06082020 - Insecurity: Protests in Abuja, Lagos, Ondo, Osogbo

VISIT—From left:
Former SunTrust
Bank MD/Chief
Executive, Jibrin
M u h a m m a d
Barde, in a
handshake with
the Group
M a n a g i n g
Director of
Nigerian National
P e t r o l e u m
Corporation,
NNPC, Mele
Kyari, at NNPC
headquarters, in
Abuja, during a
courtesy call by
Barde, yesterday.
:Vanguard
News
Probe: We’ll give you, EFCC fair
hearing, Salami tells Magu
By Soni Daniel
Aof BUJA—CHAIRMAN
the Presidential
Investigative Committee
looking into the allegations
of wrongdoings levelled
against Ibrahim Magu, the
suspended Acting
Chairman of the Economic
and Financial Crimes
Commission, Justice Ayo
Salami, gave some
consoling words to the
beleaguered senior police
officer when he appeared
before him yesterday,
assuring him of fair
hearing.
Salami repudiated claims
that the panel had been
keeping Magu waiting for
days without attending to
him
Salami, a retired Appeal
Court justice, explained to
Magu that contrary to the
Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020 — 7
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
....Says ‘we can’t give you proceedings
recordings’
erroneous impression
being given that he was
being tried, the committee
was only an investigative
one and not a trial court.
A top source at the
committee said: “In the
proceedings of August 5,
2020, His Lordship, Justice
Isa Ayo Salami, offered
clarifications as follow:
“That he and the
members are not
conducting a trial or
enquiry on Mr. Ibrahim
Magu or the Economic and
Financial Crimes
Commission
“That this is not a panel
but a committee saddled
only with investigation.
That the committee
undertakes to guarantee fair
hearing to Magu and all
appearing before it in its
fact-finding exercise”.
On the request by Magu
to be availed of the previous
video recordings of the
committee, Salami
pointedly told him that there
were no such recordings as
such clips were not
authorised by the
committee.
Salami said: “That the
request by Mr. Ibrahim
Magu for the video
recordings of the
proceedings cannot be
granted because the
previous recordings of the
proceedings at the
beginning were
unauthorised by the
investigative committee and
the committee does not
know the purpose such
recordings will serve.
“That the venue of the
sitting of the committee is
temporary and therefore, it
is impossible to install video
recording equipment, as
requested by Magu. Even
superior courts of records do
not have video recording
facilities and lack of such
facilities does not infringe
on fair hearing,” the
committee chairman
concluded.
Magu, who had been
reporting to the committee
since he was invited to
appear before it and later
suspended from office on
the orders of the President
early last month, is expected
to be formally served with the
allegations for which he is to enter
his defence. This was to have
happened since last week.
FG releases new COVID-19 directives today
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
ABUJA—THE federal
government may
release new COVID-19
directives today.
Chairman of the Presidential
Task Force, PTF on COVID-
19 and Secretary to the
Government of the
Federation, SGF, Boss
Mustapha, who disclosed this
yesterday, also said poor
enforcement of COVID-19
protocols, especially by state
governments, has contributed
to the increasing number of
infections in the country.
The SGF also said the PTF
was working hard to ensure
that the entire nation was
covered with testing facilities
this month, noting that it was
working with CACOVID and
NNPC to ensure that before
the end of the pandemic, the
nation had a structure that
could be defined as a proper
molecular laboratory, a testing
facility, an isolation facility,
and an intensive Care Unit,
ICU, facility integrated into
one.
• Submits interim report to Buhari
• Says virus exposed weakness of nation’s health system
Briefing State House
correspondents after
submitting the interim reports
on the current state of
lockdown
and
recommendations to the
President on the next step,
Mustapha reiterated that the
pandemic has exposed
systems, not only in Nigeria
but also globally.
He said the President was
quite happy with the content
of the report and the work the
PTF was doing, stressing that
all the members were
committed and had exhibited
the highest form of
professionalism in dealing
with the affairs.
The SGF said: “We are
working hard to ensure that
this month, the entire nation
is covered with testing
facilities. We are working with
CACOVID and NNPC to
ensure that before the end of
this pandemic, we have at
least a structure that can be
defined as a proper molecular
laboratory, a testing facility, an
isolation facility, and an ICU
facility integrated into one.
“I think we derive a lot of
satisfaction in the amount of
sleepless nights and hard
work that have been put in
place. We also commend the
media for doing their job. They
have enlightened Nigerians.
But I’m appealing to
Nigerians that we are not out
of the wood.
“They should not take
relaxation of the lockdown for
granted. Countries that have
opened up too quickly have
had cause to shut down. We
wouldn’t want that kind of
situation to happen. The only
way we can remedy that is
when we take personal
responsibility.
“The issue of nonpharmaceutical
measures that
have been put in place;
wearing of masks, observing
social distancing, not
congregating in large
gatherings, washing of
hands, and sanitizing of
hands are things that we
should not take for granted.
“It’s enforcement that has
largely been lacking and my
appeal is that the subnationals
should ensure
enforcement. As a matter of
fact, when we listed some of
our challenges, that was top
on the list; lack of enforcement
of even the regulations that
have been put in place."
On the content of the interim
report and the
recommendations, he said the
PTF will focus on three
thematic areas to contain
further spread of the virus.
He said: ‘’ As for the content
of the report, it will be
premature for me to talk about
it because we submitted a
report, we have submitted
recommendations and so we
have to leave it for Mr.
President to take a decision.
‘’By the time I receive his
approvals, non-approvals on
the recommendations we
have made, we will be able to
speak to the Nigerian people
tomorrow.’’
FIRS knocks NIPOST, insists
on collecting stamp duties
By Emma Ujah,
Abuja Bureau Chief
ABUJA—THE Federal
Inland Revenue Service,
FIRS, has described as “false
and indecorous” a twitter post by
Chairperson, NIPOST Board,
Hajiya Maimuna Abubakar, in
which she claimed that both the
Service and the National
Assembly appropriated
NIPOST’s ideas about stamp
duties to the exclusion of the
postal service. The FIRS
debunked Hajiya Abubakar’s
claims in a statement issued by
the Director, Communications
and Liaison Department, FIRS,
Mr. Abdullahi Ahmad, yesterday.
The statement reads: “The
attention of the Federal Inland
Revenue Service (FIRS) has
been drawn to a tweet by Mrs.
Maimuna Abubakar,
Chairperson of the Board of
NIPOST. Her indecorous tweet
would not have deserved any
response but for the sensitive
nature of the issue at stake,
which if not sensibly treated and
promptly corrected, could likely
mislead the public.
“To be sure, NIPOST is a
government parastatal
established by Decree 41 of 1992
By Chioma Obinna
Ato BUJA—CONTRARY
speculations that Nigeria
has started flattening the curve,
the Nigeria Centre for Disease
Control, NCDC, said yesterday
that the country has not yet
attained that milestone.
According to the latest update
released by the NCDC, Nigeria
recorded further decline with a
total of 304 new confirmed cases
as of August 4, 2020.
However, the Director General
of the NCDC, Dr Chikwe
Ihekweazu, in a chat with
Vanguard yesterday, said the
reduction in new infections being
witnessed currently was a result
of the decline in the number of
samples collected across the 36
with the function to develop,
promote, and provide adequate
and efficiently coordinated postal
services at reasonable rates . This
function is clearly contrary to the
claim by NIPOST over the
administration of stamp duties in
Nigeria.
“On the other hand, the FIRS
is the sole agency of government
charged with the responsibility
of assessing, collecting, and
accounting for all tax types,
including Stamp Duties.
“It is, therefore, shocking to us
at the FIRS that such a privileged
young lady who happened to be
appointed to high office would
throw all caution to the wind to
cast aspersions on reputable
public institutions as the
National Assembly and the FIRS,
which she accused of stealing
NIPOST idea. This, to say the
least, is a preposterous claim and
great disservice to the
government and people of
Nigeria.
“We wish to state categorically
that, as an agency, which
operates within the ambit of the
law, the FIRS is determined to
not only ensure that all monies
collected by NIPOST into its
illegally operated Stamp Duties
Account are fully remitted into
the Federation Account."
COVID-19: Reduction in new cases not
flattening curve, NCDC alerts Nigerians
states and the Federal Capital
Territory, FCT.
According to him, it is too early
for Nigerians to interpret the
decline as flattening the curve
and an end to the spread of the
pandemic.
He said: “We had a decline in
the number of samples collected
across states between the 31st of
July and 2nd of August. This may
be associated with the public
holiday which led to a reduction
in activities across the country.”
“It is still too early to interpret a
decline in new cases as flattening
the curve. We are learning from
countries in Europe and other
parts of the world that a decline
in new cases does not translate
to being at the end of the
pandemic.