10072020 - Day 4: Panel grills ‘Magu's 7 Untouchables’

10 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2020
:Vanguard
News
Dangote Sugar acquires Savannah
Sugar, pays N13.2bn dividend
IN a bid to enhance
production capacity and
further increase its market
share, shareholders of
Dangote Sugar Refinery,
DSR, Plc. have given the
nod for the formal takeover
of Savannah Sugar
Company Ltd (SSCL).
Shareholders of DSR
during their Extraordinary
General Meeting (EGM)
which was preceded by the
2019 Annual General
Meeting, voted in favour of
merger of the two company
as the sub-sahara Africa’s
largest sugar refining firm
embarked on the next stage
of its backward integration
plan to revolutionize the
sugar sub-sector of the
nation’s economy.
Chairman of the
company, Alhaji Aliko
Dangote said the DSR, a
top tier player in the
industry with install
capacity to produce 1.44
million metric tones per
annum will be leveraging
on the savannah sugar’s
sugarcane production
capacity to enhance its
production capacity.
According to him,
Savannah Sugar has 32,000
hectares of land available
for cultivation of sugar cane
as well as milling capacity
of 50,000 tonnes of sugar
per annum and that upon
the merger, further
investments would be
made to increase SSCL
land under cultivation.
Dangote explained that
the DSR board considered
the merger as fair and
reasonable and believed
that it would provide
strategic opportunities and
benefits for the company,
employees and other
stakeholders as the new
company would be
operating from the position
of increased access to
capital and then higher
profitability.
He listed some of the
benefits of the merger as
being to consolidate the
assets, intellectual property
rights, operations, and
business dealings of the
SSCL into the DSR;
eliminate cost inefficiencies
arising from duplication of
resources and processes
and improve the efficiency
through more focused
management of resources
and position it as the
biggest integrated sugar
producer in Nigeria.
The Chairman of the
Company explained that
necessary approvals have
been given by all
concerned regulatory
authorities and that the merger
would positively alter the sugar
sectorial landscape as the federal
government’s backward
integration policy would be better
implemented by the company.
Earlier, during AGM of the
company, a shareholder rights’
activist, Nona Awoh urged the
Government to protect the
manufacturing sector through
incentives and promotional
policies.
DiamondXtra: Customers to win
Salary-4-Life business grants
ACCESS Bank Plc. is set
to reward more than
1,000 DiamondXtra customers
with various grants and cash
p r i z e s ,
in the second DiamondXtra quarterly
draw of Season 12, scheduled to
hold on Wednesday, July 15, 2020.
Some of the DiamondXtra
rewards for the quarterly draw
include: Salary4Life (N100,000
every month for 20 Years), rent
for a year for 21 lucky customers,
one year family health coverage
for seven lucky customers,
N1million business grant for six
lucky customers, N500,000 for 15
lucky customers, N100,000 for
45 lucky customers, N50,000 for
300 lucky customers, N20,000
for 300 lucky customers and
N10,000 for 300 lucky customers
According to Adaeze Umeh,
Head, Consumer Banking,
Access Bank Plc, “We are gearing
up for the DiamondXtra
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
MEETING: From left—Chairman, Dangote Sugar Plc., Aliko Dangote; Ag. MD, Dangote Sugar Plc.,
Ravindra Singhvi; Non-Executive Director, Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi, (SAN), and Non-Executive
Director, Olakunle Alake, during Dangote Sugar Plc’s Extra-Ordinary General Meeting, held in
Lagos, yesterday.
IMPEACHMENT: Set up panel to probe
Ondo dep gov, Assembly tells chief judge
•9 lawmakers write chief judge, dissociate selves
•As Ajayi warns Akeredolu against turning Ondo to banana republic
By Dayo Johnson
AKURE— THE Ondo
State House of
Assembly, yesterday,
directed the Chief Judge
of the state, Justice
Olarenwaju Akeredolu, to
set up a seven-man panel
to investigate allegations
of gross misconduct
levelled against the
Deputy Governor, Mr.
Agboola Ajayi.
This came on a day nine
members of the Assembly
wrote to the Chief Judge
of the state, dissociating
themselves from the
ongoing plans to impeach
the deputy governor.
Similarly, the embattled
Deputy Governor,
yesterday, warned
Governor Rotimi
Akeredolu against
turning the state to a
banana republic by his
desperation to impeach
him.
14 lawmakers have
signed the impeachment
notice against Ajayi,
while nine dissociated
themselves from the
exercise.
Probe panel
The House of Assembly,
in a letter dated July 7 by
the Speaker, Mr.
Bamidele Oleyelogun
asked the Chief Judge to
set up a seven-man panel
to investigate the
allegations against Ajayi.
The letter, entitled:
‘Request to set up a panel
pursuant of S.188(5) of the
1999 constitution of the
Federal Republic of
Ex-Ondo NMA chairman dies of COVID-19
By Dayo Johnson
AChairman KURE—FORMER
of the
Nigeria Medical
Association, NMA, in
Ondo State, Dr. Michael
Adeyeri, yesterday, died of
COVID-19 complications
at the Federal Medical
Centre, FMC, in Owo.
His death is coming a
week after the Health
quarterly draw this month and
we will be rewarding more than
1,000 lucky customers with
various cash prizes, business
grants, family health insurance,
rent advance and other exciting
rewards. It is the bank’s little way
of rewarding its loyal customers
and creating more value to meet
customer needs during these
trying times. We rewarded ten
customers last month with
N1million each at the monthly
draw and we are here again to
reward more customers in the
quarterly draw.
To join the winning train, all
you need to do is keep saving if
you have a DiamondXtra
account already. If you don’t
have an existing account, simply
dial *901*5# to open a
DiamondXtra account with just
N5, 000 and save multiples of
N5,000 to increase your chances
of winning.”
Commissioner, Dr. Wahab
Adegbenro, died of
COVID-19 complications
at the same hospital.
Sources said that the late
NMA boss had been
battling underlying illness
before he contracted the
deadly virus.
He was reportedly taken
to the hospital after noticing
that he had contracted the
virus.
The state chairman of the
NMA, Dr. Wale Oke,
confirmed this to newsmen
in Akure.
Adeyeri’s death has
elicited reactions from
medical practitioners and
health workers across the
state.
His private hospital,
Shekinah Hospital,
Alagbaka in Akure has
continued to host
sympathizers of different
shades.
Nigeria (as amended)’,
was received in the office
of the Chief Judge by 3:35
pm.
It reads: “You are,
hereby, requested to set
up a seven-man panel to
investigate the notice of
allegations of gross
misconduct dated 7th July
2020 by members of the
House against Mr.
Agboola Ajayi, the Deputy
Governor of Ondo State.
“By the resolution of the
House today (yesterday),
pursuant of S.118(3) and
(4) of the 1999 constitution
of Federal Republic of
Nigeria (as amended). It
was resolved that the
allegations be
investigated forthwith.
“It is in line with the
above that I request that
you set up a seven-man
panel to conduct the said
investigations as resolved
by the House. And the
panel shall, as soon as
possible, report back to
the House.”
9 lawmakers
dissociate selves
from
impeachment
But nine members of the
Assembly have written the
Chief Judge of the State,
dissociating themselves
from the on-going plan to
impeach the deputy
governor.
The members include
the Deputy Speaker, Mr.
Iroju Ogundeji, Mr.
Jamiu Maito, Mr.
Rasheed Elegbeleye, Mr.
Tomide Akinribido and
Mr. Samuel Edamisan
Ademola.
Others are Mrs. Favour
Tomomewo, Mr. Festus
Akingbaso, Mr. Adewale
Adewinle and Mr.
Torhukerhijo Success.
In an open letter, the
lawmakers notified the
Chief Judge on the plans
by the House leadership
to suspend some of them
to carry out the act.
The letter reads: “Kindly
be informed that nine
elected members of Ondo
State House of Assembly
have duly dissociated
ourselves from the
ongoing impeachment
process of the Deputy
Governor of Ondo State,
Mr. Agboola Ajayi in a
letter dated 7th July 2020
to the Clerk and the Clerk
and the Speaker of the
Ondo State House of
Assembly, herewith
attached.
“We want to state and
confirm to your good
office that we maintain our
stand by dissociating
ourselves from the
impeachment process. We
are not in support of the
impeachment based on
our conviction.
“We are writing to call
your attention to the fact
that all or some of us, who
are signatories to this
letter, maybe suspended
to circumvent the
provision of the
constitution of Nigeria,
which we all swore to
uphold and protect,
including your
honourable Lordship, as
this will be contrary to the
laws of the land.”
Ajayi receives
impeachment
notice
Meanwhile, the
impeachment notice has
been received by the
Deputy Governor.
A copy of the
impeachment notice,
addressed to the deputy
governor, was signed by
the Clerk of the House,
Michael Bode Adeyelu,
received and signed for in
the office of the deputy
governor on July 7.
The notice entitled:
‘Notice of Allegation of
Gross Misconduct against
Mr. Agboola Ajayi,
Deputy Governor, Ondo
State’ has ODHA/98/253/
97 on it.
Ajayi warns
Akeredolu
against turning
Ondo to banana
republic
Meanwhile,
the
embattled deputy
governor, yesterday,
warned the governor
against turning the state
to a banana republic by
his desperation to
impeach him.
Reacting to the
suspension of the three
lawmakers, who
dissociated themselves
from his impeachment,
Ajayi said the desperation
of the governor to sack
him would fail.
The Deputy Speaker,
Mr. Iroju Ogundeji;
Favour Tomomewo and
Williams Adewale
Adewinle were
suspended indefinitely by
the House for alleged
unparliamentary
behaviours.
But the deputy governor
said the governor should
allow the lawmakers to
carry out their
constitutional duties
without interference,
harassment and
intimidation.
His words: “Ondo State
cannot be administered
like a banana republic
where elected lawmakers
can be suspended at will
because they refused to
toe the line of the
executives. The
constitution is clear about
the separation of powers
and the process to
commence any
impeachment.
“The 2/3 that the constitution
stipulates is of the entire
members of the Assembly, not
just those at the plenary at a
particular period. They cannot
manufacture human beings.”
We won’t leave
APC, says
Deputy
Speakers, others
Also, the Deputy Speaker,
Iroju Ogundeji, alleged that
both the governor and the
leadership of the party
instigated their suspension.
Ogundeji, who spoke with
newsmen, said: “We are not
leaving the All Progressives
Congress, APC, for the PDP. We
would remain in the party.
Nobody can intimidate us.”