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Obi links govt officials to oil theft, seeks total overhaul of security architecture
Presidential Candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has called for a total overhaul of the nation’s security architecture to achieve sustainable economic growth.
He also linked some top government officials to the huge oil theft in Nigeria, lamenting that the inability of the Muhammadu Buhari administration to curtail the high network crime which he claimed cost the country N2.7 trillion in two months (July and August).
Obi, who stated this at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI) Private Sector Economic Forum on the 2023 Presidential election in Lagos on Monday, described Nigeria as a failed state that is begging to be rescued.
He said, “On the issue of insecurity, let me tell you, whoever comes into government in 2023, one thing we must decisively and aggressively deal with is the issue of security.
“Insecurity is the number one thing that is impacting Nigeria’z economic growth today and we need to deal with it as quickly as possible and am assuring you, when am saying I am going to be in charge during my administration, we will deal with it decisively and head on.
“Insecurity, people will say how are you going to deal with it? Yes, you need to overhaul the entire security architecture in the country.
“Ensure that it is put in place aggressively, including having multiple-level policing; federal, states and community.
“Equip the public and provide them with modern gadgets. You cannot tell me today that anybody can say that somebody is kidnapped, kept somewhere and they are using phones to exchange calls with his family members in this time and age.
“If he is sick, they even invite doctor to go and treat him, and police will say they didn’t know where they are? I am not going to take that for one day in my government. “Go and check with what I did with the security in Anambra state. Go and ask people.
“We provided every community with vehicles; new vehicles and gadgets for security purposes. No state in Nigeria has done that. I can assure you, we will do exactly that come 2023 with our government in place because at the heart of what we are going through today is security and it must be decisively death with holistically.”
He also said the oil theft in the country was politically motivated and a failure of political will by the current government to stop it because some insiders in the government are benefiting, including security agencies. Obi said, “When it comes to the issue of oil theft, I have said it before; there is no way under my watch we will not find solution to oil theft in this country.
“It is possible. Look at the oil theft at a time we critically need every single resources. In July, we were the only country in the world that did not meet up with our OPEC production except Venezuela, because of hardships.
“At the beginning of July, our oil production was 1.83mmbpd. Whereas, same July, we had 700,000mbpd shortage. Then when you multiply it by 31 days, it is 22.2mmbpd that we lost to oil theft and the average trading of oil in July was $110.
“So, we lost $2.45 billion in revenue in one month. If you multiply $2.45 billion by N550 official exchange rate, it will give you N1.34 trillion and we are still owing ASUU N1.3 trillion of ther severance packages. “One month of stealing. In the month of August, it became even worse. Our oil supply in the month of August went down to 975,000bpd.”
News
Under-pressure AIG Okolo says state police comment personal opinion, not IGP’s
Under-pressure AIG Okolo says state police comment personal opinion, not IGP’s
Inspector-General of Police in charge of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) at the Force Headquarters, Benjamin Okolo, may have been under pressure for saying Nigeria is not ripe for state police.
Since he represented the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, at a forum on Monday with former Nigeria’s presidents and leaders of thoughts, the statement was simply attributed to the IGP.
It was at a national dialogue on state police organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja.
Okolo however on Tuesday retracted the comment, saying he was not directed by IGP Egbetokun to disagree with the position of former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, and the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, on the issue of state police at the forum.
Okolo had also proposed that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) be merged to become a department under the police.
Newstrends had quoted Okolo as saying at the Monday forum, “It is the submission of the leadership of the Nigeria police force that Nigeria is yet to mature and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police.
“In view of this, the police leadership rather is recommending the following instead of creating state police.
“First, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety to form a department under the Nigeria police.”
But in a U-turn, Okolo, at a press briefing at the Force Headquarters, Abuja on Tuesday, said he only made the comment in his personal capacity to stimulate the discourse, and not the official position of the IGP and the police force.
He said, “My expressions on state police at the session held at Abuja Continental Hotel on 22nd April, 2024 are my personal opinion to stimulate the discourse.
“They are not the views of the Inspector-General of Police or the Nigeria Police Force.”
News
Shun politicking, FG tells new 17 Chargé D’affaires, Consuls General
Shun politicking, FG tells new 17 Chargé D’affaires, Consuls General
The Federal Government has advised newly appointed five new Chargé D’affaires and 12 Consuls General to the nation’s mission in other countries to shun politicking and focus strictly on their job.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, gave the charge while unveiling the new appointees on Tuesday.
He also charged them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria.
A statement by Alkasim Abdulkadir, the minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, gave these details.
While asserting that they were pivotal to the economic drive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Tuggar further stressed that as seasoned career diplomats, they should recommit themselves to their calling of diplomacy for the collective interest and development of Nigeria.
Reacting on behalf of the new appointees, the just appointed Consul General for the Consulate in New York, Ambassador Abubakar Jidda, reiterated the commitment of his colleagues to uphold the ethos of the profession and pledged to bring the much-needed investments to the country.
He thanked President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the confidence reposed in them.
The new appointees are to resume immediately, the statement added.
FULL LIST:
Chargé D’affaires
Amb. Saidu Mohammed DODO, Damascus, Syria
Amb. Patrick Imoudu, IMOLOGHOME Pyongyang, Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea
Amb. Francisca Kemi OMAYULI
Singapore, Singapore
Amb. Babagana AHMADU
Bangui, Central African Republic
Amb. Mohammed MOHAMMED
Tripoli, Libya.
Consul General Conuslate
Amb. Auwalu Jega NAMADINA
Atlanta, USA
Amb. Nnamdi Okechukwu NZE
Bata, Equatorial Guinea
Amb. Francis Ntui ENYA
Douala, Cameroon
Amb. Gbadebo AFOLABI
Shanghai, China
Amb. Oludare Ezekiel FOLOWOSELE
Hong Kong, China
Amb. Abubakar JIDDA
New York, USA
Amb. Yakubu Audu DADU
Frankfurt, Germany
Amb. Taofik Obasanjo Coker
Buea, Cameroon
Amb. George Collins ONWUEKWE
Guangzhou, China
Amb. Umar Ibrahim BASHIR
Johannesburg, South Africa
Amb. Zayyan IBRAHIM
Dubai, UAE
Amb. Muazam Ibrahim Jibrin NAYAYA
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
News
Produce copy of invitation to me, Bello challenges EFCC
Produce copy of invitation to me, Bello challenges EFCC
The former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, refuted allegations that he disregarded an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to the EFCC, Bello was summoned for interrogation on January 27 this year but failed to appear, leading to a declaration of him as a fugitive after an unsuccessful attempt to apprehend him at his Abuja residence.
In response to this claim, Bello’s media office issued a statement on Tuesday, challenging the accusations and urging the anti-graft agency to produce a copy of the invitation letter.
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The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to a publication/press statement with the above title, issued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, 22nd April, 2024, and signed by Wilson Uwujaren, its Acting Director of Public Affairs.
“In the said statement, which the Commission carefully circulated widely as usual, Mr. Uwujaren, who we have to believe is not a lawyer, continues the EFCC’s ongoing unconscionable lies against the former Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Yahaya Bello, CON, by labelling him as a fugitive from justice in order to disingenuously justify their established and willful pattern of defying lawful court orders.
“Contrary to Mr. Uwujaren’s claims, official records and court documents relating to their hounding of Alhaji Yahaya Bello establish a clear timeline of events. These documents are endorsed with dates and times of filing and payments, which are endorsed on court processes – all of which testify to the true sequence of events.”
The statement, signed by Ohiare Michael from Bello’s media office, dismissed the EFCC’s assertions and accused the agency of resorting to intimidation and harassment. It emphasized that while Bello respects the rule of law, he is not afraid of the EFCC.
Produce copy of invitation to me, Bello challenges EFCC
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