How Obi ordered SSS to detain me during Anambra guber election in 2013 - El-Rufai – Newstrends
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How Obi ordered SSS to detain me during Anambra guber election in 2013 – El-Rufai

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2 years ago

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Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna

Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, has alleged that Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra, ordered security operatives to detain him in 2013.

Speaking on Monday at an event for presidential candidates organised by the Arewa joint committee, el-Rufai said as an official of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the time, he had gone to Anambra to monitor the governorship election in the state.

The Anambra governorship election, which started in November 2013, was completed in December 2013 after supplementary elections were held in areas where it did not earlier take place.

Following the election, Obi handed over to Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in March 2014.

During the election in November 2013, el-Rufai was detained by officials of the state security service (SSS) at a hotel where he had lodged in Awka, the state capital.

Confirming the incident to NAN at the time, the SSS had claimed that el-Rufai was being protected for his safety.

“El-Rufai is not an ordinary person. If anything happens to him, they will blame the security,” A.U. Okeiyi, SSS director in Anambra at the time, was quoted as saying.

However, el-Rufai had sued the SSS over the development, and in September 2014, a federal high court in Awka had ordered the security agency to apologise to him.

The court also awarded him N2 million in damages for unlawful detention.

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Speaking on Monday, el-Rufai said Obi, who is now presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), ordered his detention.

“In 2013, I went to Anambra state, as an official of the APC, to witness the bye-election for governorship,” he said.

“Your next guest, Peter Obi, was governor. He got me arrested and detained for 48 hours in my hotel room. Now, I am the governor of Kaduna state. And he is coming to Kaduna.

“In addition to the police and the SSS, I have one mechanised division Nigerian Army here, if I need to arrest and detain anyone. But we are northerners. We are civilised. We don’t do things like that.”

Reacting to the Kaduna governor’s comment, a Twitter user, Adetutu Balogun, had shared a video showing el-Rufai, as APC deputy national secretary at the time, speaking on the incident.

In the video interview with TV360, el-Rufai had said three SSS officials “holding AK-47” told him they had “directives from Abuja” to restrict him to his room.

Responding to the tweet, the Kaduna governor said he has video evidence of Obi “revealing” that he was behind his detention.

“Yes but your little god Peter Obi later revealed on national TV – we have the video clip – that he got the unlawful detention effected, and said I had no right to be in Anambra State since it was not Katsina State. The clown didn’t even know that I am from Kaduna State!” el-Rufai tweeted.

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Four varsity lecturers dismissed for sexual misconduct

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November 15, 2024

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Four varsity lecturers dismissed for sexual misconduct

In a significant development, the Governing Council of Federal University Lokoja has approved the dismissal of four lecturers over allegations of examination malpractices and sexual misconduct.

According to reports, the decision was made during the council’s Second Meeting on Thursday, following a thorough investigation into the accusations that surfaced last year.

Led by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, the council commended the university’s management for adhering to due process in investigating the claims of examination misconduct and sexual harassment against the lecturers involved.

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Ndoma-Egba stated, “The council will not tolerate any unethical conduct in the university” and called for prompt resolution of other pending misconduct cases, particularly one within the Faculty of Science that has gained media attention.

In a caution to staff and lecturers, the council emphasized its commitment to addressing any form of student molestation and urged students to report incidents of misconduct without fear.

 

Four varsity lecturers dismissed for sexual misconduct

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

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14 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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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

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

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14 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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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

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