Government

N76bn Fraud: EFCC Detains Ex-Gov Shema

Published

4 years ago

September 17, 2016

The immediate past Governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as part of investigations into an alleged N76bn fraud.

The EFCC had declared Shema wanted on Wednesday but the former governor maintained that he was not on the run.

Subsequently, Shema arrived at the head office of the EFCC on Friday morning, after which he was grilled for over eight hours.

However, as of 7.30pm on Friday, the ex-governor was still in the custody of the commission.

In a statement by Shema’s spokesman, Oluwabusola Olawale, the former governor insisted that he voluntarily walked into the EFCC office.

The statement read in part, “As further proof to the fact that the former Governor Shema is not in hiding as claimed by the EFCC, he voluntarily walked into the EFCC headquarters around 9.30 am on Friday, September 16, 2016.

“We have reiterated it on different occasions that former Governor Shema has nothing with fear and he is ever ready to defend himself but he should not be subjected to political and media trial.

“All he wants is fairness, justice and equity in accordance with the rule of law. Former Governor Shema left Katsina State as a debt-free state despite the massive infrastructural development during his eight-year tenure.

“The whole agenda is a campaign of calumny by Governor Aminu Bello Masari of the APC to pull Shema down because he feels too small to occupy the big shoes and meet the giant strides of Shema as his predecessor in office.”

Masari had accused Shema of financial impropriety and diversion of billions of naira.

The governor had said he had “concrete evidence” to drag his predecessor before the anti-graft agency to recover all stolen funds.

According to Masari, there are some mistakes that can be forgiven, “but N70bn is a huge amount of money that we cannot overlook.”

The governor promised that all stolen public money would be retrieved to correct past mistakes and bring sanity into public service. He alleged that the former governor misappropriated over N76.6bn collected as excess crude oil allocation and diverted over N7.5bn for personal use.

Masari also alleged that Shema and other top government officials of the Ministry of Local Government Affairs used fake documents to divert over N750m earmarked for the purchase of drugs for local government councils.

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Samed Olukoya

CEO/Founder Investors King Ltd, a foreign exchange research analyst, contributing author on New York-based Talk Markets and Investing.com, with over a decade experience in the global financial markets.

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Government

University Of Ibadan (UI) Goes Digital, Releases Timetable for Virtual Academic Session

Published

4 days ago

January 15, 2021

Samed Olukoya

University Of Ibadan (UI) Goes Digital, Releases Timetable for Virtual Academic Session

University of Ibadan (UI) on Friday announced it is going ahead with resumption on February 20 despite the second wave of COVID-19.

In a statement released by the school, the First Semester of the 2020/2021 academic session will commence virtually on February 20, 2021.

The virtual academic session will last for 13 straight weeks and end on Friday May 12, 2021, while the matriculation ceremony will hold on Tuesday March 16, 2021.

The University of Ibadan also scheduled one week for the Finalization of Continuous Assessment, to begin from Mon. 17 May and ends Friday 21 May.

The rising number of COVID-19 cases has compelled the Senate to approve the virtual academic session in an effort to ensure the tertiary institution abides by the protocols established by the Federal Government to curb the spread of the pandemic.

“It, therefore, agreed that the 2020/2021 First Semester lectures will be delivered online. In this regard, students will not be accommodated on campus,” a statement from the school said.

“Senate also approved the cancellation of the 2019/2020 session. The next session is, therefore, renamed 2020/2021 Academic Session. Consequently, students who have been admitted for the 2019/2020 session will now be regarded as the 2020/2021 intakes.

“Kindly note that online opening of Registration Portal and Orientation Programme for the 2020/2021 intakes may commence ahead of the Sat 20/02/21 date indicated above,” the statement said.

Government

House of Representatives Impeached Trump Over Capitol Invasion

Published

5 days ago

January 14, 2021

Samed Olukoya

House of Representatives Impeached Trump Over Capitol Invasion

The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday impeached President Trump for the second time after instigating the US Capitol invasion.

Led by Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, 232 representatives, including 10 Republicans, voted to impeach the outgoing president against 197 that voted for him to remain in the office for the next six days when he would handover to the president-elect, Joe Biden.

The ten Republicans were Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the party’s No. 3 leader in the House; Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington; John Katko of New York; Adam Kinzinger of Illinois; Fred Upton of Michigan; Dan Newhouse of Washington; Peter Meijer of Michigan; Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio; David Valadao of California; and Tom Rice of South Carolina.

Speaking before the vote, Pelosi said “a constitutional remedy that will ensure that the Republic will be safe from this man who is so resolutely determined to tear down the things that we hold dear and that hold us together.”

“He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love,” she said, adding later, “It gives me no pleasure to say this — it breaks my heart.”

Republicans, who unanimously stood behind president Trump in 2019 during his first impeachment, were divided this time over the attack on Capitol.

A Republican representative from California, Kevin McCarthy, said “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters,” Mr. McCarthy said. “He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.”

Government

US Congress Declares Joe Biden as The 46th President of The United States After Trump Mob Left

Published

2 weeks ago

January 7, 2021

Samed Olukoya

Joe Biden Economic Impliccations on Nigeria

US Congress Declares Joe Biden as The 46th President of The United States After Trump Mob Left

The joint congress of the United States on Thursday, January 7, 2021 certified Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States following President Trump’s mob action that disrupted the congress joint proceeding on Wednesday.

After ordering his followers to disrupt proceedings on Wednesday, President Trump later announced that there will be an orderly transition on January 20.

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th,” Trump said in a statement issued by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.

“I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!” Trump added.

While the certification was just a mere formality as Biden had secured enough electoral college votes (270) required to clinch the world’s most powerful seat, the refusal of Donald Trump to accept the results of the November 2020 election made the session a keenly watched, especially after Trump mob disrupted a joint session of the Senate.

Also read Facebook, Twitter, Instagram Lock President Trump Out of Their Platforms Following Insurrection