Tomeeesin Blog

THE House of Representatives, yesterday, berated the executive arm of government for hampering early passage of the 2016 budget and promised to reconcile discrepancies in figures within one week to ensure that the budget is passed second week of March. The House Committee on Appropriation will meet with the Minister of Finance and that of the Budget and National Planning next Thursday to reconcile all areas of differences. This is just as the House Committee on Finance disclosed that the sum of N777.2 billion was recovered during the reconciliation of the subsidy payment last year. Chairman of the Finance Committee, Rep Babangida Ibrahim gave the hint during the presentation of budget report from the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMFAC, Accountant -General of the Federation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission. He also requested for additional sum of N118 million for personnel cost of the RMFAC, which was cut down by the Federal Ministry of

 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, told an Abuja High Court sitting at Maitama, that the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, destroyed his “confessional statement” upon realizing that it directly linked former President Goodluck Jonathan to the alleged illegal diversion of funds meant for the procurement of arms. The anti-graft agency made the disclosure after it re- arraigned the embattled spokesman of the PDP on an amended three-count charge bordering on destruction of evidence, mischief and obstruction of justice, contrary to sections 166 and 326 of the Penal Code Act, and section 38(2) of the EFCC Act, 2004. At the resumed hearing on the matter yesterday, EFCC brought one of its lead investigators, Mr. Junaid S’aid, to testify before the Chief Judge of the High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello who is presiding over Metuh’s trial. The witness who was led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr

 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, told an Abuja High Court sitting at Maitama, that the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, destroyed his “confessional statement” upon realizing that it directly linked former President Goodluck Jonathan to the alleged illegal diversion of funds meant for the procurement of arms. The anti-graft agency made the disclosure after it re- arraigned the embattled spokesman of the PDP on an amended three-count charge bordering on destruction of evidence, mischief and obstruction of justice, contrary to sections 166 and 326 of the Penal Code Act, and section 38(2) of the EFCC Act, 2004. At the resumed hearing on the matter yesterday, EFCC brought one of its lead investigators, Mr. Junaid S’aid, to testify before the Chief Judge of the High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello who is presiding over Metuh’s trial. The witness who was led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Mr

The 2016 all Computer Based Test ( CBT) version of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) would not hold at the University of Lagos centre until March 7. Dr Beatrice Okorie, the Coordinator of JAMB National Head quarters Annex, Lagos, told journalists that this was because of the institution’s 2014/2015 convocation that would start on Monday , Feb.29 with the convocation lecture. The convocation will run till March 3, she said. Okorie had ,however, commenced the conduct of candidates during the examinations for being peaceful and seamless. According to her, candidates at the Yaba College of Education centre where she monitored the examination for instance, arrived the centre as early as 8.30 a.m. She said that the candidates were searched and screened by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), using the scanners. "The conduct of this year's examination look

The Supreme Court, yesterday, gave reasons it reversed the concurrent judgments of both the Court of Appeal and the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which nullified the election of Governor Nyesom Wike. The apex court, in the lead judgement delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, maintained that Wike who contested the April 11, 2015 Rivers State governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was denied fair hearing by the lower courts. Aside faulting the lower courts, which it said “improperly evaluated” the case made against Wike’s election by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its Governorship Candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the apex court, yesterday, decried what it termed undue reliance of appeal court and election tribunal on card reader reports. The Supreme Court restated its position that reports from the Smart Card Reader Machines the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, us

Two legal giants based in Onitsha, Anambra state, Ben Okoko, chairman of Idemili branch of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA and Chris Adimora, chairman of Anaocha branch of NBA have vehemently condemned the denial of bail to the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu. They said that as far as they were concerned, Kanu did not commit any offence against any known Nigerian law to have warranted his bail denial and continued detention in the prison custody. According to Adimora who spoke in a interview with newsmen in his office, yesterday, “the reasons adduced by the prosecution for refusing Kanu bail is not tenable. He did not commit any offence by having dual citizenship. He can’t be refused bail because his charges are still mere allegation which are not yet proven”. “As far as I know, he continued, Kanu did not commit any offence. They were just fishing for evidence to keep him in jail until they came up with this trump up charge of treasonable felony”. “That he

Nollywood actress, Monalisa Chinda, whose marriage to the Question Mark label boss, Dejo Richards, crashed about seven years ago, may be warming up to give marriage another chance. If the buzz making the rounds is anything to reckon with, then the 41-year-old mother of one will be walking down the aisle before the end of this month. Sources close to the actress revealed that she would be tying the nuptial knots with one Victor Coker, who is said to hail from the Niger Delta region. Recall that her marriage to ex-husband, Segun Dejo-Richard, hit the rocks as a result of purported domestic violence. According to reports, the beautiful actress is currently engaged to the said Victor Coker, who paid her bride price in December 2015, at their introduction ceremony. They have chosen February 20th as their engagement date and an undisclosed date in May 2016, for the white wedding scheduled to hold in Greece. It was further gathered that the traditional wedding would take place at the a

THE Federal Government has made good its threat to unveil and punish all those involved in the Halliburton fraud, which made international headlines. Nigeria is said to have lost at least $26 million to corrupt officials in the high-wire financial scandal, in which other key players from several countries have been sentenced to various jail terms and made to pay various sums of fines to their governments. While those from foreign lands who gave the bribes have since been punished by their respective governments, the beneficiaries from Nigeria are yet to be fished out and sanctioned. However, about two weeks after the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, indicated that the Halliburton scandal had not been closed, the Federal Government has moved to unveil and punish the suspects. As a starting point, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has quizzed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Damian Dodo, over his role in the Hall

Ability to provoke engaging debates about the present situation in the country is one inimitable quality in Ndidi Dike's latest art works and Installations on exhibit at the National Museum Onikan, Lagos. The solo exhibition tagged, “State of the Nation”, was unveiled on February 3 and ran till February 8, 2016. It was an endless search for a mode of address that can hold public imagination while retaining the transcendental quality that all great art must command. It is the first in a series of staggered exhibitions planned by Dike in 2016 to examine aspects of our national life with others. ‘State of the Nation’ explores the theme of power with a dedicated focus on the abject political leadership and energy - electricity and other forms of petroleum-derived energy that is supposed to drive the economic situation in Nigeria. Looking at the four unique art works on display, one could comprehend an immense thought provoking masterpieces. From ‘National Grid’ to ‘How Much am

There was a mild drama as Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday arrested a mother of three, Mrs. Saidat Bola Hassan who vomited about fifteen wraps of white powdery substances that tested positive for cocaine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja. The 48-year-old suspect was apprehended at the central screening section of the departure hall during screening of passengers on an Egypt Airline flight to Jedda, Saudi Arabia en-route Cairo when officials of the anti-drug agency discovered that she had ingested 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 904 grammes. NDLEA Abuja airport Commander Mr. Hamisu Lawan said that efforts were made to protect her from any harm resulting from drug ingestion. “As soon as we discovered that the suspected wraps she vomited tested positive for cocaine, we took measures to ensure her safety by preventing any harm that may result from drug ingestion. While under observation, she excreted sixty-five

—Friends and associates of the late civil rights activist, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti yesterday remembered his passionate devotion and sacrifices for the dignity of man but lamented that all his efforts remain unachieved. They spoke at two different events to commemorate the death, ten years ago of Dr. Ransome-Kuti. He died at 65 after an eventful life of activism devoted to pro- democracy causes, civil rights and promotion of the interests of Nigerian doctors through the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA. The remembrance of Ransome-Kuti was also laced with calls for the release of his son, Brigadier Enitan Ransome-Kuti and other soldiers jailed for failing to stop invading insurgents of the Boko Haram militant group. They spoke at a public lecture at Airport Hotel, Lagos, and at the laying of wreaths at the Beko Ransome-Kuti Cenotaph in Anthony Village, Lagos. The showers of commendation were led by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State who praised his selfless devoti

P rofessor Dike N Kalu, author of Nigeria’s Adventures in Technology, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas Health Science Center, USA. In this chat with Vanguard Learning during his recent visit to Nigeria, he speaks on his book and says science/technology is imperative to the nation's development. Excerpts: What motivated you to write Nigeria’s Adventures in Technology ? I have always been interested in technology. My field is in science, and the fruit of science is technology. It is really technology that makes science worthwhile because long time ago, people discovered that they can use it to develop their countries It’s easy to notice that Nigeria has been unnecessarily lagging behind in development and that she shares in common with other developing or under-developed countries, the inability to utilise the fruit of science which is technology, to solve their developmental problems. When we had independence in the 1960, we were

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has berated the opposition political parties in the state for allegedly maligning the integrity of the Supreme Court for delivering judgments in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Speaking at a special interdenominational thanksgiving service held at the Nest of Champions Stadium, Uyo, yesterday, Governor Emmanuel said that the opposition parties were “walking a slippery slope.” The special thanksgiving service was graced by six PDP governors and five former governors including the acting National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, among others. Governors at the event were Chief Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) while Cross River State governor, Professor Ben Ayade, was represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Martins Orim. Former governors at the event were Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Gabriel Suswan (Benue), Gr

I CAN understand the pains that descended on Dr. Alex Otti, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia State during the 2016 general elections. It has nothing to do with the vast personal fortune he sank into the venture. After all, he knew what he was going into and yet went into it, knowing he could win or lose. It has little to do with not having the opportunity to govern the state. He always emphasised that he wanted to serve and bring good governance. I believed him, and I know that if Governor Okezie Ikpeazu (whom the system favoured to win) continues along the path of promise which has been manifest in the past eight months, Otti will throw his full support behind him (subject to the vagaries of politics). The pain comes from two main sources. One of them is that he lost his valuable friend who was also my valuable friend and valuable friend to countless people – Prince Otisi Kalu (Abbott) who died of cancer in October, 201

THE Senate, yesterday, refused to treat the budget proposal for the Federal Ministry of Information due to lack of provision for media propaganda in the North East. The Senate Committee on Information, which took the decision during the ministry’s budget defence, insisted that the ministry must not only rework but also re-present its budget with provisions for effective media propaganda in the North East. The committee on information, headed by Senator Enyinaya Abaribe, PDP, Abia South, directed that the ministry should bring a budget that will cater for the needs of its media agencies. Abaribe’s directive was sequel to the observation raised by a member of the committee and senator representing Bayelsa North, Ben Bruce, who had decried the non inclusion of budget for media operations in the North East, in the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency. Bruce, in his remark, had pointed out that during the Nigerian Civil War, the media was effectively used to propagate rele

Embattled South African President Jacob Zuma addresses the nation Thursday against a background of concerted efforts in the courts, parliament and on the streets to throw him out of office. A scandal over public money spent on his private residence and damage done to the economy when he fired two finance ministers within days are the major factors fuelling the "Zuma must fall" protests. Zuma's annual state of the nation address in parliament comes just two days after the Constitutional Court heard a crucial case accusing him of violating his oath to uphold the constitution. Two opposition parties took the case to court over Zuma's initial refusal to obey a ruling by the national ombudswoman that he repay some of the $24 million lavished on his private home at Nkandla. His own lawyers accepted in court that the case had "traumatised the nation," and conceded that he needed to obey. But they urged the court not to be "inveigled into a

Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, yesterday, bowed to the superior force of labour and recalled the over 3,000 workers he summarily sacked mid January, 2016. Organized labour had made good its threat to shut down Imo State over the sack of 3,000 workers and months of unpaid salary arrears among others, with the commencement of a three-day warning strike. Addressing workers at the State Secretariat of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, before leading a peaceful procession into the heart of the town, the factional President of Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, explained that all the labour leaders in the country emptied into Imo State, to enforce the shut down of the state government activities. “This is just a three-day warning strike. The leadership of labour will again meet and re-strategize, if the state government fails to reinstate all the workers it summarily sacked without following due process,” Wabba said. According to the NLC

The National Petroleum Investment Management Services, NAPIMS, has received the backing of the Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change, NDIMRC, on the approval of $260 million contracts for ExxonMobil’s Usan Field. A statement by the group’s President, Nelly Emma, said that the contract award followed due process, adding that some elements were just out to tarnish the good image of NAPIMS. “Those behind the story that the contract was fraudulent are not telling the world the whole truth. This contract was managed by Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, TUPNI, for two years before it was taken over by ExxonMobil and it is not true that NAPIMS allegedly approved the $260 million contracts illegally. “To the best of our knowledge, due process was followed by NAPIMS in the award of the contracts. Without NAPIMS, it would have been very difficult for Nigerian local contractors to be awarded contracts. The allegation that NAPIMS approved the $260 million contracts il

THE Federal Government spent N825 billion in three years on travels, maintenance, local and international training, welfare and stationery/computer consumables. Disclosing this, yesterday, Head of the Efficiency Unit, set up by the Ministry of Finance to streamline government overhead expenditure, Patience Oniha, said from the study of government overhead expenditure it carried out between 2012 and 2014, 60 per cent of Federal Government's overhead expenditure were, on the average, incurred through local and international travels, maintenance, local and international training, welfare, office stationery and consumables, honourarium and sitting allowance, meals and refreshment and books. She said: “In furtherance of its commitment to re- prioritise spending and cut cost on recurrent expenditure, The Efficiency Unit of the Federal Ministry of Finance is planning to introduce detailed price guidelines to ensure value for money in procurement by Ministries, Departme

THE Senate, yesterday, vowed to probe former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan as well as ministers who served under them to correct alleged violation of the master plan of the nation’s capital city. Addressing journalists, yesterday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), who did not exempt any former Minister of the FCT or President in the proposed probe, said as a government of change, it was prepared to send any one found guilty to Kuje Prison which he said was not far from the Federal Capital City, FCC. Melaye, while condemning what he described as the bastardization of Abuja Masterplan, however, expressed worry over why former FCT ministers allocated green areas designed for flood drains, city buffers, recreations, urban farming, reserved land and undevelopable areas to themselves and their friends. The probe may also be extended to former Presidents because by the law establishing the FCT