01122020 - Why Nigeria's at mercy of terrorists — LAI MOHAMMED

Vanguard, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2020 — 11
:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES:
PEACE VISIT—From Left: Prof. Olu Aina, a stakeholder; Deputy Governor of Osun, Benedict
Alabi; Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State; Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo, and the
state's Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Prof. Daud Shagodoyin, during a
visit by Governor Makinde to Governor Oyetola, on the peaceful resolution of ownership
of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, in Osogbo, yesterday.
Alleged N2.1bn fraud: EFCC re-arraigns
First Nation airline MD
By Onozure Dania
LAGOS—THE Economic and
Financial
Crimes
Commission, EFCC, yesterday, rearraigned
the Managing Director of First
Nation Airways Limited, Kayode
Odukoya, over alleged N2.1 billion fraud.
Mr. Odukoya is standing trial before
an Ikeja Special Offences Court on a
seven-count charge slammed against
him by the anti-graft agency.
The EFCC had, on March 15, 2018,
arraigned the defendant before the same
court for allegedly fraudulently obtaining
a credit facility worth N2.1 billion from
By Dapo Akinrefon
LAGOS—THE Southern and
Middle Belt Leaders Forum,
SMBLF, yesterday, faulted an
allegation that former military
head of State, Gen. Yakubu
Gowon (retd), looted half of the
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,
during his tenure as Head of
State, noting that if he (Gowon)
had half of the CBN in a foreign
bank, “going to school would
probably not have been his preoccupation.”
Gowon was accused of looting
half of the CBN by a United
Kingdom member of Parliament,
Tom Tugendhat, last week
Monday, during a hearing of a
petition against the Nigerian
government at a committee
meeting of the parliament.
But in a statement titled: ‘On
Pet Electrical, India’s Electrophile seal deal for
Nigeria’s market
By Onozure Dania
LAGOS—A Nigerian firm, Pet
Electrical and Mechanical
Limited, has entered into a
partnership with Electrophile
India Private Limited for the
manufacture and assembly of
electrical equipment in Nigeria.
The products, including
distribution boards, modular
boxes, and changeover switches,
would be manufactured or
assembled at Pet Electrical and
Mechanical’s facility at Asaba,
Delta State.
Petferns Group spokesperson,
Peace Eberechukwu, and
Electrophile’s representatives,
the defunct Skye Bank, now Polaris
Bank.
The defendant, also the Managing
Director of Bellview Airline, was
arraigned then on a four-count charge
of forgery, use of a false document, perjury
and stealing of N1.7 billion.
He, however, pleaded not guilty and
was granted bail.
On Monday, the anti-graft agency rearraigned
the defendant on a sevencount
charge bordering on forgery, use
of a false document, perjury, stealing and
obtaining credit by fraud.
He still pleaded not guilty.
Following his not guilty plea, EFCC ‘s
counsel, Nnaemeka Omewa, told the
court that the EFCC had already called
five witnesses to prove its case.
He said that the prosecution would be
closing its case against the former First
Nation boss.
However, the defence counsel, Edoka
Onyeke, said that due to the fresh
charges, the defence would like to recall
three prosecution witnesses for crossexamination.
He appealed to the court to allow his
client to continue to enjoy the bail
granted him on his first arraignment.
The judge, Mojisola Dada, granted Mr.
Onyeke’s request and adjourned the
case until February 15 for Mr. Odukoya
to begin his defence.
Looting of CBN: We can vouch for Gowon
—Clark, Adebanjo, Nwodo, Bitrus
Looting Allegation Against
General Gowon’, the forum
Chairman, Chief E. K. Clark,
South-South; Chief Ayo
Adebanjo, South West; Chief John
Nwodo, South East, and Dr. Pogu Bitrus,
Middle Belt, debunked the accusation.
The statement read: "The attention of
Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum
has been drawn to the flat rebuttal by
General Yakubu Gowon, of the allegation
that he looted half of the Central Bank
as the military Head of State in Nigeria.
The former Head of State, who ruled
the country from 1966 to 1975, in his
reaction to the allegations, stated he was
disappointed and sad but he knows he’s
innocent of the claims.
"With the notoriety of Nigerian rulers
to help themselves with the public fund,
we ordinarily would not have been
bothered with such accusation.
"We recall that General Gowon was
overthrown, while at the OAU conference
Krishna Iyer and Vinay Gaur,
made the disclosure, during a
meeting with journalists in
Lagos.
Eberechukwu said the deal is
separate from Petferns Group’s N2
billion industrial project expected
to commence operations soon in
Bayelsa.
She stated that the Electrophile
deal will involve the transfer of
technology to Nigerian
engineers.
Iyer, who spoke for Electrophile,
said: “All of the products will have
SONCAP certification. There will
be SONCAP certification for every
shipment. We are in the process
of getting the product certified by
the Standards Organisation of
Nigeria, SON. The equipment
in Kampala in 1975, from where he moved
to London, where he became a student
for years. How he could have moved such
money when on the run is difficult to
comprehend.
"If he had half of the CBN in a foreign
bank, going to school would probably not
have been his preoccupation.
“While we stand for holding leaders
accountable for their stewardship, we will
not support maligning people without
facts.
“We stand for integrity in public life
and will not shield corruption but we are
not aware of any such accusation
against Gen Gowon since he was
overthrown 45 years ago.
"We, therefore, call on the British
lawmaker, who was born a year after the
coup of 1975 in Nigeria, to check the
facts again and do the needful if he was
wrong or back up the allegation if he has
any evidence to retain his credibility and
the institutional integrity of the British
Parliament."
are ready. They will arrive after
Christmas, the first week of
January 2012.”
He explained that the
components that are for
assemblage in Asaba have
already been produced in
Faridabad, near Delhi and will be
shipped to Nigeria after obtaining
SONCAP certification.
“That is the second stage. We’ll
bring in the products in complete
knockdown condition. Then
they’ll be assembled here. Every
assembly will get a SONCAP
certificate in India before we ship
to Nigeria.
“The prices will be competitive
because unless we are
competitive we cannot sell in the
market.”
Alarm blow...'Asiri tu'! Welcome to
the digital age!
Do me I do you, God no go vex!
Maybe he sees you as an
artwork to be admired!