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  • Plateau APC kicks against Mutfwang’s N15bn loan request

    Plateau APC kicks against Mutfwang’s N15bn loan request

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau has kicked against Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s request to the State House of Assembly for an approval to acquire a N15 billion loan.

    Mutfwang’s communication was read by the assembly Speaker, Moses Sule, during Thursday’s plenary, which was the first sitting of the 10th Assembly.

    Mutfwang explained that the loan would be used to clear backlog of civil servants salary arrears and acquire farm inputs for farmers.

    The approval was granted by the lawmakers at the plenary. 

    But the APC in a statement by its spokesperson, Mr Sylvanus Namang, on Friday, said that as a critical stakeholder in the Plateau project, they seriously objected to the loan because the governor did not follow due process.

    Namang said that PDP’s two-third majority in the Plateau State House of Assembly was not a licence for recklessness and arbitrariness which if left unchecked, Plateau would be worse for more turbulent days ahead.

    According to him, the reasons advanced for the loan were as unconvincing as they were not tenable.

    “Government is a continuum and the past dispensation had made adequate budgetary provisions for payment of workers’ salaries and very essential products like fertilisers, given the fact that Plateau was largely an agrarian state.

    “This bogus N15 billion loan approval is particularly more worrisome because for a loan to be collected, certain steps are clearly spelt out in the Plateau State Debt Management Law.

    “The steps must be duly and diligently followed before any financial institution, local or foreign can consider.

    “First, the State Debt Management Advisory Committee must sit to discuss the purpose and necessity of the loan for the state.

    “Furthermore, Plateau cannot operate as if we are under a military junta where things are done by fiat.

    “For a serious issue as loan acquisition of this magnitude, the State  Executive Council must  approve such loan before forwarding to the House of Assembly for deliberation,” he pointed out.

    He further said that the council’s approval must be transmitted to the House of Assembly for their discussion and approval which cannot be passed as was done at its very first formal sitting as members of the 10th House of Assembly.

    He added that mandatorily, such approvals by the State Executive Council and the House of Assembly would then be  forwarded to ministry of finance and  debt management department to  further process.

    Namang stated that to the best of their knowledge, there was no state executive council as what is on ground is the governor, his deputy and the attorney general and that the debt advisory committee was also not constituted. 

  • Anambra awards ₦2.4bn contract for Leisure Park

    Anambra State Government has approved ₦243 billion contract award for construction of a leisure park to be known as Solution Fun City in Awka.

    The state Commissioner for Information, Mr Paul Nwosu, made the disclosure in a statement on Friday in Awka.

    He said that the approval was made at the Anambra State Executive Council meeting.

    Nwosu said that the project to be sited at the Park B of the Awka Township Stadium would include supply and installation of outdoor and indoor amusement and waterpark equipment as well as indoor arcade games and bowling equipment.

    According to the official, the contract for Lot 1, which entailed supply and installation of outdoor amusement and waterpark equipment, was awarded to Parkvega Waterpark Ltd. at the sum of ₦1.91 billion.

    “The contract for Lot 2 which entails the supply and installation of the indoor arcade games and bowling equipment at the Solution Fun City, Awka, was awarded to JCN & Bros Ltd. for N520 million.

    “This is in the march toward fulfilling the vision of Gov. Chukwuma Soludo of making Anambra a livable and prosperous smart megacity.

    “This project will transform Anambra State from a departure lounge into a destination lounge,” he said.

  • Appeal Court reinstates ex-NIA DG Dauda  

    The Court of Appeal has reinstated Ambassador Mohammed Dauda as the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

    The court also awarded the sum of N1 million to the dismissed DG against the NIA.

    The presiding Judge, Justice Peter Ige gave the verdict on Thursday evening, while delivering a judgement in an appeal filed by the NIA.

    In his judgment, the judge held that Dauda should be allowed to retire in service in accordance with the stipulated laws. 

    The Judge resolved all the contentious issues against NIA in favour of respondent.

    He held: “There is no evidence before the court that shows that the respondent has constituted any risk or breached any law.

    “The appellant appeal is hereby dismissed for lacking in merit and the Industrial Court judgment is hereby affirmed,”

    Earlier, the Abuja National Industrial Court had ordered the reinstatement of Mohammed Dauda as the head of National Intelligence Agency and payment of salaries and entitlements from March 2018 till date after it found that his dismissal fell short of the NIA Act.

    In the judgment delivered by Justice Olufunke Anuwe, it was held that, under the agency’s rule, the appropriate committee to investigate disciplinary cases against management staff is the management staff disciplinary committee, “not the special management staff disciplinary committee”.

  • NASS Minority Leadership: Wike meets Akpabio, plots upset

    The immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has reportedly had a lengthy meeting of over six hours with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

    The meeting, held in anticipation of the Senate resumption on July 4, 2023, aimed to thwart the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) hierarchy’s influence over the selection of Senate Minority leaders in both the upper and lower legislative chambers of the National Assembly.

    The meeting, which took place at the Senate President’s office, witnessed the presence of Deputy Senate President Senator Jibrin Barau, recently appointed Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate) Senator Abdullahi Abubakar Gumel, Senator Jibrin Isah representing Kogi East Senatorial District, and Senator Salihu Mustapha representing Kwara Central Senatorial District.

    While Wike declined to speak with journalists following the meeting’s conclusion around 6:30pm on Thursday, he departed in the Senate President’s convoy.

    Meanwhile, it was learnt that, Wike at the meeting, emphasized the necessity for his faction to nominate the Minority leader of the 10th Senate rather than allowing the PDP’s national body to handle the nomination.

    At present, it remains unclear whether the Senate President accepted Wike’s proposal. However, traditionally, the political party has been responsible for selecting the Majority and Minority Leaders of the upper and lower legislative chambers.

    Regarding Wike’s intentions, the source stated, “Wike is strongly determined to ensure that his faction secures the key positions, although he did not disclose the names of the individuals he is targeting. He is actively seeking support from the National Assembly’s leadership, as well as the minority political parties in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.”

    The current composition of the Senate consists of 59 senators from the All Progressives Congress (APC), 36 from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), 8 from the Labour Party, 2 from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), 2 from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), 1 from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and 1 from the Young Progressives Party (YPP).

  • Gombe establishes Drugs, Medical Consumables Mgt Agency

    Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON has assented to the Gombe State Drugs and Medical Consumables Management Agency and Public Wholesale Company Law, 2023.

    The law, which was passed by the State House of Assembly on the 18th of May, 2023, seeks to provide for the establishment of the Gombe State Drugs and Medical Consumables Management Agency which will serve as an assured source of qualitative, affordable and accessible drugs and other medical consumables in the State.

    The purpose is to create a patient-centred supply chain standard that will achieve significant levels of efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of healthcare products to the citizenry in line with Universal Health Coverage.

    Ismaila Uba Misilli
    Director-General
    ( Press Affairs)
    Government House
    Gombe

  • Emerging, developing economies need $2trn in climate financing – IEA

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said there is desperate need for a seven fold increase in clean energy financing in emerging and developing economies in the next 10 years if global warming is to be capped at tolerable levels.

    According to the IEA, financing needs to move from its present $260 billion to nearly $2 trillion in order keep temperatures from rising to catastrophic levels, annual investments in non-fossil fuel energy in emerging and developing economies.  

    “Financing clean energy in the emerging and developing world is the fault line of reaching international climate goals,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.

    The report released on the eve of the two-day Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, seeks to galvanise support for revamping the mid-20th century architecture governing financial flows from rich to developing nations.

    G20 nations are historically responsible for 80 percent of global carbon emissions, which are wreaking havoc on the earth’s climate.

    According to Amnesty International’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, “Many vulnerable, lower-income states have been overwhelmed by economic shocks, debts they cannot pay, and the effects of climate change – a crisis to which they contributed very little, but which is costing people in these countries dearly,”

    “These are unprecedented challenges that require a rethink of how the world’s financial architecture is set up,”

    Speeding the transition from dirty to clean energy and helping emerging and developing economies cope with and prepare for devastating climate impacts are high on the summit agenda.

    Nearly 800 million people lack electricity and 2.4 billion have no access to clean cooking fuels, most of whom reside in poor and emerging countries.

    Under current policy trends, one-third of the rise in energy use in these nations over the next decade will be met by burning fossil fuels, the main driver of global warming, the IEA warned.

    According to Birol, investments in clean energy are increasing, but “the bad news is that more than 90 percent of that increase in clean energy since the Paris Agreement in 2015 comes from advanced economies and China.”

    To unlock the potential for clean energy in emerging and developing economies, the report emphasized the need for greater international technical, regulatory and financial support.

    Based on the IEA’s report, two-thirds of the financing for clean energy projects in emerging and developing economies excluding China “will need to come from the private sector” because public sector investments are “insufficient to deliver universal access to energy and tackle climate change”.

    According to the IEA report, there is potential for rapidly ramping up renewable energy. Solar power is now the cheapest source of electricity generation across almost the entire world.

    At least 40 percent of the global solar radiation reaching the planet lands on sub-Saharan Africa, and yet nearly 10 times more solar capacity was installed in China last year than across the entire African continent.

  • YPP wants Akwa Ibom election tribunal moved to Abuja

    The Young Progressives Party (YPP) has appealed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria to relocate the sitting of the Akwa-Ibom Governorship Petition Tribunal to Abuja.
    Mr Egbeola Wale-Martins, the National Publicity Secretary, YPP, said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

    “Desperate times call for desperate measures, hence we call on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayade Ariwoola to as a matter of urgency, move the ongoing Governorship Petition Tribunal in Akwa-Ibom to Abuja.

    “This is in order to put a halt to the desperation of the PDP to cow everyone including the tribunal into submission. It is important that the tribunal continue to maintain neutrality, which is already threatened by the unlawful actions of the PDP.
    “In addition, we call on the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun to use the Akwa-Ibom situation as a litmus test and send a strong message to police officers who have made themselves available as willing tools in the hands of the state government.
    “Adequate security protection should also be given to all our key witnesses and relevant YPP stakeholders in Akwa-Ibom,” he said.
    Wale-Martins said that the party was hopeful of winning the case, if given the chance to prove its points at the tribunal.

  • Tribunal: US Immigration lawyer testifies against Lagos Dep Gov Hamzat

    A United States Immigration lawyer, Mrs. Olubusayo Fasidi, on Thursday, said that Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat to the took oath of allegiance in the U.S. to renounce Nigerian citizenship.

    Fasidi, a Nigerian, testified before Lagos State Election Petition Tribunal.

    She was led in evidence by Dr Olumide Ayeni (SAN), counsel to the petitioner, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party.

    The witness told the tribunal that Hamzat, the third respondent in the petition, also applied for naturalisation as contained in Forms 8CFR/337 and N400.

    Ayeni tendered the documents to the three-man tribunal but counsel to all the respondents objected, saying that the reason for their objection would be included in their final written addresses.

    During cross-examination by counsel to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Eric Ogiegor, the witness said that an individual could enjoy dual citizenship.

    She, however, said that she was not aware of the provision of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution that dealt with dual citizenship.

    She said that she was subpoenaed before the tribunal to explain U.S. law and not Nigeria’s Constitution.

    Mr. Bode Olanipekun (SAN), counsel to Hamzat and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, asked the witness to disclose the jurisdiction and date Hamzat applied for naturalisation but she said she would not, because the information was protected by the Privacy Act of 1974.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) counsel, Mr Norris Quakers, asked the witness if she was aware that Hamzat disclosed his American citizenship.

    The witness replied in the affirmative, and Quakers thereafter argued that the witness addressed issues of law and not those of facts.

    The tribunal led by Justice Arum Ashom, while admitting all the documents in evidence, ordered counsel to the respondents to include their objections in their final written addresses.

    The other members of the tribunal are Justice Mikail Abdullahi and Justice l.P. Braimoh.

    The tribunal adjourned the case until June 26 for continuation of hearing.

    Earlier, Ayeni presented result sheet from polling units in nine local government areas of the state to establish differences in some areas, against what is recorded on INEC’s Form EC 40A.

    Counsel to INEC, Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat and APC objected to the admissibility of the Form EC 40A, reserving reasons until their final written addresses.

  • Russia now India’s 4th largest trading partner

    Russia now India’s 4th largest trading partner

    Russia moved from the fifth to the fourth place among India’s largest trading partners, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has said.

    According to the Indian ministry, trade turnover between Russia and India from January to April 2023 increased by 3.8 times and reached 21.8 billion U.S. dollars.

    During this period, India increased imports from Russia by 4.2 times, up to 20.5 billion U.S. dollars.

    Indian exports to Russia grew by 1.6 times and reached 1.3 billion U.S. dollars.

    India’s main trading partners remained China and the United States.

    Ruslan Davydov, acting head of the Russian Federal Customs Service, said earlier that China, India, Türkiye, and Azerbaijan had replaced the European Union in Russia’s foreign trade. 

  • Blow for Arsenal as Man City enter Rice transfer race

    Blow for Arsenal as Man City enter Rice transfer race

    Arsenal have been dealt another blow by Manchester City, with the Premier League champions reportedly entering the transfer race for Declan Rice.

    • Gunners keen on Hammers midfielder
    • Have seen two bids knocked back
    • City ready to splash out on England star

    More details later…