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No herders will graze in forest reserves without permission – Akeredolu
- Afenifere, ACF, PANDEF, NEF disagree over governor’s ultimatum
The Ondo State Government has insisted that herdsmen will not be allowed to operate in Ondo State’s forest reserves without permission.
This is a reaction to the caution by presidency on Tuesday against the seven-day ultimatum the state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), gave the herders to quit the forest reserves.
Also, a pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere and the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), which supported the governor, clashed with the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) that opposed the decision.
Some senior lawyers have also endorsed Akeredolu’s decision, which they affirmed as constitutional.
In a statement in Akure on Wednesday, the state government said no herdsman would graze on the forest reserves in the state without permission.
The state Commissioner for Agricultural and Rural Development, Adegboyega Adefarati, said in the statement that over 50,000 farmers had been registered to engage in various agricultural activities in the state’s forest reserves.
He insisted that no herder would be permitted to graze without going through the same process.
It said, “We have registered over fifty (50,000) thousands of farmers who engage in different forms of agricultural activities in Ondo State Government Forest Reserves. With this, we regulate their activities and reduce criminality as we interface daily with farmers.
“Love it or leave it, farming is farming, be it crop production or animal husbandry. If any Nigerian irrespective of his/her state of origin desires land for farming in Government Forest Reserves, he/she must apply to Ondo State Ministry of Agriculture and pay the normal fee for the required hectares of land.
“It is illegal for herdsmen to encroach on the Ondo State Government Forest Reserves without permission and graze on the farms, many of which will be destroyed.”
While NEF and ACF called on Akeredolu to rescind the seven-day ultimatum to herdsmen to vacate the forest, PANDEF and Afenifere condemned the reaction of the presidency on the issue.
The ACF and NEF asked the governor to follow the provisions of the constitution in handling the issue, adding that the constitution guarantees freedom of movement of all Nigerians.
NEF, in its statement, described the governor’s action as provocative and unhelpful in the quest to address the security challenges.
A statement signed by NEF’s Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said if there were criminal elements among the Fulani in Ondo State, appropriate steps should be taken to identify them and deal with them.
NEF stated that the Fulani are not above the laws and must obey all laws and regulations as well as respect the communities in which they live.
It stated, “We call on Governor Akeredolu to rescind his order on the Fulani or clarify his position in the event that he is misunderstood.
“He has a responsibility to protect the rights of all people in Ondo State, including the Fulani, and he will be well advised to engage them towards improving security in the state instead of treating all of them as criminals without rights or protection under the constitution.”
In its reaction, spokesman of the ACF, Emmanuel Yawe, urged the governor to follow the provision of the constitution in addressing the issue.
The ACF said every offence has its own punishment “and our forum has not seen a law, which says a Nigerian should be denied the freedom to settle anywhere and pursue legitimate business according to the law.”
But PANDEF called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call his media aide, Malam Garba Shehu, to order over his comments on the one-week ultimatum given to herdsmen.
PANDEF spokesman, Ken Robinson, in a statement, also asked other governors, especially in the South-west to speak out on the matter.
“The callous and barbaric deeds being perpetrated by supposed herdsmen, should not be allowed to continue, anywhere in Nigeria,” it said.
Also reacting, Afenifere advised the five other governors in the South-West to emulate Akeredolu and flush out herdsmen from their respective states.
National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, in a statement, stressed the need for all Yoruba to stand by Akeredolu and other South-west governors in their bid to rid the zone of the excesses of the herdsmen.
“All true-born Yoruba should stand behind Governor Akeredolu in these trying times. He must do all within the law to flush Ondo forests of all criminals. Other governors should emulate their chair and free our land from the Fulani who have surrounded us with the shield of the federal government,” he stated.
metro
BREAKING: FEC proposes N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 fiscal year
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.
READ ALSO:
- EFCC arrests ex-NCMB boss over $35m energy project fraud
- FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
- Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27
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
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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- FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects
- Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27
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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
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.
READ ALSO:
- We are understaffed, ICPC boss laments
- Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
- Wike claims Adeyanju became activist after he rejected request to be PDP Publicity Secretary
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.
Court adjourns Yahaya Bello’s trial till Nov 27
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