News

Rivers Assembly Non-Existent, Fubara Insists Amid APC’s Call for Impeachment

Published

5 months ago

May 8, 2024

Eric

The Rivers State Government on Tuesday dismissed a call on the state House of Assembly by the Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress in the state to commence impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminlayi Fubara.

The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, told The PUNCH during an interview in Port Harcourt, that the governor would not allow anybody to throw the state into anarchy.

Fubara, on Monday, dismissed the Assembly as an illegal body that did not exist while receiving delegation from Bayelsa State on a peace mission, led by the immediate past governor, Senator Seriake Dickson. This was just after the Assembly passed a bill into without his assent.

Also, the governor insisted that the eight-point peace agreement brokered by President Bola Tinubu was a mere political solution to a problem and not a constitutional issue.

The APC Caretaker Committee Chairman in the state, Chief Tony Okocha, in his reaction on Tuesday, called on the 27 members of the state House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to immediately commence an impeachment process against Fubara.

Okocha said the governor did not have the powers to declare the lawmakers as illegal.

He also wondered when the governor realised that the peace deal which he signed before Tinubu in Abuja was unconstitutional.

He added that aside from refusing to implement all the agreements, he had been making scathing remarks on the President’s genuine intervention to resolve the crisis that rocked the state.

But in a swift reaction, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, said the position of the governor had not changed.

He stated, “By jurisprudence, the 27 lawmakers lost their seats on the day they defected to another party. That is what the law says.

“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 109, 1g clearly states it. It is incontrovertible. So for anybody to think that they can start a process, the law says they cannot put something on nothing.

“There is nothing at all to even put on something. The House of Assembly does not exist. They are non-existent. The governor said yesterday that they did not exist. Out of his magnanimity, he allowed them, giving them a floater to see if they could come to reality. “But it does appear that they don’t understand what was done for them. So if they want to start an impeachment process, they do not have the legal teeth to even do it. They can only bark, but they can’t bite.”

Also, the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Chief Edwin Clark and other prominent individuals in the region warned the lawmakers against causing anarchy in the state.

News

Pensioners’ Welfare: Govenor Adeleke Approves N3.3bn for Retirees

Published

20 hours ago

October 4, 2024

Eric

The Governor of Osun State, His Excellency, Senator Dr Ademola Jackson Nurudeen Adeleke, has again approved a whopping sum of Three billion, Three hundred naira only (#3,300,000,000.00) for the payment of accrued rights (bond certificates) of a number of workers who retired under the Contributory Pension Scheme across the State, according to a statement esigned by the Head of Service, Elder Ayanleye Aina.

Of the said amount amount, N1.5 billion is for retirees at the State level comprising Ministries, Departments, Agencies, secondary schools and tertiary institutions while the sum of #1.8bn is for those who retired in the local government service, junior and primary schools across the State.

The statement noted that the approved fund is presently undergoing due process at the Bureau of Public Service Pension and the Local Government Staff Pension Board.

The approval, the statement further disclosed, is apart from the regular monthly payment of pension and gratuities to retired public servants under the old pension scheme across the whole gamut of the public service.

It will be recalled that workers and pensioners welfare top the 5- point Action Plan of Governor Ademola Adeleke-led administration in the State.

Stakeholders admit that Governor Adeleke been keeping his promise since he came on board in November, 2022 going by his unhindered love for public servants and the entire citizens of the State.

News

We’re Winning War Against Bandits, Terrorists, Says Tinubu’s Minister

Published

20 hours ago

October 4, 2024

Eric

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; said on Thursday that Nigeria is winning the war against terror and banditry.

Idris made the claim during the opening ceremony of the 1st Annual International Lecture of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja

He said: “Our target is to eliminate all the threats of Boko Haram, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and the scourge of all forms of violent extremism.

“Within one year, our government has eliminated Boko Haram and bandit commanders faster than ever.

“As of the last count, over 300 Boko Haram and bandit commanders have been eliminated by our gallant troops in the Northeast, Northwest, and some other parts of the country.

“Indeed, this quote from President Bola Tonibu has amplified the resolve and determination of this administration to address the security challenges confronting us.

“By understanding the root causes, evaluating the impact on our territorial integrity, and implementing strategic policy measures, we can effectively address the challenges posed by this crisis.”

The minister pointed out that the Federal government through intelligence gathering and other grassroots measures is tackling insecurity.

News

Court Releases Ex-Taraba Governor, Darius Ishaku on N150m Bail

Published

2 days ago

October 3, 2024

Eric

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama has granted a N150 million bail to a former governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku.

Ishaku was arraigned on Monday alongside Bello Yero, former permanent secretary, bureau for local government and chieftaincy affairs.

Both men are being prosecuted on a 15-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds.

The defendants pleaded “not guilty” when all the charges were read to them.

At the court session on Thursday, the defendants’ respective counsels moved their bail applications.

Rotimi Jacobs, prosecution counsel, said he would not object since the defendants have been granted administrative bail.

Sylvanus Oriji, presiding judge, granted the bail application.

He held that the defendants must produce two sureties each in like sum. The two sureties must be responsible citizens of Nigeria and must be residents within the FCT, with verifiable office and residential addresses.

One of the sureties produced by each defendant must be a director in the civil service.

The defendants must not travel outside the country without the court’s permission and must deposit their travel documents to the court.

Ishaku, 70, was governor of Taraba from 2015 to 2023.

In July 2023, the EFCC invited the former governor over some financial transactions conducted during his spell in office. He was later released on bail.

On September 27, 2024, Ishaku and Yero were arrested and detained by the commission.