EFCC discovers 21 exotic cars at Yari’s residence

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have reportedly uncovered 21 exotic cars during a raid at the Talata-Mafara residence of Abdulaziz Yari, former governor of Zamfara state.

EFCC had raided Yari’s residence on Sunday evening when the ex-governor was out of the country.

The anti-graft agency also searched the houses of Jafaru, Yari’s brother, and Sha’aya Mafara, his intimate friend.

TheNation reports that 21 exotic vehicles were found in the compound of the ex-governor, who until he left office in 29th May, was chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).

Yari is currently being investigated for alleged questionable payment of N19 billion from the London-Paris Club refund; N35 billion spent on internally displaced persons (IDPs); ecological and stabilisation fund and how he incurred N151,190,477,572.02 liabilities on ongoing projects.

TheNation quoted a source as saying the governor is expected to honour the invitation of the anti-graft agency in order to provide answers to some questions connected to the ongoing investigation.

“The onus is on Yari to explain how he came about the exotic vehicles; whether or not he declared them in his Asset Declaration Form; and if these vehicles were in his exit Asset Form as a former governor in May,” the source said.

“Once he is able to justify the acquisition of the vehicles, the EFCC has no problem with Yari. Otherwise, he has a question to answer.”

Yari famously blamed an outbreak of meningitis in the state on “fornication”.

His bid to become senator was quashed by the supreme court which nullified his candidacy in the general election.

- THECABLE

Nigeria opens National ID enrolment centres In UK, Germany

Enrolment centres to register Nigerians abroad for the New National Identification Number are being opened in the UK and Germany.

VFS Global, along with Dantata Universal Services launched new centres in London and Leicester on 2 August for the convenience of Nigerians in the United Kingdom 

New centres will also open in Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany on 12 August.

The centres are being opened as part of the endeavour to support the initiative by the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC)to enrol Nigerian adults and children into the National Identity Database (NIDB). 

Appointments can be obtained beforehand online by visiting www.vfsglobal.com/NIMC/Nigeria for the National Identification Number enrolment and subsequently the issuance of General Multi Purpose Card (GMPC) issuance to eligible Nigerian citizens in diaspora.

A dedicated contact centre and email support service is also available for applicants to answer queries and track the application status. 

The National Identification Number is a unique set of eleven digits number issued to the Nigerian citizens in diaspora. 

  NIN is used for processing all forms of transactions that involves submitting an identity verification in Nigeria such as getting a driver’s license, voter’s card or even for opening a bank account which will offer greater convenience and transparency.

Mr. Jiten Vyas, Regional Group COO, VFS Global, said: “The launch of our new National Identification Number enrolment centres in UK and Germany to support theinitiative by the National Identity Management Commission, Nigeria highlights our efforts to offer solutions that ensure a secure and seamless experience in the Identity and Citizen Services space globally. By leveraging our capabilities of having successfully implemented such large-scale diaspora enrollment services across the world, we are confident that the new centres would greatly benefit this global initiative.”

With nearly two decades of experience, VFS Global has established itself as a world leader in offering solutions in both visa application processing and identity-based citizen services. 

Having processed over 86 million biometric enrolments since 2007, VFS Global currently serves 38 Client Governments across 138 countries with its biometric solutions.

- PM NEWS

Bayelsa spends N6bn yearly on political appointees — same as its health budget

Seriake Dickson, Bayelsa governor, says the state spends about N6 billion annually to service 1,500 political service holders. 

NAN quoted the governor as saying this on a radio programme.

An analysis of the oil-rich state’s 2019 budget by TheCable shows that the budget for the entire health sector is N6 billion.

According to Dickson, the huge “political capital” investment is responsible for the high number of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirants in the state.

Dickson, who has been governing Bayelsa on the mantle of the PDP since 2012,  explained that the opposition party had invested the money to sustain its loyalists appointed to serve in his administration.

He said 21 aspirants had collected and returned the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms at N21 million each.

The party’s primary election is scheduled to hold on September 2, ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the state.

“The party leadership decided to make the contest open and all-embracing and as a consensus builder, I believe that every aspiration is legitimate, it is a right that they have to test their popularity at the primaries,” Dickson said.

“The large number of aspirants is an indication that the party is a platform of choice for any politician to actualize his governorship ambition and looking at the rival party, they don’t have up to two aspirants.

“Nothing is happening there, the PDP is taking the shine and it is all happening because of the political capital we invested in building the party, if I lost my re-election in 2015, the party would have been dead by now in Bayelsa.”

In March 2019, Dickson signed N299bn for the fiscal year.

Presenting the appropriation bill in December 2018 to the state house of assembly, the governor had said that about N23 billion was earmarked for education while N6 billion was proposed for the health sector.

- THECABLE

BUHARI, HIS GOONS, AND THEIR FAILURE TO HALT PROBLEMS CONFRONTING US

Buhari is an embodiment of failure when it comes to Nigeria presidency. Any Nigerian expecting positive change from him in the next four years needs to check him/herself into the nearest hospital. This is the fact. It is starring at us;

Fact one -  No single achievement in his first term that impact the general masses except massive killing and properties destruction across the land. 

Fact two - Majority of his appointed goons are failures like him.  It will no change in the next four years because they are working with a leader who is operating intellectually and physically at minus zero level.  He has appointed another set of failed and corrupt politicians. 

This is a guy that rode to power on fake achievements and yet did not know what to do with it because he has no visible track records initiated by him. Yes read me well, all his past fake and propaganda so called achievements was actually done by other people working with him especially during his brutal regime of military rule between 1983 and 1984.

The credit on the little success of his military era should go to Idiagbon. If you recollect, it was Idiagbon those coup plotters that overthrow them tricked to Mecca for the coup to succeed. 

This single act and his last four years of reckless and poor handling of the country are enough to labelled him dullard and failure.  

Some of us that supported him in 2015 did not read in between the lines for us to decode this earlier. 

Fast forward to 2015 , he took over power enjoying lot of confidence from Nigerians that lasted less than two months. Yet he wrecked their hope and turn it to hopelessness with wanton killings and properties destruction going in the land since 2015 coupled with the corrupt, weak and lazy ministers he appointed the same year.  

The most wicked part of the killings of innocent citizens comes from his companion called Fulani herdsmen, Tactically and technically he is supporting them with all sorts of body language and systemic method. You dare not report them at the police station according to reliable source in Ondo state, the security men will tell you is beyond them you need to go to Abuja.  

Your president is tribalism in nature  and religious fanatic . Pure and simple.
The entire country is now enveloped with insecurity with kidnapping, killings topping the chart. 

Instead of him to be up and running, he and his goons ( politicians and security) are throwing flimsy and contradicting excuses every now and then because they can not give what they don't have.  

Blame game !!!

If they are not busy fighting opposition (Atiku) and others, they will be busy arresting lawful protesters like Sowore or yahoo boys.
Their inability to to solve or fix any of these problems resulted in this protest tagged #Revolutionnow organised by Sowore. 

Herdsman tyrant is now occupying the seat of power.  

These problems include insecurity, power failure, unimplemented labour salaries of N30K, ASUU crisis, unemployment, pensions, bad roads, poor medical facilities, just to mention a few.

His so called integrity has finally fallen like a pack of cards when Goje stepped down for Lawal for post of senate president. Lot of horse trading was done, anti-corruption fight was compromised. Besides many corrupt politicians from PDP in their camp now are saints. 

Therefore your president is now a symbol of corruption. Any further anti-corruption fight going on is fake.
Let him just release all political prisoners and stop disobeying court orders. 

It is sad that Buhari will waste another good four years in the life of our country.   Finally lets begin count down on his second term and refresh our hope come year 2022. 


-  IRUNMOLE-NLA

Church security guard, teenagers allegedly steal N2.7m from MFM offering box

The police on Monday arraigned two men and a minor in a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ court in Lagos for allegedly stealing N2.7million from a church’s offering box.

The suspects, Osita Egbo; 32, Joel Okafor; 18, and a minor, were charged with two counts of conspiracy and stealing, to which they pleaded not guilty.

The Prosecution Counsel, Sgt. Modupe Olaluwoye told the court that the defendants committed the offence at midnight on July 2 at the Mountain of Fire Ministry church, (MFM), Onike area of Yaba, Lagos.

Olaluwoye said Egbo was a night security guard at the church while the two teenagers were members of the church.

The prosecution alleged that they stole from the church offering boxes three times in the last one month with a fourth accomplice, but were never caught.

Olaluwoye said that a fourth accomplice, another minor, confessed to the crime after he felt cheated by the defendants.

He said that the defendants stole a total of N2.7million from the church’s offering box.

The offence, he said, contravened provisions of Sections 411 and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 287 stipulates a three-year jail term for stealing while Section 411 provides for two years in prison for conspiracy.

Chief Magistrate Oluwatoyin Oghere admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N1million each with two sureties each in like sum.

Oghere ordered that the sureties must be gainfully employed and have evidence of three years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

She adjourned the case until Sept. 25 for mention.

- DAILY POST

Falana on Sowore: Buhari’s govt tagging any critic a terrorist

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, has accused the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari of tagging anyone who criticises its actions and policies a terrorist.

The senior advocate of Nigeria said the current administration has developed the culture of using the terrorism prevention (amendment) act to clamp down on anyone or group with opposing views.

Falana said this while reacting to the arrest of Omoyele Sowore, convener of the ‘RevolutionNow’ movement, by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Sowore, a former presidential candidate, was arrested after spearheading the movement which is calling for nationwide protest against “bad governance” in Nigeria.

The police accused the movement of treason and terorrism, and said they were plotting a “regime change”.

But in a statement, Falana said the movement or Sowore did not contravene the terrorism act in any way.

“However, it is worrisome that the Buhari administration has decided to extend the ambit of the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act to cover individuals and organisations that are crititical of official policies or perceived marginalisation within the federation,” he said.

“Thus, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was proscribed as a terrorist body in 2017 for agitating for the secession of the Republic of Biafra from Nigeria while the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) was proscribed last week for organising rallies to compel the federal government to comply with a court order by releasing the Shia leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Elzakzaky and his wife from custody.

“If this trend of accusing every person of engaging in terrorist activities or treasonable felony for criticising the Buhari administration continues the Nigeria Police Force and the State Security Service will soon turn Nigeria into a country of terrorists.”

The senior lawyer said it is high time the federal government restrained the security agencies from “further exposing Nigeria to ridicule in the comity of civilized nations.”

He said the police have capitalized on the use of the word “revolution” to criminalise the protests, wondering why it did not extend the same gesture to leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) “for claiming to have carried out Ngeria’s democratic revolution which terminated the 16-year rule of the PDP in 2015?”

“Did all Nigerian senators led by APC members not commit treason or terrorism when they spent one and a half hours on May 14, 2019 to debate Senator Chukwuka Utazi’s timely motion on “Bridging the gap between the haves and have-not to nip in the bud the seeds of a looming violent revolution?” he asked.

“The State Security Service should release Mr. Omoyele Sowore, one of the conveners of the protests. In the alternative, he should be arraigned in court if there is reasonable suspicion that he has contravened any penal statute.

“However, the nation’s security agencies should stop embarrassing President Buhari who had cause, from 2003-2014, to lead peaceful rallies to protest election malpractice and insecurity in the country.”

- THECABLE

Rights group demands release of Sowore, speaks on RevolutionNow protest

A human rights group, the Centre for the Vulnerable and Underprivileged, CENTREP, on Monday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately release Omoyele Sowore from the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS.

The group however condemned Sowore’s call for a revolution against the Buhari-led Federal Government.

This is coming as the planned revolution protest which was expected to take place nationwide on August 5, failed to hold in Warri and its environs and in other places in Delta State.

CENTREP Executive Director, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi Esq said he is calling for the release of Sowore because Buhari himself had called for a revolution in 2011 through his Aide, Mr. Odumakin.

The legal practitioner said, “On that basis, his Government should release Omoyele immediately. However, I am not in support of a revolution in this Country.

“If a revolution starts now, those who called for it will fly out of the Country and it is the poor masses that will suffer the brunt of violent change of Government.”

Ikimi said Section 39 Subsection 31 gives every citizens the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, stressing that the constitution does not recognise revolution.

He also added that Section 45 Subsection 1 of the Constitution said the State can withdraw the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly of any citizen if there’s a threat to defence, security, public peace, morality and public order.

While noting that a revolution is not needed at the moment in the Country, Ikimi said, “Omoyele should keep his revolution till 2023 and express it through the ballot box.”

Ikimi pointed out that people are still suffering the consequences of Arab spring.

“In Libya, there is no peace. In Egypt, the Muslim brotherhood took over and the President is Sissi. The Army still rule Egypt till tomorrow. There is no peace in Sudan as a result of the protest match which saw the removal of Umar Al Bashir,” he said.

Ikimi warned that those supporting Omoyele’s call for a revolution should be careful, stressing that “Wole Soyinka will fly out of the Country if the revolution starts. Come through the ballot box.”

- DAILY POST