Long holidays: Falana’s Chamber, Budgit, other CSOs accuse National Assembly of constitutional breach

 The Chamber of activist, Femi Falana and 39 other civil society organizations have accused the National Assembly of failing to meet the compulsory 181 days plenary sessions.

The coalition in a statement signed by the 40 organizations said the National Assembly in its first legislative year from June 2019 to June 2020 did not sit up to the required 181days.

“The legislative year is June 2019 to July 2020. Two months vacation: 56 days public holiday, 6-week Yuletide vocation, 42 days, 7-week coronavirus break, 49 days in addition to 62 days for Saturdays and Sundays, this means 216 days out of 365 days in a year. Therefore, the National Assembly sat for only 149 days instead of the 181 days prescribed by the constitution, ” the statement read in part.

The coalition also condemned the National Assembly for embarking on its annual recess instead of working with the executive to profer solutions to the challenges facing the country.

Adding that the directive by the House of Representatives to suspend all investigative hearings until the end of recess is ill-timed, it urged the House to resume the hearings with findings made public.

The National Assembly has been on holiday since July and in addition, the leadership of the House on the 19th August announced that the House will suspend all investigative and public hearings until resumption.

“Prior to and during the ongoing vacation, the lawmakers were conducting very important investigative hearings into the mismanagement of public funds by various ministries.

“It was, therefore, shocking to wake up to the August 19th directive by the leadership of the House of Representatives suspending all legislative activities including those investigative hearings that had captivated the nation,” the groups said

The CSOs also called on anti-graft agencies “to live up to their responsibilities by following up on these investigative hearings to gather actionable evidence to prosecute those who have violated various anti-corruption laws and regulations.”

- DAILY POST

Utomi: Nigeria’s govt is crippled, political class has failed

 

Pat Utomi, a professor of political economy, says the Nigerian government has been crippled by the failure of the political class.

Speaking during a programme on Channels TV on Sunday, Utomi who is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) faulted the political class adding that there is a failure of leadership in every aspect of the society.

He said the government has failed to proffer solutions to the country’s challenges thereby making it difficult for citizens to be committed to the system.

“I think that the government is crippled; it is not connecting to the solution,” he said.

“If there is anything absent in Nigeria, it is leadership. At every level of our society, there is a failure of leadership.

“Leadership is about connecting to the soul of the people and giving everything sacrificially to lift it up.”

Utomi said the failure of the political class resulted in the formation of the National Consultative Forum, a political group that he co-chairs.

The new political movement is “aimed at driving reforms” in the country.

“We have an existential crisis. The political class has failed Nigeria, including all of us,” he said.

“I am part of them but I have fought always to make it different but you don’t always win.”

On the roles of the executive and legislative arms of government, the economist said there is a collapse of separation of power between both arms.

He explained that the national assembly has hijacked executive functions and rendered the budgetary process a political game.

“There is a total collapse of separation of powers and the legislature has taken over running the executive and the executive is complicit in allowing that to happen,” he said.

“Anytime I have been asked to analyse the budget in this country for the last 20 years, I don’t analyse the budget because the budget process in this county is a joke.

“Today, the house committee chair on appropriation is more important to a national budget than the minister of finance because this game that is played in the national assembly means that what comes out is really the budget of the national assembly, not of the executive branch and the executive branch has refused to engage the matter.

“What is going on today is a hijack of the executive functions by the legislature and for most of them, it is just a game.”

- THECABLE

 John Felagha, former National U17 and U20 goalkeeper, is dead.

Felagha died on Sunday at the age of 26.

The Nigerian Football Federation confirmed that he died in Senegal.

The NFF on Monday said: “Felagha died on Sunday in Senegal. He was aged 26. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Felagha represented the nation at the 2009 U17 FIFA World Cup held in Nigeria

Felagha also represented the nation at the 2013 Africa Youth Championship (AYC) and U20 FIFA World Cup in 2015.

He had a spell with KAS Eupen, a Belgium second division side.

His football career was cut short by injury and was the coach at Aspire Academy until his death.

- PM NEWS

Details of Man City’s contract for Messi revealed

 Manchester City will offer Lionel Messi a £450m five-year deal to quit Barcelona, according to the UK Mirror.

Messi failed to show up for preseason tests on Sunday, after notifying the club via fax earlier in the week of his desire to leave.

His decision led to many top European clubs scrambling to put together funds to sign the 33-year-old.

However, City are favourites to land Messi, if he eventually quits the Camp Nou this summer.

The Premier League club also have the Pep Guardiola advantage, with the Spaniard having coached Messi for four seasons at Barca.

City will offer Messi £90m-a-year to move to the Etihad, which is a similar figure to what he currently earns in Spain.

LaLiga on Sunday, insisted that any potential suitors must pay the player’s full release clause. 

- DAILY POST

Cairo Ojougboh: There’ll be crisis if we release the list of those who got NDDC contracts

 Cairo Ojougboh, executive director of projects at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), says there will be chaos if the full list of those who were awarded contracts by the commission is released.

Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger Delta affairs, had named some beneficiaries after the house of representatives threatened to sue him.

While appearing before a house of representatives panel probing the alleged mismanagement of N81.5 billion by the interim management committee (IMC) of the commission, Akpabio had said federal lawmakers were the biggest beneficiaries of contracts awarded by the commission.

Peter Nwaoboshi, senate committee chairman on NDDC; Matthew Urhoghide, senate committee chairman on public accounts, and James Manager, senator representing Delta south, were some of the beneficiaries listed by the minister.

,Speaking with Vanguard Ojougboh said Nwaoboshi, and Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, chairman of the house committee on NDDC, and the rest of the national assembly “are culpable” in the sleaze contracts.

The director said he only wants to make sure that all the monies that have been spent are accounted for

“The national assembly is culpable. At the end of the forensic audit, you will see members of the national assembly,” Ojougboh said

“A senator came and said that in the list of 2016 they brought, that he had only six contracts, I said no, that he had more. What he didn’t know is that we did not release the list for 2017 and the one for 2019. If we release it this country will break.

“Oh, because of the people looting, the calibre, the names and people looting the NDDC. And who engineers it? The chairmen of the NDDC in the senate and house of representatives in the national assembly.”

The director described the N51 million monthly imprest for Kemebradikumo Pondei, acting managing director of the commission, as “security vote”.

“My MD feeds 100 policemen every day and in Port Harcourt as an executive of NDDC, you need security more than anything, till tomorrow, you know of it. When they are sending these policemen, the instruction is to feed them, cater for them, that is what is in the letter the police hierarchy sends,” he said.

“So people are talking about 51 million of imprest for the MD, it is a security vote, it’s not for his personal pocket, the money does not go to the MD’s account.

“Myself, N18 million, it does not go to my account, it goes for security and other expenses and it is retired, there is no fraud in it.”

Ojougboh said the sum of N3.14 billion was expended as COVID-19 relief for staff adding that although it was not budgeted for, it was classified as emergency.

“They are talking about COVID-19 payment, the federal government is given every citizen N30,000 each, do you know how much the federal government has spent? The CBN and many other corporations have been giving COVID-19 allowances, which are within their purview, just like NDDC did,” he said.

“In the national assembly, each of the senators got N20 million, while the house of representatives members got N15 million for COVID-19 from the national assembly.”

- THECABLE

MultiChoice hikes DSTV, GOTV rates

 Following MultiChoice’s announcement to adjust subscriptions, subscribers are to pay more to view channels on DStv and GOtv networks with effect from Monday.

MultiChoice in a statement by its Chief Executive Officer, John Ugbe said the price adjustment was arrived at after careful consideration of the market and a review of its business operations.

“We have made efforts to contain any price adjustments on subscription prices. However, to ensure the sustainability of the business, we have to consider financial impacts, including inflation as well as increased content and operational costs,” Ugbe said in the statement

“As such, we have reviewed the prices of some of our bouquets so that we can continue to survive as a business and bring quality entertainment to our customers.

“To arrive at the decision to adjust prices, we took into account many factors, including the impact on the customer, current inflation, content costs and efficiencies within the company.”

Ugbe said the packages will continue to be available at varying pricing points to allow subscribers flexibility in price and choice without compromising quality or variety.

“To this end, only the prices of some of the bouquets have been reviewed upwards while the lower bouquets have been left untouched,” he added.

- PM NEWS

Water Resources Bill another RUGA policy – Yoruba group

 

Yoruba One Voice (YOV), a coalition of Southwest bodies, has condemned the Water Resources Bill.

The bill seeks to give the control of all water sources and river banks to the federal government.

YOV Director of Communication, Zacheaus Somorin, in a statement on Monday called it, “another RUGA policy”.

Somorin urged the National Assembly to reject the bill in the interest of the nation.

“This is another version of RUGA policy to appropriate and grab land for pastoralists”, he said.

Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, has spoken against the bill.

Similarly, Tiv youths have warned the government and legislature against the passage and implementation.

YOV, however, called on South West governors to safeguard lives and property in Yorubaland.

The body said the alarm by the Aare Onakakanfo in Council about infiltration of terrorists in the region must be taken seriously.

YOV also condemned the controversial Companies And Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.

Under the law, religious and charity organizations will be regulated by the Corporate Affairs Commission and supervising minister.

The coalition further called for the release of Oluwatimehin David Oyeyemi, a native of Ikare Akoko in Ondo State.

“He was arrested when the DSS saw a leaflet of self-determination with him in kogi State on his way to see his parents. We are of the opinion that Oyeyemi, under the constitution, has the freedom of expression.

”The principle of self-determination is prominently embodied in Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations. It emphasizes that all peoples have the right to self-determination.”

The statement added that Article 20 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights protects same rights.

- DAILY POST

La Liga clarifies validity of Messi’s contract

 

The Spanish La Liga on Sunday released a statement stating that Lionel Messi’s FC Barcelona contract was still valid.

This announcement comes days after Messi announced that he wants to leave the club and failed to attend a pre-season medical.

La Liga said the only way for the Argentine forward to be released from the contract was to trigger a 700-million euros (833 million dollars) release clause.

“In compliance with the applicable rule, La Liga will not approve a request to be de-registered as a player with the Spanish football federation, unless the amount in the release clause has been paid,” La Liga said in a statement.

Messi’s lawyers plan to invoke a clause in his four-year contract, signed in 2017.

It would have allowed the forward to leave the club for free if he had requested it by June 10.

They will argue that that date —- nominally the end of the season —- is now irrelevant after the coronavirus delays that led to the season’s extension and the team playing deep into August.

Reuters/NAN

Three trapped in building rescued in FCT

 

Three persons trapped in a building after a truck crashed into it at Madala, FCT, have been rescued.

The Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, Idriss Abbas in a statement on Sunday explained that the truck, which was loaded with beverages, crashed into the residential building on Saturday.

Abbas said that the victims sustained injuries and had been taken to the Zuba General Hospital.

He said the accident caused a gridlock on the Zuba-Abuja expressway, forcing motorists to seek alternative routes to reach Abuja.

“The rains are getting heavier and the roads are getting slippery; motorists must apply more caution,” he warned.

He also urged developers to always follow approved building plans and desist from manipulating the plans to suit their personal interest, thereby endangering lives.

“We have observed that some of the houses affected by the flood are structures whose owners try to extend the fence to the banks of the rivers close to them, just to add a few meters to their originally approved plot,” he added.

Abbas stressed the need for all hands to be on deck to complement efforts of the FCT administration toward reducing disasters to the barest minimum.

He also advised residents to always call the toll-free emergency number, 112 for the prompt response to any emergency, NAN reports.

- DAILY POST

My Government Must Do More To Help Working Poor Cope With Covid

 

Although there are reasons for cautious optimism about the UK’s economic recovery, the emerging picture when it comes to the impact of coronavirus on employment and family incomes looks grim.

The full extent of the damage to the labour market won’t be clear until later this autumn when the furlough scheme is due to end. But recent data showing dramatic falls in company payrolls, hours worked and job vacancies point to a prolonged period of higher unemployment.

For millions of families across the UK, this will mean reduced incomes and an increase in hardship. It is clear that some of the worst impacts will be felt in communities that were previously experiencing deprivation. Dozens of local authorities with the highest levels of child poverty have already seen some of the biggest rises in unemployment post-coronavirus.

Low-income households have experienced five years of real income stagnation.Stephen Crabb MP.

The government deserves enormous credit for the huge scale of assistance that has already been provided during this pandemic and for how quickly vital parts of the safety net were put in place as the crisis unfolded.

The financial support provided to families through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and enhanced universal credit has been more comprehensive than that provided by any other government.

But many individuals and families will require ongoing financial support to prevent them falling into financial crisis and poverty.

Following the last recession, the recovery was characterised by record employment. Yet despite this, in-work poverty rose significantly. A key driver of this was weakened social security support which left families struggling to cope with the low pay and fluctuating hours that characterise the jobs that many low-income parents hold.

It is important for Conservatives, who rightly hail the boost to pensioner incomes as a result of the triple lock, to recognise that the other side of that coin was a prolonged squeeze on benefits for people of working age. Low-income households have experienced five years of real income stagnation, largely due to falls in income from benefits which offset growth in employment incomes.

Our efforts during this recovery should be focused squarely on supporting working age people on low incomes.

As a first step, the government should make permanent the additional £20 per week for the universal credit standard allowance that it brought in to strengthen social security during the crisis. Removing it next spring, as currently planned, will amount to a painful cut in income for many people still struggling to come to terms with the loss of their jobs and who have found the transition from furlough to benefits a very hard landing indeed.

In parallel, the personal allowance of so-called legacy benefits like JSA, ESA and IS should be raised to match the universal credit increase. This is particularly important for those with disabilities, and their carers, who make up most of the people remaining on these benefits. It’s just not right that some of the most vulnerable people have not seen equivalent protection.

The government should also look at targeted extensions to the furlough scheme beyond October. A definitive end point was seen as vital for getting the country back to work. But there are still many firms in different sectors that simply cannot operate in the current scenario.

Some of these sectors are of enormous strategic importance to the UK. With aerospace, for example, there is a real danger that the unwinding of furlough will lead to the loss of thousands more high value jobs and a permanent dissipation of skills and expertise. Germany, which knows all about retaining domestic industrial strength, has just decided to continue its furlough scheme for another 12 months.

The costs of all this are very substantial and there are many who would rather invest instead in re-training and new apprenticeships. But it’s not either/or. A stronger safety net to protect families makes a successful recovery more likely, not less.

-HUFFPOST

The Guardian view on African success: a step closer to conquering polio

 Polio arrives, if it announces itself at all, as a high temperature. Or a sore throat. Maybe a headache, or an upset stomach. It can go within a week or so, and be mistaken for flu. It is transmitted by poor hygiene, largely affects children under five, and many don’t realise they’ve had it. In 5-10% of cases, however, the virus affects the nerves, paralysing the legs in particular; sometimes it reaches the lungs. For most, this is temporary. For others – 30 years ago, this was 350,000 children a year – paralysis is permanent, and if it is of the lungs, they die. No one who has seen the effects of polio forgets.

In the early 20th century epidemics were frequent; in the United States transmission was blamed on everything from cats to blueberries to Italian immigrants. By the early 1950s, the US public ranked it second as its worst fear after nuclear war. When, in 1955, a vaccine was developed, the British held street parties. The numbers of cases dropped immediately. In 1960, Czechoslovakia was first to declare eradication. The last recorded case of naturally occurring polio in the UK was in 1984. Polio was declared gone in the Americas in 1994; in the western Pacific region (including China) in 2000; in Europe in 2002; India and south-east Asia in 2014. Last week, Africa joined their number. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan remain.

The global project has involved 20 million volunteers vaccinating nearly 3 billion children. It is an amazing achievement. But it is still fragile, for a number of reasons. First, what is being eradicated is wild polio – ie, naturally occurring, of which three strains exist. It’s still possible to get vaccine-derived polio, where the much-diluted active components spread through an under-vaccinated community and, in rare cases, revert to the full-blown disease.

Second is disruption. In Africa, the last 1% proved hardest partly because of war and anti-vaccination sentiment. In 2003, communities in northern Nigeria refused the vaccine because of rumours about its safety. Within five years an outbreak reached 20 countries, and much patient persuasion was required to quash it. In Pakistan, where the CIA used hepatitis B vaccinators as cover to gain access to Osama bin Laden’s compound, the Taliban has deliberately killed polio volunteers. And this year Covid-19 has forced programmes to pause.

Third, eradication is in its final, most delicate, stage. The vaccine, a droplet-administered method that contains active virus and confers lifelong immunity, must eventually be replaced by injections of inactive strains in order to cancel all risk of vaccine-derived polio virus (as is already done in the UK). Wild type 2 polio was eradicated in 1999, and the active version duly removed from the droplet vaccine in 2016. However, type 2 vaccine-derived polio continues to circulate. Last year the first new polio vaccine in 50 years – live virus genetically designed to be less likely to revert – was put into clinical trials in Belgium, but it is not yet ready. We are thus both closer to a complete solution than we have ever been – and also at risk of slipping backwards.

In this year, when western societies have been reintroduced to a fear of disease not felt for decades (or at least, since the Aids crisis), there is much that feels familiar about the story of polio – from stealthy onset to hopes for a vaccine, to worries about anti-vaxxers. But we must take other lessons too: that eradication could take years of patient vigilance. That we are capable of great things. And that we must be prepared.

- UK GUARDIAN 

Frank Kokori: Jonathan’s weakness killed Igbo presidency

 

Frank Kokori, former secretary-general of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has accused ex-President Goodluck Jonathan of failing to create a path for the emergence of an Igbo president. 

In an interview with Sunday Sun, Kokori said the Igbo believed in Jonathan but he failed them.

He called for the continuation of zoning the presidency between the north and south.

“The Igbo believed so much in President Goodluck Jonathan, but Jonathan was so weak that he could not influence anything for them. So, that is what killed them, if not the Igbo deserve to be president,” Kokori said.

“In today’s Nigeria, if you cannot win the PDP or APC ticket, forget it because these are the only two-party through which the president can emerge. It will be difficult for an Igbo to win APC nomination because they are not APC, the Igbo just like the South-south, are PDP and if it is so they must fight to get the PDP ticket, afterall all their governors are PDP. For now, I only pray for the Igbo if they can get it, fine.”

Speaking on corruption, Kokori said Nigeria will be better if the judiciary and the Nigeria Police Force are rid of the social vice.

While lamenting the spate of  corruption in the country, Kokori said he is ashamed that God created him in Nigeria.

He added that gone are the days when the judiciary was the last hope of the common man, alleging that there is no more justice in Nigeria.

“Our judiciary? The judiciary is one of the problems we have in this country. elections are bought in this country and the judiciary is one of our problems and the police force,” Kokori said.

“If those two institutions are okay, Nigeria will just fly. There is so much corruption in the Nigerian judiciary and the police force and these are the two institutions that hold a country.

“When the police can’t protect you, when the judiciary can’t protect you unless you have money to buy judgment, to buy everything. It is sad that we no longer have a judiciary, one that you will be proud of.

“That judiciary that prides itself as the last hope of the masses is no longer there. All that ended with the Eshos, Udo Udomas, Oputas etc. The ones we have now are all billionaires. There is no justice in Nigeria again, forget what you hear and that is worrisome.”

- THECABLE

Doctors seek help for speedy rescue of kidnapped colleague

 

The Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria in Cross River has appealed to the First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari and the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, to ensure the immediate release of Dr Vivien Otu from captivity.

The Association also called on the Wife of the Governor of Cross River, Dr Linda Ayade, the Director General of Women Development Centre, Mrs Mary Ekpere Eta to also intervene.

The Association made the call on Sunday in Calabar in a release signed by its President and Secretary, Dr Bassey Nakanda and Dr Angela Imoke.

The release stated that the kidnap of Otu, a Senior Registrar in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health on Aug. 28 in Calabar, was condemnable.

The Association condemned in strong terms the nefarious act against her members, adding that Otu was the 16th doctor/dependents abducted within the last few years in Cross River.

“It is even worst when the victim is a woman and it affects the entire populace. Healthcare delivery is affected as all doctors feel threatened, discouraged and demoralised.

“As women and mothers, we hereby call on the state government, security agencies and relevant authorities to leave no stone unturned in bringing to an end this incessant occurrence among medical doctors and other citizens of the state and to secure the immediate and unconditional release of Dr Otu.

“We also cry out to the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, wife of Cross River Governor, Dr Linda Ayade, Minister of Women Affairs, Director General of Women Development Centre and others to rise up and defend womanhood by employing their positions to ensure speedy and unconditional release of Dr Otu.

“We are also calling on all Civil Society Organisations, especially the International Federation of Female Lawyers, the National Association of Women Journalists and Female Society Organisations to loud their voices to the cry for the release of Dr Otu,” the release stated.

The Medical Women also joined their voices with the Nigerian Medical Association in the state to demand for the assent to the anti-kidnapping bill which was passed by the Cross River House of Assembly.

- PM NEWS

Transfer: What Van de Beek told Ajax teammates about leaving club for Man Utd

 

Ajax midfielder, Donny van de Beek, has opened up to his teammates that he wants to leave the club for Manchester United this summer.

Van de Beek has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League giants in recent weeks.

The 23-year-old missed Ajax’s 2-1 friendly win against Frankfurt on Saturday and also their 2-2 draw against Union Berlin on Sunday.

According to Spanish outlet, Diario Sport, Van de Beek has confided in some of his closest friends in the Ajax dressing room, telling them of his intention to join Man United this summer.

The Dutch international has already said goodbye to his colleagues and will become a Man United player in the coming days.

Man United coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is a huge admirer of Van de Beek, wants the player to help turn the Red Devils into Premier League contenders.

Van de Beek is expected to cost around £40million and will become Man United’s first summer signing.

- DAILY POST

‘Why we formed a new association’ — break-away NBA faction writes Malami

The New Nigerian Bar Association (NNBA) has written Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, informing him of its decision to form the association.

 Some aggrieved northern members of the NBA had pulled out of the association after the withdrawal of the invitation of Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, as a speaker at its conference.

In the letter, dated August 28, and signed by Nuhu Ibrahim and Abdulbasit Suleiman, first and second conveners respectively, the faction said the national executive council of the NBA “failed to take into consideration our national interests”.

“We are pleased to inform you of the formation of a new Association of Lawyers as above captioned,” the letter read.

“The formation of the new Association has become imperative and expedient especially flowing from the activities, disposition and most recently, the decision of the Nigerian Bar Association-NEC (National Executive Committee) which apparently failed to take into consideration our national interests and particularly do not promote the unity of our indissoluble country, Nigeria.

“Sir, the New Nigerian Bar Association believes in the ideals that bounds (sic) our country together as echoed in our National Anthem: ‘The Labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain.”

The NNBA said the processes required to set up the association are in place, adding that the AGF will be updated with developments.

“You are, however, to be further informed that work is in progress with regards to all the nitty-gritty of the formation of an Association such as this to which we shall keep you updated,” it said.

Mike Ozekhome, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had said that the plan to carve a faction out of the NBA will not work, vowing that members of the bar will resist any attempt to form a parallel association.

- THECABLE

War is coming in Nigeria – Prophet cries out

 

Apostle Paul Okikijesu of the Christ Apostolic Miracle Ministry, on Saturday, said that God revealed to him that a great misunderstanding would come this year that may cause separation in Nigeria and result in tribal war.

He also warned that Nigeria may be colonized through debt to other countries.

According to Okikijesu, leader of the Northern and Southern region must arise to prevent a religious war that may lead to tribal war.

“Thus said the Lord: People should pray, so that Nigeria will not be colonized in a manner that will make the future generation to be paying debt of what is beyond their capability,” he said in a statement to DAILY POST on Saturday night.

“During the journey of Nigeria this year, a great misunderstanding is coming that may cause separation in the country which may result in tribal war. People should pray fervently, because various steps are taking place in secret.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: I access all the surrounding locations. My messenger, religious war is coming. I have previously said that after the COVID-19 issue, it will happen and COVID-19 issue is presently subsiding.

“I have previously informed you and sworn with my heavenly throne. The people of the North, East and South should arise to curtail this issue because the religious war may lead to tribal war.”

- DAILY POST

Where is the money? Buhari sued over N800b recovered loot

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has been dragged to court over his failure to give details on the N800 billion recovered from public officials who looted the Nigerian treasury.

Joined in the suit as respondents are Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

The suit was filed by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

The organisation wants the court to compel Buhari to reveal the names of the looters, specific dates of the recovery, and details of projects on which the money has been spent.”

The trigger for the suit was Buhari’s speech on Democracy Day on June 12, 2020, where he stated that: “the government has recovered looted funds in excess of N800 billion. These monies are being ploughed into development and infrastructure projects.”

SERAP wants more disclosure.

In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1064/2020 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, SERAP is seeking: “an order for leave to apply for judicial review and an order of mandamus to direct and/or compel President Buhari to publish a comprehensive list of names of people from whom N800 billion in looted funds have been recovered, the details of spending of the money, and the specific dates of the recovery.”

SERAP is also seeking: “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Buhari to instruct appropriate anti-corruption agencies to promptly, thoroughly and transparently investigate alleged payment of N51 billion of public funds into individual private accounts in 2019.”

In the suit, SERAP is arguing that: “The court ought to compel the respondents to disclose the details and whereabouts of the public funds. There is no legally justifiable reason why the information should not be made widely available to Nigerians, especially as the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) requires the government in section 15(5) to abolish all forms of corruption. That means ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of public resources and wealth.”

The suit followed SERAP’s Freedom of Information (FoI) request dated 13 June, 2020 to President Buhari, stating that: “The public has a right to know how recovered N800bn loot has been spent, and the details and purpose of the alleged payments of N51bn into individual private accounts. Transparency over transactions by the government is critical to ensuring public confidence in the integrity of management of public resources and wealth.”

SERAP is also arguing that: “Granting the reliefs sought will ensure transparency and accountability, as the information sought to be published will reveal the truth of where money is going and why it is there, and allow Nigerians an opportunity to assess the impacts of any projects carried out with the recovered loot and the alleged payments into individual private accounts.”

The suit was filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Opeyemi Owolabi.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

- P.M.NEWS

Messi’s £632m release clause has reportedly expired

 Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi, will not be tied to his £632 million release clause, as it expired at the end of last season, Cadena SER reports.

Messi sent in his transfer request last week, with the hope that the Spanish club would terminate his deal.

That move has been blocked by Barca chiefs, who insist that the option expired last June, when the 2019/2020 season was initially scheduled to end.

However, there are fresh claims the £632m release clause expired at the end of the 2019/2020 campaign.

This means there is no longer a buy-out clause in Messi’s contract.

The news will come as a major boost to clubs keen on taking Messi from the Camp Nou.

Manchester City are leading the race to sign the 33-year-old, while Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan are also interested.

- DAILY POST

Sanwo-Olu asks schools to reopen in September

 Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, has fixed September 21 as the the tentative date for the reopening of primary and secondary schools.

He also directed all tertiary institutions under the state government to reopen on September 14.

The institutions were shut indefinitely in March to check the spread of COVID-19.

But at a briefing on Saturday, the governor asked them to reopen.

“I am pleased to announce that our tertiary institution will be allowed to reopen from September 14, 2020, all our tertiary institutions,” he said.

“As regards our primary and secondary schools, we are working towards reopening them around the 21st of September 2020. This position is not cast in stone and subject to a review of our ongoing monitoring and procedures from the ministry of health.

“Remember that we said that the virus will peak and we will flatten the curve in the month of August. From what we have seen, it appears we have flattened the curve. In the last two weeks, we have continued to see a drop in the positivity that we have encountered in the state.”

Only SS3 students participating in the ongoing West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) are allowed in schools for now.

Earlier in the month, the governor lifted a four-month ban on worship centres.

For the first time in months, Lagos, the epicentre of coronavirus in the country, recorded 27 cases on Friday while the country’s daily case count dropped to 160, its lowest in four months.

- THECABLE

I will lay hands on COVID-19 patient and they will recover – Oyedepo

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Presiding Bishop, Living Faith Church Worldwide, David Oyedepo has said he would lay hand on any Coronavirus patient brought to him for prayer.

He said he would not wear gloves to do so but would lay his bare hands on the patient to receive healing.

Oyedepo, who spoke at the church’s Covenant Hour of Prayer, CHoP, said Christians must be listed among the people God had vowed to honour this year.

“August is almost gone. We are in the 9th hour as it were, we are going to step into the 11th hour shortly: it is not late, you can connect.

“COVID-19 cannot be any reason why your own ‘Breaking Limit’ package will not be delivered. It’s not a tenable reason. No circumstance on earth will make the covenant of God of no effect.

“You can imagine a medical doctor, going back there to minister to coronavirus patients (documented testimony). He found something, while others are scared by everything they can see.

“Can you imagine anyone bringing coronavirus patient to me and I won’t lay hands on him? Will I wear gloves to lay hands on them? I will lay hands on them; breathe into them; embrace them. What you carry is eternal life, it’s not human life. You should know that,” he said.

According to Oyedepo, “You’ll now wear everything like a doctor, you have never been in a theatre in your life. You will be moving like somebody is under some attack.

“Someday, they will know that they have been deceived. They will all know that they have been grossly deceived.
You’ve covered your mouth: do you cover it when you want to eat or there is no coronavirus when you are eating?
I just look at it and say, “what is all this?”

“It’s all the devil trying to dehumanize humanity. Don’t go near old people, yet you are buying food from them!
Do you ask somebody of her age when you want to buy food: “Hello Mama, what’s your age?” Age of what? Get out, my friend. I am selling something and you’re asking my age.

“The world will be free. I have a Liberation Mandate to this generation: my job is to see human beings set free from all harassment of the devil. Enough is Enough! Receive grace to constantly celebrate the Word of God; to embrace the Word of God by putting it to work in faith.”

- PM NEWS

Money has become ‘god’ to our church leaders – CAN president, Ayokunle laments

 

Rev. Samson Ayokunle, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has lamented that money has become the god of many Christians, especially church leaders in the country.

He also said sexual immorality, gluttony, and financial impropriety prevalent in churches was due to lack of discipline.

Rev. Ayokunle stated this in his speech at the ongoing virtual convention of the church.

The cleric noted that one can no longer separate unbelievers from Christians.

“The church is in a state where lack of discipline has led to many instances of sexual immorality, gluttony, financial impropriety, laziness, court cases, etc,” he said.

He said that the behaviour of Christians has led to the name of God being maligned, with Obscene dressing and all forms of impurities happening among God’s children.

Ayokunle cried out that most people who call themselves Christians cannot be trusted for any noble assignment, adding that “There appears to be no difference between them and the unbelievers.

“Money, in particular, has become the god of some ]if not many] Christians, including Church leaders! What a shame to the Church!”

- DAILY POST

ICPC quizzes NDDC directors over ‘N5.4bn fraud’

 

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has quizzed top management staff of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over allegations of  procurement fraud and misappropriation of  COVID-19 funds.

In a statement on Saturday, Azuka Ogugua, spokesman of ICPC, said some directors of NDDC were interrogated at the commission’s headquarters after months of intelligence gathering.

Oguagua said the interrogation followed receipt of petitions from Nigerians on the alleged illegalities and contracts fraud by some officials of NDDC.

He said they are being investigated for their complicity in the alleged diversion of N5.474 billion meant for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers handling the COVID-19 pandemic in the nine states.

Oguagua said ICPC is also investigating the payments of millions of naira to NDDC for foreign training during the COVID-19 lockdown “which were never attended”, as well as the non-payment of entitlements to students on foreign scholarships.

Other allegations being investigated by ICPC include “the selling of back-dated contract award letters for projects and awards of contracts that were not captured in the budget of the NDDC”.

“ICPC had already retrieved relevant documents with which to continue investigations towards the recovery of diverted funds and prosecution of breaches of the law,” the statement read.

The national assembly had also probed the alleged mismanagement of funds by the interim management committee (IMC) of the NDDC.

- THECABLE