Umahi says N9.3bn wasn’t paid under him to MFB – Newstrends
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Umahi says N9.3bn wasn’t paid under him to MFB

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Works Minister David Umahi

Umahi says N9.3bn wasn’t paid under him to MFB

Minister of Works David Umahi has said the disbursement of N9.3 billion to a microfinance bank by the ministry was not awarded when he assumed office.

He was reacting to Tracka, BudgIT’s service delivery promotion platform, that exposed how the Federal Ministry of Works paid N9.3bn to FIMS Microfinance Bank Ltd in violation of the 2007 procurement law.

The release of the funds for 62 projects was made between June and December 2023.

Tracka stated that some of these projects include “the payment of N1.4bn in September 2023 for the construction of Yaba-Yangoje Road in the Federal Capital Territory; N1.2bn in October 2023 for the rehabilitation of a 2km road from Oriawo-boroboro-oke-medina School of Science Road in Atiba, Oyo state; N1.2bn in October 2023 for the rehabilitation of Kosobo-awe Junction Road in Oyo East LGA in Oyo state and N1.2bn between August and November 2023 for the rehabilitation of Ejule-otukpo road in Benue State to mention a few.”

Tracka added that according to its mission statement and the information on its website, FIMS Microfinance Bank Ltd. was incorporated on December 11, 2009, to conduct microfinance businesses/services with a certificate of incorporation number RC 858800.

“As a financial institution, the award of road construction contracts amongst others to this company is a violation of the Public Procurement Act 2007, ” BudgIT’s Country Director, Gabriel Okeowo, had said while calling on anti-graft agencies to question and probe the payments as well as prosecute the erring officers.

But while clarifying, the minister said he was in the senate when the first payment was made in June.

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He said the ministry acted in accordance with the law as the payment was made for service delivered by contractors and not for a contract awarded to the bank itself.

“There are issues with the report because up to the 20th of August, I was in the Senate. When a contractor has done his or her work, the money becomes his money, he can say, pay it to this bank or another. So, they are being mischievous.

“If they are asking whether the job has been done, that is reasonable and a right to provide an answer but they do not have the right to say where a contractor will say his money will be paid.

“Whether it is paid into a microfinance bank or not, without prejudice that I don’t have the facts about the jobs, they have no right to say it is paid into a microfinance bank.”

He added that the information was a distraction, alleging that it was the work of bad contractors to fight back.

“The jobs were never done by me, payments were not done by me and even if it was me, if the jobs were done and the certificate generated; deployed to the platform and it was appropriated and money was released against the project, then they have no right to question where it was paid.”

“In all the states. It is our policy that the state governors through their appointed officials must mark off any project, especially the emergency projects. When the contractor has completed a job, no matter how big it is.

My advice for the governor is to come to the site and look at it before it gets to our office for payment, where this procedure is not done, I will not sign any generated certificate. So, we have invited the public to also be a part of the monitoring,” he said.

Umahi breaks silence, says N9.3bn wasn’t paid under him

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Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark

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Yahaya Bello, Chief Edwin Clark

Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark

Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, says the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, administration was nothing to write home about.

This is even as he asked the embattled former governor to surrender himself to the authorities.

Bello has been in the news for days on end over money laundering and financial impropriety.

He was declared wanted after he evaded the economic and financial crimes commission (EFCC) who had stormed his Abuja residence to apprehend him.

Speaking on Bello’s time as the governor of the middle belt state, Clark, who is the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, stated that state sponsored violence, corruption, civilian repression and political killings were rife when Bello was in office.

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Clark also pointed out that Bello is still running the show in Kogi state as he is currently spending third term in power through the incumbent governor, Ododo, who he planted in office.

“Yahaya Bello is just being stubborn. He has been living very very rough…having a very rough government, corruption, killing of people in the place during elections and so on,” Clark said during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday.

“There’s time for everything and it has come for him to answer questions. He should go to court. He should go to court to answer the substance of the case, where did he get the money from?

“Is it true or not that the money he paid to the American school belongs to him or belongs to the government of Kogi State?

“The behaviour of the new Governor shows Yahaya Bello is in power for the third time. Ahmed Ododo is just running after him.

“I just want to plead with Ododo to do the needful so that the youth in this country will have something to fall upon.”

Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark

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‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim

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David Umahi, Peter Obi

‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim

Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, says he is not in the business of whipping up ethnic sentiments or amplifying Nigeria’s fault lines to gain socio-political mileage.

Obi said this reaction to comment made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, at an event on Wednesday on the Lagos-Calabar road project.

Obi has been vocal in his criticism of the road project, calling it a misplaced priority as it is not what Nigeria needs at a time of lean resources and plethora of challenges begging for drastic solution.

Umahi while speaking at the event said Obi’s position on the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project amounted to pitting Nigerians of Eastern extraction, who are majorly Igbos, against the government of President Bola Tinubu.

He also accused Obi of demolishing property without compensating those affected when he was Anambra governor, Obi was inciting South Easterners against the government

“When His Excellency Peter Obi was the governor. He made a statement saying, “Any infrastructure that stands in the way of the road must go. And there would be no compensation paid.” That’s what he said,” Umahi said.

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“And I think he’s inciting some of the South-East people that are not well informed. He is inciting them. And gets them into trouble,” he added

Reacting to Umahi’s allegation of divisiveness and sedition in a statement on Wednesday, Obi opined that he is a preacher of peace and advocate of unity who always wants what is best for the country.

Obi, who described criticisms that he is inciting Igbo against Tinubu’s government as baseless, stated that he won’t wallow in the murky water of divisive ethnic politics like many of his contemporaries and opponents do.

He stated, “My focus is on fostering constructive dialogue and inclusivity, rather than engaging in divisive politics, Claims of incitement are baseless distractions. I have always advocated unity and advancement, refusing to partake in reactionary divisive politics.

“I refuse to be reduced to the level of those who wallow in ethnic politics. Worse still, I have never and can never descend so low as to base my political aspirations on any sectional or ethnic interest.”

The former Anambra governor also said there were no comparisons between the demolition he did when he was governor and what the Tinubu-led government was currently doing.

‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim

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NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m

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NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced a significant increase in the maximum deposit insurance coverage levels for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions, effective immediately.

During a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, NDIC Managing Director Bello Hassan disclosed, “For Deposit Money Banks, the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000, would provide full coverage of 98.98% of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20%. In terms of the value of deposit covered, the revised coverage would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 25.37% compared with the current cover of 6.31% of the total value of deposits.”

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Hassan further explained, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for primary mortgage banks from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.99% of the total number of depositors and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 43.10% of the total value deposits from the current cover of 40.60%.”

Additionally, Hassan noted, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for subscribers of Mobile Money Operators from N500,000 to N5,000,000 per subscriber.”

NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m

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