Senator Ali Ndume (North East) has been nominated as Senate Majority
Leader while Senator Bala Na'Allah (North West) has been nominated as
Deputy majority leader.
List of principal officers of the senate as announced by Senate President
Senate Leader -Senator Ali Ndume
Senate Deputy Leader – Bala Ibn Na’Allah
Senate Chief Whip – yet to be named
Deputy Whip – Francis Alimikhena
Meanwhile, the Lawan-led camp has objected to this list...
The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase turned 59 years old last
Sunday June 21st and had a quiet mass at the police House Chapel to
thank God for his blessings. More pics after the cut..
FILE
PHOTO: PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI RECEIVING THE REPORT OF THE APC
TRANSITION COMMITTEE FROM THE CHAIRMAN, MALAM AHMED JODA AT THE DEFENCE
GUEST HOUSE IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY (12/6/15).
After three weeks of
consultations with international and Nigeria’s political leaders,
President Muhammadu Buhari appears set to effect major changes in the
administration of the country in a bid to translate the ‘change’ mantra
of his party into reality. To start with, the President is said to have
accepted the recommendation of the transition committee he raised a few
weeks ago to slash the number of ministries from the present 42 to 19
with a view to saving cost and making them more effective and responsive
to the needs of Nigerians.
In the same vein, many of the
ministries have been merged to ensure proper coordination of duties and
ensure greater efficiency and service delivery.
A source close to the
Presidency told Sunday Vanguard that the number of Federal Government
departments and agencies had also been trimmed in line with the policy
of the administration.
Effectively, it means that no
fewer than 50 of the MDAs that were not backed by relevant laws might be
scrapped and their staff moved into relevant departments to save cost.
The Presidency source
hinted,"But the point being made is that relevant MDAs that will exist
under the present administration must be those backed by laws.
"What that means is that the era of doing things the wrong way to please certain persons in positions of power is over."
Shedding light on some of the
ministries that had been merged, the official pointed out that the
Ministry of Aviation and relevant agencies had been subsumed with Inland
Waterways and associated agencies.
Similarly, the Ministry of
Agriculture has been merged with that of Water Resources under what the
Presidency source described as the consolidation of larger ministries.
It was learnt that under the
administration of Buhari, only 19 ministers and 17 ministers of state
would operate as opposed to the previous arrangement where there were at
least 42.
It was further gathered that
some ministries would be run by senior ministers while others would be
manned by junior ministers to save cost.
On the fight against corruption, the source disclosed to Sunday Vanguard
that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is to be
merged with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, to
tackle graft in a new way that would be prompt, fearless and decisive.
Buhari, who travelled out of
Abuja since returning from the African Union meeting in South Africa,
late last week, is expected to join his wife, Aisha, at the Presidential
Villa, for the first time after being sworn-in on May 29.
The wife had moved into the
Villa on Thursday ahead of the President to prepare the ground for his
formal assumption of work at the seat of power. He has been operating
from the Defence House in the last three weeks.
A top source also said Buhari
was expected to make some key appointments this week so as to get the
machinery of his administration running. The delay in naming the
critical staff of his office had forced some of his key loyalists to
demand that he acts fast to deliver the change he promised Nigerians
during the campaigns.
MOVED to rehabilitate the dilapidated infrastructure in the State, Rivers State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with two construction companies, Messrs Julius Berger Plc and CCECC Nigeria Limited.
The pactwas signed recently in Government House, Port Harcourt and will cover about 33km road stretching from the old Port Harcourt Township and Diobu areas and to be delivered in 120 days.
The Governor Nyesom Wike noted that, the move was aimed at fulfilling his promise made during his inauguration to rid Port Harcourt of bad roads and to give uplift infrastructure within the city centre.
Wike said the choice of the two construction companies was as a result of their reputation to deliver standard and quality jobs, saying that works in Abuja and Akwa Ibom State speak volumes of their ability to meet expectations.
He emphasized that, "We don't want to play politics with our roads and that is why we engaged these companies. The Governor noted " Julius Berger Plc will rehabilitate areas covering Obi-Wali Road, part of Ogbunabali, Tombia Extension, Evo Road, Woji Road in GRA and Azikiwe/UTC Junction all through old Port Harcourt Township areas.
The company is also expected to resuscitate traffic streetlights in the areas, while CCECC Nigeria Limited is expected to cover all road in Diobu axis, including drainages and other works.
Speaking shortly, after signing the MOU representatives of the two companies, assured the State Government of quality jobs and in due time.
Mr. Marco Braun of Julius Berger thanked the governor and the people of the state for the confidence reposed in them saying the contract is a call to contribute their quota to development in Rivers State. He said, "after seven years Julius Berger is back again".
On his part, Managing Director of Chinese firm CCECC Nigeria Limited, Mr. Li Qingyong promised not to fail as expected, emphasizing that the job was an opportunity to improve in the quality of infrastructure in the state.
Meanwhile, Wike, has promised that all on-going projects relevant to the prosperity of Rivers people would be completed, irrespective of the administration that initiated such projects.
The governor who spoke while inspecting the Woji-Elelenwo-Akpajo road project, stressed that his administration would complete the road project because it would decongest traffic on the Aba road.
The Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, has assured residents
that tolls will not be collected at the second toll point on the Lekki-
Epe Expressway.
Ambode made the remark at an
interactive session with journalists at the Banquet Hall of the Lagos
House, Ikeja, a statement said on Sunday.
The governor, in the statement
by his Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna, said his concern was ensuring
the completion of the road.
He said, "We must start
thinking of the future concerning that road. We said we will have an
International Airport in Epe, and an Export Processing Zone in Lekki and
a Deep Seaport also in Lekki.
"Should we not start thinking
about how we will improve and create a 10-lane road between Ikorodu,
Itoikin, Epe and Ijebu Ode so that people can go out from there? There
is no point constructing the road, paying tolls and in five years' time,
the road is gone."
The governor said once the
Lagos-Badagry Expressway, which was being expanded into 10-lane, was
completed, the community would be opened up for business activities.
He added that his administration would make careful efforts to grow the tourism potential of the state.
He said, "As more means of
transportation come on board, the more than 600,000 private car owners
and 120,000 motorcycles that are being put on the road in the state on a
daily basis will reduce in number."
He said his administration had
decided to scale up governance by rearranging the civil service through
the realignment of some ministries and agencies, while creating a new
Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment.
Ambode said, "We have said this
is a government of continuity, but it is continuity with improvement.
It is about making life easier for the people. We are receptive to new
ideas and that is why we are going to be creative, innovative and
thinking out of the box."
An aggrieved nurse just sent me this email. I have no idea what auxiliary nurses are but please read..
I need to call the attention of the ministry of health and the nursing and midwifery Council of Nigeria to wake up from their slumber. It's not a new news that Auxiliary Nurses have taken over the private hospitals, there by giving bad name to the profession and causing the death of many. Can u imagine the penalty for those training killers? N1000 at the expense of peoples lives. I know of one hospital in Egbeda, Lagos state that duplicates registered Nurses license and give it to auxiliary Nurses. My dear country people it's not Nurses that are killing your babies, or causing them lasting deformity, neither is it the registered Nurses that circumcises your child wrongly, it is those killers called Auxiliary Nurses that don't know the scientific rationale behind what they are doing. Nigerians if you love yourself, your family, your friends, SAY NO TO AUXILIARY NURSES. And to the NAMCN, keep sleeping, keep increasing license fee, keep increasing examination fees and don't do the needful, keep collecting bribes and form blind eyes to the issue, till your grand childs leg is deformed by an auxiliary, or till you are sick and you rushed to a private hospital where an auxiliary administer your drugs wrongly to facilitate your death.
Chief nurse Onome on behalf of the Registered Nurses.
Justice Lawal Akapo of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja on Monday June 22, 2015, convicted and sentenced one Emmanuel Osita (a.k.a Chuks) to three years imprisonment on a two count charge of obtaining money by false pretence. The convict was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, sequel to a petition from a legal practitioner on behalf of one Mrs. Veronica Okonkwo, an eighty-one (81) year-old woman who was the victim.
The convicts while operating as a commercial tri-cyclist conspired with other persons who are still at large and falsely represented to the victim that they had the capacity to produce local and foreign currencies from pieces of papers by dipping them into mercury.
Osita and his accomplices hoodwinked the 81-year-old woman to let go the sum of N120, 000.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira) as registration fee with a mercury company prior to the procurement of the chemical. The octogenarian was also induced to sell her property in Festac Town Lagos for N27 million and the proceeds appropriated by the convict and his co-travellers.
Upon his arrest, the convict was arraigned on 1st July, 2014. He subsequently pleaded guilty after making restitution to the victim; including the property valued at N27 million as the alleged buyer forfeited same to the victim. Based on his plea and the restitution of the victim, Justice Lawal Akapo convicted and sentenced the accused to three years imprisonment without any option of fine.
President Buhari has ordered the dismantling of military checkpoints
nationwide.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Aliyu Ismaila, made this
known to State House correspondents after a meeting President Buhari had
with Service Chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja earlier today.
Report
sent in by freelance Nigerian journalist, Ihechukwu Njoku about a
fraudster who made some shocking confessions at the Synagogue church
recently. Read below...
A
Nigerian internet fraudster known as the ‘king of dating’ for his
sophisticated tactics of online manipulation has given an eye-opening
confession at a Lagos-based church.
Samuel Johnson, an Edo State indigene, explained that his journey into
advanced internet scamming began in The University of Port Harcourt
after he joined the ‘Black-Axe’ cult.
“I followed them into a very thick forest during the
night of initiation,” the young man narrated. He was just 19 years old at
the time. “We reached a place where there
was a candle and a coffin encircled by 50 young men. They tortured us with
canes until we started bleeding. They then cut my tongue on a razor blade and
gave me something to drink.”
The quiet, intelligent student changed drastically from that day onward. “It was like I had two people living inside me,” he recalled. “I became very aggressive. I had this
strength to want to steal and started stealing from people. I also started
smoking and drinking excessively. Anytime I drank, it’s like I became stronger.”
A cult friend
into online fraud, popularly known as 419, soon egged him into joining. However,
for Samuel, there was a strange, spiritual element to his deceptive tricks. “There was a spirit inside me that kept
teaching me. I was not just any fraudster; I learned it from meditating on it.
It was inbuilt. Even if I walked into a room and money was kept there, I would
know where to find it.”
Starting by
procuring foreign sim-cards from UK and USA so as to deceive potential victims,
Samuel specifically targeted wealthy foreign ladies in North America. “I had pictures and pre-recorded videos of a
white man. There is software which will replay these videos on Skype. So, if I
am Skyping with you, you will not see my present self – you would see this
video on a webcam. I had about 20 different videos with the same white man and
I had created stories behind each clip. When I showed my victims, they all believed
it was real.”
Johnson explained
Facebook was the easiest way to attract prospective ‘customers’ and he had
fixed a fake profile using the same pictures in the doctored videos he owned. “I would tell them I was an engineer who worked
and lived in London, that I am rich and wealthy. I wouldn’t tell them I’m not
rich; it was the money I used to drag them towards me.”
Johnson explained
how he used his boast of huge wealth to lull victims into a false sense of
security. “Sometimes I would ask them to
help me look for a property agent to buy a house. I would tell them I am ready
to pay for the house as soon as I come. I would send them a fake e-ticket and
tell them I would be arriving in two weeks. I even had a pre-recorded video of
a 12 year old girl who I pretended was my daughter. I had this assistant who
would help me in speaking like a small girl. There is no way you would see that
video on Skype and not believe it is real. They buy into it immediately. That
was how I was able to draw them to get money from them.”
To gain added
confidence, Samuel would ensure an emotional attachment was fostered. “You make it look real. I would send them
gifts – rings, champagne, credit cards to shop. We would have ‘phone sex’ to
draw their attention even more – that is how they believed. Sometimes, I could
be talking to 10 different women simultaneously and I never forgot their names.”
Once such naïve
trust was established, extorting money was relatively easy, the former
fraudster explained. “I would tell them
to contact my bank. Once they give me their details, I would make a fake wire
transfer. They would see the money moving into their account. When it stops, I
would tell them that they have to contact the bank and pay the ‘cost of
transfer’.”
The expert duper
would even go to the extent of getting personal bank details of his foreign
victims, and then call their bank pretending to be an owner of the account,
change information and request for a huge loan.
Money flowed
freely. “I could make $30,000, $80,000 -
even $250,000 on a single victim. I was living in very luxurious and expensive
hotels. I moved to Omole Phase One, Ikeja and lived in an apartment for which I
paid N1.5m every year. I bought all my properties in one day. I was lavishing
it. I would buy Hennessy every day. I had to drink. The thing is – I needed to
alcohol in order for me to perform,” he recounted.
Johnson explained
that his preferred victims were those who were high-ranking, intelligent
professionals. “We preferred people who
were educated – people that would say, ‘It is not possible for me to be scammed’.
I attacked lawyers through Yellow Pages in USA. I would tell the lawyer that someone
owes me money from Michigan and the person is living in Alaska. The person the
lawyer would contact in Alaska would be me also. Once he talked to this ‘person’,
I would say, ‘I really owe him money and I want to pay back $300,000’. I would
send the lawyer a cheque and once I sent it, they would not find out from the
bank if the cheque was real; they would just deposit it.”
Johnson gained
such a reputation for his scamming tricks that he began teaching others, even
foreigners. “I had many boys that I was
training. They called me the ‘king of dating’ because I always got what I
wanted. Sometimes I would be invited to Benin or Lagos to teach fraud. I even trained
grown men who were 40 to 45 years old. Some were not even black or Nigerian;
some where white. They called themselves diplomats but carried fake money.”
With the words, ‘Money;
power; respect’ tattooed on Samuels’ arm, it served as a constant reminder of
his mission. “That was the law I lived
under,” he explained. “Sometimes, if
I had emotions towards the people I was defrauding, this tattoo would remind me
of why I entered this business in the first place. I would say there was no
mercy.”
Samuel said he had
lost count of the people he had deceptively stolen money from online. “I derived pleasure in doing it. It made me
feel strong – that I could make people do what I wanted them to do. I did not
do this alone. I had bankers as friends who helped me out. In fact, the money I
tipped them with would be more than their salary for the whole year.”
However, despite
the flamboyance and lavish lifestyle, Samuel said his life was bereft of joy
and the money was merely fleeting. “Whenever
I got this money, it was like chaff before the wind – it would blow away. I
never enjoyed it for one day. I would always fight and beat any girl I was
dating. There was such anger, like there was someone living inside me. My life
was upside down. I would always fear that I would be involved in an accident.
If I was crossing the road, even if there was no car coming, I would run. I was
living in isolation. I never came out during the day. Everything was troubling
me. I never had peace. My heart was beating fast. I behaved like someone was
chasing me whereas no one was chasing me.”
When a close
friend and fellow fraudster was shot dead point-blank at the tender age of 23,
Samuel was rudely jolted back to reality. His life was a mess. His dreams were dominated
by violent attacks and sexual encounters. He needed help. When an evangelist
came knocking at his door, Samuel knew it was the voice of God speaking – he
needed Divine intervention to start afresh.
That night,
Samuel had an unusual dream. A pastor he had only seen on a few occasions on
television came with a message. “I saw TB
Joshua in my dream. He told me to fast for three days,” he stated.
Complying with the instruction in the Heavenly visitation, Samuel began nursing
the desire to visit Joshua’s church in Lagos, The Synagogue, Church Of All
Nations (SCOAN).
It was on the ‘prayer
line’ at The SCOAN that Samuel experienced what he termed ‘deliverance’. “When
the man of God touched me, I immediately saw myself facing a judge. I felt
something in between my chest starting to pop out. I then felt like something left
me and before I knew it, I saw myself on the floor.”
After the prayer,
Samuel testified that he has stopped smoking, drinking and has comipletely
stopped his fraudulent activities. His advice is short but concise. “The only way you can achieve greatness is
when you have Christ in your heart. Always watch and pray. Don’t just click on
any link. Don’t just share your information with anyone. If they send you an
email, saying they need your information to change something – don’t listen to
them. Depend only on God.”
