Adeosun: Maina Stopped Receiving Salary Since March 2013

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has revealed that the federal government stopped the payment of salary to the former Chairman of the Pension Task Force Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, in March 2013.

Maina, who is currently in the eye of the storm was sacked and declared wanted by the previous administration for alleged corruption but reinstated and promoted by the president government.

Appearing before the House of Representatives’ Ad-Hoc Committee Investigating the Disappearance, Re-appearance, Re-instatement and Promotion of Maina in Abuja on Thursday, the minister said Maina was last paid by the federal government in February 2013.

In a statement, the Special Adviser, Media & Communications to the minister, Mr. Oluyinka Akintunde quoted Adeosun to have said, “We used two platforms in the payment of salaries - the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).

“We have checked our records and we have no record or evidence from the two platforms that salary was paid to Maina since March 2013. We have no biometric data of Maina and he is not a staff of the Federal Ministry of Finance or its agencies.”

The Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, who also appeared before the committee, reinforced Adeosun’s that Maina was removed from the federal government’s payroll in March 2013.

“From our records, Maina last received salary from the federal Government in February 2013. From March 2013, Maina was removed from the government’s payroll. If indeed he was paid as he claimed, he should produce evidence of payment by the Government such as pay slips,” Idris stated.

Ikoyi Cash: Whistle-Blower’s N421m Money Is Ready For Payment – Adeosun

By Emma Ella

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has stated that the sum of N421.33million is ready to be paid to whistle-blower.

Adeosun disclosed this while answering questions from State House correspondents, after the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

She said the amount included the amount payable to the whistle-blower for the cash recovered from a building in Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Adeosun said the money would be paid to the whistle-blower who signed the agreement and not any firm adding that the Federal Government would pay applicable taxes on the sum directly to the state government where the whistle-blower is domiciled.

“The total amount, which also include Osborne Road, Ikoyi is N421, 330, 595. This is for the November batch and it is ready for payment,” she revealed.

“The only condition necessary is that the money will be paid to the whistle-blower who signed the agreement, not to any company.

“If we get the court judgement, we have to wait for three months to ensure that there are no encumbrances.

“We will also make sure that all applicable taxes are paid ahead. We will get in touch with the state government where the person is domiciled and we will pay the tax directly to the state and issue the tax receipt.

“We built in these procedures to protect the whistle-blower.”

Energy Summit in Abidjan to Explore West Africa’s Gas, Energy Markets

EnergyNet will host the second Regional Energy Co-operation Summit in Côte d’Ivoire from 24-25 January 2018 - a strategic platform for project evolution and partnership development. The conference will discuss opportunities for cross-border power projects and potential gas investments across West Africa. The conference will discuss opportunities for cross-border power projects and potential gas investments across West Africa. At the first Regional Energy Co-operation Summit in January 2017, His Excellency Thierry Tanoh, Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies summed up the relevance of the summit with his statement; "[t]he importance of the theme (Regional Energy Cooperation Summit) is well established in the light of the needs of African countries in terms of access to different energy sources, including renewable energies". The 2018 Summit will review outcomes from last year’s meeting, identifying next steps and bringing together ECOWAS decision-makers and global energy investors to advance regional partnerships and interconnection projects. According to the Programme Manager, Valeria Aruffo, "Given the abundant reserves from many West African gas fields which will firstly be harnessed for power and domestic use, the summit will instigate the conversation surrounding the sub-region’s booming global gas market. We’ll focus on export and import capacities, balancing domestic obligation and regional trade, and of course the role of LNG in facilitating gas development in the sub-region." With the overarching theme of regional integration in West Africa, the summit will gather ECOWAS energy ministers and government representatives, heads of utilities, regulators, power developers, technology providers, financiers and multilateral agencies from across West Africa to discuss how to unlock investments for the development of power projects. Alongside partners ENGIE, Manitoba Hydro, Metka, Wartsila & Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), the Summit is officially endorsed by Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo),ANER, Energy Commission Ghana and the Electricity Company of Ghana.

NAPTIP Boss Calls For Crippling Of Human Traffickers Economically

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Thursday called for the crippling economically of human traffickers by destination countries and International Law Enforcement Agencies in order to win the fight against the menace.

According to a statement from an official of the Press and Public Relations Department,  Vincent Adekoye, the DG made the call while playing host to the new Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria, Mr. Ketil Karslsen.

‘’We must cripple traffickers economically by tracing and freezing their accounts for the benefit of victims of human trafficking. We must take their money and render them impotent’’, she said.

Okah-Donli however, stressed the need for destination countries to work closely with the Nigerian Embassies in the areas of victims’ identification; language barriers and assistance to victims.

She urged the European Union and her members to consciously deal with issues of pornographic sites, massage parlours and farms scattered all over Europe and where victims of human trafficking from Nigeria and Africa are daily exploited.

‘’What are the destination countries doing about the pornographic sites, massage parlours, and escort services? You have the factories, farms, restaurants and you can see them and the exploitations that go on in such places. Do more investigations in the destination countries and clamp down on those businesses. Look into yours as we are looking into ours’’, she stated.

In his remarks, the European Union Ambassador to Nigeria who stated that defeating the cartel of human traffickers require concerted efforts by all reiterated Europe's commitment in  the eradication of all forms of trafficking and irregular migration.

He however, called for a change in the method of fighting the menace, saying that human traffickers are criminal opportunists.

Jonathan Challenges Shettima to Publish His WAEC Results to Determine the Real Simpleton

 

Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday challenged the Governor of Borno State, Mr. Kashim Shettima, to publish his WAEC results so that Nigerians would know the real simpleton between him and the former president.

 

In a statement issued on his behalf by his aide, Mr. Reno Omokri, the ex-president described Shettima as a typical sycophant, who was saying what he could not say before 2015, adding that when the current set of actors quit the scene, Shettima would likewise direct his lying tongue at them.

 

The former president was reacting to the comments made by the governor at the launch of a book in Abuja, where he said: “Jonathan’s fairy tale rise to power, his sheer display of bad governance, lack of political sagacity and willpower, he squandered the array of goodwill he commanded and subsequently got humiliated out of office”.

 

The ex-President said it was unfortunate that Shettima allowed hatred to blind his objectivity. 

 

“President Jonathan was not humiliated out of office. Sure, he lost the 2015 Presidential election by 2 million votes. If that is what Governor Shettima means by humiliation, it must mean that he never understood what Dr. Jonathan meant when he said ‘my ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian’. Could a person, who was humiliated have called to concede, while the votes were still being counted and yet to be declared?  It is the pettiness of Governor Kashim that has blinded him to the fact that by conceding so quickly, Jonathan became the ‘Face of Democracy in Africa’ as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described him. Hundreds of people died when other people lost elections, but no one died when Jonathan lost,” Jonathan explained.

 

“Kashim Shettima talked of Jonathan’s sheer display of bad governance. I wonder if it was that bad governance that ensured elections held in every local government area in Borno in 2015. Governor Shettima is reminded that not only have the United Nations and other humanitarian aid groups pulled out of certain parts of Borno since Jonathan handed over power in 2015, but Boko Haram has now begun an upsurge even in Adamawa state. So much for the ‘technical defeat’ of Boko Haram. And then Governor Shettima talks about Jonathan not having ‘political sagacity’. Let me ask Governor Shettima if there was ever anything like ‘Quit Notice’, IPOB, nationwide herdsmen/farmers clash with impunity or 97% versus 5% under Jonathan?” Jonathan added

 

On the accusation by Shettima that Jonathan was playing ‘tribal politics’ the former President noted that when Borno  state was struggling to cater for Internally Displaced Persons, it was then President Jonathan who set up the Victims Support Fund and held a fund-raising dinner at the Presidential Villa where private sector individuals and groups donated N58.79 billion to aid victims of Boko Haram terrorism and other humanitarian crisis.

 

According to Jonathan, if he was playing ‘tribal politics’, how come he did not hold such an event for the Niger Delta.

Jonathan also noted that since he raised those funds for the victims of terror from the private sector, no one has  been able to replicate what he did. 

 

“Governor Shettima disdainfully called Dr. Jonathan an “unsophisticated simpleton”, but I find it surprising that Nigeria’s economy became the largest economy in Africa and the third fastest growing economy in the world under a ‘simpleton’ but entered into a recession when the ‘simpleton’ left.  In my book, Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years, Chibok, 2015 and the Conspiracies, I published Dr. Jonathan’s WAEC results where he made 7 As. I also have his university results. I challenge Governor Shettima to also publish his WAEC results. Let those results tell us who is a ‘simpleton,” he said.

 

Jonathan noted that Nigeria made her fastest ever improvement in increasing the average life expectancy of Nigeria under a ‘simpleton’ from 47 years in 2010 when he assumed office, to 54 years when he left office.

 

 

“But the unkindest cut is when Governor Shettima said “When the Chibok girls’ saga started, they made the president to believe that there was no abduction; that the Chibok girls were kidnapped by the governor of Borno state ostensibly to embarrass the Jonathan administration and he believed that line of story.” How could former President Jonathan have disbelieved that story when he held an emergency National Security meeting 24 hours after the news of the Chibok kidnap broke? Governor Shettima is just being clever by half. He has forgotten that on the second of April 2016, he admitted in an interview to journalists that when the kidnap occurred, he did not call the President to inform him for two weeks. Governor Shettima also failed to mention that two months before the kidnap of the Chibok Girls, he received a letter from the Federal Ministry of Education signed by the then minister of state and current Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, urging him not to hold examinations in Chibok because of the insecurity in the area. He also failed to state that four months before the kidnap, he received a letter from the West African Examination Council and signed by the head of WAEC’s National Office in Nigeria, Charles Eguridu, asking him not to hold examinations in Chibok but to bus the girls to the more secure state capital,” Jonathan explained. 

 

 

HIV Prevalence in A'Ibom Drops by 8%, Study Shows

The overall prevalence rate of HIV in Akwa Ibom State has dropped to 2.8 percent, according to the state AIDS Indicator Survey (AKAIS) released recently.

This is against the previously circulated figure of 10.8 percent from a sentinel study.

The study, which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was a collaborative effort between the state government and USAID flagship HIV/AIDS and TB project-Strengthening Integrated Delivery of HIV/AIDS Services (SIDHAS), which is implemented by FHI 360.

In a report of the study, a population based cross-sectional survey was carried out across the 31 local government areas of the state, in a field work of the study, which took place between April and June 2017.

Speaking during the unveiling of the findings of AKAIS during a dissemination meeting of HIV/AIDS stakeholders, in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, acknowledged the funding from USAID through the SIDHAS project in the implementation of AKAIS and reiterated that the survey presents an opportunity for the state to more accurately estimate the current HIV/AIDS prevalence and incidence and better guide the HIV/AIDS response.

‎He urged all stakeholders to use the findings of the survey for planning future programs for HIV control in state.

The study revealed that "a total of 4,313 households were sampled while 7,791 children and 9,145 adults totaling 16,936 people were tested for HIV.

"The HIV prevalence among children 0 to 14 years was 0.4 percent while the prevalence among persons 15 years and older was 4.8 percent.

"0.41 percent annual incidence of HIV among adults ages 15 years and older. The number of new infections was said to be closely similar in females as in males (0.41 percent among females and 0.42 percent among males)."

However, the HIV incidence in ages 15 to 19 years was higher than the rest of the age groups, translating to nearly half of the new HIV infections occurring in the adult population.. 

In his remarks, FHI 360 Country Director, Dr. Robert Chiegil, said the FHI 360 said the survey has brought a lot of benefits to the state including the economic benefits to the over 1,500 persons involved in the survey. He added that the current availability of key survey resource persons was due to the capacity building that was a part of the process.

In her remarks, the representative of the USAID Mission Director, Deputy Office Director, Office of HIV/AIDS and TB, Kelly Badiane, said the U S Government support for the HIV/AIDS response in the state was in line with the new US President’s Emergency Response Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) paradigm of “doing the right things in the right places at the right time.”

Oil Marketers Threaten To Withdraw Service In Lagos, Ogun

The Independent Petroleum Markers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Lagos State chapter, has threatened to shut down their filling stations in Lagos State and parts of Ogun State by December 11.

The association accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of undersupplying its members with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and was also frustrating them by reneging on the bulk purchase agreement it signed with its members to supply the product to them at N133.28k per litre.

In a statement on Thursday signed its Chairman, Alhaji Alanamu Balogun; Vice-Chairman, Pastor Gbenga Ilupeju, and Secretary, Prince Kunle Oyenuga, IPMAN noted that no fewer than 900 filling stations will be shut down in Lagos if the situation persists.

The association particularly complained of a shortage of product supply to Ejigbo satellite depot, which, it said, serves more than 900 filling stations in Lagos revealing that with the undersupply from the NNPC, its members were being forced to approach the Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association, which allegedly buys at N117 per litre from the NNPC and resells to IPMAN members at N141 per litre.

IPMAN complained that the rate had become unrealistic for them to continue to sell to the end users at the regulated price of N145 and still expect to break even in business as it called on the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, to avert an imminent fuel crisis in the nation’s commercial nerve centre.

“We have endured enough and are set for a showdown with the NNPC for irregular supply at Ejigbo satellite depot, Lagos,” the association said.

“We have held many meetings with both the NNPC and DAPMAN, questioning why should the NNPC supplies fuel to DAPMAN at N117 per litre and DAPMAN will turn around to sell the same fuel to IPMAN members at N141 and the NNPC wants marketers to sell to the public at N145 per litre.

“The NNPC made it as a condition that we must renew our agreement with it or we will not get fuel supply. This agreement has been renewed yet, the NNPC has refused to supply us with fuel.

“The same agreement the NNPC signed with us is what it signed with DAPMAN. While DAPMAN gets supplies, IPMAN members are being denied fuel supply, which means the NNPC officials are into a game.

“The Federal Government should step into this matter between now and December 11 to avoid fuel crisis.”

Nigeria, Saudi Arabia Other Nations Team up against Global Terrorism

Sunday Okobi

Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Brig Gen Mansur Dan-Ali, on Thursday expressed the commitment of Nigeria to join efforts with other countries to defeat terrorism globally.

Ali stated this at the international meeting held recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which signaled the launch of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCT), a coalition of 41 countries, united in the global fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

While speaking on the importance of the coalition held under the theme: ‘Allied Against Terrorism’ Ali said some of the terror attacks across the world prompted the meeting and that Nigeria is ready to collaborate with nations with similar experiences to defeat the menace.

Minister of Defence, who said Nigeria has made remarkable progress in the area of counter-terrorism since the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, also added that the efforts of neighbouring countries with similar issues like Chad, Niger and Cameroun, are yielding positive results.

While soliciting for the support of the IMCTC for assistance over the more than three million internally displaced persons, IDPs, in Nigeria, Ali said the event “obliged my country a great opportunity considering the enormous challenges the world is facing as regards terrorism. Nigeria will join forces with this coalition to defeat terrorism”.

The meeting was hosted by the Crown Prince and Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Salman.

Salman said the issue of terrorism would come to an end as more than 40 Islamic countries are sending a very strong signal that they would work together to support each others’ efforts, whether in military, financial, intelligence and political aspects.

According to him, “Today, we began tracking down terrorism and we see its defeat in many countries of the world, especially in Islamic countries. And today, we will confirm that we will pursue it until it disappears completely from the surface of the earth.”

In his contribution, Secretary General, IMCTC, Lt.-Gen. Abdulelah Al-Saleh, spoke on how Nigeria has fared so far in its efforts in fight against terrorism.

According to him, the coalition, which operates in four domains – capacity building, intelligence sharing, financing and training- will use collaborative efforts and the available expertise to fight crime not only in Nigeria but other countries.

Al-Saleh also said the ministers resolved that the joint exercise against terrorism will be based on real time scenario. He said the exercise will also promote the concept of shared responsibilities and an environment to combat the menace.

“The body has an extensive cooperation with the Nigerian Ministry of Defense and the coalition will give support to areas that need it,” he added.

The IMCTC’s four domains include Ideology, Communications, Counter Terrorist Financing, and Military. In addition, the IMCTC’s Acting Secretary General, Lieutenant General Abdulelah AlSaleh, outlined the Coalition’s strategy, governance, activities and future plans.

Maina Hasn’t Received Salary After Disengagement – Adeosun Insists

 

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on Thursday, said the former Chairman, Pension Reform Task Force, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina, has not received a salary from the government after his disengagement.

Adeosun said this in Abuja when she appeared before members of House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the disappearance, re-appearance, reinstatement and promotion of Maina.

She said that from the records of the Ministry, there was no trace of any payment of salary to Maina after he was disengaged from service in 2013.

“We have looked very well and we have no biometrics of Maina, so there is no way he could have received salaries,” Adeosun said.

In his submission, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, said that Maina was last paid salary in February 2013.

According to Idris, from March, he was removed from the payroll so I don’t know where he was receiving the salary.

“If there was any payment of salary to Maina, there should be payslips and an account the payments were made. So, let whoever made the claim tender them to support the claim,” Idris said.

THEWILL recalls that counsel to Maina, Mr Muhammadu Kuta, had while told the committee on November 23 that his client received salary up to October 2017 and was still treating files.

Meanwhile, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mohammed Babandede, has disclosed that Maina has three passports which he uses to enter and leave Nigeria at will.

Babandede made this known when he appeared before the panel revealing that records from the NIS showed that the ex-pension boss has not travelled out of the country since 2013.

Babandede said Maina used to have an official passport, which had expired but not renewed; an ordinary valid passport and an American passport.

“We got to know about Maina on September 27, 2013 when he was going out of the country through the MMIA.

“He has three passports. The first one was an official one, expired not renewed. His current passport is valid till 2018. He also has a valid US passport to expire 26 August 2020.

“During our checks, we discovered that Maina has travelled many times. He was stopped because of an EFCC letter.

“In December 2015, we received a letter from the EFCC to remove his name from the ‘stop list.’ But after the President’s directive, we blocked his name on the passport.

“So, according to our records, he hasn’t been travelling since 2013.”

President Buhari Names Chair, Members Of CCB

President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate seeking to confirm Muhammed Isa and nine others as Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

Isa, who is expected to head the Bureau, hails from Jigawa, North West.

A letter read by the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, disclosed that the President requested the lawmakers to expedite action on the confirmation of the nominees.

“In compliance with section 541 of the 1999 constitution as amended and in pursuant to sections 1(2) and 1(3) of the code of conduct bureau act LFN 2004, I write to request for the confirmation of the following nominees for appointment as chairman and members of the bureau,” the letter read.

“The curriculum vitae of the nominees are attached herewith. It is my hope that this Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will in their usual expeditious manner consider and confirm the nominees. Please accept Mr. Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”

Other members of the CCB includes Murtala Kankia (member, Katsina, North West), Emmanuel Attah (member, Cross River, South South), Danjuma Sado, (member, Edo, South South) Obolo Opanachi, (member, Kogi, North Central), and Ken Madaki Alkali, (member Nasarawa, North Central.)

Others are S.F. Ogundare, (member, Oyo, South West), Ganiyu Hamzat, (member, Ogun, South West), Sahad Abubakar, (member, Gombe North East) and Vincent Nwanne, (member, Ebonyi, South East.)

Olonisakin Lauded for Nigeria’s Declining Terror Deaths Report

Sunday Okobi

Concerned Professionals Congress (CPC) has lauded the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, over the just-released 2017 Global Terrorism Index of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) which revealed that the Nigerian military’s ongoing counter-terrorism strategy has recorded the largest global decrease in terrorism-related deaths.

Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had, in a statement last week in Abuja expressed federal government delight at the report which he described as another proof of the Nigerian military’s successfully-sustained prosecution of the anti-terror war under what he called the visionary and dogged leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The group in a statement made available to Yellowstone in Lagos on Wednesday by its Chief Media Strategist, Mr. Emeka Nwankpa and the North East Regional Rapporteur, Malam Baba Al-Kasim, said the report was a fitting reward for the renowned resolve and resilience of the Olonisakin-led Nigeria military in driving the national strategic defence policy towards achieving robust inter-agency cooperation among the armed services and other security agencies employing synergy, intelligence and information-sharing to end the war against terror.

According to the statement, “It is note-worthy that the report showed that terrorism deaths caused by Boko Haram dropped by 80 per cent in 2016, recalling that Sambisa Forest, Boko Haram’s dreaded stronghold, fell on December 22.

“The trend showed that Nigeria, compared in 2015 with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria which were most endangered by terrorism, recorded 33 per cent fewer deaths thereby depleting the scourge of terror-related deaths with a 13 per cent year-on-year decline in two successive years. This is assuring.”

CPC described as valid comments by the Executive Chairman of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), Mr. Steve Killelea, who said: “The decline of Boko Haram in Nigeria is having a positive ripple effect with Cameroon, Chad and Niger collectively recording 75 per cent fewer deaths,” noting that the progress made by Nigeria in the fight against terrorism since President Buhari assumed office in 2015 is phenomenal.

Nwankpa observed that Nigeria’s novel counter-terrorism strategy has helped to defeat Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east region which he said prompted a visit early this year by a high-powered study group from the prestigious Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja. 

He said Nigeria’s positive contributions to global peace and security is increasingly being appreciated globally, courtesy of President Buhari’s zeal, the president who he said carefully selected highly professional, committed and patriotic service chiefs led by the CDS, Olonisakin.

The group further noted that the CDS-led team has left none in doubt about Nigeria’s role as a leading military force in Africa and the sub-region manifested in the victory over terrorism and insurgency in the country thereby reducing some of the world’s most endemic security challenges to global peace and order.

‘’The Nigerian military under Olonisakin and the service chiefs has used synergy, intelligence and information sharing to secure and stabilise the country in the manner it has tackled national security threats particularly terrorism and insurgency,” Nwankpa said in an emailed statement.

Obaseki Presents N146 billion 2018 Budget

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Wednesday presented the 2018 Appropriation Bill and budget estimates of N146billion to the state House of Assembly for consideration.

The budget christened ‘The Budget of Growth’ is made up of N66,797,615,689 for recurrent and N79,862,214,754 as capital expenditure.

Making the presentation, Obaseki assured the assembly of his administration readiness to consolidate on the infrastructural and socio-economic gains of the outgoing year 2017.

He commended the assembly Speaker and members for their unprecedented support through their timely responses to request for legislations and other forms of support to the executive arm of government.

According to the governor, “We have a budget size of N146, 659,830,444 billion, which is a 15 percent nominal increase over the 2017 budget.

He explained that the “revenue estimates for the budget are based on a $45 benchmark for crude oil and average daily production of 2.3 million barrels per day as well as an increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), as a result of reforms in revenue collection.”

Obaseki stated that the 2018 budget would build on the recovery witnessed in 2017, and stressed that “We intend to revitalise the state economy by increasing capital spending, hence, we envisage a capital/recurrent expenditure ratio of (54:46percent) which highlights our vision to grow with cash receipts capped at N120,099,830,443.52 to be sourced from statutory allocation, IGR and grants."

Analysing the budget estimates, the governor said: “A larger part of the 2018 budget will be devoted to the development of physical and social infrastructure across the state to improve the standard of living of Edo State people

“Our government will consolidate on the gains we have made in wooing investors to the state. Alaghodaro Investment Summit was a huge success and I must thank the Speaker and members of the state assembly for your support for the laudable initiative. We have been bombarded by enquiries from all over the world after the investment summit as investors have come to accept that Edo State is indeed ready for business. This budget is expected to drive growth and progress in all sectors of the state.”

The priority areas in the proposed 2018 capital expenditure framework, he explained “are social and physical infrastructure for which we have earmarked N51 billion. We will take advantage of the dry season to reconstruct several bad roads and build  new ones across the state to boost socio-economic activities. We have already commenced the procurement process for the roads through advertisements in major national newspapers.”

Nigeria Suspends SEC DG, 2 Others As Investigations Into Graft Allegations Begin

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, and two others have been suspended from office by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, as the federal government launches investigation into several allegations of financial impropriety leveled against the top official.

A statement signed by Deputy Director, Press, Federal Ministry of Finance, Patricia Deworitshe, on Wednesday announced the development.

According to the statement, the suspension is in line with the Public Service Rules (PSRs) 03405 and 03406.

The statement said: “The Minister has set up an Administrative Panel of Inquiry (API) to investigate and determine the culpability of the Director-General.

“She has directed the suspended SEC Director-General to immediately hand over to the most senior officer at the Commission, pending the conclusion of the investigation by the API.

“Also suspended are two management staff of the Commission – Mr. Abdulsalam Naif Habu, Head of Media Division and Mrs. Anastasia Omozele Braimoh, Head of Legal Department – who have been alleged to engage in financial impropriety in the Commission.”

Nigerian ASUP Suspends Strike

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics    (ASUP) has suspended the nationwide strike embarked upon by its members over failure of government to meet their demands.

National President of the union, Usman Yusuf  Dutse, who disclosed this at press conference held at the Abubakar Tatari Polytechnic (ATAP) in Bauchi on Wednesday while giving an update on engagement between the union and the federal government, said  the union decided to suspend the strike after reaching an agreement and signing a Memorandum of Settlement and Action (MoS).

The union is currently holding its 14 National Delegates Conference in Bauchi, co-hosted by the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi and the Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi.

According to him, the union has engaged the government in series of meetings with the minister of education, federal ministry of education and officials of ministry of labour.

Other stakeholders involved in the negotiations, he said, were the National Salaries and Wages Commission, budget office of the federation, office of head of civil service and office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

"Following these meetings, a Memorandum of Settlements and action (MoS) was agreed to by the government and the union on each of the issues in dispute," he said.

Members of ASUP embarked on the nationwide strike on November 13, 2017.

Dutse further stated that‎ the MoS was signed by both government and the union to resolve the issues at stake.

"While we are not unaware of the government over the years to willfully renege on agreements of this nature with labour unions including ours, it is the considered view of our union that the contents of this MoS be given a chance of implementation particularly as there is a mechanism of monitoring and evaluation embedded in the MoS," he added.

ASUP leader listed the issues that led to their action to include non- implementation of the report of the NEEDS Assessment survey of polytechnics; sustained shortfall in personnel releases and withdrawal of their allowances since December 2015 and non-payment of promotion arrears.

Dutse disclosed that other issues include non-implementation of staff salaries in some state owned polytechnics, infractions in the appointment process of rectors of polytechnics, non-release of CONTISS 15 migration arrears, non-passage of amendment bill of the polytechnic act and continued victimisation of officers of the union.

He said ASUP had been engaged in series of meetings with the federal government represented by the ministers of Education, Labour and Employment, National Salaries and Wages Commission; budget office of the federation, office of the Head of Service of the Federation and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Troops Capture Boko Haram Commander, Rescue 212 Persons

Nigerian troops have captured a Boko Haram commander named Amman Judee but popularly known as ‘Ameer of Chawa,’ and rescued another 212 persons held hostage by the terrorists.

The capture and rescue took place in an operation to clear remnants of insurgents from some villages in the northern fringes of the Sambisa forest.

This was revealed by Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, the Director of Army Public Relations, who added that four terrorists were also neutralised.

Usman said the captured Boko Haram leader was undergoing interrogation, while the rescued persons were being documented and the under-aged children among them administered oral polio vaccines.

 Earlier in the week, troops rescued 30 persons held hostage by the terrorists during clearance operations in eight villages at Bama Local Government Area of Borno.

CBN, NCC To Bar Bank Accounts, GSM Lines Linked To Fraud

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is developing a legal framework that will enable banks and telecommunications companies to ban owners of any bank account or the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) line traced to fraud.

Officials of the apex bank and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) made this known in Kano during a workshop organised by the NDIC for financial journalists saying regulators in the banking and telecommunications sectors were set to finalise work on the plan.

According to them, the development followed the spate of electronic fraud involving (USSD banking) telephone lines and Internet banking transfers saying owners of any bank account or GSM line traced to any fraud case, especially electronic fraud, would be banned for life from operating any bank account or GSM in Nigeria.

Speaking on the topic, ‘Cybercrime: Nature and Trends’, the Chief Compliance Officer, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Pattison Boleigha, stated that the banking industry recorded 6, 212 fraud cases in the second quarter of 2017.

Quoting the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Industry Fraud Report, Boleigha said within the period, the actual loss count was 3, 211 while the actual loss value was put at N501m and the attempted fraud value was N791m.

Boleigha, who was represented by Shola Akinnukawe, also quoted the NIBSS Industry Fraud Report, which states that “The Q2 2017 had a fraud volume of 6, 212 which depicts a 17 per cent increase when compared to Q1 2017 and Q2 2016, respectively.

“Out of the 6,212 fraud count for Q2, the industry recorded 3,211 as count for complete or partial loss in volume. This indicates that the industry was able to save about 48 per cent of the attempted fraud volume. Based on the increase in fraud volume and value for Q1 and Q2 in year 2017, there is a need for more synergy among stakeholders.”

Boleigha listed various trends in Cybercrimes as social engineering (phishing, smishing, vishing, DDOS, spam), SIM swap, card/ATM fraud, online/wed fraud, and mobile payment/ USSD fraud.

He however, said Nigerian banks were increasingly being formidable to the activities of fraudsters due to their various layers of internal control system.

Kaduna Sacks 4,042 Council Workers

 

The Kaduna State Government has confirmed the sacking of 4,042 local government workers. The sacked workers cut across the 23 council areas of the state.

This is coming just as the controversy over the sacking of about 22,000 teachers who were said to have failed a competency test is yet to settle.

At a news conference on Tuesday in Kaduna, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Jafaru Sani, said the sacking of the council workers  was part of the ongoing restructuring of the local government system for effective service delivery.

The state government had in June, sacked 4,766 district and village heads who were under the payroll of local councils to reduce their financial burdens.

Sani said the restructuring was designed to strengthen the local government system to carry out developmental projects and programmes.

He disclosed that 3,159 of those had put in 10 years and were retired while the remaining 893 were terminated.

The commissioner said further that those retired would be paid their November salary including three months’ salary in lieu of notice while their pension would be worked out by their pension administrators.

He explained further that those whose appointments were terminated would equally be paid their November salary, one month salary in lieu of notice and gratuity according to the civil service rule.

“It is a known fact that the local governments were overburdened by redundant and unproductive staff who are contributing nothing to the development of the councils.

“Because of the over-bloated staff, the local governments are doing nothing other than paying salaries and end up becoming more or less poverty alleviation centres, where people just go to collect money and go home.

“To ensure development at the local levels, therefore, we have to do what is right by downsizing the redundant staff to free some funds that would be injected in developmental projects.

“With the disengagement, the supporting members of staff at the 23 local government areas are now 6,732, excluding primary school teachers and primary health care workers.

“I am sure, with this development, local government areas will soon start executing capital and development projects to provide social services to the people," the commissioner said.

PDP: Jonathan Didn't Endorse Micro Zoning, Says Secondus *As woman aspirant caution on zoning

Sunday Okobi

Former acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and an aspirant for the national chairmanship position, Prince Uche Secondus, on Tuesday stated that at no time did former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, endorse the micro zoning of national chairmanship seat.

Secondus's position came just as a woman aspirant for the post of the PDP National Women Leader, Baraka Umar, cautioned the party against over-playing the zoning card to the detriment of its electoral interest.

President Jonathan was reported to have asked chairmanship aspirants to respect agreement on micro zoning  so as to avert crisis in the party.

However, Secondus said the former president as a loyal and dedicated leader of the party couldn't have said that since he is fully aware that it is the decision of the party convention to zone the chairmanship position to the three zones in the South.

In a statement by the Director, Media and Publicity, Secondus For Chairman Campaign Organisation, Ike Abonyi,  the aspirant urged his colleagues to respect leaders of the party especially former president and heads of state, and stop dragging them into taking partisan roles.

The statement said the report in one of the national dailies claiming that President Jonathan wants the national chairman to come from a particular zone is not only a fabrication from the reporter but deliberately intended to mislead.

"President Jonathan, being a loyal and dedicated leader of the party, couldn't have said that since he is fully aware that it is the decision of the party convention to zone the chairmanship position to the three zones in the South.

According to the statement, "Jonathan knows as a fact that our constitution states clearly that nobody or group or any organ of the party can change convention decision except a convention, and he couldn't have said what is attributed to him.

"It's disrespectful for anybody to have dragged the name of the former president to the media, by trying to say what he did not say.”

Secondus then advised members of the party particularly the delegates to the December 9 convention to disregard the concocted story.

 He alleged that there are plans by some aspirants to discredit the national convention and weaken the PDP before the 2019 general elections. ‎

The media office said it gathered from intelligence that some national chairmanship aspirants have mapped out strategies aimed at furnishing media houses with stories claiming that they have been endorsed by these elders.

It said that such mischief has far reaching implications for the desired harmony and peace in the party since the elders are our fall backs for unbiased roles.

"The motive of those supplying media houses with fake stories is clear, which is to discredit the convention and weaken the party ahead of the general election, but they would not succeed because our delegates will not be swayed by that.

"Bad enough that some aspirants in their desperation to lead the party at all cost have dragged some of our revered members of the Board of Trust (BOT) into playing clear bias roles and now want to drag former president in.

"Severally, our leaders have been boxed into a corner by aspirants who put words into their mouth knowing that they would not want to come public to deny or concur."

While speaking shortly after submitting her nomination form, Umar said: "I don't believe in micro zoning. Equity is not the same thing as fairness. When you want to be equal you might not be fair.

"I am not a proponent of micro zoning but it is a good way of giving sense of belonging.”

Similarly, another PDP chairmanship aspirant, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, has expressed concern over resort to abuse and denigrate opponents on the pages of newspapers and social media by aspirants and their supporters.‎