EFCC arraigns impostor for N10million scam

A suspected fraudster and member of a syndicate, Edward Abiodun, was on Wednesday arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice Beatrice Iliya of Gombe State High Court, Gombe, on a two-count charge bordering on conspiracy, impersonation and obtaining money by false pretence.
The accused person and his alleged accomplices, Murtala Bello and Esther Momoh (who are now at large), had allegedly claimed to be staff members of the EFCC, Abuja office, in order to dupe one Umar Bello.
The complainant alleged that Bello had, on March 13, 2015, phoned him, assuring him that the syndicate could ‘kill’ the purported petition written against him, if he could pay the sum of N10 million (Ten Million Naira).
Consequently, Mr. Bello was said to have sent the phone number of Mr. Momoh who claimed to be a Principal Detective Superintendent, PDS, with EFCC to the victim for further discussion on how the money could be paid to them.

How we shared N5million ransom — Olu Falae’s suspected kidnappers

 Three of the suspects arraigned for kidnapping Olu Falae, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation – Abubakar Auta, Bello Jannu and Idris Lawal – on Thursday confessed that they received N100,000 each as reward for their involvement in the operation out of the total of N5million collected as ransom.
The suspects, who spoke to reporters in Hausa shortly before their arraignment at the Ondo State High Court in Akure, had denied the charges filed against them in court.
Mr. Auta served as middle man during the negotiations on the ransom demanded.
They however revealed that besides what they collected, the balance of the N5million had been taken away by their leader, identified as Baba Uro, who is still at large.
The suspects said they were not Boko Haram members, but were brought in to execute the kidnapping of Mr. Falae by a member of the gang who is yet to be arrested.
A police source however disclosed that a total sum of N832, 900 was recovered from Mr. Auta, who had the money in the boot of his car when he was arrested in Niger State.
He said the police identified three other suspects who are still on the run and that efforts were underway to arrest them.
“We have also recovered the motorcycle they used in carrying their victim through the bush,” the police source said.

Tribunal upholds Governor El-Rufai’s election

The Election Petition Tribunal in Kaduna on Thursday night upheld the April 11 election victory of Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai of the All Progressives Congress.
The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice A. A. Adebara, in over six-hour judgment that dragged through the night, dismissed the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Polycarp Danladi, on the ground that it lacks merits and facts to establish non-compliance.
Tension had heightened in the state as delivery of judgment, expected to start around 9am,however commenced at about 1:45pm and lasted till 7:09pm.
Mr. Danladi had petitioned the tribunal challenging the election that brought in Mr. El-Rufai as governor of the state.

Reuben Abati, Femi Adesina in war of words over Jonathan, Buhari

Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Adviser on Media, Reuben Abati, has dismissed the widespread view that the former president lost the last election because of incompetence and cluelessness.
Mr. Abati said in his first major interview in the October/November edition of The Interview out next week, that Mr. Jonathan was, “a victim of power game” and the vicious propaganda of the opposition.
“All they could focus on,” he said, “was trying to discredit the president. They called him clueless, they said he was incompetent, they said he was a drunkard!”

Fayose challenges Buhari to prosecute Yobe REC for allegedly taking N15m bribe

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to prosecute the Yobe State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Abu Zarma, for allegedly receiving N15 million as bribe to influence the Yobe State governorship election.
The governor said it was only when that is done that the president’s fight against corruption could enjoy the needed credibility.
“If nothing is done on a case as clear as that of the INEC REC, Nigerians can as well kiss President Buhari anti-corruption fight goodbye,” said the governor in a statement by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka.

Ministerial Screening: Again, Senate postpones Amaechi’s confirmation hearing

he Senate in Nigeria has again postponed the screening of former Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi and other candidates that have been tapped to join President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet as ministers.
The Senate announced it was postponing the screening session via a post on its Twitter handle, Thursday morning.

How Alamieyeseigha died – Bayelsa Government

The Bayelsa State Government has officially explained the cause of death of a former governor of the state, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
Mr. Alamieyeseigha, 62, died on Saturday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.
The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information, Esueme Kikile, Sunday, told PREMIUM TIMES how the late former Governor died€.
“Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha died of complications arising from high blood pressure and diabetes which affected his kidney,” Mr. Kikile said. “He had chronic kidney disease which was aggravated by the sudden rise in his blood pressure and the long diabetics,”

How NNPC officials stole billions using failed electronic management contract

An enterprise resource solution for accountability in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC’s business processes, turned a spin project for crooked top officials to steal billions, a report reveals.
The project, which had 86 weeks completion time-line, has dragged for more than three years, after gulping almost double the contract sum originally approved by the Nigerian presidency, with nothing to show.
The resource solution is called SAP Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP).
It is an electronic management solution deployed by most global organisations to monitor real-time operations of a network of subsidiaries and affiliates irrespective of their locations.

Rivers State Deputy Governor Defects To PDP

Tele-IkuruThe Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Tele Ikuru, has defected to the Peoples Democratic Party from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ikuru declared his defection on Sunday, six days to the general elections.
He has been Governor Chibuike Amechi’s deputy sine 2007 and has been campaigning for the APC along with Amechi until he declared his defection.
Source: | Channels Television

We Made Jega Shift Election Because It Was Clear Buhari Would Win On February 14th - Dr. Fasheun

Leader of Oodua People's Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasheun has exposed himself as one of those behind the plot to shift the 2015 presidential poll date from February 14 to March 28th, claiming that had the election held on February 14th "rigging had been perfected for General Muhammadu Buhari".
Nigeria's Federal Government and ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) had offered the excuse that the Nigerian troops were to carry out a special operations against insurgents in the Northeast apparently to buy some time for the PDP to work out a winning formula for President Goodluck Jonathan to win the election at all cost.

​​I​’​ll surely ​defeat Buhari​ – Jonathan declares

President Goodluck Jonathan remains confident he will win a second term despite the growing popularity of his main challenger, Muhammadu Buhari.
With elections less than two weeks away, Mr. Jonathan told the BBC in an interview that he has nothing to worry about, as his ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, remains the strongest party in Nigeria despite Mr. Buhari’s All Progressives Congress, APC’s widespread support.
“I will surely win it… My party is still the strongest party,” the president said.
The interview was published Friday, a day after the chairman of PDP, Adamu Mu’azu, admitted the surging popularity of the opposition meant his party cannot secure a landslide in the presidential, parliamentary and governorship elections.
Mr. Mu’azu however expressed confidence that the PDP will “perform creditably”.
“Our major concern in the Peoples Democratic Party is not to allow the country to be hijacked by desperadoes masquerading as purveyors of good governance, who promise heaven and earth to the people without any intention of fulfilling their election promises in the name of change,” the PDP chairman said in a statement Thursday.

Fresh Plot To Scuttle Nigeria's Elections: Jonathan Holds Secret Meeting With Former VP Atiku

President Goodluck Jonathan paid a secret visit to former Vice President Abubakar Atiku on Friday night to hold a meeting that lasted till the early hours of Saturday.
Sources at the Presidency told OUR REPORTER that Mr. Jonathan went to Mr. Atiku’s home with the aim of persuading the former VP to lead a so called interim government of national unity that the president has been covertly attempting to sell to numerous political figures in recent weeks. One source said Mr. Jonathan and some hawkish members of his inner circle, including Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, First Lady Patience Jonathan, Governors Olusegun Mimiko and Ayo Fayose of Ondo and Ekiti respectively, as well as senior presidential aide Doyin Okupe, have decided that handing over power to Muhammadu Buhari “is out of the question.”

Don’t attempt to kill Buhari, APC tells PDP

The All Progressives Congress has called on the Peoples Democratic Party and the Federal Government to shun any plan to assassinate Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
The APC also raised the alarm over an alleged plot by ruling party to discredit Buhari.
But the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Abdullahi Jalo, has urged the APC to provide evidence of any of such plan by the ruling party to assassinate Buhari.
The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Lai Mohammed, told The PUNCH that the PDP-led government had security men specially trained as snipers to eliminate those opposed to President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid.

Obanikoro’s screening complied with procedures , says Mark

Senate President David Mark on Monday described as needless, the controversies surrounding the screening of ministerial nominees on the floor of the Senate with particular reference to the confirmation of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.
Mark, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said, “I will like to state without any form of ambiguity that the President of the Senate complied with all the legislative practices and procedures in the confirmation of all the ministerial nominees that appeared before the Senate.”

PDP won’t miss Na’abba in Kano – Group

A group, under the aegis  of Kano State PDP Frontiers, has described the resignation of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ghali Na’Abba, from the party as a non-issue, emphasising that the politician “is of no value, aside the relics of him serving in an office.”
Reacting to Na’abba’s resignation from the PDP on Sunday, the coordinator of the group, Ahmed Kabara, in a statement in Kano on Monday, said the party would not miss the former Speaker as “his presence has not made any impact, so would be his absence be.”

Housing could become driver of national development – Minister

The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, has said that with the right strategies and policies, housing can become a prime driver of sustainable national development.
Eyakenyi, in a speech delivered at the inauguration of Suleja Ministerial Housing Estate, which was made available to our correspondent, stated that the basic building blocks to ensure that the sector became a driver of sustainable national development from now till the year 2043 and beyond were being finalised.
These, she said, consisted national policies, strategies and plans that had either been put in place or were being finalised for implementation at the three levels of government.
“The transformation in the housing and urban development sector is, therefore, real and it will be more evident by impacting on the citizenry over the coming years as we consolidate on the gains and refuse to turn back the hand of the clock, as well as the wheel of progress in the housing and urban development sector,” she said.

Jonathan, security chiefs to discuss insurgency war, polls

Security chiefs will on Tuesday be briefing President Goodluck Jonathan on the success so far recorded in routing insurgents in parts of the country.
They are also expected to tell the President whether or not the security situation in the North-East is now conducive for the Independent National Electoral Commission to go ahead with the forthcoming general elections as rescheduled.
This, OUR REPORTER learnt, is part of what was agreed at the outset when the National Security Adviser in consultation with the service chiefs asked for additional time to deal with the insurgency.
The INEC had attributed the rescheduling of the general elections to the security advice from the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), who reportedly quoted service chiefs as saying that their men would be busy fighting insurgents and would not be available to provide security during the earlier scheduled dates.

T.B. Joshua speak on elections, predicts plane crash

On Sunday 15th March 2015, Nigerian cleric T.B. Joshua gave a warning to Nigerians over the upcoming elections, further adding that he foresaw an imminent plane crash within Nigeria.

“Pray for Nigeria because I am seeing a plane crash,” Joshua stated in a service televised live via Christian channel Emmanuel TV. “It’s not a good thing to lose personalities again,” he added, specifying that prayer and fasting should be especially offered from 19th to 23rd.

Addressing the contentious elections scheduled to hold on March 28th, the cleric stated, “The challenge Nigeria is facing – on the day of voting, when you drop your votes in the ballot box, you will know who is PDP and who is APC. It’s a parable; very delicate. Because everybody plays a game; we deceive ourselves. ‘So this man voted for this party but he’s in that party.’ ”

Joshua stated that a dark cloud was hanging over the nation. “The cloud is darker. When it is about to rain, you cannot see in front again,” he vividly described.

How banks lost N199bn to e-fraud in 13yrs

Nigerian banks lost a total of N199 billion to electronic related fraud between 2000 and 2014, mostly due to inappropriate and reckless management of customers’ data.
Executive Director Operations, First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Mr. Nath Ude, disclosed this while presenting a keynote address at the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum in Lagos. Ude said incidence of fraud has become very rampant and presents serious consequences for the financial industry in Nigeria. Speaking on ‘e-fraud and insider abuse’ Ude noted that these frauds result most times from inappropriate or reckless handling of customers’ data. According to him, “Banking is built on trust. Customers’ data is an asset to banks and to retain the customers’ trust, banks need to protect these assets.

120 Atiku support groups set to defect to PDP

120 pro-Atiku groups will tomorrow (Tuesday) decamp to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Addressing a press conference on behalf of the groups in Abuja, at the weekend, Mr Peter Ogar, who is the national coordinator of Renaissance for Socio-political Transformation of Nigeria, said the groups were convinced that there was no viable alternative to President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said the decision of the group to decamp to PDP was as a result of the ill-treatment meted out to their political leader by the opposition.
According to him, after critical analysis of the various development programmes initiated by the President Jonathan’s administration, it was clear that they surpassed all those executed by past administrations, put together.

2 weeks to election: INEC warehouse burns for 3 hrs

The central warehouse of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), located at its electoral institute on the airport road was gutted by fire on Saturday night, and full investigation into its cause commenced immediately.
However, the commission had ruled out any possible act of sabotage, as it suspected power surge.
Sources disclosed that the fire incident, which started at 11.00 p.m. on Saturday, was finally put out at 2.00 a.m. on Sunday.
The director of security of the commission, Shettima Ngilladar, who conducted newsmen round the affected area, on Sunday, stated that the fire was due to power surge, which caused the electrical panel to go up in flames.

Bank customers use payment cards to bypass forex laws

Bank customers have resorted to using electronic payment cards such as MasterCard and Visa card to circumvent foreign exchange regulations.
Banks can issue Naira or Dollar denominated debit or credit cards to customers and such cards could be linked to the current or savings account of the customer
with the bank. The purpose of these cards is to allow the customers spend from their Naira account whenever they travel abroad. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) however, stipulates a maximum limit of $150,000 per year for each card holder.
Financial Vanguard investigations, however, revealed that bank customers are now using multiple accounts either in the same bank or in different banks to circumvent this limit.

I gave room for opposition to emerge —Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan, on Sunday, explained that stronger opposition emerged in the country as a result of the deliberate policy of his administration to strengthen democracy.
Speaking at a roundtable, tagged: “The Other Side of Goodluck Jonathan-led Administration,” organised in Abuja, on Sunday, he revealed that his administration created a positive atmosphere for political parties to merge into a mega party.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, he said his policy of promoting freedom of association and speech created the necessary enabling environment for opposition to thrive.
The president dismissed suggestions that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was scared of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that the ruling party could not have been afraid of its own creation.

Kwankwaso tackles Fayose over comments on Buhari

Kano State governor, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, in Lagos, on Sunday, said his Ekiti State counterpart, Mr Ayodele Fayose, is obsessed with Major-General Muhammadu Buhari and needed to be cured of it.
The governor said this when he led Hausa traditional leaders in Lagos and other South-West states to pay a solidarity visit to the national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, at his Bourdillon, Ikoyi residence.
Kwankwaso was speaking against the background of incessant attacks on the APC presidential candidate, Major-General Buhari, by Fayose and the allegation by the Ekiti governor that he and former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, were on their way back to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Interim Govt: We’ve evidence against Jonathan —Fayemi

Former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, yesterday, stoked the controversy over the alleged interim government arrangement when he declared that he had evidence that national leader of All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was wooed to be part of the ING by President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Fayemi, currently the Director of Policy in the Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation who, yesterday, disclosed the existence of verifiable proof of the plot, also reassured the President and his aides that a future APC national government would not witch-hunt them through a probe.