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Editorial: Saraki and the Bullet-Proof Range Rover

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7 years ago

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The call by Senator Ali Ndume (APC-Borno South) for the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate allegations that a N298 million bullet proof Range Rover sports utility vehicle, which was imported into the country allegedly with fake documents belongs to Senate President Bukola Saraki, is a rigmarole that is begging the issue. The armored SUV was impounded by Nigerian customs on January 17, precipitating a campaign of vendetta against the Customs Service, whose boss, Hameed Ali was ordered to appear before the Senate in his official uniform, after he refused to release the vehicle. Nigerians suspect, with good cause, that the Senate investigating its own president is a mere subterfuge to deflect pressure from Saraki and others involved in the ugly episode. In real terms, the transaction, along with the totality of the circumstances surrounding it, is a sad commentary on the values and quality of those in charge of the affairs of the country. The scandal underscores the yawning disconnect between the government and the governed in terms of priority and need, and why there is so much struggle for political appointment and offices.

 

A media aide to Saraki, Yusuph Olaniyonu, has denied the Senate president had anything to do with how the SUV was imported, arguing that it was the Senate that contracted out its procurement. “A supplier was engaged by the Senate to supply a vehicle. While transferring the vehicle between Lagos and Abuja, it was impounded by the Customs,” Olaniyonu said. “We believe that is an issue between the supplier and the Customs because the Senate has not taken delivery. So, why is somebody trying to drag in the name of Saraki into the issue?” Apart from the fact that due process was circumscribed; that so much public money was expended on one vehicle, at a time the country is in dire economic straits, the deal is as inexcusable as the reason offered for it. The worries of an average Nigerian are about the basic necessities of life – food, healthcare, quality education, gainful employment and reliable infrastructure, all of which remain hard to come by.

 

It is pathetic that while the average citizen buckles under the severe yoke of poverty; unemployment and lack, and the failure of government to discharge its statutory and moral responsibility to the populace, public officials would have so much leeway on profligacy and the mundane, which the bullet proof SUV at issue represent. This is more so at a time government revenue is said to be dwindling. When juxtaposed with the worst economic recession in decades characterized by an economy in free-fall; and the simmering insecurity and government’s failure to ensure safety of lives and property of Nigerians, the extent of government’s contempt and disdain for its citizens becomes obvious.

 

The Senate President went too far with the acquisition of the bullet proof SUV in a country where poverty is on the rampage, where primordial diseases such as cholera and guinea worm still decimate the rank and where infant mortality remains a source of concern to the international community. It is this same intense individualism, buoyed by the rapacious corruption in the country that can make Senators think that what is important for a lawmaking body is the safety of the President of the upper legislative chamber, rather than that of millions of people who depend on the legislators to pass laws that will improve their welfare. Individualism is the only reason the Senate has become the backyard farmland for its members where free funds are harvested as much and as often as they want.

 

Needless to say, the Senate traded away its integrity and compromised its oversight responsibility in order to please its leader. In so many ways, lawmakers conduct themselves as if they were above the law to the detriment of public service ethics. This pathetic phenomenon has bogged down the nation, as lawmakers would rather serve themselves than serve the Nigerian people who elected them.

 

Nigerians expect that this scandal should not be swept under the carpet, as many so-called investigations into financial impropriety in the public service have been compromised in the past. By any moral or decent standard, Saraki, who is undergoing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, ought to have been ushered out of office to allow unfettered investigation by appropriate law enforcement agencies. That is the only way to counter insinuations that this government feels no scruple about corruption; or that no harm would befall anyone accused of corruption, however damning the allegation and its proof, if he belongs to the right ethnic group.

 

What the time calls for is a comprehensive overhaul of executive privileges at all levels of government. There is no need for any rigmarole, for that is what the Senate investigation or indeed any other panel set up by the government amounts to. There has been too many of such investigations in the past at public expense that turned out to be too much ado about nothing, mere sound without fury. That is not what Nigerians desire at this time as it amounts to an assault on the collective psyche of all citizens. The issues involved, namely morality, ethics and dignity of office are clear. All the culprits in this obscene act should be made to pay a price for their misconduct. Saraki’s continued stay in office is no longer tenable. President should do the right thing by using his office to bring pressure on the lawmakers to replace him with another person. The Senate officials involved in the Range Rover deal should also be thrown out of the system.

 

Meanwhile, the Police or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should open inquiry into the conduct of the culprits with a view to prosecuting them, if necessary. It is time public officials were made to account for their actions. No government that vacillates in a case so obvious and that smacks of massive moral deficit on the part of the Senate President will be deserving of the respect of its people. If government hopes to get away with this, it will not get away with the harsh verdict of history.

 

 

@Huhuonline

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1.4 million UTME candidates scored below 200 – JAMB

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3 days ago

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April 30, 2024

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Monday, released the results of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, showing that 1,402,490 candidates out of 1,842,464 failed to score 200 out of 400 marks.

The number of candidates who failed to score half of the possible marks represents 78 per cent of the candidates whose results were released by JAMB.

Giving a breakdown of the results of the 1,842,464 candidates released, the board’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, noted that, “8,401 candidates scored 300 and above; 77,070 scored 250 and above; 439,974 scored 200 and above while 1,402,490 scored below 200.”

On naming the top scorers for the 2024 UTME, Oloyede said, “It is common knowledge that the board has, at various times restated its unwillingness to publish the names of its best-performing candidates, as it considers its UTME as only a ranking examination on account of the other parameters that would constitute what would later be considered the minimum admissible score for candidates seeking admission to tertiary institutions.

“Similarly, because of the different variables adopted by respective institutions, it might be downright impossible to arrive at a single or all-encompassing set of parameters for generating a list of candidates with the highest admissible score as gaining admission remains the ultimate goal. Hence, it might be unrealistic or presumptive to say a particular candidate is the highest scorer given the fact that such a candidate may, in the final analysis, not even be admitted.

“However, owing to public demand and to avoid a repeat of the Mmesoma saga as well as provide a guide for those, who may want to award prizes to this set of high-performing candidates, the Board appeals to all concerned to always verify claims by candidates before offering such awards.”

Oloyede also noted that the results of 64,624 out of the 1,904,189, who sat the examination, were withheld by the board and would be subject to investigation.

He noted that though a total of 1,989,668 registered, a total of 80,810 candidates were absent.

“For the 2024 UTME, 1,989,668 candidates registered including those who registered at foreign centres. The Direct Entry registration is still ongoing.

“Out of a total of 1,989,668 registered candidates, 80,810 were absent. A total of 1,904,189 sat the UTME within the six days of the examination.

“The Board is today releasing the results of 1,842,464 candidates. 64,624 results are under investigation for verification, procedural investigation of candidates, Centre-based investigation and alleged examination misconduct.”

Oloyede also said the board, at the moment, conducts examination in nine foreign centres namely: Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Buea, Cameroon; Cotonou, Republic of Benin; London, United Kingdom; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Johannesburg, South Africa.

“The essence of this foreign component of the examination is to market our institutions to the outside world as well as ensuring that our universities reflect the universality of academic traditions, among others. The Board is, currently, fine-tuning arrangements for the conduct of the 2024 UTME in these foreign centres,” he said.

 

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Nigerian Pastor Slams N500Million Suit On Church Member Who Demanded Return Of His Lexus SUV After Alleged Failed Prophecy

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3 days ago

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April 29, 2024

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Dr. David Emmanuel Ovie, the Head Pastor and General Overseer of the God in Action Liberation Mission has slammed a five hundred million naira (N500 million) suit on one of his church members who demanded the return of his SUV from the church after an alleged failed prophecy.

We gathered the church member identified as Temitope Monday Diamond gave his Lexus RX330 to the church after a prophecy.

 

Temitope told SaharaReporters that the pastor of the church at Okuokoko in the Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State asked him to sacrifice his most precious property so that things could work well for him financially.

 

He said, “This pastor told me to sacrifice my most precious property so that things will be working well for me financially which I did by sacrificing my vehicle, Lexus RX330.

 

“After four months and things had not picked up as he said, my wife called him to know what was happening but he got angry and told me that my wife was rude and that he wanted to refund the money he got when he sold the vehicle – which is N4 million.

 

“We have been waiting for him to send the money since around December and January but he had refused to do so. We called and texted him but no response, we had to go to the church with a few friends and two soldiers who were not armed, just to accompany us (for security purposes).

 

“He called the youths of the community to beat us up before handing us over to Ebrumede police station. When we got there, we were detained. We later got bailed with N200,000 before the Divisional Police Officer could hear from us. The DPO called us to his office and we narrated everything to him as the pastor lied to him that we were kidnappers.

 

“The DPO judged the case in our favour and demanded that the car be refunded or he should pay the N4 million he made from selling the car. He agreed that he would be paying one million naira every week in February so that by month’s end, he would finish paying the money.

 

“By the second week of March, he still hadn’t paid a penny. Then the IPO in charge of the case called to tell us that the lawyer was pleading on his behalf and that he would be paying one million naira every month end. Then I got angry and said if he (the pastor) wanted to stress me over the money, he should return my car for breaching the agreement we had at the DPO’s office.

 

“We later heard that he filed a suit against us at Orerokpe High Court. The court was to sit on Monday, April 15 but was adjourned to May 10.

 

“The lawsuit says he is suing us for N500 million for coming to his church with an army and that the car cannot be returned because it had been sold. And that we are using police from Asaba to threaten him and his members, which is false.”

 

However, in a court document obtained by SaharaReporters on Tuesday signed by one Ogedengbe, the Applicant (General Overseer) alleged that he was arrested and detained on January 21, which Temitope said was the same day he and his friends stormed the church to ask for the N4 million he had promised to send.

 

The respondents in the document are Temitope Monday Diamond as the 1st respondent; Divisional Police Officer, Ebrumede Police Station, Delta State as 2nd respondent and the Commissioner of Police in Delta State as 3rd respondent.

 

The relief sought by the applicant reads in part, “A declaration that the arrest and detention of the applicant on the 21st day of January, 2024 by officers of the 3rd Respondent attached to the office of the 2nd respondent at the behest of the 1st Respondent is a gross violation of the applicant right to personal liberty guaranteed under section 35 (1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

 

“A declaration that the threatened arrest of the applicant by officers of the 3rd respondent at the instance of the 1st respondent over demand for the return of a car donation made to the God in Action Liberation Mission is a threatened violation of the applicant’s right to personal liberty guaranteed by section 33(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

 

“The sum of five hundred million naira (N500, 000,000.00 only as damages.”

 

When contacted by SaharaReporters to hear his version of the story, the cleric said, “What I can tell you is that the matter is in court. I charged the matter to court because they came into the church with thugs and started fighting me and trying to harm me.

 

“It was during a live service in the middle of a wedding; that was when my members started fighting them.

 

“They came with weapons; knife and battle axe. One of them came with a gun as I was told. We handed them over to the community chairman while he took them to the police station.”

 

When asked whether he was arrested and detained by the police on January 21 as claimed in the court document, he said, “My lawyer asked me not to answer any further questions.”

 

“I don’t know what the constitution says, I only know the bible,” he added.

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Aare Abisoye Fagade Stands with Oyo State: Condemns Governor Seyi Makinde’s Assault on Democracy

Published

3 days ago

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April 29, 2024

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Today, with a heavy heart and a deep sense of duty to the people of Oyo State, Aare Abisoye Fagade, a staunch advocate for justice and a revered pillar of the All Progressives Congress (APC), raises his voice in resolute condemnation of the egregious assault on democracy orchestrated by Governor Seyi Makinde.

 

As the heartbeat of democracy in Nigeria, Oyo State has been dealt a grievous blow by Governor Makinde’s calculated campaign of electoral subterfuge. Withholding election materials across the state, Governor Makinde has callously deprived our beloved citizens of their fundamental right to participate in free and fair elections, a right that lies at the very core of our democratic ethos.

 

But this is not merely an attack on the mechanics of an election; it is an attack on the soul of Oyo State, on the hopes and aspirations of its people, and on the principles of justice and equality that we hold dear. Governor Makinde’s actions betray a callous disregard for the sanctity of the ballot box and a cynical determination to silence the voices of the people.

 

In this moment of trial, Aare Abisoye Fagade stands shoulder to shoulder with the resilient sons and daughters of Oyo State, united in our determination to defend our democratic heritage against those who would seek to defile it. He calls upon all patriots, regardless of political affiliation, to join him in condemning Governor Makinde’s assault on democracy and in demanding accountability for this shameful betrayal of trust.

 

Let us stand together as one, Oyo State, in defense of our democracy, in defense of our future, and in defense of the principles that bind us together as a people. For it is only by standing firm in the face of tyranny that we can ensure a brighter tomorrow for generations yet unborn.

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