State

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed that a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, transferred $720,000 from the government’s coffers to a bureau de change before leaving office to pay in advance for his child’s school fee. Olukoyede revealed this during an interview with journalists on Tuesday in Abuja. He said, “A sitting governor, because he knows he is going, moved money directly from government to bureau de change, used it to pay the child’s school fee in advance, $720,000 in advance, in anticipation that he was going to leave the Government House. “In a poor state like Kogi, and you want me to close my eyes to that under the guise of ‘I’m being used.’ Being used by who at this stage of my life?” Olukoyede further stated that he personally reached out to Bello, offering him a chance to clarify the situation in a respectful setting within the EFCC office but the ex-governor reportedly declined to cooperate, citing fears of harassment from an unnamed woman. The EFCC boss added, “I didn’t initiate the case; I inherited the case file. I called for the file, and I said there are issues here. “On my own, I called him, which I am not supposed to do, just to honour him as an immediate past governor. ‘Sir, there are issues. I’ve seen this case file. Can you just come let us clarify these issues?’ “He said, ‘Ha! Thank you, my brother. I know, but I can’t come. There’s one lady that has surrounded EFCC with over 100 people to come and embarrass me and intimitade me.’ Bello was said to have suggested that the EFCC come to his village rather than conduct an investigation at the agency’s quarters. “I said if that is the issue, I’m going to pass you through my own gate, and you will come to my floor. We will accord you that respect. I will invite my operatives; they will interrogate and interview you in my own office. What could be more honourable than that to allay the fear? “You know what he said: ‘Thank you, sir, but can’t they come to my village? Olukoyede added. Related News  Alleged N80bn fraud: Obey Court order now, Kogi Assembly tells EFCC  N80.2bn fraud: Yahaya Bello disregarded invite – EFCC Chairman  EFCC chairman threatens to resign if Yahaya Bello escapes prosecution The chairman also highlighted the agency’s achievements during his tenure, stating, “We have recovered close to 120 billion and secured over 1,600 convictions in six months. “I’m so passionate about the need for us to move forward in this country. We need the EFCC to survive. There are so many victims that we have wiped tears off their eyes, people that have been swindled in their millions. Every day, we keep recovering money for victims.” PUNCH Online reports that the EFCC chairman, Olukoyede, has vowed to resign from his position if Yahaya Bello is not prosecuted. The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust, and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.

The Rivers State House of Assembly, on Monday,  passed the Rivers State Local Government (Amendment) Bill into law by overriding the assent of Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The new law, among others, stripped the governor of the power to appoint caretaker committees for local government areas. It also makes it mandatory for the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission to conduct elections before the expiration of the tenure of local government chairmen. The new law also provides that if LG election cannot hold for any reason, the tenure of the sitting chairmen would be extended by not longer than six months. This is the sixth time the House will be overriding the governor to enact laws. The House, led by its Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, made the decision at its 159th Legislative sitting held at the Assembly Quarters in Port Harcourt. The decision of the Assembly was disclosed in a statement on Monday by the media aide to the Speaker, Martins Wachukwu. The Assembly had, on March 13, 2014, passed the Local Government (Amendment) Bill and forwarded the same to the governor for his assent. Fubara, however, withheld his assent, while the lawmakers threatened that they would go ahead to override him. The Assembly and the governor have been in a mouse-and-cat relationship since late last year after Fubara fell out with his predecessor and political godfather, Nyesom Wike. Twenty-seven members of the Assembly, including the Speaker, are loyal to Wike and attempted to impeach Fubara last October. The intervention by President Bola Tinubu doused the tension for a while but recent events have shown that the gladiators are back in the trenches. The Monday statement by the Speaker’s aide read: “Determined to perform its constitutional duties, the bill was presented afresh by the Majority Leader, Hon. Major Jack, and debated by members. “Thereafter, the House,  in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as altered, which empowers the House to override the governor, where he withholds his assent; the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, put the question to the House and with two-thirds majority votes, the House agreed to override the governor and passed the bill into law.” In another development, the House also screened and confirmed nominees for the position of chairman and members of the Assembly Service Commission. Those screened and confirmed were Sampson Worlu as Chairman; Abinye Blessing Pepple, Mrs Blessing Belema Derefaka, Mr.Gbaranen Robinson and Madam Dorcas Amos as members. The statement recalled that the Assembly had on March 22, 2024, passed the Rivers State Assembly Service Commission(Amendment) Bill into law, wherein the House donated back to itself the power to appoint the chairman and members of the Assembly Service Commission. Efforts to get the reaction of the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, proved abortive as his line was busy when our correspondent put calls across. Also, he had yet to reply text and WhatsApp messages sent to him as of the time of filing this report on Monday evening.

The All Progressives Congress Primary Election Appeal Committee for Ondo State said on Monday that it had received three petitions challenging the victory of Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, in the governorship primary conducted on Saturday through to Sunday. The Chairman of the Primary Election Appeal Committee, Mr Muhammed Abubakar, disclosed this during a press briefing in Akure on Monday. Abubakar, who is the immediate-past governor of Bauchi State, said the three petitions were received from Wale Akinterinwa, Jimi Odimayo and Gbenda Edema. The Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo, who is the Chairman of the Primary Election Committee, had in the early hours of Monday, declared Aiyedatiwa as the winner of the Ondo APC primary election. Ododo announced that Aiyedatiwa polled 48,460 votes across 18 local government areas of the state to defeat the 15 other aspirants. But ahead of the declaration, many of the aspirants had expressed dissatisfaction with the process, calling for its cancellation. Speaking on Monday at the APC secretariat in Akure, the Chairman of the Primary Election Appeal Committee said the development was not strange, hence, the party always has an appeal committee to look into complaints emanating from primaries. Abubakar said, “The situation I met on the ground was an inconclusive election that needed to be repeated in one local government. They were able to repeat the election in that local government and by early this (Monday) morning, they were able to declare the results of the primary. “It is traditional in the APC to set up a committee like this in order to follow up on the fallout of the primary election. It is as a result of this that I invited the gentlemen of the press to be here today so that I can announce to them, the presence of this committee and the readiness of this committee to receive whatever complaints as a fallout from the primary election.” Abubakar said the committee would look thoroughly into the three petitions from the aggrieved aspirants. “I  can assure you that within a space of a few days, we will consider the total number of petitions we received and render a report to the national headquarters of our party before the party takes a final decision on the issue of the primary. As I’m speaking with you,  only three petitions have been received,” he said. Meanwhile, Lucky Aiyedatiwa has expressed gratitude to all the stakeholders, particularly the 15 other aspirants, who participated in the primary. In his acceptance speech made available on  Monday, the governor called on his co-contestants to support him to win the November 16, 2024 governorship election. He said, “Let me at this time acknowledge and thank all the aspirants who threw their hats into the ring in the family contest to be the flag-bearer. Your participation has created so much awareness within and outside our party. You mobilised our members and removed apathy. You have also brought in numerous new members to the party. All of these have enriched our democracy and strengthened our party in the state.” Calling for their support, Aiyedatiwa said he aimed to invest in infrastructure, healthcare, fair justice, qualitative education and security.