Complains have trailed the alleged evasion of a Town Hall invitation, by the Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial Zone, Senator Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, who is also the 2023 senatorial candidate of the Young People’s Party, YPP, for the zone.
Loading ...
The Town Hall, organized by indigens of Nnewi South Local Government Area of the state, affords the constituents opportunity to interact directly with their representatives at the various levels of government and the candidates of different political parties who are seeking elective positions in the area. It also affords the constituents the opportunity to ask the candidates questions border on their integrity, their achievements and their plans for the people if voted in the forthcoming election.
It was however disappointing to many of the constituents that their invitation to Senator Ubah to appear in the Town Hall was turned down for no coherent reason.
It was gathered that Senator Ubah was the first to be invited to the Town Hall, being the occupant of the highest legislative and representative position in the area. He, however, allegedly declined to honour the invitation, where he knows he would be asked questions on his achievements at the Senate for three and half years now and still counting, and also be requested to tell the people why they should vote and support him to retain the position after 2023 general election.
According to the Moderator of the Town Hall, Mr. MacDonald Ifeme, Senator Ubah, who spoke through some of his aides insisted that the organizers should first invite one of his major opponents in the senatorial race and member representing the Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, Hon. Chris Azubogu, who is also the senatorial candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for Anambra South.
Ubah’s aides, according to Mr. Ifeme, said Hon. Azubogu should first be invited and interviewed before he would appear on the show, as he cannot afford to be the first to address the constituents.
It was gathered that Senator Ubah, eventually did not honour the invitation nor send any representative, and has also not tendered any apology to the people for cunningly dodging to address them.
This, expectedly has generated a chain of actions, reactions and complains among the constituents, some of whom felt disappointed with the Senator’s evasive response.
All efforts made by this reporter, Izunna Okafor, to hear directly from Senator Ubah on his reason for evading the Town Hall, proved abortive, as he also refused to pick his calls or respond to his message as at the time of this publication.
It would be recalled that many Nigerian politicians seeking elective position in the 2023 general election have similarly evaded Town Hall, to the general disappointment of the electorates who were waiting to hear them personally respond to questions and speak directly to the people on the reason they should be voted into power.
Justice E. A. Obile of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has convicted and sentenced an oil thief, Wazo Marcus to prison for unlawfully tampering with exhibit, contrary to Section 32 (1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004.
Loading ...
He was jailed on Tuesday February 14, 2023, after pleading “guilty” to a one count charge preferred against him by the Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the EFCC.
The charge reads: “That you, Wazo Marcus and Ofor Otubo (now at large) on the 11th of December, 2022 at Trailer Park, 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court without authorization from Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, dealt with a Tanker Truck, Registration Number: UMA 42 YW with EFCC Exhibit Tag Number CR: 380/2019 CTGI-PS1, which is subject to an attachment and thereby committed an offence punishable under to Section 32 (1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004″.
He pleaded “guilty” to the charge preferred against him by the prosecution.
In view of his plea, prosecution counsel M. T. Iko prayed the court to convict and sentence the defendant as charged.
Justice Obile convicted and sentenced the defendant to one month Community Service at the premises of the EFCC.
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday, said the apex bank had noticed that some politicians were buying the new N200, N500 and N1, 000 for political purposes.
Loading ...
That was as a coalition of 472 civil society organisations (CSOs) alleged yesterday at a press conference in Abuja that 10 state governors were mopping up the new naira notes in circulation in order to discredit the policy.
Addressing the diplomatic community in Abuja, the CBN governor craved the support and understanding of the foreign missions and Nigerians, in general, towards the implementation of the cashless policy and in achieving the overall objectives of the naira redesign programme.
“The CBN has also noticed that some politicians are buying the new notes and storing them for political purposes,” he said.
Emefiele said the principal aim of the currency redesign initiative was to make monetary policy decisions more effective, adding that inflation has been trending downwards while the exchange rate has recorded some stability since the implementation of the policy.
He said the apex bank remained committed to ensuring a seamless, inclusive, and equitable implementation of the exercise for the overall benefit and growth of Nigerians, the financial system, and the economy as a whole.
He also said the programme sought to increase financial inclusion in the country by reducing the number of the unbanked population.
Emefiele noted that there had been five reversals in the bank’s attempt to go cashless and promote financial inclusion since 2014, when he was first appointed CBN governor. He explained that the reversals were born out of the need to deepen the country’s payment infrastructure, adding that the payment system in Nigeria is now among the best six in the world.
He said, “So, we believe that we have put in place enough infrastructure that would help us attain or achieve a cashless policy that will be in line with global practices.”
The CBN governor told his audience, “You are all foreign dignitaries representing your countries in Nigeria and you know and you would agree that the level at which people carry cash in Nigeria is unacceptable.
“In your countries, you do not carry cash anyhow. If you carry cash and you are seen, you are questioned and profiled continuously.”
He added, “We want to look at your country and that is why we are saying that Nigeria, being the largest economy in Africa and with the largest population in Africa, really must go cashless. And we are delighted at the CBN that with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari, we would achieve this.
“We know that at these initial stages, Nigerians will go through what we call temporary pains and we call it transient because they would come with those kinds of shocks; indeed, I must describe this shock as unprecedented.
“And that is why I would continue to appeal to everybody – Nigerians and those of you that constitute our diplomatic community – to give us all the needed support for us to achieve this objective. We want our country to look like your country and we will continue to seek your support for us to be like you.”
The central bank governor further stressed that the cashless and currency redesign progamme sought to support efforts of the security agencies in combating banditry and ransom-taking in Nigeria. He pointed out that through the redesign, “The military are making good progress in this important task.”
Specifically, Emefiele said the naira redesign policy was expected to curb inflation in the market, as less cash holding reduces currency outside banks and retards money circulation.
He said the accompanying decline in money supply would slow the pace of inflation, adding, “We have started to see inflation trending downwards following general price stability in almost all genre of market, including for goods and financial products.”
Emefiele also said the effective implementation of the policy could scrap four percentage points off the current level of inflation, which stood at 21.34 per cent, as it steadily slowed inflation rate to about 18 per cent by mid-2023.
He said, “This is quite achievable, as data from our market sources indicate that the prices of grains and key staples, around Suleja and Lambata markets, for instance, have generally been on the downward trend since the beginning of the policy.
“The price for soya beans has dropped from N30,000 to N22,000. Maize from N18,000 to N16,000. The price of a bull fell from N400,000 to N330,000 and ram from N75,000 to N50,000.”
He also said the policy had brought some stability to the exchange rate regime, and explained that prior to the announcement of the policy, the huge cash haul outside the banking system had exerted significant pressures on the exchange rate at all windows, but more so at the parallel market as it engendered asset substitution by speculators, and rent-seekers.
Emefiele said, “While the policy was initially estimated to lead to more speculations due to panic moves, as most people try to understand the policy action, it is expected to reduce speculation in the medium- to long-run.
“Today, the limited circulation of the new naira notes has forced the hands of speculators and we are beginning to witness some stability. The initial pressure is projected to further moderate as the implementation of the policy takes-off and a wider understanding pervades the system.”
Emefiele said the central bank was mindful of the challenges citizens faced and was currently addressing them.
He noted, “There have been reports of occasional failures in e-channel platforms. Our monitoring suggests that whilst there has been an expected surge in electronic transactions, these have not risen to unprecedented levels and the payment system is well equipped to handle even higher transaction volumes.
“Whilst transaction failures are bound to occasionally occur, the public is encouraged to have full confidence in Nigeria’s globally recognised payment system infrastructure.
“Banks have also been instructed to ensure 24/7 service availability and promptly address any customer refunds arising from such service failures.”
The CBN governor further acknowledged the widespread inconveniences due to the policy.
He said, “We have observed pervasive incidences of hoarding and predatory activities of some vendors and unscrupulous Nigerians. The principal causes of the hardship to the citizens following the redesign policy include hoarding.
“We have noticed that some members of the public are hoarding the new notes, thereby restricting their flow through the economy.
“Cash kept at home will not circulate but may fuel a perception of scarcity, which leads to higher demand for the currency, signalling to those who don’t have an urgent or immediate need to store cash.”
Emefiele pointed out that there had been tremendous tension and elevated agitation by leaders who should be calming frayed nerves among the citizens.
However, he said, “We believe that a large proportion of these agitations are staged and sponsored propagandas or an exaggeration of the reality. No doubt that there are pockets of pressures in some areas, the CBN is working hard to shift resources to those areas in order to ease the tension.
“The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of the Over-the-Counter payments to compliment ATM disbursements and the use of super agents.”
On the panic queues at bank ATMs and banking halls, he said “Whilst some of these withdrawal requests are genuine, some are simply the reprehensible activities of miscreants who do not have the genuine intention of making a withdrawal but are seeking quick-earnings by queuing up just to sell their spaces to make money.”
Emefiele alleged, “We have also noticed that some Nigerians are capitalising on the transition to charge exorbitant fees or demand cash payment on the false pretext that PoS don’t work, especially at petrol stations. These selfish actions for personal monetary gain are creating hardship for Nigerians and may come at the expense of fellow citizens’ lives and livelihood.”
Emefiele reiterated the availability of an appropriate amount of the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations and current N100, N50, N20, N10 and N5 denominations to support economic activities. He said the bank was collaborating with the entire financial ecosystem, including DMBs, OFIs, MMOs, Super Agents, MFBs Payment System Providers, and EFCC, ICPC and other law enforcement to ensure that Nigerians had a variety of options for financial transactions either through electronic channels or in exceptional circumstances, cash.
He stated, “We tried as much as possible to make this available in a way that it goes out to all Nigerians. But we found the unscrupulous activities by some people – and I will not be too direct – but, of course, when people who don’t own bank accountants begin to go and stay in queues; they wake up 4 a.m. to go and stay in the queue for the ATM and then, when it gets to their turn, they sell their turn and go back and start queuing again.
“And in a day, they could do that four times and then earn between N8,000 to N10,000…POS agents who are to help us deepen financial inclusion are getting involved in this kind of unscrupulous activities.”
The CBN governor stressed, “We have told EFCC, ICPC working with our CBN monitoring team to arrest any POS agent that charges any fee because we have made it clear that whatever is their fee which is not meant to be more than N200 for any amount you exchange, that we CBN we will pay as part of the cost to lessen the burden of this problem.
“And let me make it clear, we started to arrest them and we will prosecute them; they’ll go to jail for getting involved in illegal activities and making our work difficult.
“We are trying to make things good for our country, we cannot allow even some of our countrymen who want to get involved in illegal and illicit kind of businesses to truncate our efforts in making the country a good place. They will be arrested.
“We have seen videos of people who are also stamping money on people in parties and we have said that it is illegal; it is there in our law that it is illegal to stamp money and those who have been caught – they will go to jail because we need to do things right as a country. They have to go to jail so that can set example that we must be law abiding citizens in our country.
“We should not take advantage of situations to create pain for people who generally want to conduct economic activity in the country.”
Governors Mopping Up New Notes, CSOs Allege
A coalition of 472 civil society organisations (CSOs) alleged that 10 governors were mopping up the new naira notes in circulation in order to discredit the policy. National Convener of the Coalition under the aegis of Council of Civil Society Organisations, Obed Okwukwe, stated this at a world press conference.
Okwukwe alleged that the state chief executives he described as “G-10 Governors,” were determined to undermine all constitutional means of achieving the policy aimed at sanitising the economy. He said the group had uncovered a plot by the 10 governors to make Nigeria ungovernable if the policy was not reversed.
Okwukwe said, “These governors are mopping up the money and stopping it from circulation. The CBN had announced that it deployed N300 billion in cash as the first tranche of cash it disbursed.
“We all can agree that the money was hijacked and did not trickle down to the people and the people who took hold of it from the commercial banks have not brought it out to circulate.
“They are withholding the money using various means, including deploying agents, who use multiple ATM cards to withdraw the money, colluding with their banker agents to continue to trap the moneys in the banks and buying off cash from business places that ordinarily make huge cash transactions, like petrol stations, supermarkets and departmental stores.
“This has made some of these businesses insist on only cash payment as the profit they make from the sales of the naira covers for the loss of business from those who do not have the cash to pay.”
He alleged that the governors who approached the Supreme Court against the currency redesign policy did so without the love of their people.
Part of the text of the speech Okwukwe delivered read, “Since the implementation of the new naira policy, Nigerians and, indeed, the system have started seeing the gains.
“Except for the hitches of the unavailability of cash, particularly for small businesses, which is caused by sabotage from those who do not want the policy so they can continue with their illicit trade, other major indicators show that the impact of the policy on our economy is quite positive.
“Also on security, the impact is being felt, as kidnappers now know that there is no cash to pay for ransom. On our electoral process, it is now obvious to Nigerians that it is only the vote buyers that are complaining.
“This policy is facing a syndicated attack from a group of governors who we have termed the G10 Governors. These governors have vowed that this policy will not see the light of day.”
He added, “They are willing to go the extra mile, including making our country ungovernable and undermining constitutional governance and bring the entire country to a halt, all for their own reasons, which are selfish.
“Money moves in cycles. Banks pay out money and money is paid into banks. That is how cash circulates in an economy. So do we not wonder why banks pay out money and the money is not paid back into the bank?”
Okwukwe further said, “We have uncovered a grand plot, I repeat, we have uncovered a grand plot by 10 governors who have resolved to make Nigeria ungovernable for President Muhammadu Buhari if he refuses to reverse the new naira policy.
“It is amazing to note that the governors behind this plot were the same governors a couple of years ago who took advantage of every opportunity to praise President Muhammadu Buhari to high heavens.
“However, obviously, because the second tenure is coming to an end, these governors now believe that the president is not deserving of their respect.
“That is quite hypocritical. It means all they were showing the president was sycophantic solidarity, hence, we must, therefore, remind them at this point in time that President Muhammadu Buhari is and still remains the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria until the 29th May, 2023 and not one day before.”
Meanwhile, supporters of the new currency policy, who embarked on a peaceful street protest yesterday in Abuja came under heavy attack by thugs and street urchins.
The Civil Society Organisations Central Coordinating Council, which is the apex organ of all civil society organisations in the country, briefed the press before embarking on their march. They had set out to march to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation before they were attacked.
Their attackers were wielding machetes, sticks, iron rods, charms and other dangerous weapons. The attack left many injured while the whereabouts of some of their leaders remained unknown at press time.
One of the peaceful protesters, who spoke to journalists, Audu Emmanuel, said, “They just came out from nowhere and attacked our peaceful march. They were hitting everyone in sight, snatching phones, bags and everything they could lay their filthy hands on especially from the women.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reaffirmed its readiness to conduct credible, free and fair election on Feb. 25 in Imo, in spite of the violence in the state.
Loading ...
The state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Sylvia Agu, gave the assurance on Wednesday at a news conference to announce the commission’s preparedness for the election.
Agu said that about 2.4 million registered voters in Imo were eligible to vote during the election.
“As at the close of work on Feb. 3, about 375,004 Permanent Voter Cards (PVC), comprising 206,463 old cards, 116,734 new cards and 51,807 reprints have been collected,” she said.
Agu said that over 4,500 people who filled forms on issues relating to PVCs had been attended to.
The REC assured that the commission had made adequate arrangements to carry out voting in volatile areas of the state, particularly in Okigwe and Orsu Local Government Areas.
She noted, however, that election would not hold in 38 polling units in the state where the commission recorded zero registration.
Agu said that zero registration were recorded in Aboh Mbaise, Ahiazu Mbaise, Ezinihite Mbaise, Ideato North, Isiala Mbano, Isu, Njaba, Ohaji/Egbema, Orlu, Oru East, Owerri Municipal and Owerri North Local Government Areas.
“On level of preparedness, INEC in Imo State is fully ready for the elections.
“All non-sensitive materials have been received and distributed to various Local Government Areas.
“Diverse trainings have been concluded and the training of presiding officers and assistant presiding officers is still on-going.
“The next set of trainees will focus on registration areas, technical collation officers.”
Agu said that after the training, the commission would recruit a reasonable number of ad hoc staff for the elections.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that INEC had suffered up to four attacks on its facilities since 2022 in Imo, resulting to the death of some staff of the commission.
The commission has however, restated its determination to conduct the elections, in spite of the attacks.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has adjourned the naira swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) till Wednesday, 22 February, 2023, for hearing.
Loading ...
The apex court, which heard the case on Wednesday, was filled to capacity with a retinue of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, other lawyers and the Governors of Kaduna and Kogi States, Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello, respectively.
At the last hearing, the court had temporarily banned the implementation of the 10 February deadline of the CBN from making the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes legal tender.
The Zamfara, Kogi and Kaduna states had instituted the suit against the Federal Government and the CBN.
Other States; Niger, Kano, Ondo, Ekiti, had also applied to be joined in the suit against the CBN and the Federal Government.
Court proceedings began with Justice John Okoro leading a seven-man panel.
He said the court should not lose sight of the case and its intention as it affects the suffering of Nigerians.
Lagos State, through its Attorney General, Moyosore Onigbanjo, Bayelsa State, led by Damian Dodo, and Edo State also applied, seeking to be joined in the suit.
The Imeobi Igbo Forum, a pan Igbo grassroots sociocultural organization, has asked the newly elected Comrade Joseph Ajjaero-led leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC to declare their support for any of the presidential candidates of the foremost political parties contesting the 2023 presidential election in the country.
Loading ...
Imeobi Igbo said having just been elected at recently concluded 13th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the NLC in Abuja on Tuesday 7th February, it is high time the new NLC leadership declare their stand for any of the presidential candidates to enable the entire labour workforce cheer such a candidate to victory.
National President of Imeobi Igbo, Dr. Mike Ikegulu who stated this in a press statement he issued to newsmen yesterday, via SMS, said it is worrisome that after listening to his lengthy acceptance speech, Ajaero did not make any mention of Labor Party or Peter Obi.
According to Imeobi Igbo, “Ajaero’s stand on the candidate to support was vague and non committal. If anything, his plan for the next government, hopefully Labour Party’s Peter Obi, is confrontational and as such,
Imeobi Igbo Forum is asking whether the rumored divorce between the Labour Party and NLC is now official?”
“Days to the 2023 general elections, IIF enquires of when the labour movement in Nigeria will come for Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of LP.
In July 2022, the former NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, in an interview, said that workers have recovered the LP and have activated their political commission in all the 36 states of Nigeria in preparation for the 2023 general elections. Wabba said that the Nigeria workers were conscientized to actively participate in the democratic dispensation, after the NLC political summit”
The LP is a party registered and promoted by the NLC. In fact statutorily, NLC & TUC are Central Executive Committee CEC members of LP. They have offices in 774 LGAs of Nigeria’s 36 States. The labour movement can fill the structure gap that the discredited parties are boasting about as there are workers in every nooks and crannies of Nigeria”.
“We are yet to feel the impact of the labour movement on the fortunes of LP. More worrisome is the continued flirtation with other political parties. Let NLC and TUC show up now and join the movement, if they still believe in birthing a new Nigeria or forever remain silent and obscure. It’s not a time to pander to ethnic, religious and monetary considerations but to mobilize the Nigeria work force in both NLC and TUC to go get their PVCs and vote Peter Obi to change the narrative in Nigeria”.
“Peter Obi, not only belongs to the labour movement, but is the best of all the leading candidates for President”.
…. Insists that Rivers Governor Must Match Word with Action, Appear at the APC Presidential Campaign Ground to Affirm his Support
…Says Using Rivers Money to Secretly Secure Political Space within the APC is inconsequential, deceitful and Unacceptable
Erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP), Chief Eze Chkwuemeka Eze has described as improbable, claims by Gov. Nyesom Wike that his support in the February 25 Presidential election is for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement made available to media houses in Port Harcourt, the party Chief said the statement though unfathomable, is a patently ridiculous and vengeful display of treachery against the People’s Democratic Party for frustrating his selfish and inordinate presidential aspiration. This perfidy is egregiously targeted at balking the presidential bid of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Governor Nyesom Wike was quoted as stating, “Yes it is true that I have directed all Local Government Chairmen, Commissioners, Board Chairmen, Senior Special Advisers, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, DGs, Board Members and all my Aides to work for Bola Tinubu and I owe no one any Apology”.
As a matter of fact, the statement signals the drowning of an intolerant and unapologetically self-seeking bigot who has never entertained any new thought in the recent aside from the pursuit of a personal vendetta against those who rivaled his awkwardly maleficent political pursuit.
Senator Bola Tinubu is the APC Presidential Torch-Bearer and thus, Gov Wike cannot claim to be supporting him whereas on daily basis he deploys thugs to threaten and unleash mayhem on APC campaigners in Rivers State.
Eze wonders the basis on which Wike is claiming to be supporting the APC Presidential Candidate when he is yet to make any resort to the Chairman of the Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State, Pastor Tonye Cole and asking his partner in crime, a corruption-infested customer of the EFCC and guber candidate of the PDP, Siminialayi Fubara, to withdraw from the race to validate their seeming inconsequential support for the APC and make it total.
Furthermore, if Gov. Wike has truly resolved to support Tinubu’s presidential project, Eze said he must appear at APC Presidential rally ground in person to Campaign for Tinubu, noting that a hide and seek politicking is a no-no in seeking relevance in politics.
He added that given his status as Governor, Wike must understand the rudiments of politics and what it takes to be a party member and follow the rules. He has to register with the party from his Ward and pay homage to his benefactor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi who is the leader of the party in the region to show genuine commitment to the Tinubu/APC project.
The party Chief said failure to comply with the prerequisite conditions highlighted above, Wike’s claim of supporting APC’s Bola Tinubu remains a mirage, inconsequential and farce and should be taken as such regardless of whatever secret contributions and financial commitments he has allegedly made for the party’s campaign rally scheduled for February 15, adding that it is deceitful for the Governor to claim to have released the General Yakubu Gowon stadium for the APC Presidential rally free of charge when the party has already paid the requisite fee for the use of the facility.
As Nigerians celebrate the life and times of the first Republic minister for Aviation and the last of the Nationalist Chief Mbazuruike Amaechi the Ohaneze Ndigbo has expressed it’s unhappiness over the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari to grant him his last wish of releasing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to him.
Loading ...
This is coming as Gov Charles Soludo announced his confidence that Nnamdi Kanu would surely be released very soon contending that it is the only way to separate the criminals from those that are actually doing the job of freedom fighting.
At the Day Of Tribute in honor of late Amaechi the National Vice President of Ohaneze Ndigbo Chief Damian Okeke Ogene recalled how Buhari refused to grant the last request of the old man who fought for the unity and independence of Nigeria.
“Amaechi sees me as his adopted son and I accepted it and I have always been with him all through because I remember that he organized for the payment of pension for the wounded Biafran solders at some point ”
“But what is indeed disappointing was that on two occasions Mbazuruike Amaechi demanded for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu which was his last wish and the President turned him down and I wonder what other requests can we the living can grant to a father figure like Mbazuruike Amaechi that to release Nnamdi Kanu to him ?”he said
Soludo however expressed confidence that Nnamdi Kanu would soon be released adding that any discussion about insecurity in the South East cannot be meaningful without the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
” Our father Mbazuruike Amaechi made a passionate appeal to the federal government for the release of Nnamdi Kanu but he died without his request being granted and I shear in the same view with him that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu should be released”
“Yes not all agreed to it based on the means or where he should be but I want to make it clear here that the issue about Nigeria must be talked about and must be discussed”
*I led a team to visit Nnamdi Kanu when he was in Kuje prison and I visited him again at the DSS facility and he made it clear that it is an abomination for one to take another”s life and that it was against the ideology “behind the struggle”
“Now the entire South East is under insecurity and under siege because every criminal that you catch will tell you that he is a member of the liberation struggle”
“And 100 percent of those that had so far been arrested and those in the bush are Igbos and they had taken over the hometown of Mbazuruike Amaechi in Ukpor and the hoodlums had three camps and it took us about five hours to dislodge them ”
“That is why we want Nnamdi Kanu released so that we can distinguish the criminals from the real liberators and separating the wheat from the chaff”
“We know that is would not be an end to criminality but it would be far reaching and I want to reassure everyone that certainly Nnamdi Kanu would be released very soon and would be seen to have been released” he said.
Speaking earlier the Chairman of the occasion who also represented Engr Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu who is the Chairman of the Funeral Committee Sen Ben Obi described Amaechi as a great Zikist adding that he (Amaechi) is a symbol of a true Nigerian who with his colleagues laid their lives for the country.
First Nigerian female governor and former governor of Anambra state Dame Virgy Etiaba said that Igbos should hold their heads and shoulder high wherever they to had had a brother and father in Amaechi.
The Presidential candidate that was at the function Justice Peter Umeadi rtd of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA noted that Igbos should not be discouraged in the Nigerian politics noting that late Amaechi would be better honoured when come this year’s general election the South East would take their pride of place in the country.
Former Director General of Mass Mobilization For Social Reorientation Agency MAMSA Prof Elochukwu Amaucheazi admonished the Igbos to remain resolute in their struggle as he expressed hopes that following the steps of Mbazuruike Amaechi would take the race to it’s destination.
“He remains a father and when he gets there he would meet the likes of late Dr Michael Okpara and tell them the way we are in this country which is against what they fought for” he said.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has adjourned ruling on the bail application filed by Ali Bello, nephew of the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, and four others in a N3 billion money laundering trial to Monday, February 20, 2023.
Loading ...
At the resumed proceedings on the case on Tuesday, February 14, defence counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, informed the court of two motions filed on February 7, 2023, seeking the withdrawal and replacement of the initial applications of January26, 2023 on behalf of the defendants.
In the supporting affidavits, Raji prayed the court to grant the first defendant and others bail “on the most liberal terms”, stating that the defendants are law -abiding citizens.
“My lord, it has been more than a year since the EFCC has been investigating them and they were admitted to bail which they have not jumped, even once. In fact, the fourth defendant at a time, got his passport back and was permitted by the EFCC to travel to Mecca and he came back,” he said.
However, prosecution counsel, Kabiru Hussini, relying on a seven- paragraph counter affidavit, faulted Raji’s claims. “My lord, our written addresses oppose the application for bail, because we believe that in the interest of this case, the defendants have every tendency to jump bail, because they have all the influence, resources and power to intimidate our witnesses and tamper with evidence in this case”, he said.
Justice Egwuatu adjourned to February, 20 2023, for ruling on the bail application.
Bello and four others, were docked on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 on 18 count charges bordering on criminal misappropriation and money laundering to the tune of N3,081,804,654.00( Three Billion, Eighty One Million, Eight Hundred and Four Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty Four Naira). The other four defendants are Abba Adauda, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege, Iyada Sadat and Rashida Bello( at large).
Count one of the charge reads “That you, ALI BELLO, ABBA ADAUDU, YAKUBU SIYAKA ADABENEGE, IYADA SADAT, RASHIDA BELLO (at large) sometime in June, 2020 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court procured E- Traders International Limited to retain the aggregate sum of N3,081,804,654.00 (Three Billion, Eighty One Million, Eight Hundred and Four Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty Four Naira) which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful activity to wit: criminal misappropriation, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to sections 18(a), 15(20)(d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act”.
Count 3 reads, “That you, ALI BELLO, ABBA ADAUDU, RASHIDA BELLO (at large) sometime in November, 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court procured E-Traders International Limited to transfer the aggregate sum of $570,330 (Five Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty United States Dollars) to account number no; 426-6644272 domiciled in TD Bank, United States of America, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful activity to with: criminal misappropriation, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(2)(d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act”.
Count 17 reads, “That you, ALI BELLO, ABBA ADAUDU, RASHIDA BELLO(at large) between 26th July, 2021-6th April, 2022 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court procured E-Traders International Limited to remove from the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court to account no. 426-664-4272 domiciled in TD Bank, United States of America, the aggregate sum of $570,330 (Five Hundred and Seventy Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty United States Dollars) which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of unlawful activity to wit; criminal misappropriation, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(2) ( c ) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under section 15 ( 3 )of the same Act.”
Count 18 reads, “That you, ALI BELLO, ABBA ADAUDU, RASHIDA BELLO(at large) between 26th July 2021 -6th April, 2022 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court procured E-Traders International Limited to remove from the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court to account no. 426-664-4272 domiciled in TD Bank, United States of America, the aggregate sum of $845,852.84 (Eight Hundred and Forty-five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty-two United States Dollars) which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of unlawful activity to wit; criminal misappropriation, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15(2)(c ) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under section 15 ( 3 ) of the same Act.”
The lawmaker representing the Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, Hon. Chris Azubogu has laid claim on a bill sponsored by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, as one of the 13 bills he has sponsored in his 12 years in the Green Chamber.
Loading ...
Hon. Azubogu made the claim on Monday through his Media Assistant, Hon. Ikechukwu Onyia during an online interactive session with the people of Nnewi South Local Government Area who hosted him to a media chat to hear his achievements in the House and his plans for the people as one of the candidates vying for the Anambra South Senatorial seat.
The Federal lawmaker who hails from Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Government Area, is the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, as well as the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for the Anambra South Senatorial Zone in the forthcoming general election.
While fielding questions from the constituents, Hon. Azubogu, who personally answered some of the questions himself, reeled out some of his achievements in the National Assembly, especially as they relate to the Nnewi South Local Government Area, and also highlighted some of his plans for the people of elected a senator come February 25, 2023. He, however, left his Media Assistant, Mr. Onyia, along after about an hour, to continue attending to some of the remaining questions, while he (Azubogu) tried to catch up with some other time-bound engagements also dunning for his attention.
Be it as it may, some questions were also not satisfactorily answered by the lawmaker before his circumstantial and understandable withdrawal from the engagement. These include questions bordering on the poor execution, abandonment or outright non-execution of some capital projects in the area after over a billion naira had been budget for them, as were covered in the 2017 appropriation bill.
Some of the projects, as were highlighted by a constituent, include the Okija-Ihembosi-Afor Ukpor-Ebenator-Ezinifite Road, for which a total of N512,840,000.00 (five hundred and twelve million, eight hundred and forty thousand naira) was budgeted; erosion control in Ebenator, Nnewi South, for which a total of two hundred million naira was budgeted, among other capital intensive projects in different parts of the Constituency, which were covered in the 2017 budget, but were not executed.
While responding to the question said, Hon. Azubogu, who himself is the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, said “Some of these projects were budgeted for, but how sure are you that the fund was released…?”.
To many, the response was seen as a technical means by which the lawmaker dodged and diverted to the constituents, his oversight function of finding out if those budgeted funds were actually released to the contractors, and what stalled the execution of those projects; despite being the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation.
On his achievements in the House in the last eleven and half years now and still counting, the lawmaker listed some of the projects he has successfully executed in the area, to include: 6.7km Ebe—Afor—Agwuria Ukpor Road, Nnewi South; Ukwu-Ofor Nnewi, Nnewi North Inter LGA Road with drainage; Bridge over Ubu Agwuria (constructed from scratch); CSS Ukpor—St. Andrew’s Umuohama Road, Ukpor; Ndodoro Umunuko Ukpor Road; Ezengwu Ebe Road connecting Dispensary/Ahiankwu, Ukpor; Oriogodo Ebe Ukpor Road connecting Ebe Community Secondary School; ICT Center at Community Girls Secondary School (formerly Ukpor Girls); Mini Grid and Brand New 20KVA Generator at Osigbu, Ukpor; Solar Powered Borehole at Ukpor Town Hall, Ukpor, among others.
It was, however, surprising to some of the constituents when, after Hon. Azubogu had handed over the engagement to his his aide to attend to other things, he (the aide) posted the list of thirteen bills he said the lawmaker has sponsored in the Green Chamber, in response to a question asked by a concerned constituent who asked how many bills he has sponsored in the House and how many of them have been passed.
The constituents became more surprise when it was observed that the lawmaker posted only 13 bills, in his about 12 years in the House.
The surprise further heightened when it was also observed that some of the bills he listed were actually not sponsored by him, but by other lawmakers. Cynosural among such bills is the Data Protection Bill, which was a bill sponsored by the current Speaker of the House of Reps, Rt. Hon. Dogara.
The session also became more dramatic when the federal lawmaker, also through his media aide, attempted to justify his construction of some quick-to-spoil and shoddy roads he has so far reportedly executed in the area. According to the him, some of those inferior roads “were the only projects available in the agency at the time the lawmaker attracted them.”
His words: “Some of these roads you’re talking about here are done as rural access roads. If you go to where they are sharing projects at the federal government level, there are some agencies where Azubogu would go to attract road from, and the only thing they have there are rural access roads (the inferior roads). So, in such situation, he won’t tell them that he doesn’t need the road. Rather, he will attract them, instead of waiting till when they have Truck A road or Truck B road…
“And some of these roads…, you would notice that there are some classes of cars that may ply on them, and they will spoil. But Azubogu had to bring them home first and execute them, while also still pushing for the category of roads he is looking for. That is what Azubogu has been doing…
“So, it is not as if he deliberately brought and executed those inferior roads. They are the ones that are available at the time he attracted them. And that is why he is trying to partner with the state government, the Anambra Road Maintenance Agency, the local government and the community leaderships, so that they will be maintaining these roads as they get spoilt.”
This reporter Izunna Okafor, was, however, not satisfied with the responses of the lawmaker’s aide, and, therefore decided to contact his principal, to directly hear his own side of the response.
When contacted, Hon. Azubogu himself also alluded to the fact that some of the thirteen bills his aide listed are owned by or credited to some lawmakers, particularly the Data Protection Bill, which owned by RlHon. Yakubu Dogara. He, however, said he was the first person to sponsor some of those bills but did not succeed in seeing them till passage, before some other lawmakers eventually picked them up, remodified them and re-sponsored them and saw to their passage.
When asked if any of his bills has been passed by the House, Hon. Azubogu, who is currently rounding up his third tenure in the House of Reps, said majority of his bills have passed second reading.
He said: “No one person takes claim of building a law… I participated in the Corporate Affairs Commission Bill, the National Orientation Agency Amendment Act, and all of that. I am also driving the Appropriation Bill for four years now; and they are saying that my bills have not been passed. How would they say that? Do you understand what is passing bill…?
“…You may propose a bill, but people who know how better to shape it may pick it up. So, it is not always about individual bill or how many bills someone sponsored that you should use to measure or rate him. I am a professional, and I am experienced in lawmaking. I know the kinds and quality of contributions I make in the floor, both during debate and when discussing bills. So, some of my bills have passed second reading, for your information. They have passed second reading. And they are there.”
Concerning the inferior roads allegedly being constructed by the lawmaker, he debunked the claims that all the roads he has constructed are inferior, but, however accepted that some of them may have been inferior or spoilt earlier than expected due to certain factors, such as human error, erosion, and topography of the soil, among others.
“If I have constructed five roads, and three among them are inferior, while two are still okay, will you say that all my roads are inferior?” he asked.
He also called on the residents and community leaders to always monitor, protect, and take ownership of the projects being executed for them.
“You can’t be waiting for me to leave what I’m doing in Abuja and come down to start monitoring or protecting road projects I am executing for you in your village. Or, is that the right thing to do? Communities should monitor, protect and take ownership of those projects. It is being done for them,” he concluded.
Loading ...
While responding to the question said, Hon. Azubogu, who himself is the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, said “Some of these projects were budgeted for, but how sure are you that the fund was released…?”.
