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Balogun, Fowler, Agbaje To Attend Wole Soyinka Media Lecture

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Balogun, Fowler, Agbaje To Attend Wole Soyinka Media Lecture

5th-wole-soyinka-centre-media-lecture-series

Adebimpe Balogun, first female president of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, CITN, and Tunde Fowler, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, are billed to participate in the eighth Wole Soyinka Media Lecture Series that will take place on Wednesday 13 July 2016 by 10am at NECA Building, Agidingbi, Ikeja , Lagos.

Balogun will deliver this year’s lecture with the theme, “Tax education, national development and the seminal role of the media”. Fowler is also expected to participate in the event.

A statement by Motunrayo Alaka, Coordinator of the centre, said discussants at the event include: Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani), Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, Modupe Oyekunle, President of NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women, NNEW, Simon Kolawole, Publisher of The Cable Newspaper, Emuesiri Agbeyi, Tax Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Deremi Atanda, Executive Director of Systemspecs.

Opeyemi Agbaje, Managing Director of Resources and Trust Company will moderate the event.

Abia High Court Stops Chief Judge From Swearing In Uche Ogah As Governor

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Abia High Court Stops Chief Judge From Swearing In Uche Ogah As Governor
Uche Ogah receiving his Certificate of Return
Uche Ogah receiving his Certificate of Return

Justice C.H Ahuchogu of the Osisioma Ngwa Division of the Abia State High Court has ordered the Abia State Chief Judge, Justice Theresa Uzoekwe, not to Inaugurate Uche Ogah as the Governor of Abia State pending the determination of the suit brought by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

The Judge ordered that no Judicial Officer should Inaugurate Ogah as Governor while Ikpeazu remains in Office Pursuant to section 143(1) and (2) of the Electoral Act.

Earlier on Thursday, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had issued the Certificate of Return to Uche Ogah as Governor of Abia State.

Oluwole Osaze-Uzi, INEC’s Director of publicity, said the action was in obedience to the order by the federal high court in Abuja to that effect.

The court had on Monday directed INEC to cede the certificate of return issued to Okezie Ikpeazu, to his opponent in the 2014 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primary held in December 2014.

Justice Okon Abang held that Ikpeazu was not qualified to have run for the office of the governor in the first place, having tendered fake tax papers during his screening.

The judge also ordered the Abia State Chief Judge to swear in Uche Ogah as the substantive governor of the state.

Lagos Shuts Down Noisy Churches, Mosques

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Lagos Shuts Down Noisy Churches, Mosques

Lagos bans churches

The Lagos State Government has shutdown 70 Churches and 20 mosques in an attempt to reduce the level of noise in the city.

Officials said About 10 hotels, pubs and club houses were also closed.

The state government has promised to make the city, the biggest in Africa, noise-free by 2020.

In August 2015, the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LEPA, closed 22 premises after residents complained about noise emanating from them.

Bola Shabi, General Manager of LEPA said the agency would no longer allow people to pray in makeshift buildings and tents.

Shabi said noise levels had been reduced by about 35%, but this was not a “pass mark yet”.

“Enforcement is a continuous exercise and we have set a target for ourselves. We want to ensure that Lagos is noise-free by the year 2020,” he said.

Shabi said mosques complied with their instructions more than churches because when they are ordered to shut down, they “instantly bring down their speakers or reduce the noise they make”.

Some estimates put Lagos’ population at around 20 million, creating a constant background of noise – from the blaring of car horns, to the Muslim call to prayer and loud singing in churches.

 

 

I’ll Return N400m To Show Support For Buhari’s Anti-Corruption War – Metuh

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I’ll Return N400m To Show Support For Buhari’s Anti-Corruption War – Metuh

Former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Olisa Metuh says he will return the N400 million given to him by former President Goodluck Jonathan for media campaigns ahead of the 2015 Presidential Election.

Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, counsel to Metuh said this in a statement released on Thursday.

Metuh said he was returning the money as a show of support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign.

Explaining why Metuh was returning the money, Ikpeazu reiterated that as at the time Metuh received the money, he didn’t know from where it was sourced, but had believed it was from the former president.

“We want to explain the reasons for our client’s proposal to refund the N400 million released to him by former President Goodluck Jonathan,” the statement read.

“We want to restate that at the time the money was released to him after his presentation to the ex-President, our client had no knowledge of the source, a fact that is now obvious from the evidence of the prosecution and defence witnesses,

“Our client had every cause to believe that the money was from the ex-President to whom he made a presentation, received directives and rendered report and accounts accordingly.”

Ikpeazu further stated that ever since the source of the funds became known to Metuh, he has indicated his willingness to return it, irrespective of the fact that the money had be utilized as directed by the former president.

“It was however while in court that a document was brought regarding the source of the money and since then, our Client has made manifest his willingness to refund the money and has indeed approached his family, friends and associates to mobilise funds to refund the entire N400 million to the government regardless of the fact that the money had been expended based on the directives of the former President and that part of the money had been recovered from one of the prosecution witnesses,” Ikpeazu stated.

He added that Metuh has been in talks with the Ministry of Justice, the EFCC and other necessary bodies on how to refund the money and resolve the issue.

Ikpeazu noted that his client has never held a government position but was just an unfortunate victim of circumstance, adding that “his refunding the money therefore goes to show his support for the anti-corruption war as well as serve as a testament to his sincerity, integrity and honesty in this matter.”

Ikpeazu expressed Metuh’s hope that the nation will “come through this difficult time by the grace of the Almighty God.”

$2.29 Fraud Charges: Court Orders Ohakim To Open His Defence

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$2.29 Fraud Charges: Court Orders Ohakim To Open His Defence
Ikedi Ohakim
Ikedi Ohakim

A federal high court in Abuja has ordered former Imo State Governor, Ikedi Ohakim to open his defence in the money laundering charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola gave this ruling on Thursday while dismissing a no-case submission filed by Ohakim, claiming that the evidence by the prosecution had disclosed no prima facie case against him.

The EFCC arraigned Ohakim on July 8, 2015 on the allegation that he purchased a property at the Asokoro district of Abuja, with a cash payment of $2.29 million, equivalent to N270 million, during his tenure as the Imo State Governor in November 2008.

Ohakim was also accused of trying to hide his ownership of the property by entering into an agreement as a tenant on the property, as well as failure to declare the property as part of his assets when the EFCC asked him to do so in January 2014.

The prosecution had called six witnesses and tendered documentary evidence to support its claims, but counsel to Ohakim, Awa Kalu, SAN, on May 5, 2016, filed a no-case submission, insisting that the prosecutor’s evidence had failed to link his client to the commission of the alleged crime.

However, in his ruling on Thursday, Justice Ademola held that the prosecution had disclosed prima facie case that warrants the former governor to open his defence.

Buhari’s “Certificate” Suit Withdrawn

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Buhari’s “Certificate” Suit Withdrawn
President Muhammadu Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari

Reports from the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, say Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaiwe, an Abuja-based lawyer, has withdrawn a suit seeking the disqualification of President Muhammadu Buhari from the 2015 Presidential Poll for allegedly not possessing requisite education qualification.

Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe had alleged that President Buhari was not qualified to contest the 2015 presidential election as he did not sit for the Cambridge West African School Certificate WASC, in 1961 as he claimed.

Buhari was represented in the case by over a dozen Senior Advocates of Nigeria, led by Wole Olanipekun and included, Femi Falana, Lateef Fagbemi, Akin Olujinmi, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Kola Awodein, Taiwo Osipitan, Charles Edosomwan, Emeka Ngige, Femi Atoyebi, Funke Aboyade, H.O. Afolabi, and Muiz Banire as well as many other junior lawyers.

 

Pope Francis Calls For Peaceful Coexistence In Osun

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Pope Francis Calls For Peaceful Coexistence In Osun
Pope Francis
Pope Francis

Pope Francis has called for peaceful coexistence among Nigerians, particularly residents of Osun State, irrespective of the socio-cultural and religious beliefs.

The Pope, who was represented by the Papal Nuncio to Nigeria Augustine Kassuja, made the appeal during a visit to the Osun Government House in Osogbo, the State Capital.

The Catholic Pontiff said that dialogue instead of violence should be employed in resolving issues of disagreement between people of diverse culture, religion and beliefs.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola expressed his appreciation at the visit of the Catholic Church’s highest hierarchy, and reiterated his administration’s commitment to working with all religious representations to promote peaceful coexistence in the state.

Osun State had been in the news of late especially with regards to religious intolerance.

It would be recalled that a court in the state had ordered that female Muslim students be allowed to wear hijabs to school.

The ruling did not go down well with the State’s chapter of the Christian association of Nigeria, CAN, who directed Christian students to attend schools in their various religious garments.

Kachikwu Warns Against Fraudulent Oil Deals In Nigeria

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Kachikwu Warns Against Fraudulent Oil Deals In Nigeria
Minister of State, Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu
Minister of State, Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, has warned Chinese businessmen that the era of discretionary sale of crude oil by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is over.

Kachikwu was speaking at a reception organized by officials of the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing.

The forum provided an opportunity for officials of the embassy to seek clarification about the sale of crude oil in Nigeria following enquiries from Chinese businessmen who got fraudulent offers from Nigeria.

Kachikwu explained that the use of discretion in the sale of crude oil by previous administrations led to corruption in the Nigeria’s oil sector. He reiterated that only eleven companies have been approved to lift oil from Nigeria following an open bid process and that the next bids will hold in April 2017.

The minister also said that investigation is ongoing with regards to the discovery of Nigeria’s stolen oil in China. He appealed to Chinese businessmen to stop buying stolen oil, saying it encourages militancy and vandalism.

The event was part of activities of the NNPC roadshow in China which was aimed at drawing investments into Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The minister says about $80 billion oil deals have been signed with various Chinese oil companies, including Sinopec, China’s leading oil company.

The roadshow is also scheduled to hold in India and other Gulf Countries.

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Literary Icon, Elechi Amadi Dies

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Literary Icon, Elechi Amadi Dies

elechi amadi

Elechi Amadi, One of Nigeria’s literary giants and author of the renowned novel, The Concubine, is dead.

It was gathered the novelist died at the Good Heart Hospital, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday of an undisclosed ailment.

Amadi, who was 82 years old, will be best remembered for his 1966 novel, The Concubine, which has been called “an outstanding work of pure fiction”.

Some of his other works included The Great Ponds, Isiburu, Sunset in Biafra, Dance of Johannesburg, Pepper-soup, The Road to Ibadan, The Slave, Estrangement, Les Grand Etangs, and The Woman of Calabar.

Born in 1934 in Aluu in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Amadi attended Government College, Umuahia (1948–52), Survey School, Oyo (1953–54), and the University of Ibadan (1955–59), where he obtained a degree in Physics and Mathematics.

He worked for a time as a land surveyor and later was a teacher at several schools, including the Nigerian Military School, Zaria (1963–66). Amadi served in the Nigerian Army, remained there during the Nigerian Civil War, and retired at the rank of captain.

He also served in the Rivers State Civil Service as a Permanent Secretary from 1973 to 1983 and was appointed Commissioner for Education in 1987, as well as Commissioner for Lands and Housing.

He celebrated his 80th birthday in Port Harcourt in 2014, releasing a souvenir edition of one of his plays, Isiburu.

Amadi lived in his hometown, Aluu, till his death.

Reacting to the news of the death of Amadi, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike said he was saddened by the death of the literary icon, describing his passage as a loss to the country.

 

Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Maduekwe Is Dead

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Former Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Maduekwe Is Dead
Late Ojo Maduekwe
Late Ojo Maduekwe

Former Minister of foreign affairs and current secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Board Of Trustees, Ojo Maduekwe is dead.

Maduekwe died at a hospital in Abuja on Wednesday evening at the age of 71.

Reports say he was on his way back from the U.S. to Nigeria through Dubai when he took ill.

Born May 6, 1945 in Abia State, Nigeria, Maduekwe was appointed Foreign Minister of Nigeria on July 26, 2007 by President Umaru Yar’Adua

He was also appointed Culture and Tourism minister by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 and Minister of Transport in 2001.

As Minister of Transport he famously advocated the use of bicycles as a major means of transportation as it was more environmental friendly.

The proposal was strictly criticised due to the very busy nature of most Nigerian roads; Maduekwe himself was once pushed into a ditch by a bus while he was cycling to work.

Maduekwe was recently appointed the secretary of the PDP Board of Trustees.

Speaking to journalists from Saudi Arabia, chairman of the BoT, Walid Jibrin, said Maduekwe died at a time his services were most needed.

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