News
‘Flood’ washes away NEMA’s N1.6bn fund
The House of Representatives has discovered how Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Engr Mustapha Maihaja, blew a whopping sum of N1.6bn released to him by the Federal Government in July 2017 for relief intervention to flood victims in 16 states.
The huge sum was said to have been expended on contracts awarded to 216 companies that were not qualified for contract awards in the country.
At an investigative hearing on the violation of public trust in NEMA by the House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Maihaja was found to have spent the N1.6bn on contract awards to the companies who have no tax clearance and other prerequisite qualifications as demanded by the Nigerian laws.
At the investigative hearing presided over by the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ali Isa, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in their reports submitted to the committee revealed that the NEMA boss violated the law on tax and other breaches in the contracts to the companies.
The FIRS, ITF and PENCOM in their separate reports adopted by the Committee during the hearing specifically stated that the NEMA’s boss did not carry out due diligence and financial regulations on the companies to know their qualifications and their status before awarding the multi-million Naira contracts to them.
Apart from the tax laws, Maihaja was also indicted for breaching the Public Procurement Act 2007 in his refusal to follow the relevant laws of procurement in the ways and manners he awarded the controversial contracts to the benefitting companies.
At the explosive investigative hearing, the committee was told that the governing council of NEMA inaugurated on April 3, 2018 on the same day suspended six directors of the agency who were said to have kicked against the ways and manners the NEMA boss was implementing contracts awards in breach of due process.
The suspended officers are Director of Finance and Accounts, Akinbola Gbolahan; Ag. Director, Special Duties, Mr. Umesi Emenike; and Director, Risk Reduction, Mallam Alhassan Nuhu. Others are pilot in charge of Air Ambulance and Aviation Unit, Mr. Mamman Ali Ibrahim; the Chief Maintenance Officer, Mr. Ganiyu Yunusa Deji; and the Director of Welfare, Mr. Kanar Mohammed.
The Committee acting Chairman, Hon. Isa however ordered the NEMA boss to produce the suspended NEMA officials before the committee tomorrow for continuation of the investigation and to enable the directors give evidence in the interest of fair hearing.
The suspension of the officers was said to be arbitrary and suspicious especially in the ways and manner it was purportedly carried out by the governing council the same day the council was inaugurated.
The committee had queried Maihaja in his claim that the report of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recommended the suspension of the officers while the DG who was also facing investigation along with directors was left out of the suspension in the purported EFCC’s report.
During the hearing that lasted several hours, Maihaja who resumed in April 2017 was said to have failed to respond to the distress occasioned by floods in 16 states in which several lives were lost and properties worth billions of Naira damaged.
In some of the reports submitted by the affected 16 states, the NEMA boss was said to have delivered emergency relief materials to Kwara, Enugu and Ebonyi states to the flood victims a year after the flood disaster occurred, while other complained that the items delivered to them were less than N50mn as against the N100mn approved to each of the affected states by the Federal Government.
Apart from the three states other 13 states could not received the emergency relief materials six month after they suffered loses prompting the house committee to agree that the purpose of the federal government in releasing the sum to the affected states for emergency relief had been defeated by the action of the agency.
Specifically, the committee lambasted NEMA boss for misleading the President to release the huge sum in the name of emergency situation and ambush Nigerians by refusing to act on emergency situations as demanded by the law that established the agency.
Meanwhile the house committee had adjourned further investigation till tomorrow April 12, 2018 to enable the NEMA boss to produce the six suspended officers and he is also expected to shed light on how intervention to victims of Boko Haram in North-East and how he managed the 6776metric tonnes of rice donated by Chinese government
Early, the Committee had threated to refer the NEMA boss to trial on perjury when it was discovered that he was not giving appropriate answers to the questions put to him by committee members in the bids to unravel the controversies surrounding the spending of the flood funds. (PRNigeria)
News
King Charles Reportedly “Really Unwell” And Funeral Plans Are Currently Being Reviewed
King Charles III’s health is causing concern for friends and the palace as he continues to battle cancer.
“Speaking to friends of the king in recent weeks about his health, the most common response is … ‘It’s not good,’” Tom Sykes of the Daily Beast reported Thursday, April 25.
A friend of the monarch claimed Charles “is determined to beat it and they are throwing everything at it,” adding, “Everyone is staying optimistic, but he is really very unwell. More than they are letting on.”
Royal writer Tina Brown also hinted at the monarch’s health struggles, writing recently that Charles’ cancer has put Prince William and Kate Middleton “in frightening proximity to ascending the throne just when they had hoped for a span of years to parent their children out of the public eye.”
“The prospect of it, I am told, is causing them intense anxiety.”
Sykes also reported that the king’s funeral plans, codenamed “Operation Menai Bridge”, are currently being reviewed.
A separate document that states what went well at Queen Elizabeth’s September 2022 funeral and what could be done better the next time a monarch dies is also circulating, according to the Daily Beast.
All the sources emphasized that royal funeral plans are constantly in review. However, one former staffer in particular conceded that Charles’ health woes have given his plans a different urgency.
“The plans have been dusted off and are actively being kept up to date,” the former staffer explained.
“It’s no more than what you would expect given the king has been diagnosed with cancer. But the circulation of them has certainly focused minds.”
Buckingham Palace announced in February that after undergoing surgery for a benign prostate enlargement, it was discovered that the king has cancer.
We hope the king gets well soon.
News
EFCC: New Documents Extracted Shows Yahaya Bello Allegedly Paid School Fees To The Tune Of $845,852,84 For His Family Members
Still on the EFCC trailing on Ex Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, Documents serving as exhibits have shown how he allegedly paid school fees in advance for his family members already in the school and even those to be enrolled in future with hundreds of thousands of dollars withdrawn from the state coffers.
A letter from the American International School of Abuja to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has shown the school admitting that Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, paid $845,852,84 into their bank account since September 2021 as advance school fees for 4 family members from the present class until they graduate.
Payment was also made for any future student to be enrolled by the family.
The document alleges that the payment was made by Mr. Ali Bello, alleged to be the eldest son of Yahaya Bello.
In the document, the school stated that they have deducted the fees for the educational service already rendered to the Bello children in the institution and what is left is $760, 910, which would be refunded to an account provided by the EFCC as the commission continues investigation into alleged money laundering levelled against Yahaya Bello.
The school also added that from the Bello family kids, “no further additional fees are expected in respect of tuition until they graduate from ASIA.”
News
Niger State Prisoners Run From Facility After Rainstorm Brings Down Part Of Fencing
Many prisoners serving time at the Suleja Correctional Centre, located in Suleja Local Government of Niger state, fled the facility after a rainstorm brought down a part of the inner fencing.
This incident happened as a result of the heavy rainfall which fell on Wednesday night. This led to a cell being torn down, providing incarcerated individuals with a chance at freedom.
Reporters gathered that security forces fired many shots in the air, attempting to scare the inmates out of hiding.
While the State Comptroller of Prisons declined to speak to the press, it has been noted that security has been beefed up on the Minna-Suleja and Suleja-Kaduna roads, including the Madalla axis to Abuja road, which is a likely escape route out of the state for the inmates.
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