The Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed an 11 count charge of conspiracy, forgery and stealing against the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo and three others.
The charge was filed by the EFFC’s Lagos Head of Legal Monitoring Unit, Rotimi Oyedepo at the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The copy of the charge sheet dated and filed Sept 1st, 2022 was obtained by ODUDUWA NEWS.
Count 1 of the charge reads, “that you Oluomo Olakunle Taiwo, Oladayo Samuel, Adeyemo Adedeji Taiwo and Adeyanju Nimota Amoke (now at large) sometimes in 2019 in Abeokuta within the jurisdiction of this honorable Court conspired amongst yourselves to use the total sum of N2,475,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion, Four Hundred and Seventy Five Million Naira) which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit: stealing from the treasury of Ogun State House of Assembly and you thereby committed an offence contrary to sections 18 (a), 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under section 15 (3) of the same Act.
The Commission says it intends to call at least 10 witnesses to testify and tender documents and exhibits.
The list of witnesses includes Adamu Usman Yusuf, Otitoju Moses Kolawale, Yazid Ahmad Bawa, Anyanwu Bright, Adekunbi Mojibola, Munkaila Huzaifa and Idowu Oluseyi Olarenwaju.
Others are representatives of Ashkash Nigeria limited, representatives of Obasanjo Holdings limited(managers of NNPC Mega Station) and representatives of Gateway Bank limited.
A source at the EFCC who did not want his name in print also confirmed to our correspondent that the commission will follow up tomorrow, Monday, with an application in Abeokuta for the case to be heard this week at the Federal High Court Lagos by the vacation judge.
The EFCC had earlier released the Speaker of the Ogun state on bail. He is however expected to return back to the Lagos office of the commission tomorrow, Monday with other officials of the State House of Assembly, especially the clerk and accountant for further questioning.
Prof. Niyi Osuntokun has appealed to Academic Staff Union of Universities to device another means of engaging Federal Government other than once can’t strike action.
Prof. Osuntokun made this disclosure in his statement reproduced below:
“Is there anybody who does not know that there is trouble in Nigeria? As an elder, I cannot pretend I do not know what is happening to higher education in our country. As a retired professor, I am a stakeholder in higher education in Nigeria. Having studied at the University of Ibadan, and for higher degrees studied in Canada, Britain, Germany and France, and taught in a Canadian and a West Indian university as well as the universities of Ibadan, Jos, Lagos and Maiduguri and in the Redeemers University, and served as Director of the National Universities Commission in Ottawa and Washington and was a member of council in four universities in Nigeria before becoming a pro-chancellor and chairman of council of a state university, with all modesty, I know a little about universities worldwide.
“This is why I am writing this article. It is extremely difficult for any retired professor not to be emotionally involved in the plight of university staff in Nigeria and particularly in the condition of academia generally.
“Let me say right away that the current industrial action of the Nigerian universities has gone on for too long and would have more than destroyed the university system by the time it is called off. This could not have been foreseen by ASUU. But this is the reality. Strikes in the universities began in the 1973/74 session and has been a yearly occurrence since then. It seems to me that ASUU has played into the hands of its enemies, so to say, because very few governments that I know would have allowed the current strike to go on for this long without doing something about it.
“I know, of course, that these are trying times for this government. It is faced with the problems of insecurity, collapsed economy and corruption; and each of these problems is capable of tearing the country into pieces. There is also the problem of over administration, too many states and too many local governments all guzzling disproportionate share of the national revenue. There is also the issue of over centralisation and concentration of too much power in the centre. The government is at the same time facing the demands of workers for better salaries in the face of rising inflation and wholesale devaluation of the national currency.
“The fact is that these problems are intricately interwoven. Without corruption and insecurity, and with the right structure of government, the economy would not be in the dire condition it finds itself. Our country must undergo a complete overhaul of the economy to recover enough for the government to meet its responsibilities. Our country is not mobilised for production and productivity. We all rely on collecting commissions on oil and gas exports and our people, apart from the salaried ones, do not pay taxes, and our country is almost unique in this respect.
“This is why we do not have a government that responds to the wishes of the people because it can exist while ignoring the people because it does not depend on their taxes. Whatever it, therefore, collects it can afford to dissipate and share it with whichever sector of the economy that is critical to its survival. That is why the security sector is favoured above the social sector of health and education.
“If my people in ASUU will understand this, they will have a different strategy than going on strike every year and expecting different reactions from the government. This is the height of madness. What ASUU should now be fighting for is university autonomy, which the law has, in fact, granted. ASUU should take governments, both federal and state, to court over university autonomy.
“Once university autonomy is granted, each university should cost what it will take to educate students across all disciplines in the universities in a differentiated school fees and come up with the economic cost. The government should then grant annually whatever it says it can afford while parents of students would have to come up with the remainder of the cost. Not all parents will be able to pay the economic cost of their children’s education. Such parents would have to be assisted by the federal, state and local governments scholarship awards. Churches and Mosques as well as NGOs, corporate bodies and individuals would also come in knowing that whatever assistance they provide will be tax deductible for those of them who pay taxes.
“This will lead to differentiated payments of fees and salaries by each university. Each university will develop unique characters rather than the homogenised national, or is it federal character, that we currently have. For example, the universities of Lagos, Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello, Bayero, Obafemi Awolowo, Port Harcourt and Nsukka, because of their reputation and location, may be able to generate revenues that will make them pay their staff better salaries than the current poor national remuneration.
“Governments at all levels must stop meddling in university administration. Some state governors that are not providing adequate funding for state universities are in the habit of announcing over the radio that their universities must not charge more than N50,000 per student per year when the actual cost of their programmes range from N500,000 to N1,000,000. The federal government also imposes arbitrary ceiling on fees for accommodation and tuition leading to poverty of accommodation and tuition not fit for human beings with the result that foreign students no longer come to Nigerian universities while young Nigerians flock to universities in neighbouring countries of Niger, Benin, Togo and Ghana, some of which are specifically established for Nigerians and, in some cases, by Nigerian business men and women!
“A properly funded university system where the universities are allowed to generate their own revenues through fees, grants, innovation and copyrights will free them from the deadweight of government control. Economic fees may also put an end to irresponsible fathering of children that they cannot support by men and this may indirectly curb the galloping rise in our population.
“A government that cannot fund existing universities finds it easy to announce new universities of “medicine” “transportation “”Navy,’’ “ Airforce, ‘’ “ Police “and “Army” etc. One former president during an after-dinner speech announced the establishment of eleven new universities with a grant of one billion take off budget!
“The cost of higher education can be moderated if, instead of establishing new universities, the current ones are expanded thus saving administrative costs of paying tens of vice chancellors, registrars, bursars and so on.
“My advice, therefore, to ASUU is to find a better way than embarking on strikes to fight a just cause. It should go to court to enforce university autonomy, and it should then raise revenue the way it must and allow the government to come up with whatever it says it can afford to grant the universities without any right to fix salaries and school fees. This is what university autonomy is all about.
“If the universities can improve and fix their dilapidated infrastructure and dilute the local staff with distinguished academic staff, perhaps people on sabbatical leave from the international academic system, foreign university students paying hard currencies will come as it was in my days as a student at the University of Ibadan.
“Universities, after gaining back their autonomy, can approach both Nigerian banks and the AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, and the WORLD BANK, for loans and grants to improve their physical, laboratory, teaching and research infrastructures. If their programmes are well packaged, foreign governments’ grants will find their ways into the universities rather than into the bottomless pockets of the corrupt bureaucracy of government.
“ASUU should pick up the gauntlet thrown at it by the government and methodically rise up to the occasion. Results will not be immediate and instantaneous but this is the way to go to put an end to this unending and degrading regime of annual strikes”.
Body of Mr. Gbenga Olofingboyegun, a director in the Ondo State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), has been discovered in Akure, the state capital.
Olofingboyegun, who was the Director of the Department of Research and Statistics in TESCOM, was declared missing on Thursday after he left the office for undisclosed reasons. His body was found on Sunday.
Family and friends had suspected that he was a victim of kidnappers and were waiting for the call of his supposed abductors for a ransom payment.
Efforts to trace him were fruitless until his decomposing body was found in Saint Theresa Primary School beside Saint Peter’s Unity School in Akure.
Eyewitnesses said Olofingboyegun’s head and other sensitive parts of the body were cut off and taken away by the suspected assailants.
A close relation said he was still in the suits and tie that he wore to the office when his decomposing body was found.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmi Odunlami who confirmed the discovering of the mutilated human body, said she was not sure about the identity of the decomposing body.
Security operatives in Ondo state are on the trail of some bandits who reportedly kidnapped some 32 persons in a coastal bus returning from Benin City, Edo State on Saturday evening.
The 32 victims who were kidnapped were returning to Akure, after attending the burial ceremony and were stopped by the hoodlums along Benin-Ifon road.
The victims were said to be travelling with others in two other vehicles when their coastal bus was stopped but the drivers of the other vehicles stopped while the occupants in the two vehicles jumped out and fled into the bushes.
It was gathered that the kidnappers marched the victims out of the vehicles and whisked all occupants including the driver of the vehicle to an unknown destination in the forest.
It was further learnt that some of the occupants escaped while being taken to the kidnappers’ den but the source disclosed many of the victims are still with the kidnappers.
However, security operatives in the state including, the state security outfit, Amotekun are on the trail of the kidnappers, combing the Benin-Ifon to Owo forest in the state in search of the 32 persons reportedly kidnapped in a coastal bus. The State Police command confirmed the development while the Commander of Amotekun in the state, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, also confirmed the abduction.
Adeleye, in a telephone chat, said the command would do all within its power to rescue the victims and rid the state of criminals.
Adeleye explained that men of the Amokekun corp and other security agencies had been briefed and had since commenced search for the victims.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that security operatives have rescued two people out of the kidnapped victims, while it was discovered that the kidnappers abducted only 11 people during the raid. A source who disclosed that most of the victims were photographers who attended a burial ceremony in Edo State, said most of the kidnapped victims escaped while they were being moved to the forest.
He said the kidnappers succeeded in abducting 11 persons while others escaped but said security operatives combing the bush rescued two of the victims.
Security operatives coming to the area were said to have rescued two of the victims while search was still on for other victims.
Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmi Odunlami, said a combined team of security operatives were still in the forest.
“It was 11 persons that were kidnapped. We have rescued some of them and our men are still in the bush.”
The Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), on Friday, September 2, 2022, has expressed condolence over the loss of her President and Chairman of Council, Major General Abdullahi Muraina (Rtd.).
He died in a private hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He was aged 64.
According to NIM, Muraina, who joined the Institute in 2003 as Member and elevated to the prestigious and highest professional membership grade of Fellow in 2011, served the Institute in various capacities at different times. He was elected to the Institute’s Council in 2014 and became the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Institute between 2015 and 2017.
Due to his consistent support of the Institute’s programmes over the years, he was conferred the Institute’s Presidential Award in 2014. He became the National Treasurer in 2017, Deputy President in 2020 before being elected the 23rd President and Chairman of Council in 2021.
Apart from being a Fellow of The Institute, Major General Muraina was a Fellow, Certified National Accountants and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Member, Institute of Directors Nigeria and the National Institute being an alumnus of the prestigious National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.
His pedigree as a thoroughbred, seasoned and tested professional manager and military officer was never in doubt as he distinguished himself creditably in every assignment he was saddled with. A devout Muslim, he was married and blessed with children.
The burial arrangement will be announced by the family.
The factional president of National Association of Nigerian Students NANS, Umar Faruk popularly known as Fakky has declared that his interest is to ensure that the strike action by ASUU is called off.
This was contained in a statement made available to newsmen by Umar Faruk as read in part:
“I will start by expressing my profound gratitude to Almighty Allah, who has been with us throughout this turbulent journey.
“I sincerely appreciate the esteemed Senators of our dear organization who have stood on the path of honour regardless of the hurdles.
“To the stakeholders who have upheld the true tenets of our founding father. Your efforts are well appreciated.
“I thank members of the Convention Planning Committee who never derailed from the ideology of our progenitors. The impartial efforts of the security agencies are well acknowledged.
To my co-contestants, we have all given a good fight, but now is the time to forge ahead.
Among the Best Nigerian Students!
My election as President of our beloved organization, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), marks the beginning of a new era of struggle.This is indeed a REVIVIFICATION AGENDA as we are set to revive the lost glory of our organization. It is high time we rejigged the dreams of our founding fathers for a better education system.
Although there were some destructive elements that tried to shortchange the general will of Nigerian students during the process of the just concluded convention, They formed oppression and tried to buy the students’ mandate. They orchestrated different vicious plans that were inimical to the existence of our organization, but with the support of genuine students and NANS Senators, light conquered darkness. Our victory is blossoming, and it comes with great glory.
Let me take you a bit down a historical lane. The struggle for emancipation of Nigerian students started with the creation of the West African Students Union (WASU) under our erudite ancestor, Ladipo Solanke, in 1925. The establishment of University College Ibadan in 1945 begot a new era of struggle as the National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) replaced WASU.
Between 1925 and 1978, when NUNS was banned by the Military Junta of Olusegun Obasanjo after the Ali Must Go Protest, Nigeria students were at the forefront of many struggles for the betterment of our dear nation. With the coming of the Civilian Administration, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) was born in 1981 as a replacement for the abrogated NUNS. The noble association that has stood firmly through the thick and thin to present a voice to Nigerian students till the moment.
I must acknowledge the fact that along the line of our existence, different individuals who have manned capacity in one way or another have committed blunders that have brought the association to disrepute, but my emergent today presents another golden opportunity to rewrite the wrongs. I recognize the onerous task ahead of me, I have surrendered myself to the service of Nigerian students and I promise never to fail you.
On The State of the Nation
We acknowledge the fact that our dear nation is presently passing through a tough time, and we are ready to be partners in progress as we shall work together with other relevant authorities to bring normalcy back to the system.
ASUU STRIKE
It is disheartening to see university students at home for the past 6 months. The fact that the leadership of ASUU and the Federal government have held a series of meetings without a fruitful outcome is heartbreaking. NANS, under my leadership, is ready to be the genuine voice of the students in this negotiation as we demand an immediate end to the prolonged industrial actions. Failure to have resolution within the shortest period available will be faced with decisive action from Nigerian students.
National Security
The primary duty of any government is the security of the lives and properties of its citizens. It’s a sign of systemic and leadership failure if people are living as hostages in their home country. However, we recognise the fact that security should be our collective effort. My leadership is ready to partner with the Federal Government and security agencies to brainstorm and proffer workable templates for the security of lives and properties in our beloved nation.
ECONOMY
Nigeria’s economy has continuously experienced a pathetic downtown. Inflation is on the high side, unemployment is increasing, debt is piling up while our currency falls like a downpour on a daily basis. Braindrain is another issue that poses a challenge to the future. It is indeed a hard time to be a Nigerian. NANS, under my leadership, is ready to partner with the Federal Government and other necessary authorities to provide a lasting solution to these challenges.
FINAL NOTE
The fight is over and the battle has ended. As my emergent is a victory to genuine Nigerian students yearning for proactive leadership, I believe there is no winner or vanquished.My emergent is indeed a sign of new things to come to the education sector as I am ready to bring all hands on deck to enhance progress and success in all ramifications.
I can’t do this alone. I need the total cooperation of Nigerian students, NANS Cadres, Security Agencies, Sister’s Unions and other relevant stakeholders. This is indeed the beginning of the manifestation of great things”.
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and his allies, Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, on Friday, travelled to London, United Kingdom.
They are expected to be joined by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who is currently on vacation abroad.
There were insinuations that the governors would meet with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, in London, but this could not be confirmed as the former Lagos State governor was still in Nigeria as of Friday night.
Confirming the governors’ travel, a source stated, “Governors Wike, Ikpeazu and Ortom have flown to the United Kingdom for another round of meetings and horse-trading for the 2023 elections.
“They left on Friday and they are scheduled to hold another round of meetings with key stakeholders.”
Another source close to one of the governors confirmed the trip. When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the Oyo State Governor, Taiwo Adisa, said he was not aware of the planned meeting, but confirmed that Makinde was still holidaying in London and was expected back in the country this weekend.
This is happening as the crisis in the PDP worsened over Wike’s demand for the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
The governor is insisting on Ayu’s removal over the alleged roles he played in the emergence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the PDP presidential flag bearer.
Wike has been at loggerheads with his party’s presidential candidate over the choice of his running mate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has come hard on Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State saying he has lost touch with those who elected him into Office.
To the opposition party, the governor has also lost touch with reality thus carrying on as if he still has the people behind him whereas his popularity has waned.
According to Sadare, “Governor Seyi Makinde is inaccessible. He is so arrogant that he does not speak to anyone. Not even the Journalists have access to him. Rather, he speaks through his Chief Press Secretary. Even his aides, don’t have information about the government. Before they can defend any policy, they must take permission from the CPS and it is as if there is a hand-book they must study to defend the activities of the government they serve in. Is that how to run a government that is people oriented?” he asked.
Speaking further, the APC mouth-piece alleged that the resources of the State is not being properly managed by the government.
“The only project this government celebrates is the Moniya-Iseyin road but during the week what happened? It was washed away by flood. I read few days ago that they are trying to fix it. Recall that our leader, late Ajimobi has awarded that road before it was reversed and re-awarded. The reason why it was re-awarded is the proceeds of contract inflation which will go into their pocket”.
When reminded of the claim of the PDP that the Seyi Makinde led administration has fixed hundreds of kilometres of road far môre than the approximately ninety kilometres constructed by the Apc government, he asked “is that why all the roads are full of potholes today? Just drive round the city and see for yourself”.
Again, the Agbowo Shopping Complex was leased-out for fifty years. Which reasonable person will do that? How can you lease-out government property for fifty years? Since they started, no work has been done there”.
He also alleged that the state government is on a mission of acquiring land illegally. When reminded by the Anchor that the state government frowns at the act of land grabbing, Sadare citing the alleged illegal acquisition of ARCADEM around Wofun area of Ibadan said “they are themselves land-grabbers. It’s as if they have suddenly realized that land is the greatest asset of the State and so, they are ready to grab all available lands and sell to their chronies”.
He equally faulted the state of education in Oyo State saying the incumbent administration has taken the state backward with it’s policies.
He noted that the judgment day is fast approaching when the people will speak with their votes
Since last week, there had been rumbles in the apex student body in Nigeria, National Association of Nigerian Students NANS as a result of internal wranglings that had marred the successful handing over of the association from its current President, Asefon Sunday to a unify president.
The convention slated to have held last week Saturday was postponed till this week had students converging in two different places to hold separate conventions into elective posts.
Comr. Usman Umar Barambu, had been declared the President-elect of NANS in a convention held in one place while Umar Faruk popularly known as Fakky was declared as the president-elect in another convention held in another place.
According to the result from the convention that produced Umar Barambu, 2022 NANS Presidency Election Results:
Fakky = 8
Idris = 4
Gambo = 1
Yusuf Lawal = 4
Barambu = 292
Barambu polled 292 Votes out of 308, and was subsequently declared president-elect.
In the meantime, another convention had produced Umar Faruk popularly known as Fakky from Bayero State University, Kano as president-elect.
As at the time of filing this report, the two factions have been trading words as to who will be regarded as authentic NANS president.
The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics data has indicated that, on a year-on-year basis, the price of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, increased by 122 per cent from N4,422 in July 2021.
As part of the Federal Government’s N250 billion investment in the National Gas Expansion Plan, which aims to deepen consumption across the country, the Bureau’s latest report on a state profile analysis, Ebonyi recorded an average retail price of N11, 212 for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder, followed by Delta at N10, 926 and Ekiti at N10, 883.
Conversely, the lowest average price was recorded in Katsina with N8,355, followed by Yobe and Kano with N8,383 and N8,614 respectively.
Analysis by zone showed that the South-West recorded the highest average retail price with N10,334, followed by the South-South with N10,239, while the North-East recorded the lowest price with N9,139.
According to the Group Chief Executive Officer, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, more than 70 per cent of the over 200 million Nigerian population lacked access to clean cooking fuels.
Launched in August 2020 by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Federal Government, in August 2021, commenced the implementation of the N250bn intervention fund for the NGEP.
The fund was meant to finance the establishment of gas processing plants and small-scale petrochemical plants, gas cylinder manufacturing plants, and Compressed Natural Gas, among others.
