The Labour Party presidential candidate for the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, alongside the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, were among the dignitaries who attended the Christian wake of the late Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, and son.
Naija News recalls that Wigwe, his wife Chizoba, and their eldest son Chizzy, were part of an ill-fated air crash in the US about a month ago.
However, Channels TV reports that the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalyi Fubara, and Tonye Cole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the 2023 governorship election in Rivers State, were also among those in attendance to pay their final respects before the burial ceremony scheduled for Saturday.
The bodies of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, as well as those of his wife, Chizoba and son, Chizitere, have arrived in Nigeria ahead of their burial.
Naija News understands the remains arrived in Nigeria from the United States of America via the Port Harcourt International Airport on Friday.
The trio, alongside the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), Abimbola Ogunbanjo, lost their lives in a helicopter crash in the United States last month.
The remains of the Wigwes are scheduled for burial on Saturday at Isiokpo, his hometown, in Ikwerre LGA of Rivers State.
The Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has approved the appointment of Adebayo Ojeyinka, an Osun indigene, among the 18 new permanent secretaries recently appointed across ministries in the state.
Making this disclosure in a statement on Friday, the spokesperson of the governor, Christian Aburime, detailed that the appointments were based on merit.
Naija News reports that the state government also appointed Joachin Achor from Abia State.
Aburime said that a “rigorous and transparent” procedure, comprising a computerized test, a search procedure, and one-on-one meetings with the governor, was used in making the appointments.
The statement read, “This personalised interaction allowed for a deeper understanding of the candidate’s aspirations, vision, and alignment with the government’s objectives, ensuring a well-rounded evaluation.
“It is imperative to note that historically, the selection of permanent secretaries solely rested with the prerogative of Mr Governor. However, this time, a deliberate shift towards a transparent search process was initiated.
“This change aimed to uphold principles of fairness, equal opportunity, and the identification of the most qualified candidates.
“Even younger, very productive civil servants were appointed based on their exceptional abilities.
“This groundbreaking move by Soludo highlights his commitment to breaking down barriers and promoting inclusivity in Anambra State.
“The appointments of non-indigenes and individuals from other states demonstrate a willingness to tap into talent from all corners of the country, rather than limiting opportunities to only those who hail from Anambra.”
It added that the appointment of Ojeyinka from Osun State is particularly noteworthy as it breaks the traditional practice of reserving top civil service positions for indigenes only.
“This move sends a strong message that Anambra is open to all, irrespective of their state of origin.”
The state government further detailed that the 16 other appointees were all indigenes of Anambra state.
Identity Of Suspect Involved In $6.2 Million CBN Fraud, Wanted For Forging Buhari’s Signature Revealed
Admin
Odoh Eric Ocheme has been revealed as one of the suspects wanted for allegedly forging former President Muhammadu Buhari’s signature to effect the disbursement of $6,230,000 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Naija News understands that Ocheme, who served as Emefiele’s personal assistant, is wanted by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Recall that the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, testified before a Federal High Court in Abuja that no fund was meant for the payment of foreign election observers.
Mustapha said the apex bank leadership forged the former President’s and his own signatures to process the payment.
Following the development, the Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to probe the CBN under the former Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Jim Obazee, swung into action to unravel the payment.
In February, Obazee had asked Interpol to place three suspects on its watchlist over the $6,230,000 payment. The suspects were Ocheme, Adamu Abubakar, and Imam Abubakar.
Emefiele was also indicted over the alleged fraudulent payment. He is currently facing a 20-count criminal charge preferred against him by the EFCC.
Ocheme is one of those being investigated over alleged fraud in the apex bank. The EFCC recently declared him, Margaret, Emefiele’s wife, Anita Joy Omoile, and Jonathan Omoile wanted for alleged money laundering.
Profile Of Ocheme
Born on May 16, 1981, in Markudi, Benue state capital, Ocheme studied economics at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Before his tertiary education, he attended ECWA Secondary School in Markurdi.
According to TheCable, Ocheme, an associate of Emefiele, is one of the directors of Ricrem Limited and Beustone Nigeria Limited, which provides services for agricultural production.
The company, which was registered in February 2012, is inactive on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website, which means that the company has not filed its annual returns up to date.
Those listed as directors of the company are Ocheme, Raymond Sunday Odoh, Livingstone Ocheme Onukwue, and Elliott Ocheme Nwandu.
The second company, Beustone, was established on May 5, 2009. It is also inactive on the CAC website. Ocheme, Livingstone Onukwue, Beulah Ali, and Josephine Odoh are listed as directors.
Ocheme married Chinenyeze Ozioma Okoro in February 2021 in Owerri, Imo state.
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The wedding ceremony, which took place at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Irete, Owerri West LGA, was attended by top politicians and personalities, including Emefiele.
State governors committed to new minimum wage – Bala Mohammed
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has insisted on a living wage for workers in the country.
The Congress asked the Federal Government to allow salaries and wages to be commensurate with the cost of living.
President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero said this at the 11th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria yesterday in Abuja.
On Thursday, the NLC presented N709, 000 for consideration as the new national minimum wage at the public hearing for the North Central.
The Trade Union Congress on the other hand presented N447,000 as its proposal for consideration as the new national minimum wage.
The current minimum wage of N30, 000 passed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari would expire in April this year.
Ajaero lamented that workers have been reduced to beggars because of the economic hardship in the country.
He said: “Food has become so scarce that Nigerians have become scavengers and resorting to raiding food trucks and warehouses for food. If those in government cannot see the danger in what is happening, we see it and must ensure that government fulfills its duties to the people.
“We are increasingly going hungry in our father’s land and cannot continue in this destitution. The greatest unifier and mobiliser of a people is hunger so it insults commonsense when those in government assume that somebody is sponsoring people who are protesting because of hunger.
“If anybody is arousing the people, it is those in government whose policies have impoverished the people and stripped them of those values that make them human beings.
“The looting of food trucks and warehouse is what you get when this happens. Unless something is done, this may unfortunately escalate. We pray it does not.
“Those who therefore think that they can stop us from this divine mission with their threats and violence should think twice. We cannot be cowed. We cannot surrender our natural mandate to powers and agents of poverty and emasculation. We are not after anybody’s job but we must insist that the instruments of governance must be used for the greater good of the people and not to wreck their lives.
“We must insist that any political calculation that does not put the lives of Nigerians first fails abysmally and is totally unacceptable. The people of Nigeria must have to survive first so that Nigeria can survive before we begin to talk about 2027.
“We must all work together to build power with which we can use for successful engagement with those who are in charge of the various corridors of power in our dear nation. Nigerians look up to us and we must not fail them. We in the NLC, which includes your Ag. President and Deputy President of Congress; Comrade Ado Sani Minjibir will always court and cherish your support to build the necessary structures that will make the NLC stronger thus challenge the vicissitudes of the nation’s current socioeconomic realities.”
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha said the government was committed to providing affordable healthcare for Nigerians.
Onyejeocha, who was represented by the Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, Yusuf Mohammed also said the government was committed to providing better welfare packages for health workers.
Acting National President, Medical and Health Workers Union, Kabiru Minjibir said the removal of fuel subsidy has “unleashed hardship on Nigerians.”
Minjibir noted that “anarchy may be looming if nothing practical is urgently done.”
Meanwhile, Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, has affirmed the commitment of Nigerian governors to effectively implement a new minimum wage for workers.
The governor made the declaration on his verified Facebook page following his participation in a meeting in Yola, convened by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage (North-East Zone) yesterday.
“We are collaborating to ensure the smooth implementation of the new minimum wage,” he stated.
The governor further expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his support to state governments and his endeavors to enhance the well-being of all Nigerians.
Former Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, says that Steven Oronsaye’s report was not presented to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari during his administration.
Shittu was a minister during Buhari’s first term in office between 2015 and 2019..
According to him, the report was not brought to the attention of the Buhari administration, and as such, there was no need for implementation.
He said, “The report had been with the previous government (Jonathan’s) but they didn’t do anything. Nobody brought it to our (Buhari government’s) attention, at least not when I was there. So, the issue never came up for discussion at the Federal Executive Council meeting at all. If nobody brought it and there were no complaints, we didn’t have cause to look at it at all.”
There was controversy over the report since the Federal Government approved the implementation of some of its recommendations to reduce the cost of governance on February 26, about 12 years after it was submitted.
Twenty-nine government agencies are expected to be merged, even as eight parastatals will be subsumed into eight other agencies, even as some Nigerians fear that this may lead to job losses.
The National President, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Tommy Etim, had warned that job losses amidst the current hardship in the country could lead to mass protests.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, described the report as outdated, advising the Federal Government to ensure that “the crisis of insecurity is not compounded through the retrenchment of hundreds of thousands of workers.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government, on Thursday, inaugurated the implementation committee.
Speaking on the matter, Shittu said that civil servants should not be afraid of job losses, adding that only politicians would be affected as the number of appointees would reduce.
“We must avoid or do away with duplication of services because that would increase the cost of governance. When we talk about some people losing jobs, I think that national interest is more important than personal interest, and I don’t see any civil servant losing his job on that,” he stressed.
Also speaking on the matter, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yusuf Ali, said implementing the Oronsaye’s report would reduce the excessively complicated administration of ministries, departments, and agencies of government.
Ali said, “One of the things you will find is that there is a lot of inter-agency rivalry. It happens almost everywhere, including in the US. If the report is implemented faithfully, at least we will be out of the problem of rivalry as well as overlapping functions and duties.
“It may not affect the personnel because it will become a larger body. And it will lead to having a leaner government that will be able to manage bureaucracy better. The fact that you are merging A and B does not mean you will dismiss people. It only means that you will have a larger number of people working in the same space.
“If you are talking about the loss of jobs, what will you say with the advent of artificial intelligence and robotics? Should we say people will lose their jobs and not invest in AI, robotics like drones, and others? Anything that will bring progress, we should try to adopt it.”
Negotiations for the release of no fewer than 287 abducted pupils and teachers of the Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School, Kuriga 1, in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, have begun, according to PUNCH report.
A highly placed source in the Kaduna State Government House, who is close to the negotiations but pleaded not to be identified because of security reasons, confided in PUNCH that the state government had reached out to the bandits through a private negotiator (names withheld) for the release of the pupils and their teachers.
The private negotiator is a highly influential negotiator who has been involved in negotiating several abductions with bandits in the past.
Bandits had stormed the LEA Primary School, Kuriga, around 8.30am on Thursday shortly after the assembly gathering and abducted the pupils and some staff members of the schools.
It was learnt that the secondary school was relocated to the primary school premises as a result of insecurity in the area.
Governor Uba Sani, who visited the school on Thursday, gave an assurance that the abducted pupils would be rescued unhurt.
Sani while addressing the community members said, “In my capacity as your elected governor, I am assuring you that by the grace of God, all the children will return unhurt.”
However, less than 48 hours after the abduction, which triggered national outrage, an official source said the government had reached out to the bandits for negotiations to release the 287 abducted pupils and the staff members of the school.
The source said, “The military has begun combing the forests in search of the children kidnapped by the bandits. Security agents have cordoned off the area and they have started searching for the abducted pupils.
“The government is doing all it can for the speedy release of the abducted school pupils.
“The government has established contact and reached out to the bandits for negotiation through a popular bandit negotiator. The negotiator was the one who worked for the return of some of the students abducted some years back.
“He (the negotiator) had negotiated the return of so many abductees in the past. He negotiated the return of those students abducted in Katsina State years back.”
Two other government officials confirmed the development to one of our correspondents but insisted on not being identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
They also refused to provide additional information as they insisted that doing so might frustrate the ongoing efforts to secure the victims’ release and put them in harm’s way.
One of them said, “You know this is a highly sensitive issue. I can’t give more information on the negotiations because of the security implications. We don’t want the bandits to harm the pupils and their teachers, and we don’t want to put the lives of the negotiator and the security operatives at risk.
“The only thing I can say is that the Kaduna State Government will do everything humanly possible to secure their release, just as the governor promised on Thursday when he visited the affected community.”
It was gathered that an emergency security meeting was convened by the governor on Friday but details of the discussions were not available to journalists.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, confirmed the security meeting and said details would be provided later.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Shehu, did not take his calls and had yet to respond to a text message sent to him on the development as of the time of going to press.
At least two worshippers were killed during Friday’s prayers at Anguwar Makera in the Kwasakwasa community, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of the state.
The incident happened around 2pm on Friday, according to locals in the area.
A community leader, Hudu Kwasakwasa, who confirmed the incident, said the bandits opened fire on the worshipers.
He said the worshippers were in the second raka’at of the Salat prayer when they were attacked, forcing the remaining people to run for their lives.
He added that a few days ago, bandits abducted about nine persons from the Angwar Kanawa community.
Kwasakwasa appealed for help from the authorities concerned, adding that bandits were raiding the communities unchallenged.
The state government and the police command were yet to react to the mosque incident as the PPRO could not be reached on the telephone and had yet to reply to a text message sent to him seeking confirmation as of the time of filing this report.
When Saturday PUNCH established contact with one of the parents of the kidnapped pupils through a Joint Task Force operative, who availed one of our correspondents of the use of his mobile telephone, the traumatised father, who spoke in the Hausa language amid sobs, said, “I never knew I would be in this situation. I heard of things like this, but I never knew I would be a victim.
“What have I done to deserve this? Please I’m not myself. I should die.
“I pray for the governor to fulfil his promise of my son’s release along with the other innocent children, otherwise, we are finished.”
The JTF source informed Saturday PUNCH that the villagers saw over 100 bandits conveying the pupils on motorcycles.
This claim was also corroborated by a community leader, Alhaji Idris Abdurra’uf.
According to Abdurra’uf, a community leader from Birnin-Gwari, a neighbouring community to Kuriga, residents of the community are fleeing the area for fear that the bandits may return.
Abdurra’uf, who expressed concern over the latest incident, added that Kuriga was the same community where a school principal, Idris Abusufyan, was killed and his wife and two children abducted about three weeks ago and were still being held hostage by the bandits.
He also disclosed that residents of Doka village, which the terrorists used as a pathway to Zamfara State, said they spotted scores of the bandits on motorbikes carrying the abducted pupils.
The community leader told Saturday PUNCH that the residents were yet to ascertain the number of the abducted pupils abandoned by the terrorists on their way to Zamfara State.
According to him, as of Thursday night, they were told that some of the abandoned schoolchildren had been evacuated to Birnin-Gwari “and after profiling, we’ll be able to know how many students were abandoned and they would be reunited with their parents.”
He added that the situation at Kuriga was tense even before the latest abduction of the pupils, noting, “Most residents have evacuated their families and they have become Internally Displaced Persons, some in Birnin-Gwari and others in nearby Igawa.
“Kuriga village, which is not more than 26 kilometers from Birnin-Gwari town in the Chukun Local Government Area, is situated along the Kaduna Birnin-Gwari highway.
“The village is not far from the terrorists’ enclave in Manini, which is the gateway to Niger State through River Kaduna; the terrorists from Zamfara pass through that place to Manini to Alawa and Shawara in Niger State.
“Three weeks before the abduction of the pupils, the terrorists had killed the principal of the Government Secondary School Kuriga around 4am, while his wife and two children were abducted. The wife and children are still in captivity.
“The secondary school was the first structure you would see on the road when you are coming from Kaduna before you enter Kuriga, but because of the proximity to Manini (six kilometres), the school was relocated to the main town of Kuriga where the primary school is also situated; that was why when the terrorists struck, they took away pupils of both the primary and the secondary schools.”
Abdurra’uf added, “As it is now, we’re yet to ascertain the number of the primary school pupils the terrorists abandoned on their way to Zamfara. Yesterday night (Thursday), some of the locals in Doka, which is also the root of the terrorists in Zamfara, said that they saw over 100 motorbikes carrying the kidnapped students.
“As of last night, we were told that some of the abandoned schoolchildren of Kuriga were evacuated to Birnin-Gwari, and after profiling, we’ll be able to know how many students were abandoned and they’ll be reunited with their parents.
“We gathered that 220 students from both the primary and secondary schools were abducted.
“The situation in that town was highly tense even before the kidnapping of the students. Most people have evacuated their families and they’ve become IDPS; some are in Birnin-Gwari and others are in nearby Igawa, which is also a town on the Kaduna highway, and Buruku close to the Kaduna International Airport, all in the Chikun Local Government Area.”
The abductors of the over 200 IDPs from the Ngala camp, Gamboru-Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State have not contacted the families of the abductees for ransom.
Immediately after the report of the abduction, the state government sent a fact-finding team led by the Director-General of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Barkindo Saidu, to the Nigeria-Chad border town.
Saidu told newsmen in Maiduguri on Friday, “No abductor has up to this moment called for any ransom on the abductees.
“We don’t even believe that they were abducted. If they were abducted, the abductors would have by now called for ransom; but nobody has called anybody for any ransom yet.”
The DG argued that the IDPs probably lost their way back home from wherever they went in the bush, adding that some of them had already returned to the camp.
“Already, the IDPs, who could trace their way back home, are trickling back home. Even when I returned to Maiduguri from there yesterday (Thursday), I was called and told that two of the so-called abductees had found their way back to the camp,” he added.
The military refused to say anything other than the initial assurance by the spokesman for the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. Ajemusu Jingina, on Wednesday that troops, with the help of the air component of Operation Hadin Kai, had been despatched for search-and-rescue operation for the abductees.
[PRESS STATEMENT] President Tinubu's Executive Order on Nigerian Oil and Gas Reform Is Suicidal to Our Hope for Urgent Economic Recovery. It Must Jettisoned!
AdminIt is with rude shock and disappointment that we read the Press Release issued by the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media to the effect that the President has signed an Executive Order allegedly aimed at carrying out further Reforms in the Oil and Gas (Petroleum) Sector of Nigeria with the reported sole aim of encouraging more foreign and local investments into this sector. This planned reform is only about providing more Fiscal Incentives to interested foreign and local investors in this sector.
As an Organisation that has experts in petroleum operations and business particular in the Upstream Sector and has for over three decades been involved in the monitoring of the operations of the various oil companies and NNPC in the Nigerian Sector, we here declare that this Executive Order is suicidal to our Nation’s hope for urgent economic recovery and our desire for increase in foreign earnings to halt the free fall of our national currency, the Naira. We are very convinced that Mr President was wrongly advised on this and therefore we call on him to rescind his decision and have this Order, dropped.
OUR OBJECTION TO THIS EXECUTIVE ORDER IS PREMISED ON THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
This Executive Order (further Fiscal Incentives) is not needed at all because if implemented, would deny Nigerians and Nigeria the urgently and much needed Foreign Earnings needed to shore up the value of our naira that has sadly been on free fall in recent months against foreign currencies causing unprecedented level of socio-economic hardship across Nigeria and threat to our National Security, knowing full well that the Petroleum Sector provides over 90% of the total foreign income needed to accelerate socio-economic growth, development and stability of Nigeria.
It is also a fact known and acknowledged by Petroleum Experts across the globe that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Sector is the most lucrative in the world guaranteeing the highest Rate of Return (Profit) on Investment primarily because of the relatively low cost of production and the fact that it is almost a free for all Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation Companies to loot and steal crude oil and deliberately under-declare and not even declare the actual quantity of crude oil and gas they produce and export. This is the reason for recent rush by the Multinational Oil Companies and some Nigerian owned Companies to Offshore Fields where they operate virtually unchecked by Nigeria. The recent move by SHELL Petroleum International to divest or sell off its Niger Delta Onshore Assets and Operations in order to move and concentrate Offshore further confirms this.
It is also a fact that the multinational and local oil and gas producing companies operating in Nigeria and particularly in its deep offshore fields have since the 1990s been awarded so many unmerited and unjustified fiscal and tax incentives by the Federal Government of Nigeria causing Nigerian to lose billions of Dollars it would have accrued to it from the exploitation of crude oil in these fields. It is for this reason that the National Assembly recently reviewed some of these incentives and made the Petroleum Industry Act in order to rightly increase Nigeria’s share of the profit accruing from these fields. Why then do the promoters of this Executive Order seek to reverse this if not for their selfish interests at the expense of Nigeria?
While we sincerely appreciate the intention of President Tinubu to increase expected foreign revenues accruing from the exploration and exploitation of our nation’s oil and gas, we hasten to say that achieving this is simply by exercising his powers as President and Minister of Petroleum Resources to declare total and full war against the perpetrators and perpetuators of Decades of Massive Crude Oil Theft, Looting, Fraud, and Corruption in Multinational and Local Petroleum Companies operating in Nigeria as well as in the NNPC now NNPCL. According to reports made public, an estimated over 80% of expected daily revenue from this sector has been and still being lost to these persons better referred to as Petro-Terrorists.
It is therefore our humble Advice and demand on him to immediately discontinue with this proposed Executive Order on the Petroleum Sector. In its place he should urgently sponsor an Executive Bill to the National Assembly to completely delete the sections of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which established from the long existing Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the now Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, NNPCL, which is clearly a worst danger to the progress and development of the Petroleum Sector and Nigeria. We either kill the NNPCL now or it will kill Nigeria.
What is also needed now is return to NNPC as it was established in the early 1970s and be made to operate strictly in line with the Aims and Objective of OPEC. IT MUST OPERATE IN VERY TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE MANNER AND ALL ITS INCOMES BE PAID INTO THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA. There should be very severe sanctions put in place for any staff who engages in Economic and Financial Crimes against NNPC and Nigeria. Death Penalty should not be ruled out!
It is our prayer that under his Leadership, OUR NIGERIA SHALL OVERCOME AND MUST RISE AGAIN.
COMRADE (ENGR) IGBINI ODAFE EMMANUEL.
National President,
Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy (VATLAD)
Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Friday launched a N1 billion “Feed the Hungry Initiative” designed to provide food to the vulnerable and poor people in the state to cushion the current hardship in the country through religious leaders.
Obaseki who on the occasion met with Christian and Muslim leaders of the State, disclosed that the sum of ₦1 billion has been earmarked for the initiative.
He said the money would be lodged in a dedicated account which would be managed by the religious leaders.
The Governor further disclosed that the fund would be used to purchase food items for distribution to vulnerable citizens across communities in the 18 local government areas of the State through the religious leaders.
According to him, “I don’t want the scheme to be seen as pure government initiative or mixed it with politics.
“The food items should be purchased in the local communities in order to boost their businesses.
He added: “like I have always said, when citizens are in disress, very few can cross the government House to reach me, but they can reach religious leaders for assistance.
“The burden of the churches, mosques must be very high with the difficulty in the country. You know my position about what is going on in the country, and you know how I raised alarm of where we are today.
The Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Edo State, Irekpono Omoike, lauded the Governor, adding that christian blocs in the State will justify the confidence reposed in them.
Also, the Chief Imam of Benin Central mosque, Mallam Abdulfatai Enabulele, who led other Imams to the meeting, commended Governor Obaseki for the initiative, and pledged support of the Muslim community towards the success of the initiative.
In a brief remark, the Chairman of Edo State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Sheikh Ibrahim Oyarekhua, warned the Muslim leaders against diverting the food items.
As parts of efforts to tap from the carbon market, which has an estimated value of $2.5 billion, the Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday inaugurated the Intergovernmental Committee on Carbon Market Activation Plan.
The committee is expected to help create a blueprint to drive an efficient sustainable carbon market ecosystem in the country.
Inaugurating the committee on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Shettima said it was in fulfillment of the promise made by President Bola Tinubu to reduce Nigeria’s carbon footprint as well as plans by the federal government, in collaboration and support of the Africa Carbon Market Initiative (ACMI).
The inauguration of the committee, chaired by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, followed the creation of the Intergovernmental Committee on Carbon Markets by the President at the COP28 in December 2023.
Shettima said the move is a justification of the Tinubu administration’s focus on natural gas as a transition fuel.
The Vice President noted that the Intergovernmental Committee on carbon market stands as a testament to the federal government’s dedication to developing a national carbon market strategy.
Shettima further stated that the initiative would attract crucial investments, catalyst emission reduction and foster sustainable development.
He stated: “However, the intervention we seek can’t be achieved unless the best minds of this nation come together to oversee our transition, and I have no doubt that we are on the right track, especially with the calibre of the technocrats that are in this room.
“We gather here today as part of the broader initiative to position Nigeria and, by extension, Africa in green growth manufacturing and Industrialisation. This underscores our commitment to sustainable development and environmental stewardship.
“This justifies our focus on natural gas as a transition fuel alone site investment in renewable energy sources. Our mission is to meet the needs of the present while safeguarding the future.
“The sincerity of our commitment to coordinating carbon-related market plans and initiatives has never been in doubt. The Intergovernmental Committee on carbon market stands as a testament to our dedication to developing a national carbon market strategy.”
The Vice President noted that the implementation of the carbon market mechanism represents a radical shift, stressing that each and every member of the committee must consider the initiative as a call for collaboration, innovation and collective action.
“Today, as we embark on the mission to translate innovative ideas from conference papers into tangible actions, we must recognise that our collaboration with the African carbon market initiative not only exemplifies our commitment to environmental stewardship but promises to reposition Nigeria as an investment-friendly destination for a high integrity carbon market.
“What we are making here is history that will expand our participation in the voluntary and compulsory carbon market. We are all aware that the carbon market offers a remarkable opportunity to unlock billions for the climate finances of Nigeria and Africa at large,” the VP added.
Earlier, in his remark, the co-chairman of the committee, Mr Zacch Adedeji, said the initiative holds immense promise for Nigeria’s sustainable future.
He commended the Vice President for his unwavering support and commitment to driving Nigeria’s carbon market agenda forward.
Adedeji assured that the committee would work hand-in-hand with the African carbon market initiative to harness Nigeria’s vast carbon potential which exceeds $2 billion.
Also, Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Dr Salisu Dahiru, said the committee had swung into action since December 2023 when it was established by President Tinubu on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai.
Dahiru explained that the issue of carbon market and trading is axiomatic to any country’s mitigation as well as adaptation efforts in terms of what it needs to do to contribute to global efforts for managing climate change.
President Bola Tinubu condemns the heinous incidents of abduction involving very vulnerable victims, internally displaced persons in Borno State, and students in Kaduna State.
The President directs security and intelligence agencies to immediately rescue the victims and ensure that justice is served against the perpetrators of these abominable acts.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale on Friday, 8th of March, 2024.
“I have received a briefing from security chiefs on the two incidents, and I am confident that the victims will be rescued.
“ Nothing else is acceptable to me and the waiting family members of these abducted citizens. Justice will be decisively administered,” President Tinubu says.
The President sympathises with the families of the victims, assuring them that they will soon be reunited with their loved ones.
Also read: VIDEO: Kaduna gov visits school, assures return of abductees
Recall that Suspected Boko Haram members had on Wednesday stormed an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Gamboru Ngala town in Borno State and abducted scores of the IDPs, most of whom are women.
Again on Thursday morning, bandits invaded the LEA Primary School, Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State and kidnapped scores of pupils.
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The Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday fixed 22 March for continuation of the money laundering trial of a former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose.
The trial judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, told the prosecutor for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Jacobs, to inform an ex-official of the EFCC who had earlier testified as a prosecution witness in the case, to appear for cross-examination on 22 March.
Mr Fayose is being prosecuted by the EFCC alongside a company, Spotless Investment Ltd., on 11 counts of N6.9 billion fraud and money laundering.
When the case was called on Friday, Mr Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), appeared for the EFCC, while Messrs Ola Olanipekun, a SAN, and Olalekan Ojo, also a SAN, appeared for the first and second defendants, respectively.
Mr Jacobs told the court that his 13th witness, Aliyu Madaki, who is to be cross-examined by the defence, was held up in Jos, the Plateau State capital, and unable to attend court.
He also told the court that the witness was no longer an employee of the EFCC.
Mr Jacobs said the witness now resides in Nasarawa State.
The prosecution informed the court that the witness had pleaded for another chance to be present on 28 March, a date the court had already scheduled for continuation of trial in the case.
Mr Jacobs, however, said he had just discovered that the court would be on Easter vacation by then, and he consequently, prayed for a new date.
Meanwhile, the second defence counsel, Mr Ojo, expressed displeasure at the absence of the witness, on the grounds that it showed great disrespect to the court.
Mr Ojo insisted that whatever issues preventing the witness from attending court did not happen today and so the prosecutor could not have kept silent till today before informing the prosecuting counsel.
In support of this position, the first defence counsel, Mr Olanipekun, also expressed dissatisfaction on the grounds that the prosecutor ought to treat the matter with the importance it deserved and informed the prosecutor earlier.
Although the prosecutor insisted that a date in March would not be sufficient for him to ensure attendance of the witness, the judge told the prosecutor to inform the witness that it is an order from the court.
Consequently, the court fixed 22 March for cross examination, and ordered the prosecutor to produce his witness on that date.
The court also fixed further dates of 25 and 26 April 25 and April for continuation of trial.
Mr Fayose is being prosecuted by the EFCC for alleged N6.9 billion fraud and money laundering.
He was first arraigned on 22 October 2018, before the former trial judge, Mojisola Olatotegun.
He was arraigned alongside his company, Spotless Investment Ltd., on 11 counts of fraud and money laundering.
Mr Fayose pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was granted bail on 24 October 2018, in the sum of N50 million with sureties in like sum.
The defendants were re-arraigned before the new judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, on 2 July 2019, after the case was withdrawn from Ms Olatoregun, following a petition by the EFCC.
Mr Fayose, again, pleaded not guilty before Aneke, who allowed him to continue on the bail granted him by Ms Olatoregun.
The EFCC has since opened its case before the new judge and has since been calling its witnesses.
According to the charges filed by the commission, Mr Fayose and one of his aides, Abiodun Agbele, on 17 June 2014, took unlawful possession of N1.2 billion for the purpose of funding his governorship election campaign in Ekiti State.
The commission alleged that the sum formed part of crime proceeds.
Mr Fayose is also alleged to have received a cash payment of $5 million from the then Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, without going through any financial institution.
The EFCC also alleged that the former governor retained N300 million in his bank account and took control of the aggregate sums of about N622 million which formed part of crime proceeds.
It added that Mr Fayose got De Privateer Ltd. and Still Earth Ltd. to retain aggregate sums of N851 million which formed part of crime proceeds.
The commission also accused Mr Fayose of using about N1.6 billion crime proceeds to acquire property in Lagos and Abuja.
The former governor also allegedly used N200 million crime proceeds to acquire a property in Abuja in the name of his elder sister, Moji Oladeji.
The alleged offences, EFCC said, contravened sections 15(1), 15 (2), 15 (3), 16(2)(b), 16 (d) and 18 (c) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011. (NAN)
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said the abductions of women and students in Borno and Kaduna States are clear manifestations of the failure of governance.
Reacting to the two kidnap incidents in an X post on Friday, the former vice president said the problem of insecurity in the country is getting worse by the day and has turned Nigeria into one of the most terrorized territories on earth.
Atiku said the All Progressives Congress-controlled federal government has failed woefully to provide the people with security, shelter, and other basic things expected of a responsive government.
He stated that the Bola Tinubu government has continued to play the ostrich while the nation is plagued by insecurity, adding that while the weak and vulnerable are neglected, the government is making empty rhetoric about reforms.
Atiku, therefore, sympathised with the victims and their families over the sad developments and urged the security agencies to save the innocent citizens from their captors.
He wrote: “The problem of insecurity in Nigeria is getting worse by the day. The media has been awash with terrifying news of banditry, kidnapping, and bloodletting that has turned our country into perhaps one of the most terrorized territories on earth.
“Within one week, there have been many reported cases of mass abduction of hapless citizens in the Northwest and Northeast regions of our country. In the early hours of Thursday, school children numbering over 280, together with their teachers, were abducted in Kunga, Kaduna State, by bandits riding on motorcycles, without any challenge by security agencies.
“Earlier in the week, it was reported that scores of women and children fetching firewood were abducted by gun-totting bandits suspected to be members of Boko Haram. It was also reported that over 200 people, mostly women and children, were abducted from the IDP camp in Ngala in Bornu State. The cases are endless, and the problem seems interminable.
“The APC-controlled government has failed woefully to give the people the basic things expected of a responsive government. It is a clear manifestation of the failure of governance. The government has continued to play the ostrich while the nation is plagued by insecurity.
“While the weak and vulnerable are neglected, the government is making empty rhetoric about reforms. And while our young men are abducted, killed, or conscripted into the army of the terrorists and our women and girls are ravished and subjected to different forms of gender-based violence, the authorities do nothing.
“This is in negation of the constitutionally guaranteed commitment that the security and welfare of citizens is the primary responsibility of government.
“I stand in solidarity with my fellow citizens and sympathise with the victims and their families. I urge the security agencies to rise up to the challenge and save innocent citizens from the horrors of banditry and terrorism.”
President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that things would soon turn around for their own good, in response to the present economic hardship in the country.
The President who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, made the statement on Thursday, at the State House in Abuja at the official Unveiling of the Nigeria For Women Programme.
He said the government is aware that Nigerians are complaining about hunger, adding that his administration is pushing out palliatives to cushion the effect of hunger, is also ready to implement a new minimum wage.
He said: “My administration is committed to Nigerian women and this is reflective in my policies. It gladdens my heart to stand before you and tell you the future of women in Nigeria looks very promising. Ministry of Women Affairs is working day and night, leaving no stone unturned to ensure that all your needs are met and exceeded, the Ministry has embarked on several notable projects.
“As a government, it is our duty to prioritize interest around the most vulnerable citizens which are women and children, so that we’ll put this behind us.
“The federal government actively working to ensure that programmes designed for Nigerian women are impactful and accessible to the intended beneficiaries, we are nit just committed to women in Abuja and other urban centres, the government is committed to all women particularly the most vulnerable who live in the rural areas.
“I am gladdened by the use of technology in dispensing sustainable development for our women. Sustainable agriculture, empowerment and technology is key in driving national prosperity.
“I am calling on all partners here to take a pledge today to support my administration and the Minister of Women Affairs. Today I want to officially unveil the Nigerian for Women programme. In a few days time, as we go into Ramadan, we should all rise up and pray for our country, let us pray for a more united Nigeria, let us pray for peace, let us pray for our President and the continuation of our Federation.
“Today we complain about hunger, we would be pushing out palliative so that the effects of hunger can be brought to a minimum. Ours is a very complex Federation, based on three tiers of governments, we have the federal, state and local governments and all of them have direct access to the Federation account. So winning together we can do a lot for our people. Today things are a little bit harsh, but this is not forever.
“Things would soon begin to change as more food is brought to the table of our citizens and as we prepare to implement a new minimum wage.”
The Minister of Women Affairs, Barr. Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye explained that the programme intends to empower women in all states of the federation by providing them with machines to produce a lot of the things local women extert so much energy and time producing locally.
She said thee-market platform would be used to market the products of local women entrepreneurs all over the country for buyers and banks have already shown interest in assisting the women access their finances and payments digitally.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi in his remarks, urged the government to look beyond Abuja when implementing programmes especially those that affect women.
He said, “Their is life beyond Abuja that we all come for the central position of governance, it is very important for all our people to feel governance. I would like to employ our women here, ably led by the Minister of Women Affairs, please do not let this thing be one off. Try as much as possible to leave your comfort zone to go and feel what people are feeling from time to time.
“We have a lot of political networks that you can actually connect to disperse these programmes that you want to actually give to our mothers, to the women of our dear country for them to continue to impact on how to instil morals in the society and how to better the lots in terms of empowerment.”
First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu has asserted that individuals convicted of abducting young people should face capital punishment.
She made this statement in response to the recent reports of approximately 200 women being kidnapped in Borno State and over 280 pupils and teachers abducted in Kaduna State.
Additionally, she condemned the actions of the kidnappers, labeling them as coward and evil perpetrators.
Calling on the state governors, the First Lady urged them to find a solution to the situation and ensure that any abductor apprehended is subjected to capital punishment.
The First Lady said, “Whoever is kidnapping young people is sick, cruel, and a coward.
“Enough is enough and I call on the state governors that once we take hold of them, they deserve capital punishment.
“Why don’t they take people their size? Why are they torturing our children? What they are trying to do is kill our future.
“We all know parents, when we are old we rely on our children.
“Why would you go and take them from schools? Right now, I think enough is enough. As a former lawmaker, I believe that any one of them captured deserves capital punishment.
“They are animals, they are evil and we should take them out of our midst.
“The state governors and the lawmakers should do something.”