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Abia Governorship Tussle Moves To Supreme Court

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Abia Governorship Tussle Moves To Supreme Court
Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu
Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu

The Supreme Court in Abuja on Tuesday commenced hearing of motions brought before it regarding the Abia State governorship tussle.

Samson Ogah, had approached the apex court after the appeal court nullified the June 27 judgement of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which declared him governor of the state.

Justice Okon Abang, on June 27 this year, ruled that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, was not qualified to have run for the post of governor, having presented fake tax papers during his screening by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The Judge also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue Ogah a certificate of return, being the runner up to Ikpeazu in the PDP governorship primary election in 2014.

But a five-man panel of justices, led by Justice Morenike Ogunwumiju, on August 18, nullified the decision of the lower court; saying that Justice Abang’s ruling was a rape of democracy.

Ogah consequently approached the Supreme court, asking it to set aside the decision of the appeal court and affirm him as Governor of Abia State.

Three motions were heard at the commencement of the hearing at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, including one from Alex Oti, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the governorship election.

Oti sought the leave of the court to be joined in the matter, an application that was opposed by Wale Olanikpekun and Alex Iziyon, Counsel to Ikpeazu and Ogah, respectively.

They argued that a similar application was turned down at the lower court and neither Oti nor his counsel appealed the decision when they had the opportunity to do so.

The seven-member-panel of Supreme Court Justices led by Mahmud Tanko took note of the points but decided to allow Oti’s counsel, Patrick Ekueto, to submit his application, saying a decision would be taken afterwards.

After adopting the motions, the court adjourned to allow parties file their brief of arguments.

Mr. Tanko said a date would be communicated to the parties for hearing on the substantive applications.

FG To Re-Introduce Weigh Bridges On Federal Roads

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FG To Re-Introduce Weigh Bridges On Federal Roads
fg-to-re-introduce-weigh-bridges-on-federal-roads
Minster of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola

Minster of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday said that the Federal Government would reintroduce the use of weigh bridges on the nation’s highways. A Weigh bridge is a weighing machine for vehicles.

Fashola, made the disclosure while addressing journalists at the ongoing ‘Made in Nigeria Summit 2016’ at the Eko Atlantic City in Lagos.

The minister said that presently, the weigh bridges were not working optimally, adding that repair works were ongoing on some of them.

“The bridges are not in optimum use, but we are rehabilitating and re-installing some.

“You will see increased regulatory compliance on the roads as they return to motorable quality,’’ Fashola said.

On the issue of re-introduction of toll gates as a means of financing the maintenance of roads, the minister said that it would be left for Nigerians to decide.

He noted that tolling alone will not be able to finance road maintenance because of traffic variation on different routes.

“If you toll, it is usually best practice to provide an alternative route and therefore, depending on how heavy the traffic is, people may choose to use the longer route in order to save money,’’ he said;

He explained that members of the National Assembly were working on a bill that would “give some legislative framework for tolling.’’

Fashola added that government had begun creation of a road maintenance plan in order to create jobs and business opportunities for small businesses, artisan and other professionals in Nigeria’s construction industry.

Chief Justice, Other Judicial Officers Earn N33.47 Billion In One Year

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Chief Justice, Other Judicial Officers Earn N33.47 Billion In One Year

chief-justice-other-judicial-officers-earn-n33-47-billion-in-one-year

The total earnings of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, federal and State judicial officers in emoluments and allowances in the last one year has been put at N33.47 billion.

VANGUARD newspaper reports that the figure was revealed in a report obtained and computed by an Economic intelligence magazine, ‘Economic Confidential’.

The report showed the annual salaries, regular and non-regular allowances of 934 judicial officers in the country, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Allowances such as: vehicle maintenance and fuel, Personal Assistants, domestic staff, entertainment and utilities, Hardship allowance, Outfit and newspapers allowances.

According to the report, the CJN has an annual salary of N3.36 million and like the Nigerian President, he is provided with vehicle maintenance and fueling, domestic staff, entertainment, utilities and newspapers.

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The report noted that “Furthermore, the CJN has 25 percent of his annual basic salary reserved for personal assistant and outfit each or its equivalent of N840,993.13 respectively and half of his annual salary as hardship allowance which amounts to N1,681,986.25.

“However, accommodation and furniture will be provided for the CJN, while annual leave, severance gratuity and vehicle loan which is optional will be 10%, 300% and 400% respectively.”

The CJN also earns N50,000 per night in duty tour allowance within Nigeria, and $2000.00 per night when overseas.

Justices of the Supreme Court and the President of the Court of Appeal earn N2.47 million each in annual salary, while Justice of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of Federal High Court, Chief Judge of the FCT, Judge of the Federal High Court, President of the National Industrial Court, Grand Khadi of the FCT Sharia Court of Appeal, President FCT Customary Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of States, Grand Khadi state Sharia Court of Appeal and President state Customary Court of Appeal all have N1.99 million each as annual salary.

Furthermore, Judges of the Federal High Court, National Industrial Court, FCT High Court, State High Courts, FCT Sharia Court of Appeal, FCT Customary Court of Appeal, Khadi state Sharia Court of Appeal and State Customary Court of Appeal all have N1.80 million each as annual salary.

All the Judges in the country apart from the Chief Justice of Nigeria, receive 75% of their annual salaries as Vehicle maintenance and fueling, 25% for Personal Assistant, 50% as hardship allowance, 75% for domestic staff, 45% for entertainment. Others are: 30% of their annual salaries for utilities, 25% for outfit and 15% for newspapers.

Also,  all judges except the CJN, collect 200% for accommodation once a year, 300% of annual salary for furniture, 10% for annual leave, 300% as severance gratuity and 400% for vehicle loan which is optional.

All the Justices of the Supreme Court and President of the Court of Appeal are entitled to N35,000.00 as duty tour allowance per night within the country, while their Estacode is $1300 per night when they travel out of the country.

Justices of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of Federal High Court, Chief Judge of the FCT, Judge of the Federal High Court, President of the National Industrial Court, Grand Khadi of the FCT Sharia Court of Appeal, President FCT Customary Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of States, Grand Khadi state Sharia Court of Appeal and President state Customary Court of Appeal all have N30,000 as duty tour allowances each within the country and $1,100 as estacode.

Other judges outside the above are entitled to N25,000.00 as duty tour allowances per night within the country and $800 for estacode when they travel out of the country per night.

First US Presidential Debate Heat Up Campaign For White House

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First US Presidential Debate Heat Up Campaign For White House

first-us-presidential-debate-heat-up-campaign-for-white-house

The first round of the United States presidential debate on Monday has come and gone with many analysts saying that former Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, appeared to have outperformed her rival, Donald Trump.

Some other analysts, however, said the debates didn’t quite address pressing issues especially with regards to economic growth and the US’ involvement in Syria.

The debate, according to them, witnessed more of personal attacks as Republican Donald Trump accused his rival, Clinton of using a private e-mail server during her time as secretary of state.

Clinton fired back by suggesting that Trump has not paid a dime in federal taxes and may not be as rich as he wants Americans to believe.

Lester Holt, the debate moderator then asked Trump why he was reluctant to release his tax details, and he replied that he was under a “routine audit” and the tax details would be ready once the audit was finished.

He then added that he would not release them if his opponent did not release 33,000 emails that were deleted during an investigation into her private email set-up while secretary of state.

Another key exchange was on Trump’s long-held belief that President Barack Obama was born outside the US, a position he finally reversed two weeks ago.

Clinton also attacked Trump for praising Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and suggesting he “find” her emails.

“I was so shocked when Donald publicly invited Putin to hack into Americans. That is just unacceptable… Donald is unfit to be commander-in-chief,” she said.

The debate was the first of three between the two candidates, and the American voters go to the polls on 8 November.

What The Polls Say

The percentage of voters who watched the debate live on CNN, and who think Clinton would do a better job handling foreign policy, is 62% to 35%,

54% of viewers think Clinton would be the better candidate to handle terrorism, as against the 43% who prefer Trump.

The split is much closer on the economy, with 51% saying they favor Clinton’s approach and 47% choosing Trump.

Overall, 55% say they did not think Trump would be able to handle the job of president, 43% said they thought he would.

Among political independents who watched the debate, it’s a near-even split, 50% say he can handle it, 49% that he can’t.

Overall, 55% say they didn’t think Trump would be able to handle the job of president, 43% said they thought he would.

The New York showdown could be the most watched debate in TV history, with up to 100 million viewers.

What Did The US MEDIA Say

New York Times – The editorial board was unimpressed with the debate, saying “when just one candidate is serious and the other is a vacuous bully, the term loses all meaning”.

Washington Post – Writers unanimously gave the evening to Clinton, saying Trump had “bombed on the ultimate reality show” and “did not appear ready to be president”.

Fox News – Pundits said Mr Trump had “struggled”, “never took control” and “failed to exploit” the issue around Mrs Clinton’s emails.

LA Times – Its panel of three commentators had Mrs Clinton winning every round. “Politics is harder than it seems, and Trump found that out tonight”.

New York Daily News – The tabloid’s verdict: “A grumpy loser! Trump pesters, interrupts Hillary throughout debate – but Clinton gets the last laugh.”

How did the moderator do?

Trump told CNN that Lester Holt did “a great job” and his questions were “very fair”. He later criticized the debate moderator in a tweet, accusing him of not asking any questions on Clinton’s e-mail, the Clinton foundation or Benghazi.

One of Trump’s supporters, former New York Mayor, Rudy Giuliani said Holt should be “ashamed of himself” while Fox media pundit Howard Kurtz accused Holt of anti-Trump bias.

Foreigners May Vote In Edo Governorship Election

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Foreigners May Vote In Edo Governorship Election

foreigners-may-vote-in-edo-governorship-election

The Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, says that it has intelligence reports that many foreigners in Edo state are in possession of permanent voter cards, PVCs, and may come out to vote in the governorship election on Wednesday.

David Adi, Comptroller of the NIS in the state, made this known during a meeting with the leaders of the Nigerien, Malian and Chadian communities in the Edo state.

He however warned that no foreigner should attempt to participate in the electoral process.

He said: “Intelligence reports available have it that many foreigners in the state are in possession of the Nigerian permanent voters card (PVC) with a view to using them for the election.

“No foreigner is allowed to participate in the election because it is for only Nigerians. The Nigerian Immigration Service will not tolerate any attempt by any group of foreigners to truncate this election.

The Comptroller reiterated that any foreigner caught with a PVC will not only be prosecuted but will also be repatriated.

Adi stated that the NIS would fully assist and support the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to make the election a huge success.

“We have resolved to assist INEC to succeed; there is a synergy among security agencies to ensure that the Edo governorship election is free, fair, credible and conclusive.

“Every polling unit in the 18 local government areas will have an immigration officer and they have been deployed to man polling units and are well trained to fish out any foreigner,” he noted.

Halidu Ibrahim, President of Niger citizens resident in Edo state, while praying for the success of the election, promised to talk to his people to stay away from the electoral process.

Senate Votes Against Sale Of Assets

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Senate Votes Against Sale Of Assets

senate-votes-against-sale-of-assets

The senate has voted against the plans by the federal government to sell off some of the country’s assets in order to fund the 2016 budget.

The motion against the planned asset sale was moved by Senate leader, ‎Ali Ndume, who urged his colleagues not to agree with proposed plan.

“I move that ‎the senate oppose the sale of national assets to shore up our reserves,” he said.

And when the motion was put to a voice vote, “the ayes had it”.

Last week, the upper legislative chamber, had debated on ways to get the economy out of recession.

On Tuesday, the recommendations from the debate were harmonised and presented as resolutions to the executive.

The federal government is mulling the sale of national assets to generate funds to finance key infrastructural projects, and to generate enough liquidity to pull the economy out of recession.

Saraki had supported the idea which was first suggested by business mogul, Aliko Dangote and was supported by the emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi,

But, on Tuesday, his colleagues took the opposite position.

Debates over the idea of selling national assets have been raging for weeks, with Aliko Dangote‎, president of Dangote group, and Muhammad Sanusi II, emir of Kano, espousing it.

But former minister of education Oby Ezekwesili and former Central Bank Governor, Charles Soludo, have criticised the idea.

Jibrin Absent As Ethics Committee Concludes Hearing

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Jibrin Absent As Ethics Committee Concludes Hearing
Abdulmumin Jibrin
Abdulmumin Jibrin

The House of Representatives committee on Ethics and Privileges has concluded its hearing into the corruption allegation made by Abdulmumin Jibrin against Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

But Jibrin, again, failed to appear before the committee even though the process had representatives of various vmedia organisations in attendance.

The committee had commenced a hearing on the issue last Friday following a motion by one of the legislators, accusing Jibrin of bringing the House to disrepute.

However, Jibrin did not appear before the committee on the first day of the hearing, saying that he has no confidence in the committee.

He insisted that he would only appear before the committee if the process was made public and accessible to the media, professional bodies and civil society groups.

On the resumption of the hearing on Monday, chairman of the Ethics and Privileges committee, Nicholas Ossai reiterated that the committee has the powers to investigate any member of the House, including principal officers.

According to information on the social media handle of the House of Representatives, various media organisations were represented at the hearing, including: Desert Herald, Premium Times, Authority Newspaper, National Mirror, ThisDay, Leadership, Radio Nigeria, TVC News, NTA, Jigawa State Government Radio Station, Africa Independent Television, AIT and Channels TV.

The committee chairman also reportedly called for a 30-minute recess in order to wait for Jibrin, whose office was locked and calls and text messages to his phone number was not responded.

Ossai told journalists that Jibrin had requested “that we invite media, civil society organisations, student unions, members of the Nigerian Bar Association and some university lecturers, which we did from the first day.

“We assured him that, as a member of this committee, he would be given fair hearing. The committee also went out of its way to make sure that this proceeding is made public.

“I think this committee has been seen to have observed the dictates of the Constitution on the matters of fair hearing.

“It is a duty for this committee that at all times Nigerians are carried along and we have done that.”

He told journalists that his committee would study the evidence before presenting its findings to the House soonest.

Jonathan Supporter Accuses Presidency Of Fighting Tinubu

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Bola Tinubu
APC Chieftain, Bola Tinubu

Tanko Yakasai, former special adviser on political matter to former president Shehu Shagari and known supporter of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has accused the Presidency of trying to undermine Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressive Congress,APC.

The Kano elder statesman also urged Tinubu to break his silence on the injustice in the ruling party before it is too late

He called on  Tinubu to summon courage and tackle President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that Tinubu’s political travails were well-thought-out and plotted in the Presidency.

Yakassai, who spoke on Monday,  recalled that when Senate President, Bukola Saraki asserted at one time that APC government had been hijacked by a cabal who are now in control of day-to-day affairs of running the government, many people did not believe him.

According to him, “from all indications, every right thinking person will figure out a sinister plot to completely scheme out Tinubu from the hierarchy of APC; and I want to believe this is coming from the Presidency.”

Yakasai explained that, “political analysts believe that soon after the formation of the present government it is only a matter of time before crises in the APC would explode.

“APC is an amalgamation of four to five political groups. After the formation of the government, only CPC group is considered for political patronage. ACN and PDP groups are sidelined. ANPP group is neither here nor there in spite of the appointment of the party’s former national chairman Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu’s into the cabinet.

“ACN leader, Ashiwaju Tinubu is totally out of the picture despite the fact that the Vice President is his nominee. The appointment of Fashola to the jumbo ministry is considered personal, just like that of Amaechi.

His words , “the situation at the moment is that apart from the CPC members, everybody in the government is a mere onlooker. To those that control the government and the party, those shut out of the power equation in the government, including Tinubu, are seen as a bunch of disgruntled elements.”

“Bukola’s emergence as Senate president is largely due to his personal financial prowess and the block support he received from the PDP members in the Senate.

“Prior to the financial crises the country is plunged into, the Vice President was a mere onlooker. His new found relevance is made possible by his position as the chairman of the National Economic Council, which conferred on him the position of the chairman of the Economic Team of the government. So, at present ANC, PDP and ANPP groups are mere onlookers.

It is unclear why Yakasai,  who supported the re-election bid of Jonathan in the 2015 election, has decided to intervene in the crisis rocking the APC.

 

EFCC May Arrest Patience Jonathan

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EFCC May Arrest Patience Jonathan
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Former first lady, Patience Jonathan

By Obiejesi Kingsley

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, may soon pick up former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, over charges of money laundering, this website has reliably learnt.

The anti-graft agency has traced over $22.3 million to five bank accounts belonging to companies operated by aides of her husband, former President Goodluck Jonathan, who are now facing similar charges.

But in a surprise twist, the former First Lady admitted that she is the owner and signatory to the five accounts. She said the money belonged to her and that she had never received any money from any unknown sources. But she was silent on the sources of the cash wired into the accounts.

A top source at the EFCC told the www.icirnigeria.org that the former first lady’s revelation had given new leads to investigators, stressing that “the way the investigations are going, we may soon arrest Mrs Jonathan for prosecution.”

Asked whether the anti-graft agency has been able to link her to any crime, the source said: “People who do money laundering don’t do it in their names. You cannot expect a first lady to walk into a bank with money and do such transactions. They always use third parties”.

He said there was no way Jonathan could escape prosecution with the ‘tonnes’ of evidence all linking her to the charges of money laundering.

Representatives of four of the companies allegedly used to launder money had pleaded guilty to the offence. The companies are: Pluto Properties and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited, Titans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited.

But her lawyer, Gboyega Oyewole, described the representatives of the companies as unknown persons, as they allegedly did not show letters authorising them by their respective boards to represent them in the case.

The former first lady had also explained that she opened the accounts to facilitate her overseas travels, particularly for medical treatment, sundry purchases for herself and her late mother, Charity Oba.

She indicted Wampemo-Owei Dudafa, the former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to the former president, and Skye Bank officials for registering phony companies for four of the five accounts.

Nigerian Journalists Win Nomination For African Fact-Checking Awards

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Nigerian Journalists Win Nomination For African Fact-Checking Awards
Ghanaian Video Journalist, Edem Srem, won the maiden edition of the African Fact-Checking Awards
Ghanaian Video Journalist, Edem Srem, won the maiden edition of the African Fact-Checking Awards

Two Nigerian journalists have been nominated for the 2016 edition of the African Fact-Checking Awards.

One of them is Ajibola Amzat of the Guardian newspaper, whose story, “State of the Living Springs gasps for breath”, revealed the inaccuracy in the claims by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who claimed that Osun State received N176.5 billion between November 2010 to December 2014.

Amzat’s fact-checking, however, revealed that the actual amount released to Osun state within that period was N180.3 billion, showing a difference of N3.8 billion.

The other journalist, Adedayo Oketola, of Saturday Punch conducted a fact-check on the state of Nigeria’s first communication Satellite, ‘NIGCOMSAT 1’.

His report showed that four years after it was launched into the orbit, and billions of naira sunk into the project, NigComSat-1R, has done very little to deepen broadband penetration as promised and has not really played any critical role in the country’s development agenda.

The African Fact-Checking Awards, which is in its third edition, is aimed at honouring the best investigative fact-checking report carried out by African journalists in a given year.

Such reports expose misleading claims made by leading public figures across the continent, thereby holding them accountable to the people.

“We have received 130 entries from more than 20 countries this year, from Morocco and Egypt in the north to South Africa and Zimbabwe in the South,” read a statement on the website of the awards organizers.

The two Nigerians were nominated alongside: Henry Mhara (Zimbabwe); Alphonce Shiundu (Kenya); Arison Tamfu (Cameroon); Charles Mafa and David Julian Wightman (Zambia) and Phathizwe Mongezi Zulu (Swaziland).

The awards ceremony will take place on November 10, in Nairobi, Kenya

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