Sahara Reporters Latest News Tuesday 9th April 2019
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 09/04/19
Read also
target=_blank>Innoson Tells GTB: Stop Wasting Your Time… Convert The N8.8bn Debt Into Shares And hand It To Us
Innoson Motors Limited in Nnewi has advised Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) to stop deploying more resources into stopping the execution of the court order made against it.
The motor company said the refusal, last Friday, of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan to hear or grant the bank an injunction to restrain Innoson from continuing to levy execution against it is a clear indication that the bank had nothing more to do.
Speaking about the case on Monday, Cornel Osigwe, Public Relations Officer of Innoson, advised the bank to convert the debt into shares for Innoson insteading of engaging in wasteful and desperate means to prevent the execution of court’s verdict.
“GTB’s bid to stop Innoson from taking it over nosedived last week Friday, April 5th, 2019 as the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan refused to hear or grants it an injunction to restrain Innoson from continuing to levy execution against it; the court also refused to stay execution,” he said.
“Despite the decision of the Supreme Court on February 27th 2019 dismissing the appeal by Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) and affirming thereby the concurrent judgment of Court of Appeal, Ibadan division and Federal High Court Ibadan which ordered GTB by way of Garnishee Order Absolute to pay Innoson Nigeria Ltd the sum of N2.4 Billion with a 22% interest, per annum, on the judgment sum until the final liquidation of the judgment debt, the bank is yet to comply with this order.
“In order to stop Innoson from continuing with taking over its assets in execution of the aforesaid judgment GTB approached the Federal High Court, Ibadan on Friday, 5th April 2019 and requested the court, through a motion, to stay execution and or for an injunction restraining Innoson from continuing with executing a judgment which the Supreme Court has affirmed when it dismissed the GTB’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision affirming the High Court’s judgment and order in favour of Innoson.
“We have previously stated that in a garnishee proceedings, once an order of garnishee nisi is made, the garnishee is required by law to set the amount involved aside and will not allow the judgment debtor to withdraw from it; and if the order is made absolute, the garnishee pays the money to the judgment creditor and incurs no liability for doing that but if the order is not made absolute the garnishee returns the money to the judgment debtor.
“It will be recalled that the order was made absolute since 29th July 2011 and GTB held unto the money from that time and is using it for its business. It follows that by the time the order was made absolute it was no more the judgment debtor’s money but rather that of Innoson Nigeria Ltd who is the judgment creditor; if a garnishee refuses to comply with the order, then, it becomes a judgment debtor, as GTB has become in the present case, against whom execution of the order will issue.
I”nnoson Nigeria Ltd is aware that GTB had earlier deposed to an affidavit in the court that its banking operation will be seriously and adversely affected, and also its capital base eroded if it complies with the order of the court.
“Based on the foregoing and in furtherance of the letter to GTB by Counsel to Innoson Nigeria Ltd, McCarthy Mbadugha & Co on March 25th, 2019 that it pays the N2.4B Judgment debt to Innoson Nigeria Ltd with the accrued interest of N6,717,909,849.96, Innoson Nigeria Ltd therefore demands from GTB that if it’s banking operation will be seriously and adversely affected, and its capital base eroded as a result of the N8.8bn judgment debt, that it should as a matter of utmost urgency convert the said sum or part of it into shares and allot same to Innoson Nigeria Ltd. This will save taking it over in the manner Innoson is doing.”
Legal
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>Abductors Of Lagos Fire Service Director Demand Ransom
The family of Rasaki Musibau, Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, has been contacted by his kidnappers.
Musibau was kidnapped alongside six others persons along the Epe-Itokin Road, Ikorodu, Lagos, on Saturday night, while they were returning to Lagos from Epe.
SaharaReporters had reported on Sunday that the kidnappers blocked the Itokin bridge end of the road before abducting the occupants of the three vehicles.
Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and spokesman of the Police in Lagos, had also confirmed the incident, noting that seven people were kidnapped.
”Those abducted include: Rasaki Musibau (Director of Fire Service in Lagos State), Mufutau Adams (a management staff of the Fire Service), Mrs. Funmilayo Adelumo and Asiogu Martha. Others are, Lasisi Muka, and two others. Vehicles recovered from the scene include a Toyota Sienna, a Toyota Corolla and an Opel Jeep. The CP in company with Tactical Units Commanders visited the crime scene in the early hours of Sunday,” the Police spokesman said.
Sources close to the family told SaharaReporters on Monday that Musibau’s abductors had contacted the family to demand a ranson, but they did not want to reveal the details in order not to jeopardise his freedom.
CRIME
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>Sudanese Forces Fire Tear Gas At Protesters Demanding President al-Bashir’s Resignation
Some officers within the Sudan Army on Monday fired tear gas at protesters who were demanding the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir.
Al-Bashir has been ruling as President of Sudan since October 16, 1993, with Sudanese embarking on protests since December 19, 2018 to demand his ouster from office.
The protests started over an increase in the price of commodities by the government, but security agencies have made it a duty to clamp down on protesters.
According to the Human Rights Watch, not less than 51 people have been killed in a different clash with security agencies, with thousands of people arrested.
The protests, which hit the third day today, witnessed violence as some officers fired tear gas at protesters.
The protesters had gathered outside the Army’s headquarters in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, calling on the Army to join in.
In Sudan, the Army’s headquarters houses the President’s residence and Sudan’s Defence ministry.
Thousands of the protesters could be heard chanting anti-government songs outside the Army’s headquarters.
The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) had stated that the National Intelligence and Security Service fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition in order to disperse the protesters. Some of the protesters talking after the attack said soldiers were putting up barricades in streets near the compound after NISS personnel and the Police failed to dislodge the demonstrators.
“After that, security forces began firing tear gas at protesters,” a witness said.
Another witness who was not part of the protest said he could feel the effect of the tear gas in his house.
He said: “I stepped out on my balcony hearing the sound of the gas canisters and could feel the gas in the air.”
Bashir, 75, faces genocide charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) relating to extensive human rights abuses perpetrated by Sudanese forces against civilians in Darfur.
According to the United Nations, 300,000 people were killed while 2.7 million have fled their homes.
ACTIVISM
Human Rights
International
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>Man With ‘Roasted’, Severed Human Hands Arrested In Ekiti
A 23-year-old man simply identified as Nifemi has been arrested for being in possession of a severed human hand.
The suspect was arrested on Saturday during a stop-and-search operation mounted by the Police along Ijero-Ikoro Road, Ekiti State.
According to a witness, the suspect was nabbed while going to Okemesi Ekiti through Ijero-Ikoro Road.
The source added that the young man was said to have kept the human parts in a polythene bag and was apprehended while taking it to Okemesi.
According to the witness, the suspect said he got the hands at Asa farmstead near Okemesi, and brought them to Ijero to sell to some people.
Confirming the arrest, Caleb Ikechukwu, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command said investigations had begun on the case and how to arrest the suspect’s syndicates.
“Our men arrested him during one of our operations,” he said. “We are gathering more facts about the case because we are aware he has been operating with some people and they have to be brought to book.”
CRIME
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>SUBEB Folds Arms Six Months After Investigation Exposing Massive Malpractice At Lagos Common Entrance Centre
The Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has kept mum despite investigative evidences showing massive examination malpractice during its state-organised placement examination, also known as Common Entrance.
Six months ago, SaharaReporters detailed how schools in Lagos State connived with Lagos State invigilators to compromise the state’s secondary school entrance exams.
In one of the revelations, an invigilator, identified as Toye Lukmon of Yufaith Private School, was captured on camera dictating answers to the pupils during the placement examination held at Tulabville Private School at 53 Omidindun Street, Lagos Island area of Lagos State.
Similarly, at Wesley Girls Senior Secondary School, Yaba, another Centre for the Lagos State Placement Examinations, pupils were captured cheating during the examination while Lagos State designated invigilators looked away as many of them had been bribed by school owners.
The investigation also revealed how easy it is to enrol children for the examination in different primary schools in Lagos State.
As part of the multimedia investigation, Ajenifuja Kazeem, a staff member of SUBEB, was also indicted as he organised a fake First School Leaving Certificate For the undercover reporter.
The board denied Kazeem, saying the board it had no employee by that name.
However, Ganiyu Oluremi Sopeyin, the Executive Chairman of the board, told SaharaReporters that Idayat Adebule, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, who is also the Commissioner for education, has set up an enquiry panel to look into schools indicted in the investigations.
Six months after the alleged committee was set up, the board has kept mum over the outcome of the committee.
Several text messages and phone calls to the board’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) went unanswered.
On Friday, April 5, when SaharaReporters called him, he said he would call back as he was driving. He never called back nor answered follow-up calls to his phone.
He also did not respond to text messages and WhatsApp messages requesting the outcome of the committee set up by the board.
When he was called again on Monday, April 8, his phone rang multiple times without answer. When someone, a woman, finally picked the come, she said the PRO was in a meeting.
CRIME
Education
Scandal
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>#WorldHealthDay: Pink Oak Demands Mandatory Insurance Coverage For Cancer Care
As the global health community commemorated the World Health Day on Sunday, The Pink Oak Cancer Trust called on the President Muhammadu Buhari and the governors of the 36 states of the Federation to work in synergy and establish a mandatory health insurance to cover cancer diagnosis and treatment.
A statement made available to SaharaReporters by Sr. Laz Ude Eze, the Executive Director, noted that qualitative healthcare should be made available, affordable and accessible to every Nigerian so as to guarantee right to life as provided in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“Nigeria accounts for the highest number of cancer-related deaths in the world not because the cancer cannot be treated or cured but due to inability of patients to afford care and a lack of adequate facilities and manpower to provide quality care,” Eze said.
“The Pink Oak and partners are raising money to fund the treatment of patients in early stages of cancer in Nigeria to provide a short to medium-term solution to the financial barriers to treatment. More so, the Pink Oak calls on well-meaning Nigerians to donate to the foundation to enable it raise N350 million and sponsor the treatment of 100 or more cancer patients this year.
He also enjoined the government at all levels to increase budgetary allocations for health and work towards achieving universal health coverage by 2030.
Pink Oak co-funds treatment of eligible cancer patients recommended by any of its member-NGOs, namely Breast Without Spot (Enugu), Cancer Aware Nigeria (Lagos), Medicaid Cancer Foundation (Abuja), Pink Africa Foundation (Calabar), Project Pink Blue (Abuja), St. Cyril Cancer Treatment Foundation (Lagos), Sebeccly Cancer Care (Lagos) and Patela Care Foundation (Ibadan).
The theme of the World Health Day 2019 is ‘Universal Health Coverage’ — a situation where every citizen has health insurance coverage and can afford quality healthcare without financial difficulty.
PUBLIC HEALTH
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>Nigerians To Enjoy Seamless Mobile Payment And Money Transfer With Disruptive Fintech App ‘M-Naira’
With the growing level of acceptance and also challenges of mobile payment and digital remittance Nigerians face on daily basis, BeepTool, an indigenous tech start-up based in Lagos, Nigeria, has unveiled the m-naira app, designed to bridge the gap in financial inclusion, mobile payment and remittance space.
The m-naira app is a revolutionary Fintech App with the main aim of helping Nigerians located either inside or outside the country to send, receive, pay or save cash Instantly.
The m-naira mobile app has been described by industry watchers and stakeholders as a timely intervention in the mobile payment ecosystem, contributing to the country’s stride towards a full cashless economy.
As of today, Nigerians in the Diaspora send up to $24 billion annually to Nigeria. At an average cost per transaction of 11.89%, Nigerians are spending more than $7 billion in fees.
“We think we can do better,” said Mayowa Ihinmikaiye, Co-founder and Business Development manager of BeepTool CIS Limited.
“The m-naira app is designed to be the fastest and most secure way to send and remit money home directly to a bank account or mobile wallet. The m-naira app is also designed for paying bills for family and friends from any part of the world.
“The app is a value-sharing and money transfer services platform that interconnects all Nigerian bank accounts, mobile wallets, and billing systems to deliver instant remittance services to Nigeria from anywhere in the world. Whether you’re supporting your family or doing business in Nigeria, m-naira app makes it convenient and safer to send, receive, pay and save cash instantly from your phone, at a quarter of the cost of your bank or high street money transfer provider.
“It works directly with service providers to enable remote payment for services such as utilities, healthcare, school tuition, etc. Nigerians living in rural areas are not left out, as we are connecting them to the financial world using nano-satellites. This will allow Nigerians in areas with poor or no connectivity use the m-naira app to send and receive payment for goods and service.”
The app has shown a lot of promise, having features such as instant transfer available from any UK, USA and EU-approved countries of the world to Nigeria, with 24/7 delivery, real-time updates on transfer so users know exactly where ytheir money is, without needing credit or debit card fees.
“The mobile app can be downloaded via Google Play Store for now, with the iOS version coming soon or via website,” Ihinmikaiye said.
“The m-naira app has a high level of encryption, Know Your Customer (KYC) and security. The developers of the app took it a bit further by helping the unbanked to save money via the m-naira Ajo scheme. This scheme is a Rotational Savings Club or a group of individuals who save and borrow together in a form of peer-to-peer banking. Group members contribute funds into a pool on a regular basis (daily, weekly or monthly), and then take turns withdrawing funds from the pool. Rotational Savings Clubs are also known as Ajo, Esusu or Otataje in Nigeria.”
Further explaining how the app works, he said: “Pay with m-naira feature is a contactless payment method using a QR code scan from the m-naira app; users can make mobile payments at stores and to merchants.
“Blink with m-naira feature is mobile payment method available in the m-naira app, allowing users to make payments (in-store and online) with the use of a one-time password (OTP) pin eliminating the use of ATM cards for shopping online, withdrawing and depositing cash at agent locations. The m-naira BLINK can be used by m-naira app users and customers of m-naira app partner banks. All banks and stores in Nigeria are in the m-naira app network.”
Money
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>Kebbi Spends N280m Monthly On School Feeding, N2bn On Furniture
Mohammed Magawata, the commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education in Kebbi State, has disclosed that the state spends a sum of N280 million monthly on school feeding programmes so as to “enhance enrolment, retention and completion in public schools across the state”.
Speaking, on Monday, at a training on Cash Transfer Programme organised by the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF), Magawata said this was done to reduce the number of out-of- school children in the country.
“Every month, Kebbi State spends over 280million on feeding,” he said. “This, we give for free to improve interest in going to school and also retention of children in school.”
He added that the state has spent “over N2billion for providing only furniture in our schools this year”.
The commissioner ascribed the increase in the number of out-of-school children in the state to the influx of people from neighbouring countries such as Niger, Chad and Benin Republic.
“We are doing very much to sustain the programme, even after UNICEF completes the programmes in the northern part of the country, we can still continue our own programmes to ensure those who are in school remain,” he said.
“We have schemes in place to assist children in their education. We have our own local programmes of assisting children. We do this by helping in the payment of school fees and school feeding.”
Magawata also noted that the state had been able to absorb over 500,000 beneficiaries, adding that an additional 40,000 beneficiaries had been added recently during its mopping exercise.
However, he expressed satisfication in the training, believing it might help change the mindset of parents who may want to prevent their children from attending conventional schools.
Education
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
target=_blank>BREAKING: INEC Set To Announce Timetable For Governorship Elections In Kogi, Bayelsa
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the schedule of activities for the governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states, slated for later in 2019, will be released during the week.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman, stated this on Monday when he appeared before a joint session of the Senate Committee on INEC and House Committee on Electoral matters to defend INEC’s 2019 budget proposal.
According to Yakubu, the total figure for the Commission’s 2019 budget proposal is N45.4billion.
Addressing the committee, he said: “This year, we are going to conduct two end-of-tenure elections into the offices of the governors in Kogi and Bayelsa States.
“Let me seize this opportunity here to say before the end of this week, INEC will issue a timetable and schedule of activities for the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
“For 2019, we were presented with an envelope of N45.5billion as our regular budget. This is the same envelope as in 2018, only slightly better than the envelopes of several years before them.
“In 2017, it was N45billion; in 2016, it was N45billion, and in 2018, it was increased marginally to N45.5billion and the same envelope was presented to the Commission in 2018 and 2019. I will say for the 2018 financial year we were fully funded. We were on the first line charge, so in terms of the releases from the executive to the Commission, we were fully funded.”
Giving a breakdown of the budget items, he continued: “The first one is personnel cost and in 2019; the commission is proposing the sum of N21.8billion to cover consolidated salaries for 16,455 career employees of INEC and 51 political office holders, making a total of 16,506 employees of the commission in 2019. “The personnel cost is broken into two subheads. You have the consolidated salary of N17.5billion and you have the social contribution, National Health Insurance, contributory pension, and employee compensation of N4.3billion.”
Noting that the overhead cost is N4.2billion, while the third budget head is for electoral expenditure, he added: “The Commission is proposing the sum of N17.7 billion under the electoral expenditure to cover such activities as monitoring party primaries, conventions, voter education, stakeholder meeting legal expenses and others.”
N1.6billion was proposed to cover capital expenditure.
In 2015, governorship election in Bayelsa State was held on December 5, but it was declared inconclusive.
After a rerun in January 2016, Seriake Dickson, incumbent Governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), polled 134,998 votes to defeat Timipre Sylva, a former Governor of the state and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 86,852 votes.
The Kogi State governorship election had held earlier, on November 22, 2015, but it was also declared inconclusive, necessitating a rerun, at the end of which Yahaya Bello of the APC was declared winner after securing 247,752 votes while Idris Wada, the incumbent Governor and PDP candidate, polled 204,877 votes.
It wasn’t Bello who on the election in practice, though; he was only declared winner, being the runner-up in the APC primary, following the death of Abubakar Audu, the authentic candidate of the party, on November 22, 2015.
#NigeriaDecides
Elections
Politics
Breaking News
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
‘APC Will Lose 2023 Election If It Disrespects Zoning Of Presidential Ticket To The South-West’
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been warned not to renege on its zoning formula that cedes power to the South-West in 2023, else it risks quitting the political stage after just two terms.
Umar Duhu, pioneer National Vice Chairman of APC (North-East), dropped the warning in an exclusive chat with SaharaReporters on Monday.
He was reacting to media comments credited to Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), as saying “there’s no law that mandates the ceding of power to the South-West”.
Duhu also spoke on a wide range issues, and accused President Muhammadu Buhari of self-centeredness and failure to provide the right leadership for the party.
He expressed dismay at how candidates of the party contesting at various levels worked for the President’s reelection, but he could not return same gesture, only asking the electorate to vote according to their conscience irrespective of party divides.
On the raging crisis involving the selection of National Assembly leadership, Duhu feels Buhari, rather than Adams Oshiomhole, should be blamed for APC’s plans to foist Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila on the Senate and House of Representatives respectively.
“I don’t see Oshiomhole as the originator of the problem; I’ve alluded that to the Commander in Chief, who is the National Leader of the party,” he said.
“It is very unfortunate for anyone to think you can cow people elected as legislators, people who are seasoned administrators in their own rights. The attempt to foist leadership on members of the National Assembly is undemocratic.
“I believe if APC does not play carefully, and use persuasive diplomacy, it is going to lose, and in the end we’re likely going to vote in a PDP President of the Senate.”
On Babachir’s “no power shift” saga, a statement widely considered as flying a kite on behalf of some hardcore northern elements, Duhu counselled them to perish the idea.
Babachir had absolved the APC of any commitment to any such obligation of respecting rotational presidency agreement, and hinted he was also a ready presidential candidate in 2023.
Duhu therefore reacted in a stern warning that any attempt to retain power in the north beyond 2023 would be resisted by all democratic forces in the country.
“I’m not a prophet of doom, but I can confidently say that given my over three decades experience, I’m afraid if the APC decides to retain power, not only the party but northerners would lose woefully,” he said.
Tracing the history of rotational presidency to late President Umar Yar’Adua, he highlighted that former President Goodluck Jonathan was ousted because he reneged on an earlier zoning ceding power to the North.
“In 2010 when President Yar’Adua of blessed memory passed on, the indication that power should remain in the North was on the front burner.
“But the North was persuaded to allow the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to be, on condition that power would return to the north in 2015.
“That political diplomacy was prelude to APC’s victory. It was not as if we were more popular or more strategic than the PDP; the overriding sentiment was that power must shift to the north for eight years.”
He described as unfortunate, Babachir’s attempt to chart a wrong course for the party, saying: “It beats my imagination that B. D. Lawal is making such postulations, because here is a man standing a trial bothering on credibility.”
Duhu consequently charged the party’s national hierarchy to discountenance Babachir’s comments and continue to pursue principles of fairness, equity and national unity.
Elections
Politics
Exclusive
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
SaharaReporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
You can also check
