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There’s no integrity in Buhari’s government, condones corruption – Saraki

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By: Oliseama Okwuchukwu

Senate President Bukola Saraki has carpeted President Muhammadu Buhari for lacking the much-trumpeted integrity adding that the management of fuel subsidy regime was enough to pooh-pooh the President’s integrity.

The Senate President, who appeared in an interview session on the Africa Independent Television (AIT) on Wednesday, said that the much-vaunted integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari cannot be substantiated in view of his performance in the last three years.

According to him, the management of fuel subsidy payments put serious question marks on Buhari’s integrity adding that whereas the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan was accused of condoning corruption when it based subsidy claims on 30 million daily fuel consumption, Buhari’s government had based daily fuel consumption at 50 million.

He stated that massive fraud had dominated the management of fuel subsidy regime despite repeated calls by the National Assembly for openness.

He said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was cheating Nigerians with not less than N1 billion daily from the amount meant for the subsidy.

He said: “In 2011, one of the major issues of departure with the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, on the issue of integrity and corruption, was on false subsidy. Remember, I got up and raised a motion on the floor of the Senate that a government, saying that could allow over N1 trillion on false subsidy in the opaque and non-transparent manner it was going, especially when we knew that a lot of money that was being spent, was being siphoned, because the country was not consuming the amount of volumes that were being registered; that time, they were registering 30 million litres on PMS (Premium Motor Spirit).

“But experts had done an analysis to show that there was no way Nigerians could consume 30 million litres. Therefore, people like myself, that was where we departed, how we labelled Jonathan’s government as corrupt.

“Now, it is shocking and alarming that the fuel subsidy matter is worse today. Instead of 30 million, the government is saying that we’re consuming 50 million litres. And we know it’s not true. So, money is being siphoned. So, even if you say that Jonathan was corrupt for fuel subsidy that he was doing at 30 million litres, today’s government that is doing 50million litres, what do you call it?

“The worst is that till now, they’re doing it without appropriation. So, my conclusion is that you cannot give them integrity. You cannot. We (Senate), have cried out over these issues, but we have got stonewall. For two years, I have maintained my argument with the executive that you cannot do this. You have to bring this for appropriation.

“We set up a committee to look at it, but in a government, where agencies under the executive are encouraged not to respond or made to understand that they are accountable to the National Assembly, is a challenge. We have done our own part to raise it and to say this can’t continue.

“You talk about integrity; you cannot talk of integrity about a government that allows this to go on. As I said, about Jonathan, we all cried corruption, it was largely on the issue, because when we talk that the country is losing money, the greatest culprit is NNPC. When you are losing about N1 billion on a daily basis, in a government that is claiming to be fighting corruption, then it raises a big question.

“Subsidy, on its own is not where the fraud is, if managed transparently and efficiently. But where Nigerians are being told that they consume 50 million litres a day is the issue, because it is a lie. We don’t consume that much. So, that money must be going somewhere. The volumes involved are huge.

“So, the point is that in 2015, this was what we used to assess that Jonathan’s government was corrupt. So, our problem is that it has not got better and we expect it to be better under a government that every minute is claiming to have integrity, it has not got better, it has got worse.” (Tribune)

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Ekiti Students Caught On Camera Bullying A Fellow Student, Have Been Expelled

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The management of Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti (BOUESTI) has expelled two of its students filmed assaulting a female colleague.

A video recently went viral on social media of a student hitting her fellow student with a stick that was handed to her by another student. The bully had kept insinuating that she would draw blood from her victim.

Reacting to the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Temitope Akinbisoye, in a statement released, said the students caught in the video were summoned on Monday, May 6 and were meted the appropriate punishment for their actions

”In accordance with our institution’s policies and extant regulations, the students who were captured in the viral video appeared before the Students’ Disciplinary Committee at its emergency meeting held on Monday, May 6, 2024, for interrogations and appropriate recommendations, the report of which has been submitted to the University authorities.

The University authorities condemn in strong terms, any form of violence or misconduct in our University or by any of our constituents. Such behaviour is entirely inconsistent with the values we uphold and the standards of respect and dignity that we expect from all members of our University.

Miss Opemiposi Precious BOLAJI with Matriculation No. 10232, a 100L Mass Communication student who was beating her colleague with a stick and threatening to inflict bodily harm on her for allegedly destroying her 3-year old love affair with her boyfriend was found guilty of misconduct and flagrant breach of her matriculation oath and consequently EXPELLED with immediate effect.

Miss Genesis OSARO, a 100L Mass Communication student with Matriculation No. 10257, who provided the stick with which Gloria AJAYI was beaten, was found guilty of misconduct (as an accomplice) and flagrant breach of her Matriculation oath and consequently EXPELLED with immediate effect.

Miss Gloria AJAYI, a 100L Mass Communication student with Matriculation No. 10295, who was seen being beaten in the viral video but did not retaliate or engage in fisticuffs with her tormentors, was EXONERATED.“

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“80% Of Buildings In Lekki Have No Approval” – Lagos State Commissioner For Physical Planning & Urban Development Reveals

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The Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide, has stated that 80 per cent of buildings in Ibeju Lekki have no approval.

Olumide disclosed this while speaking to newsmen recently.

In his words; “Just last week Thursday and Friday, myself and the team were in the Ibeju Lekki and Epe axis and you would agree with me that anybody passing through that corridor would see a lot of estates marked. We went there, and I can tell you that from what we saw, over 80 per cent of them do not have approval.

The procedure to get approval is first to get the planning information, as to what those areas have been zoned for. In this case, what we have is agricultural land, and people now go to their families to buy agricultural land. Of course, those lands would be sold because those families do not know the use such land would be put to.

The next thing to do is the fence permit. If you missed the earlier information on not knowing the area zoning, at the point of getting the fence permit, you would be able to detect what the area is zoned for. After that, the layout permits a large expense of land follows.”’

Olumide noted that a layout permit cannot be obtained if it is not zoned for the purpose it was designed for or for the purpose it was being requested.

“So, you can see all these layers, but people still go ahead to start advertising. Some have even gone to the extent of displaying the sizes they want to sell. Imagine someone in the diaspora who wants to send money without any knowledge. Then, no approval is eventually gotten. Even if they pass the assignment and the survey to them, we would not grant the individual permit, because that area is not zoned for that purpose’’ Olumide said

This partly explains why some of the houses are being turn down currently in the state.

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Lady Dies After Friends Pushed Her Into Boiling Pot Of Fresh Pepper In Delta State

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A Nigerian man identified as Israel Joe, has revealed how his friend, Roseline, died after she was pushed into a boiling pot of fresh pepper and tomatoes by her two female friends in Sapele, Delta State.

Joe stated that Roseline, a caterer, went on a trip with her friends to Sapele for a catering job where the bitter ordeal occured.

She tragically passed away on Saturday, April 13 after spending two weeks at the hospital in a very horrible state.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Joe said that before her untimely death, Roseline confided in him about two of her friends who were treating her coldly.
And he has vowed to bring them to justice.

This is such a heartbreaking event.

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