IMO Senator, Benjamin Uwajumogu, is dead

The Senator representing Imo North Senatorial District, Benjamin Uwajumogu, is dead.

His death was confirmed to journalists outside the Senate chamber on Wednesday by the Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District, Rochas Okorocha.

He was said to have slumped in the toilet while taking his bath and rushed to a private hospital in Apo, Abuja where he died.

Until his death, Uwajumogu was the Senate Committee Chairman on Employment, Labour and Productivity.

Kalu prayed court to free him to enable him attend to his health.

A former governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu, who is serving 12-year imprisonment for N7.65billion fraud and money laundering, on Tuesday prayed the Federal High Court in Lagos to grant him bail, pending the hearing of his appeal against his conviction.

Kalu told Justice Mohammad Liman that he is battling serious health challenges and he needs to seek the medical services of his herbalist.

The Senate’s Chief Whip and senator representing Abia North Senatorial District claimed that the medical facilities in the correctional centre cannot handle his ailment.

Kalu, who was convicted of the offences by Justice Mohammad Idris on December 5, is serving his term at the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, Lagos

The judge convicted Kalu, a Director of Finance and Accounts at the Abia State Government House during Kalu’s tenure, Udeh Udeogu, and Kalu’s firm, Slok Nigeria Ltd on each of the 39 counts.

Justice Mohammed Idris sentenced Kalu to 133 years imprisonment, Udeogu to 56 years imprisonment and ordered that Slok be wound up and its assets forfeited to the Federal Government.

The sentences will run concurrently, the judge said, meaning Kalu will only spend a maximum of 12 years in jail.

Tuesday, Kalu’s counsel, Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) informed the court of a bail application he filed on behalf of the former governor, seeking to be released on bail pending the outcome of his appeal against the judgment.

He told the court that the application was premised on 23 grounds and supported by a 38-paragraph affidavit.

Fagbemi said after receiving the counter-affidavit filed by the prosecution, he filed a 34-paragraph further affidavit with one exhibit attached.

The SAN also drew the court’s attention to a notice of appeal against Kalu’s conviction, and relied on the provisions of Sections 241 of the Constitution in urging the court to grant the bail.

“If there is a right of appeal, then there is a corresponding right of bail pending appeal,” he said.

Citing Sections 6 of the Constitution, Fagbemi argued that the court had the powers to entertain such an application since post-judgement jurisdiction were anchored on the section.

He said the bail would enable Kalu to attend to his health as well return to the National Assembly to serve the nation.

But EFCC counsel, Mr RotimI Jacobs (SAN), opposed the bail application.

“Although bail is generally a right of an accused as guaranteed by the Constitution, it is not a right available to a convict because the presumption of innocence had crystallised into guilt and conviction,” he said.

EFCC kicks as convicted Orji Kalu begs court for bail
According to Jacobs, an application for bail pending appeal is sparingly granted.

He said that such a bail could be granted in a situation where the term of imprisonment would have elapsed before determination of the appeal.

He argued that that was not the situation with Kalu’s case.

On Kalu’s health condition, Jacobs said that there was no recent medical report to show his state of health, arguing that the medical report tendered in his case was done more than a year ago.

Jacobs added that the request by Kalu to be released on bail so as to seek traditional medicine was not a tenable, as visitors were allowed into the custodial centre.

“He says he needs his herbalist to treat him but he has not said that his herbalist came to the prison and was not allowed to see him.

“In one breath, the applicant is saying that he wants to be released on health grounds while in another breath, he is saying that as a senator, he needs to be released on bail so as to carry out his official functions,” the SAN said.

Citing the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria vs Joshua Dariye, he argued that the Nigerian criminal jurisprudence was robust enough to handle appeal and dispense with same within a reasonable time.

Buhari signs 2020 appropriation bill into law.

President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law the 2020 Appropriation Act of N10.594 trillion.

The signing ceremony held on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, a day after Channels Television reported that the President would assent to the Act.

It is the first time since 1999 that the appropriation bill is signed in December, paving the way for the return of Nigeria to a January – December budget cycle.

In his remarks, the President commended the patriotic zeal of the National Assembly for the quick passage of the budget.

He, however, informed the lawmakers that he looks forward to receiving the Finance Bill for assent in the shortest time.

President Buhari, therefore, called on the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure the effective implementation of the 2020 budget.

He expressed confidence in his administration’s ability to finance the 2020 budget.

In view of this, the President directed that the 2021 budget estimates be submitted to the National Assembly by September next year.

The signing of the 2020 budget was witnessed by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha; and the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed.

Also present were the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, among other National Assembly leaders.

Why APC can't win presidency again_ Doyin Okupe

------ Doyin Okupe, former Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs.

He also speaks on his corruption trial, Sowore’s trial, the Buhari administration, and why his party, the PDP, cannot provide effective opposition to the ruling party.

Excepts:
Q) It is about five years since your party, the PDP, was voted out. What is your impression of the current state of the nation?

Okupe: There seems to be tension everywhere and virtually in every area of our daily existence.

Q) Can you expatiate? Why is there tension?

Okupe: Reasons for tension are obvious. The recent Sowore court drama has created a lot of fear and bad blood among citizens in the country. The assault on the rule of law and the fear of the emergence of totalitarianism are issues heating the polity.

Q) Sowore has accused the government of ineptitude and poor governance. He wants a revolution. How should the government have responded to his call for protest?

Okupe: His call for a revolution should simply have been ignored. At the time he made the call he was merely filibustering. His call was a mere attention-seeking and rabble-rousing escapade.

Q) The government says it was treason, an attempt to unsettle or dethrone the Buhari regime.

Okupe: The courts are competent enough and the institution empowered by the Nigerian constitution to make a decision on that.

Q) You are a PDP chieftain. How do you rate the APC/Buhari administration so far?

Okupe: I am no longer interested in rating or criticising Buhari or APC government. One is that the government has no tolerance for criticism and has not shown any evidence of taking advantage of copious beneficial resource materials, criticisms and advice thrown at it from various segments of the society.
I am more interested and wish to devote my time and energy towards educating the upcoming political class and the general public on non -partisan issues that have bedevilled our polity for years and have resisted solutions. I am also interested in helping to rebuild PDP so that it can be remodelled, rebranded and better suited to take over governance from the present incumbent APC.

Q) It is almost five years since the APC dethroned your party. The APC has repeatedly claimed that it has rescued Nigeria from the path of destruction on which your party placed it for 16 years.

Okupe: The APC can claim what they like. The taste of the pudding is in the eating. Nigerians now know better, even non-Nigerians too. All indices and parameters for assessing government functionality and effectiveness are there for everybody to see. The only misfortune here is that approval or disapproval by the electorate based on their rating of government performance cannot be reflected electorally largely because of an absence of free and fair elections and judicial interference by the government.

Q) Are you saying the last generation elections were not free and fair?

Okupe: No argument. Most of the recently held elections in Nigeria have not been free or fair. In this saga, the electoral umpire is also culpable notwithstanding the outward facade of purity or innocence the leadership of that organisation puts on. It’s not me just saying this. Local and international observers have repeatedly and resoundingly echoed this position.

Q)  But there are many people who believe that the PDP was too weak and disorganised to have won the last presidential election.

Okupe: Absolute fallacy. After the Port Harcourt Convention, the PDP became a highly mobile, resilient and unconquerable fighting machine. Only the massive rigging machinery of government with the connivance of INEC and security forces could have subdued and defeated the pdp.

President Uhuru Kenyatta inaugurates 50MW Garissa solar power plant in Mbalambala.

The plant, which is the largest solar energy installation in East and Central Africa, adds to Kenya's rich profile as the epicenter of green energy generation in Africa. 

Gunmen kidnapp popular Nigeria singer -Duncan mighty.

The "Port Harcourt 1st son" crooner was abducted in Owerri, Imo State capital where he performed last night.

No group has claimed responsibility so far for his abduction .

Some angry Governors plotting to replace Oshiomhole with Yari_ Kabiru Mafara Alleged.

Kabir Marafa, a former senator, has alleged that some governors are plotting to replace Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with AbdulAziz Yari, former governor of Zamfara state.

Speaking with journalists in Zamfara, Marafa alleged that the governors nursing this idea are out to take control of the structures of the ruling party.

However, the former lawmaker refused to disclose the identities of the governors but said those opposed to the leadership of the national chairman are indirectly targetting President Muhammadu Buhari with the aim to make the president and his supporters politically irrelevant before the 2023 general election.

“The fight is not against Oshiomole, it is actually against the president himself. It is only that they don’t have the guts to say it now, but they will when the time is ripe,” Marafa said.

“It is evident that the plot to unseat Comrade Adams Oshiomole by a gang of President Buhari’s adversaries has thickened. This plot is merely aimed at hijacking the party structures and handing it over to Yari – who till now is the arrowhead of all the people that harbour a lot of bitterness against the president.

“The Governors in concert with their cronies, within and outside the party, are doing everything possible to hijack the party structures to ensure that the president and his sympathisers are edged out of power equation in 2023.”

Marafa asked the president to be wary of Yari, citing instances in the past where he (Yari) “acted against Buhari”.

“Yari and his co-travellers’ stock in trade is treachery and backstabbing. The earlier the president and his men realizes it and act accordingly, the better for them and the party itself,” he said.

“Remember 2003 when the president and his party the ANPP lost the general election? While the president and his men where nursing the wound of loosing the election, one of the ANPP Governors now a major pillar of Yaris support and collaborator, was sighted on national television cutting PDP Victory cake in the Villa! That is how all of them are.

“All these machinations are geared toward hijacking the party or bouncing back to relevance and once that is done, the party’s future is doomed. President Buhari should buckle up to save the party from falling into the hands of his adversaries in his own best interest, interest of the party, and that of the nation in general.

“The party is built on justice, equity and fairness and that will surely be eluded if the likes of Yari are allowed to succeed. Make no mistake sir, those asking for Oshiomhole’s head today, are actually looking for your jugular.”

The clash between Marafa and Yari made the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to take control of Zamfara, which was a stronghold of the APC.

Court convicts five Yahoo boys in calabar .

The Uyo Zonal Office of the EFCC, on Thursday December 12, 2019, secured the conviction of 5 cyber criminals, popularly called Yahoo Boys before Justice S. M. Shuaibu of the Federal High Court Calabar, in Cross River State.

The convicts are: Omengala Emmanuel (a.k.a.Frank Hoffman), Obonga Valentine ( a.k.a Patrick Seaman), Segun Dele Jude (alias Hal Burlington), Promise Nkanga and Omengala Paul (alias Christopher Mason).

Before they were convicted and sentenced, the convicts pleaded guilty to the one count charge preferred against them separately by the EFCC for their various involvements in cyber crimes.

FG Bars Onnoghen from travelling, seize his passport.

The immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, has been barred from travelling out of the country by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Saturday PUNCH reports that the move may be part of a fresh probe into Onnoghen’s affairs. Onnoghen was convicted for not declaring his assets by the Code of Conduct Tribunal in April.

An internal report issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service, which was read out to our correspondent by a top officer, stated that Onnoghen, his wife and daughter were attempting to travel to Accra, Ghana when they were accosted by immigration officers.

The report stated, “On November 11, 2019, retired Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, was attempting to travel to Accra, Ghana. He was in company with his wife, Nkoyo, and daughter.

“His passport, with number A50445233, was flagged because Justice Onnoghen’s name was on the watch list. The passport is currently in custody of the NIS.”

The senior officer told Saturday PUNCH that the passport seized from Onnoghen was not a diplomatic passport but the ordinary green passport.

The immigration officer told our correspondent that the directive to seize Onnoghen’s passport came from the Presidency.

“Justice Onnoghen will have to meet with the Presidency to know why his passport was seized. We are only following instructions,” the officer said.

Saturday PUNCH was informed by a top judicial officer that Onnoghen’s decision to challenge his conviction by the CCT might have angered the retired Muhammadu Buhari regime.

The Appeal Court had condemned the Buhari regime for the manner in which the trial of Onnoghen was conducted.

In a judgment by the three-man bench led by Justice Stephen Adah, it was unanimously ruled that the CCT’s ex parte order breached the ex-CJN’s right to a fair hearing.

While reading the lead judgment, Justice Adah stated that the proceedings of the CCT shouldn’t have been conducted “in a shady or clandestine manoeuvre” the way the ex parte order was obtained by the prosecution.

However, the court said it could not upturn Onnoghen’s conviction since the trial had already taken place.

A source said, “Even though the NJC (National Judicial Council) recommended that Onnoghen should be paid his benefits in full, I can tell you that he has not been paid anything and all his allowances have stopped.

“His accounts remain frozen. It was some judges who even contributed money for him recently for medicals expenses.

“I was told that his ordeal might be connected with his decision to challenge his conviction at the Court of Appeal which the government of the day might have found embarrassing because the Court of Appeal accused them of depriving Onnoghen of a fair hearing.”

Onnoghen, who was CJN from March 1, 2017 to April 5, 2019, was suspended by Buhari in January, a few weeks to the presidential election, on allegations that he failed to declare five bank accounts in his asset declaration form at the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Buhari hinged his decision to suspend Onnoghen on an ex parte order by the CCT Chairman, Dannladi Umar.

Onnoghen’s many attempts to stop his trial were futile.

He also faced a mini-trial at the NJC where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission presented evidence against him.

The NJC subsequently recommended his retirement with full benefits and Onnoghen immediately complied and tendered his resignation before Buhari on April 5.

However, his resignation letter was not acknowledged by the buhari regime until his conviction by the CCT on May 28.

The CCT ordered Onnoghen’s sacking and barred him from holding public office for 10 years.

It also ordered that the sums of money in different currencies found in his Standard Chartered Bank accounts, a total of N46m, be forfeited to the Buhari regime.

It was reported by an online news outlet,

Oshiomhole under house arrest as APC rally fails to hold.

The National chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was on Friday morning placed under temporary house arrest as the police prevented him from attending the planned APC mega rally in Benin.
Following the violent political clashes between the supporters of Oshiomhole and those of the Edo state governor, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu on Thursday morning announced the suspension of the rally organised to welcome a former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor Osagie Ize- Iyamu and his loyalists to the APC.

According to a credible source who is monitoring the development in Edo state said the State Commissioner of Police, Lawal Tanko Jimeta went to Oshiomhole’s residence on Friday morning and stopped him from going out to attend any rally in view of the prevailing security situation in the state.
“As we speak, Oshiomhole is under house arrest because the Commissioner of Police told him you can’t go anywhere”.

“Also, the rally they were proposing to hold in Garrick couldn’t hold because the police authority has placed a ban on it. The state government also issued a statement banning any open rally”.
“On the strength of that, the rally failed and all the artistes and musicians who were supposed to play at the venue were dispersed including media houses like Channels TV, AIT who were already scheduled to do live broadcast of the event”.
“A few people now went to Ize-Iyamu’s residence where he addressed them. That is the situation for now” our source said.

Okorocha's son graduate from US University.

The last of the the three biological sons from the tribe of ROCHAS,Mr Amamchi Rochas Okorocha has bagged a bachelors degree at far away United States of America.

The latest graduate is flanked by his immediate elder brother,Amen,Senior Sister,Mrs Uloma Nwosu (R) & mother,former First Lady,Nkechinyere Rochas,Mrs Uju Anwuka  & Ucy Rochas(L) alongside grandchildren.

Gov. Ortom receive another award.

Barely 48 hours after receiving award of Uncommon Courage in Governance and Protection of Humanity from the Tribune newspapers in Lagos, Governor Samuel Ortom is set to receive another prestigious award from the Nigerian Pilot newspapers.

The award of "Prestigious Man of The Year (defender of the people)," will be conferred on the Governor tomorrow at Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Abuja.

In a letter of nomination to the Governor by the management of the newspapers, the title described Governor Ortom as determined and selfless with people-centred policies despite persecution from high quarters, stressing that he never betrayed the trust and confidence reposed in him by people of the state.

The award ceremony is put together to mark the 10th anniversary celebration of the Nigerian Pilot newspapers.

Mamman duara gave directive without my husband concert.

First Lady, Aisha Buhari has alleged that Alhaji Mamm

an Daura gave a presidential directive without her husband’s knowledge.

Until recently, Mamman Daura, a nephew of President Muhammadu Buhari lives in Glass House inside the presidential villa.

The feud between the first lady and Daura’s family worsened in October when she returned from a two-month foreign trip.

It became public knowledge when a video of the president’s wife asking questions and making comments about being locked out of a room and demanding that some people should pack their belongings went viral. She engaged Daura’s daughter, Fatima.

Daily Trust had exclusively reported in September that the first lady angered by the development in the villa, left for abroad in August. The feud festered when she returned.