11042019 - INSECURITY: Senate condemns killings; insists on State Police

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34—Vanguard, THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 Anambra Assembly passes burial control bill By Vincent Ujumadu AWKA—WORRIED by the exorbitant amounts spent by families in burying their dead ones, the Anambra House of Assembly has passed a bill for a law to control burial and funeral ceremonies in the state. The bill, which was sponsored by the member representing Anaocha 11 constituency, Chief Charles Ezeani, provides that “in the event of death, no person shall deposit any corpse in the mortuary or any place beyond two months from the date of death, while burial ceremonies shall be for one day only.” It also banned the destruction of property, firing of gunshots, praise singing and blocking of roads and streets during burial ceremonies in the state, warning that defaulters would be punished according to the law. In addition, it provides that “from the commencement of the law, no person shall subject any relation of the deceased person to a mourning period of more than one Umahi sad over <strong>killings</strong> in Ebonyi By Peter Okutu A BAKALIKI— GOVERNOR David Umahi of Ebonyi State yesterday expressed sadness over the unfortunate demise of some Ebonyi people following the outbreak of communal clashes in some parts of the state. He lamented the development and called on leaders of the affected communities to give peace a chance. The governor stated this in Abakaliki during a stakeholders meeting with stakeholders from three local government areas where some of the <strong>killings</strong> have taken place recently. They include Enyibichiri in Abakaliki local government area, Echie Alike in Ikwo local government area and Umuogodoakpu and Ukwuagba communities in Ohaukwu local government area. Enyibichiri and Echie Alike have been having interactable boundary dispute for decades. The dispute re-ignited last week with the killing of about 8 persons, six of whom were members of the same family as they were burnt to death in a bus while returning from a week from the date of the burial ceremony.” Sponsor of the bill, Ezeani, explained that the bill also made provision for a monitoring and implementation committee that would enforce the law, as well as their responsibilities. He described the bill as a welcome development and a great achievement by the sixth Anambra House of Assembly, adding that the bill had put to rest the high cost of burial/funeral activities in the state. Vanguard recalls that the Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor began the campaign against expensive burial in Anambra State and subsequently, took the crusade to the State House of Assembly. He was thereafter appointed a resource person for the bill. The bishop’s visit to the state assembly last year coincided with the lawmakers’ public hearing on the bill during which he observed that the extravagance displayed by the people during funeral ceremonies in the state had reached a point that necessitated an effective legislation to control the excesses. matriculation ceremony of their son. Umuogodoakpu and Ukwuagba communities have been having boundary dispute with Agila community in Ado local government area of Benue state which over the years have claimed many lives. The crisis also re-ignited last week with the burning of houses in Ukwuagba and alleged killing of some persons in Umuogodoakpu. Umahi had to cut short his vacation because of the outbreak of hostilities in the three local government areas. He however accused some stakeholders from the communities of fuelling the crisis. “If there is any further aggression against the Agila people that will result to our people being killed, you will present yourself for arrest and prosecution immediately. “If the chairman of a community is not able to protect the lives of his people, then he is not worthy to be the chairman. He should resign or I sack him whether it is constitutional or not constitutional is immaterial to me. What is important is the lives of Ebonyi people and the constitution that we swore to uphold." Nwosu gets permission to inspect election materials By Chinonso Alozie O W E R R I — GOVERNORSHIP candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, Uche Nwosu, yesterday was granted a leave to inspect election materials of the Imo 2019 governorship election. The leave was granted by the chairman of the panel for Governorship/House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, Justice M.O Adewara in Owerri. In the leave granted to the AA guber candidate, Nwosu was to inspect “copy, photocopy and obtain certified true copies of all the electoral materials related to or in connection with the conduct of the Imo State governorship election held on March 9, 2019, including but not limited to ballot papers used and unused; the voters’ register used in the conduct of the election. “Forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E, EC 17A, EC 25A, EC 25B, EC Group endorses Wase for Reps Speaker By Samson Echenim M E M B E R representing Wase Federal Constituency, Plateau State, Ahmed Idris Wase has received the endorsement of the Equity and Justice Forum to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Convener of the forum, Femi Davies, said at a press conference in Lagos, yesterday, that the group is supporting Wase to lead the House of Representatives in the 9th National Assembly for equity, fairness and justice. According to Davis, the North Central has never enjoyed such position since the country came into being, adding that Wase has the experience and leadership qualities to 40A, EC 40G, EC 40H; all the incident forms filed by voters in all the polling units in the election; the list of permanent voter cards collected and used in the election; all the card readers used in the election; “Data of accredited voters as captured by all the smart card readers deployed during the 9th March, 2019 governorship election conducted in all the polling units in Imo State sorted out into Local Governments, Wards, Polling Units and voting points; record of Labour issues Okorocha 7-day ultimatum to pay salaries By Chinonso Alozie O WERRI—THE leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Imo State chapter, yesterday gave the outgoing Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, 7-day ultimatum to pay workers in the state their salary for March, 2019. NLC's joint statement in Owerri with Trade Union Congress, TUC, and Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, was signed by Austin Chilakpu, Nkim Tangban and Aloy Iwuanyanwu respectively. They wondered why the workers had not received their salary for March 2019, alleging that the allocation for the said month had entered the accounts of Imo State government. Their demand came days after Okorocha said he is not owing workers in Imo State and challenged the workers to come out and say the truth if his government was owing them. The workers stated: “Your excellecy sir, the leadership of labour in the state has made frantic efforts to see that salaries of Imo workers for the month of March 2019 is paid through the office of the Accountant General and that has not yielded any result. “All the reasons given as to why the salaries are yet to be paid are watery and as such, not acceptable to Imo workers. Apart from this, they added that, “LGA allocations for the 27 local government areas in the preside over the affairs of the House. Davies described Wase as a genuine patriot and committed party member who has contributed immensely to the success of the All Progressives Congress, APC-led administration at the national level and in Plateau State. He said: “We support the clamour for the speakership of the House of Representatives to be zoned to the North Central, but not only that, we support the bid by Wase to become the speaker given his rich legislative experience having been in the House since 2007, his wit and wisdom and achievements as an astute administrator. “We have no doubt that having given a good account of himself in all the ballot paper allocation to all the polling units in the election; the list of all presiding officers for all the units in the election.” Also included are the “INEC manual and guidelines; the list of the polling agents submitted to INEC by all the political parties and every other electoral material used in the conduct of the election for the purpose of instituting, maintaining and prosecuting the petition and for the purpose of presenting same at the trial.” INAUGURATION: From left—Financial Secretary, Chartered Institute of Bankers, CIBN, Lagos chapter, Mufutua Dada Olaide; MD/CEO, First Registrars & Investor Services, Bayo Olugbemi; Chairman, CIBN, Lagos chapter, Peter Ashade; Immediate Past Chairman, CIBN, Lagos chapter, Kola Abdul; and Prof. Deji P. Olanrewaju, at the inauguration of Ashade as Chairman, CIBN, Lagos chapter, at the CIBN Yaba office. state, 13 per cent derivation fund, ecological fund, internally generated revenue and many more were collected by the government. Therefore, the continuous delay in the payment of workers salaries becomes unjustified." tasks assigned to him in the past, from being the executive secretary of the Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Board to becoming a federal lawmaker and chairman, Federal Character Committee till now that he is the deputy leader of the House, Wase will serve to give the House proper guidance and sense of direction." He said the stabilising role he played during the trying times of the National Assembly has earned him respect and admiration among his peers, resulting in his being appointed as a principal officer of the House. "Wase deserves to play a key role in the next APCled administration given his maturity, loyalty and tested commitment, for the unity and stability of the National Assembly," Davies added.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019—35 LECTURE: From left: Former Minister of State for Education, Dr Adewumi Abitoye; Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA, Professor Joseph Fuwape; Lecturer, Professor Adeseye Arogunjo, and Vice Chancellor, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo State, Professor Friday Okonofua, after FUTA's 106th inaugural lecture entitled "Nuclear Radiation Paradox and Phobia: Public Health Nexus in a Phlegmatic Populace," by Prof. Arogunjo. Your re-election, product of fraud, Abba tells Ganduje By Abdulmumin Murtala KANO—KANO State governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last general election, Abba Yusuf, yesterday, claimed Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of All Progressives Congress, APC, re-election was a product of fraudulent activities. In a statement by Sanusi Dawakin-Tofa, spokesperson for the PDP governorship candidate in the state, he said: “For Ganduje to celebrate what happened on March 23, 2019, his conscience must have been on vacation. It is our prayer that he regains it quickly and apologise to the good people of Kano State on his malicious actions that put the state into anarchy through crass impunity. "It was glaring to the local and foreign media, domestic and international observers and the general public as well, how Kano was placed under siege by hired thugs imported from neighbouring states of Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau, Bauchi and Niger Republic by Ganduje and his cohorts. “The election was characterised by open votebuying, voter intimidation, harassment and flagrant abuse of human rights, killing and maiming of innocent citizens in connivance with the hoodlums who enjoy the full cover of security agents. "It was clear that voters were disenfranchised, sensitive materials were hijacked by APC stalwarts who were seen stuffing ballots boxes with already thumb printed ballot papers in favour of the ruling APC. Results were fabricated with the full support of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, officials. “Upon all the unfortunate trend of events that took place during the re-run, INEC went ahead to unlawfully declare the result in favour of Ganduje, which threw the people of Kano into a state of mourning for weeks. "It is evident that INEC in Kano and security apparatus have been compromised through inducement by the Ganduje’s administration. We have seen reports exposing speedy land allocation to some INEC officials. To a significant extent, Ganduje influenced the major decisions of the electoral body (INEC). “I am still battling to recall which celebration Ganduje is referring to in his interview. Is he referring to the huge amount of money spent on DJs to amplify the celebration of his purported victory? "To us, democracy was massacred during the Kano supplementary election, there was no election conducted. It was nothing buy a sham, which led to robbing the people’s mandate in a broad day light.” Leaders, activists storm Warri tomorrow for Tompolo birthday By Emma Amaize LEADERS and activists from different parts of Niger Delta will converge on Warri, Delta State, tomorrow, for a symposium to mark the birthday of former Niger Delta militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo. Former Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali, will preside over the 3rd symposium on “Tompolo and the Agitation for the Development of Coastal States of Niger Delta.” Former chairman, Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Professor Seiyefa Beisibe, is the guest speaker. Tompolo, who accepted amnesty when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua declared amnesty for militants in 2009 and visited President Muhammadu Buhari after his 2015 victory to assure him of his support, went underground in 2016, when security agencies started hunting for him over alleged corruption cases, which he had described as witch-hunt. His activism coupled with others led to the establishment of Nigeria Maritime University, NMU, Okerenkoko, Delta State, the first of its kind in the area. Coincidentally, the structures for his proposed Mieka Diving School, which NIMASA bought from him and for which allegations of fraud were raised against him, are what MMU is using as its temporal site in Kurutie. He is regarded by many agitators in the region as a role model. Rivers election tribunal begins sitting, orders substituted service on PDP lawmaker-elect P By Davies Iheamnachor O R T Harcourt— The 2019 Elections Petitions Tribunal handling cases arising from the National Assembly, governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls in Rivers State has resumed sitting in Port Harcourt. However, the panel has ordered substituted service in favour of the candidate of Social Democratic Party, SDP, for Oyigbo/Tai/Eleme Federal Constituency, Peters Darling, against the winner of the federal constituency seat, Mr. Chisom Dike, of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. At its resumed sitting, yesterday, the tribunal commenced with preliminary issues bordering on motions seeking substituted service on the defendants. The three-man tribunal panel led by Justice Umar Dogondaji also granted Accord Party candidate for Obio/Akpor federal constituency EFCC vs Jang: Court orders trial-within–trial By Marie- Therese Nanlong JOS— PLATEAU State High Court sitting in Jos, has ordered a trial-within-trial to ascertain whether the statement, which Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, obtained from a former cashier of Plateau State Government House, Yusuf Pam, who is facing charges on alleged corruption and misappropriation of state fund was voluntary. Justice Daniel Longji who presided over the case in Jos, yesterday, gave the order in his ruling following allegation that ICPC operatives pressured Pam to make written statements during investigation. Pam is standing trial alongside former Governor of the State, Senator Jonah Jang in a 12-count charge brought against them by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which border on alleged corruption and misappropriation of the state fund amounting to over N6 bilion. The EFCC had alleged that Jang, a two-term governor, had misappropriated the alleged fund, two months to the end of his second tenure in 2015, among others but the seat, Tonny Boms, an order to serve petitions on the PDP lawmakerelect, Kingsley Chindah, through substituted means. The panel also ordered the petitioners to serve the respondents by pasting the processes on the wall of PDP secretariat on Aba Road, Port Harcourt and adjourned till May 9 for mentions. duo had pleaded not guilty to the charges. When the case came up for hearing, the EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, called the 8th witness, Taiwo Olorunyomi, an Investigator with ICPC, who testified before the court on how N2 billion belonging to the Plateau State Medium and Small Scale Enterprise Agency and another N3 billion of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, were withdrawn by the cashier and taken to the former governor. The prosecutor had sought to tender the written statement of Pam as evidence in court, but his move was objected to by defence counsel, Mike Ozekheme, SAN, who claimed the statement was not voluntarily obtained as confirmed by one of the accused, Pam, who told the court that he was pressured by ICPC operatives to make the written statement. After arguments, prosecution and defense counsel agreed for the court to proceed on trial-withintrial of the matter to ascertain if the statement was voluntarily obtained by the commission. Justice Daniel Longji, therefore, adjourned the case for a trial-within-trial till April 25 and 26, 2019. I’ll make our state first open defecation free state in Nigeria —Ayade By Ike Uchechukwu CALABAR — GOVERNOR Ben Ayade of Cross River State has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, programme, just as he promised to make the state first in Nigeria to attain the Open Defecation Free status. Ayade spoke at the Executive Council Chamber, Government House, yesterday, in Calabar, when he received in audience, a delegation of funding agencies led by Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Dr Ibrahim Conteh. Ayade who enumerated the benefits of portable water, sanitation and hygiene in Africa, said he understood the value of hygiene and clean water. He said: “We gave a commitment on a global stage, Mandela 100, where Cross River State made a commitment that we will provide $3 million annually for the next five years, in support of WASH programme. “That commitment was audacious, it was driven by a very strong philosophy because we know the relevance of water. Water is life, and, therefore, if you can fix water you have fixed life. “If you fix water, you have fixed health, if you fix health, you have fixed productivity; If you fix productivity, you have fixed the economy. And I’m making again another good commitment that we will be the first state in Nigeria that will have 100 per cent Open Defecation Free status."
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11042019 - INSECURITY: Senate condemns killings; insists on State Police

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