Flowerbud News

Author: Ibrahim Abusadiq

  • Conflict causes over $150bn damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure — Study

    Conflict causes over $150bn damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure — Study

    By Flowerbud News

    Oct. 5, 2023

    The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has caused 151.2 billion dollars in direct damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure as of September this year, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported, citing a recent study.

    According to the study conducted by the Kyiv School of Economics, the housing sector was hit the most by the conflict.

    The study also indicated that about 167,200 private houses, apartment buildings and dormitories have been destroyed or damaged by the hostilities.

    Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine confrontation, 18 airports and civil airfields, as well as 344 bridges and overpasses have been damaged in Ukraine.

    At least 426 large and medium-sized enterprises were affected, the study added.

    Xinhua/NAN

  • Senate urges FG to redeem N10bn IDPs resettlement pledge

    Senate urges FG to redeem N10bn IDPs resettlement pledge

    By Kingsley Okoye

    The Senate has urged the Federal Government to redeem the N10 billion promise made to the people of Benue to rebuild the destroyed communities.

    Senate resolution was sequel to adoption of a motion at plenary on Thursday on need to restle displaced people of Gwer -West , Markurdi and Guma local government to their ancestral home and avert imminent humanitarian crisis in the state.

    The motion was sponsored by Sen.Zam Tartenger(APC- Benue).

    Tartenger in his lead debate recalled that  farmers of Gwer-west, Malardi and Guma Local Government area of Benue state have been sacked and displaced by bandits masquerading as herders in the last seven years .

    This, he said had resulted in the people taken abode at camps under deplorable and excruciating conditions at Naka, Agagbe, Ahagena North Bank, Daud, Umanger, and Ghajingba in Gwer-west, Makurdi and Guma Local Government Areas respectively.

    He said that the continued stay of the people at the camps potentially exposes them to humanitarian crisis, outbreak of diseases and other health challenges .

    According to him, statistics from the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BENSEMA) indicated that as at September 2022, the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Benue State stood at 1, 597,000 persons.

    He expressed worry that catering for the huge population was beyond the financial strength of state government.

    He further expressed worry that, between January and October, 2022, 560 children living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) camps scattered in Gwer-West, Makurdi, Guma and other parts of Benue as reported by BENSEMA were malnourished.

    He said that the immediate past Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo who had paid a sympathy visit to Benue in 2015 promised the people the sum of N10 billion for resettlement of the displaced people.

    According to him, the promise has unfortunately be kept in breach.

    Senate further in its resolution urged Chief of Defence Staff to immediately facilitate and supervise the quick return of all displaced persons to their ancestral homes and provide a sustainable security corridor to all flash points within the affected communities.

    It also directed the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to provide medical,Food and other relief materials to the displaced persons.

    NAN reports that in 2018, the federal government approved a rehabilitation fund of N10bn for victims of killer herdsmen attacks in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states, as part of efforts to resettle thousands IDPs.

    Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made this known during a visit to IDP camps in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

    He told over 34,000 IDPs who are taking refuge at the Abagana camp that the government is doing everything possible to ensure they are immediately resettled in their ancestral homes.

    Osinbajo who also promised to supervise the rehabilitation process, announced a three-point solution of providing adequate security for the communities, rebuilding destroyed homes and restoring farmlands currently being occupied by invading herdsmen to enable food production.

    NAN

  • Katsina Governor orders audit of LG workers

    Katsina Governor orders audit of LG workers

    By Abbas Bamalli

    Gov. Dikko Radda of Katsina State says the government will audit all local council workers as part of measures to ensure efficiency and eliminate fraud in local government financial system.

    The governor announced the manpower audit during a meeting with the Chairmen, Heads of Personnel and Treasurers of the 34 local government areas in the state.

    “We have received several complaints on the payrolls of our local governments which are very disturbing, hence, we want to sanitise the local government system in our dear state.

    “A situation where some fraudulent persons collect more than their salary is worrisome, but we are determined to stop such evil practices,” the governor was quoted in a statement on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Kaula, as saying during the meeting.

    Radda said all local council workers must be physically present during the manpower audit, so as to identify genuine staff across the 34 LGAs.

    NAN

  • Kalu’s conviction: Joining ruling party not guarantee against criminal justice-Nwagwu

    Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, Chairman ,Partners for Electoral Reforms (PEF) says the jailing of former Gov. Orji Kalu of Abia was a proof that joining the ruling party with criminal case was not a guarantee against justice.

    Nwagwu in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja said that the jailing has faulted the notion that once people with criminal record join the ruling party they were covered.

    NAN reports that Kalu was on Thursday convicted of corruption and sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Federal High Court in Lagos after he was found guilty of N7.2 billion fraud and money laundering.

    “The judgment is a good boost for the anti corruption fight, especially against the background of all the noise about once somebody is in the All Progressives Congress (APC) the person cannot be brought to justice.

    “It is a good signal that even if you join the ruling party you will not clog the will of justice.

    “It also signals the fact that no matter how long it last, once there is the determination by the court to bring justice, justice would be done.

    “ We are excited about the judgment and we hope that it is also brought to bear on the Babachir Lawal’s case and other cases of people with criminal record who think that being in the ruling party is a guarantee against justice,’’he said

    NAN

  • BREAKING: Court finds ex-Gov. Orji Kalu guilty of N7.2bn fraud, money laundering

    A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday found a former Governor of Abia, Uzor Kalu, guilty of 39 counts of N7.2 billion fraud and money laundering.

    Kalu was charged alongside  Jones Udeogo, the state  Commissioner for Finance during his tenure as the governor.

    Kalu’s  company, Slok Nig. Ltd., was also a defendant in the suit.

    While Kalu and his company were convicted on all the 39 counts of the fraud charge, Udeogo was found guilty of 34 counts.

    Details later…….

  • Court orders DSS to transfer El-Zakzaky, wife to Kaduna Correctional Centre

    A High Court on Thursday ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to transfer the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zinat, to the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Kaduna, to allow his lawyers easy access to him.

    Justice Gideon Kurada, the trial Judge’s order was sequel to the application by Haruna Magashi, counsel to the IMN leader, at resumed hearing of the main suit in Kaduna, eight months after the last hearing in April.

    The IMN leader and his wife Zinat are standing trial over allegations of culpable homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption of public peace, among other charges, in another court.

    Kurada had on April 25 adjourned the trial of the IMN leader indefinitely to enable him serve on the panel of the Presidential and National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal, in Yobe.

    At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, Magashi  who held the brief for Femi Falana, SAN, the lead counsel to the IMN leader and his wife, applied for his clients transfer to the Kaduna Prisons, now known as Correctional Centre.

    Magashi told newsmen shortly after the case was adjourned to Feb. 6, 2020, for hearing, that the team of counsel to the IMN leader had always had difficulty whenever they want to see him at the DSS detention facility.

    He added that the Counsel would have easy access to the IMN leader and his wife if transferred to the correctional facility in Kaduna and that would speed up the trial of his clients.

    The order equally took the team of prosecution by the storm, when the prosecution counsel, led by Dari Bayero, appeared in court set to continue with the trial of the IMN leader and his wife.

    Bayero , also Director Prosecution at the Kaduna State Ministry of Justice, told newsmen that his team was ready for the trial, but it was stalled.

    He, however, said that the team would appear set for the trial on the adjourned date of Feb. 6, 2020.

    NAN

  • Banditry: 2,000 repentant youths surrender weapons to Zamfara Govt.

    No fewer than 2,000 repentant Youths who terrorised Gusau, Zamfara,  handed over 190 locally made rifles and shotguns to Gov. Bello Matawalle at the Government House, Gusau.

    The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the governor on Media, Mr Zailani Bappa, disclosed this in statement on Thursday.

    Bappa said the youth were led to the government house by the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Security, Abubakar Dauran.

    He quoted Dauran as saying that he was convinced that the youths had genuinely repented.

    According to him, Dauran said  in the recent past, major cities of the state, especially Gusau were highly unsafe as  banditry, youth restiveness and other crimes were the order of the day.

    The governor’s aide, however, expressed happiness that the youth were towing the line of the repentant bandits and also repenting from their bad ways.

    Leader of the repentant youths popularly known as Sani Shaidan, said that they were encouraged by what the State Government  did, alleging that  the immediate past administration in the state did not care about their welfare.

    He said that they were convinced that the present administration in the state genuinely intended to address the ills in the state, hence their resolve to allow peace to reign.

    Responding, Matawalle assured the repentant youths of the state government`s earlier commitment to finding lasting solutions to their plights.

    The governor urged them to form committees that would monitor those youths who refused to accept the peace initiatives.

    He donated five Peugeot cars for the monitoring of youths  within the metropolis.

    NAN

  • Reps C’ttee demands explanation on IGR spending by PENCOM

    The House of Representatives Committee on Pensions has frowned at the Nigeria Pension Commission (PENCOM) for spending it’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) without the approval of the National Assembly.

    The Chairman of the Committee Rep. Alhassan Rurum (APC-Kano) expressed dissatisfaction for the expenditure at an investigative hearing on Thursday in Abuja.

    He said that manner in which the finances of PENCOM were being managed by the commission’s management called for concern.

    Also, the Deputy Chairman of the committee, Rep. Bamidele Salam (PDP-Ondo) said that the maagement of PENCOM must explain the spending of N2.13 billion of PENCOM’ IGR on administrative activities without approval.

    “The committee also demands that the PENCOM management explain the spending of N369 million of its IGR on ‘Miscellaneous Expenses.

    “The spending of N731 million of it’s IGR on capacity building and the spending of N1.8 billion Operational and Monitoring Expenses’, among other huge expenses, all without approval of the National Assembly,” he said.

    Responding to the queries, the acting Director-General of PENCOM, Hajia Dahir-Umar, attempted to make verbal clarifications of the issues raised.

    According to her, it is the right of PENCOM to start spending its IGR without further recourse to the National Assembly as soon as the president signs the Appropriation Act into Law.

    Her verbal explanations were, however, not accepted as the committee insisted on sighting documented approvals and evidence of appropriation for the 2019 spending of PENCOM.

    The committee gave the commission up until Monday, Dec. 9 to present to the committee the approvals for 2019 spending of PENCOM.

    The committee also demanded the cash flow analysis for the IGR already spent and other necessary documents for clarity.

    NAN

  • ICPC boss decries under-utilisation of N100bn annual FG constituency projects

    Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has expressed dismay that the N100 billion annual allocation to constituency projects has yet to achieve Federal Government’s objective.
    Owasanoye made the remark on Thursday in Abuja during a special town hall meeting on fight against corruption organized by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in conjunction with the National Orientation Agency (NOA).
    He regretted that the federal government’s lofty initiative had not made any significant impact in the lives of communities in the country in terms of infrastructure development.
    He said, “If we genuinely spend N2 trillion on infrastructure development over a period of 10 years, it will diminish the tension and the escalation of discontent.
    Owasanoye said that the principal focus of the first phase of the tracking, started some months ago, was on health and education sectors.
    He said that one or two locations were selected from each geopolitical zone, with emphasises on specific projects and working with an inter agency committee.
    Owasanoye said that the committee was made up of representatives from Budget Office, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bureau of Public Procurement and Office of the Auditor-General.
    He described the outcome of the first phase as revealing and interesting, adding that monies meant for constituency projects, not executed or completed, were recovered.
    According to him, “at least 200 contractors returned to site even before we got to them with some sponsors of the projects going back to complete them.
    “In some cases, when the empowerment items were locked up somewhere because somebody wanted to trade them off, we gave them one week to distribute such items to the beneficiaries.
    “For me, it makes more sense rather than arresting a senator and locking him up without delivering the items or facilities to the intended beneficiaries.
    “With this approach, we may not see the sponsors in jail but the idea is that the communities will be happy and we will be happy also,” the ICPC boss said.
    He further said that the commission would soon begin the second phase “because the first phase exposed a lot of pointers and opener to the commission.” (NAN)