NIGERIAN NOTCH

Suspended Acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu has been released from detention. Though details of his release were not clear as at press time, sources said he was released Wednesday evening. The embattled Anti-graft boss has been undergoing interrogation by a presidential investigation committee headed by Justice Ayo Salami following a petition against him by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. Following from that, he has also been detained for the period the interrogation has lasted at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID.

Some of Nigeria’s strategic partners in the anti-corruption battle have taken more than a passing interest in the ongoing probe into activities of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under suspended acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu. Key countries – some of them having mutual legal assistance treaties with the country – are monitoring the process of the investigation, it was learnt at the weekend. They include the United States (U.S.), the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Switzerland. For one week, Magu has been detained. He was accosted on the road in Abuja and dragged to appear before the Justice Isa Ayo Salami Presidential Investigation Panel, which is probing allegations levelled against him by Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami. On Sunday, he denied the claim that he failed to account for the interest in the N550 billion recovered fund kept in CBN’s custody. In a statement by his lawyer Wahab Shittu,

A total of 1,773 contractors were allegedly paid N70.495 billion by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as mobilization fees without resorting to the site between 2008 and 2012. This was revealed as the House of Representatives at the weekend kicked-off its investigation into the N70.495 billion allegedly paid by the commission to the contractors. Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Honourable Wole Oke, who presided over the investigative hearing into the audit queries from the Auditor-General for the Federation (oAuGF) for the period under review, underscored the need for the NDDC acting managing director, Professor Pondei Kemerbrandikumo, to provide details of the projects and list of all defaulting contractors. The commission’s boss is also to come along with a statement of accounts showing the recovered funds as alluded to by its acting director of internal audit, Mr Itu Eno Ubi, who said only the sum of N19 billion is yet to be recovered from the contractors. A

By Kamen Chuks   Today at the plenary, the Senator representing the good people of Anambra South Senatorial District , Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah called the attention of the Senate leadership to the unwieldy number of road blocks and  check points by police Army and other security agencies  on the Lagos to Onitsha Expressway  especially from Ijebu Ode  down to Onitsha axis Today, I came under Order 43 of the Senate Rules to raise a complaint about the  increasingly worrisome number of roadblocks/checkpoints mounted by the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Army and other paramilitary security agencies between Ijebu Ode and Onitsha head bridge....He said He went on to emphasize  that the alarming number  of checkpoints( the highest in  the country)  spanning over 136 roadblocks between Ijebu Ode and Onitsha head bridge appears to have outlived its usefulness, in terms of curbing security breaches as they now serve as conduit pipes for extortion and intimidation of commuters especially

The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu has been invited before a panel probing the activities of the agency. The panel is said to be sitting at the Banquet Hall wing of the Presidential Villa. Magu was stopped in traffic while moving out of the Wuse II Annex of the EFCC in Abuja and the invitation was extended to him. Although Magu was on his way to the Force Headquarters, he pleaded with an officer from FCID who met with him to honour the scheduled appointment. A source said: “Both Magu and Jacobs are now in an office in the Banquet Wing of the Vila. “He has not been arrested by any of the security agencies. We are awaiting further development. ” But he was told the invitation by the panel was more important. At about 1.35pm, Magu arrived at the Villa where he was ushered into the wing. As at Press time, Magu has been joined at the Villa by his lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs.

The Imo State government yesterday made public of its findings in the payroll system regarding pension fraud which involved eight persons said to be receiving N330 million annually as a pension. The governor, Hope Uzodinma, disclosed this in Owerri, after meeting with the leadership of the state chapters of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, led by Josiah Ugochukwu, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Austin Chilakpu and Trade Union Congress, TUC, at the Government House in Owerri. The names mentioned were as follows; Ajokubi H. A, (N65, 685, 491. 00) Njoku Damian (N 5,042,439.58) , Obasi Canice (N 3, 460, 366.64), Anyanwu F. N (No, 150, 336. 00), Emenalo Theresa (N 3,058, 592.00), John Sunday (N 2,320624. 00) Ajaegbo E. O (N2, 298,910.34) and Ekedere Eunice (N 32,490, 016. 00). The governor said it also discovered that over one thousand pensioners who retired in 1976 were still receiving a pension, just as he pointed out that pensioners in the verified database have all been paid

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday kicked against the reopening of schools by the Federal Government due to the COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the country. Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU National President, spoke with the with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ota, Ogun. According to him, the Federal Government needed to address the challenges of education sector before it can talk of reopening schools. Ogunyemi urged the Federal Government to provide ideal environment and should take the lead by meeting the conditions spelt out by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) before reopening schools. “The Federal Government must lead and show the ways by meeting the conditions for reopening of schools before any school can be allowed to open, because COVID-19 pandemic is a health challenge. “When it comes to public health, it is something that should not be left in the hands of individual, but the Federal Government must take the lead,’’ he said. The ASUU pres

By Obiagha Victor The journey to Agu Awka 2021 has long started, all the major political parties in the state are presently warming up to take over the number one leadership position in the State from the outgoing incumbent, come 2021. This calls for deep evaluation of the parties  and her candidates, and what they are offering the people as a bond. The Young Progressive Party (YPP) is a party to watch out for in  the forth coming elections in Anambra State. The party today in Anambra, presents hope, to the common man in the  actualisation of societal dreams, equity, progress and overall development of the state  YPP, is a party that  sponsors visionary and highly cerebral young leaders at all strata of the society, in order to end the age long bad governance, in the Nigerian political system. It is a party whose sole aim is to build and sustain a state (especially a commercial one like Anambra), with a vibrant economy, designed to serve the people's interests, in which good govern

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), says it will provide no fewer than 200,000 bed spaces for students in various tertiary institutions in the country. Mr Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, Chairman, TETFund Board of Trustees disclosed this in Abuja at the agency 2020 Board Retreat for Research Grants. The retreat has as theme: “Consolidating TETFund as a Model Intervention Agency for Nigeria’s Knowledge Economy”. Ibrahim-Imam said the board was concerned with the issues of lack of adequate accommodation spaces and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in different tertiary institutions in the country. “I am very particular about two critical areas, which is also of great concern to me and the Board of Trustees. “These include the issue of accommodation and ICT, in spite various interventions by TETFund our tertiary institutions still have inadequate lecture theatres, research laboratories, hostels and ICT facilities. “In the area of accommodation, it is a known fact that the numbe

Senegalese President Macky Sall has self-isolated himself for two weeks as a precaution after coming into contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, the presidential office said on Thursday. Seydou Gueye, the president’s adviser in charge of communications, said that Sall had taken the COVID-19 test after being exposed to coronavirus. The results came back negative. “However, following the doctors’ recommendations on this issue, the president has been isolated for two weeks, starting on Wednesday, June 24,” Gueye said in a statement posted on the office’s Twitter account. According to the Senegalese Health Ministry’s latest update, the West African country has so far registered 6,129 COVID-19 cases, 93 deaths and 4,072 recoveries.  (Sputnik/NAN)

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has asked that no congratulatory message should be placed for him in newspapers for his birthday,  as he clocks 55 years on Thursday. The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Gboyega Akosile, said in a statement on Wednesday, that the governor wished to continue his tradition of reaching out and sharing love with the needy in the society. ”This is to inform friends, families, professional colleagues and political associates of the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, that no congratulatory advertisements should be placed in newspapers to celebrate his forthcoming birthday. ”Mr Governor believes that an occasion of one’s birthday, especially a milestone such as the age of 55, should be a day to reflect on one’s purpose of existence in life,” Akosile said. The Chief Press Secretary said that according to the governor, the purpose of existence was ”to serve the humanity”. He said that apart from the outreach, the governor was