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NDDC Board: Akpabio Did Not Bribe Tompolo – Militant Group

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Our Reporter, Port Harcourt

A militant group, Niger Delta Redemption Frontiers, NDRF, has reacted to news report that the Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio, bribed Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo with $1million to halt his earlier agitation for appointment of the substantive board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

Recall that Tompolo had in May this year issued a seven-day ultimatum to Federal Government for urgent inauguration of a substantive NDDC baord, insisting that there was going to be consequences should the Federal Government fail to inaugurate the Board at the expiration of the ultimatum.

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Recall also that an online news medium (not Info Daily) had reported that Tompolo allegedly accepted the sum of $1 million USD as appeasement to cancel his earlier 7-day ultimatum, alleging that the conciliation is the reason why a substantive board is yet to be inaugurated for NDDC.

Briefing newsmen at the weekend in Port Harcourt, NDRF said that there was never a time before, during or after the said meeting with the minister where any amount of money was given to Tompolo, describing the report as false and baseless.

Leader of the group, Abalagha Enai said that the news report was only a figment of the writer’s imagination and warned “perpetuators of evil news to stop distracting the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the Interim Administrator of NDDC, Mr. Efiong Akwa from carrying out the good works of developing the region.”

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He said: “President Muhammadu Buhari called for meeting of Niger Delta stakeholders and pleaded that we should remain calm that a substantive board will be inaugurated immediately after the forensic audit is completed, submitted and accepted. We agreed with him. Not for anything, but for the respect we have for the exalted office of Mr. President. How then will someone come to say that Tompolo was bribed to back down on his earlier 7-day ultimatum for the board to be inaugurated?

“We’ve heard of so many reports against the Honourable Minister but all what we have to tell the carriers of evil news is that Senator Akpabio is doing well as minister. To say that funds in the NDDC are turned to personal use is a disservice to the revered minister.

“First, they should know that NDDC’s budget is still pending at the Senate and that the meagre funds expended by the commission is directly from the Presidency and available records show that it has been judiciously used. Or haven’t we seen that for the first time in the history of NDDC that abandoned projects are being completed and commissioned? Look at what will happen any moment from now as a result of the just concluded forensic audit.

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“Also, Mr. Efiong Akwa’s tenure as the head of administration in NDDC is so rewarding. Let it also be on records that Akpabio is not try change the signature of Mr. Akwa in the Single Treasury Account, TSA. And it is not also true that Efiong is a puppet of Akpabio in the NDDC. Every payment done is documented and can be accounted for. They should also know that Efiong is a Certified Accountant with many years of experience.

“Besides, the duo of Akpabio and Effiong won’t dare not try anything to tannish their image after going through the rough path of forensic auditing. Efiong has been consistent and pragmatic in his line of duties; always in the office to attend to issues demanding his attention and sometimes stays in the office into the wee hours of the night. He has never deprived anybody of his presence and we can boast of his erudite leadership style in the commission.

“They also said that Akpabio threatened Akwa with a ‘sack’ when he refused to sign for payment. How did come about the information when they also said that it took place in a private meeting between the minister and the NDDC IA? Those are all fabrications from the minds of unclean fellows. They should have mentioned the payment Mr. Akwa refused to sign which prompted Akpabio say ‘pay or I sack you.

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READ ALSO: Make NDDC Audit Report Public, Punish All Offenders, Orbih Urges Buhari

“So, we want to use this as the greatest medium to warn perpetuators of evil things to desist from it or we will be forced to react in a more surprising manner next time. No man or group has the monopoly of violence. The people trying to create unnecessary tension in Niger Delta should desist from it. We also want to advise their sponsors to learn the ways of peace, which is the only way to achieve our long-desired development,” Messiah said.

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12 Feared Dead In Kenya Light Aircraft Crash

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A small plane travelling from Kenya’s coast crashed on Tuesday, according to the country’s aviation authority, with the 12 people on board feared dead.

The small plane was en route to Kichwa Tembo — a private airstrip located in the Maasai Mara National Park — from the tourist hotspot of Diani when it came down at around 5:30am local time (0230 GMT).

“The aircraft had 12 persons on board,” a statement from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said.

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It gave no further details, but said that government agencies were already on site to establish the cause of the accident.

READ ALSO:Putin Admits Russia Caused Azerbaijani Plane Crash

The Guardian reports that plane crashes are fairly common in Kenya in the last 18 months. On March 5, 2024, a mid-air collision between a Safarilink Aviation commercial flight and a 99 Flying School training aircraft occurred over the Nairobi National Park, resulting in two fatalities.

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The incident took place shortly after both aircraft had departed Wilson Airport. The collision involved Safarilink Aviation Flight 053, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 carrying 39 passengers and five crew members, and a 99 Flying School Cessna 172M.

AMREF Aircraft Crash

In August, a light aircraft belonging to the AMREF Flying Doctors crashed into a residential area in Mwihoko, Ruiru, Kiambu County, killing six people and injuring at least two others.

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The aircraft, a Cessna Citation XLS (registration 5Y-FDM), had taken off from Wilson Airport and was en route to Hargeisa, Somalia, when it went down under unclear circumstances.

READ ALSO:Fire On Board Forces Lagos-Atlanta-bound Aircraft Diversion To Ghana

AMREF Flying Doctors CEO Stephen Gitau issued a statement confirming the incident. Mr Gitau noted that the aircraft departed Wilson Airport at 2.17 PM before crashing in Mwihoko. He stated that the organisation is “cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation.”

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Foreign Couple Killed in Kenyan Plane Crash, Earlier in January, a light aircraft crash killed a foreign couple aboard. The accident involved a Cessna 185 aircraft that departed from Nairobi and was en route to Mbaruk in Nakuru County. It went down in the lakeside town of Naivasha at approximately 5:14 p.m. local time (1414 GMT).

At the time, Naivasha Police Deputy Chief Charles Mwai suggested that poor visibility due to fog in the area might have been a contributing factor. Aviation experts have been called to the scene to conduct an investigation.

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UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

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The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.

Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.

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His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.

READ ALSO:UK Police Hunt Asylum Seeker Mistakenly Freed For Sex Offence

Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.

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He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.

Kebatu is now expected to be deported.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.

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The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.

READ ALSO:Alleged Misappropriation: MFM Accuses UK Agency Of Discrimination

Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.

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A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.

The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”

He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.

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READ ALSO:UK Is A Home, Not Hotel, Kemi Badenoch Tells Immigrants, Starmer’s Govt

The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”

Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.

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He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.

He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.

AFP

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Madagascar Revokes Ousted President’s Nationality

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Madagascar’s new government has stripped ousted president Andry Rajoelina of his Malagasy nationality in a decree published Friday, 10 days after he was removed in a military takeover.

According to AFP, the decree means that Rajoelina, who was impeached on October 14 after fleeing the island nation in the wake of weeks of protests, would not be able to contest future election.

The decree published in the official gazette said Rajoelina’s Malagasy nationality was revoked because he had acquired French nationality in 2014, local media reported, as photographs of the document were shared online.

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READ ALSO:Madagascar’s President Denounces ‘Coup Attempt’ As Gen Z Protests Escalate

French broadcaster RFI said it had confirmed the decree with the entourage of the new prime minister, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, who signed the order.

The decree cited laws stipulating that a Malagasy who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses their Malagasy nationality.

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Rajoelina’s French nationality caused a scandal when it was revealed ahead of the November 2023 elections, nearly 10 years after it was granted.

READ ALSO:Madagascar Passes Bill To Castrate Child R*pists

It triggered calls for him to be disqualified but he went on to win the contested polls, which were boycotted by opposition parties.

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The 51-year-old politician fled Madagascar after army Colonel Michael Randrianirina said on October 11 his CAPSAT unit would refuse orders to put down the youth-led protest movement, which security forces had attempted to suppress with violence.

Rajoelina said later he was in hiding for his safety, but did not say where.

Randrianirina was sworn in as president on October 14, pledging elections within two years.

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