18042019 - PRESIDENTIAL TUSSLE:I always beat you in every election, Buhari tells Atiku

14 — VANGUARD, THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019
Step up measures to end
rising cases of killings in
Nigeria, CAN tells FG
By Umar Yusuf
Y OLA—NATIONAL
President of the
Christian Association of
Nigeria, CAN, Reverend
Samson Ayokunle, has
called on the Federal
Government to adopt
measures to stop the rampant
and senseless killings
in most parts of the
country.
The CAN President
spoke yesterday in Yola
after donating relief materials
to Internally Displayed
Persons, IDP’s, at
the Saint Theresa Catholic
Cathedral, saying “
Security of lives and
property is solely the responsibility
of the Fedral
government and as such
all measures it deem necessary
to end the bloodshed
in the land must be
put in place immediately.
If there’s need for the
federal government to
seek foreign assistance to
put to an end the menace
of killings and kidnapping
in the country
will be applauded by all.
“There’s no reason for
the Federal Government
to continue to deceive
Nigerians and propagating
that the Boko Haram
sects have been degraded,
even as Madagali local
government area of
the state is still under the
control of the sects.
“Even if the insurgency
BOKO Haram is defeated
and Other crimes
resulting in the killings of
Nigerians is on the increase,
then we have to
look inwards towards
solving the problems of
bandits, kidnapping, cultism,
herdsmen attacks
and other crimes that is
ravaging the nation
now”, the Can President
advised.
Speaking on the Chibok
girls, Pastor Ayokunle
called on the Federal government
to ensure their
release from captivity especially
Leah Shaibu,
adding that the same
method to secure the release
of others should
equally be applied for the
remaining ones still in
captivity.
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
$1.2bn Malabu Oil Scam: Court orders arrest
of Adoke, Etete, 4 others
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
Don’t dictate for us, Agbarho kingmakers
tell Delta monarch
By Etop Ekanem
AGBARHO
King
dom Traditional
Council of Chiefs in
Ughelli North Local Government
Area of Delta
State have asked the Delta
State Traditional Rulers’
Council not to dictate for
the kingdom.
In a statement signed by
the kingmakers—Chief Ibini
Eriaporhe, Chief Thomas
Akatugba and Chief
Sunday Anaughe— on
behalf of the kingdom in a
responseto the Delta State
traditional rulers council in
a statement, credited to
Speaking on the rampant
killings of innocent
people by the police, Rev
Samson Ayokunle said
such culprits should be
brought to book to serve
as deterrent to others.
“I want those liable for
the killings of innocent
people to be dealt with as
enshrined in the constitution,
since the victims
they killed are not animals
even so, there must
be a reason for killing
animals “.
He donated
N500,000) cash, ,100
bags of maize, 60 bags of
guinea corn, 10 bags of
rice, 30 cartons of oil, and
30 cartons of Maggi to
the aid of the IDPs.
Chairman, Delta State traditional
rulers council, Dr.
Emmanuel Efeizomor II
and second vice chairman
and Pere of Akugbene
Mein,Pere S Luke Kalanama
VIII, condemned the
action which they described
as handwork of individuals
desecrating the
traditional institution with
disrespect for failed attempt
to depose HRM
Majesty Samson Ogugu
for selfish interest.
The Agbarho kingmakers
said: “Our attention have
been drawn to to a Vanguard
newspaper publication
signed by members
STAGE PLAY: From left; Senior Manager, Programme & Implementation, MTN Foundation, Abasi-Ekong
Udobang; Founder/Artistic Director, Rue14 Studios, Keke Hammond; Founder/President, Wellbeing Foundation
Africa and wife of the Senate President, Toyin Saraki; Chief Operating Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mazen Mroue and
Senior Manager, Quality Assurance & Compliance, MTN Nigeria, Oladimeji Joseph at the finale of the MTN
Foundation supported stage play “High” at the Shell Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos. Photo: Akeem Salau.
ABUJA—A
High
Court of the Federal
Capital Territory sitting at
Jabi, has issued a bench
warrant for the arrest of the
immediate past Attorney
General of the Federation,
Mohammed Adoke, SAN,
former Minister of Petroleum,
Dan Etete, and four
other persons that were fingered
in the $1.2billion
Malabu Oil bloc fraud.
Others the court said
should be arrested are four
foreigners that were accused
of complicity in the
alleged fraud-Raph Wetzels,
Casula Roberto, Pujato
Stefeno and Burrato
Sebastiano.
The arrest warrant
against them followed a
motion ex-parte marked
M/5290/2019, by the Economic
and Financial
Crimes Commission,
EFCC.
EFCC, which predicated
the motion on alleged refusal
by the former AGF,
Etete and the others to
make themselves available
for prosecution, equally
secured leave of trial
judge, Justice Danlami
Senchi, to execute the arrest
warrant outside the jurisdiction
of the court.
Other defendants in the
substantive charge with suit
No. CR/124/2017, are Shell
Nigeria Exploration Production
Company Ltd, Nigeria
Agip Exploration
Ltd, Eni SPA, Aliyu
Abubakar and Malabu Oil
& Gas Ltd.
EFCC anchored its request
for an arrest order to
be issued against six of the
defendants on provisions
of sections 35 and 37 of the
Administration of Criminal
Justice Act, 2015, section
20 (1) (b) of the Money
Laundering (Prohibition)
Act, 2011, as well as, section
35(1) (c) of the 1999
Constitution, as amended.
The commission, through
its lawyer, Mr. Aliyu Yusuf,
told the court that since
March 2, 2017, when the
charge was filed, the six
defendants, “have refused,
neglected and/or failed to
of the Delta State Traditional
Rulers Council executive
on April 10, 2019,
threatening to bring back
the dethroned monarch of
Agarho kingdom, HRM
Samson Ogugu, over alleged
gross personal misconduct
and abuse of the
throne.
“In the paper allegedly
credited to the Chairman
Delta State traditional rulers
council, Dr. Emmanuel
Efeizomor II supported by
Pere of Akugbene Mein
kingdom, Pere S. Kalanama
VIII averred that no individual,
no matter how
highly placed, could dethrone
any traditional ruler
without due process.
appear before this court to
be arraigned on the said
charge.”
It maintained that the
court has the power to issue
warrant for the apprehension
and production of
the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th
and 9th Defendants, who
it said “are suspected to be
presently hiding outside
the jurisdiction of the
court.”
It will be recalled that the
By Victor Young
NIGERIA Union of
Petroleum and Natural
Gas Workers, NU-
PENG, has pleaded with
President Muhammadu
Buhari, to use his second
term in office to end Nige-
UK, AECF launch $20m solar
power programme in Nigeria,
others
By Michael Eboh
THE United King
dom and African Enterprise
Challenge Fund,
anti-graft agency had alleged
that Adoke, Etete, an
oil mogul, Abubakar, and
Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, had
sometime in 2000, corruptly
received the aggregate
sum of $801,000,000.00 in
relation to the grant of oil
prospecting license in respect
of OPL 245 from
Shell Nigeria Exploration
Production Company, Nigeria
Agip Exploration
Ltd, and ENI SPA.
OPL 245 is regarded as
one of the biggest oil blocs
in Africa.
It was initially awarded
to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd
in 1998 by late military
head of state, General Sani
Abacha, in a process the
EFCC insisted was against
all known government regulations.
EFCC said its investigations
revealed that Malabu
Oil & Gas Ltd secured
OPL 245 through fraudulent
scheme involving high
scale bribery and corruption
by top management of
the company and some
government officials.
End Nigeria’s reliance on imported petroleum
products, NUPENG tells Buhari
AECF, yesterday, said they
had launched the second
phase of the $20.8 million,
programme that seeks to
promote and deepen access
to solar home systems in
Nigeria and four other
countries, Ethiopia, Somalia,
Ghana and Senegal.
Mr. Daniel Ohonde,
Chief Executive Officer of
AECF, said the project
would enable the company
to continue investing in
private sector companies in
the countries, to deliver
business models which are
aimed at accelerating access
to transformative solar
home systems to rural markets
in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to him, the
project, which is part of its
Renewable Energy and
Adaptation to Climate Technologies,
REACT, programme,
promotes a market-based
approach for the
delivery of solar home system
products and services
in the five countries.
ria’s reliance on imported
petroleum products to meet
local consumption.
President of the Union,
Prince Williams Akporeha,
who spoke in Lagos yesterday,
said Nigerians
would be for ever remember
President Buhari if he
could ensure that the issue
of imported petroleum
products became a thing of
the past before the end of
his tenure.
According to Akporeha:
“It is a shame and a serious
embarrassment that
Nigeria, the 6th leading
crude oil producing countries
in the world depends
on imported products to
meet local demands. How
long can we continue to live
with the issue of subsidy
removal and fuel scarcity?
How long can we continue
to depend on the vagaries
of international crude
price to determine the prices
of the products we consume
locally? How long
Nigerians continue with
this incessant fuel scarcity
and fear of fuel scarcity?
The report that Nigeria has
spent over N6trillion on
subsidy for the Premium
Motor Spirit (PMS) also
known as petrol in the last
few years is a serious concern
to us as Nigerians and
as NUPENG particularly.
Yet, Nigerians deserve to
enjoy the benefits of being
an oil producing country.
“As a Union, NUPENG
wants to stress that it will
be economically suicidal to
completely remove subsidy
on pms without putting
in place robust palliatives
for the citizenry to cushion
the effects on the masses.
‘’However, NUPENG
pleads with President Buhari
as a patriot whose love
for Nigeria and Nigerians
remain undiluted and unquestionable,
to use his second
term in office to permanently
end Nigeria’s reliance
on imported petroleum
products to meet local
demands.
‘’We are urging His Excellency
to do all within his
powers to ensure that the
four public refineries are
fully rehabilitated to perform
at full capacity, as
well as ensure that more
refineries come on stream
to refine products for not
only local consumption, but
for export as well. If the
President can do this, Nigerians
will forever remember
him and be grateful
to him. As a Union, we
will give the President all
necessary supports required
from us to put an
end to this shame of depending
on imported
products for local consumption.”
“We want to use this medium
to appeal to NU-
PENG members involved
in petroleum distribution
chain to intensify efforts at
ensuring unhindered free
flow of supplies to filling
stations nationwide before,
during and after the Easter
celebrations.”