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EFCC Seizes Patience Jonathan’s N2bn Hotel

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7 years ago

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  • EFCC Seizes Patience Jonathan’s N2bn Hotel

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has seized a hotel allegedly belonging to Mrs. Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The anti-graft agency also seized three other properties in Abuja allegedly belonging to Patience.

The five-storey hotel is located near Setraco Construction Company, beside Mabushi Kado Expressway.

Although the hotel has not been officially valued by the EFCC, some estate agents within the community told our correspondent that the property should be worth about N2bn.

The property, which has not been officially opened, has between 50 to 100 rooms, a gymnasium, a fountain and other amenities.

Our correspondent, who visited the property on Friday, observed the red inscription, ‘EFCC Under Investigation’ all over the hotel.

One of the mechanics working at a filling station located next to the property said Mrs. Jonathan used to visit the hotel in the past but had not come around since January.

He said, “She used to come here frequently but she has not come in the last six months. The hotel is supposed to have been opened for business but for some reason, they have not done so. It has not even been given a name yet.”

The commission also seized Mrs. Jonathan’s properties in Karsana, Wasa and Idogwari areas of Abuja.

The anti-graft agency is also on the verge of seizing her properties in Port Harcourt and Yenagoa.

Patience first came under EFCC investigation in May 2016 when the commission arrested a former Special Adviser to the President on Domestic Affairs, Waripamowei Dudafa.

Patience laid claim to about $15m found in bank accounts allegedly belonging to Dudafa’s domestic servants.

She subsequently sued Skye Bank Plc and the EFCC. The commission then went ahead to freeze her personal account with a balance of $5m.

Meanwhile, the commission has seized a mansion belonging to Chidiebere Silas, the Personal Adviser to George Turnah, who is a godson of former President Jonathan.

Turnah is also a former Special Adviser to Dan Abia, erstwhile Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission.

The EFCC said in a Facebook post that the mansion is located in Abaja Nwangele Local Government Area of Imo State.

The anti-graft agency had last week seized several properties allegedly belonging to Turnah, who is facing prosecution before a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.

In a related development, Justice Ibrahim Watila of the Federal High court, sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Friday ruled that a paramount ruler should stand as a surety, as part of bail conditions for Turnah.

The judge admitted Turnah to bail in the sum of N300m, and two sureties in like sum. Aside from the paramount ruler, whose office should be recognised by the government of the state and his letter of authority verified and deposited in the court, the other surety should be an owner of a property and the original Certificate of Occupancy of the property should be deposited with the registry of the court.

Also, Turnah’s passport or travel document should be deposited with the registry of the court and “the first defendant shall not travel outside Nigeria without leave of the court.”

All the sureties shall sign affidavit of means and bail bond and the first defendant shall be remanded in prison custody pending the perfection of his bail.

Turnah and his seven companies were arraigned on 12 counts bordering on obtaining money by false pretences, money laundering and abuse of office to the tune of N3bn.

Justice Watila adjourned the matter to June 30, 2017 for commencement of trial.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Tinubu Warns INEC, Political Parties Against Rigging, Violence as Edo Governorship Election Holds Tomorrow 

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1 hour ago

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September 20, 2024

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Bola Tinubu

As residents of Edo State within the voting age file out to elect their new governor on Saturday, September 21, 2024, President Bola Tinubu has called on all stakeholders in the upcoming Edo State governorship elections to conduct themselves peacefully and sportingly.

The task is coming amid tension and allegations of meditated arrest and planned rigging by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

There has been heavy deployment of security operatives in the state ahead of the polls.

The distribution of non-sensitive materials took place in Benin City on Thursday amid tight security forces.

Already, a public holiday had been declared in the state today by the government for workers and other electorate to travel to their polling units to cast their ballots for the successor of Goodwin Obaseki.

However, the President, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, warned INEC against compromising the integrity of the poll.

Tinubu also implored the governorship candidates, political parties, and supporters to respect the democratic process and the people’s will.

According to Onanuga, Tinubu believes in the voters’ ability to make informed decisions about their future leaders.

President Tinubu emphasised that democracy thrives on civility, tolerance, patience, and respect for the rules of the game.

He noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has committed to conducting a free and fair election and urges all stakeholders to work together to ensure a successful and peaceful process.

The President commended the governorship candidates and political parties for their campaigns, which have focused on issues that matter most to the people of Edo State, including improving livelihoods, promoting economic growth, and contributing to national development.

He urged all citizens in the state to remain peaceful and respectful throughout the voting process. He encourages them to resolve any disagreements amicably through the constituted authorities.

“In addition, President Tinubu expresses unwavering confidence in the professionalism and integrity of security agencies and INEC officials. He urges them to remain impartial and avoid any actions that could compromise the integrity of the electoral process,” Onanuga said.

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Worsening Hardship: Fresh Pressure Mounts on Tinubu’s Ministers Over Planned Cabinet Rejig 

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23 hours ago

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September 19, 2024

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There is apparent fear within the cabinet of President Bola Tinubu over plans by the president to relieve some of the ministers of their duties.
Sources in the presidency said the looming rejig of the cabinet is due to widespread complaints of hunger by many Nigerians.
Top among the ministries that will be mainly affected in the cabinet reshuffle is the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Sources close revealed that the presidency might completely scrap the ministry.
The move, according to the impeccable insiders, is also to streamline government operations and eliminate underperforming ministries.
It was further learned that the cabinet reshuffle would go beyond portfolio swaps. Instead, some portfolios and ministries would be split, merged, or scrapped.
Those in the know opined that the planned reshuffling and scrapping is overdue and that the President would have announced the changes in the cabinet last week but for his trip out of the country.
They said Tinubu would also restructure some of the ministries for effectiveness and output owing to the alleged protest against bad governance and poverty in the country.
Other sources said President Tinubu aims to finalize changes before departing for the United Nations General Assembly.
They said that the development has ignited fear among the ministers as some who don’t have much closeness with the presidency are said to be loitering around Aso Rock to lobby their stay in their respective positions.
Upon his assumption of office, President Tinubu appointed 48 federal ministers and bagged a record as the President with the highest cabinet size since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999.
Some analysts in the country had argued that the large cabinet size would drain the country’s already depleted purse.
In January, this year, one of the nine female ministers, Betta Edu, was suspended by Tinubu over N585million scandal.
While in suspension, Edu incurred the anger of Nigerians in July 2024, after she made a comeback with a condolence message to victims of the collapsed school building in Jos in her official capacity as the humanitarian affairs minister by using the official letterhead of the ministry.
Investors King reports that since then, nothing has been heard about her alleged fraud even as the presidency remains mute.

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LG Election: Tension in Osun as APC, PDP Risk Disqualification for Substituting Candidates Unlawfully 

Published

23 hours ago

on

September 19, 2024

By

All Progressive Congress (APC)
There is uneasy calm among major political parties in Osun State over the announcement by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) that the party leadership submitted names of candidates that are different from those who obtained forms to contest the February 22, 2025 Local Government Election in the state.
According to Barrister Hashim Abioye, the OSIEC Chairman, about seven political parties including the Peoples Democratic Party and major opposition All Progressives Congress face disqualification from the poll if they fail to correct the status of their candidates within 48 hours.
Abioye said the political parties contesting in the forthcoming local government election ran foul of the provisions and procedure regarding the substitution of candidates.
He said after the verification committee set up by the commission completed its assignment, it was discovered that some political parties had replaced the names of candidates with ones that were strange to the commission.
According to him, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and the Action Peoples Party (APP) are affected.
Speaking at a press conference held in Osogbo, Abioye stressed that the affected political parties committed an incurable infraction by giving nomination forms to candidates whose names were different from those with the commission.
He further revealed that virtually all the political parties contesting the elections had one case or another of the infractions, and that while some are remediable others are incurable.
According to the OSIEC boss, “The provision is not an innovation, it is as also contained in the Electoral Act, 2022, that is the provision we have now adopted. For this reason, some political parties, notably the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), the Action Peoples Party (APP) ran foul of the provisions and procedure regarding substitution of candidates.
“While no substitution can be validly done without following the rules, any substitution or change of candidate done after the purported candidate intended to be a replacement for another must have been given and submitted nomination form despite his/her name not being on the list originally submitted to the Commission would be void.
“Let me note once again that virtually all the political parties contesting the elections had one case or another of the infractions which are remediable, but the political parties highlighted above committed the most of the infractions that are incurable by giving nomination form for candidates whose names were not on the list in some local government areas and wards. This we cannot help.”
Giving an instance of the infractions, Abioye stated, “Being a major political party, I will take that of the APC as an example. In Atakunmosa West Local Government, the Chairmanship and Vice-chairmanship candidates submitted by the party to the Commission were not the persons who filled nomination forms submitted to OSIEC.
“In the same vein, the respective vice-chairmanship candidates submitted by the APC for Ede South, Egbedore, Ife Central, Ifedayo, Isokan, Olorunda and Oriade Local Government Areas were completely different from the persons that filled and submitted nomination forms to the Commission. Candidates of the APC in several Wards across various local government areas were affected by this incurable anomaly.”
Meanwhile, the development has thrown the affected parties into panic as they struggle to meet the deadline.

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