The Speaker Plateau State House of Assembly Hon Abok Ayuba has been impeached.
It was gathered that Abok was impeached on Thursday morning after a vote of no confidence by over 18 members of the assembly.
Meanwhile Rt Hon. Yakubu Sanda representing the Pengana constituency in the state assembly has been elected Speaker by the members.
More to come…
Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi has expressed readiness to build three-bedroom flats and nine self-contained apartments across the 13 local government areas of the state.
This is to help address the issue of housing deficit among officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force serving in the state.
This, according to the state government, was part of Governor Umahi’s effort to reposition the force for effective and efficient policing across the nooks and crannies of the state
The Special Security Consultant to Ebonyi State Government, Chief Stanley Okoro-Emegha, revealed this while inspecting some of the ongoing projects at Owutu Edda community, in the Afikpo South Local Government Area of the state, on Wednesday.
According to him, “His Excellency, the Governor and father of the state, made this promise about five months ago and today it is a reality with the buildings in the thirteen council areas at different levels of completion.
“This is a prototype of what the Governor is putting in place to provide befitting accommodations for the Divisional Police Officers, who will make use of the three-bedroom flats while the junior officers will reside in the self-contained apartments.
“I eulogise the Governor’s unfiltered zeal and enthusiasm to reposition the police. The government will also furnish the buildings with state-of-the-art facilities, before handing them over to the beneficiaries in the next few months to come.
“The administration of Governor David Umahi has provided body protective wears, operational vehicles, modern communication gadgets, among other facilities to help the police and other sister agencies to curb insecurity in the state. I attribute the appreciable level of peace in the state to the calculated investments so far made in the security architecture. I call on other Governors in the South-East region and beyond to emulate the leadership quality of Chief David Umahi.
“I appeal to the general public to desist from any act capable of endangering the lives of the officers and collaborate with them in the fight against hoodlums, by volunteering useful information that could help nib crime in the bud.
“The APC administration is fully committed to the security of lives and property of the people because it is the primary responsibility of every rational government to do such. However, these attacks on police formations are unwarranted not just because we are making ourselves also porous to all forms of aggression, but these people that are being killed are our fathers, brothers, husbands and children.”
PUNCH
A 38-year old man, Sikiru Oluwaseun Jamiu, was on Tuesday, dragged before an Ijebu-Ode Magistrate’s Court in Ogun State, for allegedly texting a seductive WhatsApp message to a housewife.
Jamiu was dragged before the court and charged by the police with misconduct in breaching peace in the marriage of one Mrs Opeyemi Adegbesan by sending a WhatsApp message to her on September 19, 2021.
According to a charge sheet, Jamiu sent a “Good Morning Babe” message through WhatsApp around 8.02 a.m. to Mrs Adegbesan who is a married woman.
The charge read, “That you Sikiru Oluwaseun Jamiu ‘m’ on the 19th day of September, 2021 at about 8:02 am along Fidipote Street, opposite IBEDC Office Ijebu-Ode in the Ijebu-Ode magisterial District did conduct yourself in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace in the marriage between one Akintunde Adegbesan, ‘m’ and Opeyemi Adegbesan ‘f’ by using the word “Good Morning Babe” on WhatsApp no 08059491562 and 08138868837 and thereby committed an offence contrary in and punishable under section 249(d) of the criminal code, revised Laws of Ogun State of Nigeria, 2006”.
PUNCH
There were strong indications on Wednesday that the federal and state governments had agreed to the suspension of the deduction of $418m Paris Club refunds from states and local governments’ accounts pending the determination of court cases on the issue.
Following the agreement, which was reached between states’ officials and the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting, which ended in a deadlock last Friday, would now hold today (Thursday).
It was, however, not clear if the decision to suspend the deductions would affect the October revenue allocation, but it was gathered that the Federal Government had already issued promissory notes on the consultants’ pay.
The Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Akin Oyebode, confirmed in an interview with The PUNCH that the issue of deductions had been resolved.
The commissioner, who did not give details of the resolution, also confirmed that the FAAC would either meet on Wednesday or Thursday (today).
He also reiterated the demand of the states for the separation of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federal Government.
Last Friday’ FAAC meeting ended in a deadlock as a disagreement arose between the federal and state governments when the committee was informed by the Ministry of Finance that the deductions for the $418m from the local governments’ allocation had commenced in order to pay the consultants for the work they did on the Paris Club refund.
The country had in 2006 paid $12bn to get a $18bn debt write-off by the Paris Club of international creditors.
States and local governments that did not owe the Paris Club later asked for a refund when they realised that the payment was made directly from the revenue accruing to the entire federation.
There were reports that some consultants, who claimed a percentage of the refunds as payment for services they said they rendered to the states and local governments, went to court to demand their pay.
The Federal Government had negotiated an out-of-court settlement with the contractors and $418m was agreed on as the judgment debt.
But the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, which opposed the payment, approached the court to stop the implementation of the controversial agreement.
The Chairman of the Forum of Commissioners of Finance and Benue State Commissioner for Finance, David Olofu, had said on Monday that the sharing of the October revenue by the three tiers of government was suspended last Friday because of the deductions.
A top member of FAAC, who confided in The PUNCH on Wednesday, said, “Deductions will not be done until the conclusion of the court cases, but I don’t know what will happen to the October allocation on which deductions had been made.”
Oyebode also told one of our correspondents on Wednesday that the issue of deductions, which led to the delay in the monthly allocation to states from the Federation Account, had been resolved.
The Ekiti finance commissioner said, “The issue has been resolved. We (Federation Account Allocation Committee) expect to meet today (Wednesday) to adopt the communiqué. I believe that the meeting will hold today or latest tomorrow (Thursday).”
Oyebode, who declined comments on the content of the communiqué, said the allocation for October would be released.
He stated, “It (allocation) will be released. It was not withheld. The issue had to do with deductions, which were made on the accounts of the states and local governments. Our position, which has been clearly stated by the Chairman of the Forum of Finance Commissioners, is that we believe that those deductions are being challenged and should not even start unless the claims are verified.
“Also, if we are a federation and we are equal partners, we don’t believe that we should just come to a meeting and see deductions on our statement that were not previously discussed and agreed on. That is the principle of federation that we are upholding and defending. It is not an argument per se. It is just that it is a principle that the federating units should be upheld at all times.”
He added that an issue of concern was the need to have separate accountants-general for the federation and the Federal Government, noting, “The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is not the same as the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federal Government.
“We have argued that the offices should be separated. There should be an accountant-general for the Federal Government and an accountant-general for the federation, and not the present situation where the accountant-general of the federation is only responsible to the Minister of Finance.”
The commissioner gave an assurance that Ekiti State would pay October salaries to workers as scheduled, saying, “We will pay salaries. What is important is paying salaries.”
FG has seen reason why deductions can’t start now – Delta commissioner
The Delta State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Fidelis Tilije, stated in an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday that the Federal Government had agreed that the deductions could not start now.
He said, “The Federal Government has seen reason why deductions cannot start now. For crying out loud, there are court processes that are ongoing. Why don’t we wait till the court processes are concluded before talking about deductions?
“The Federal Government has issued promissory notes. The judgment they are talking about is a high court judgment.”
Tilije allayed fears over the non-payment of October salaries by Delta State, saying, “We will manage, but we hope that whatever problem we have will be resolved this week.
“We are supposed to have a conclusive discussion today (Wednesday), but we are still waiting for the Federal Ministry of Finance to determine the time of the meeting. If we don’t hold the meeting today (Wednesday), we will hopefully hold it tomorrow (Thursday).”
The Osun State Commissioner for Finance, Bola Oyebamiji, told one of our correspondents that the state would not borrow to pay salaries.
He said the government would strategise and find a way round the issue to ensure that workers would not suffer.
“We are going to think outside the box as we normally do. We are not going to borrow, but we are going to find a way round the situation. We will strategise and see what we can do to ensure that our people do not suffer,” Oyebamiji stated.
Efforts made to get a response from the spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Henshaw Ogubike, were unsuccessful as calls were not taken and messages delivered were not replied.
PUNCH
Bandits have invaded Yanbuki village in the Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, killing seven people and stealing 1,5000 cows and sheep.
An indigene of the village, Garba Musa, told our correspondent that the bandits stormed the village on Tuesday night, shooting indiscriminately.
Musa said, “Immediately they arrived, they opened fire on anyone they could see. Everybody ran helter-skelter to protect themselves.
“They later moved from house to house, searching for foodstuffs and animals and also broke many shops.
“They also rustled over 1,500 domestic animals like cows, sheep and goats.”
He added that after the bandits left the village, the residents came out from hiding and discovered that seven people had been shot dead, while others sustained injuries.
“We have buried the seven people, but the number of casualties could be more than this because some people ran to the bush and have yet to be seen.”
The spokesperson for police in the state, SP Mohammed Shehu, confirmed the attack.
He added, “The Commissioner of Police has already deployed enough police personnel in the area in order to restore peace.”
PUNCH.
The Peoples Democratic Party has yet to file a response to the appeal filed by its suspended Chairman, Uche Secondus, before the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt.
At the last hearing on Tuesday, the PDP lawyers asked for time to respond to the appeal filed by Secondus, but the court refused to grant their request, stating that the suit was time-bound in view of the national convention of the party, which is scheduled to hold on Saturday and Sunday.
The court subsequently gave the opposition party 24 hours to file its response.
We’ve received no response to our suit, says Oyetibo, ruling holds today
Speaking to newsmen on Wednesday, Secondus’ lawyer, Mr Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), said he had received no response from the PDP.
“The matter will come up as planned. I understand that the PDP has till 12pm on Thursday (today) to file a response. To the best of my knowledge, nothing has been filed and we have not been served,” Oyetibo said.
On August 23, 2021, some interested members of the party instituted a suit marked PHC/2183/CS/2021 at the High Court of Rivers State, Port Harcourt Judicial Division, with Secondus and the PDP as defendants.
On September 10, 2021, the court delivered its judgment and restrained Secondus from performing the functions of the office of the national chairman of the PDP.
The suspended chairman subsequently filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal and sought an order of injunction restraining the PDP and its officers and representatives from holding or conducting its national convention scheduled for October 30 and 31, 2021, or any other date, pending the hearing and final determination of the appeal.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that efforts were still being made by the party to prevail on Secondus to withdraw the case.
Multiple sources within said that several chieftains of the party had already begun arriving in Abuja ahead of the convention and it would be unfair to have the event cancelled.
“We are still pleading with Secondus. It is not too late for him to do the right thing and withdraw the case from court. We are all ready to sheathe our swords. He will become an outcast within the party if he continues on this path,” a member of the Board of Trustees said.
In a related development, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Walid Jibril, on Wednesday, asked Secondus not to make the party ungovernable.
Jibril, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, said the decision of the party was supreme, and as such, the national convention would hold on the appointed dates.
He said it would be wrong for Secondus, being a founding member of the PDP, to make the party ungovernable.
The BoT chairman added, “Secondus is a member of the BoT; he attained the position of the national chairman of this party. He has seen many things and helped to build the party.
“I don’t see why Secondus should go to this extent or try to ensure that the party goes a different way completely. Secondus should have taken whatever happened simply, being a founding member of the party. He should play the role he has been playing.”
Reacting to the claim that governors wield a huge influence in the zoning of the party’s presidential ticket, Jibril said the PDP had structures.
He added that the governors had the right to make recommendations, but the decision on zoning rested on the National Executive Council of the party.
Jibril insisted that the convention would hold on Saturday and Sunday.
Story curled from PUNCH apart from headline
THE fate of the erstwhile Commander, Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, is hanging in the balance as the Police Service Commission awaits the recommendations of the Force Disciplinary Committee on his case.
It was gathered that the FDC’s recommendations would form the crux of the commission’s decision and also determine Kyari’s future in the Nigeria Police.
Our correspondent had reported that the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, last month dispatched the Special Investigation Panel report on Kyari’s alleged roles in the $1.1m fraud perpetrated by an Instagram influencer, Abbas Ramon, popularly known as Hushpuppi and four others, to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the PSC.
The report contained the case file, evidence and findings as well as testimonies from Kyari and other persons and groups linked to the matter.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, Andrew Innocenti, had in a document titled, ‘Criminal complaint by telephone or other reliable electronic means’ filed before the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleged that Hushpuppi contracted Kyari to detain a co-conspirator, Chibuzo Vincent, for threatening to expose the alleged $1.1m fraud committed against a Qatari businessman.
The agency also said Hushpuppi paid $20,600 into a bank account provided by Kyari.
The court consequently ordered that Kyari be detained for 10 days.
Hushpuppi has pleaded guilty to money laundering and is expected to spend 20 years in prison.
A date is to be fixed for Hushpuppi to change his previous not guilty plea to guilty, which would be followed by a sentencing hearing for the judge to determine how long he will spend in jail.
Kyari was suspended from service on July 31 following alleged involvement in the fraud. He also appeared before the SIP.
The SIP Chairman, Joseph Egbunike, a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, submitted the panel’s findings to the IGP on August 26, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, 24 days after the panel was inaugurated.
Giving an update on the case on Wednesday, a senior official explained that Kyari has responded to a query from the FDC, adding that the committee is expected to come up with recommendations based on his response and the facts contained in the SIP report.
The source stated, “The case is still with the Force Disciplinary Committee which handles cases of misconduct and unprofessional acts by senior officers.
“After the SIP report was submitted to the AGF and the Police Service Commission, Kyari was queried and he answered the query.
“The FDC is expected to draw up recommendations which would be forwarded to the PSC for deliberation and action.
“As it is now, the DCP’s fate is hanging in the balance. Ultimately, his future in the police would be determined by the police service commission.”
The Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, did not respond to request for an update on the case.
Calls to his phone rang out and he had yet to respond to an SMS as of the time of filing this report.
PUNCH
The Interim Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Efiong Akwa, says that the Commission must be transparent in its operations to better deliver on its mandate to the Niger Delta region.
Speaking during a two-day Workshop for management staff of the interventionist agency in Port Harcourt, Akwa declared that one of the biggest challenges to achieving organisational goals was lack of transparency and integrity.
“This workshop is part of on-going efforts initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari through the institution of the forensic audit into the activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission from inception to make the Commission better prepared to discharge its mandate to the Niger Delta region and Nigeria,” he said.
Akwa stated that the core objective of the workshop was not just to re-orientate the participants to a new ideology of transparency and integrity, “but to offer knowledge and skills required to work more effectively.”
The NDDC Chief Executive Officer stated: “The expected outcome is to enhance the performance and job delivery efficiency of all the Commission’s staff to ensure that we are better equipped to offer the Niger Delta region a service that meets their expectations and dreams. And this is very vital to the life and relevance of this Commission to be able to facilitate the sustainable development of the Niger Delta diligently, efficiently, and effectively.
“As a Commission, the task before us is to establish the institutional framework that will support the prudent and diligent discharge of our duties within the legal and institutional demands for integrity, decency, and due process.”
Akwa observed that the workshop would help to create a new zeal among the staff, encouraging them to become champions for transparency at all procedural and structural levels of work in NDDC.
“To achieve our mandate,” he stated, “we must be willing and determined to be the change we seek for the Niger Delta region. We must be willing and ready to comply with the civil service rules, financial regulations, as well as with the ICPC, EFCC and CCB acts and other extant rules and laws in Nigeria.
“The Federal Government, under President Buhari, and our supervising Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is keen to establish within the Commission, and within us all, a new attitude towards our duties within the workplace. If we must become change agents, we must be equipped adequately to do what is right, within the law and our moral obligations. That is the new spirit we must embrace in NDDC. That is the new NDDC we must, collectively, build. We owe it to ourselves, this Commission, our stakeholders, and this great region. In the end, we will stand right before man and before God.”
Ronald Koeman has been sacked as coach of Barcelona, the club announced on Wednesday, after defeat by Rayo Vallecano left the club ninth in La Liga.
Barca have won only two of their last seven league games under Koeman, a run that included losing to Real Madrid in Sunday’s Clasico at Camp Nou.
A poor start to the season has raised the possibility of the team failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League, which would have enormous consequences for the club’s already-dire financial situation.
Barcelona’s former midfielder Xavi Hernandez, who is currently in charge of Qatari club Al Sadd, and River Plate coach Marcel Gallardo are reportedly among those under consideration to take over.
A club statement released after midnight in Spain on Wednesday read: “FC Barcelona has dismissed Ronald Koeman as coach of the first team tonight.
“The president of the club, Joan Laporta, has informed him after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano. Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the squad this Thursday at the Ciudad Deportiva.
“The FC Barcelona wants to thank him for his services and wishes him good luck in his career.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria has warned Nigerians to beware of fake social media handles of eNaira.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), launched the central bank digital currency, called eNaira, on Monday.
To access the eNaira, users have to download the ‘speed wallet’, which allows users to conduct transactions with speed and ease. It is the digital storage that holds the eNaira and is held and managed on a distributed ledger.
In a statement on Wednesday, the apex bank said impostors are already defrauding people.
“Following the formal launch of the eNaira on Monday, October 25, 2021, the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to criminal and illegal activities of some individuals and a fraudulent Twitter handle, @enaira_cbdc purported to belong to the Bank.
“The impostor handle and fraudulent persons have been posting messages related to the eNaira with the intent of wooing unsuspecting Nigerians with claims that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), among other falsities, is disbursing the sum of 50 Billion eNaira currency.
“These impostors are bent on defrauding innocent and unsuspecting members of the public through the links attached to their messages for application to obtain eNaira wallets and become beneficiaries of the said 50 billion eNaira currency.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Central of Nigeria (CBN) is not the owner of that Twitter handle (@enaira_cbdc) and indeed suspended its presence on Twitter following the Federal Government’s Ban.
“In effect, the Bank is not disbursing eNaira currency to citizens. To this end, members of the public are hereby warned to be wary of fraudsters who have resolved to take advantage of unsuspecting Nigerians.
“Members of the public should always endeavor to seek clarifications on information about the eNaira either by visiting the eNaira website: www.enaira.gov.ng or calling the eNaira contact centre on 080069362472 or visiting any CBN Branch nearest to them.
“For clarity, the current official social media handles of the eNaira are: www.facebook.com/myenaira; www.instagram.com/myenaira and www.youtube.com/myenaira
“Any suspicious activity by members of the public should be reported to the CBN using helpdesk@enaira.gov.ng or to relevant law enforcement agencies.