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Wednesday, 2 May 2012
KEEP A DATE TODAY
Do keep a date with fish on NOUN 105.9fm Lagos do not miss it by 5pm-7pm, it is the grooving time
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
WINNER OF FIRST SECTION OF MIC ON FIRE
She is from a family of six and as the only girl in the middle of three amazing brothers, grew passion for Entertainment. 2005 led her into developing interest for rap music and every other genre of music. And by 2006 she was already becoming a performing artiste with recognition in artistry.
2012 which happens to be her service year enabled her to showcase her God giving talent at Lagos camp iyana-paja where she, Pryse and Suga boi performed together during Mtn Project Fame visit. After which she took part in a recently just concluded rap competition organised by Noun Fm 105.9 where she emerge the winner of Mic on Fire.
As a gospel and inspirational artiste before joining the Blend Events Television she has worked at the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Rhythm fm 93.7 Benin. According to her ''This has helped in shaping who l am today''.
''You can call me Nigeria’s own Jukebox where l keep you entertained with my blend of Afro pop, Hip-Hop, R n B, Rock, Rap and Reggae music''.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
MIC ON FIRE
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Monday, 26 March 2012
$180m Halliburton bribery: Judge strikes out suit
Justice Abubakar Umar of an Abuja High Court on Monday struck out a suit filed by the EFCC against three persons named in the Halliburton bribery scandal.
The EFCC is charging a former Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Head of Service, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, retired AVM Abdullahi Bello and Mohammed Bakari of the Urban Shelter Ltd., on a nine-count charge bordering on corruption and bribery.
They were alleged to have used their companies; Intercellular Nigeria Ltd., Sherwood Petroleum Ltd and
Tri-Star Investment Ltd. to benefit from a $7.5 million Halliburton bribe.
Justice Umar struck out the suit after the EFCC Counsel, Ms Kauna Pindam, prayed the court to grant the commission another adjournment to enable it to arraign the accused persons.
Umar refused to grant the adjournment but reminded the EFCC of an order he gave on Jan. 23 that the commission should be ready to arraign the three suspects named in the 180 million dollars Halliburton bribery scandal unfailingly this Monday.
“I will not grant any more adjournment. Remember I gave an order on Jan. 23 that March 26 date would be the last time the court would give the EFCC chance to arraign the suspects.
“I gave the long adjournment to allow the EFCC to interface with its U.S. sister agency in utilising security information you said you got.
“I warned the EFCC that upon its failure to arraign the accused today, I will strike out the case and write to the Minister of Justice to lodge a complaint about the attitude of the commission.
“I remember I also warned the EFCC and the accused counsel to adhere to the specific details of the order or suffer certain penalties for not following the instructions.’’
Umar warned the EFCC not to expose the judiciary to ridicule.
“I have checked my records and in the past one year, since Feb. 17, 2011 when I granted leave to the prosecution to arraign the accused; they have not done so.
“It has been over a year now and still the EFCC is coming up with excuses; the EFCC should know that if it is not ready to prosecute and bring cases to conclusion, it should not apply for leave of court to arraign anybody.
“The EFCC should know that I am answerable to the National Judicial Council and what will I say is the reason why this case has been at arraignment stage for the past one year?
“I therefore strike out the suit for want of diligent prosecution. ’’
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Military Coup In Mali… EU, US, AU, France Condemn Uprising
Rebel soldiers announced early today that they have seized control of Mali after a palace attack, the Associated Press reported. The whereabouts of the President, Amadou Toumani Toure, were unknown at press time.
The soldiers, in a brief statement read on national television, said they seized power in protest at the government’s failure to quell a nomad-led rebellion in the north of the country that have claimed many lives and left hundreds of thousands homeless in recent months. The coup has been fronted by soldiers of the rank of captain or lower, Reuters said.
It was learnt that the army has for weeks appealed to the government for better weapons to fight the northern Tuareg rebels, now bolstered by heavily-armed ethnic allies who fought on Gaddafi’s side last year but have returned to Mali.
On national television, a group of around 20 soldiers in military fatigues were shown crowding around a desk, facing the camera. They announced that the country is under the control of the military’s National Committee for the Reestablishment of Democracy and the Restoration of the State, or CNRDR. They said they were suspending Mali’s constitution and dissolving its institutions, AP said.
“The CNRDR representing all the elements of the armed forces, defensive forces and security forces has decided to assume its responsibilities and end the incompetent and disavowed regime of Amadou Toumani Toure,” they said, reading from a statement.
“The objective of the CNRDR does not in any way aim to confiscate power, and we solemnly swear to return power to a democratically elected president as soon as national unity and territorial integrity are established.”
The coup is a major setback for one of the region’s few established democracies. It came one month before Mali’s presidential election. Toure, 63, was due to step down after those elections.
Gunfire could be heard from the direction of the presidential palace early today, the Associated Press reported. A soldier at the palace said that the president’s bodyguards had failed to fight the renegade soldiers, who forced their way in. They searched the grounds but could not find Toure, whose whereabouts are unknown, AP said.
The events that culminated in the coup began yesterday morning at a military camp in the capital, where Defence Minister Gen. Sadio Gassama came for an official visit. In his speech to the troops, the minister failed to address the grievances of the rank-and-file soldiers. The rebellion has claimed the lives of numerous soldiers, and those sent to fight say they are not given sufficient supplies, including arms or food.
Recruits started firing into the air yesterday morning. By afternoon, troops had surrounded the state television station in central Bamako, located in southwest Mali, yanking both the television and radio signals off the air for the rest of the day. By yesterday evening, troops had started rioting at a military garrison located in the northern town of Gao, some 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away.
A freelance journalist from Sweden who was driving to her hotel near the TV station around 4 p.m. yesterday said that trucks full of soldiers had surrounded the state broadcaster, AP reported.
“They came and started setting up checkpoints. There were military in the streets, stopping people,” said Katarina Hoije. “When we reached our hotel which is just in front of the TV station, there were lots of military outside, and more cars kept arriving – pickup trucks with soldiers on them.”
President Touré had promised to step down in advance of elections set for April 29. The Malian leader is a former soldier who overthrew the then president-for-life, Moussa Traore, in 1991 before handing power back to civilians. He came to office in elections in 2002 and was returned to office in 2007, the New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, the West Africa regional bloc ECOWAS has condemned actions by renegade Mali soldiers who claimed they had seized power from an “incompetent regime.
“ECOWAS strongly condemns the misguided actions of the mutineers and warns that it will not condone any recourse to violence as a means of seeking redress,” said a statement by the Economic Community of West African States bloc.
What began as a mutiny over the government’s response to the rekindled Tuareg insurrection in the north on Wednesday afternoon turned into a full-blown coup as soldiers seized control of the presidential palace and the government broadcaster.
Putschists, calling themselves the National Committee for the Establishment of Democracy, went on television early Thursday to announce they had taken over power in the west African country.
ECOWAS said it had followed with “dismay and mounting concern” events in Bamako, the capital of its member state Mali. It said the action by the military was “all the more reprehensible” coming amid regional and international peace efforts to end the Tuareg-led rebellion in the north of the country.
The European Union also called Thursday for constitutional rule to return to Mali “as soon as possible” after mutinous soldiers claimed to have seized power in a coup.
“We condemn the military takeover of power and the suspension of the constitution. Constitutional rule should be restored as soon as possible,” said Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
“The safety and liberty of the people of Mali must be preserved in all circumstances,” he said in a statement. Renegade soldiers claimed Thursday they had seized power from an “incompetent regime,” announcing on television they had suspended the constitution and dissolved state institutions.
The putschists, calling themselves the National Committee for the Establishment of Democracy, said they had acted due to government’s “inability” to handle a Tuareg-led insurrection in the north of the country.
The group’s spokesman, identified on-screen as Lieutenant Amadou Konare said the takeover was a result of a “lack of adequate material to defend the nation” as well as government’s inability to combat terrorism. Claiming to represent the nation’s defence forces, Konare said the junta “solemnly commits to restore power to a democratically-elected president as soon as national unity and territorial integrity are re-established.”
Mali was to hold the first round of a presidential election on April 29. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: “The situation is currently unclear and unfolding quickly … There are reports of military forces surrounding the presidential palace and movement of vehicles between the palace and the military barracks.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for calm and for grievances to be settled democratically in a statement hours before the soldiers said they had seized power. The commission of the African Union said it was “deeply concerned by the reprehensible acts currently being perpetrated by some elements of the Malian army”.
France called for elections “as soon as possible” in its former colony of Mali early today after mutinous troops were reported to have overturned the government, chased the president from his hilltop palace, imposed a curfew and suspended the constitution, the New York Times reported.
The French foreign minister, Alain JuppĂ©, told Europe 1 radio that France condemns the mutineers’ actions and “demands the re-establishment of constitutional order, and elections, which were scheduled for April, must take place as soon as possible.”
Algeria voiced deep concern Thursday over the military coup in neighbouring Mali and firmly condemned the seizure of power by a group of renegade soldiers.
“Algeria is monitoring the situation in Mali with great concern,” foreign ministry spokesman Amar Belani told the APS news agency.
EFCC Witness Testifies Against el-Rufai
Arraigned with el-Rufai are Altine Jibrin, former Director-General of the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) and former General Manager, Ismail Iro.
The EFCC is charging the trio for abuse of public office and illegal conversion of a land meant for the construction of transmitting/injection sub-stations of the PHCN at Plot 1201 of Asokoro.
el-Rufai is accused of allocating 10 plots of land in Asokoro District in various sizes to his family members, including his two wives, Hadiza and Hasiya.
The EFCC claimed that he committed the offence between 2003 and 2007. At the resumed hearing presided over by Justice Abubakar Umar, the EFCC said that investigations also revealed that el-Rufai was on the Board of the Directors of four firms that benefited from the Asokoro land allocation.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Adebayo Adelodun (SAN), Idowu told the court that investigations at the Corporate Affairs Commission, also linked el-Rufai to the ownership of System Property Development Company. Other companies owned by the accused, according to Idowu, are Micro-duct Nigeria Ltd, Pure Environmental Services Ltd and Express Procurement Nigeria Ltd.
“These companies got some choice land scattered in the highbrow area of Asokoro district where the PHCN sub-station was supposed to be built,’’ Idowu added. Another EFCC witness, Mohammed Alhassan, a former Executive Secretary of the FCDA, while being cross-examined by el-Rufai’s counsel, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), maintained that el-Rufai ignored his advice.
Alhassan told the court that he advised el-Rufai against diverting the plot of land allocated to the PHCN to other purpose. “But the former Minister ignored my advice,” he added. The court through Alhassan, admitted a letter written by Julius Berger Plc to the FCDA, dated Jan. 26, 2007. The letter was a reminder that the plot of land in dispute in Asokoro District, Abuja, was earmarked for PHCN.
The second document tendered was a letter written by the Engineering Department of FCDA, to the Secretary, Planning Department, FCDA, dated April 28, 2007. Alhassan also presented to the court a memo he wrote to el-Rufai, dated Feb. 6, 2007, advising him not to alter the Master Plan.
Reading the memo in the court, Alhassan said: “Mr Minister may wish to consider reversing the approval granted to redesign the area and return the land to status quo.” Also during cross examination by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), counsel to the second accused (Jibrin) and third accused (Iro), Alhassan agreed that the power to allocate and revoke land in the FCT was vested in the minister.
Umar adjourned the case to April 25 and April 26 at the instance of Agabi and ordered the Legal Department of the FCDA to produce the certified true copies of the two memos written to el Rufai by Alhassan.
The judge also ordered the Department of Land and Planning to produce the original site plan for the PHCN sub-station in Asokoro.
Player Dies On Pitch
In a shocking incident that again brought to light the poor medical facilities provided for local football tournaments, a 27-year-old player died on Wednesday after he collapsed at the Bangalore Football Stadium during a league match.
Times of India reports that Venkatesh, a midfielder for A-division side Bangalore Mars, came in as substitute in the 73rd minute before collapsing in the dying minutes of the match. The Bangalore District Football Association, which annually organises the Super, ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ divisions, allegedly did not have a doctor present on the field. A physio and players rushed in and tried standard medical procedures on Venkatesh, who by now was having fits, teammate Janardhan said.
Then came the crunch – no ambulance. Though some BDFA members denied the allegation, team manager Shiva, who is also a BDFA member, said there was a tempo on standby at the eastern wing of the stadium. “The only reason we couldn’t get it out in time was that there were many two wheelers parked around it,” he said.
Players and officials carried Venkatesh in their arms off the field, hired an auto rickshaw and rushed him to Hosmat Hospital, where he was declared dead. “There was no pulse or respiration. We gave him CPR and defibrillator shocks, but it was too late,” Hosmat vice-president Dr Ajith Benedict Royan said.
Preliminary post-mortem reports agreed with Dr Royan’s suggestion that Venkatesh died of cardiac arrest. “There were no external injuries. This is also known as Sudden Death Syndrome, which is common among footballers. Maybe if he had been given oxygen or proper medical care at the time of the incident, he could have stood a chance,” Dr Royan added.
Venkatesh has represented Karnataka at the junior and sub-junior levels and has been with Mars for the last five years.
ECOWAS condemns coup in Mali
The ECOWAS Commission on Thursday condemned the coup by some renegade soldiers, who announced the overthrow of the government of Amodou Toure of Mali.
A statement issued in Abuja and signed by the Commission’s President DĂ©sirĂ© Ouedraogo warned that the commission would not condone any recourse to violence as a means of seeking redress.
“The disturbances sparked by elements within the armed forces are all the more reprehensible, coming amidst the on-going regional and international efforts to seek a peaceful solution to the rebellion in the north of the country,” ECOWAS noted.
It noted that the soldiers’ action also came just a day after a special ministerial session of the AU Peace and Security Council on the matter ended in Bamako.
“ECOWAS strongly condemns the misguided actions of the mutineers and warns that it will not condone any recourse to violence as a means of seeking redress.
“The commission wishes to remind the military of its responsibility under the Constitution, and to reiterate ECOWAS’ policy of ‘Zero Tolerance’ for any attempt to obtain or maintain power by unconstitutional means,” it said.
The statement said the commission was closely monitoring developments in the country and would respond “appropriately to any attempts to further disturb the precarious security situation.”
My husband is not the father of my three children, woman tells court
A housewife, Mrs. Seinab Adebayo, on Thursday told an Ijebu-Ode Customary Court Grade ‘A’ that her husband, Adewale, was not the biological father of their three children.
Adebayo who is pregnant with the fourth child, also told the court that her husband was also not responsible for the pregnancy, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
Adewale, who is the plaintiff, had early this month dragged his wife to court for packing out of the house with the three children without his consent.
He urged the court to order his wife to return his three children back to him. But the wife said she packed out of the house because her husband, whom she said got married to her 12 years ago, was not the biological father of the children and was not responsible for the pregnancy.
Adebayo told the court that she was made to swore an oath to keep the secret that her husband was not the biological father of the children, adding that it was a deal between the two of them.
She said her husband had been married for 10 years without an issue before she got married to him.
“When I got married to my husband 12 years ago, we both swore an oath not to reveal the secret that my husband is not the biological father of the children.
“And for the past 12 years, we have been keeping that secret by not allowing anybody to know that my husband is not the biological father of the three children and the pregnancy that I am carrying,” she said.
Adebayo, however, told the court that she could not reveal the details of the secret until the husband brought the oracle with which they swore the oath to court to release her from it.
“I cannot give the details of the secret of who the real father of the children is until I am released from the oath.
“I will urge the court to order my husband to bring the oracle with which we swore the oath to court and release me from it before I can reveal the secret,” she said.
The husband, who did not deny the allegation, insisted that he was the biological father of the children.
In his ruling, the court’s President, Mr. Olatunji Kanimodo, ordered the husband to bring the oracle with which they swore to an oath to the court in the next adjourned date.
Kanimodo said the order was imperative for the court to get the full details of the case, and adjourned the case till April 27.
Fire breaks out in National Assembly annex
The fire started in the legal department and accounts departments of the National Assembly Service Commission.
Newsmen reports that the FCT Fire Service deployed two fire engines to bring the fire under control before it could spread to other offices.
Panic-stricken staffers, who had vacated the building, gathered some distance away to discuss the incident.
The Director of FCT Fire Service, Mr. Sani Saidu, who confirmed the incident, told journalists that the fire incident was caused by power outage as a result of power fluctuation.
He said the situation had been brought under control and no damage was done
“It was caused by electrical fault as a result of power fluctuation. It was brought under control. No damage was done,” he said.
There was a similar fire incident at the National Assembly Annex on February 21, 2011, on the ground floor which was also said to have been caused by an electrical fault.
There was also a fire at the same annex building two months ago. The fire began in the office of the Secretary to the Clerk of the National Assembly on the third floor of the main building around 1p.m.
The National Assembly is currently on a one-week recess.
REPS/SEC BRIBERY Latest: How N5m request sparked trouble
The war of attrition between the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC and the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Markets got messier yesterday following revelations that a demand for N5 million cash may have ruptured the relationship between the two parties.
Rep. Herman Hembe, the chairman of the House committee on Capital Markets has meanwhile instructed his lawyers to file legal action against Ms Arummah Oteh, the Director General of the SEC for allegedly injuring his character.
SEC sources yesterday disclosed that the House Committee on Capital Markets had officially requested for assistance from the commission through a proxy officially delegated as the committee’s alleged consultant (names withheld)
Appointment letter for Committee’s consultant
---------------------------------------------------------------
The letter appointing the committee’s consultant was signed by the committee’s assistant secretary, Abama Thomas and dated March 14, 2012. In the letter the DG was requested to give the consultant “all necessary assistance.”
The letter of appointment of the consultant was preceded by a demand for assistance supposedly from the committee amounting to N39.844 million for the purpose of covering the expenses of the public hearing on the collapse of the capital market. That request which was detached on what SEC sources described as the committee shopping list was allegedly received by the commission on February 29, 2012.
A breakdown of the total amount requested showed that N5.605 million for two advertisement slots in five print media organizations; N2.245 million for advertisement in three broadcast media; N4.215 million for secretariat needs and N1.575 million for refreshment for three days.
According to SEC sources yesterday, the consultant visited the commission in company with a representative of the committee with a ‘shopping list’, detailing a large number of ‘specific areas’ for which the SEC’s support was being sought by the House Committee.
SEC further affirmed that the request was subjected to its decision making procedure and was considering a N30 million support, based on its belief that the hearing is in the interest of the public and investors.
The commission, however, noted yesterday that it grew suspicious of a dirty deal when agents of the committee visited the commission requesting for N5 million in cash against the institutionalized process of transferring money through the banks.
“The SEC smelt a rat that rather than wait for the payment to be made through electronic transfer, in line with extant public service policy, to an institutional account, the man was seeking undocumented payment by cash. This was why the transfer was suspended.
“Even the least cursory look at the memo will see stapler marks on the top left hand corner of its cover page, evidence that its accompaniments had been detached,” SEC sources claimed yesterday.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Oteh’s one-day food bill stirs fresh controversy
A receipt obtained by Newsmen
on Tuesday revealed how the Director-General, Securities and Exchange
Commission, Ms. Arumah Oteh, allegedly spent the sum of N850,000 at the
Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
There were, however, discrepancies in the figures on the receipt.
The receipt, which was dated March 24, 2010, was
issued at exactly 9.57pm to the SEC boss. The bill was issued by Zuma
Grill Restaurant and it contained expenses incurred by Oteh in three
distinct total figures.
In the first category, the bill recorded that Oteh
was served two Aquafina Large, at the rate of N1,000; one Teem Soda
Water, N500; five bottles of Star, N3,000; one 7Up, N500; two Chapman
Large, N1,700; three Fresh Crayfish, N13,500; one Classical Snail,
N4,500; four Lobster, N18,400; three Trad. Nativ. Poten, N12,000; one
Roast Pork Belly, N4,000 four Pan Salmon, N19,200; Food, N71,600;
Beverage A, N3,000; and Beverage N4,100.
The total in this category, according to Transcorp, was N78,700 as against a total of N157,000 computed by our correspondent.
The second category had four crème Brulee, N10,000;
one Fruit Salad, N1,800; Food N83,400; Beverage A, N3,000 and Beverage
N, N4,100. The total due was placed at N90,500 in contrast to N102,300
computed by our correspondent.
The last total revealed that Oteh spent N91,400,
which is against N92,300 by our calculations. She was served two Tea
Earl Grey at N900; Food, N84,300; Beverage A, N3,000; and Beverage N,
N4,100.
A comprehensive total of the three categories as
revealed by the hotel showed that the SEC boss spent N260,600. This,
however, is against the total computation of N351,600.
Meanwhile, in a letter obtained by Newsmen from SEC, the commission refuted that its boss consumed meal worth N850,000 and never submitted such a bill to the SEC.
The letter reads “The bill referred to at the public
hearing related to Ms Oteh’s hotel expenses during her stay at the
Hilton following her assumption of duty.
“We have reviewed her hotel expenses during her stay,
and the highest charge for food was N83,400 on March 24, 2010. This
bill was in respect of an official dinner hosted by the SEC with a group
of international capital market experts who were visiting Nigeria to
provide technical assistance to SEC Nigeria.”
Transcorp invoice breakdown
Items Amount
2 Aquafina Large 1,400.00
1 Teem Soda Water 300.00
5 Star 3,000.00
1 7UP 500.00
2 Chapman Large 1,700.00
3 Fresh Crayfish 13,500.00
1 Classical Snail 4,500.00
4 Lobster 18,000.00
3 Trad Native Poten 12,000.00
1 Roast Pork Belly 4,000.00
4 Pan Salmon 19,200.00
Food 71,600.00
Beverages R 3,000.00
Beverage N 4,100.00
4 Creme Brulee 10,000.00
1 Fruit Salad 1,800.00
Food 83,400.00
Beverage R 3,000.00
Beverage N 4,100.00
Total Due 90,500.00
2 Tea Earl Grey 900.00
Food 84,300.00
Beverage R 3,000.00
Beverage N 4,100.00
Total Due 91,400.00
Room NR 1026
Signature Charge 91,400
Chech H/No.049785
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
1.5m candidates to write UTME, Saturday
Prof Dibu Ojerinde, JAMB Registrar at a press briefing held in Abuja, Tuesday revealed that a total of 1, 503,931 candidates are expected to sit for the 2012 UTME in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin, London, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
Ojerinde added that the figure is the highest since the UTME started three years ago with a marginal increase of 10,338 candidates over the 1, 493,603 that sat for the exam last year.
The Saturday exams, Ojerinde stated would hold simultaneously in 375 towns spread across 3,001 centres in the country, adding that the board had to create 129 additional centres this year against the 2,872 centres used last year.
Only 500,000 for admission this year
According to Ojerinde, the admission capacity across all the tertiary institutions in the country is about 500,000 .
This he said is a leap in the admission capacity compared to the 467,000 capacity of last year.
Reps Members Quit Over Bribe Crisis
This is evident in the decision of the Chairman of the Committee, Herman Hembe, to step down from headship of the committee as well as disqualify himself from the on-going probe of the sector.
The leadership of the House also announced that the entire membership of the committee have also stepped down.
According to Hembe, his decision to step down followed the allegations of bribery and other conflict of interest and bias levelled against him by the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh, last Thursday, at the public hearing organised by the committee.
Oteh had during the hearing, accused Hembe of demanding a bribe of N39 million from SEC for the hearing. She also accused Mr Hembe of demanding N5million from the commission to enable him travel to the Dominican Republic to attend an Emerging market conference without embarking on the journey and did not return the money after failing to attend the conference.
The DG made these accusations in response to the claims by the Committee that she has mismanaged the affairs of the commission and the committee was out to tarnish her integrity.
She questioned the credibility of the Chairman of the committee in conducting the probe, considering her allegations. Oteh had been accused spending huge funds belonging to the commission on personal issues. She was accused of spending N30 million during her eight-month stay at the Transcorp Hilton hotel, Abuja and N850,000 on a single day on food. She was also accused of compromising her office by engaging two employees of Access Bank Plc. on secondment to her office. Hembe said this led to a situation which placed a firm that should be under SEC’s watch at an unfair advantage.
In his response, Mr Hembe noted all the allegations listed by the SEC and subjected himself and the committee to another probe which he urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to take up.
Hembe said he neither demanded nor took any bribe from the SEC DG, “but rather fought hard to resist any such temptation.” He said SEC made overtures to the committee through a memo ahead of the probe, vowing to go to court to clear his name.
Arising from these, the House immediately set up an ad-hoc committee to be headed by Ibrahim El-Sudi from Taraba state to take up the activities of the capital market committee. The new committee is expected to produce a new schedule within 21 days.
Dbanj releases Oliver Twist video without Don Jazzy
Musician and entertainer, Dapo
Oyebanjo aka D’Banj, has released the video of his Oliver Twist track,
in the wake of his rumoured split with associate, Michael Collins aka
Don Jazzy.
Interestingly, Don Jazzy is not in the video.
This is the first time since both men
formed the Mo’Hits group in 2004 that Don Jazzy is not featuring in a
video released by D’Banj.
The split, which was confirmed in a
tweet by Don Jazzy on Saturday, followed D’Banj’s deal with G.O.O.D
Music, owned by American rapper, Kanye West.
Pusha T, Big Sean and Kanye West, who are all members of the G.O.O.D Music team, appear in the new video.
D’Banj has so far not reacted to Don Jazzy’s comments.
D’Banj has so far not reacted to Don Jazzy’s comments.
On Monday, a member of the Mo’Hits crew,
Dr. Sidney Esiri aka Dr Sid, said Don Jazzy had not been given
appreciation commensurate to his contributions to the group.
On the Mo’Hits website, the label is
introduced thus: “Founded in 2004, Mo Hits Records is the Brainchild of
prolific Music Producer, Singer and Song Writer Michael “Don Jazzy”
Ajereh, with its first recording artiste being D’banj. The label has
since signed four other talents (Wande Coal, Dr SID D’prince and
K-Switch).
“Since inception these artistes have collectively won multiple awards and sold over 50 Million records worldwide.
“Mo hits Records, in 2008 also branched
out into the production of TV content with the airing of the 2009
reality TV show “Koko Mansion” and in 2011 “The Entertainer”.
In a recent interview with Ebony magazine, D’Banj reportedly said he owned Mo’Hits and that Don Jazzy was one of his artistes.
But the online version of the interview was corrected a few days later to read that D’Banj and Don Jazzy jointly own Mo’Hits.
GBEDU+AMEBO+OGA FISH=HOMEZONE: 2,140 ex-soldiers sue FG over unpaid pension
GBEDU+AMEBO+OGA FISH=HOMEZONE: 2,140 ex-soldiers sue FG over unpaid pension: A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned till Friday to hear a suit filed before it by 2,140 ex-soldiers who foug...
2,140 ex-soldiers sue FG over unpaid pension
A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned till Friday to hear a suit filed before it by 2,140 ex-soldiers who fought during the Nigerian Civil war between 1967 and 1970.
The retired soldiers are asking the high court to invoke its original jurisdiction and order the Federal Government to forthwith, pay pension benefits and other entitlements due to them since the past 42 years after they bowed out of active service.
Consequently, they are praying the trial court to issue a declaration that each of them is entitled to payment of pension benefits computed in accordance with the due process of the law.
Joined as defendants in the suit are the Minister of Defence, Dr Haliru Bello Mohammed and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minster of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN.
Meanwhile, when the case came up for hearing, Monday, trial judge, Justice Donatus Okorowo asked all the parties to appear before him on Friday to address the court on the issue of jurisdiction.
Justice Okorowo noted that in view of the nature of the case, he would want both the defence counsel, Mr. A.O Alilu and counsel to the plaintiffs, Mr Falana, to argue on whether it is the federal high court or the National Industrial Court, NIC, that has the requisite jurisdiction to handle the matter.
Fire guts UNILAG Faculty of Science building
An early morning fire on Tuesday gutted some offices in the Physics Department of the Faculty of Science building at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos State.
The fire appeared to have broken out from the second floor of the three-storey building, causing panic in the school.
It took the combined effort of firemen from the Federal Fire Service, Lagos State Fire Service, Yaba College of Technology and UNILAG as well as staff and students of the institution to put out the fire.
There is no information about the cause of the fire or the extent of damage.
More details later.
Monday, 19 March 2012
Gunmen kill bank manager, 7 others in Sapele beer parlour attack
IT was a bloody weekend in Sapele, Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State, as gunmen killed a bank manager and seven other persons at a drinking spot, opposite Okotie-Eboh Grammar School, in the
No reason was given for the mindless bloodbath, but a source said, “The killers, who claimed to be unemployed and hungry, were incensed that their victims were busy drinking and eating with their girlfriends, while they (killers) were starving.”
Meanwhile, another version of the incident, claimed that the husband of one of the women, who was killed was the person who hired cultists to invade the beer parlour, alleging that his wife lied to him that she was going to the saloon to make her hair, only to surface at the drinking spot with her lover.
The woman allegedly left two of her children at home and when her husband got wind of her action, he came with cultists, shot dead the wife and people in the beer parlour at the time.
But, Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Charles Muka, told Newsmen when contacted, that only five persons were confirmed dead, while two were rushed to the hospital. He said: “They were drinking and people came and sprayed bullets on them, four died on the spot and another one died later.”
A source told Vanguard that he counted the corpses, saying “There were about 10 persons drinking in Mama Chabula shop that evening when the gunmen came. We don’t know whether they are former militants, cultists or just criminals but they opened fire, seven persons died on the spot while three were rushed to hospital.
“Of the three that were rushed to the hospital was a bank manager and he died today (Sunday). The gunmen did not rob anybody in the store, they just opened fire at those drinking and left after committing the havoc,” the source added.
A Sapele youth leader, who corroborated the police claim, said, “What I heard was that three men and two women were shot in cold blood. One was shot on his legs, the incident happened about 8 pm. We are all confused, there is tension everywhere, nobody seems to know the real reason for the massacre.”
The police do not even know because the people were drinking when they opened fire at them,” he added.
N2bn pension scam: Perm Sec, directors in EFCC net
The man, who was arrested alongside seven directors, had served in the Police Pensions Office.
A member of the Pension Task Force told one
of Newsmen that the Permanent Secretary’s office was
searched and some incriminating documents were found.
The source said, “His office was searched and some documents were found including a fixed deposit of N1bn.”
Spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson
Uwujaren, confirmed on the telephone, that a Permanent Secretary and
seven directors were arrested over the pensions scam. But he added that
they had been given administrative bail.
He, however, refused to disclose the
ministry and identity of the Permanent Secretary, saying that
“investigations were still ongoing.”
Uwujaren said, “What I can tell you is that
we arrested a Permanent Secretary in respect of the ongoing
investigations into pensions administration – a permanent secretary and
about seven directors.”
A member of the Pensions Reforms Task Team said the development was a fresh discovery.
“Some of the exhibits contained documents
containing issues that were raised against (Abdulrasheed) Maina,
including the one written by Borno Youths and other falsified documents
that were filed against us,” said the Task Force member.
Further, he said the EFCC and the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, all
members of the PRTT, were continuing their investigations into the
matter.
The Senate Joint Committee on the
Investigation into the Administration of the Pensions Scheme, during its
one week public hearing, was told of how officials of government
falsified documents to siphon pensioners’ money.
FG deregulates electricity •Local govts, communities can now generate, distribute electricity says NERC
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission has issued regulations enabling communities and local
governments to generate and distribute electricity within their areas. One of the two regulations, titled,
“NERC Regulation on Embedded Generation 2012,” and issued on March 7,
2012, permits investors, communities, states and local governments to
generate and distribute electricity for their exclusive consumption
using facilities of existing electricity distribution companies or
independent electricity distribution network operators.
Another regulation, issued on the same
day, titled, “NERC Regulation for Independent Electricity
Distribution,” permits communities, local and state governments to
invest in electricity distribution networks in areas without access to
the grid or distribution network or areas poorly serviced.
Thus, state governments with investments
in infrastructure for power generation and distribution can now begin
to distribute electricity. Also, according to the new regulations,
states and local governments with enough financial capability, can now
take fuller advantage of the regulations to provide adequate power for
their constituents.
The Electric Power Sector Reform Act,
which established the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, is the
enabling law for the power sector reform. The regulations, according to
a statement posted on the website of NERC, are products of about six
months’ intensive research and stakeholder consultations by employees of
the commission. The regulations, the statement said,
were direct attempts to cater for about 40 per cent of the country’s
population without access to electricity. The regulations are also
capable of addressing the problem of poor quality of electricity supply.
Signing the two regulations,the
Chairman, NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, said that they would provide the needed
solutions to the shortage in supply of electricity in the country. He said, “These are the most important
regulations today in this country because we do not have enough
electricity to go round. We also have so many constraints preventing us
from having enough to generate, transmit and distribute.
“From now on, the much expected
expansion in the electricity supply to the end- users would be easily
realisable. With these regulations, we have further unlocked the
opportunities in the sector to community, private and government
participations. The laws are expected to revolutionise the sector.”
He enthused further that the appropriate
tariff to encourage the use of renewable and alternative sources of
power generation would soon be put in place by the commission. Amadi
commended the efforts of the officials of NERC that were able to put
together such regulations after due consultation with industry
stakeholders. He said that similar efforts in the past would have been contracted out to consultants at a huge cost to the commission.
Meanwhile, Amadi also told Newsmen on the telephone that the new electricity tariff would take effect on June 1. Also, the NERC had recently warned
electricity distribution companies not to charge their customers rates
outside what was approved by it last year before the introduction of the
new tariff.
The warning came on the heels of
increasing number of petitions and complaints received by the commission
that some of the distribution companies were cashing in on the recent
media reports over planned increase in the electricity tariff and
charging their customers rates other than those approved by the
commission.
Reacting to the development, Amadi said,
“No tariff increase has been announced. Chief executive officers of
distribution companies who collect tariffs beyond what was approved last
year are operating in disobedience of the industry’s regulations.” “It is an offence to charge rates
outside the approved tariff regime. Any errant distribution company will
be made to refund its customers money collected in excess of the
approved tariffs,” Amadi added.
He said that NERC would not spare any
chief executive officer of errant electricity distribution company as
applicable sanctions stipulated in the Electric Power Sector Reform Act
2005 would be meted out on those acting in defiance of the Act.
The chairman said that the commission
was harmonising submissions made in the course of stakeholders
consultations held towards the planned tariff regime and that the final
figures would be announced through the media, to put both the customers
and operators on notice.
The existing tariff regime is the last
schedule of Multi Year Tariff Order that was announced last year and
will pave way for MYTO II this year. The MYTO is the model used in
calculating prices of electricity. It was introduced in 2008 by NERC to
replace the rule of the thumb practice in determining prices of
electricity.
The new tariff, taking effect on June I,
is part of the many measures being taken by NERC in conjunction with
the BPE to ensure a successful privatisation of the power sector.
It has been estimated that the country
needs an average of $10bn investments annually in the power sector for
it to realise its potential. The nation currently generate about 4,000
megawatts against demand in the region of 10,000MW.
Friday, 16 March 2012
Bizman denies accusing judicial officers of collecting N40m bribe
There is now new twist in the alleged N40 million bribe
controversy between an Onitsha- based transporter, Chief Godwin Okeke
and two top Judiciary officials in Anambra State as the former has
denied ever accusing the officials of collecting money from him.
There had been a running battle between Chief Okeke and the two officials following the accusation that the two officials collected N40m bribe to release some of the suspects who kidnapped him in August 2009.
The judicial officers however denied the allegation.
Addressing newsmen, yesterday, in Onitsha, Chief Okeke, said what he stated in his petition to the Anambra State House of Assembly and his statement in court in Awka, was that one of the kidnap suspects who had been calling him on telephone threatening to kill him if he did not withdraw the court case against them, told him that he spent N40m to secure his release.
He further said he told the court and the House of Assembly that one of the suspects who was brought to the court in a wheel chair from the prison and released on health grounds went to Asaba few days after his release and threw a party for his friends even as he boasted that they were regrouping to eliminate him.
He said: ”I actually raised that alarm that the case was being frustrated by the office of the Attorney-General but there was no time I said that he collected any bribe. I still maintain that the Attorney- General and his DPP are frustrating the case and the Attorney-General and the DPP were trying to shift the blame against one another during our separate meetings with the House Committee; so that confirmed my suspicion but I never accused them of collecting any bribe, so if their conscience is judging them now there is still time to do the right thing.
Reuters: Nigeria opens indirect talks with Boko Haram
Nigeria’s government has in the last week held its first indirect peace talks with Islamist sect Boko Haram, meeting mediators to discuss a possible ceasefire, political and diplomatic sources told Reuters on Thursday.
Newsmen had reported that the group had given conditions for the discussions, some of which are the release from detention of its members and concrete guarantee that the members would not be harassed after peace talks.
Reuters said two persons close to Boko Haram have been carrying messages back and forth between the sect’s self-proclaimed leader Abubakar Shekau and government officials, the sources, who asked not to be named, said.
It was not clear whether any mediators met with President Goodluck Jonathan himself. A presidency spokesman said he could not immediately comment.
Boko Haram has said it wants to impose sharia, or Islamic, law across a country split equally between Christians and Muslims. The group has killed hundreds this year in bomb and gun attacks, mostly in the majority Muslim north of Africa’s top oil producer.
“BH (Boko Haram) has mentioned a conditional ceasefire but it wants all its members released from prison. The government sees this as unacceptable but is willing to release foot soldiers,” a traditional leader and civil rights activist involved in the talks told Reuters, asking not to be named.
“It is the first time a ceasefire has been mentioned, so it is a massive positive, but given the lack of trust a resolution is still a way off,” he added.
Jonathan’s national security adviser, General Owoye Andrew Azazi, told Reuters in January that Nigeria
was considering making contact with moderate members of the shadowy Boko Haram via “back channels”.
A source at the presidency confirmed that efforts are being made to reach out to the sect’s negotiators, but that direct talks had not yet begun. A well-respected Islamic cleric has been contacted to reach out to them, he said.
S’Africa rules out compensation for deported Nigerians
South
African Government has ruled out the possibility of compensating the
125 Nigerians who were recently denied entry into the country.
Minister of Correctional Services, Mrs.
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, made known the position of her government in
Abuja on Thursday.
Mapisa-Nqakula was in the Presidential
Villa as the leader of an eight-man special delegation sent by President
Jacob Zuma to formally apologise for the incident, which caused a
diplomatic row between the two countries.
She said, “The issue of compensation is out of the question. We don’t understand why South Africa will have to compensate.
“We believe that it is enough that we
have come out and apologised. It is enough that we have demonstrated our
goodwill to the government of Nigeria; it is enough that the President
has sent a special envoy to reiterate his commitment to the bi-national
with Nigeria and to improve working relationship with Nigeria.”
She however said her country had
commenced investigation into the activities of the airport officials who
turned back the Nigerians on the gound that their Yellow Fever
Vaccination Cards were fakes.
Senate passes N4.8trn 2012 budget
The Senate, yesterday, passed the budget of N4,877, 209,156,933 for the 2012 fiscal year, just as it plans to sue the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, over repeated failure to submit its budget to National Assembly for approval.
The new budget passed was N229 billion higher than the revised budget of N4.648 trillion sent to the National Assembly in February by President Goodluck Jonathan.
It also includes N888 billion funding for oil subsidy programme, beside another N180 billion provided for Subsidy Re-investment Programme, SURE.
Senators, during the clause-by-clause consideration of the budget after its presentation by chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Ahmad Maccido underscored the poor performance of the 2011 budget.
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