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Senate Halts Screening Of 3 Ministerial Nominees Over Alleged Forgery, Age Falsification

Published

10 months ago

August 1, 2023

The screening of at least three ministerial nominees was put on hold for reasons of age forgery and age falsification, among others, as the Senate commenced the exercise yesterday.

Of the 14 nominees listed on the order paper for screening, seven, including immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, were asked to take a bow and go, while four others were screened.

Others asked to take a bow and go included two-term members of House of Representatives, Abubakar Momoh, from Etsako Local Government Area of Edo State; Senator Abubakar Kyari, who was in the 8th and 9th Senate and currently the Acting National Charman of ruling All Progressives Congress, APC; a senator in the 8th Senate, Senator John Enoh; and the immediate past governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru.

Also asked to take a bow and go were former Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Nkiru Onyejeocha, who represented Isuikwuato/ Umunneochi Federal Constituency, Abia State; former member, House of Representatives and Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, since 2017, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar.

But those whose screening was put on hold and asked to clarify issues were Prof. Joseph Utsev who is currently the Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Wannune, the home town of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume.

Utsev, who hails from Buruku Local Government Area of Benue State, is said to be the candidate of Akume.
The nominee in his resume indicated that he was born in 1980 and finished his primary education in 1989 at the age of nine, thereby drawing the attention of the Senate on how he would be in primary one at the age of three.

The two others were Senator Abubakar Sani Danladi, Taraba, who was alleged to have been banned by the Supreme Court from holding public office for ten years and Bello Mohammed from Sokoto State whose case had to do with his secondary school leaving certificate,

The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio said that those who had issues would have their cases looked into at the stage of confirmation.

The nominees whose names appeared on the Order Paper, but were not screened included Arch. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa – Katsina State; Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji – Enugu State and Stella Erhuvwuoghene Okotete – Delta State

The screening exercise, which commenced at 1.32 pm ended at 6 pm, starting with a two-term of House of Representatives member, Abubakar Momoh from Etsako Local Government Area of Edo State.

Tinubu appoints Ajuri Ngelale as Special Adviser on Media, Publicity
Soon after Momoh introduced himself as a former councillor, local government chairman, ex-member, the House of Assembly and a two-time member who represented Etsako federal constituency, he was asked to take a bow and go.

The second to appear before the Senate at the hallowed chamber was the former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.

Addressing the senators, Wike said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would not regret nominating me as a minister, describing himself as a performer.

Wike, who noted that he executed and commissioned a series of capital projects across Rivers State when he served as governor, said: “Every day I was commissioning projects. Mr President will not regret nominating me as a minister.”

On his part, Senator Mpigi Barinada PDP, Rivers), said that over five million people from the state supported Wike’s ministerial nomination and urged his colleagues to free him.

Akpabio then asked the former Rivers governor to take a bow and go, following a voice vote.

Even when there were shouts of resistance apparently from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senators, the Senate president hit the gavel.

Another nominee who appeared at 2.55 pm was Senator Abubakar Kyari, who was in the 8th and 9th Senate and currently occupies the position of acting National Chairman of ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

Senator Kyari was asked to take a bow and go as a former senator and the acting national chairman of APC.

The next was the immediate past governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, followed by a senator in the 8th Senate, Senator John Enoh; then the former Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Nkiru Onyejeocha who represented Isuikwuato/ Umunneochi Federal Constituency, Abia State; former member, House of Representatives and Nigeria Ambassador to Germany, since 2017, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who were all asked to take a bow and go.

When the matter of Supreme Court banning him from public office was raised, Senator Abubakar Sani Danladi, who was former acting governor and deputy governor of Taraba State, said: “There was nothing in Appeal Court, they just struck out the case for lack of merit.

“At the Supreme Court, the same thing happened as Mrs Mary Odili said the Federal High Court Jalingo was wrong to have passed the judgment in that manner because when I was a deputy governor in 2007, they used their executive power at that time to nullify me so from Supreme Court, I had to go back to the Federal High Court, Jalingo since the Supreme Court said there was no basis for the Federal High Court,, Jalingo to do that judgement.

“Then the same jurisdiction of the Federal High Court Jalingo now sat on the same judgement and set aside that judgement that is hanging on me.”

Responding, Akpabio said: “The Federal High Court, Jalingo, gave a judgement against you that you were not qualified to contest on the basis of perjury, that you lied on oath in respect of your date of birth, then later the Federal High Court sat on the same matter and cleared you?

“What we are saying is that the moment the Federal High Court gave the first judgement they become Funtus Officio in Law and can no longer sit as appellate court over its own judgement, so you will definitely say what you want to say, we will study this because it is in the interest of Nigeria and it is in public interest, We will give him chance to finish, as soon as he finishes, he can take a bow.”

Senator Danladi continued: “On the same issue , Senator Shaibu Lau took the matter to Federal High Court, Abuja, here sir. The Federal High Court gave me the judgement and he now went to Appeal Court which affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court.

”He now went to the Supreme Court, the court game me judgement, so there was no judgement from Supreme Court. As I am talking, the Supreme Court is hearing me, there was no judgement. If there is judgement, it is here.”
VANGUARD

Related Topics:Ministerial Nominees Senate

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Kudos As Nigeria Gains Additional Territory ‘Five Times The Size Of Lagos’

Published

15 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has commended the High Powered Presidential Committee, HPPC, on Nigeria’s extended continental shelf project, a team of experts who worked hard over the years to advance the project.

The president gave the commendation when he received the report of the protect yesterday in Abuja.

According to Vanguard, the project aims to extend Nigeria’s maritime boundaries in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982.

The president expressed his appreciation in Abuja after listening to technical presentations by Professor Larry Awosika, a marine scientist and member of the committee, and Surveyor Aliyu Omar, Secretary of HPPC.

The experts have been involved in the project since Nigeria’s initial submission to extend its continental shelf to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in 2009.

They informed the President that the UN has approved Nigeria’s submission, granting sovereignty over additional square kilometres of maritime territory.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, quoted the President as saying: ‘’When the HPPC briefed former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022 on the status of the project, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, CLCS, was still considering Nigeria’s submission and having technical interactions with the HPPC.

‘’These interactions and consideration have now culminated in the approval for Nigeria to extend its continental shelf beyond 200M (200 nautical miles).

‘’As it stands now, the area approved for Nigeria is about 16,300 square kilometres, which is about five times the size of Lagos State,” Surveyor Omar told the president.’’

He added that the official notification of the decision was conveyed to Nigeria by the UN Nations Commission on the limits of the Continental Shelf, CLCS, in August 2023, shortly after President Tinubu assumed office.

Omar outlined the available options for Nigeria following the approval: “The first option is to take the area gained and finalize the registration with the UN Secretary-General and close everything, meaning that we are satisfied with what we got. This will take at least one year.

“The second option is to take what we have right now, acquire more data, do a support write-up, and make a revised submission as recommended by CLCS for further consideration. This will take another four years. Either way (options), Nigeria will keep what has been approved.”

In his presentation, Professor Awosika explained that the approval came after years of meticulous scientific research on geophysics, geology, geography, and diplomatic efforts, which solidified Nigeria’s legal rights over a vast expanse of seabed and subsoil beyond its traditional territorial waters.

Awosika highlighted the economic potential of the newly acquired territory, which includes hydrocarbons, gas, solid minerals, and a wide variety of sedentary species.

He, however, cautioned against total disclosure of sensitive data acquired during surveys, noting that this will jeopardize confidentiality as Nigeria is expected to monetize the information to recover project expenses.

Responding, the president thanked the experts for their diligence, emphasizing the significance of the achievement for Nigeria’s economic and strategic interests.
VANGUARD

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Police Give Tips On How To Report Erring Officers

Published

15 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Editor

The Police have urged Nigerians to take the advantage of its Complaint Response Unit, at the Force Headquarters, to report misconduct of its officers and men.

The Head of the unit, CSP El-Musta Sani, made the appeal at a Summit organised in Abuja by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) in collaboration with the Foundation for Youth Empowerment and Social Justice.

Sanni said that the unit was created in 2015 to handle complaints against police officers from members of the public.

He said, so far, from the first quarter of 2024, the unit had received 459 complaints from members of the public against officers and men, through its social media platforms.

He further explained that 265 of the cases had been resolved while 195 were still being handled by the police.

According to him, “It takes the Unit 21 days to receive and conclude investigations on all complaints”.

He said it was worrisome that members of the public did not know about the platforms to channel their complaints.

“The major problem is that the institutions are there, but Nigerians do not know their functions.

“We receive complaints through WhatsApp, Twitter handles, phone calls, and walk-in petitions.

“And the Unit is directly responsible to the Office of the Inspector General of Police through the Public Relation Officer,” he said.

Sanni assured more sensitisation to enlighten the public to take advantage of the opportunity to lodge their complaint for proper handling.

In his remarks, the Chief Commissioner of PCC, Mr Abimbola Ayo-Yusuf emphasised the need to strengthen institutions to combat administrative injustice and corruption.

He noted that, properly developed institution is key to good governance, adding that the summit aimed to improve service delivery and ensure that the right to complain and raise issues was available to everyone.

“The purpose of this Summit, which is to foster collaboration between the Public Complaints Commission and other organisations, is quite timely and key to the understanding of the mandate of the Commission.

“The PCC, known as the Nigerian version of the Ombudsman, was established to investigate complaints regarding administrative actions,” he said.

Ms. Sandra Benson, the Director Administration, Foundation for Youth Empowerment and Social Justice, said that the Foundation and PCC were working hard to ensure justice for those who had faced injustices over the years.

Banson emphasised the need for collective action to address the issues, stating that now was the time to match voices with action for good governance.

She highlighted the importance of addressing citizens’ complaints about administrative actions and called for immediate responses, sensitisation of workers on grievance channels, and cooperation for swift justice.

“The Summit marks the beginning of important engagements with stakeholders and the PCC, aiming to restore trust in the system and liberate workers from bad leadership.”

Also speaking, Maurice Okoye, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jewel Social Empowerment Initiative, said that the critical need for consequence management in addressing issues in Nigeria was necessary.

Okoye cited the absence of consequence management as a major challenge, leading to lack of accountability among government agency heads.

He also mentioned the reluctance of many to seek justice due to a lack of confidence in the system.

He cited an example where one of his friends chose not to pursue justice after a robbery due to high costs and skepticism about the outcome.

Okoye called for a restoration of public confidence in the justice system and emphasised the need for accountability and responsibility among leaders.

NAN

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Google To Offer AI-generated Answers In Search Results

Published

1 day ago

May 14, 2024

Editor

Google has announced it would introduce AI-generated answers to online queries made by users in the United States, in one of the biggest updates to its search engine in 25 years.

“I’m excited to announce that we will begin launching this fully revamped experience, ‘AI overviews,’ to everyone in the US this week,” Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said at an event in California on Tuesday, May 14.

Google’s search results will feature an AI summary at the top of the page before the more typical unfurling of links.

The AI answers generated by Google’s Gemini technology will offer succinct summaries of what it found on the internet with links to the online sources that supplied the information.

“You can ask whatever’s on your mind or whatever you need to get done – from researching to planning to brainstorming – and Google will take care of the legwork,” said Google Search team boss Liz Reid.

The change comes as Google feels growing pressure from AI-powered search engines like Perplexity, and from the rumors that OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is building its own AI search tool.

Searches through AI chats have also appeared on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with users able to get information from the web without Google.

The change will soon spread to other countries, Pichai added, making it accessible to more than a billion people.