Alleged N6.3bn: I won’t honour EFCC’s invitation — Jang

 


A former governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, yesterday said he would not honour the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission asking him to report to its Kano office on December 5 for allegedly misappropriating N6.3 billion when he was governor.

In a statement yesterday by his media consultant, Clinton Garuba, Jang said he had written to the commission urging it to pick another date in January, 2019.




He said he took the decision to turn down the invitation because he was under trial in Jos having been charged to court by the same commission.

He said: “And the matter is expected to commence definite hearing around the date of the invitation. To be sure, it is baffling how the EFCC expects the serving senator to be in two places at the same time since he does not possess any psychic abilities.”




Jang clarified that the invitation was unconnected with a report alleging that the commission had traced a mansion worth N500 million to him.

He said: “The property located at No. 8 and 9 Gobarau Road, Unguwan Rimi GRA, Kaduna state does not belong to Senator Jang, and this is not the first time the commission would investigate its ownership.

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Buhari urged to replicate increase in Police salary for teachers

The Class of 1978 of Government College Ughelli, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to replicate the increase in the salary structure of the Nigeria Police in the salaries of teachers in Nigeria.




The class made their position known during their inaugural annual lecture and conference as part of activities to mark its 40 years anniversary.



The event which held  at the school premises  in Ughelli, was entitled:  “Falling Standard of Education in Nigeria: Role of Old Boys, Government, Teachers, and Students.”

In his remarks, Chairman of the class, Dr. Akpo Mudiaga Odje while lamenting the welfare of teachers in the country, said: “We hope President Buhari extends the increase of police salary to teachers as well as to members of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, who are currently on strike.”

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2019 election is between thieves and honest people – El-Rufai

                                 


Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has likened the 2019 general election as a contest between honest and dishonest people.

El-Rufai, who delivered a keynote address at the launching of his campaign council in Kaduna, also likened Monday’s flag-off of PDP presidential campaign in Sokoto as a gang-up of ‘thieves.’ The governor said the PDP rented crowd from neighbouring countries because Sokoto people refused to come out for the rally. He said Nigerians have to stand up and show them that Kaduna is not a state that will allow them cheat the people and the masses.




“What we have done in Kaduna state in the last three years has shown that APC as a party is the one that loves the masses and assists the masses; not a party that will take public fund and share among the rich. That is why we want you people to go out and tell the people to vote President Muhammadu Buhari again.

“So, when it is time to launch President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign in Kaduna, people should come for the whole world to see that it is not Niger Republic people that are disguising as Nigerians,” he said.

The governor enjoined the people of Kaduna to show that they are in support of President Muhammadu Buhari, when is time to cast their votes.

“We should vote for President Muhammadu Buhari and all the APC candidates. In Kaduna, we will support APC from top to bottom.

The governor said the task in 2019 is to continue to work towards the upliftment of the people as they cannot allow the people whose ideology is looting to return to power.

The campaign council was inaugurated by the party’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Alhaji Lawal Shuaibu.

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Saraki sold our mandate for a pot of porridge--Tinubu

 

A national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu has lambasted the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC ahead of the 2015 polls.

He lamented that the former Kwara State Governor used the APC to give a lifeline to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Tinubu spoke during the National Consultative Forum themed: “Nigeria on the right track” organised by the National Committee of Buhari Support Groups, on Tuesday, Daily Trust reports.

Claiming that Saraki was not honest, the former Lagos State governor said the Senate President sold APC’s mandate for a pot of porridge.

He stated that after using the APC to win election in 2015, “Saraki used our mandate to give lifeline to the opposition. Leadership is about character.

“He left PDP, joined us, got elected and sold our mandate for a pot of porridge. God is honest.”

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2019 poverty rate will treble --Ex-minister predicts

A former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Odein Ajumogobia (SAN), has predicted that the poverty level in the country may be worse in 2019 than this year.

He said Nigeria had in the last four years witnessed a continuous downward spiral in the poverty index, saying, “There is every indication that just as 2018 was worse than 2017, 2019 will be worse than 2018.”


According to him, available statistics have shown that in each of the last four years, the country’s per capita Gross Domestic Product progressively declined.

“It is a sobering thought – if the statistics are to be believed – that we should have, at this stage, overtaken India with the number of extremely poor households in Nigeria, a nation with one sixth of India’s 1.2 billion population,” Ajumogobia said in Lagos on Friday during a colloquium held to mark the 25th anniversary of a commercial law firm, Kenna Partners.


The colloquium, with the theme, Footprints in law and society, towards a paradigm shift, was chaired by the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief ‘Folake Solanke.

Ajumogobia chided President Muhammadu Buhari for his suggestion at the last annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association that the rule of law must bow to national security.

The SAN warned that without respect for the rule of law, “inclusive development and growth would continue to elude us in our downward spiral of poverty and chaos as we continue to, regrettably, to bask in our dubious distinction as the poverty capital of the world!”

In her address, 86-year-old Solanke, worried about the large number of political parties registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission to participate in next year’s general elections.



 “Something must be done to weed out the political parties to a minimum. In the United States of America, there are two political parties, but in Nigeria, 80 of the 91 registered political parties want to produce the next President. Something is wrong with our Electoral Act; we must go and look at Section 222 and do something about it,” Solanke said.

Justice Amina Augie of the Supreme Court, who delivered the anniversary lecture, warned politicians against weakening public institutions for selfish reasons, saying it will haunt them.

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Nigeria won’t return to era of stealing public funds--Osinbajo

Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, said Nigeria will not go back to era when money meant for the development of the country was pocketed by few individuals.
Mr Osinbajo stated this in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, while launching the 6th phase of a youth empowerment initiative.


He said the All Progressive Congress administration is not stealing Nigeria’s money, adding that all monies accruing to it will be judiciously used.
”Nigeria is moving forward to next level.

 This is one of the reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari decided to fight corruption in Nigeria; because before now, a lot of the money that was supposed to empower the common man on the street were put in the pockets of those that led us before.
“When we came on board, we insisted that must stop, they can no longer be stealing people’s money, the money must be utilised for the well-being of all Nigerians,” the vice president said.


He said, ”When President Buhari started the fight, those who looted public treasury opposed him and they’re still fighting him till now. By God’s grace, Nigerians will see the benefits of the anti-corruption fight.”

He also said before the current government came on board, the previous one ”earned $383 billion in four years” but wasted it.


”They didn’t construct roads, no empowerment, they embezzled the money. For three years, the APC administration earned only over $115 billion. That’s (about) one-third of what they had and we’re doing five times more.


“We’re doing more because we’re not stealing the money. If the money of our people is not stolen, there will be enough for us to do everything,” he said.
He also explained the rationale behind the government’s ‘Trader moni’ scheme.


“The Trader moni is one of the important policies of President Buhari’s administration. It is giving loans to 35,000 beneficiaries, petty traders in Jigawa; and we’re targeting two million beneficiaries across the country.
“The initiative targets those at the bottom of the pyramid, we will keep empowering them until they are lifted to become bigger traders.”
The vice president also commended the governor of Jigawa for ”the good work he has been doing.”

In his remarks, the governor, Muhammad Badaru, said his administration has so far empowered over 134,600 youth through various programmes across the 27 local government areas of the state.

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Akwa Ibom crisis: HURIWA moves against Akpabio

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, Tuesday tasked authorities of the United States of America, USA, to bar former Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, from entering their country for allegedly aiding and abetting the current outburst of violence in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.  

The association, in a petition signed by its national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and addressed to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, called for the withdrawal of Akpabio’s Visas, noting that his call for the use of Hitler-styled violence largely informs the unrest currently pervading the State Assembly The petition titled, “Request for Diplomatic Sanction of Senator Godswill Akpabio”, dated November 23, 2018, who a few weeks ago left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for the All Progressives Congress, APC, quoted the lawmaker to have boasted that his new party will take over the state.


The HURIWA petition read in part, “Sir, recall that Senator Akpabio left the PDP a few weeks ago, turning his back on his godson, Governor Udom Emmanuel, setting off a chain of acrimonious exchanges between the two as reported by the independent media. “Sir, we are worried that this threat made by the serving Senator from Akwa Ibom State may have already started manifesting given the current violence that is been unleashed on Akwa Ibom State by the All Progressives Congress- controlled police force.

 “Our prayer is that you should use your good office to stop Senator Godswill Akpabio from visiting your country which is known for its lack of tolerance for violence of all shades particularly with regards to the approval of the atrocities by Hitler in Poland which is clearly what this Nigerian senator just did. “Kindly withdraw all visas to Senator Godswill Akpabio who has clearly professed his approval to the atrocities committed against humanity and civilization by the world’s most dangerous war criminal-Adolph Hitler.”

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