Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki on Tuesday met with President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting barely lasted thirty minutes but Saraki declined to speak to the press.
It is not known whether the meeting was about the allegedly missing 2016 budget proposal.
The National Assembly is billed to start deliberations on the budget proposal which Buhari presented on 22 December 2015.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has declared that Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh will only be released when he refunds over N400m he received from former National Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki, retd.
Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu made the declaration while addressing criticisms of witch-hunting of opposition PDP leaders following the release of APC's Jafaru Isa by the Commission.
Magu said that Isa was released because he started paying back the money he received from the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA.
”From the records, Metuh got over N400 million, he has not said anything because we need the public money to be returned so that it’s going to be used for public good."
“Also Jafaru Isa, what Dasuki gave him was N170 million. He also agreed…of course he has collected that money, he was with us for 4-5 days and then he made a deposit of N100 million and entered an undertaking to bring the rest. That does not mean we will not prosecute him.”
“But this other Metuh, instead of going for a refund, he has admitted he collected money…. so instead of… he still has the money because the money is too much. Instead of returning the money, he preferred to go on hunger strike.”
ABUJA
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC says that in spite of criticisms of partisanship against President Buhari’s fight against corruption, it owes no apologies to anyone.
The National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun made the declaration in Abuja on Monday while speaking to State House correspondents after a meeting of the National Working Committee of the party with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa.
He said that despite insinuations that the current anti corruption war is aimed at decimating the leadership of the opposition PDP, the APC's position is that the rot in the country must be cleaned irrespective of whose ox is gored.
Odigie-Oyegun assured that the APC was not desirous of a one-party state but of constructive opposition.
His words :
“The APC is not in any way apologetic. We promised change and there is a lot of rot in the system. This must be cleansed and whoever and whatever ox is being gored, where ever the tree is going to fall, so, let it be.
“We must get used to the fact that in the process of cleansing this nation, there is going to be a lot of bullet to bite.
“The APC has not been in office at national level in the last 10 to 16 years. So, the issue of whether somebody is PDP or not PDP does not arise. We have a nation to cleanse. The president has committed himself to that and we should support it whatever way it comes. We are not being apologetic about that at all.
“It has nothing to do with witch-hunting. It just happened that the dramatis personae of the period all happened to be on one side of the political divide. We have absolutely no intention to pressurise any group or any nation towards a one-party state. It is not in our interest so to do because we need a vibrant opposition.
“We need an opposition that will contribute constructively to national discourse, that will make us sit up and deliver to the people what we promised. But the task is enormous and if anybody is ready to help to discharge these responsibilities, he is most welcomed.”
ABUJA
The government of Benue State, North Central Nigeria has imposed a ban on the eating of rats to control the spread of lassa fever in the state.
Governor Samuel Ortom announced this to State House correspondents shortly after a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said that his administration took the measure because Benue State is among the states that have recorded cases of lassa fever.
Rat eating is widespread among the Tiv people of Benue State. The rodent is mostly hunted for during the dry season. The hunt for rats is usually accompanied with bush burning.
“Benue is affected; we have one case of Lassa Fever right now that is under control.
“We have advised our people, rat which is a major carrier, is a delicacy; I am finding it difficult but I have told them to suspend eating rats now until further notice," Ortom said.
32 years old Kamal Rabiu has been remanded in prison custody for strangling a two months old baby boy.
Kamal was arraigned before a Kano Magistrate Court on Monday on one count charge of culpable homicide.
Following an application by the prosecutor, Inspector Badamasi Ya'u, Chief Magistrate Mohammed Idris ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecution.
Ya’u had told the court sitting in Nomansland, Kano that on Dec. 21, 2015, the Commander of Hisba, a local security outfit reported the matter to the Commissioner of Police.
He said that Kamal Rabiu of Goron Dutse Quarters, Kano, sometime in early 2015, impregnated his girlfriend, Malama Kaltume Tijjani of Unguwa Uku, Kano.
Subsequently, Kaltume gave birth to a baby boy named Muhammad Kamal.
The prosecution told the court that on December 21, 2015, Kamal went to Nasarawa Hospital to collect the two month-old Muhammad from Kaltume.
“In the struggle that ensued, Rabiu strangled the baby,” Ya’u said.
The case was adjourned till Feb 8th 2015 after the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.
ABUJA
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has called on former President Goodluck Jonathan to speak up on the alleged diversion of the $2.1b arms procurement fund into his reelection campaigns.
In what has come to be known as dasukigate, six PDP chieftains are already prosecuted by the EFCC on charges of conspiracy, bribery, abuse of office and criminal breach of trust.
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Abdullahi Jalo, told a press conference in Abuja on Monday that Jonathan must break his silence on the investigation of some prominent members of the party to save the party from the public opprobrium arising from the arms procurement scandal.
“As all of you know, no single kobo can be spent by the Federal Government without an Act of the National Assembly. Money earmarked for arms pur- chase, some people diverted it to something else. So many people that you cannot even expect were involved. Now, darkness has come to light.
“Jonathan is alive, he should clarify whether he asked his former NSA to distribute money meant to fight Boko Haram into his campaign,” he said.
Jalo recalled that the Presidency and the PDP organized a dinner specifically to raise funds for Jonathan’s 2015 Presidential election campaign.
“All of you are aware that there was a dinner, where money meant for campaign was realised. That’s known to all of us, billions of naira were given by business tycoons in this country.
“So, why should somebody now tell us that money meant for arms and appropriated by the National Assembly was diverted into PDP campaign.
“Haliru Bello did a contract with the office of Sambo Dasuki to the tune of N600 million with his company’s name, not PDP.
“In the case of Olisa Metuh, his company allegedly had transactions with the office of National Security Adviser. So, what is PDP business with that?
“We want those people that have been accused to shed light, whether they were given the money to campaign for Jonathan.
“Did they bring the money to the party’s national secretariat?
“PDP has nothing to do with individuals that used their companies to do contracts with National Security Adviser,” he said.
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