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  • Manager, accountant face N10m theft charge

    Manager, accountant face N10m theft charge

    Two office workers, Oladoyin Ogunyinka and Folashade Junaid, on Wednesday appeared in an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defrauding their employer of N10 million.

    Ogunyinka, 35, an accountant who resides at Yaba area of Lagos, and Junaid, 41, a manager who stays at Ajah, in Lagos, pleaded not guilty to charges of obtaining money under false pretences, conspiracy and stealing.

    The Prosecutor, Insp. Victor Eruada, said that the defendants committed the offences between January 2017 and February 2018 at USAF Global Resources Nigeria Limited, Ikeja area of Lagos State.

    Eruada said that the defendants, who were members of staff of the company, obtained the amount from their employer, Mr Olakunle Olawoore.

    “The accused obtained N10 million from Olawoore under the guise of acquiring him a house, which they never did.

    “They converted the money to their personal use,’’ the prosecutor said.

    The offences contravened Sections 287, 411 and 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 314 prescribes 15 years jail term for obtaining money under false pretences.

    The Magistrate, Mrs M.I. Dan-Oni, granted bail to the defendants in the sum of N1 million, with two sureties in like sum.

    Dan-Oni adjourned the case until Dec. 3, for mention. (NAN)

  • Buhari directs federal agencies to support flood disaster victims

    Buhari directs federal agencies to support flood disaster victims

    President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed solidarity with Nigerians across the states affected by floods and directed all Federal Government agencies “to use their authority and resources to assist the victims affected by the natural disaster’’.

    Malam Garba Shehu, the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, said the new directive was conveyed through the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr Mustapha Maihaja.

    The presidential aide quoted Buhari as warning all the agencies of the Federal government against disobeying the presidential directive.

    According to him, the President has requested that any such agency that failed to assist should be reported to him.

    The President expressed his sympathies to all families who lost property and their loved ones arising from the floods.

    While noting that the loss of lives cannot be compensated, Buhari assured Nigerians that his administration would minimize the suffering and misery of citizens affected by the disaster.

    It would be recalled that Buhari had on Sept. 14 delegated authority to the NEMA Director-General to declare a “national disaster’’ in the event that anticipated flooding turns a reality in parts of the country.

    “The NEMA DG is mandated to coordinate a national response to emergency situations and in doing so, empowered to direct any or all agencies of government to use their authority and resources to offer assistance to victims affected by the floods,’’ Shehu said. (NAN)

  • Porn star Daniels’ tell-all Trump book full of salacious details: newspaper

    BERLIN: 

    Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who claims US President Donald Trump paid her off to keep their tryst a secret, goes into uncomplimentary detail about their alleged sexual encounter in a new memoir, according to the Guardian newspaper.

    Daniels, 39, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, also told friends that Trump “doesn’t even want to be president” during the 2016 campaign, according to the British newspaper, which said it had obtained a copy of the book “Full Disclosure” ahead of its Oct. 2 release date.

    Reuters was unable to review the book. Calls to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, were not immediately returned on Tuesday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The tell-all book will come out a little over a month before the crucial Nov. 6 congressional elections. Democrats are seeking to take back control of one or both houses of Congress from Trump’s Republican Party, a move that would imperil the president’s legislative agenda and launch new oversight of his administration.

    Adult film star Stormy Daniels to publish book on Trump affair in October

    Daniels’ memoir comes on the heels of several other books that portray Trump in an unflattering light, including an investigative work by famed journalist Bob Woodward and a memoir from former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman.

    In addition, the New York Times recently published an anonymous opinion article written by an administration official questioning Trump’s fitness for office and saying there were a number of US officials who were part of a “quiet resistance” inside the administration.

    Trump and the White House have dismissed those reports as fiction.

    Daniels has said she slept with Trump during a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, California, in 2006.

    “It may have been the least impressive sex I’ve ever had, but clearly, he didn’t share that opinion,” she wrote in her memoir, according to the Guardian.

    Trump lawyer seeks $20 million damages from Stormy Daniels

    Trump has denied he had sex with Daniels. His former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has pleaded guilty to making payments to her that violated campaign finance law.

    Daniels wrote in her book that she did not take Trump’s chances of becoming president seriously until late in the 2016 campaign, according to the newspaper.

    “It will never happen, I would say,” Daniels told friends, according to the book. “He doesn’t even want to be president.”

    As Trump’s election grew more likely, however, Daniels said she decided to go public with her story in an effort to protect herself. She cited a 2011 incident in which she claims a man threatened her in a parking lot not to talk about Trump.

    Trump has called that claim “a total con job.”

    Culled from The Express Tribune, Pakistan

  • Niger Govt. spends N2bn. on reconstruction of Minna-Bida road – Commissioner

    Niger Govt. spends N2bn. on reconstruction of Minna-Bida road – Commissioner

    The Niger Government is spending about N2 billion on the reconstruction of the 84 kilometer Minna-Bida road, Alhaji Ibrahim Balarabe, the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, has said

    Balarabe made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna on Wednesday.

    He said that the road had been in deplorable condition due to the activities of heavy duty trucks plying it.

    He explained that the project had reached about 75 per cent completion and expressed satisfaction with the level of the work done so far on the road.

    “Our major challenges are the excesses of the heavy duty vehicle operators coming from Lagos to different part of the country as the state remains the gateway

    ” We are spending billions of naira yearly to repair federal and state roads as a result of heavy duty trucks being loaded above their approved capacity,’’ he said.

    The commissioner called on leaders of heavy duty trucks association to caution their members on the danger of overloading.

    1. Balarabe called on road users to adhere to the traffic rules and regulations, to avoid unnecessary road accidents. (NAN)

  • Oyo: Speaker, Minority Leader, others defect to APC, ADC

    By Oluwabukola Akanni

    The Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Mr Olagunju Ojo, the Minority Leader,  and five other lawmakers on Tuesday defected to three different parties.

    The Clerk of the House, Mr Paul Bankole, read the separate letters of defection by the lawmakers during the plenary session in Ibadan.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Speaker (Labour Party-Orire),  Mrs Wunmi Oladeji ( Labour Party-Ogbomoso North) and  Solomon Olukayode (Labour Party-Ogbomoso South) defected to All  Progressives Congress (APC).

    Gbenga Oyekola ( Labour Party-Atiba) and Peter Oyetunji (Labour Party-Ogo Oluwa/Surulere), on the other hand,  defected to African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively.

    The Minority Leader, Mr Ademola Ige (Accord Party-Ibadan South-East II) and Mr Fatai Adesina (Accord Party-Ibadan South-East I) defected to ADC.

    Meanwhile, the house has appealed to the Commissioner of Police in the state, Abiodun Odude, to make conscious efforts to put a stop to gang-related crimes and violence in Oyo town.

    The assembly also urged the commissioner to deploy competent police units to tackle  the dastardly  activities of criminal gangs.

    This followed a Matter of Urgent Public Importance raised by Mr Muideen Olagunju (Accord Party-Oyo East/Oyo West) during the plenary.

    According to Olagunju, the dramatic upsurge in gang warfare within the town has resulted in residents living in fear  as well as  property damage and deaths.

    “The acts of violence are traceable to battle for supremacy among bands of youths in certain black spots within the town.

    “During these battles of attritions, the gangs engage in spates of physical attacks, maiming, property damage, looting and sadly,  killings.

    “More often than not, innocent citizens bear the brunt of these acts of violence especially in Agunpopo, Balogun, Apara, Apinni, Ilaka, Akesan Motor Park, Iseke and Tengbe.

    “It calls for concern that in spite of the fact that Oyo town and its environs have four Divisional Police Headquarters, one Area Command as well as a unit of SARS, it appears the gangs  are controllable with low rate of arrests and prosecution of offenders,” he said.

    The Speaker directed  the House Committee on Security and Special Duties to convene, charge and monitor relevant authorities to act swiftly to curtail violence. (NAN)

  • Maltese Customs intercepts largest drug haul

    (Xinhua/NAN) Maltese Customs intercepted the largest ever drug haul, the Customs Department said on Tuesday.

    According to local media Malta Today, over 15 tonnes of cannabis resin was seized while in transit at the Malta Free port on a container ship.

    “The containers, which were transiting through Malta on their way from Syria to Libya, were flagged as ‘potential high-risk containers’ following risk analysis performed by the Malta Customs Container Monitoring Unit,’’ the Customs Department said in a statement.

    The Customs said that three of the containers had been said to contain pails of crockery detergent, while the other was declared to hold blow-torches.

    The drugs were estimated to be worth millions of euros, but the exact value will be determined following a purity analysis, according to the Customs.

    It said that although investigations were still ongoing, the haul was definitely the largest of its kind in Malta, both in quantity and in value. (Xinhua/NAN)

  • Pay new minimum wage in October, Don urges FG

    By Hilary Akalugwu

    A lecturer at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Prof. Rose Onah, has urged the Federal Government to expedite action and start paying workers the new minimum in October.

    Onah of the Department of Public Administration and Local Government Affairs said made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nsukka on Tuesday.

    She said that the payment of the new minimum wage would reassure workers in the country that government had their welfare at heart.

    “The federal government should do everything within its power to ensure that the new minimum wage is paid to workers in October.

    “This will give workers a sense of belonging as well as show them that government has their welfare at heart.

    “The present minimum wage of N18.000 is now a peanut based on current economic realities in the country,’’ she said.

    She advised government not to allow the organised labour to embark on strike first before implementing the new wage for which it set up a committee in September 2017.

    The don noted that it would not be a good record for the present administration if it failed to increase workers’ salaries.

    “Government should not wait until Nigeria the Labour Congress (NLC) calls out workers on strike before implementing the new minimum wage.

    “That will be as if government is being forced to implement the new wage.

    “Government should also ensure the new wage is a living wage and something that will put smiles on the faces of workers as it will help in increasing workers’ productivity,’’ she said.

    Onah, former Chairman, Caretaker Committee, Nsukka Local Government Area, said most workers had been borrowing money from friends, neighbours and commercial banks, to ensure they met their financial responsibilities.

    “As a result of the poor salaries paid to workers, some people look down on civil servants and see them as the poorest in the society.

    “It’s unfortunate that some patriotic civil servants who refused to engage in corrupt practices retire without having a car or a house of their own because of poor salary,’’ she said. (NAN)

  • Kemi Adeosun’s resignation, salute to honour, integrity – APC

    Kemi Adeosun’s resignation, salute to honour, integrity – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) says the resignation of Mrs Kemi Adeosun as Minister of Finance and acceptance of same by President Muhammadu Buhari is an action of honour, strength, character and integrity.
    Mr Yekini Nabena, the APC acting National Publicity Secretary, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
    Adeosun in her resignation letter to the president admitted that her National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) exemption certificate was not genuine and might affect the credibility of the administration, if she failed to quit office.
    Reacting to the development, Nabena said that like all responsive and responsible governments concerned about the truth and due process, the APC-led Federal Government undertook diligent investigation of the allegation.
    “Now that the report of the investigation is out, the right thing has been done, the honourable Minister has taken the path of honour and resigned,” he said.
    Nabena congratulated Adeosun for her action and wished her success in her future endeavors, and joined the president in appreciating her immense contributions to the stability of the Nigerian economy in the past three and half years.
    He added that in Buhari’s administration of integrity and transparency in the conduct of public affairs, no government officer with a modicum of questionable conduct or integrity should stay in office.
    He noted that in past Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP)-led administrations, the country was held down by “corrupt and irresponsible public officers”.
    He said such officers had often time refused to honour invitations of the National Assembly; closed down national airports against perceived political adversaries and bought luxurious bullet-proof vehicles with public funds at inflated prices.
    He recalled that such public officers had also locked out National Assembly members, forcing Federal Lawmakers to climb high barricades in order to assess the legislative chamber.
    “It was these acts of corruption, impunity, irresponsibility and executive rascality that made Nigerians vote in the President Buhari administration in 2015, with its change mantra to put a stop to such undemocratic practices,” Nabena said. (NAN)

  • Paris Club Refund: NLC hails FG on bail-out directive

    Paris Club Refund: NLC hails FG on bail-out directive

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has commended the Federal Government on its directives to the states to account for the previous Paris Club Refund released to them before being given the last tranche.

    Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC president, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

    It would be recalled that Federal Government had approved $2.68 billion as final payment to states for the Paris Club Refund.

    The Federal Government also directed the states to account for how the Paris Club refund released to them were utilised before being given the last tranche.

    Some of the conditions are that salaries and staff-related arrears must be paid as a priority; and that there must be commitment by all states to the commencement of the repayment of budget support loans granted in 2016.

    Other conditions include clearing of amounts due to the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, among others.

    According to him,  “clearly speaking, it is a step in the right direction and it should not end there.

    “We should know the outcome and how many states have been able to meet up with that requirement.

    “We have said so clearly. If you want to entrench the principle of good governance, accountability and transparency must be our watchword.

    “The Federal Government directives on the Paris Club refund should not just end with mere words but with action, as a lot of stories of how the other trenches have been utilised are circulating,’’ the NLC boss said.

    He said that the ICPC report on the utilization of the first tranche of bail-out fund should be revisited and implemented to the latter.

    Wabba also noted that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had openly made allegation on how some people used the bail-out to purchase hotels and also transferred part of it to Bureau de change.

    “We cannot sweep those issues under the carpet and think that the issue of corruption and diversion of public funds will be addressed.

    “That is clearly our challenge in this country, and not lack of resources. The truth is that this country has enormous resources, but they are diverted.

    “The fight against corruption cannot be limited to the centre. It must go to the hinterland, to the local government, the states and even the private sector,” Wabba said.

    He added that government directive should not just end as a statement, but should be followed up to its logical conclusion.

    “There should be action and we should be able to know those states that have done such things.

    “ICPC did a good job on the first tranche of bail-out that was released and came up with a report, disclosing those states where those funds were diverted.

    “We have also called on the government and the anti graft agencies to make sure that the report is followed up and those people brought to book, but nothing has happened.

    “We have states that did not access the bailout and yet they are paying salaries, pension and gratuity as and when due so it is not a matter of paucity of funds,’’ Wabba said.
    (NAN)