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Tributes are paid to Switzerland forward Florijana Ismaili after the missing footballer's body is found.

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After the Bosnian wars of the 1990s, Bosnian schools widely operate a policy of two schools under one roof.

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Some parents in Kenya take their secrets to the grave, leaving their children ignorant and unwell.

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Why female mikveh or ritual bath attendants are being trained to look out for signs of cancer and domestic violence.

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It has been much hyped, but could blockchain really be as significant and disruptive as the internet?

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The star says people finding patois hard to understand impacts the success of Jamaican musicians.

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Christine Lagarde is on track to become the first woman to run the European Central Bank.

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How often does something like this happen and what would conditions have been like?

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Four Canadian pensioners say the secret to a happy retirement is good roommates.

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The rare total solar eclipse delighted spectators in Chile, who cheered as the sun darkened.

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The country is a key springboard for migrants seeking to travel to Europe.

Rotimi Akeredolu, Governor of Ondo State has kicked against the proposed Ruga settlements for herdsmen across the country. 

Akeredolu said the Ruga settlements, initiated by the federal government cannot be in the interests of Ondo state as the lands in the state had been earmarked for forest reserves and agriculture. 

The governor noted that Ondo state would only be interested in ranches, which could even create employment opportunities for the teeming youths in the state. 

He spoke while responding to a tweet on his official Twitter handle @RotimiAkeredolu on Tuesday, stressing that Ondo state already has two expansive lands used for ranching in Akunnu and Auga Akoko. 

"Our stance on the Ruga settlements debate is clear. Ondo is only interested in ranches. We have 2 large ranches existing in Akunnu and Auga. 

"Auga can accommodate 5,000 cows. A key difference here is that we have no preference for who manages the cattle. The ranch owners decide.

”Primary reason for #RugaSettlements although understandable does not truly factor the interests of every State. We have a youth unemployment crisis our ranches can address. Ondo State must prioritize agriculture due to the arable nature of our land.

”A lot of our land is already earmarked for forest reserves. The FG must understand why we need to be strategic in our decision making. 

"We implore the FG to revisit the proposal based on feedback from the different States & act accordingly," Akeredolu said on his official Twitter handle.

The federal government has been receiving knocks from critics over the planned Ruga initiative.

Yoruba youths had on Monday also rejected plan and vowed to protest against any governors in the southwest that would buy into the initiative.

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Fredrick Nwabufo

Self-determination is a universal principle no doubt, but its application is defined within the context of the law, norms and precepts of the state. It has become orthodox to frame this concept narrowly; the fact is, self-determination beyond the remit of the prevailing laws of a country is subversion.

The UN declaration on this subject, which reads: “By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right to freely to determine, without external interference, their political, economic, social and cultural development, and every state has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter;” was “principally” in response to peoples or states under colonialism. 

However, I admit that its application is more embracing now, following the declaration of principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among states in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations on 24 October, 1970.

The point is, the UN declaration on self-determination of peoples was originally in the context of decolonisation, and even in an expanded purview, this principle is subject to the laws of the state. In November 2014, a self-determination referendum was held in Catalonia after the endorsement of the parliament, but this bid failed after the Spanish Constitutional Court voided the exercise. A political crisis ensued afterwards, which led to a serious breach of the peace. As a matter of fact, Europe,” the bastion of human rights” was not favourably disposed to the separatist agenda out of fear of the impact on the continent. 

It is in this consciousness that I interrogate the declaration of a referendum on self-determination for the southeast by Ohanaeze youth.

This is what the group, which I believe is narrowly going off the deep end, said:

“On the 8th of August, 2019, a referendum shall be held in Abia state, Anambra state, Ebonyi state, Enugu state and Imo state of Nigeria on: Whether the government of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states should negotiate with each other with a view to forming a federation of State to be known as South Eastern Region of Eastern Nigeria.”

“Whether the said region should negotiate with the government of Nigeria and the remaining 31 states or any group of states that have also agreed to federate … to achieve autonomy/self-determination for the said region within a federation of Nigeria Constituent Units.”

I think this agenda, if necessary, would have been best achieved through the national assembly. Does the constitution allow for a referendum? Can a socio-cultural group declare a referendum in an entire region? Is it not overreaching pushing an agenda that is clearly in conflict with the constitution? 

I believe, it stokes tension unilaterally declaring a referendum on a subject that affects every Nigerian and the state. I would advise this group to proceed with caution in order not to set off a chain of reactions that will cause the cauldron to boil over. Whatever the goal or agenda is; no matter how noble, it is best that it is achieved within the bounds of the constitution.

Also, I think the pursuit of self-determination is a will-o-the-wisp; a waste of time, and unpragmatic; it will only deepen the alienation of the southeast and autograph the reasons for its political marooning within Nigeria. We should be working in consonance as equal owners of the country, and not sectioning ourselves into political purdah.

We - all ethnic nationalities – can negotiate how we want to live within Nigeria without belligerence and threats, and it is better this conversation is had in an unheated atmosphere.

 

@FredrickNwabufo

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Modele Fatoyinbo, wife of Biodun Fatoyinbo, founder of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), has said nobody can take the place of her husband in the wake of rape allegations levelled against him by popular photographer, Busola Dakolo.

Fatoyinbo also vowed to retain her surname, Fatoyinbo, until Jesus returns.

Her comment is coming hours after her husband, Fatoyinbo stepped down as pastor of the church after massive protest by rights groups shook his churches in Lagos and Abuja on Sunday. 

She told the congregation on Monday: “Pastor doesn’t want me to talk. It’s fine. I just want to say ‘we love you’. You are our pastor; nobody can take your place.

“We have strangers in this house — strange sons and daughters. But God will close the heavens over them in the name of Jesus.

“It’s always good to assure people that you love them, not only when you feel that everything is fine with them, even much more when you feel that they are not. You know your friends when you are in trouble. So, we don’t want you to doubt in your heart. As for Modele, until I see Jesus, my surname cannot change. So, you better calm down.

“We love you and you have always taught us well. You have always stood on that stage to teach us that even though anybody might be coming from anywhere, God loves them and accepts them. You have never preached condemnation; you have never preached that we cannot change or make it.

“Nobody on earth can take your place in our lives.”

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With the election of the leadership of the National Assembly, which sees APC taking full control of both chambers, there are these tall expectations that governance in the next four years will proceed at a faster pace than in the last four years where the National Assembly leadership operated as the de facto opposition to the Buhari government. This expectation is driven by the fact that the executive arm of government will do better and faster in governance delivery when the legislature is on the same page with it than when the legislature constitutes a stumbling block to the policies and activities of the executive. 

The last four years saw a situation where the legislature worked at cross purposes with the executive and constituted sustained roadblocks to the executive and its desires to mend a wrecked and shattered nation and chart a new route to ways of doing things in a storm-battered country. The erstwhile leaders of the National Assembly, while superficially belonging to the APC, were, body and soul, PDP and did everything to frustrate the policies of the APC executive. Through budgetary mutilations and sustained distraction to the executive, the Saraki and Dogara National Assembly did everything humanly possible to frustrate the executive and ensure it failed in its desire to rebuild a nation battered to the bones by internecine corruption, impunity and cluelessness. The Buhari government was able to achieve tremendously in its first four years by the sheer will of the government and its supporters to break from a sordid past, fix decrepit infrastructures, cap the wellheads of rampaging corruption, arrest the fratricidal security crises, create new frontiers of economic growth, hew an ambitious social intervention programme that addresses the plights of the most vulnerable, the poorest and the most neglected segments of the Nigerian society.

With the election of Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives however, there is no doubt that the APC government is placed on the right footing to achieve its programmes, dreams and aspirations for the nation. Nigerians are therefore expecting a marked improvement in its delivery in the next four years. If the government was able to strike such remarkable achievements as it did in the last four years, with a hostile legislature, there is little doubt that it will achieve much more in the next four years with a legislature that operates on the same page with it and reflects the party’s control of the National Assembly. There is an expectation that the era of mischievously shredding national budgets to smithereens so as to ensure the government fails in its plans for the people, is over and so also is the era of deliberate delay of budgets to ensure that the government doesn’t achieve much. The expectations of Nigerians are bolstered by the fact that they expect the era of diverting budgetary provisions for critical and regenerative capital projects to fund corrupt, immaterial constituency projects to be over with the new National Assembly. 

With the above scenario, Nigerians, therefore, expect the Buhari government to complete the many important and critical capital projects it started in its first term. Nigerians expect that the many infrastructural rehabilitation projects the Buhari government started in its first four years would be given added fillip and most of them completed in the next four years to place the country soundly on the paths of growth. With a new National Assembly that doesn’t see its commission in frustrating the executive and its policies, Nigerians are looking forward to a fast-paced Next Level era where the expansive developmental polices of the Buhari government aimed at recreating a nation ran aground by intense corruption, would be achieved at a faster speed. Nigerians expect the new National Assembly to complement the government’s policies to tame the scourge of unemployment by expanding the productive capacity of the economy, intensify the development of the agricultural sector, diversify the fonts of revenue generation, expand the frontiers of the social investment programme and rein in the rampaging decibels of insecurity in the next four years. There is this desire amongst Nigerians that the new National Assembly should hit the ground running and work very hard to recover the lost ground of the last four years when a hostile National Assembly saw its mandate from frustrating the policies and programmes of the government.

The new National Assembly needs to do two critical things that will speed up the progress of the country. The first is to cut down on the huge emoluments of the members of the National Assembly and the second is to legislate into being a Special Court on Corruption to fast track the Buhari regime’s frenzied war against corruption. On the first, the new National Assembly must see the folly in continuing the regime where members of the legislature go home with humongous salaries and allowances in a country with such scarce means as Nigeria. There is a huge expectation that this NASS will shorn the indifference of past National Assemblies and cut down drastically on the huge overheads that oil a huge corruption complex in the National Assembly. Nigerians expect the present NASS to re-visit the huge salaries and allowances that members of NASS take home each month and follow best practices in legislative remunerations in other parts of the world so as to free the huge amount NASS members take home to attend to many pressing problems afflicting Nigeria. Also, the controversial bogey of constituency projects should be scraped and the executives allowed to implement projects as the needs of the nation dictate. 

Given the commitment of the Buhari government to arrest the rampaging ennui of corruption and its debilitating effect on governance in Nigeria, it is not too tall an expectation that the new National Assembly should work with the executive to draft and pass a bill for the setting up of a special court on corruption, which will give the fight against corruption the needed judicial teeth to achieve better results. The monumental filth in the judiciary would also be addressed by this court, which is expected to be peopled by men and women of impeccable character for the purpose of fumigating the institutional corruption that has eaten into the inner fabrics of the Nigerian society and which constitutes serious impediments to the commendable efforts of the Buhari government to tame this monster. A special court on corruption will ensure that the regular courts are freed of the burdens of adjudicating on corruption cases, which itself, has made the war of corruption so unwinnable. Because corruption threatens the growth and development of the country, the new National Assembly should see the need to firm up the present government’s huge effort to tame the monster with this institutional backup so that the war will survive the regime when it finishes its tenure in 2023.

It is unarguable that should the new NASS follow this simple template, it would succeed in re-investing the confidence of the Nigerian people in the National Assembly, as this confidence is at its lowest possible rungs at present given the entrenched misdemeanors of the National Assembly. Again, if the new NASS follows this template, it will not only bolster governance and delivery but would have entrenched indelible imprimaturs in the art of legislating, which had suffered serious gashes over the past years in Nigeria.

 

Peter Claver Oparah

Ikeja, Lagos.

E-mail: peterclaver2000@yahoo.com

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The person is believed to have fallen from a Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi on Sunday afternoon.

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The heaviest rainfall in the city for a decade brings death and disruption.

 

 

The Bayelsa State Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Bayelsa glory FM 97.1 Fm is currently on Fire.

The fire service personnel are trying to put out the fire as of the time of filing this report.

The fire according to sources started from the main studio.

Details later.

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President Buhari in a handshake with German Chancellor Merkel

Germany is a very gracious state, or better enunciated, Germany has very gracious politicians in government. The level of grace displayed in 2015, was so emotional that it set dormant fires of hatred alive. Angela Merkel, Germany’s long-serving Chancellor who offered to step down at the end of her present tenure, wanted to tell the world that the hearts in Hitler’s home are not cold, so she imported more than enough brushwood to keep them truly warm and active. Between August and December of 2015, no fewer than 800,000 persons were welcomed into the former Nazi territory. By April 2016, Merkel’s quota of one million refugees from the hot-headed state of Syria where a tripartite war cannon installed by the USA and its Middle East allies on one hand and Russia as well as its Persian brother, Iran, and on the other, had been exceeded.

With this glowing report, a Nigerian who has stared down death in Kajuru, Kaduna State, for too long, might jump at a trip to Brandenburg or Saxony Anhalt in search of peace and a fair chance at life. Added to being a refugee, she or he might just have the misfortune of practicing Islam. Not finding any travel advice on the Nigerian media or the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, this fated individual could in bliss walk into the lair of right winged extremists In Dresden or Leipzig.

Travel Advice, the USA- puts Nigeria on Level 3, ‘reconsider travelling'.

While Borno, Yobe and Northern Adamawa, are on the same rating as Afghanistan— ‘do not travel.’ The United Kingdom has Abia State in South East Nigeria, listed as a place British citizens should make only essential visits to. The Nigerian government always lives its citizens to sought things out except in extreme conditions, when some unfortunate Nigerian is on death row.

With all these said, here is a little help if you’re venturing into Germany. Germany is not as violent as Nigeria but if you are a migrant or a Muslim, there are certain trends you should pay attention to.

When you compare how Nigerian officials react to killings to how their German counterparts respond to the rising prevalence of right winged extremists— persons who harbour violent intent towards Jews, Muslims, refugees/people of colour, you would think the German officials are making unnecessary noise.

Maybe this is why the Nigerian government has not thought to raise the same alarm to citizens’ intent on going to school, work or unwelcomed and endless vacations in Germany.

If a Nigerian running away from a brutish life in Wukari, Taraba State, sees a clip of the viral video of thousands of Germans welcoming refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, as they enter Munich in

Bavaria, she or he should know that the German police said pro-refugee volunteers, politicians as well as journalists were likely targets of violence.

In April 2016, the German police released a report informing those it had the duty to protect that, apart from ‘physical harm, one has to reckon with murders.’ Far from attempting to sound ambiguous or politically correct, the report plunked the blame at the center of the forehead saying, Neo-Nazis and their supporters had created a ‘climate of fear.’ As the police predicted then, a pro-refugee politician was finally struck with a bullet to the head after two failed attempts with knives on two mayors. Walter Lübcke, regional Governor of Kassel in the Western German state of Hesse, was killed in his home on June 2, 2019, by Stephan Ernst. Only because it happened in the efficient country of Germany do we know who the killer is by confession within a month of the act. Reacting to Lübcke’s murder, Heiko Maas, Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs wrote an opinion in German newspaper Bild saying,

”Eighty years after the beginning of World War II, politicians have again become victims of right-wing terrorists. Because of their beliefs. Because of their commitment to our country,” Maas wrote.

“All these shows what many still close their eyes to even now: Germany has a terrorism problem.” He even followed his words with a proposal to begin a Thursday protest for Democracy, emphasizing how scared German officials are.

After a right-winged terror cell sent out death warnings via email to German politicians, journalists, and two previously targeted pro-migrant mayors, Henriette Reker of Cologne as well as Andreas Hollstein of Altena— both in the most populated German State of  North Rhine Westphalia on June 18, Thomas Haldenwang, Acting President of The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BFV) - based on its German translation, said in a press conference that the state cannot keep tabs on all violent right-winged extremists in the country. He put the size of their rank at 13,000.

Haldenwang’s predecessor, Hans-Georg Maassen, left office because he was accused of being too chummy with right-winged extremists. Three should suffice for emphasis. Speaking of those 13,000 the BFV cannot keep surveillance on, you might think they are a paltry number to be bothered by when compared to over 1.2 million refugees between 2015 and now or 17 million non-Germans. But…

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Simon Lalong, Plateau State Governor, has appealed to Nigerians and other state governors to work with the Nigerian government in the creation of settlement farms for herdsmen saying it would solve economic and security challenges of the country.

He said this while speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Lalong, who claims Plateau is ready to give its land for the creation of the settlement said international organizations would be involved in financing the settlement.

He said, “This is a policy that we felt that it is not only for economic sense, but it would also address the issue of security. So if it is going to address insecurity in a period the country is confronted with serious security challenges then federal government would come and assist those who want to do it.

“They are not imposing it on any state, I am a member of this committee under the chairmanship of the Vice President, the federal government has not imposed that on any state.

“They said if you have land for pilot scheme they can assist, and donor agencies are coming from all over, it is not a federal government project, the World Bank is involved, the African Development Bank is involved.

“So if you have a scheme like this that can take poverty, bring revenue and also address insecurity, you will need to go into it but with due consultation from your state.”

He refuted claims that the Ruga settlement would favour a tribe over the other while asserting that it would totally put an end to clash between nomadic herdsmen and farmers.

“We did a lot of sensitization, in my state it took me three months to do sensitization and we all agreed that we should bring this concept to empower people. It is not meant to empower one tribe it is for everybody and that would address the issue of insecurity because we don’t want people moving from one place to another looking for grasses,” Lalong said.

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has re-arraigned Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Moddibbo Kawu before a Federal High Court over alleged fraud in the handling of N2.5 billion part of seed grant for Digital Switch-Over (DSO) project of the Federal Government.

Kawu was re-arraigned with three others alleged to have been involved in the mismanagement of the said sum.

They are Pinnacle Communications Limited, its Chairman Lucky Omoluwa and the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, Dipo Onifade.

They all pleaded not guilty when the amended charges were read out to them.

The ICPC had previously arraigned Kawu on May 3, 2019 on a 12-count charge with the judge granting each of the accused a bail of N100 million and two sureties.

The presiding judge, Justice Giwa-Ogunbanjo faulted the prosecutor for the delay in filing a report of its verification of the information supplied by the sureties presented by the defendants while halting proceeding insisting that the prosecutor must comply with the court’s order.

At the resumption of proceedings, the judge adjourned the matter till Thursday for the hearing of a motion by the defence, challenging the additional proof of evidence filed by the prosecution.

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IDP Camp

Internally Displaced Persons at the Taraba camp thronged out in their hundreds on Monday to kick against the diversion of relief material from Taraba State to Borno State by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The IDPs alleged that the eight trucks of relief materials drove into the State on Sunday but the drivers received directives to head for Borno, which was against the initial directive.

They stated that one of those who were privy to the move hinted the IDPs of the move.

Hon. Kini Nemori, Chairman of IDPs forum in Taraba, who spoke to journalists during the protest action said the IDPs are dying of hunger adding that the decision to divert the materials would further heighten the suffering of the people in the camp.

“IDPs in Taraba state are suffering of hunger, diseases and other related hardship in their various camp and we wonder why the items provided for the IDPs would be diverted to another state,” Nemori said.

Mr. Duna Gembo Bala, Director of Relief and Rehabilitation of Taraba State Emergency Management Agency confirmed the fears of the people while faulting NEMA for masterminding the inhuman act.

“The relief materials that are in the store is 6000 bags of Rice, all the state were given their allocation by NEMA since last year, ours was given to us and it was recorded, why are they coming to take away our own again?

“As I speak to you we have 21700 IDPs in 8 camps only in Jalingo and Ardo Kola over the Fulani JKona crisis. We have been writing to them that we have IDPs that are in camps and they need food.”

However, Mr. Nuvarga Danhabu, Permanent Secretary TSEMA said the state government was not aware of the planned removal of the relief by the NEMA.

He added that the state government would refuse any attempt to divert the materials “until the NEMA establish that the materials were not meant for Taraba state.”

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The Lagos State Waterways Authority said more bodies have been recovered from the Lagos boat accident that happened on Saturday night.

The boat was conveying 26 people at night but capsized after it was hit by high waves of water.

SaharaReporters had reported that the Chief Executive Officer, LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the boat capsized due to overloading, adding that three persons were rescued and taken to hospital.

An on-the-spot investigation carried out by LASWA revealed that the incident was caused by poor visibility on the part of the captain.

According to Dr. Olufemi: “A boat accident occurred at the Ipakan Boat Jetty, Egbin, Ikorodu, on Saturday, June 29, 2019. Investigations revealed that the boat was travelling from Badore, Ajah to Egbin in Ikorodu with between 17 and 21 passengers on board.

“The boat allegedly capsized due to overloading. It was gathered that the boat was overturned by heavy currents. Three persons were rescued and were taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, the lifeless bodies of an adult female, identified as Oluwaseunfunmi Aniyikaye, 40, and an unnamed person were found and bagged by the agency’s response team. Rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing for other missing passengers by officials of LASEMA, the LASWA, and the Marine Police.”

In a recent update, General Manager, Mr Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said more bodies have been recovered taking the death toll to seven.

10 people are still missing while three people survived the boat mishap.

The LASWA general manager said that the authority would not relent in ensuring safety on the waterways.

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Abdullahi Sule, Governor of Nasarawa State, has said the state is open and is backing the establishment of Ruga settlements for herdsmen.

Nasarawa has joined Bauchi State government to declare their support for the ranching system. 

Mr. Yakubu Lamai, the Director-General Strategic Communication and Press Affairs to the governor, disclosed this adding that Ruga would also put an end to incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen and in turn reduce ethnic clashes in the state and country.

“Nasarawa state will support any move by the federal government that will assuage Fulani herders and farmers crises in the state. That will bring peace and harmony between both of them and the citizens of the state and country at large,” Lamai said in an interview with The Punch.

He added that the state government would continue to orientate farmers and herdsmen.

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President Muhammadu Buhari has finally ordered the sack of Prof. Usman Yusuf, Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Prof. Yusuf was enmeshed in different scandal including financial misappropriation and lack of proper management of the scheme.

A source in the government had told Saharareporters that Prof. Yusuf was undermining the board, feeling no one could touch him due to his relationship with the cabal in the government.

Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health, first suspended him in June 2017, after an administrative panel found him guilty of allegations of gross misconduct, nepotism, financial recklessness and theft of public funds to the tune of N919million. See Also Sahara Reporters Panel Proposes Sack Of NHIS Executive Secretary, Usman Yusuf 0 Comments 2 Months Ago

In October, Adewole made the suspension indefinite pending action from President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, in February 2018, the President reinstated him. The reinstatement was confirmed by a letter to the Minister, signed by the Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari, which made no mention of the allegations against Yusuf but simply urged him to “work harmoniously with the Minister”.

He was again suspended in October 2018 after which a panel was set up by the Federal Ministry of Health recommended his dismissal following findings that he allegedly mismanaged N919m.

Not satisfied, a panel was set up by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in December 2018. The panel found him culpable of the allegations made against him and also recommended him for dismissal

Announcing the sack, Mrs. Boade Akinola, Director, Media, Federal Ministry of Health, said in a statement that the President had approved his termination and has appointed Prof. Mohammed Sambo to resume as the new head of NHIS. See Also Sahara Reporters Nigerian Government Pays N13.8m To Suspended NHIS Secretary, Yusuf 0 Comments 2 Months Ago

“Following the recommendations of report by an independent fact finding panel on the NHIS, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the termination of appointment of the Executive Secretary, Prof. Usman Yusuf, who has been on administrative leave and has approved the appointment of Prof. Mohammed Sambo as the new executive secretary.

“Similarly, the President also approved the dissolution of the governing board of the NHIS and directed the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health to exercise full powers of the council pending the constitution of a new board.

“President Buhari has also approved the appointment of Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu as Director–General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. The appointment is in line with the provisions of Section 11(1)(3) of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (Establishment) Act, 2018,” the statement read.

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Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of $8,435,788.84 and N9.1 billion belonging to wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan to the Nigerian government.

The forfeiture ruling was made on Monday as an order for interim forfeiture was made on April 19, 2018, following an ex-parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against Jonathan and some companies.

The judge also directed that the humongous funds should be forfeited to the Federal Government on the grounds that they were proceeds of crimes while Mrs Jonathan and the firms could not legitimately account for the ownership of the funds.

The companies named in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/620/18, are: Globus Integrated Service Limited; Finchley Top Homes Limited; AM-PM Global Network Limited; Pagmat Oil and Gas Limited and Magel Resort Limited.

The funds were kept in various bank accounts, including Skye Bank Plc (now Polaris Bank Plc), Diamond Bank Plc, Stanbic-IBTC and First Bank Plc.

Delivering judgment today, Justice Olatoregun held that the money was reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime adding that the defence counsel could not prove to the court that the money were legitimately earned.

She said: “There is no reason provided in the affidavit to convince the court or to show cause why the monies should not be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“There is no evidence to reasonably show, beyond doubts, that the monies were legitimately earned.”

Details of the monies traced to, recovered and forfeited to the federal government by Mrs Patience Jonathan include the sum of $3,645,013.73, found by the commission in account No.2031277178 domiciled with First Bank of Nigeria Ltd; the sum of $4,361,393.24, found by the commission in account No.1771421299 domiciled with Skye Bank Plc; the sum of N1,800,494,000.00, found in account No.4011019539 domiciled with Fidelity Bank Plc; the sum of N226,376,700.23 in account No.1102001996 domiciled with Eco Bank Ltd; the sum of N1,085,576,947.99 found in account No.1102001996 domiciled with Eco Bank Ltd; the sum of N39,418,712.12 found  in account No.0019213687 domiciled with Diamond Bank Plc; the sum of N7,213,303.50 found in account No.0026718889 domiciled with Diamond Bank Plc; and

The sum of N55,930,024.50 found in account No.0026838491 domiciled with Diamond Bank Plc.

Also found in her banks accounts were the sum of N174,166,207.06 in account No.0024351590 domiciled with Diamond Bank Plc; the sum of N858,923,982.55 in account No.1011744356 domiciled with Zenith Bank Plc; the sum of N1,809,666,494.68 in account No.4011019560 domiciled with Fidelity Bank Plc; the sum of N1,000,494,000.00 in account No.4011019546 domiciled with Fidelity Bank Plc; the sum of N317,397,458.26 in account No.0016971559 domiciled with Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc; the sum of N1,809,666,494.68 in account No.4011019577 domiciled with Fidelity Bank Plc; and the sum of $429,381.87 in account No.2110003170 domiciled with Skye Bank Plc.

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The Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin has denied the bail application of one Jamiu Isiaka, a herbalist, who was charged for committing a fraud of N30 million.

The herbalist was brought to court on Monday on a-four-count charge bordering on fraud, conspiracy and impersonating some senior government officials including the then-Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr Maikanti Baru, Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr Femi Adeshina, a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Amina Zakari among others.

The herbalist reportedly sent several documents, which he claimed emanated from the NNPC and had the names of some top government functionaries like, the GMD of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, National Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mrs. Amina Zakari, among others in order to defraud a Korean National.

Justice Mahmood Abdulgafar turned down the bail application filed by Isiaka’s lawyer.

Abdulgafar in his order said Isiaka, who pleaded not guilty to the four charges, “did not furnish this honourable court with material evidence as to why the court's discretion should be exercised in his favour and accordingly denied bail."

He also added that he failed to show to the court enough proof of why he should be granted bail.

The accused person is to remain in Mandala prison pending the hearing and determination of the matter.

The Judge however ordered for accelerated hearing of the case and adjourned till 9th of July, 2019 for further hearing.

CRIME Legal News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
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The Academy - the people who choose Oscars winners - announce 842 new members.

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