Nigeria Election: INEC Reveals What Will Happen to Electoral Offenders

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday called for decisive actions against electoral offenders in the country.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Stakeholders’ Forum on Future of Elections in Nigeria, organised by a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), in Abuja.

Yakubu, who was represented by Mr Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, said the commission was in full support of the establishment of Electoral Offences Commission to punish offenders.

“It is time to take decisive action to break the cycle of impunity through the promulgation of an Electoral Offences Commission/Tribunal to handle matters relating to electoral offences.

“The commission has made it clear that it lacks the capacity and wherewithal to continue the prosecution of electoral offenders.

“And it is for this reason that the commission supports and will continue to support the creation of an Electoral Offences Commission/Tribunal to process, arrest, investigate and prosecute electoral offenders,’’ he said.

Yakubu said that INEC was set to design strategies to checkmate the act of vote buying and selling.

Senate Directs Minister, Agency to Return Alleged Diverted N14.3billion

 

The Senate has directed the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah and acting Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Engineer Terhemba Nongo to return alleged diverted N14.3 billion from 2017 NEPZA budget into the National treasury.

The upper legislative chamber in a letter written to that effect by Chairman of its Committee on Trade and Investment, Senator Mohammed Nakudu Sabo (APC Jigawa South West), warned the Minister and NEPZA boss to either comply with the directive or be ready to face serious legislative action against them.

The dissatisfaction of the committee as explained by Senator Sabo in Abuja Monday was as a result of the alleged fraudulent way the diverted N14.3billion was hurriedly transfered from NEPZA account into a private company called Nigerian Special Economic Zone Company Account between April 8, to10 with disregard to earlier warnings.

The alleged diverted fund, according to the Chairman, was first warehoused in NEPZA account with the CBN from 2017 budget allocations before it was moved into the private company account about two weeks ago.

“To prevent this fraud, my committee wrote a letter to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele on the 8th of this month not to release the money but very annoyingly, the money is confirmed to have been released and transfered by NEPZA in collaboration with the Minister into a private company account.

“This is unacceptable and will not be condoned, hence the need for the money to be returned into national treasury,” he said.

Gunmen Kidnap UBEC Chairman, Daughter; Kill Driver on Kaduna-Abuja Highway

 

Armed men have reportedly blocked the Kaduna-Abuja highway, opened fire on some vehicles and abducted two people.

NAN reports that the attack was said to have occurred at about 3 pm around Katari village on Monday and resulted to the death of one person.

Spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, DSP Yakubu Sabo, said the attackers kidnapped the Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Muhammad Abubakar and his daughter while his driver was shot dead.

Sabo, who confirmed the incident in a statement issued in Kaduna, said two victims of the attack were rescued.

“Today April 29, we received information through DPO Katari that at about 1530hrs, he got a distress call that armed men in military uniform intercepted a Land Cruiser SUV with Reg. No 07E o4 FG and Toyota Sienna with Reg. No SLJ 465 TN at Kurmin Kare Village along Kaduna -Abuja Expressway, opened fire on the vehicles and in the process the driver of the SUV was shot dead.

“While the occupants, Dr. Muhammad Abubakar, who is the Chairman of Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and his daughter were kidnapped.

“The occupants of the Sienna; one Alowonle Olalere and Onuka Victor both of Ibadan, Oyo State were injured and rescued to Katari Police Station.”

Teni is my sugar Mummy and I'm planning to get her pregnant soon - SEPH voiced out in an interview

Artiste TENi is my SugarMummy i am planning to get her Pregnant Soon

In an interview with VibezTV, Fast rising act; SEPH also known as Global Boy speaks on said:- “am seriously Crushing on Teni, I want to impregnate her because am sure she can’t cheat”.

💯SEPH Global boy is one of the next rated artist in Nigeria at the moment who has a couple of hit singles to his name, his latest hit single SEVEN DAYS featuring Nigerian veteran actor Jide Kosoko currently gaining airplay home and abroad, So we decided to have an interview to know what more he has in stock for the industry, plans & upcoming projects and so on. Enjoy it 👇

❓SEPH Global boy thank you for coming through

What Does the name SEPH implies ?

▪Strength to Entertain People’s Heart

❓where do u base?

▪I am a surulere base Afro dancehall music act

❓Apart from Music what other things do you do?

▪i just finished with studies so for now am placing more focus on my career but soonest i will be diverting into business, like i have passion for real estate, importation & exportation and so on.

❓What’s ur relationship status?

▪i am currently single and seriously searching😁

❓Searching? Do you mean there is no serious woman👩🏽 in your life right now?

▪No, most definitely i have wonderful people in my life both male & female but basically to me for as long as anyone hasn’t been join in holy matrimony then i consider myself as being single.

❓ Who inspires you in the industry and why?

▪Definitely wizkid, wizzy is a very talented & hard working act that has done so well not just for himself but the entire Africa music🎵 industry putting our sound on the world map🗺, i think such lifestyle & great achievement is worth emulating.

❓In a saturated music environment in Nigeria, what makes you unique?

▪Truly I would agree with you that the industry is saturated, everybody is unique in their ways, my plan is to bring back the good old days where you can enjoy good music not just by the beat and sound but my well structured lyrics where everybody can vibe along with, you will agree with me that most of the content nowadays are not quality interms of lyrics, rythms, messages, etc. Which is why am setting new pace for informative, educative & entertaining sound that could bless both the body, spirit & souls of my listeners.

❓Like we know you’re already in the industry weather doing great stuffs, some artist get into the industry and months later we don’t hear about them again, what measure are you putting in place to continue being in the industry knowing fully well that there are lots of competition?

❓what record label are you in presently

▪ i am a freelance artiste right now, am currently seeking a reputable Record label or management to work with

❓What are your plans and projects?

▪i am working on so many serious project right now, been recording some massive sounds also am working on collaborations with some of my senior colleagues and the plan is to alongside Wizzy dominate the world…

would be dropping my EP (Extended playlist) before ending of the year.

Am coming up with some dope & classy world class videos that will wow my fans & make them more proud of my brand…

And so many other great plans i will be unveiling soon.

❓To you, what are the challenges mostly facing Growing artiste in the industry?

▪ One of the major challenges we have is that the top artiste have monetized the industry so this is like a big challenge for us because Talent alone is not appreciated anymore else you have real money to push your brand, no Oap or media personalities wanna support or help no matter how talented you are except you sort them, its not their fault because even the top act are paying them to get them favor their brand. Which is not supposed to be. Its better advice not to even do music if you don’t have money to promote your music else you will be totally frustrated. The industry is too intimidating.

❓who is your female celebrity crush?

▪Hmm the big question, well most of them are married or I should say taken but Currently my new crush which i see like my #SugarMummy already is TENi, am sure she would probably be ssingle too that makes me lucky…

❓ wait you mean TENI

makanaki

Yes of course, i so much love the babe.

❓Wow, hardly have i seen anyone crushing on TENi, why did u choose her?

▪Am sure Teniola cannot cheat On me..

Even if she want to cheat, who is sleeping to cheat with?

She is only my spec lol. Most men don’t love ladies that big but for me that makes me safe.. Lol

❓What are your expectations, Where do you see yourself in 5Years time?

▪Gl🌍bal, certainly we are G🌍ing Gl🌍bal..

❓I love that, Global. I guess that is why u are called Gl🌍bal B🌍y, what is your level of success that would make you consider yourself to finally be Gl🌍bal.

▪Until my name fade out on the Sky for the whole wide world to see just like the sun, stars & moon. It seems impossible to

Man but with God all things are possible so i strongly believe it will happen..

❓Wow big dreams I guess, so you want your name written on the sky? How about winning Grammy lol

▪Grammy is huge but not d biggest, i am gonna get it & more but my dream is as big as to see my name is boldly display in the sky for the world to celebrate Me.

❓What will be your advice to the upcoming talents?

▪Don’t stop don’t quit, i know u will feel or think of quitting but trust me as difficult & impossible it looks, Grace is valid. When its ur time ur clock will work without battery, Never stop believing your time will come.

❓Amazing, how can your fans connect with you?

▪ on all social media i am @Globalboyseph and for important enquiries or bookings; +2349093886153 Sephentertainment@Gmail.com

Documents Show Osinbajo, Fashola Lied About Rise in PowerGeneration

Power generation and supply in the country has plumetted from 4,000 megawatts to 2,039MW.

In February, Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, had claimed that power generation in Nigeria had improved by 100% within the space of three years.

In April 2019, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had also claimed that power generation had improved from 4000mw to 8100mw.However, documents seen by Vanguard from the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo state: "On April 23rd, 2019, average power sent out was 87,061.8 MWh/day.

"The situation is compounded because the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was not able to complete the rehabilitation of the Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline System.Consequently, Egbin, Omotosho, Olorunsogo and paras power stations were not able to generate power for transmission and distribution, thus forcing many electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to express their helplessness to consumers.Corroborating the document, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, said : "The National Grid is experiencing reduced power generation due mainly to emergency maintenance by NGC of its gas pipeline supplying gas to Egbin, Omotosho, Olorunsogo and Paras Power Stations."

"This was reportedly caused by leakage on the Escravos-Lagos gas pipeline, necessitating the total shutdown of the four power generating plants on 25th April, 2019."

Man Steals N1.7m Hospital’s Microscope, Sells it for N5,000

Operatives of the Kastina State Police Command have arrested a 30-year-old man, Hamza Sani, for allegedly conspiring with four others to steal a microscope belonging to the Malumfashi General Hospital, in the Malunfashi area of the state.

Northern City News learnt from a police source that Sani's arrest led to the apprehension of his cohorts, identified as Magaji Yusuf, 36; Saidu Shehu, 40; Kamala Aliyu, 33; and Emmanuel Ukelere, 48.

The state's Police Public Relations Officer, Gambo Isah, while confirming the incident, said Sani and his cohorts specialised in the stealing of hospital equipment, adding that during interrogation, Sani confessed to the crime.

Isah said, "On Saturday, April 13, 2019, around 6am, the command succeeded in smashing a syndicate that specialises in theft of hospital equipment.

Sani, who was paraded at the Katsina Police Command headquarters, told Northern City News that he sold the microscope for N5,000 because he needed money to treat his sick wife.

Five Soldiers Killed, 30 Missing in Boko Haram Battle

 

At least five Nigerian soldiers were killed and some 30 are missing three days after Boko Haram jihadist overran an army base, security sources said on Monday.

Gunmen from the Islamic State West Africa Province, the IS-linked faction of Boko Haram, attacked the base in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state on Friday.

"We have recovered five bodies of soldiers who paid the supreme price fighting the terrorists," a military officer told AFP, giving the first reports of casualty numbers.

Nigerian army chief Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai last week warned of an ISWAP-Boko Haram alliance to carve out a jihadist enclave stretching from Nigeria's northeast into the wider Lake Chad region.