CSOs Tackle Buhari, DSS Over Clampdown On Peaceful Protesters

Civil Society groups in Nigeria have again condemned the clampdown and attack on peaceful protesters in different states of the country.

The CSOs stated that protest was a guaranteed right of Nigerians enshrined in the constitution while describing the attack on protesters especially by the Department of State Services as one that “brings back dark memories of the days of military dictatorship”.

The CSOs said that fresh threats have begun to emerge against protests to demand for the release of Omoyele Sowore and other political prisoners in the country.

“Our attention has been drawn to another in the series of draconian threats of the secret police against mobilisation by unarmed Nigerians for a nationwide protest to demand the release of Omoyele Sowore, Olawale “Mandate” Bakare, Agba Jalingo and all political prisoners, as well as for pro-poor people policies that will make life better for the masses.

“Tyrannical rule is based on manipulation as well as repression. 

"This is the only reason why the DSS which had consistently disobeyed several subsisting court orders for the release of illegitimately detained persons including Sowore and Bakare can still have the effrontery of talking about law and order or peace and stability.

“We the undersigned want to tell the world that the threats of the DSS is meant to save the face of Mr Yusuf Bichi, Director-General of the DSS; Mr Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation and President Muhammadu Buhari. 

"Despite their deploying all the coercive, financial and propaganda resources of the state, the #RevolutionNow movement has remained steadfast and shown the regime for what it is, an authoritarian monstrosity in liberal democratic garb.

“We have been able to do so because we stand on truth. 

"The true character of the regime is now crystal clear for the whole world to see. The truth is out and the everybody can see that the political prisoners are only being victimised for their indomitable defence of human and civil rights of the Nigerian masses.”

The CSOs stated that no amount of intimidation by the DSS and other security agencies can move them as they remain unshaken and unbowed in the struggle against all anti-democratic forces.

The CSOs are Coalition for Revolution, Committee for the Defense of Human rights, Rivers State Civil Society Coalition, Socialist Workers and Youths League, Alliance of Nigerian Students Against Neoliberal Attacks, United Action for Democracy and TakeitBack Movement's FreeSowore Committee.

IPPIS Will Stop Us From Hosting Visiting Professors -ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has said that enrolling in government's Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System will prevent higher institutions from hosting visiting scholars. 

Prof Biodun Ogunyemi said this in an interview with PUNCH.

Sighting the instance of late Pius Adesanmi, who was a visiting lecturer to three African universities, Ogunyemi said, “Just three weeks ago we were at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa where scholars in the Diaspora came together to think of how best they could help revitalise higher education in Africa and a lot of case studies were presented.

“The case of our late friend, Prof Pius Adesanmi, who was until his death, the Director of African Studies in Carlton, Canada, came up for mention. He was a professor at more than three universities in Africa.

“In fact, the Director of African Studies in Legon, Ghana, recalled that Adesanmi was on their payroll as a visiting scholar and he would be visiting for at least three months and would go back and he did that for more than five years. He did the same for two other universities in South Africa.

“In Nigeria, going by IPPIS arrangement, there would be no room for that. 

"Even if a scholar in the Diaspora is coming to Nigeria for one-year sabbatical bringing a lot of experience, IPPIS arrangement would not accommodate such.” 

Reacting to a prior claim that universities should be excused from the system just as staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, director of IPPIS, Olufehinti Olusegun, said these agencies were revenue making entities and would be captured later on.

He said, “For the CBN, FIRS and NNPC, they are revenue agencies and they live on the cost of collection. They are revenue-generating agencies and they don’t draw from the consolidated revenue fund. 

"So, it is left to the government on what to do next but it is a journey that just started.” 

According to Olusegun, the scheme had captured over 937,000 federal employees including the military and saved billions of naira for the government.

JUST IN: Senate receives 2020 budget report

The Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Jibrin Barau, on Wednesday laid the report of the 2020 Appropriation Bill before the Senate.

A motion to present the report was moved by the Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Jibrin Barau and seconded by Senator Bassey Albert Akpan.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan commended the committee for presenting the report.

Lawan however notified members that copies of the report were not ready for circulation to members as they were still being printed.

He said that the circulation would be done immediately the committee concludes the printing of the report.

Lawan said: “Thank you Chairman and  let me commend you for bringing the report. Let me also inform our colleagues here that the committee will today work hard to complete printing the details of the budget and we hope that it will be distributed to us at the end of today.

“They are still printing them so we expect that the copies will be made available to all Distinguished Senators.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had on the October 8, 2019, presented the 2020 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly for consideration and approval.

The Bill which has since gone through Second Reading and public hearing was earlier billed to be presented to the Senate by the committee yesterday but later deferred following the death of a House of Representatives member representing Rijau/Magama Federal Constituency of Niger State, Hon. Jafaru Illiyasu Auna.

The N10.33trillion fiscal document presented by Buhari was predicated on some of the following parameters: oil benchmark at $57, Exchange rate of N305 to the dollar, oil production of 2.18 mbpd, Capital expenditure of N2.14trillion, Recurrent Expenditure of N4.88trillion and Debt Service of N2.45trillion among others.

However, it was learnt that barring last minute changes, the capital component of the 2020 Budget may increase by between N450billion to N500billion.

A source close to the Appropriations Committee of the Senate, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that the increase was meant to take care of exigencies that were not captured in the capital allocation of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government.

The source said that the legislature got the buy-in of the relevant executive bodies to make the necessary additions to the 2020 capital expenditure.

Adeyemi Takes Oath Of Office As Kogi West Senator

smart Adeyemi, senator representing Kogi West district in the upper arm of Nigeria's legislature has taken the oath of office as lawmaker for his constinutency. 

Adeyemi was sworn in during Wednesday's plenary session of the Senate. 

He was declared winner of the rerun election in the constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission after defeating Dino Melaye.

The court had nullified Melaye's initial election and ordered a fresh exercise, which eventually led to his defeat.

Court Sentence Brothers To Prison Over N98.7m Fraud

The Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State, has convicted Nwegwu and Joakin Nwegwu for conspiracy and obtaining money to the tune of N98.7m by false pretences.

The duo, who are managing directors of ACJEC Global Services Ltd, were prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a 50-count charge in 2011.

The EFCC had received petitions against them alleging that they were lured to invest the said money in ACJEC Global Services Ltd with the promise of mouth-watering 30 to 34 per cent interest annually on their investment.

The petitioners alleged that after investing the said money, they never got the interest nor the capital invested in the company.

Investigations carried out by the EFCC further revealed that more than N4bn was paid into the accounts of the convicts by their victims numbering over 200 in what turned out to be a Ponzi Scheme of sort.

One of the victims was said to have invested more than N50m.

Count 15 of the charges against them reads, “That you, Kingsley Chinedu Nwegwu, Chetachukwu Joakim Nwegwu and ACJEC Global Services Ltd, on or about March 23, 2011 at Awka, Anambra State, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court of Nigeria with intent to defraud,obtained by false pretense the sum of N15m from Okeke Osita Samuel when you represented that the said amount of money was an investment in a business of partnership venture which would generate more financial income for the said Okeke Osita Samuel, a pretense you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(1) b of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No.14 of 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

After reviewing the evidence brought by the EFCC against them, Justice Abubakar held that the prosecution proved its case beyond every reasonable doubt, and so convicted them accordingly.

While sentencing them to one year in prison, Justice Abubakar further ordered that all the properties traced to them in the course of investigations should be forfeited to the Federal Government. 

He also gave them an option of a fine of N1m each.

However, many of their victims, who had thronged the court premises, expressed dissatisfaction over the one-year imprisonment given to them especially the option of N1m fine.

Ekiti APC hopeful of good outing in LG poll

The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State, Ade Ajayi, said on Tuesday that his party, based on its popularity and the achievements of Governor Kayode Fayemi, would have a clean sweep of the local government elections billed for Saturday.

 Ajayi, who boasted that his party would win the 16 chairmanship seats and the 177 councillorship positions available in the election, said the APC, with the result of the election, would completely rout the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

The APC spokesperson, who spoke at a press conference to reiterate the party’s readiness for the council polls, called on the State Independent Electoral Commission to be transparent in the polls, saying, “We want the body to abide by the rules guiding it and the conduct of election.

“We are reiterating that we will not tolerate any act of illegality from the SIEC. No candidate should be registered after the registration has closed.

“We are not taking any chances in the elections as we have been campaigning vigorously at the grassroots. We have been moving across the 16 local government areas and the 177 wards in the state and the presence of our party is being well felt.

 “We want to show the world that we are the only party on ground in Ekiti State. We will rout out the PDP on December 7. The APC will clear all the seats in the 16 local government areas and the 177 wards in the state.

 “I can assure you that the APC will allow a level playing field during the polls. We appeal to SIEC not to favour us. Let the electorate favour us. We are confident that the good works of Governor Fayemi will make Ekiti vote for us. This is why we are enjoining other parties to take part in the polls so that we can prove to the world that the APC is the only party here.”

Show result of election from your polling unit'- Yahaya Bello ask appointees

Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, has asked all his appointees to submit a report of their ”stewardship” in the last election.

Bello won the governorship election held in November.

He polled 406,222 votes to defeat Musa Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who secured 189,704, and Natasha Akpoti of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who got 9,482.

The governor won in 12 local government areas out of the 21 in the state.

In a memo entitled, ‘submission of your stewardship to New Dimension administration’, signed by Folashade Ayoade, secretary to the state government and seen by TheCable, the governor directed all heads of ministries, departments and agencies to submit a report detailing their ”stewardship”.

”Following the decision reached at the state executive council meeting held on Wednesday 27 November. His Excellency, Yahaya Bello, Executive Governor of Kogi state has directed all heads of ministries, departments, and agencies to submit in detail their stewardship to the New Direction administration in respect of their ministries,” the letter read.

“Report should include local government; office (s) held; duration; ward; polling unit; result of election in PU and ward.”

The election, in which Bello emerged winner, was criticized by some civil society organizations for widespread irregularities and violence.