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  • Dickson looting government property, planning to flee Nigeria before hand-over – APC chieftain

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Yekini Nabena has alleged that Bayelsa state governor, Seriake Dickson was planning to flee the country before his February 14 hand over date to avoid investigation

    Nabena also alleged that the outgoing government was already planning to loot government property, vehicles and other items in the Government House.

    In a statement in Abuja, Nabena ask Bayelsans to ensure vigilance on all the public property, especially government vehicles, generators, electronic equipment, furniture, Air Conditioners and other items and ensure they are not looted by the outgoing government.

    Nabena who is also the Deputy spokesman of that APC referred to a recent statement by the media aide to the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, disclosing that some government property had already been stolen.

    “As contained in a statement issued by the media aide to the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, it has already been disclosed how some yet-to-be identified individuals have looted property, including, a generator, electronic equipment, furniture, Air Conditioners and other sundry items in the Deputy Governor’s Guest House in Government House, Yenagoa.

    “We have since learnt that the last minute looting of the state government property is being orchestrated by Governor Dickson and his Chief of Staff, Talford Ongolo in the guise of hand over activities. This is a glimpse into the greedy and shameless level of stealing Bayelsans had has to endure under the outgoing administration of Governor Dickson.

    “Even though the incoming government of APC will not persecute anybody, the outgoing PDP government must account for every kobo misused while in office.”

    Nabena said further that based on intelligence reports the incoming government has alerted the international community of Governor Dickson’s plan to flee the country in an attempt to evade investigation and possibly prosecution over his alleged well-reported corrupt activities as Governor.

    “The international community, particularly the US and UK authorities is by this statement alerted of Governor Dickson plan to escape the country. Governor Dickson has many questions to answer particularly the fraudulent and inflated construction of the unused Bayelsa International Airport and other elephant projects that litter the state,” Nabena stated.

    He warned the outgoing government officials and civil servants accomplice not to fraudulently acquire government property, saying the law will take it cause on whoever indulge in such act no matter how highly placed the person is.

    Efforts to get the governor’s spokesman for comments on the allegations did not succeed as at press time.

  • Ban: Three feared killed as Okada riders clash with police gets messier

    Ban: Three feared killed as Okada riders clash with police gets messier

    At least three persons have been feared killed after a fight broke out between commercial motorcyclists and policemen at Ijora in Apapa, Lagos.

    The fight, which started around 9:30am, was said to have led to destruction of vehicles and other properties in the area.

    Policemen had gone to the port community to enforce the state government’s ban on commercial cycles but met stiff resistance from the operators who had earlier vowed to unleash mayhem in protest against the new order.

    Meanwhile, another protest has surfaced at Allen roundabout, Ikeja of the state.

    Commuters lamented that they were stranded at Bus Stops, had to trek long distances and pay higher transportation fares to their destinations since the ban commenced.

    Recall that the Lagos State Government had on January 26 announced that it would commence enforcement of the extant Transport Sector Reform Law 2018 from February 1.

    More details later…

  • Juventus stops training after opponents diagnosed with coronavirus

    Juventus stops training after opponents diagnosed with coronavirus

    Juventus suspended the activities of their under-23 team on Saturday after a fourth player at third-tier club Pianese, their most recent opponents, tested positive for the coronavirus.

    The Turin club, whose under-23 team play in Serie C, said it was a precautionary measure and they were in constant contact with health authorities.

    “It is specified that, six days after the game, the Juventus players remain asymptomatic and are under medical supervision,” added the club statement.

    Gazetta dello Sport said the players had been quarantined in their homes, though this was not mentioned by Juventus.

    Their under-23 side beat Pianese 1-0 last Sunday.

    Earlier, Pianese said that “after a series of checks, Pianese announce that a fourth player is infected by Covid-19.

    “He too is in solitary confinement at home and is under observation by the relevant authorities.”

    One member of staff has also been infected.

    The club, based in Piancastagnaio in the region of Tuscany, said on Friday that the entire squad have been quarantined in their homes.

    It said the first player tested positive on Thursday, several days after he missed a match because he was feeling slightly feverish.

    The number of deaths in Italy from the illness rose to 29 on Saturday and the accumulated total of cases reached 1,128, authorities said.

    Twenty of the 30 Serie C matches this weekend have been postponed because of the virus. Five Serie A games have also been called off.

  • Coronavirus: Nigerians can travel to China – Lai Mohammed

    The Federal Government will not stop Nigerians from travelling to China or any other country where coronavirus has manifested.

    Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made this known while addressing newsmen shortly after a meeting of the inter ministerial and multi-sectoral committee on coronavirus held at the Ministry of Health, Abuja on Friday.

    He said that rather than impose travel ban, there will be travel advisory that will help Nigerians who wished to visit China to do so without any encumbrances to their health and wellbeing.

    “We know it is a bit difficult to ban people from travelling. Another thing is that this is not a basis to stigmatise people who come from there. Even if we have Nigerians who are there, unless they indicate interest that they want to come home, we can’t force them.

    “I know we have Nigerians in Wuhan; our Embassy in China has confirmed that we have about 16 Nigerians in Wuhan and they are in touch with them. They have, however, not indicated their interest to come home. They will, however, contact our embassy if they like to come home,” he said.

    The minister said there was need for the general public to be enlightened and for Nigerians travelling to be absolutely transparent.

    “We need a lot of public enlightenment. We need to let people who travel know that there is the need for absolute transparency and absolute honesty when they are filling out forms.

    “Some people don’t take the forms seriously and they do mislead authorities when they are asked to declare their status.

    “One of the major advantages of the declaration of global emergency for coronavirus by WHO is that they understand that combating it can be really expensive and there are states that cannot afford it.

    “But there are partners that can help such countries. But right now, we are in the stage of working together inter-ministerially to make sure we address the epidemic,” he said.

    The coronavirus committee is made up of several line ministries, including Health, Aviation, Transport, Information and Culture, Police Affairs, Internal Affairs, Agriculture and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Also, the committee involves various government agencies and parastatals as well as state governors where international airports are located, Lagos, Enugu, Rivers and Kano.

    The World Health Organisation has declared the coronavirus as a public health emergency of international concern.

  • Excitement as FG fulfills payment of N33,000 monthly allowance to serving corps members

    Serving National Youth Service Corps members are in a delirium of sorts after the Federal Government fulfilled its promise to pay N33,000 to them as allowance.

    The new allowance is more than 100 percent from the N18,000 they were paid before.

    On Twitter Friday, excited corps members shared their excitement in many posts, with the #NYSC trending as the number one topic in Nigeria.

    But there are downsides as well, as corps members at the brink of passing out are expressing fears of plunging into the unemployment market, where they may not even earn the basic N33,000.

    On 29 January, the Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, had hinted that the new allowance, called allawee by corps members, was on the way.

    He spoke during a meeting with some corps members at the service’s Bauchi State Secretariat.

    Brigadier General Ibrahim, who was on a working visit to the state, cleared the air on the amount approved as monthly allowance for corps members.

    He explained that the approval was made in line with the implementation of the new National Minimum Wage by the Federal Government.

    Ibrahim noted that contrary to the various amounts being circulated on social media, the sum of N33,000 had been approved as the new rate.

    See some of the reactions on Twitter:

    https://twitter.com/tife_fabunmi/status/1223162054053388291

  • BREXIT: No membership, no benefits – EU leaders tell Britain

    The leaders of the European Union’s three institutions warned Britain on Friday that it cannot expect “the highest quality access to the single market” unless it adopts the bloc’s standards on environment, labor, taxation and state aid.

    European Council President Charles Michel, EU Parliament President David Sassoli and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave a speech on the future of Europe in Brussels, Belgium.

    Saying; “Without being a member, you cannot retain the benefits of membership. Without the free movement of people, there can be no free movement of capital, goods, and services”.

    The presidents were due to comment on Brexit and the future of the EU at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT).

    Britain will no longer be an EU member state from Saturday, but it will enter a transition period until the end of December that is meant to give citizens and businesses time to adapt while an agreement is hammered out on the shape of the future relationship.

    Trade, fishing rights and a raft of other issues are up for discussion.

    Although the aim is to achieve a “zero tariff, zero quota” trade deal, the EU says that it would also require “zero dumping”.

    It will insist that Britain remain aligned on standards and regulations to guarantee fair competition, but London has already indicated it will not be “a rule-taker”.

  • Court reinstates 14 Perm Secs sacked by Wike

    Court reinstates 14 Perm Secs sacked by Wike

    …Orders payments of salaries, other entitlements from 2015

    The National Industrial Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has reinstated the permanent secretaries sacked in 2015 by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

    The court declared the action of removing and compulsorily retiring the affected senior civil servants by the governor as unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void.

    Ruling on the case brought before him by the aggrieved permanent secretaries, the presiding judge, Bashar Alkali, held that the state government overstepped its constitutional bounds by treating the civil servants as if they were his political appointees.

    Alkali held that all their entitlements, salaries and other privileges should be restored within 30 days adding that their salaries must be paid from November 2015 till date.

    “They should not lose their entitlements if their appointments were wrongly terminated. They are entitled to their salaries from the day of the termination till date”, he said.

    Alkali further condemned the eviction of the affected permanent secretaries from their official quarters despite the order of the court that all the parties should maintain the status quo.

    He said: “The action is unacceptable and is totally condemned. It is unlawful, illegal and null and void. I declare that the claimants remain permanent secretaries. I set aside the purported approval of compulsory retirement. Pay them all the arrears. They should be paid”.

    Wike in a statement issued by his government in November 2015 removed and compulsorily retired 14 permanent secretaries.

    Aggrieved by the action of the governor, the permanent secretaries approached the INC praying the court to declare the action of the governor as illegal and unconstitutional.

    Among other reliefs, the claimants also prayed the court to make orders setting aside their compulsory retirements, reinstating their salaries and other entitlements as well as awarding them N600m as damages.

    Alkali while determining the case, first dismissed the submission of the lawyer to the defendants that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter and that the matter should be dismissed following the decision of the claimants, who were not employed on the same day, to join the case.

    But the judge, who held that the court had jurisdiction to adjudicate over the case, added that the matter was rightly instituted since despite their different dates of employment, the permanent secretaries had shown the existence of common grievances.

    “This suit is rightly instituted and the court has jurisdiction to adjudicate over this matter. It is crystal clear that all the claimants have shown existence of common grievance so that the judgement will be given jointly and severely”, he said.

    On whether the governor had the right to compulsorily retire the permanent secretaries, Alkali, who cited many judicial precedents, said the claimants were civil servants under industry rules and not under the whims and caprices of the governor.

    He said as civil servants, the permanent secretaries were employed under the civil service regulations to work for 35 years before retirement or quit after attaining 60 years of age.

    He said the case of compulsory retirement only applies when a public servant is indicted of wrongdoing, which must be handled by the civil service commission through an established procedure.

    Alkali said though the governor had powers based on Section 281 of the 1999 Constitution to appoint a permanent secretary, he lacked the power to remove and retire such public servant without recourse to the established procedure in the civil service.

    He said: “The power of the governor to remove does not include retirement. The government of Rivers State having appointed them must adhere to the civil service guidelines. Only the civil service commission is vested with the powers to discipline the civil servants.

    “The power of the governor to appoint is not absolute. Civil servants do not hold their offices at the mercy of the governor. Even if they are removed, they should be returned to the civil service. They are not like commissioners or special advisers, whose tenures are tied to the governor.

    “Civil servants cannot be removed at will without compliance to the rules. If the governor doesn’t want them as permanent secretaries, they should be returned to the service as directors.

    “The security of tenure and rights of the civil servants are determined by the civil service Commission. The claimants are not political appointees and cannot be retired by the governor”.

  • Okada ban: Motorcycle operators protest in Lagos

    Okada ban: Motorcycle operators protest in Lagos

    Some commercial motorcycle operators on Friday took to the street to express their grievances over the recent decision of the state government to restrict their movement in some Local Government Areas, bridges, and highways in the state.

    The operators which include majorly that of Gokada and Max.ng staged a peaceful protest from Oregun road to the state capital in Ikeja.

    Bearing various placards, the protesters appealed to the state government to regulate their services and not restrict them from operating.

    They lamented that the business is their only means of survival.

    Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, announced earlier this week that the government would enforce the ban on motorcycles and tricycles in six local government areas, as well as major highways and bridges from February 1.

    He explained that the decision was taken after a robust assessment of the debate on the rate of accidents in Lagos, saying security and safety of the lives of the residents were paramount.

    He also warned that all offenders and violators would be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the statement.

  • Just in: Secondus, Obi, PDP lawmakers protest at US, UK embassies

    Just in: Secondus, Obi, PDP lawmakers protest at US, UK embassies

    The leadership and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday protested at the embassies of the United States and the United Kingdom in Abuja.

    The National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, said their presence was to present protest papers to the embassies.

    He said that President Muhammadu Buhari, has lost control of the security of the nation and so should resign.

    He also alleged that the judiciary and the NASS have been caged.

    He lamented the January 14 Supreme Court judgement which sacked Chief Emeka Ihedioha as the Governor of Imo State, adding that it should be reviewed.

  • Fear grips UNIZIK as student becomes first Lassa fever victim

    Fear grips UNIZIK as student becomes first Lassa fever victim

    A student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University(UNIZIK) has been confirmed as the first Lassa fever patient in Anambra State.

    The Emergency Response team, which has been observing situation in the state, has moved the victim to Abakaliki, Ebonyi state after necessary sanitization.

    The Lassa fever case from Unizik was confirmed at the Chukwukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH)where she was transferred from the School’s Medical Centre.

    The Hospital management said Friday it collected specimen of the victim and sent to Irruah, Edo state with the result coming out positive

    However, the Acting CMAC of COOUTH, Dr Ifeanyichukwu Ezebialu, who signed the circular, said there was no cause for alarm