016; Bayelsa state, 5th March 2016; Akwa Ibom state, 12 March 2016; Cross River state, 12th March 2016; and Rivers state 19th March 2016.
A statement by the INEC’s spokesman, Nick Dazang said that the re-run elections are categorized into two: Supplementary/Partial and Whole. There will be seventeen Supplementary/Partial re-run elections made up of: one Senatorial; two Federal Constituencies and 14 State Constituency. There will be sixty three whole elections to be conducted as follows: eight Senatorial; 15 Federal Constituency and 40 State Constituency.
The statement said that the states affected by the re-run elections are grouped into six. They are Gombe state, 27th January 2016; Adamawa, 13th February 2016; Kaduna, Plateau, Niger, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Taraba and Imo, 20th February 2016; Abia, Anambra and Bayelsa, 5th March 2016; Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers, 12th March  and River 19th March 2016.
In a Public Notice issued and signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs Augusta C. Ogakwu, INEC said that consequent upon the judgments of the Court, the Commission will conduct the elections in 69 of the said Constituencies with the same Political Parties and their respective candidates who participated in the annulled elections
The Commission further gave a list of the eleven other Constituencies, the Political Parties and Candidates who where entitled to participate.
Meanwhile, INEC’s Directorate of Stores has called for a digitization of INEC’s Store processes to support the Commission in decision making to leverage on the benefits of technology.
The call was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a one-day Induction and Up-dates Workshop of the Stores Directorate, held at the Commission’s headquarters last week.
The participants who were drawn from the Commission’s stores nationwide, agreed that equipping the Central, Electoral, and Zonal stores with the appropriate working materials would further enhance the efficiency of the stores and impact on the electoral process.
In his address, the Director of Stores, Saidu Dogonyaro, appreciated the new Commission under the leadership of Professor Yakubu Mahmood for the support in putting together such a timely event, which served as a refresher course for stores officers, saying “it will go a long way in enhancing and re-energizing officers of the Stores Directorate”.
The Acting Director of Audit, Tony Abarowei, advised the participants to avoid wastages and ensure proper documentation of all Stores processes.
Director of Planning and Monitoring, Okey Ndeche, urged participants to imbibe ethical principles in carrying out their responsibilities. Said he: “in every growing organization, the action or in-action of one affects all.”
He advocated for the development of code of ethics for store keepers, as he believed that it would ensure ethical conduct among store keepers.
At the end of the interactive and educative workshop, the participants issued a ten point communiqué:
1. The workshop praised and appreciated the Honorable Chairman of the Commission (Prof. Mahmood Yakubu) who graciously approved and released the funds for the workshop;
2. The five (5) Stores curriculum papers addressed Stores Administration, stating and expounding on all regulations books and documents of stores book-keeping;
3. The extra-curricular paper on Stress Management and Health tips was quite informative. Thoroughly explaining the causes, symptoms and management of stress, very useful for the staff and their family;
4. The workshop lamented the present posting and deployments of staff to the Zonal Stores, in which some staff are on loan from INEC state offices. It is recommended that posting to Zonal Stores be regularized;
5. A call for the computerization  of INEC’s Stores’ processes to support the Commission in decision making to leverage the benefits of technology;
6. Equipping the Central Stores, Electoral, and Zonal Stores with the appropriate working materials such e.g. pallets, ladders, trolleys, and Shelves. Also, furnishing of the Zonal Stores was done last in 2009 and need replenishment;
7. Review of locations of some Zonal Stores. The workshop noted that some Zonal Stores locations are not cost effective;
8. Management and disposal of obsolete materials. All the Stores complained of congestion of their stores with obsolete materials and called for urgent boarding by BOSTEAC to create storage space for  new stocks;
9. Caution in the customization and specification of some election forms and materials restrict their use to just the Election year and thereby resulting in wastages;
10. The workshop called for guided oversight over all the states INEC’s Stores by the Stores Directorate. This will ensure proper coordination and uniform documentation of all INEC’s stores processes. [myad]

Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Colonel Ojogbane Adegbe has threatened to open another can of worms that may be worse that the Dasukigate if he is forced to reveal what transpired in that administration.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Adegbe on Wednesday in Lagos where he went through rigorous interrogation before he was flown to Abuja yesterday.

It was learnt that interrogation proceedings of the former ADC by the EFCC officials could open up a new can of worms, which “could surpass what is now known as Dasukigate.”

The EFCC is hopeful the former ADC may soon give details of all he knows with regards to financial transactions and the dramatic personae involved in the last administration.

Preliminary findings, including recovered documents, were said to have suggested a large-scale of questionable expenditure with funds sourced from and outside the arms purchase deals.

Another source said: “most of the funds were reportedly diverted soon after the election was postponed from the originally scheduled date of February 14, 2015 to March 28, 2015.”

Among the active participants in the alleged loot was a top official of an agency set up to discourage militancy in the South-South, who is currently outside the country.

At the centre of the interrogation of the former ADC, who has been moved to Abujawas the “mind-boggling spending” during the two weeks’ extension of the general election, “which runs into several trillions of naira, when converted from foreign currency.”

Sources disclosed further that many top Nigerians, “including some very close persons” to the former president, may be called to explain and defend their roles in the handling of the funds, a chunk of which was sourced from the agency.

The ADC who was arrested in Lagos a few days ago, was alleged to be attending a senior officers course when he was picked up for interrogation.

Before him, many serving and retired military officers had been quized in connection with the arms purchase deal during the Jonathan administration.

Former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh (retd) and the former Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Amosu (retd) and other top politicians have been under EFCC investigation. [myad]