House Of Reps. Move To Retrieve N10trn Pension Fund Loaned To FG

 

 

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday resolved to recover N10 trillion pension funds “borrowed” by the Federal Government.

After the adoption of a motion sponsored by Aliyu Misau, lawmaker representing the Misau/Dambam federal constituency of Bauchi, the resolution was passed during plenary.

While moving the motion, Misau said most pensioners are unable to access their retirement funds despite complying with the requirements of the contributory pension scheme.

According to him, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) have not been able to ensure prompt payment of pensioners’ entitlements.

The legislator noted that the N10 trillion pension funds borrowed by the federal government have exposed the contributors to “unnecessary volatility.”

“The pension fund assets which PenCom regulates, being the proceeds of the contributory pension scheme and returns on investment, stood at more than N15.5 trillion as at the close of the first quarter of 2023, hence there is no justification for retirees not to have access to their RSA.

“Critical stakeholders have expressed concern that 65 percent of the pension funds (N10 trillion) loaned to the federal government is an investment which exposes the contributors to unnecessary volatility as the federal government may fail to pay back the loan in due time,” he said.

Misau added that the inability of the pensioners to access their funds has caused “untold hardship to the retirees” as they are unable to afford “even basic necessities.”

The motion was however adopted when it was put to a voice vote by Ben Kalu, Deputy Speaker, who presided over the plenary.

The House subsequently asked PenCom to ensure the “immediate” release of funds for the payment of pensions to all retirees.

The green chamber also mandated the committee on pensions to “scrutinise” the failure of PFAs in “fulfilling their obligations to retirees” in accessing retirement savings.

‘I Collapsed Due To Exhaustion, I’m Alright Now’ — Ministarial Nominee, Balarabe

 

Ministerial nominee, Balarabe Lawal, confirmed as Minister by the Senate on Wednesday has spoken on his collapse during screening.

Recall that Lawal, a native of Kaduna State, was screened alongside fellow nominees, Jamila Ibrahim (Kwara) and Ayodele Olawande (Ondo), to join 45 ministers previously approved by the Red Chamber in August.

The screening followed President Bola Tinubu’s letter to the Senate read on the floor of the legislative chamber on Tuesday, seeking its confirmation of the nominees.

As the screening went on, things took a dramatic turn when Lawal – the second to be called up after Ibrahim – collapsed after only concluding his introduction, causing several people present to rush to his aid.

Lawal said his sudden collapse during the exercise at the Senate was as a result of exhaustion and that he is “alright now”.

“I’m alright now. I’ve been treated and I’m alright now. It was basically exhaustion,” he told journalists.

While the Kaduna native was unable to take questions due to the incident, his nomination was confirmed alongside his fellow nominees

Constitution Must Supersede Public Opinion — CJN To New Judges

 

Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, says public opinion no matter how serious or weighty it may be, cannot override the superiority of the country’s constitution.

Addressing 22 newly sworn-in judges of the Federal High Court on Wednesday, the CJN said the constitution must be considered in deciding each case brought before them.

Ariwoola said: “Several vitriolic attacks are regularly heaped on the judiciary; it is, however, crystal clear that public opinion, no matter how serious or weighty it might be, cannot override or supersede the Constitution of the country which we apply in deciding each case.

“Nevertheless, your Lordships still owe your conscience and the generality of the Nigerian masses, particularly those who are looking up to you, the great responsibility of good moral rectitude and acceptable conduct to uphold and consolidate the trust reposed in you.

“Like it is often said, a clear conscience fears no accusation. He who comes to equity, as we all say, must come with clean hands.

“So, your Lordships must severe ties with anything that will smear your hands and bring you into disrepute in the course of your new assignment.

“Like I always say, even though judicial officers are not spirits or superhuman beings, so much impossible things are yet expected from them by society.”

He furthered that the “bench is neither for the indolent, the greedy nor those with dubious character, who can easily fall for a plate of porridge offered by desperate litigants.

“You must, at all times, rise above temptations and trials that might obstruct or even halt your rise to the pinnacle of your career.

“We are all humans, no doubt, but you display the humanism in you by doing those extraordinary things that people would ordinarily conclude that you cannot do.

“That is what separates those with integrity and passion for success from those with low pedigree and dysfunctional moral compass.”

The CJN noted that the National Judicial Council (NJC) is fully active in disciplining errant judicial officers.

“The searchlight of the National Judicial Council beams brightly on all judicial officers across the country.

“The NJC should never, either by omission or commission, be mistaken for a toothless bulldog. It can bark fiercely and as well bite deeply and aggressively too.

“Our radar is sophisticated enough to detect every form of corruption and wrongdoing by Judicial officers, and we will not waste a moment in taking the necessary action to fish out the bad eggs.

“The remoteness of your location of adjudication can never blur our sight on you. We have put in place the right machinery to capture and document your conduct.

“So, be careful and take heed, or else, you may end up regretting ever being appointed a judicial officer. Though, we don’t wish you such, anyway!” he added.

Reports That Tourism Minister Was Poisoned Are False – FG

 

Emem Mariam Offiong, Assistant Director, Press, Federal Ministry of Tourism, has dismissed reports of an alleged poisoning of the Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John.

While speaking in a chat with Leadership on Tuesday, Offiong dismissed the news as false.

Urging Nigerians not to lend credence to such rumours, she said: “The news is fake. It is not true that the minister was poisoned.

Recall that Peoples Gazette had claimed that Ade-John, recently appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had been reportedly hospitalised in the nation’s capital, Abuja, over poisoning and was undergoing treatment at the Federal Medical Centre in Jabi, Abuja.

The platform at the time had said her family members feared time was running against their efforts to save her life.

The specifics of what substance she ingested and how could not be immediately established as sources disclosed that she has been on a machine to aid her breathing.

However, it was alleged that the family of the Minister and the Ministry are at loggerheads over where she should be treated.

Fake Employment Letters Were Issued To Civil Servants In Plateau — Committee

 

A committee set up by Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang has revealed that fake employment letters were issued in the state’s civil service, prior to the assumption of office of his administration.

The 15-member committee was constituted on July 26 to review the last recruitment exercise conducted by the preceding administration.

“Some fake employment letters were issued to some employees,” Chairman of the Committee, Ishaya Agaldo, said as he presented report to the Governor in Jos on Tuesday.

According to him, the State’s Civil Service Commission was able to detect some of the anomalies and discovered that some reporting and acceptance dates preceded the employment dates.

Agaldo explained that the Committee also uncovered irregularities which involved recruitment of people into some positions without requisite qualifications.

“Some Third Class degree holders were employed to teach in tertiary institutions,’’ he said.

He stressed that the Civil Service Commission was not involved in the exercise and due process was not followed in most Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), where some exceeded their employment limits.

“Some employees were paid even without variation order.

“There were so many irregularities in documentation due to the hurried nature of the employment exercise.

“There was an uneven spread across the 17 Local Government Areas,” Agaldo said.

He added that the committee discovered that employment of ad-hoc staff was grossly abused and slots shared to certain groups and individuals.

The committee recommended a review of the exercise to ensure compliance with due process with the exemption of MDAs that complied with civil service regulations.

Also, the committee recommended that employment into the State’s service should be conducted on regular basis adopting equity and fairness and in adherence with stipulated guidelines.

The committee also recommended reforms in the civil service to reposition it in its performance.

It recommended the digitalisation of information systems in MDAs to ensure access to information and smooth operations.

Responding, Mutfwang thanked the committee for its dedication and quality of job in spite of receipt of threats from individuals and interest groups in the matter.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Samuel Jatau, the governor said affected MDAs would be reviewed and a White Paper drafting committee would be inaugurated in line with the 15-member committee’s findings.

“I assure you that within this week we are going to inaugurate a White Paper drafting committee that we would hand over the report to and it will do justice to it,” he said.

He decried irregularities uncovered and said the administration was determined to reposition Plateau into comity of top 10 States in the country.

“We want to take Plateau to a higher level and to do that, we have to make it count, particularly its civil service, which is the engine room of governance in any government,” he said.

Mutfwang however suspended last- minute appointments into the State’s civil service by the immediate past administration led by former Governor Simon Lalong because of identified irregularities.

Gov. Otti Calls For Arrest Of Those Accusing Him Of Sponsoring IPOB, Peter Obi’s Tribunal Petition

 

The Abia State Government says claims that it’s sponsoring the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to cause upheaval in the South-East State are utterly false.

The administration also refuted the reports that the State Governor, Alex Otti was funding the litigation of the 2023 Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, with the State’s funds.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Government accused opposition parties in the state who were defeated in the last election, of hiring elements to cause discontent and disaffection among people in the state.

“The attention of Abia State government has been drawn to videos arising from two press briefings conducted by individuals suspected to have been hired by opposition elements who were roundly defeated in the last Governorship election in Abia state.

“Because these allegations are weighty and have the propensity to cause disaffection, insecurity, breakdown of law and order, and even endanger the lives and property of innocent citizens, we strongly and most respectfully make the following demands and submissions:

“That His Excellency the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), the Chief of Army Staff, the National Security Adviser and the Inspector General of Police should kindly use their good offices to cause immediate and thorough investigation into these allegations.

“That the young men who organised these press conferences should be invited by security agencies to come and throw more light on their allegations to enable law enforcement agents to carry out thorough investigations that could lead to the arrest of culprits.

“That Governor Alex Otti’s position as Governor of Abia State is a product of a nationally celebrated Governorship election victory, hence, we consider it a demeaning insult and provocative blackmail for a group of greedy hatchet men with zero stakes in the Abia project to sit behind the microphone and spew gibberish that lowers the office of the Governor of Abia State while insulting the sensibilities of our people who have heaved a sigh of relief since the emergence of Governor Alex Otti.

“The hate, anger, bitterness and the trademark of terror contained in the text of the press conference and on the facial expression of the accusers showed a despicable design to subject the government and people of Abia State to public opprobrium.

“The two opposition parties that are in court against Governor Otti and who are suspected to be the brains behind these allegations know very well that they have terrible cases and that their suits would be thrown into the thrash bin on the 6th of October, hence the resort to this panic and desperate strategy of deceit and destabilisation,” the statement read.

The release urged security agencies to expose and punish those who hired the elements for choosing to advance their selfish interest against the genuine interest of Abia people

Tinubu Nominates Balarabe As Minister, To Replace El-Rufai, Names Two Others

 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated Abbas Balarabe as a ministerial replacement for the former Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

The replacement was conveyed in a letter read by the Senate President, GodsWill Akpabio, at the plenary on Tuesday.

Balarabe’s name was read alongside Jamila Ibrahim (Kwara) and Ayodele Olawande (Ondo) as Minister of Youths and Minister of State for Youths respectively, who were earlier nominated by the President in September.

Recall that in August, El-Rufai’s name was missing from the list of ministerial nominees confirmed by the Senate out of  48 nominees sent by Tinubu.

At the time, Senate confirmed 45 ministerial nominees and rejected three.

The two other nominees rejected were Stella Okotete from Delta State and Abubakar Danladi from Taraba State

Recall also that a couple of petitions were leveled against former Governor El-Rufai during the screening.

The lawmaker representing Kogi West, Sunday Karimi, during the ministerial screening, moved against El-Rufai saying he had a petition written against the former Governor over the issue of insecurity in Southern Kaduna.

NLC, TUC Suspend Nationwide Strike For 30 Days

 

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), on Monday, suspended the planned indefinite nationwide strike.

The labour bodies announced the suspension of the planned strike which was scheduled to take off on October 3, after a meeting with the representatives of the Federal Government at the State House.

The labour leaders reached the agreement to shelve the planned action in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) issued and signed by Joe Ajaero, NLC’s president; Festus Osifo, TUC’s president and Simon Lalong, Minister of Labour and Employment, at the end of the meeting.

Recall that the government on Sunday called an emergency meeting to engage the unions as a measure to avert the nationwide strike, which is in protest of the hardship ocassioned by fuel subsidy removal.

At the end of the four-hour meeting on Sunday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved N35,000 as the provisional wage increment for all categories of federal workers.

However, according to the MoU produced on Monday after the meeting, it was agreed that the payment of N35,000 should commence from September “pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.”

The parties also agreed that a minimum wage committee would be inaugurated within one month from the date of the agreement.

It was also agreed that the government would allocate N100 billion for the procurement of high-capacity compressed natural gas (CNG) buses for mass transit in Nigeria.

“Provisions are also being made for an initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits to kick start an auto gas conversion programme, whilst work is ongoing on state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide. The rollout aims to commence by November with pilots across 10 campuses nationwide,” the MoU reads.

On the issue of outstanding salaries and wages of tertiary Education workers in federal-owned educational institutions, the parties agreed that the matter should be referred to the Labour ministry for further engagement.

They also agreed that a joint visitation would be made to the refineries to ascertain their rehabilitation status while all parties committed to henceforth abide by the dictates of social dialogue in all future engagements.

“This Memorandum shall be filed with the relevant Court of competent jurisdiction within one (1) week as consent judgment by the Federal,” the document added.

Why Are You Migrating? — NIDCOM Boss Laments Mass ‘Japa’ Of Nigerians

 

The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on Monday decried the mass exodus of Nigerians to other countries.

According to her, it is impossible to completely halt the development, hence, the government must play its part in providing a favourable environment for its residents.

Dabiri-Erewa stated this in Paris during an appearance on Channels Television’s Empowering Tomorrow: A New Vision for Nigeria, a special programme on the 63rd anniversary of Nigeria’s independence celebrated on October 1.

She said, “You can’t stop this migration, legal or illegal, but the question is: Why are you migrating? Are you migrating to a better place? Are you migrating to bigger dreams?

“Here is a quick thing, government needs to play its own role of [providing] a conducive environment. The Tinubu administration has talked about job creation, SMEs, digital transformation, and digital truth for our younger people, and a lot of that conversation is going on here in France.”

Speaking further, the NIDCOM boss opined that moving to another country has no inherent flaws, but it must have a clear goal.

“There is nothing wrong with migration, but migrate to a better place. Migrate to become a better person; don’t migrate to get into trouble. A lot of people we deal with are looking for jobs but they don’t get the jobs when they go abroad.

“Why are you migrating? Are you a better person by the time you migrate? But again, government must play its role and do what it has to do,” she added.

UK Court Restricts Diezani’s Movement, EFCC Begins Extradition

 

Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Monday, appeared before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in the United Kingdom over an alleged £100,000 bribe.

The district judge, Michael Snow, reportedly granted Alison-Madueke a £70,000 bail.

Snow further imposed other terms on Alison-Madueke including an 11 pm to 6 am curfew, an electronic tag to be worn by her at all times and a £70,000 surety to be paid before she could leave the court building.

Although she did not formally enter a plea, her attorney, Mark Bowen, informed the court that she would plead not guilty, Reuters reported.

Her next court appearance will be on October 30 at Southwark Crown Court, which deals with serious criminal cases.

In August, the UK’s National Crime Agency said it suspected that Alison-Madueke had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million-pound oil and gas contracts.

In a statement published on its website, NCA said the ex-Nigeria minister “is alleged to have benefitted from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.

“Her charges also detail financial rewards, including furniture, renovation work and staff for the properties, payment of private school fees, and gifts from high-end designer shops such as Cartier jewellery and Louis Vuitton goods.”

Also, in March 2023, the NCA also provided evidence to the US Department of Justice that enabled them to recover assets totalling $53.1m linked to Diezan’s alleged corruption.

Head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, Andy Kelly, said the “charges are a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex international investigation. Bribery is a pervasive form of corruption, which enables serious criminality and can have devastating consequences for developing countries. We will continue to work with partners here and overseas to tackle the threat,” Kelly added.

Recall that Diezani was the minister of petroleum resources from 2010 to 2015 during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Shortly before Jonathan handed over to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, she left the country for the UK.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleged that the former minister stole $2.5bn from the Nigerian government while she was a minister.

Efforts by the EFCC to arraign her have been unsuccessful as she has not returned to Nigeria since 2015.

But the anti-graft agency said on Monday that it had commenced an extradition process to bring Diezani back to Nigeria to face trial.

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, said, “The EFCC welcomes, with keen interest, the arraignment of former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, at the Westminister’s Court in London, United Kingdom, following alleged bribery allegations.

“Although the charges preferred against her at the London court, are diametrically different from the 13 counts, bordering on money laundering that the EFCC has raised against her, it is instructive to note that criminality is criminality, irrespective of jurisdictional differences. No crime can go unpunished. The money laundering charges for which Madueke is answerable to the EFCC, cover jurisdictions in Dubai, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Nigeria.

“To bring the former Minister to trial in Nigeria, an arrest warrant has been obtained and extradition proceedings have been initiated. The commission is on course on her trial. She will soon have her day in our courts.”

Senate President Under Fire For Allegedly Creating ‘Office Of First Lady’ For His Wife

 

Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has reportedly created the Office of the First Lady to the Senate President for his wife, Ekaette Unoma Akpabio, Sahara Reporters has reported.

Mrs. Akpabio is the founder of a non-governmental organization known as Family Life Enhancement Initiative (FLEI).

According to a report by SaharaReporters, the development sparked angry reactions from many lawmakers who are said to be uncomfortable with the arrangement.

A source who spoke to SaharaReporters said, “There is outrage in the National Assembly because Senate President Akpabio created an office for his wife, Unoma. There is now an office of First Lady to the Senate President.”

As at the time of filing this report, the Senate President or his media team were yet to react to the allegation.