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Dickson: Bayelsa Loses N12bn to Payroll Fraudsters Annually

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7 years ago

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  • Dickson: Bayelsa Loses N12bn to Payroll Fraudsters Annually

As tensions continue to mount over attempts to hand over suspected payroll fraudsters in Bayelsa State to the security agencies for prosecution, the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, revealed at the weekend that the state had been losing almost N1 billion monthly to the widespread scourge.

Speaking during the inauguration of newly-appointed Caretaker Committee Chairmen for all the local councils in the state in Yenagoa, Dickson said if no action was taken against the syndicate, the activities of the racketeers were capable of crumbling the state.

He said the government had established a judicial commission of inquiry into the massive fraud and had put the courts on the alert.

“We lose almost one billion naira per month to payroll fraud. We have to clean up this payroll mess. We have a little internally generated revenue, we have a difficult terrain, we have no support from the federal government.

“Even from corporate players who are milking us but are not helping us. I must also say that the courts are waiting, the judicial commission of inquiry is also waiting,” he said.

He lamented the rot in the local government system and explained that the committee on public service reforms was set up to prevent the pervasive financial haemorrhage in the state.

“The reforms we have programmed are aimed at stopping fraud at the local government areas, the local government areas have collapsed. We have set up committees to know why councils are not paying salaries.

“Local governments receive all their allocations and nobody tampers with them. You should take steps to eliminate this constant haemorrhage, all kinds of fictitious names, children unborn are receiving salaries,” he lamented.

Dickson assured the citizens that no innocent person would be affected in the ongoing efforts to purge the public service of the corruption which he said had held down the state for years.

Elaborating on the planned series of actions to drastically block the leakages, Commissioner for Information, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, urged the people of the state to support the government to implement the reports of the various committees.

“We all want the reforms to work and their objectives achieved. That is what is driving the governor who initiated the process. Is it conceivable to have the same names occurring in different state agencies and you continue paying salary to one man in three agencies? That cannot be,” he said.

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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Government

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

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4 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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Government

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

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4 hours ago

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September 19, 2024

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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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Government

Yahaya Bello Leaves EFCC Office Without Interrogation, Says Media Office

Published

12 hours ago

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September 19, 2024

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Revenue system

The media office of the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has confirmed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not interrogate him when he visited the anti-graft agency’s office on Wednesday morning.

According to the media office, the EFCC informed Bello that he could leave without being interrogated. This occurred in the presence of Alhaji Usman Ododo, who accompanied the former governor to the commission’s office.

“The EFCC did not interrogate him, as officials told him he could leave,” Ohiare Michael, the director of Bello’s media office, said in a statement.

“We don’t know what this means yet. As we write, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has left the EFCC office. He was accompanied there by the Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo.”

He further stated that this decision came after consultations with Bello’s family, legal team, and political allies.

He said, “Bello showed up at the EFCC office after consultations with his family, legal team, and political allies, saying he had nothing to hide or fear. His legal team has represented him in court throughout the ongoing case. The EFCC had earlier declared Bello wanted after a series of events.”

Recall that the media office of Yahaya Bello alleged that, on Wednesday night, operatives of the EFCC laid siege to the Kogi Government Lodge in Abuja in an attempt to forcefully arrest the former governor.

They also explained how his legal team had represented him in court throughout the ongoing case and how Bello had mustered the courage to honor the EFCC’s invitation to clear his name, stating he has nothing to hide or fear.

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