Mudiaga Affe, Calabar

The Nigerian Navy Ship Victory in Calabar, Cross River State have paraded eight suspects for allegedly smuggling from Cameroon 3, 434 bags of contraband rice, worth over N61m.

The Commander, NNS Victory, Commodore Julius Nwagu, said while handing over the suspects and the seized goods to the Nigeria Customs Service that the navy would go after the brains behind rice smuggling to nip the problem in the bud.

He said the smugglers were arrested with the rice in a wooden boat on June 24, 2018.

“We are going to change our modus operandi now. We would start digging into those who are actually bringing the rice and those who are collecting the rice and those who own these boats.

“We are going to start massive investigations into the main actors in this smuggling of rice into the country, especially from Cameroon into the Calabar area. We are going beyond these boys who ride the boats. I warn the main culprits behind these smugglings that we are compiling their reports and we would come for them,” he said.

He lamented that smuggling contraband rice to the country was not in the best interest of the Federal Government’s effort of encouraging local farmers.

“A local farmer cannot have it better than the Nigerian Navy seizing over 3400 bags of rice that would come to compete with their rice produced locally. The Federal Government is encouraging the local farmer to produce rice and somebody somewhere believes that these farmers should not be encouraged.

“This is the only way our people can benefit. So, we are happy seizing this rice for the sake of the farmers in Nigeria. The common man is in the farm toiling to get food on the table, then somebody somewhere comes in to smuggle large quantities of rice to thwart their efforts.

“We are resolved to continue to sabotage the efforts of these smugglers because what they are doing is tantamount to bringing the nation to its knees. Food security starts from home and we cannot but help our own people to improve their life,” he said.

Receiving the suspects, an Assistant Controller of Customs in charge of the Eastern Marine Command base in Calabar, Mr Omachi Joshua, said the items would be taken to the government warehouse and the suspects would be prosecuted.

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Oluwatosin Omojuyigbe

The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has assured civil servants in the state of conducive working environment to perform their duties optimally.

Ambode said this at a dinner organised in honour of 90 outstanding public servants in the state at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

Ambode, while commending the commitment of the workforce across the ministries, departments and agencies, as well as councils on Monday, said his administration was working because of dedicated and diligent public servants.

He said, “This recognition is a challenge for you to maintain and improve on the high standard for which you are being recognised. The state is in need of more high-flyers like you to accelerate the delivery of quality service in all sectors for the benefit of all residents of our state.

“As a government, we will always work to ensure a conducive work environment, provide state-of-the-art facilities and expose our people to best practices through training.

“The Lagos State Public Service has set a standard which others are trying to emulate. We have put in place a reward system that will encourage healthy competition among public servants. We believe that this is one of the ways employees can be motivated to put in their best at all times.”

The governor directed the Head of Service, Mrs Folasade Adesoye, to come up with a recommendation on financial reward for the officers, while a framework should be put in place to institutionalise it based on ratification by the State Executive Council.

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Tony Okafor, Awka

Traders in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Tuesday begged Governor Willie Obiano to lift his ban on commercial motorcycle operators in the state.

Obiano had announced a ban on Okada in the Awka and Onitsha areas beginning from July 1.

But the traders who deal in new and fairly used motorcycles and spare parts at the Nkwo Nnewi market had implored the governor to revoke the decision in the interest of all.

The President of Fairly Used Motorcycles Dealers Association in Nnewi, Mr Eloka Ubajiekwu, spoke on behalf of the association at a press briefing.

He said, “There will be serious hunger, diseases and even death of many people over the ban of Okada at this time of harsh economy.

“The governor should device means to fight crime emanating from Okada riders in Onitsha and Awka instead of banning their operation completely.”

While acknowledging that some criminals used Okada to rob people at gunpoint, he said the solution in the circumstance was not to ban the transport system.

He said, “Criminals also use Sport Utility Vehicles, taxi cabs and buses to rob people at gunpoint but nobody has ever thought of banning such vehicles.”

“A lot of people are fending for themselves and their families with Okada. An Okada rider is taking care of a minimum of five to seven persons daily, feeding them and paying children school fees.

“Motorcycle traders are earning their living from the business; likewise mechanics, vulcanisers and allied workers.  By banning Okada transport, they are all in a big trouble because they have lost their jobs.

He added,”Onitsha and Awka and other places in Anambra are quite different from Owerri, Benin and Enugu where such bans had been effected because the people of those states are not major dealers in motorcycles.”

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Alexander Okere and Gibson Achonu

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Tuesday disclosed that it had arrested at least 287 suspected drug traffickers for alleged drug trafficking in Edo State.

The Imo State Command of the agency also said that it seized 128, 870 kilograms of hard drugs between June, 2017 and July, 2018.

Speaking with Southern City News in Benin, the Edo State Commandant of the NDLEA, Mr Buba Wakawa, said the suspects, comprising 213 males and 74 females, were arrested between June, 2017 and May, 2018.

Wakawa, who spoke at an event to mark the international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking, explained that a total of 43,664.392 kilogrammes of various drugs were seized from the suspects.

He said 42,466.711kg of the seized drugs tested  positive for cannabis, 1,197.680kg were psychotropic substances, while 0.0489kg and 0.0308kg of the drugs were discovered to be cocaine and heroin, respectively.

He also stated that the agency secured 34 convictions, counselled and reintegrated189 drug dependants into the society.

Wakawa lamented that Edo was faced with the challenge of cannabis cultivation by suspected drug traffickers in the different parts of the state, adding that 36 farms measuring 57.614 hectares had already been identified and destroyed by the agency in the last one year.

“The plantations are spreading over arable forests like a wild fire. An aerial survey conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in conjunction with the Nigerian Air Force, exposed the extent of cannabis cultivation in the state. This is not good for a state that is famous for the production of food and cash crops,” he said.

The commandant further decried the spate of substance abuse among youths, a challenge he said had “stolen the peace and harmony in most families across the state.”

He urged parents to pay attention to the activities of their children, through quality supervision and enlightenment, to prevent them from falling victim to peer influence and the desire to experiment with drugs.

Meanwhile, the Imo State Commandant of NDLEA, Mrs. Assiana Nimbang, disclosed in Owerri that the confiscated 128,870kg of drugs was recovered from 68 suspected drug dealers.

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Ted Odogwu, Kano

A Magistrate’s Court sitting in Kano has reminded one Stephen Ogbede of Kabuga quarters in prison custody for attempting to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl.

Ogbede was alleged to have on June 3 conspired with one Ikime Pius, who is at large, to rape the young girl.

 The duo was said to have been prevented from carrying out the act by the complainant and father of the girl, Akinyemi Ilesanmi, who was physically assaulted.

Prosecuting counsel, ASP Yusuf Sani, told the court on Tuesday that the accused was arraigned on a three-count charge, bordering on criminal conspiracy, attempt to commit an offence and causing hurt, which contravenes Sections 96, 231 and 241 of the Penal Code.

However, the accused pleaded guilty to the second charge and not guilty to the first and third charges.

 The presiding Chief Magistrate, Aminu Usman, remanded the accused in prison custody and adjourned the case till July 2, 2018 for ruling and application for bail.

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Sesan Olufowobi

The Lagos State Government on Tuesday said residents must continually apply basic safety concepts to check progression of risk and loss of lives and property.

The Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr Seye Oladejo, said this at the inauguration of the ‘Lagos Vision Zero Conference,’ organised by the Lagos State Safety Commission on Victoria Island.

The commissioner said there was the need for a paradigm shift from one of fault-finding to one that focused on finding solutions to prevent accidents.

He said, “The Lagos State Safety Commission is better positioned to raise awareness about the need to reduce risks at all levels through civic enlightenment and improved safety consciousness.

“This conference with the theme, ‘A Mindset Change Towards Zero Harm,’ is expected to develop a workplace safety template for the state and by extension guarantee the wellbeing of all workers in Lagos.”

Oladejo stated that Lagos, like many other megacities around the world, was grappling with the effects of high population and thus needed effective safety management to prevent unnecessary loss of lives.

While urging residents of the state to comply with safety rules, Oladejo said, “Safety is everybody’s business. I urge all participants here to be more vigilant and report to appropriate quarters any incident that may threaten the peace, safety and security of Lagosians.”

The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Hakeem Dickson, explained that the ‘Vision Zero Conference,’ was borne out of the need to reduce hazards and risk in workplaces and ensure zero accidents, as well as promote Lagosians’ health and wellbeing.

He said, “We are raising the awareness that all injuries and ill health are preventable, as well as the belief that a zero harm is possible.”

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Adeniyi Olugbemi, Sokoto

The Sokoto State command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has arrested 12 suspected kidnappers terrorising four local government areas of the state.

The state Commandant, Mr Babangida Dutsinma, told Northern City News on Tuesday that three of the gang members were arrested on Friday following investigations.

Dutsinma said the gang forwarded a letter to six wealthy families in Gidan Walo village in Tureta Local Government Area, demanding N12m ransom or risk being kidnapped.

He said the frightened families had already given N2m to the suspects before the NSCDC was alerted.

The suspects include Mallam Sharu-Tureta, Bello Harande, Dandare Maiwanki, Abubakar Mainuwa, Muhammad Bello and Lawalli Oro-Dusudu.

Others are Dan Ali Kura-Bela, Dan Shehu Jankwa Kware, Umaru Dudun-Laban, Buban Majo, Buban Sarkin Fulani and Farida Sarkin Fulani.

The commandant said the NSCDC acted promptly in collaboration with local vigilance group members and apprehended the suspects through intelligence and surveillance.

He disclosed that the suspects had confessed to the crime, including the criminal acts perpetrated at various communities in Isa, Sabon-Birni, Tureta, Rabah local government areas and neighbouring towns in Zamfara State.

He added that seven locally-made guns, local charms along with some other local weapons were recovered from the gang, noting that investigation was ongoing to recover more arms.

He said, “The achievement was the result of ‘Operation Harmony’ which is jointly conducted by the officials of Department of Security Services, Police, NSCDC and Nigerian Army in Sokoto State.”

Dutsinma also disclosed that a large number of stolen cattle were recovered and returned to the rightful owners “as the command also ensured maximum reduction of cases of cattle rustling, armed robbery and kidnapping through operation harmony.”

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Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja

The  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has approached the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, seeking the transfer of the N950m fraud case involving a former Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekerau.

The EFCC said in a statement by its spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, that the move had become imperative due to the commotion and demonstrations that greeted his arraignment recently.

The statement read in part, “Following the commotion that attended the arraignment of a former Governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, at the Federal High Court Kano, the EFCC has approached the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to transfer the matter to another jurisdiction of the court.

“Counsel for the EFCC, Johnson Ojogbane, disclosed this at the resumed hearing of the case.”

Ojogbane informed the court that the prosecution had applied to the Chief Judge for the matter to be transferred to another jurisdiction.

The defendants also, through their counsel, told the court that they had responded to the prosecution application, urging the Chief Judge to refuse the application of the prosecution and allow the trial to continue in Kano.

Both parties are now waiting for the decision of the Chief Judge.

Consequently, the prosecution counsel requested for an adjournment pending the Chief Judge’s decision to either transfer or allow the matter to continue in Kano.

Justice Abubakar granted the prayer of the prosecution and adjourned the matter till October 18 for hearing in the event the application for transfer is refused.

However, if the Chief Judge grants the application, the case would start de novo in another jurisdiction.

Shekarau was arraigned alongside two others, Aminu Bashir Wali, and Mansur Ahmed, before Justice Zainab Bage Abubakar of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano on May 24, 2018, on six counts of conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N950m.

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The police in Jigawa have recovered the corpse of a 20-year-old housewife near a bush in the Dutse Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesman in the state, Abdu Jinjiri, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria in Dutse on Tuesday.

Jinjiri said the remains of the deceased, who was identified as Sahura Shuaibu, was recovered at about 9 pm in Bukki village on Sunday, June.

“On June 24 at about 8 am, a report was received by the police in Dutse from one Musa Ado of Warwade village that one Sahura Shuaibu, aged 20, was found dead in a nearby bush in Bukki village of Dutse Local Government Area,” Jinjiri said.

He explained that the deceased was suspected to have been killed by her 30-year-old husband, Mr Shuaibu Haro.

The spokesman added that upon receipt of the information, a team of policemen was drafted to the scene and recovered the corpse.

According to him, a hoe, suspected to have been used by the suspect in killing the deceased was also recovered at the scene.

Jinjiri further said the corpse had been taken to Dutse General Hospital for postmortem, while efforts were being made to arrest the fleeing husband.

NAN reports that on May 31, the command arrested one Adamu Tela, aged 40, after his senior wife, Hadiza Adamu, aged 40, was found dead, after she went missing for 20 days in Birniwa Local Government Area.

Also, on March 3, the police recovered the corpse of a 22-year-old woman from a bush in Jahun Local Government Area of the state.

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Warm weather tempting shoppers to spend and inflation holding steady are keeping the British economy on an even keel, despite mounting fears of job losses from a hard Brexit, an analysis by The Guardian of economic developments over the past month shows.

Two years since voters narrowly opted to leave the EU, The Guardian’s monthly tracker of economic news paints a mixed picture, with the biggest monthly fall in manufacturing output for five years eroding the benefits from a rebound in consumer spending.

There have also been sharp warnings from major employers including Airbus and BMW over the risk to jobs and investment in Britain posed by a hard Brexit, while more than 100,000 people took to the streets of London last weekend to call for a second referendum.

Theresa May will head to Brussels on Thursday for the latest round of talks with the EU amid widening splits in her own party over Brexit and with business leaders’ warnings ringing in her ears.

Having confounded the worst forecasts of doomsayers ahead of the vote two years ago, the British economy has since slowed to become one of the worst performing in the developed world and shows increasing signs of fragility.

Writing in The Guardian, David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting monetary policy committee, said the fallout from the “disastrous” Brexit vote and the government’s “calamitous” negotiating strategy are having a damaging effect on business investment in the United Kingdom.

“(Brexit is) scaring businesses to death … No wonder many thousands demonstrated against the Brexit madness last weekend,” he said.

To gauge the impact of the referendum outcome on a monthly basis, The Guardian has chosen eight economic indicators, along with the value of the pound and the performance of the FTSE 100. Economists made forecasts for seven of those barometers before their release, and in five cases the outcome was better than expected.

The latest dashboard shows better news for the economy as retail sales jumped by 1.3 per cent  in May from a month earlier, comfortably beating expectations for a rise of just 0.5 per cent. Inflation also held steady at 2.4 per cent in May for the second month running, despite petrol prices rising to the highest levels for almost four years.

Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

The Bayelsa State Government has said that it does not owe anybody any apologies for removing the names of ghost and fake workers, who came into its public service through dubious means.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, stated this at Oporoma, headquarters of the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, during the grand finale of a grassroots sensitisation programme on the state government’s public sector reforms.

Iworiso-Markson, who described the various town hall meetings as a huge success, said the strong support expressed by the people would give the government the needed impetus to drive the reform process to a logical conclusion.

He reiterated that no amount of blackmail would truncate the process, stressing that those crying foul over the reforms were people who were benefiting from the bastardised public service.

He reassured the genuine workers of improved welfare, debunking the rumours making the rounds that the government would scrap the Rural Development Authorities established by the previous administration.

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Chidiebube Okeoma, Owerri

A final year student of the Imo State University, Blessing Amam, was on Monday found dead alongside her lover, identified as Emeka in her hostel in Umudagu-Mbieri, Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.

Southern City News learnt on Tuesday that the deceased student was a final year student in the Department of Theatre Arts, who was expected to graduate in August.

 It was learnt that she slept in her hostel room with her lover on Sunday but both of them could not wake up the next day (Monday).

A neighbour, who craved anonymity, said it was the smell from the deceased room that alerted other occupants who had returned from school that something was wrong.

She said, “The students came back from school and started inhaling very offensive smell and on inquiry, it was discovered that it was from Blessing Amam’s room.

“Her flat mates called her but she did not respond. The door was forcefully opened and behold, Blessing and her lover were found dead. There were blood stains and marks on their bodies. Blood equally gushed out from their mouths and nostrils.”

The source, who expressed worry over the circumstances that could have led to the death of the suspected lovers, maintained that the deceased were full of life the night before, adding that there was no indication that they were in any trouble or distress in the room that night.

When our correspondent visited the hostel, nobody including the security guards was seen, as the whole compound including the street was deserted.

On inquiry, our correspondent was told that the students had fled because they did not want to be arrested by the police.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, who confirmed the incident said, “It was a case of sudden and unnatural death.”

He, however, said that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Dasuki Galandanchi, had ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the death of the lovers .“It is confirmed. It is a case of sudden and unnatural death. The commissioner of police has called for a thorough investigation into the matter. On receipt of the information, our men at Mbieri division rushed to the scene of the incident.

“The necessary information that aid investigation process has been collected but we call on the members of the public that has pieces of information that will help us unravel the circumstances that led to the death to please come forward,” he said.

The Director of Information, IMSU Students’ Union Government, Mr Desmond Joseph, who also confirmed the death of the final year student and her lover said, “Amam Blessing, a 400 level student of Imo State University, Department of Theatre Art is dead. She was found dead alongside her boyfriend.

“Their bodies were discovered because of the offensive smell that perturbed neighbours who traced the source. They broke the door to discover Blessing and her boyfriend with stains of blood from their mouths, nose and other parts of their bodies. We also gathered that such incident had happened in the past in a house somewhere in Owerri.”

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TIT BITS

Donovan supports Mexico

Former US stalwart Landon Donovan’s appeal for American fans to support arch-rival Mexico has not gone down well in some quarters. Since the US failed to qualify foir Russia, Donovan appeared in an advertisement holding up a scarf emblazoned “my other team is Mexico” and declaring “vamos Mexico!”. Former US international Cobi Jones took umbrage: “There is something sacred about rivalries” and Taylor Twellman tweeted “I’d rather cut off my toe” than support Mexico. Donovan, who played in three World Cups for the United States, including a run to the 2002 quarter-finals, defended his call, saying no one should doubt “my heart bleeds red, white and blue”. “I believe in supporting each other and building bridges, not barriers,” said the player, adding that he grew up playing with Mexican teammates in East LA and this year played in Mexico’s Liga MX.

‘A huge hug’

Peru are out of contention but captain Paolo Guerrero says he wants to give his Australian counterpart Mile Jedinak “a huge hug” for signing a letter of support urging FIFA to allow the veteran forward to play at the World Cup as he fought a drugs ban.

“I hope that we will cross paths so that we can have a quick chat,” Guerrero told reporters ahead of Peru’s Group C meeting with the Socceroos on Tuesday. “I am so, so terribly grateful to him for his support back then. As any footballer, I think it has to be like that among us footballers; we have to support each other. And I hope to give him a very huge hug… and thank him personally.”

British beer alert

The British Beer and Pub Association has raised concerns that a shortage of carbon dioxide will affect beer supplies amid increased demand as England fans head to their local bars to cheer on Gareth Southgate’s men in Russia, the Daily Mirror reports. The BBPA estimate England fans will drink an extra 14 million pints at the pub during the tournament’s group stages alone. “We will continue to monitor the situation carefully. However, given the time of year and the World Cup, this situation has arisen at an unfortunate time for the brewing industry,” BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds told Sky News.

Proper pronunciation

Australian commentator Lucy Zelic has received a bizarre torrent of online abuse for insisting on pronouncing World Cup players’ names correctly. Zelic works for SBS, a public broadcaster set up to cater for ethnic minorities, and said correct pronunciation was “about respecting the cultures we have in Australia”. But her efforts have been derided as “annoying” and “insufferable” by Twitter trolls, prompting an emotional Zelic to hit back. “When I have had Colombians, for example, write to me and say, ‘I’ve been living in Australia for 37 years, constantly having my name mispronounced has always been a difficulty for me, to have it pronounced correctly is really quite touching’, that is why we do what we do at SBS,” she said. Zelic also has her supporters, including Sabina Husic, who tweeted: “Only in Australia would a perfect storm of bogans crack it over someone pronouncing people’s names CORRECTLY. Good on you @LucyZelic.”

• Courtesy AFP

Oluwatosin Omojuyigbe

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, has called on the private sector to assist in advocating for a peaceful election and voters’ turnout in the 2019 elections.

Yakubu said this at the INEC Private Sector Forum organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.

He noted that the business community was one of the biggest beneficiaries of a stable political and economic environment.

He said, “The business community is one of the biggest beneficiaries of stable political and economic environment resulting from the conduct of peaceful and credible elections.

“The business community has a stake in our democracy of which the conduct of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections is an integral part. You are a major influencer of public opinion.

“Our appeal to you is to use your influence in doing advocacy for peaceful elections.”

Yakubu added that the impact of prominent businessmen and women advocating for peaceful election would lead to a considerable turnout of voters.

He further urged the sector to assist the commission in voter education through corporate social responsibility, adding that the commission could leverage on their expertise to organise electoral logistics.

The INEC boss said, “The business community can assist in the area of voter education through corporate social responsibility. Those in advertising, telecommunications, transport, and the media can play important roles. We can work together to develop messages and the dissemination of same.

“Many of you seamlessly delivered goods and service to customers. You have over time perfected the capacity to deliver products to the remotest locations nationwide.

 “The commission can leverage on such expertise to organise electoral logistics such that workers and materials arrive at the polling units at the appointed time without citizens having to wait long hours to be served on election day.”

The President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Babatunde Ruwase, who noted that the quality of political governance had significant implication on the sustainability of the private sector, said the sector could no longer be a spectator in the democratic and electoral process.

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…seeks Buhari’s intervention

Olaleye Aluko, Abuja

The Chairman of the dissolved Governing Board of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board, Prof Leonard Shilgba, on Tuesday, released a terse statement in which he alleged that the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, and the Permanent Secretary, Sonny Echono, were briefed on all the corruption investigations done by the board but they chose not to act.

Shilgba, who insisted that the NABTEB Board acted in line with its statutory powers, called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow his administration to be compromised in its war against corruption.

Our correspondent reported on Tuesday that the Permanent Secretary, Echono, issued a statement in Abuja, stating that President Buhari had dissolved the NABTEB Governing Board with immediate effect and reinstated the suspended Registrar, Prof Ifeoma Abanihe, and four directors of the board, who were earlier suspended on corruption allegations.

The governing board, according to reports on Monday, had suspended Abanihe and four NABTEB directors over N49m contracts allegedly unaccounted for.

The suspension had followed an investigative panel report which uncovered irregularities in contract awards, in which about N49,779,000 was allegedly unaccounted for by the registrar.

The Permanent Secretary, Echono, had announced on Monday that the President nullified the suspension of Abanihe and the four directors by the board, because it did not “follow the due process.”

The Permanent Secretary further announced the President’s dissolution of the board.

In a terse reply on Tuesday, the Chairman of the dissolved board, Shilgba, said the board conveyed its recommendations to the minister for approval on June 20 but no action was taken on those decisions.

Shilgba said, “The board communicated its actions to the minister for further necessary action via a letter referenced, NABTEB/GB/CH/HME/001, titled: ‘Some Urgent Decisions of the Governing Board of NABTEB.’ I further requested a physical meeting with the minister via an email, dated June 20, 2018, and also by a text as follows:

“‘Dear honourable minister, greetings, sir. I have sent to your email address certain urgent decisions, which were unanimously taken by the Governing Board of NABTEB at its first regular meeting on June 19, 2018. I seek an appointment with you on Thursday or Friday this week to give you hard copies of the documents cited in my mail to you.’ I flew to Abuja last Thursday and stayed till Saturday without the minister granting me an appointment or responding to my emails or text messages.

“The registrar failed to respond to matters arising from some documents, in a letter referenced NABTEB/GB/CH/QS 001, and dated April 18, 2018, which was also forwarded to both the minister and the Permanent Secretary. The registrar was given another reminder via a letter referenced NABTEB/GB/CH/QS 002.”

Shilgba called on President Buhari to intervene for the good and sanity of NABTEB.

“In the past three months, the Governing Board met on the ground a situation where NABTEB ran on a deficit, votes for examination monitoring were shared by greedy people, contract sums paid for no job done, contracts inflated, senior NABTEB workers owing millions of naira of unremitted examination registration fees and salaries arbitrarily deducted.”

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested 150 suspects in Niger, Nasarawa and Katsina states with different narcotics and other banned drugs.

The agency also disclosed that it had convicted 94 drug suspects in the past six months in the three states

Parading some suspects at the NDLEA office in Lafia on Tuesday, the state Commandant of the agency, Mr Sumaila Ethan, said 54 suspects were successfully convicted at the Federal High Court in Lafia.

He revealed that about 108 suspected drug users, who were allegedly involved in drug abuse and illicit trafficking in the state were counseled and rehabilitated across the state.

Given the breakdown of the seized items, the NDLEA boss said about 804.22kg of cannabis sativa; 2,873.88kg of tramadol; 5.3 grams of cocaine and 57.2litres of codeine were seized by the command.

The Niger State Command of the NDLEA said it had apprehended 87 suspects and convicted 17 for various drug offences in the past six months.

The state Commander, Sylvia Egwunwoke, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the occasion of the 2018 United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Tuesday.

Egwuneoke said 17 out of 87 suspects had been convicted in the court while some cases are still pending at the Federal High Court, Minna.

She also disclosed that the command confiscated 1,614.5kg of dried weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa, 39.7kg of various psychotropic substances and 10.8 litres of various brands of cough syrups with codeine.

Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Katsina has sentenced 23 drug suspects to various jail terms from January 2018 to date.

 The NDLEA Commander in Katsina, Maryam Sani, who made the disclosure, explained that the agency was disturbed about the involvement of students and teenagers in drug abuse.

Reviewing the performance and achievements of the agency in the past six months, she said, “The command apprehended 443 drug suspects with 336.4043 kg of various illicit drugs and 2,553.06 litres of cough syrup with codeine from January 2018 to date.

 “Accordingly, a notorious drug syndicate that had existed in Funtua, Sandamu and Katsina was smashed and a sizeable quantity of different psychotropic substances was seized, which include cough syrup with codeine; 51 kgs of cannabis sativa and 53 kgs of tramadol tablets.”

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Kamarudeen Ogundele, Ado Ekiti

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has accused Governor Ayodele Fayose and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission of plotting to compromise the July 14 governorship election.

Fayemi, who raised the alarm through Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, alleged that four officials of INEC were neck-deep in the new plot.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti, the Deputy Director-General (South) of KFCO, Bamidele Faparusi, said the INEC’s team was led by a former official, Ishaku Abbo, who he claimed had been living with the governor in the Government House since January.

He revealed that a secret meeting had held with three top officials of INEC from the national headquarters in the Government House.

The organisation gave the names of the officials as Egharevba John, Festus Aisien, Igidiogu Kelechi and Abbo.

Faparusi said, “Curiously, these three top officials hold strategic positions in election management. One is from the Administration; one is Stores and Distribution Department while the other is an Information and Communications Technology top official.

“For the reasons best known to them, only the Government House was their exclusive port of call; APC was never in the picture.

“After this evil agenda, Fayose stormed the media to raise allegations that the APC was in Ondo State Government House to manipulate the ballot to give the APC an edge in the July 14 election.

“When Fayose is up to something sinister, he will accuse an innocent man of committing that evil. And so immediately he made the allegation, we knew he had concluded an evil agenda.”

He said the investigation into the fraud ring in the Government House led to shocking revelations that some sensitive INEC documents had been illegally produced in the Government House with the help of the INEC officials.

“Documents already produced include stamps, PVCs, Result sheets (Form EC 8A) and INEC accreditation forms.

“We are calling on INEC headquarters to note these atrocities being perpetrated by its corrupt officials to tarnish the image of the electoral body.”

Faparusi also called on security agencies to investigate all these activities and bring the culprits to book.

But debunking the allegations, the INEC Public Relations Officer in Ekiti, Taiwo Gbadegesin, said the commission didn’t receive any official from Abuja and as such none of their officers visited the governor on any scheduled or emergency invitation.

He said, “There is no form called accreditation form in the first place; accreditation will be done with smart card readers and the four people mentioned were our members of staff but they had not visited Ekiti for any reason.

“Let me also tell the public that form EC8A is with the CBN and it will be deployed to Ekiti with ballot papers. They are coded with serial numbers and can’t be duplicated by anybody.

“As part of our openness, we sent the voter registers to all the political parties. Our doors are open to all political parties; so the APC is free to come here and make verifications, rather than making unsubstantiated allegations.”

Also reacting, the campaign organisation of the PDP governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Prof Kolapo Olusola, said Fayemi, by the allegations, was “a frustrated desperate politician that already smells electoral defeat.”

The Director of Media and Publicity, Kolapo Olusola Campaign Organisation, Lere Olayinka, said it was clear that Fayemi was raising the alarm to cover up his plans to manipulate himself to power.

He said, “Those banking on the federal might to foist themselves on Ekiti people are the ones now crying just to divert attention. We have been preparing for this election since 2016 and Ishaku Abbo was engaged as a consultant since then.

“Whereas, Fayemi is just running around trying to market a battered image to the same Ekiti people that he maltreated when he was governor and did nothing when he was a minister.”

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Oluwatobi Akindele

The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Province 2 (Israel Assembly), has called for support for the Nigeria Police, saying such will help them in the performance of their duty of securing lives and property.

The Senior Pastor of the province, Yemi Lebi, spoke during the inauguration of the upgraded premises of the Alausa Police Station on Thursday.

The church had floored the premises of the station with interlocking stones, a project estimated to have cost N3m.

Lebi, who was represented by the Pastor-in-Charge of the church’s Corporate Social Responsibility, Tope Abenu, said the project was to give back to society.

He said, “Today, we are here in Ikeja in furtherance of that vision to make the police station more conducive for the officers of the Nigeria Police. There are a lot of narratives about the church that is being carried by people who don’t know what they are saying. But I am glad that we are here to see just one of the things that the church is doing to help society.”

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Jide Ojo

jideojong@yahoo.com 08077787701

“I want to assure everyone here that despite a few lingering issues with the congresses in some states, our great party will emerge stronger after this convention. The unresolved cases we have is the price we have to pay for success, as everyone wants to be associated with a winning team. I am imploring all those with grievances to keep faith with the party until we put things right.”

 President Muhammadu Buhari at the All Progressives Congress convention held on June 23, 2018

Hearty congratulations to all the newly elected National Working Committee members of the All Progressives Congress under the leadership of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.  I also felicitate with all the newly elected State, Local Government and Ward Executive Committee members of the party. Indeed, the  Governor Badaru Abubakar-led Convention Committee did a good job by ensuring a hitch free exercise. It is also heartwarming that the 7,200 delegates that elected the 65 member new NWC largely behaved themselves with the exception of the delegates from Delta State, who engaged in free-for-all while President Buhari  addressed the convention.

I was privileged to be among the three distinguished panelists that analysed the 2018 APC convention live from the studio of the Nigerian Television Authority Headquarters in Abuja last Saturday. Co-panelists were Hon. Emmanuel Okeme from Kogi State and Prof. Martin Obono from Cross Rivers State. The moderator was OminiOdein, an ace broadcaster with the NTA. As we sat in the studio receiving live feeds from the Eagles Square venue of the convention and watching the interviews of NTA reporters with some APC chieftains, I was deep in thought about the future of Nigeria’s democracy.

The APC convention was historic in many senses. Beyond the razzmatazz of the music, cultural display, colourful attires of the delegates and the speeches, that convention was the first since the party won the 2015 elections to become the governing party and the second since it was formed in February 2013. If the decision of the National Executive Committee of the party on February 27, 2018 had not been rescinded on the advice of the President on March 27, 2018, the congresses and the convention would not have been.

Recall that on that day in February, the APC NEC voted to extend the tenure of the Chief John Odigie-Oyegun led NWC and other executive positions for one year, beginning from this month of June. What led to that controversial decision was the cracks within the party, which had necessitated Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s reconciliation committee set up by President Buhari on February 6, 2018. The extension of the tenure was allegedly to give Tinubu’s committee sufficient time to do its job. Better reason, however, prevailed a month after President Buhari rightly observed and appealed to NEC to rescind that decision because it is undemocratic and unconstitutional.

It would be recalled that the APC Ward, Local Government and State Congresses were held on May 5, 12 and 19, respectively. The exercise, although largely successful, witnessed widespread allegations of imposition of candidates, lack of level playing field, violence and parallel congresses. Party office was vandalised in Imo State, court was attacked in Rivers State and deaths were recorded in Delta and Lagos States. Even, raising fund for the congresses and convention was embroiled in controversy as each of the 24 APC state governors were taxed N250m each, which was ingeniously labeled as the backlog of their membership fees. It is noteworthy that some of the aggrieved candidates that felt short-changed during the congresses have approached courts to seek redress. On a lighter note, the APC has reportedly adopted the tag of being a “governing party” rather than being referred to as the “ruling party”. It has also allegedly changed its slogan from “Change” to “Progress”.

Last Saturday’s APC Convention was serially postponed until it eventually held last Saturday, June 23, 2018. Luckily, there was no paralleled convention, no walk-out by any aggrieved party chieftain and no ugly security breaches in the mode of terrorist attack.  There was also no loss of life. Now, all the ward, local government and state party executives have been inaugurated. Likewise, the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee has also been sworn-in.  With all the party structures in place, it’s now time for the new executives to swing into action.

Chief Audu Ogbeh, incumbent Minster of Agriculture and former chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party said something very instructive at the APC convention ground. He opined that while the physics of the party has been achieved, the chemistry of the party is yet to jell. By this, he meant that while the three legacy parties – Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change and All Nigerian Peoples Party – have been able to merge to form APC, the party is yet to become organic. It is yet to be cohesive. Members are still viewing themselves as though still in their former parties. Thus, one of the major tasks before Oshiomhole and his lieutenants in the NWC is to unite the party and make members internalise its philosophy.

Many have said the former governor of Edo State and Nigerian Labour Congress President should embark on the reconciliation move with aggrieved party members. I don’t think that is Oshiomhole’s beat. He should rather ensure that the Tinubu committee is well resourced to achieve the task set for it by President Buhari since February. Aside that, Oshiomhole also needs to liaise with the presidential committee led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to meet with aggrieved new PDP members in the APC to ensure that the grouse and grievances of the nPDP led by Alhaji Kawu Baraje are resolved.  The APC should not be under the delusion that it cannot hemorrhage like the PDP did in 2014 going into 2015 elections. It should rather preempt and prevent such from happening.

Oshiomhole led NWC also have to give APC credible membership register. Nigerians will like to know the true membership strength of the ruling party. What is the number of APC members in each ward, LGA, state and nationwide? What is the gender configuration? How many members of the party are youths between the ages of 18 and 35? How many Persons with Disabilities are in the party?

I appreciate the fact that three PWDs, including Hon. James Lalu, who is the chairman of Plateau State Disability Commission were members of the Convention Planning Committee. I will also like to know how many PWDs are among the newly elected party executives across the country. How many women and youths are among the new party executives? I suggest that the APC should embark on biometric registration of its members and ensure that all of them have their Permanent Membership Cards.

Oshiomhole and his NWC must find a creative way of ensuring that party members pay their dues and other legitimate fees as at when due.  The party under him must respect political finance regulations and ensure the submission of all party finance reports to the Independent National Electoral Commission. The APC Constitution and Manifesto must be made available to party members to ensure their proper understanding of the ideals of the party.

The APC, like other 67 political parties, will be conducting party primaries later this year. The governing party must ensure a credible and exemplary candidate nomination process. The party’s campaigns under the new leadership must be devoid of hate speeches, character assassination and inflammatory comments. It must be strictly issue based. The party under Oshiomhole must be a pace setter. It must constantly liaise with the executive and legislative arm and mediate promptly on any brewing crises. Delivery of dividends of democracy must be paramount under the new APC leadership.

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Like it or not, many don’t write cheques properly. It is not just filling in the details, but how you actually fill the details on the cheque that matters, according to a report by www.firstpost.

This also means even a small mistake on your cheque will result in your cheque not getting cleared. And, most banks have started to charge for extra cheques you order.

In addition, writing the cheque properly also prevents the risk of frauds on your cheques. Not to mention that banks charge a few hundred rupees as a fine, for cheques that get bounced due to non-financial reasons.

So, here are a few things to keep in mind while writing a cheque and you might just save a few hundred bucks.

Rules

Always move from left to right: While it is not necessary to move from left to right direction, it just helps your cheque writing task, some method. And this helps you cover all details on the cheque in a structured manner. If you randomly fill in the cheque details, you might just miss filling something. And, that could lead to bouncing of cheque due to non-financial reasons.

Date: Without a date, your cheque will just not be cleared. You will be surprised to know, how many actually forget to write the date, at times the correct date. If you want the cheque to be cleared right away, write the current date. If you plan to give a post-dated cheque ensure you give the right date. If by mistake you put in a prior date and there are no sufficient funds in your account, your cheque might bounce.

Gaps: It is good to give people space. But when it comes to your cheque, leaving space on them increases the risk of frauds and cheque tampering. After the printed word “payee” on the cheque, write the name of the person/entity to whom you want to give the cheque.

Bearer beware: If you are addressing a cheque to a person in particular, write the name accordingly. Keep in mind that unless you are addressing the cheque to a particular person, cancel the printed word “bearer” from the cheque. Usually, you will see the word “bearer” on the right hand side of the cheque, somewhere under the date. Having the word bearer means, anyone who presents (bears) the cheque, the amount will be payable to him. If you don’t cancel the word bearer and your cheque gets lost, it is an invitation to risk of fraud.

Cross: If you want the cheque to be encashed over the counter in any branch of your bank, do not cross the cheque. Crossing of cheque simply means, when you draw two parallel lines on the left corner of the cheque and write the words “account payee” between those lines. Some even write it as “A/C payee”. Keep in mind that when you cross a cheque, the funds reach the account of the person, and cannot be encashed at a branch counter.

Box: In the box where you have to write the amount in numbers, ensure you write in the correct manner. Ensures that no one adds another digit to the amount.

Figures: Also when it comes to writing the amount, do not leave space. For instance, if you want the amount to be N5,000 don’t leave space before the number 5000 or anyone can simply add the number 3 before the number 5000 and make it 35000. Same applies when you write the amount in words. Five thousand can be easily be made into 35,000, if you leave space before the word five.

Signature: Only, and only, after filling all the above mentioned details, should you actually sign the cheque. Also remember that going forward; you will need to use darker ink to sign the cheque. Sign the cheque above your name, which is printed on the cheque. And never, never sign blank cheques in the cheque book. If you lose the cheque book, you know what will happen next.

These are a few things to keep in mind while writing a cheque. Keep tracking this space for more info on cheques.

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