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Buhari lauds Wike, commissions Port Harcourt Law School Complex

Published

2 years ago

November 19, 2022

President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari has described the Dr. Nabo Graham- Douglas Campus of the Nigerian Law School, built, furnished and handed over by the Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike’s administration as a grand wonder structured to be self-sustaining.

The president noted that the project, among several others, is no doubt an abiding testament to the commitment of Governor Wike to the promotion of law and development in Rivers State and beyond.

President Buhari spoke while inaugurating the Dr. Nabo Graham Douglas Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Port Harcourt on Friday. He was represented by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.

“I need not engage in poetic verbosity to properly describe the grand wonder that is being commissioned today. The icing on the cake is the fact that this edifice and its state-of-the-art facilities are structured to be self-sustaining through associated revenue earners, as designed by a man of higher vision who is now fondly referred to as Mr Project.”

President Buhari said he was aware that Governor Wike extended development initiatives to the neighbouring Bayelsa State, by executing multi-billion-naira projects that included a 900-bed space hostel and 1,500-capacity auditorium, in the Yenagoa Campus of the Nigerian Law School.

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This, he noted, is in addition to the provision of critical infrastructure support extended to federal courts in Rivers State, over the years.

“These are indeed pace-setting and unparalleled contributions by a state government to what is ordinarily under the remit of the Federal Government.

“Governor Wike’s dedication to these projects is better appreciated from the viewpoint of his being an unrelenting advocate of true federalism in Nigeria.”

President Buhari said the resultant effects of the governor’s sterling efforts have continued to strengthen the rule of law and national development.

The Nigerian president commended the good heart and statesmanship of Governor Wike, on behalf of the entire justice family and lovers of justice in Nigeria for his unifying efforts and commitment to national harmony.

“Governor Nyesom Wike has executed numerous landmark infrastructural projects which have transformed the human and economic development of Rivers State, while also forging socio-political alliances and promoting national harmony.

“Indeed, our dear nation needs more of such unifying efforts. It is in recognition of the foregoing that my administration discarded political considerations and acknowledged excellence, by conferring Governor Wike with the Nigerian Excellence Award in Public Service, in October 2022, for his unprecedented leadership role in the delivery of legacy infrastructural projects in Rivers State and beyond. Your Excellency, you have indeed immortalized yourself and history will be kind to you.”

President Buhari reiterated that the ceremony served as an avenue for them to be reminded of the need to promote cooperation and understanding between the Federal and State Governments in the overall national interest and the welfare of all Nigerians.

In his speech, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike said that sequel to his request for approval to build a law campus in Port Harcourt and subsequent approval given, he is today most delighted to have delivered the facility, completed within 10 months.

He stated that the contract for the project was awarded to indigenous contractors, who handled each of the structures under strict supervision, costing the state government about N17 billion.

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Governor Wike revealed that one of the reasons why his administration has been able to embark on several projects is because President Buhari had graciously approved the payment and release of unpaid 13 percent derivation deductions since 1999 to all states in the Niger Delta.

The governor insisted that the financial support given by the Rivers State government to the Nigerian Law School should be expended on the Dr. Nabo Graham Douglas Campus and nowhere else.

The governor said it will be unfair for the Rivers State government to have spent so much on providing the campus and not have an admission quota exclusive to the state.

In his good will message, President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, said Governor Wike is a true leader who has shown excellence in governance and deliberately invested in the legal profession that will serve the course of justice to the people.

Speaking for the Benchers, Chief Wole Olanipekun noted that there is no legal professional who has contributed as much as Governor Wike has done to the promotion of legal practice in Nigeria.

In his speech, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, who described the day as epochal for the legal profession, decried the inability of the National Assembly and other stakeholders to enact a new Legal Practitioners’ Act that should make the legal practice of international standard in the country.

SUN

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BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year

Published

14 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year

The federal government has unveiled a proposed budget of N47.9 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year.

Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, disclosed this to journalists on Thursday following the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu.

Bagudu revealed that the council had approved the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2025-2027.

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According to the minister, the government has pegged the crude oil benchmark at $75 per barrel, with an oil production target of 2.06 million barrels per day (bpd).

The budget also sets the exchange rate at N1,400 per dollar and aims for a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6.4%.

BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year

metro

EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud

Published

14 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told FIJ that they have arrested Timber Wabote, the former executive secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCMB), on the grounds of a failed $35 million Bayelsa refinery project fraud.

Dele Oyewale, the EFCC’s spokesperson, confirmed this to FIJ on Thursday.

“It is true,” Oyewale responded to FIJ’s inquiries.

Wabote is accused of misappropriating public funds for a refinery project that should have improved local energy production.

Vanguard reported that the NCDMB under Wabote paid $35 million to support the development of energy infrastructure in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa, yet there was nothing to show for it.

The EFCC picked Wabote up following the arrest of Akintoye Adeoye Akindele, the Managing Director of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, for alleged misappropriation, money laundering and diversion of $35 million in public funds.

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“NCDMB under the watch of Wabote allegedly paid the $35 million to Akindele to build a 2,000 barrel per day (BPD), refinery, jetty, gas plant, power plant, data centre and tank farm at Brass free trade zone (FTZ), Okpoama Community in Brass LGA of Bayelsa State,” a source with the EFCC had explained.

Since December 2020 when the payments were made, Akindele abandoned the project with little or nothing to show for the huge sum he received.

Preliminary investigations showed that Wabote’s NCDMB financed 17 different projects, including the 2,000 BPD refinery in Brass LGA.

There has been a series of public fund misappropriation cases in the energy sector in recent times.

FIJ earlier reported that members of the House of Representatives summoned three ministers to defend how over $2 billion was spent on renewable energy with not much to show for it.

A recent FIJ report also recently detailed how residents of Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa, have not had power in their homes since July due to the vandalisation of the Ahoada-Yenagoa transmission towers caused by unidentified persons.

The Bayelsa state government told FIJ it was the federal government’s responsibility to provide electricity for residents. The state has no renewable energy options reliable enough to power its capital despite the multi-million-dollar NCMB energy project.

Transparency in the energy sector has become necessary at a time when Nigerians have suffered power instability due to frequent grid collapses.

EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud

metro

Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27

Published

14 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

Yahaya Bello

Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has requested an adjournment in the new case against the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, stating that the 30-day window for the previously issued summons is still active.

The commission has granted administrative bail to his co-defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, and asked the court for an extension of time for Bello to appear.

At the resumed hearing before Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, EFCC Counsel Jamiu Agoro noted that the court’s order from October 3rd had not yet expired.

“In that wise, we feel it will not be appropriate for us to take proceedings while that 30 days is still running. So we have discussed and agreed to come back on the 27th day of November, 2024, my lord,” he told the court.

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He also mentioned that the previously set date of November 20th was not convenient for the prosecution counsels.

Counsel to the second defendant, Aliyu Saiki, SAN, confirmed that his client had been granted administrative bail by the prosecution and had no objection to the adjournment request. The third defendant’s counsel, ZE Abass, concurred.

The prosecution counsel also requested the court to allow the notice of hearing to be pasted on the last known address of the first defendant.

After hearing from all counsels, the judge granted the EFCC’s application for adjournment and the issuance of the hearing notice.

“I have considered the application for adjournment by the complainant and issuance of hearing notice and the submission by the second and third defendants. The application is granted,” she said.

Justice Anenih then adjourned the case to November 27th for arraignment.

The former governor, alongside Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, are being prosecuted as 1st to 3rd defendants, respectively, in a fresh 16-count charge instituted against them by the EFCC.