News

Ugochinyere in hot soup as Arewa groups accuse him of hiring mercenaries to Blackmail Speaker Abbas

Published

1 month ago

August 14, 2024

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

A coalition of Arewa groups led by the Northern Stakeholders Consultative Forum (NSCF) along with 72 other civil society organisations (CSOs) have accused Hon.

Ikenga Ugochinyere, the member representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives of fresh plots to blackmail the speaker of the House, Hon. Tajudeen Abass, as well as the deputy speaker, Hon. Kalu Benjamin, over a House committee position.

The northern groups further urged the House to probe Hon. Ugochinyere’s alleged sinister moves to discredit the green chamber.

Recall that the speaker had dissolved the ad-hoc Joint Downstream and Midstream Committee co-chaired by Hon. Ugochinyere set up to investigate the importation of adulterated petroleum products, the non-availability of crude oil for domestic refineries, and other energy security issues. A statement by the house further disclosed that a new committee will be inaugurated to probe the developments in the oil sector.

Reports say that the committee was disbanded following allegations of unruly behaviour by Hon. Ugochinyere, who is also the chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream). It was alleged that Mr Ikenga hijacked the committee, including singlehandedly signing documents that ought to have been jointly signed by both chairmen.

Speaking at a press conference in Kaduna on Tuesday, the convener of NSCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, alleged that in his bid to force his way back into the new committee, Hon. Ugochinyere had hired private investigators to gather damaging information against the speaker and his deputy to blackmail them.

According to Yerima; in recent weeks, Nigeria has been enveloped in significant turmoil, particularly within the energy sector. This tumultuous climate, exacerbated by the ongoing tensions between the Dangote Refinery and regulatory bodies, compels us to reflect on the implications of the actions — or inactions — of our lawmakers In light of our commitment to promoting transparency, we have undertaken an investigative approach regarding the recent crisis surrounding the joint committee tasked with overseeing the oil industry.

“Our ongoing investigations have unearthed deeply troubling patterns of behavior. As recently as July 4, 2024, unusual activities were reported around the House of Representatives premises. Subsequent inquiries unveiled that private investigators had been engaged by Mr. Ugochinyere, purportedly to gather information for the purpose of blackmail against the speaker of the House, Hon. Tajudeen Abass, as well as the deputy speaker, Hon. Kalu Benjamin. These actions appear to be aimed at assembling compromising evidence to intimidate them into allowing his continued leadership of the Committee on Petroleum (Downstream).

In our quest for truth, we earnestly call upon the leadership of the House of Representatives to procure and review the CCTV footage from the house complex on the mentioned date. We are confident that these recordings will validate the claims, revealing various meetings held between Hon. Ugochinyere and the private investigators within his office premises.

“Alarmingly, it seems Mr. Ugochinyere sought to obscure his conversations by augmenting the volume of a television, mistakenly believing it would mask their dialogues from surveillance devices.

However, we assert that these security measures successfully captured their exchanges, laying bare the malicious intent behind their actions.

“Moreover, we have uncovered indications that Mr. Ugochinyere harbors aspirations to cultivate deleterious information about Deputy Speaker Kalu, whom he views as a potential rival.

This rivalry appears to stem from the perception that Deputy Speaker Kalu operates as a facilitator for funds from the Dangote Refinery. Such dynamics illustrate a troubling environment, where personal ambitions overshadow civic duty.

“The unsettling reality we confront today reflects an assembly that has deviated from the ideals of service and integrity —an institution where the corrupted ethos has permeated the legislative framework. The allegations against Hon. Ugochinyere Ikenga underscores a disconcerting narrative of exploitation and corruption, which is detrimental to the trust bestowed upon our legislative representatives.

“In the interest of restoring public confidence and institutional integrity, we implore the speaker of the house to initiate a comprehensive investigation into these serious allegations, particularly concerning the activities of the disbanded committee. The broader implications of such behaviour — if left unchecked — pose a significant risk to our democratic foundations and must be addressed with utmost severity.”

News

Makinde Throws Weight Behind Damagun Amid Moves To Sack PDP Acting National Chairman

Published

3 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde has Declared Support For Damagun Amid Moves To Sack to PDP Acting National Chairman.

The leadership of the PDP said they had resolved to replace Damagum with someone from North Central as the party’s acting National Chairman.

The leadership of the PDP said they had resolved to replace Damagum with someone from North Central as the party’s acting National Chairman

This was announced on Tuesday by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, hinting that the next chairman of the party will be from the North Central region of the country.

This decision automatically disqualifies Damagum who is from Yobe State, northeastern region.

Damagum is a loyalist of the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

He started having issues with the party’s stakeholders and governors when he handed over the party’s structure in Rivers State to Nyesom Wike.

However, Makinde while speaking on Wednesday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the upgrade of the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport, Ibadan, to international standards, said he was not in support of the removal of Damagum.

The governor also said this is not the right time for the opposition party to think of changing its leadership considering that Edo State governorship poll is a few days away.

He said: “And I am glad that our acting national chairman and members of his National Working Committee (NWC) are here. I read yesterday that there is another meeting in Bauchi by some NWC members.

“Let me say clearly, I have been discussing with my brother on our way here, that we are 100 per cent in support of the Iliya Damagum-led NWC. Whatever decision you take, we will support you, to reposition our party.”

Let me also say I don’t think this is the right time, even if we have issues with ourselves, we have an important election on Saturday, so we should all rally around and deliver our candidate, Dr Asue Ighodalo,” he said.

News

BBNaija 9: El-Rufai collected my number, school address but never called – Onyeka reveals

Published

5 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Austin Ojomah

By Francesca Hangeior

Housemate Onyeka in the ongoing season 9 of Big Brother Naija reality TV show themed ‘No Loose Guard’ has alleged that former El-Rufai took her number and her school address but failed to call or reach out to her.

Onyeka revealed this on Thursday as housemates incidentally went through their childhood memories through old pictures brought into the house.

While going through Onyeka’s pictures, Tejay sighted a picture of the lawyer and El-Rufaiand enquired “Is this not El-Rufai.

“That’s him now, he collected my number and school address. He never called me.

“See him here collecting my number,” Onyeka explained.

It was not however confirmed if the El-Rufai mentioned is the immediate-past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, or someone else with the name.

Recall that Onyeka who came into the show with her sister Chizoba was crowned as the “Queen of Gossip” by Victoria and Kassia during an altercation last week.

News

SEE 20 billionaires supporting Trump and Kamala in the race for The White House

Published

4 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

The race for the United States Presidency has reached a fever pitch. As the US presidential election draws close, the financial backing of billionaires has become a defining factor in the campaigns of leading candidates.

Donald Trump, the Republican party candidate and Kamala Harris, who took the baton from President Biden for the Democratic party, continue to rally the support of some of America’s wealthiest, drawing powerful endorsements from influential figures in the country seeking to shape its future.

Elections are run with money, and political parties and their candidates require a lot of it to run successful campaigns. This process is supported by the high and mighty who donate good money towards the government they wish to see in power. These funds cover a range of expenses, including advertising, staffing, travel, and organising events.

From business partners to friends, acquaintances and wealthy individuals who want to see the tide turn in their favour, here are 20 billionaires supporting Trump and Kamala as the next US President.

Billionaires supporting Donald Trump
1. Elon Musk
Perhaps being Donald Trump’s biggest fan on X, which he now owns, the world’s richest man Elon Musk could also be Trump’s loudest supporter. In July, the founder worth, $250.8 billion announced plans to commit around $45 million a month to a new super political-action committee, called America PAC, backing former President Donald Trump’s presidential run.

2. Linda McMahon
Linda McMahon is the wife of Vince McMahon, the former CEO of WWE. McMahon, who is currently worth $3.1 billion had made up to $16 million in donations to Trump groups to support his election campaign. She chairs the pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policy Institute, serving on the board of Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media and Technology Group.

3. Diane Hendricks
“I know how hard it is to build a company from nothing,” she said. “And we need a president who understands that too,” Diane Hendricks, called America’s richest self-made woman, said on stage at the Republican National Convention in her home state of Wisconsin last month. Forbes says that the $20.9 billion-worth entrepreneur has already pumped $6 million into groups that support him.

4. Andrew Beal
American banker and businessman, Andrew Beal gave more than $4 million to Trump committees and other GOP groups in 2020. The $12.2 billion- valued investor is now betting on Trump again, putting $1.8 million behind Trump’s 2024 ticket.

5. Kelcy Warren
Kelcy Warren, the billionaire in energy has been fond of Trump. Warren had given $100,000 to help elect him in 2016, then dropped more than $11 million in 2020. This time around, he has given about $6 million to support Trump’s campaign. Warren’s Energy Transfer is best known for the Dakota Access Pipeline, which Trump helped expedite in one of his first acts in office.

6. Elizabeth Uihlein & Richard Uihlein
Liz and Dick Uihlein are among the Republican party’s most generous donors, giving tens of millions per cycle. The couple have donated $5 million to trump groups according to Forbes. In 2021, the duo celebrated Trump’s “America First” trade policies and called out publicly-held companies for being “too concerned about their stock share price.”

7. Phil Ruffin
Ruffin is a significant Donald Trump donor, as well as his business partner and close friend. His donations to Trump’s PACs and committees have reached $3.3 million so far this cycle, surpassing his combined donations from the last two elections.

8. Geoffrey Palmer
Geoffrey Palmer is one of the largest apartment developers in Los Angeles, with nearly 13,000 units in the greater L.A. metro area. Palmer is a major financial backer of former president Donald Trump, donating some $16 million to his campaigns and PACs from 2016 to 2022. This year, he’s up to $3 million. The developer is worth $3.1 billion.

9. J.Joe.Ricketts
Ricketts, whose family owns the Chicago Cubs, poured $3 million into a Republican anti-Trump group back in 2016 with his wife. They have given a combined $2 million to Trump groups so far this time around, betting against Kamala.

10. Jimmy John Liautaud
Since Jimmy John sold the majority of his business to a private equity firm, he has gotten more involved in politics, as has his wife Leslie. She backed Trump in 2016 and 2020 and John joined her this year, giving $2.8 million to Trump groups so far.

Billionaires supporting Kamala Harris
1. Mark Cuban
The billionaire Shark Tank star and former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks is one of the Democrats’ most valuable supporters. Valued at US$5.4 billion according to Forbes, Cuban, who is known to have attended a Joe Biden fundraiser, has retweeted various posts about Harris’ campaign, and signed the “VCs for Kamala” pledge.

2. Reid Hoffman
LinkedIn co-founder, Reid Hoffman has been a long-time Democratic donor and wasted no time backing Harris after Biden dropped. In January, he poured $2 million into a super political action committee (PAC) for Biden’s campaign. The former CEO, worth $2.5 billion plans to open a fundraiser for Harris and has been reported to push Netflix chairman Reed Hastings to donate US$7 million to a PAC supporting the current Vice President.

3. Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, and OpenAI investor has backed Harris to win the elections in November following the withdrawal of President Biden, who he hosted a fundraiser for in May. Worth $7.2 billion per Forbes, the entrepreneur has donated to Super PACs in support of Harris.

4. Chris Sacca
Chris Sacca made early bets investing in Twitter and Uber through his venture capital firm Lowercase Capital. Now he’s making bets of Kamala Harris to be the next US president after donating to Biden’s campaign before he dropped out. Sacca noted that he and his partner Clay Dumas have “invested millions of dollars and countless hours helping build organisations and companies that we think have the best shot at giving blue candidates an edge in a game that is rigged against them.”

5. Eric Schmidt
Worth $22.5 billion per Forbes, the former CEO of Alphabet has given $1.6 million to Future Forward PAC, a Democratic super PAC, and $1.16 million to the Biden Victory Fund.

6. Dustin Moskovitz
Moskovitz, who helped to launch Facebook (now Meta Platforms) in 2004, gave up to $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund before he dropped out of the race. Now, he has directed his attention to Kamala who goes against the same opponent, Trump.