Metro
EFCC to invite Ondo Speaker over N200m for phone calls, investigates N11.5b allocation to finance ministry
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has started investigating the allocation of N11.5 billion as a security vote for the Ondo State Ministry of Finance in this year’s budget.
Vanguard gathered that personnel of the EFCC have arrived in the state to verify the budget details.
The leadership of the State Assembly would soon be summoned to provide further insights into the budget’s passage, particularly the N11.5 billion allocation for the Finance Ministry as a security vote.
The allocation of N11.5b and others for the finance ministry has raised concerns about transparency and accountability in the state’s financial management regime.
Also, in the Ministry of Finance 2025 budget, an additional allocation of N250 million was budgeted for honorarium and sitting allowances and N1.5 billion for contingencies.
Recall that the state governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on December 10, 2024, presented a N655 billion budget to the Ondo State House of Assembly.
Aiyedatiwa on December 30, 2024, signed into law the budget passed by the Assembly after it had been increased by N43.4 billion, bringing the total budget to N698 billion.
Meanwhile, The Nigerian Anti-Corruption Network (NACN) has condemned the inclusion of the N11.5 billion security vote.
In a statement signed by its National President, Comrade Mike Aderosoye, the group expressed outrage over what it described as an “affront to the sensibilities of Ondo State citizens.”
Aderosoye said that “It is unacceptable for a commissioner, who reports to the governor, to appropriate a security vote budget head when the governor is already receiving one.
This raises suspicions of gross mismanagement and deliberate looting of public resources.
It also criticized Governor Aiyedatiwa for failing to prioritize meaningful governance.
“It is shameful that a governor who has not commissioned a kilometre of road in the past year and has abandoned countless projects would allow his commissioner to insert such an outrageous sum into the budget for personal gain,” the group stated.
The NACN urged the EFCC to thoroughly investigate the matter, warning against any attempt to sweep it under the carpet.
“The EFCC must prove its commitment to fighting corruption. We will not hesitate to seek legal redress if this case is abandoned,” it said.
The group called on the state government to redirect the N11.5 billion to developmental projects, including roads, healthcare, and education.
“This money belongs to the people of Ondo State and should be used to alleviate their suffering, not to fund dubious security votes.
A top civil servant staff who spoke on condition of anonymity described the allocation as “strange.”
A source in the EFCC said that “We are investigating whether such an amount has ever been allocated to the ministry in previous budgets.
We are also interested in understanding the purpose of this allocation and how it will be spent, especially since the governor already receives a security vote package which is not disclosed.
“This is not a witch hunt but a clear way of trying to find out the truth of the matter on the case at hand.
Several anti-corruption bodies have called and made inquiries on the matter like you are also doing right now”
Meanwhile, members of the public have expressed concern over the allocation of N200m to all members of the Assembly on phone calls and also that of the speaker which is to gulp N280,000,00 in the fiscal year among other expenses accrued to the Assembly including travelling and Security.
In an interview, civil servants said that “the allocation is nothing but misplacement of priorities on the part of the Assembly members and that of the government.
They said further that, the constituencies of the members are nothing to write home about in terms of infrastructure and Education
“it’s a pity that we are where we are today in the state. According to her ” She said the state is the least developing state in terms of infrastructure in the southwest, that the assembly members can not fight for this but rather to be sharing the commonwealth of the people.
The Finance commissioner, R S Omowunmi Isaac, could not be reached for comment.
But a top officer in the ministry said that the allocation to the finance ministry has been thoroughly scrutinized by the assembly and passed.
He said that there is no reason to raise unnecessary alarm.
Also, efforts to speak with the Speaker, Rt Hon Olamide Oladiji proved abortive.
A lawmaker who spoke in confidence said that the members are not afraid of the EFCC officials since they don’t have skeletons in their cupboards.
The anti-graft agency officials are not lions. We’ll open our books for them to scrutinise. The budget is now a public document. There’s nothing to fear.
Vanguard
Metro
Benue boils again as gunmen k!ll six, others missing after invasion
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Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen have attacked several communities of Tse Ugema Chul, Mbakesa, Ugbaam, in Ukum Local Government Area (LGA), of Benue state killing six villagers.
Tse Ugema village settlement is just a few kilometres to Zaki Biam International Yam Market.
As at the time of filing this report on Sunday evening, a resident from the area, who didn’t want to be named, told newsmen on phone that six dead bodies have already been recovered while many others are still missing.
It was gathered that the incident took place on Friday when some cattle strayed into their farmlands and destroyed their yams.
Some youths in the area mobilized to defend their village and farm produce from the invaders when they were ambushed and killed.
The source said “while the youths were going after the cattle, unknown gunmen who laid ambush open fire and killed many of them.
He said they informed men of Nigeria Army who are stationed at a village called Wuaze, in Ukum LG which is few meters away from the scene of the attack.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benue Command, CSP Catherine Anene said she was yet to get report from Ukum.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Ukum LG, Mr Jonathan Modi has confirmed the attack.
Modi who went to the scene of the incident said he couldn’t grant interview on phone because he was in a pensive mood.
He said “I’m in Zaki Biam right now and in pains about what happened in Zaki Biam.”
Metro
Despite N10m ransom payment, 300L student dies in bandits camp
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Zarah Abubakar Shehu, a 21-year-old student at the Federal University Gusau, has tragically passed away while in captivity, four months after being abducted along with her two siblings.
This information was shared on Sunday by Zagazola Makama, an expert in counter-insurgency with a focus on the Lake Chad region, via a post on his X account.
Zarah, who was in her third year of studies, was taken from her residence in the Damba area of Gusau during the early hours of Sunday, November 3, 2024, by armed assailants.
Makama reported that the kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of N35 million for their release, but after negotiations, they settled for N10 million.
Despite receiving the ransom, the abductors refused to release Zarah, instead insisting on the provision of four motorcycles (Boza) and four cartons of engine oil. After extensive efforts to fulfill these demands, the items were finally obtained.
However, upon informing the kidnappers’ leader, it was revealed that Zarah had already died and had been buried two days prior. She was the only daughter of her mother and endured four months of captivity before her tragic demise.
Metro
Doctor regrets relocating his wife to Canada who dumped him 4 months after
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A Nigerian doctor is devastated after his marriage went South shortly after he moved to Canada with his wife and two female kids.
The embattled man shared his story with Adeolatalks on Facebook and sparked mixed reactions on social media.
“I swear my wife ruined me in this country and we just landed o,” the man, who is Yoruba, lamented bitterly while chatting with Adeolatalks.
In a lengthy read, the man said his wife took advantage of the Canadian criminal justice system, which is not sympathetic to domestic abuse claims.
“…Please share my story, I am a doctor married to a doctor and we recently immigrated to Canada.
…We ended up separating when we arrived in Canada about 4 months later. She even went as far as to involve me in the criminal justice system here, which is not sympathetic to claims of domestic abuse…”
While admitting that they had arguments and that he was controlling, the man said he never hit his estranged wife, who hails from Edo.
“I admit we had arguments, and I accept that because I am older than her, I may have lorded some authority over her. My controlling behaviour was wrong, and I apologize. But I never for once hit her. It felt to me like a set up…”
He further accused her of being abusive and recounted how she got entangled in a N10 million loan while she was in Nigeria.
“However, when it came to finances, my wife was abusive. She became entangled in a loan cycle of approximately 10 million naira, which she used for self-care over the course of eight months
“I was unaware of this because I was not in the country at the time. This money was intended to be her personal contribution to the proof of funds for permanent resident immigrants, which she squandered without anything to show for it. I must add that my wife is not the fashionable type nor the type that spends money on herself.
I was livid when I found out about the loan and even sought to end the marriage because of her recklessness. She used Canadian immigration as a bargaining chip, claiming that if I did not provide funds for proof of funds, she would not travel with men and the children…”
The father of two added that she placed a restraining order on him, which prevents him from reaching her.
“As I speak to you, I do not know where she lives, and I can not talk to her because she issued a restraining order against me in this country, which she refused to lift even when asked by the government
“I have spoken to her family to reach out to her from Nigeria but they are not ready to.
“We have 2 little girls and I am concerned about them.”
He said he has done his best to resolve their differences but his estranged wife wants none of it. The man said she now lives with another guy.
“I have done my best to get her back but she got the police to put a no-contact order on me from the very first day. Her family won’t get involved.”
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