Uduaghan Mortgaged Delta For N637.22BN DEBT - OKOWA

Delta State governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has pledged to extricate the state from what he called its stringent mortgage to financial institutions between June 2015 and September 2018 over a cumulative debt of N637.22 billion.

In his maiden address to the Delta State House of Assembly yesterday on the “State of our Economy”, Okowa said “the state is grappling with a revenue bond and indebtedness totalling N98.62bn (principal sum) to commercial banks, while outstanding contractual obligation is N538,601,962,421.50.”
He disclosed that “in 2011, the government took a N50bn facility from the bond market, with a repayment period of seven years in 84 instalments at N1.098bn each month.”
He said the facility would terminate in September 2018 with 40 more instalments (totalling N43.92bn) to pay with effect from June 2015.
He continued, “In November 2014, Delta State also acted as guarantor to some select contractors supported by the issuance of an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) of N2.23bn monthly for which the contractors received the total sum of N40bn.

President Buhari Appoints AHMED IDRIS As New Accountant-General of The Federation

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Alhaji Ahmed Idris as Accountant General of the Federation. Until his appointment, Idris was Director of Finance and Accounts in the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.
Announcing this in Abuja, yesterday, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi, said the appointment was with effect from June 25, 2015.
Signed by Director of Communications in the Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Haruna Rasheed Imrana, the statement added that the appointee, who hails from Kano State, was born on November 25, 1960.
In another development, the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, DRTS, in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, is seeking approval to limit the influx of vehicles to the nation’s capital.
Consequently, DRTS has requested the FCT Administration to help it recruit more personnel to execute the mandate. Director of DRTS, Danjuma Garba, stated this yesterday while commissioning DRTS ICT Training Centre in Mabushi District, Abuja.
He said the directorate in its efforts to improve service delivery through seamless vehicle registration system, has established six additional driver licencing centres in the territory.
Deputy Director, Press in the FCTA, Muhammad Hazat Sule, quoted the DRTS boss as pleading “with the FCT Administration to provide the directorate with additional manpower to help curb the influx of vehicles in the FCT.”

Police Display Weapons Seized From Kidnappers Of G.U.O Boss In Anambra

Corporal Victor Edet, a policeman attached to Anambra State headquarters of Special Anti-Robbery 

Squad, SARS, Awkuzu as at 2009, yesterday, at an Onitsha High Court, displayed the weapons of mass destruction used by a gang of armed robbers/kidnappers who abducted the chairman of GUO Motors Limited, Chief Godwin Ubaka Okeke, on Sunday, August 23, 2009.
Chief Okeke was kidnapped at the All Saints Anglican Church Cathedral, Onitsha, but was released the next day after payment of N30 million ransom by his family.
Testifying before the court, presided over by Justice Alexander Okumah, in the on-going trial of three accused persons suspected to be members of the kidnap gang that abducted Okeke, Edet, who is the fifth prosecution witness, and currently attached to SARS, Kano State police command, also told the court how the police arrested some of the gangsters who kidnapped Okeke and recovered their weapons of mass destruction which were displayed before the court.

My Hands Are Tied To Carry Out APC's Directive---Saraki

The Nigeria Senate President, Bukola Saraki Thursday wrote a letter the National working Committee of the  All Progressives Congress (APC) explaining  why the 8th Senate refused to comply with party position when appointing principal officers for the senate.

He expressed concern in the manner the house conducted itself against the wish of the party and lamented its beyond what he could do as a senator among the 109 senators of the constituted 8th  Nigerian senate of the National assembly.
This was made public in a  letter signed by Senator Bukola Saraki, Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and dated Thursday, June 25, 2015, he explained that the APC’s letter came after the zonal caucuses had chosen their candidates in line with parliamentary convention.
He further enunciated in the letter that that he would have loved to please the party but his hands were tied.

MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENT: MERIT WILL SUPERSEDE FEDERAL CHARACTER, SAYS OSINBAJO

As Nigerians await Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has hinted that merit would carry more weight than Federal Character or zoning.
The Vice President spoke as he delivered the keynote address at the 10th Memorial Anniversary of Late Justice P. O. E. Bassey, held at the International Conference Center of the University of Calabar on Thursday.
With the theme of the memorial lecture; “Social Virtues and the Nigerian Renaissance”, the Vice President extolled the values of respect for merit in the country; the principles of integrity and trust as well as the need for social justice to be institutionalised.
As he puts it, “If we take government seriously, we must as Nigerians take merit before federal character.”
However, he explained that the government will not ignore Federal Character but that merit must come first during consideration.
The Memorial lecture attended by the governor of Cross River State Prof. Ben Ayade also had two guest speakers, Mr. Donald Duke, former governor of Cross River State and Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former federal cabinet minister.

HERE IS THE RESUME OF MR. GREGORY PETER OBI

MR. GREGORY PETER OBI

7 Aerodrome Road, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria

Tel: 08034051000

DATE & PLACE OF BIRTH: 19th July 1961, Onitsha – Nigeria

NATIONALITY: Nigeria

MARITAL STATUS: Married with two children

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ATTENDED:

• Christ the King College, Onitsha (W.A.S.C.) - 1978

• University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (B.A. Philosophy) - 1984

• Lagos Business School, Nigeria (Chief Executive Program)

• Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A. (Mid to Mid Marketing)

• London School of Economics “L.S.E” (Financial Mgt./Business Policy)

• Columbia Business School, New York U.S.A. (Marketing Management)

• Kellogg Graduate School of Management U.S.A. (Advanced Exec. Prog.)

• Institute for Management Dev. (IMD), Switzerland (Snr. Executive Forum)

NANS Petition Government, Security Agencies Over Alleged COOU Student Assault By House Agent

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone B has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano and the Department of State Security (DSS), over the alleged assault of a student of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Chioma Ifemeludike.
NANS officials blocked the Goodwill Junction axis of Oby Okoli Avenue, Okpuno-Awka, for over an hour in protest.
NANS coordinator Mr. Ikechukwu Okorie led other students to shut the office of a lawyer, Mr. Albert Okwudinka. Ifemeludike was alleged to have instructed his security man to  push Chioma Ifemeludike  from a storey building.
Okorie said Ifemeludike suffered life threatening injuries and Okwudinka showed no remorse, even refusing to appear at the B-division police station where the matter was first reported before it was transferred to the Area Command.

PDP Reps Candidate concedes Defeat To APGA In Anambra

The People Democratic Party Candidate in the March 28th National Assembly election and Member Representing Anaocha/Njikoka/Idumukofia Federal constituency may have conceded his victory to his opponent in the said election, Mr. Dozie Nwakwo.
The drama eschewed when the counsel to the second,third and forth respondent in the suit approached the Anambra state election petition Tribual sitting in Awka, headed by Justice Nayai Aganaba to announce their resolve to vacate the case against for the applicant, Mr. Dozie Nwakwo, stating that they have agreed to alow applicant be sworn in as member elect for Anaocha/Njikoka/Idumukofia Federal constituency, owing to the recent computation done by their legal team which actually revealed that the Mr Dozie Nwakwo won in the said election.
The dramatic concession, which elicited wide laughter in court, came up when the second and third respondents to the petition, Dr. Eze and PDP respectively, admitted that a polling unit by polling unit computation of all the valid votes clearly showed that Mr. Nwankwo won the election by a wide margin, hence he should have been returned elected.

Court Sacks Godwin Idu to be Replaced By Chuba Ikpeazu, Both PDP Anambra State

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday ordered the Peoples Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives representing Onitsha North/South Federal Constituency of Anambra State, Godwin Idu, to vacate his seat.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola also cancelled the certificate of return which the Independent National Electoral Commission earlier issued to him as the winner of the March 28, 2015 election for the Onitsha North/South Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.
The judge, who was delivering judgment in a suit challenging the submission of Idu’s name to the INEC as the candidate of the PDP for the election, ordered that the plaintiff in the suit, Lynda Chuba-Ikpeazu, should be sworn in Idu’s ste
Chuba-Ikpeazu, had filed the suit which predated the March 28, 2015 election, on March 18, 2015, to challenge the substitution of her name earlier submitted to INEC as the winner of the PDP’s primary, with that of Idu.
The PDP, INEC, the National Working Committee of the PDP and Idu were the defendants in the suit. But INEC did not file any defence in the suit filed through the plaintiff’s counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN).

WIKE RESTORES OMEHIA’S RIGHTS AS EX-GOV

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Thursday formally restored the benefits and entitlements of Sir Celestine Omehia as a former governor of the state.
Wike, in recognising Omehia as a former governor of the state, had personally returned his (Omehia) official portrait to where the photographs of other past chief executives of the state were placed at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
Omehia who was sworn in as the governor of the state on May 29, 2007, was replaced by Mr. Rotimi Amaechi on October 25, 2007 through the verdict of the Supreme Court.
Since then, Omehia was not recognised as a former governor of the state by the immediate past administration.
But about nine years after, Omehia’s portrait was returned to Government House with his privileges and benefits to be accorded to him as a former governor of the state.
Speaking on his action, Wike explained that his decision stemmed from the fact that Omehia worked as governor of the state between May 29, 2007 and October 25, 2007, wherein he took decisions on behalf of the state and initiated projects.