News

Rep Aguocha Visits Nnamdi Kanu, Resolves Access Restriction To His Lawyers

Published

5 hours ago

October 26, 2024

By Gloria Ikibah

Member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Obi Aguocha, representing, Umuahia North, and Umuahia South federal constituency, has taken significant steps to ensure improved access for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team and secure medical care for the detained leader.

The efforts followed after thelawyers representing Mazi Kanu reached out to Rep. Aguocha, voicing concerns over difficulties in meeting with their client.

In response, Rep. Aguocha sent urgent letters to the Department of State Services (DSS) and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, seeking their mediation.

As a resukt of the letter, the DSS clarified that recent delays in the legal access were due to an ongoing legal request by Kanu’s lawyers for the judge to recuse herself from the case. The DSS confirmed that both parties are aware of this legal process.

Naijablitznews.com reports that on October 24, 2024, Rep. Aguocha had personally visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, along with Kanu’s family member, Ms. Ezioma Stella Ikpo. During this visit, he updated Kanu on the current legal proceedings and reassured him of the support being extended.

In a promising outcome, the DSS has now granted Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team regular access to their client. Additionally, Rep. Aguocha confirmed that Kanu recently received private medical care, noting, “Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is keeping well and looks strong.”

He also commended the leadership of the for ensuring that Kanu’s healthcare needs are being met, including approving his choice of a private doctor. Kanu’s most recent medical check-up took place on October 3, 2024.

Rep. Aguocha expressed deep appreciation for the swift support from Speaker Abbas, stating, “This courageous intervention has been crucial in achieving these positive outcomes.”

He further emphasized the importance of upholding Kanu’s fundamental rights as guaranteed under Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution and relevant United Nations agreements.

Even as he continues to advocate for a political solution, Rep. Aguocha remains hopeful for a peaceful resolution in the South East and the eventual release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

News

Reps Discover Over N32bn Revenue Leakage At NUPRC

Published

5 hours ago

October 26, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives has called for a thorough investigation into the alarming financial irregularities by the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The House had in an investigative hearing held on Thursday uncovered N32,151,775,466.87 revenue leakages in the document submitted by NUPRC on revenue generated for federal government between 2015 to 2022.

The Chairman, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Rep. Bamidele Salam, during an investigative hearing with NUPRC expressed concerns about the reported revenue leakages and non-compliance with standard operating procedures.

The committee also discovered that N909,392,169.74 had been transferred directly to private accounts in Deposit Money Banks without adhering to TSA protocols.

The probe also focused on significant discrepancies, which includes N15,476,269,397.10 in transactions listed in Remita that were absent from the NUPRC data set, and N6,332,212,384.25 in transactions from the NUPRC data set that did not appear in Remita.

Additionally, there were notable value discrepancies in transactions between Remita and NUPRC, with N388,103,353.31 reported lower and N909,392,169.74 reported higher in Remita.

In light of these findings, the committee unanimously ordered Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, the Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC, along with other officials, to appear before them next Monday to explain the discovered infractions.

These developments raised concerns about financial management and transparency within the NUPRC, prompting the committee to call for a thorough investigation into these alarming irregularities.

News

Reps Say Dichotomy Btw HND, Degree Will Be Eliminated

Published

5 hours ago

October 26, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives has said that, the dichotomy between Degree and Higher National Diploma (HND) in status and employment in the country will be a thing of the past.

Chairman, House Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, Rep. Fuad Kayode Laguda gave the assurance during an interactive oversight engagement with the Rectors of Federal Polytechnic Shendam and Federal Polytechnic Wannune on Thursday, at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

The Chairman also stated that there are a number of proposed Bills to address the various challenges facing Polytechnics in the country aimed to strengthen them to provide the needed professional technical expertise towards the country’s quest for development.

According to Rep. Laguda, the essence of the meeting was to assess their budget performance and know the challenges facing the institutions and find ways to support them to enable them run smoothly and serve their intended purposes.

He said, “As we approach the 2025 budget year that’s coming next, we need to actually see to the performance of current year, previous years, to ascertain and to know to what level we will be doing future work, and to also understand what your individual challenges are in your institution and what you will require to move on”.

In his presentation, t

Rector, Federal Polytechnic Nyam-Shendam, Dr Mikaila Zakari Yau, said, they are still struggling to stay afloat since the creation of the Polytechnic in 2021 which he said kicked off without a temporary site but started from a primary school building in the community.

He said, “We are just giving a bush like this, donated by the state government as a start-up.

The Rector said N2 billion was given to them by TetFund as take-off grant part of which was used to buy a water tanker because there is no water in the school, renovated the existing primary school and carryout other projects for the takeoff of the institution.

Yau however informed the committee that, there was no take-off grant from the federal ministry of education but there has been steady budget with a fair release which enabled the institution to execute capital projects and structures needed for learning.

The Committee expressed displeasure that, the school has only 27 students for three years despite having with an academic and non academic strength of 245.

A member of the Committee said, “You only mention that the take-off grant was two billion. What about the other grant? How much was given to you for other grants? He said, we need to know how that money was expended. You didn’t tell us.

“So we need to know how those money was spent. Who and who get what? What is the outcome of the grant? Can we see who get a grant? Can we inspect them? Because 27 students for three years to a school. You said you’ve done only one admission. For two years, what were you doing?”.

Another member of the Committee said, “And I think this is a very, very peculiar case and situation in terms of the number of students you have. It is alarming.

“It is really, really alarming. And if for all reasons stated by you, because if I want to understand what you’re saying as far as where your school is located, you’ve said before us here that it is not a conducive environment. From what you have said”.

In his presentation, the Rector, Fedpoly Wannune, Benue State, Dr Tyover Ashinya apologised for what happened about the plan by the Committee to visit the school and the statement credited to him which the committee members found uncomplimentary.

He said, the school also started in 2021 and was the last six Polytechnics that were established during the second tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said, “So when the school came on board, we were given, as usual, there was a take-off grant. And if you go there now, we judiciously use the take-off ground for administrative block, academic block, classrooms, offices.

“We have whatever for a better start of an institution. And if you equally go there, we’ve been able to have students, because when we came on board, we decided that this school, within the vicinity, is going to be a wonderful catchment position for our students. So we have students of almost 1,000, at least”.

The Bursar and Director of Planning of Federal Polytechnic Wannune reeled out details of the School’s finances as well as projects before the Committee.

However, the Committee observed that, the presentations by the two institutions are both defective, as there a were many details that are required which were not presented like employment, adherence to federal character and others.

Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Laguda directed them to work on their presentations and re-submit within five working days.

“If you make a political decision as well, if I don’t appreciate the number of students, what I know is that the report is not accurate. You agree that the report is not accurate? Okay…let’s save ourselves the continuous agony and let’s also save ourselves face.

“I think at this point, if you can own up and say that you know your report is inaccurate, I would be saying to all my members and say that we grant you the grace to resubmit another report to us.

“That would be more comprehensive and I’ll be able to speak to all these questions we’ve been asking you all day. We do need pictures”, he stated.

News

N/West Power Outage: TCN Working with Security Agencies to Restore Power – MD Sule

Published

6 hours ago

October 26, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has engaged support from the Nigerian Army to secure the 330KV Shiroro-Kaduna Lines 1 & 2 after recent vandalism of power towers.

The Nigerian Air Force is also involved in helping to locate the exact damaged point, so that TCN engineers can commence repairs and restore electricity in the North West. This additional help is essential due to the difficult terrain, which has delayed TCN’s ability to access the affected area.

Naijablitznews.com reports that efforts are ongoing and in progress, this is as the Managing Director TCN, Abdul-Aziz Sule, is directing operations with urgency. TCN officials are actively working to repair the damaged transmission lines and bring relief to the North West region, where residents have faced significant uneasy due to the blackout caused by vandals.

In a phone conversation, Managing Director Abdul-Aziz Sule assured residents that the TCN is fully committed to restoring power.

Speaking through the Manager Public Affairs, Ndidi Mba, he emphasized that security agencies are closely supporting TCN’s work to locate and secure the fault lines.

“I can assure you that we are working in close collaboration with the security agencies to repair the damage and restore power supply,” said Mrs. Mba.

She explained that the dangerous nature of the terrain has made it challenging for engineers to access the site quickly.

“We have to be cautious as we rush to fix the lines because we’re dealing with real safety threats,” she added.

In a related development, a power sector expert highlighted the financial burden these sudden repairs place on TCN.

“These structures are expensive and hard to replace,” he noted, explaining that the effort to procure spare parts and transport them to the site is a significant challenge for the federal government. Speaking anonymously, the expert urged Nigerians to stay vigilant and help safeguard government installations, particularly transmission lines.

“This is beyond TCN’s responsibility alone. We all need to help protect these assets,” he said.

The expert also defended the management of TCN, and stressed that grid collapses are not the fault of management.

“How can you say grid collapse is a reason to sack the management?” he asked, pointing out that some critics, including certain civil society groups, have called for the removal of TCN leadership.

“These calls are baseless,” he added, even as he urged politicians to avoid trivializing serious issues.

“No one at TCN would wish for a grid collapse to occur,” he concluded.