Only VIO has powers to investigate, give accident reports – Official – Newstrends
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Only VIO has powers to investigate, give accident reports – Official

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Only VIO has powers to investigate, give accident reports – Official

MR Akak Eyo, Head of Operations, Motor Vehicle Administration, Vehicle Inspection Office, (VIO) Cross River Command, says that only the agency is empowered by law to give accident reports.

Eyo made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Calabar while reacting to the overlapping functions of sister agencies in the road traffic business.

The head of operation said in the event of a road crash, the traffic unit of the Nigeria Police Force gets to the accident scene while the Federal Road Safety, (FRSC) officials have the responsibility of clearing the road and getting victims to hospitals or morgues.

He said it was the profession of officials of VIO to investigate and tell the cause of the accident because they were mostly engineers.

“Police officers who know their jobs in the traffic unit, after all has been done, will write a letter to the VIO requesting an accident inspection and report because it is their function.’’

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Eyo further said road crashes in Cross River were minimal, adding that his message to road users, especially the commercial bus and taxi drivers, was that they should be less anxious and careless while using the roads.

According to him, stopping at the middle of the road and unauthorised places to pick and drop passengers just because they want to outsmart other drivers, creates congestion and possibilities of crashes.

He said that was why the agency in the state, through its Director Road Transport Services, Mr Paul Bepeh, was going round public places like markets, parks and religious organisations to emphasise the theme for 2023 which was: “Safety first, drive to survive.”

He said apart from having a duly registered vehicle and valid driver’s licence, every driver was expected to have a first-aid box and four litres of water in his or her boot among other things, to forestall any eventuality on the road and even save lives.

He asserted that one challenge they had was Nigerians seeing VIO as their enemy and when they are flagged down, they get angry.

“All that is expected is for you to stop and submit yourself for inspection which is for your own good and the good of the society.

“When you are cleared you move on but if you are cautioned for a misdemeanor, it is not because the agency hates you,’’ he said.

Only VIO has powers to investigate, give accident reports – Official

(NAN)

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Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut

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Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut

Members of the organised labour, on Friday, protested and shut down the headquarters of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) over alleged cut of workers’ salaries in the agency by the management of the fund.

The aggrieved protesters, led by the President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo and executive members of the Association of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFE), started their demonstrations at about 11:00am.

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Armed with placards with various inscriptions, the protesters alleged that the management led by Mrs Maureen Allagoa, the Managing Director of the Fund, had made deductions of consequential taxes from their salaries to the tune of N2.1bn which were not remitted.

Addressing the protesters, Osifo said the protest and subsequent shutdown of the Fund became imperative after efforts made by the leadership of ASSBIFE to resolve the issue amicably with the management failed.

The protesters urged President Bola Tinubu to sack the MD of the agency with immediate effect to avert “looming crises” in the Fund and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe their claims.

Both the MD of the Fund, Mrs Allagoa and spokesman of the Fund, Mr Godson Nwachukwu could not be reached for comments at the time of filing this report.

Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut

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How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms

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Winifred Oyo-Ita

How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms

Hamma Bello, the eighth prosecution witness in the trial of Winifred Oyo-Ita, a former Head of Service of the Federation, has narrated how N3 billion was diverted to private companies.

The witness stated this while testifying before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday about how the defendant and her subordinates diverted public funds into their private companies.

Oyo-Ita, the first defendant, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, along with her special assistants; Ugbong Effiok (seventh defendant) and Garba Umar (fourth defendant).

Others are six companies: Frontline Ace Global Services Limited, Asanaya Projects Limited, Slopes International Limited, U and U Global Services Ltd, Prince Mega Logistics Ltd, and Good Deal Investments, on 18 counts bordering on misappropriation, official corruption, money laundering, and criminal diversion of funds to the tune of over N3 billion.

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The witness, while being led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Faruk Abdullahi, and H.M. Mohammed, told the court that Oyo-Ita used Slopes International Limited and Good Deal Investments Limited – fifth and sixth defendants respectively, to fraudulently award government contracts to herself through the fourth defendant, Umar.

The first entry transaction of Good Deal Investment Limited. in February 2019 showed that N42,748,201.47 was paid into its Zenith Bank account.

Umar, the witness said, incorporated the company with Oyo-Ita’s full knowledge.

“We called for the account statements of these two companies, and upon analysing them, we realised he (Umar) was paid several sums of money from the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, where he is an employee.

“And upon interviewing the fourth defendant, he admitted that he was also a contractor. He also admitted to have paid the first defendant on several occasions from the proceeds of the transaction,” the witness said.

On April 27, 2019, the witness disclosed that a transfer of N20, 2027, 142 was made in the name of Ibrahim Madu to the Zenith Bank account of Asanaya Projects Limited.

The mandate card of the account bears the signature and photo of the seventh defendant, Effiok.

Investigation, according to the witness, also revealed that the seventh defendant incorporated Asanaya Projects Limited in his name with the knowledge of the first defendant and that approvals were granted and payments made to the seventh defendant either through his personal account or to the account of the company.

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The witness said, “The seventh defendant, upon interview, confirmed he had never travelled for most of the funds he received and that the first defendant was aware of and benefitted on several occasions from the funds. The account of U and U Global Services Limited was also opened by the seventh defendant.

“In summary, from 2015 to 2018, U and U Global Limited received several payments in the form of Duty Tour Allowances and estacodes. Sometimes, payments from the federal government were made directly to the account, for instance, on March 24, 2016, he received N40, 313, 453. 58. This particular payment was from the federal government.”

Further in his testimony, the witness stated that, “Exhibit O is the Fidelity Bank account of Prince Mega Logistics Ltd. On March 27, 2018, and April 6, 2018, there were four entries, N4, 950 000; N3,946,000, N4,676,000 and N1,478,000, from Thomson Titus Okure, who used to be a colleague of the seventh defendant in the Account Department.

“There were also outward payments to Ignom, Minaro Blessing, Winifred Oyo-Ita, Olarenwaju Godman Olushola and the seventh defendant is the sole signatory of this account.”

Speaking further, he said, “I also want to add that we invited the first, second and seventh defendant at different times to our office and interviewed them. In the case of the first defendant, we printed chats from her phone and saw conversations she had with contractors, subordinates, and permanent secretaries. She also voluntarily made a statement to the EFCC.”

The matter was adjourned till April 30, 2024.

(SAHARAREPORTERS)

How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms

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Why we made emergency landing at Lagos airport – Air Peace

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Why we made emergency landing at Lagos airport – Air Peace

A statement by Stanley Olisa, the airline’s Corporate Communications Lead, explained that some minutes before landing, the Captain noticed a fire warning indicator in the cockpit.

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