Government within government: Presidency replies Saraki

The presidency has responded to a claim made by Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Monday that there is a government within the government of President Buhari that is after him.

In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adeshina, the presidency dismissed Saraki's allegation as not being worthy of the paper it was written on.

"President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, claims there is “now a government within the government of President Buhari”, which has allegedly seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue a nefarious agenda.

"This claim by Senator Saraki would have been more worth the while, if it had been backed with more information. If he had proceeded to identify those who constitute the “government within the government,” it would have taken the issue beyond the realm of fiction and mere conjecture.

"But as it stands, the allegation is not even worth the paper on which it was written, as anybody can wake from a troubled sleep, and say anything.

"The Attorney-General of the Federation is the Chief Law Officer of the state. It is within his constitutional powers to determine who has infringed upon the law, and who has not.
Pretending to carry an imaginary cross is mere obfuscation, if, indeed, a criminal act has been committed. But we leave the courts to judge.

"To claim that President Muhammadu Buhari is anybody’s stooge is not only ridiculous, but also preposterous. It is not in the character of our President," the statement said.

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Buhari receives leadership of Unilever at the State House (Photos)

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday hosted the Global Chief Executive Officer of Unilever Executives, Paul Polman and the Chairman, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe at the State House, Abuja.

Polman expressed Unilever's determination to build profitable and sustainable businesses in Nigeria.

“We have concluded plans to expand our business base in the country, albeit the prevailing economic challenges. We are a proud Nigerian company doing business here since 1923, and we intend to stay for even longer.

“At Unilever, we believe that businesses cannot exist without the environment, which is why we ensure that we create value that sustains our ecosystem. Nigeria is strategic to our business operations in Africa, and as we continue to do business here, we will add value to the community, to the people and the country," he said.

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"Trumped up" charges another phase in persecution of Senate leadership - Saraki

Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki has said that the forgery charges against him and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu represent another phase in the persecution of the leadership of the Senate.

Saraki had on Monday appeared  before a Federal High Court in Abuja alongside his deputy Ike Ekweremadu, former clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa and his deputy, Mr. Benedict Efeturi.

“It is farcical to allege that a criminal act occurred during Senate procedural actions and the mere suggestion demonstrates a desperate overreach by the office of the Attorney General.

“These trumped up charges is only another phase in the relentless persecution of the leadership of the Senate,” he said in a statement issued after the court session.

Accusing some people in the Executive of being after him, Saraki said that the charges against him constituted a violation of the principle of separation of powers. He also said that the charges did not serve any national interest.

"What has become clear is that there is now a government within the government of President Buhari who have seized the apparatus of Executive powers to pursue their nefarious agenda.

“This latest onslaught on the Legislature represents a clear and present danger to the democracy Nigerians fought hard to win and preserve. The suit filed on behalf of the Federal government suggests that perhaps some forces in the Federal Republic have not fully embraced the fact that the Senate’s rules and procedures govern how the legislative body adjudicates and resolves its own disputes.

“Let it be abundantly clear, both as a citizen and as a foremost Legislator, I will continue to rise above all the persecution and distraction that have been visited on me. In the words of Martin Luther King Junior, 'the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at a time of challenge and controversy' .

“I will remain true and committed to the responsibilities that my citizenship and my office impose on me. Without a doubt, the highest of those responsibilities is the steadfast refusal to surrender to the subversion of our democracy and the desecration of the Senate. This is a cross I am prepared to carry.

“If yielding to the nefarious agenda of a few individuals who are bent on undermining our democracy and destabilising the Federal government to satisfy their selfish interests is the alternative to losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest,” he said.

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New Police spokesman assumes office

The Acting Inspector-General Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris on Monday announced the appointment of DCP Don Awunah as the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO.

Awunah takes over from the first ever female Police Force PRO, ACP Olabisi Kolawole.

Kolawole who personally informed the media of the change of guard thanked them for their support and urged them to extend same to the new spokesman.

Awunah called on the media to support the police in discharging its constitutional responsibilities.

The Philosophy graduate of the University of Lagos was until his appointment, the DCP in charge of Homicide Section of Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, FCIID Abuja.

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Photos of President Buhari breaking the fast with Nigeria's richest men

On Monday evening, President Muhammadu Buhari broke the day's fast with a select group of Nigeria's wealthiest business people.

Among the privileged group were the Chairman Oando Oil Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu; President Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Chairman Zenith Bank Plc., Mr. Jim Ovia and the President Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu, Chairman Forte Oil Plc., Mr. Femi Otedola and Africa's Richest Woman, Mrs Folorunso Alakija.

Photos by Abayomi Adesida.

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How 3 former Air Force chiefs diverted N21b public funds - EFCC

Following investigation into the illegal diversion of public funds to the tune of N21,467,674,707.43, the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has seized 29 properties from three former Air Force chiefs.

They are the immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu; former NAF Chief of Accounts and Budgeting, Air Vice Marshal Jacob Adigun (retd.) and  former Director of Finance and Budget, Air Commodore Olugbenga Gbadebo (retd.).

The Punch reports that 11 properties were seized from Amosu; 12 from Adigun and six from Gbadebo. Among the properties are three plazas, six mansions, a quarry, a hospital, a block of flats, animal farms, a school, two hotels, some uncompleted buildings and  parcels of land.

According to the Punch report,  properties worth N9.6bn were seized from Adigun. Among the properties are Capadar Shopping Plaza situated at Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, valued at N980m; a residential mansion on Lake Chad Street, Maitama, Abuja, worth N450m; an executive mansion at Imo River Close, Off Dandube Crescent, Maitama, valued at N710m and a four-unit terrace on Agadez Street, Off Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2, worth N720m.

Other properties, said to have been seized from Adigun, include a 35-room uncompleted hotel on Salt Lake Street, Maitama, Abuja; a parcel of land located on Bourdillon Street, Ikoyi, Lagos; a block of 12 service flats, located on Agodogba Street, Park View Estate, Ikoyi, estimated to be worth N1.8bn and a quarry in Bwari area of Abuja worth about $694,000.

According to a source quoted by The Punch, “Adigun spent most of his own share of the money on properties and so we did not recover much cash from him. Amosu, however, returned over N2.3bn and raised two bank drafts.”

The source listed some of the properties seized from Amosu as a house on Adeyemo Alakija Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, worth N250m; a duplex at House 11, Peace Court Estate, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, worth N110m; a N40m property located at NAF Harmony Estate, Asokoro Base and a five-bed roomed house at Valley NAF Estate, Port Harcourt, worth N33m, a hospital on Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, known as St. Solomon Hospital with equipment worth $2.15m and a N95m house on Umaru Dikko Street, Jabi, Abuja.

The properties seized from Gbadebo are said to include a  N10m fish farm ; a N20m poultry, located at Musa Close, Oyibo Ayobu, Lagos and  Bloomsville International School, Divine Estate, Isheri-Olofin , off Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The three former Air Force chiefs are expected to be arraigned by the EFCC this week.

The suspects are accused of diverting public funds to the tune of N21,467,674,707.43 in 2014.

Others to be arraigned alongside the three suspects are Delfina Oil and Gas Limited, McCallan Oil and Gas Limited, Hebron Housing and Properties Company Limited, Trapezites BDC, Funds and Pricey Limited, Degree Oil and Gas Limited, Timsegg Investment Limited and Solomon Healthcare Limited.

One of the charges partly says, “That you (accused persons) on or about the 5th day of March 2014 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired amongst yourselves to commit an offence to wit conversion of the sum of N21,467,674,707.43, property of the Nigerian Air Force which was derived from stealing which is contrary to Section18 (A) of the Money Laundering Act of 2012 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15 (3) of the same Act.”

The accused persons are also charged with using  some of the aforementioned companies, which they allegedly own, to award phoney contracts to themselves.

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Decomposing body of murdered lecturer found floating on river

The decomposing body of the former Head of Theatre Arts Department, College Of Education, Oju, Benue State, Mr Godwin Abuul has been found floating on Katsina-Ala River.

Abuul was allegedly murdered by his wife and her siblings two weeks ago over his philandering activities.

The police reportedly got their breakthrough in the investigation when they nabbed a suspect in possession of a cloth believed to have been worn by the victim on the day he went missing.

The suspect then confessed to the police that Abuul was  killed by his wife in connivance with her siblings after which they sold his car and shared the proceeds.

Mrs Abuul and the said siblings have been arrested and the case transferred to Command Headquarters, Makurdi for further investigations.

Vanguard reports a family source as saying that the badly decomposed body of the late Abuul was found stuck on a tree trunk in River Katsina-Ala.

“After the revelation by his killers that he was dumped in the river two weeks ago, a search party comprising the police, family members and local divers Saturday evening discovered the badly decomposed body in the river.

“What was left of him was hanging on a small plant in the river. Fishes had feasted on him.

“Those responsible for his death pretended all along and even claimed that he might have been kidnapped.

“We took the remains to Makurdi on the orders of the Police, where an autopsy has been conducted and we are burying him immediately because the corpse is in a bad state.”

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