Author: Day Break
New EFCC Boss Bawa Vows To Repatriate Looted Funds
The Chairmanship nominee of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has vowed to repatriate all looted assets stashed in foreign countries.
He made the pledge on Wednesday during his screening as chairman of the Commission at the Senate plenary.
He said he was aware of the enormity of the tasks as head of the anti-graft agency and pledged to discharge them with all sense of responsibility.
“My priority, if confirmed by the Senate, will be to repatriate all our stolen assets for the betterment of all Nigerians,” he said.
Bawa said his appointment had renewed the hope of many young Nigerians in the country and vowed to give them good representation so that more youths will get the opportunities to serve the country in different capacities.
Governor’s at Buhari’s mercy over worsening insecurity – Sani Bello
nor of Niger, Abubakar Sani-Bello, says Nigeria’s 36 governors are limited in what they can do to effectively tackle terrorists and bandits since President Muhammadu Buhari is the only person in charge of the country’s security forces.
Nigerian governors rely on the country’s federal government for security, from the police to the military. The governors have no control over the deployment of security forces in times of a crisis in their states.
The governor said this while receiving a delegation of the Nigeria Governors Forum in Minna, following the latest abduction of schoolchildren and civil servants in Niger.
Mr. Sani-Bello said, “We are state governors. But we all have our limitations when it comes to control of operations. We do not fully control the army, air force, or even the police.”
He asked the federal government to do more in addressing the security challenges ravaging the country, suggesting negotiations with bandits as an alternative.
This is not the first time a governor will complain about not having the powers to control or mobilise security forces. Security agents are not answerable to any governors. They take orders from Mr. Buhari, who can hire and fire them.
In the heat of the herdsmen crisis in Oyo, Governor Seyi Makinde lamented, “They could say that governors are the chief security officers when it is convenient. But quite frankly, governors are at the mercies of the federal security agencies to implement certain laws.”
Kayode Fayemi, the NGF Chairman, who spoke at the solidarity visit, however, said, “We must put all our heads together. Put our efforts together, demonstrate resilience, reassure our people not to give up hope because ultimately, we can defeat terrorism collectively, not in isolation.
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We have to engage in dialogue to find the root of this social dislocation.”
Zulum Visits Hospitals, Confirms 10 Deaths, 47 Injuries After Boko Haram Attack
The Governor of Borno state prof. Babagana Umara Zulum has on Wednesday, visited two hospitals after Boko Haram fighters fired shots from Rocket Propelled Grenades, on which killed 10 residents and 47 injured in Maiduguri, Insidenaija reports.
The shots, on Tuesday night, came from Kaleri, an outskirts of Maiduguri, it was learnt, but grenades traveled to hit Gwange and Adam kolo communities, both densely populated areas in the inner city. Most of the deaths occurred in Gwange. One of the RPG shots, hit a children’s play ground in Gwange, it was also gathered.
Governor Zulum confirmed the attacks during his empathy visits to the State Specialist Hospital, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, both in Maiduguri. The governor was told that some of the victims had sustained various degrees of injuries and were being treated, for which he directed that the state ministry of health shoulders the bills.
“Indeed it is a very sad moment for the people and government of Borno state, about 60 persons were affected, among them, 10 have died.
“It was as a result of long distance shots fired by the insurgents. I believe this is a new trend we have to raise up and stop.
“We experienced a similar incident exactly one year ago. The solution is to deploy an appropriate form of technology, which will have to work on.
“I share the pains of all those affected but we are not just visiting hospitals, we do so much behind the scene in our combined responses to the Boko Haram insurgency and we will keep making these and more efforts” Zulum said.
Speaking on military’s regain of Marte, which came under Boko Haram’s occupation a few days ago, Governor Zulum said he was not just pleased but also optimistic that the Nigerian military will work had to retain, continue its peace-building and stability efforts in ways that should ensure the insurgents do not take Marte again, or any part of the state.
“I am optimistic that the insurgents will not take over Marte again” Zulum said.
Deceptive: Rauf Aregbesola Received 96-Month Salary Arrears In Secret, Claims He Did Not
Facts have emerged on how a former governor of Osun State and the incumbent Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, was secretly paid 96 months salary arrears towards the end of his administration in 2018.
The former governor had boasted publicly on many occasions on how he sacrificed his salaries throughout the eight years of his 2-term tenure in office as a result of his personal conviction on inclusive governance.
However, we authoritatively gathered that the former Osun State governor, towards the expiration of his administration in 2018 ordered the Ministry of Finance, through the Accountant General Office to effect the payment of his salaries for the whole eight years in office, amounting to several millions of Naira, which was paid to his personal account. We cannot confirm the actual amount.
It would be recalled that Aregbesola, at different occasions had also claimed not to operate any personal account throughout his tenure in office.
But a very reliable source at the Ministry of Finance, who craved anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue said there is a verifiable evidence to substantiate that the former Osun State helmsman received all accruing salaries meant for his office in bulk.
According to him, the former governor was paid 96 months salaries around October 2018.
“Although, I cannot specifically state the exact amount the 96 months salaries amounted to, what I can say is that it runs into several millions of naira, and the former governor was paid towards the end of his second term tenure in office, sometime around October, 2018,”the source said.
Also, a senior official at the Accountant General office in the state confirmed the development, adding that the payment was shrouded in secrecy.
Meanwhile, a socio-political group in the State, Osun for Accountability, has berated Aregbesola for what it termed lack of transparency and probity on the part of the former governor, as it called on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the Minister.
“It is now glaring that the former governor, Rauf Aregbesola, was so deceptive throughout his tenure in office. He ran a government of deception and double standard.
“It is criminal for a public officer older of this stature and status to say something in the open and went ahead to do another thing, especially when it has to do with finance. How could you have mopped up a whole sum of 96 months salaries while claiming not to collect a dime throughout your tenure,’’ he said.
Fulani Herdsmen Caught With Guns In Onitsha Anambra State(photos)
This morning, some Fulani Herdsmen were caught with guns at Upper Iweka Road, Onitsha Anambra State
I Begged Buhari To Help Me Deal With IPOB Militants In Imo – Uzodinma
Imo state governor, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, says he invited the Federal Government to help him deal with militants disturbing the peace in the state.
A recent military operation in Orlu district of Orlu Local Government Area of the state has attracted criticism from many who condemned it as a heavy-handed approach.
Uzodinma said on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, that he begged President Muhammadu Buhari for assistance because of the threat posed by the Eastern Security Network (ESN), a security outfit set up by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He said the outfit was responsible for a reign of terror in the Orlu area, including the killing and raping of women.
The governor said the problem was too much for his government to handle, prompting him to demand federal assistance.
“There was a need for me to report the situation and that I did and we were supported to deal with the situation.
“It is not about crushing anybody and those that came didn’t do any crushing,” he said.
The governor also said that contrary to media reports, no one was killed by the military during the operations that took place last week.
He said many suspects were caught with weapons stolen from the Police and Army, and that they will be charged to court soon.
IPOB was declared a terrorist organisation in 2017 after numerous confrontations with the military.
Its leader Nnamdi Kanu has been a fugitive for years, escaping the country after he was charged with treasonable felony
12-Year-Old Boy kill His 15-Year-Old Girlfriend Dead In Jigawa
A 12-year-old boy, Muhammad Sani, has allegedly killed his girlfriend at Damutawa village in Jahun Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The incident occurred on Saturday at about 2:00pm while Muhammad and his 15-year-old girlfriend, Habiba Junaidu were playing at their uncle’s House.
He suddenly took his uncle’s dane gun, which was already loaded and shot her from the back. She died instantly.
Police spokesman, Asp Zubairu Aminudeen Ismail confirmed the incident to our Reporter
He said after receiving the information, police rushed the victim to the hospital and was later confirmed dead.
Zubairu said the dane gun was recovered and the suspects were arrested for negligence.
He said the case is still under investigation.
House of Rep: NNPC Must Account For N1.3 Trillion Alleged Illegal Deductions
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has stated that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation must account for the alleged illegal withdrawals from the Federation Account in 2017, totaling N1.3tn.
Chairman of the committee, Oluwole Oke (PDP-OSUN), stated this in Abuja on Tuesday at the committee’s investigative hearing on audit queries issued by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation against ministries, departments, and agencies of the Federal Government.
The committee had grilled the representative of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Ezeh Ekwueme, who appeared before the panel to explain the unauthorised deductions from Federation Account by revenue-generating agencies in the year under review.
Oke stated that it was improper for the NNPC to take the monies without being queried by the appropriate agencies.
He said, “They just take the money and nobody to ask questions. Even the Accountant General of the Federation cannot ask questions. NNPC has to account for the money. Aside illegally taking the money, which violates Section 162 of the constitution, they should render an account. What did they do with the money?”
The committee also queried the accountant-general over the lack of full details on the aids and grants released to agencies, amounting to N6.6bn in the same year.
Consequently, the lawmakers asked the accountant-general to provide a comprehensive list of beneficiaries of the donations.
Oke also directed the clerk to write to the beneficiaries to forward briefs of the aides and grants and what they were used for, based on the queries issued by the AUGF and the response by the ACGF.
The committee had on Thursday grilled top officials of the NNPC, warning the corporation against deducting from revenue from sales of petroleum products before remitting same to the Federation Account, threatening punitive action if the action was repeated.
The committee had summoned the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mr Mele Kyari, as well as the head of the corporation’s subsidiaries.One of the queries against the NNPC is alleging under remittance of revenue from domestic crude oil sales totalling N3.878tn.
The OAUGF issued another other query against the NNPC bothering on the non-collection of miscellaneous gas receipts for some months in 2015, asking the corporation to refund N450bn to the Federation Account; another refund of N1.8tn as well as unpaid gas revenue without details worth $198,919,212.27 (N37,189,084,819.19).
Kyari is particularly expected to respond to the audit query on “payment through Nigeria Gas Limited Funding Account $30,963,894.01 (N16,099,887,119.77) as well as misapplication of Joint Venture Cash Calls for other purposes, $292,094,405.82 and N2,474,295,000.
Chairman of the committee, Oluwole Oke, gave the directive when the management of the NNPC appeared before it to defend a series of audit queries.
On Thursday, the committee asked the corporation to account for unremitted gas revenue of about $228.9m and another N3.878tn from the sale of domestic crude.
