Television Nigerian

Ohanaeze Youths Movement, a socio-cultural group, has urged President Bola Ahmed Bola to cease what it calls the continuing illegal imprisonment of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele and execute the existing Court decision on his release.

The trial of Emefiele began last Tuesday in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, with three witnesses exonerating him of misconduct in the award of N1.2bn car supply contracts by CBN under his supervision.

The group said in a statement issued jointly by its founders, Obe Agu and Nwabueze Obi, that Emefiele’s exoneration by witnesses from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the court was obvious evidence that he was being pursued rather than prosecuted.

As a result, the organization demanded Emefiele’s release and a thorough prosecution procedure.

According to the statement, “Emefiele was put on trial by the Federal Government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on six counts relating to alleged procurement procedure violations in the award of the contract to April1616 Investment Limited.” At the start of the trial, the first prosecution witness admitted that Emefiele was neither the owner or shareholder of April1616 Investment Limited, which was given the N1.2bn vehicle supply contract by CBN under Emefiele’s name.

“The witness, Samsideen Romanus, a top official of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), gave evidence on how the company was incorporated on August 1, 2016, and tendered several documents on how the company was floated.” He read out in front of the Court the names of the company’s shareholders, who included Aminu Idris Yaro, Maryam Aliyu Abdullahi, and Saadatu Ramalan Yaro as joint owners. While submitting many documents on how the firm was incorporated on August 1, 2016, Romanus, who was lead in evidence by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, stated that Emefiele’s name was not in any way related with the company.

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“The witness explained that, while CAC was responsible for the company’s incorporation, it has no role in the day-to-day operations of the entity.” The second witness, Remigious Ugwu, a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank, told the court how the CBN paid various quantities of money in millions of naira into the April1616 Investment Limited. He specifically told Justice Hamza Muazu how CBN paid the same business N39,060,465, N421,953,488 on November 6, 2020, and N304,883,720 on November 23, 2020. He admitted that none of the payments were associated with Emefiele’s name, but said that he had no idea what the funds were for.

“The witness, who tendered various documents on behalf of the bank, stated that the former CBN governor was not a signatory to the company’s bank account.” The third witness, Oluwole Owoeye, a Deputy Director, Banking Services with the CBN and former Secretary to the CBN’s Major Contract Tendering Committee (MCTC), stated that his organization was responsible for ensuring compliance with the Procurement Act in contract awarding. Owoeye, on the other hand, informed the court that his committee was not involved in the vetting of bids for contract awards that led to Emefiele’s conviction. The witness explained that the bidding was handled by another committee since it exceeded the threshold of his own. The foregoing testimonies by these witnesses are convincing evidence that Emefiele was being witch-hunted.”

The Federal Government has taken delivery of the finished Second Niger Bridge and emphasized the need of timely oversight of road construction.

On Sunday, December 3, 2023, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, received the finished 2nd Niger Bridge project and related facilities from the project’s contractor, Messr Julius Berger Nigeria (JBN) Plc, at the 2nd Niger Bridge toll station.

Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, the Minister’s Chief Press Secretary, reiterated the government’s commitment to delivering long-lasting road infrastructure that meets world-class standards.

“We are here to take over the completed works of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc on the 2nd Niger Bridge and some access roads,” he explained. We are pleased with the work done and the project circle that was completed during the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“We thank President Muhammadu Buhari’s immediate predecessor, His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola, CON, SAN, who was the Hon. Minister of Works who oversaw this project.”

*The job is flawlessly lovely and well-done.”
Umahi noted that, in line with Mr. President’s new road infrastructure innovations, his Ministry will endeavor to assure the installation of solar-powered lighting along the length of the completed project, as well as the completion of the two bridge interchanges.

He also stated that he plans to purchase more land through the state government in order to build service stations and improve road safety by installing CCTV cameras.

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He went on to say that the ministry also intends to concession the project through the HDMI program.

“We have the light issue, and we will work together on how to have light permanently along the completed road, especially at night, and we have agreed on a solar solution.” When we finish the two interchanges, the road project will be completed.

“One is to take road users out of Asaba town so that if you come to this bridge, you don’t have to go through Asaba town to encounter vehicular traffic, and the other is to take road users out of Onitsha town to avoid traffic, and when this is done, the entire job will be said to be fully completed.” The positions have been recommended for Julius Berger and RCC.

“However, if we find an investor willing to fund the two interchanges, we will concession the two projects to such investor under our HDMI program, and we will acquire more land here so that we can establish service stations, and we will get the private sector to build hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, filling stations, and other facilities for public use, as we see in the Western world.”

“And of course we are going to ensure security surveillance along the road through the installation of CCTV cameras and deployment of security personnel so that within this axis you can have access to security within the shortest possible time” he told reporters.

The minister also stated that, while the Federal Government would take over the completed 2nd Niger Bridge, the contractor will still be liable throughout the defect liability period, and if anything goes wrong with the completed construction, the contractor will be called upon to remedy it.

He stated that the toll would be triggered after the two interchanges were fixed.

Engr. Obioha, Director Bridge Design and Construction, Federal Ministry of Works, commended the Federal Government in his remarks for working tirelessly to secure the project’s completion.

He stated that the Ministry worked well with the contractor to ensure that the project was completed on time, and he hoped that the public would support this Federal Government’s efforts by following the rules of the road and helping to ensure the safety and protection of the installations along the road.
Dr Las Ritcher, Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria (JBN) Plc, stated that the bridge was commissioned by the previous administration but that a technical handover to the Federal Ministry of Works was required, thus the handover ceremony.

He expressed hope that the Federal Ministry of Works, led by Sen. Umahi, who is known for his preference for excellent job delivery, will be satisfied with the work done.

“He has seen what Julius Berger has delivered to the highest quality,” he remarked. I believe he is satisfied, and as of tomorrow, we can declare it is no longer our project; it is now the project of the Federal Ministry of Works. I am glad to give over to the client and know that he will be able to operate the road, including the toll station.”

It should be noted that the contract awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria (JBN) Plc is for the construction of the 2nd Niger Bridge connecting Anambra and Delta States, Contract No. 6475, and the construction of an access road from the existing Benin-Asaba Expressway to the approach link road to the 2nd Niger Bridge, Contract No. 7919.

In a related development, the minister paid an inspection visit to the project site of CGG Nig. Ltd on the contract for the Rehabilitation of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway Section 111: Enugu- Lokpanta 61.15 km route.

The Minister also paid a visit to the collapsed New Artisan bridge on the NNPC Mega Filling Station Enugu-PH Expressway in Enugu State. Work at such places is proceeding and is expected to be completed in record time.

Femi Fani-Kayode, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), asserted that the Department of State Services prevented democratic disruption in Nigeria under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

In response to a charge made against Yusuf Magaji Bichi, the director general of the DSS, the former minister of aviation made this statement on Monday.

The DSS DG was accused by well-known X user Jackson Ude of embezzling a subsidy grant intended for service personnel.
The service’s director of strategic communications and public relations, Peter Afunanya, refuted the report, claiming that the agency had not been given any funding of that kind.

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Speaking on the issue, Fani-Kayode asserted that “democracy may have been brought to an end by mutinous soldiers during the tenure of @MBuhari, and had it not been for Bichi and his DSS, Boko Haram and ISWAP would have taken Abuja years ago.”

“Come to Nigeria and go to the courts to prove all he has said against a hard-working & decent man and a dedicated servant of the Nigerian state,” the man urged Ude to do.

“Once on Nigerian soil, I will personally ensure his safety if he chooses to come.”

In cooperation with the military and other intelligence agency chiefs of the time, he claimed, the head of the DSS “exposed and thwarted many coup attempts and ensured that the Islamist terrorists were repelled and contained.”

Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said there will be no fire brigade approach to passing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s N27.5 trillion 2024 budget.

After a committee meeting on Saturday, he assured journalists.

Some report that President Tinubu gave lawmakers with an empty box, implying he was without documents, were denied by the lawmaker.

Some MPs making the claim were uneducated, Olamilekan said.

On the alleged fire brigade approach, the Senator said the executive and legislature were aware of January to December budget circle implementation and would work to pass the budget quickly.

“Saturday’s meeting was to plot a template that would ensure smooth committee hearing of the budget,” he claimed, requiring all key committee chairs to attend.

No fire department here. Procedures must be followed. Agency budgets must be defended and returned to the Appropriations Committee for committee review.

We only discussed the modalities we will use to ensure a smooth appropriation process in the Senate, and I think all the chairmen of the various Senate committees are here, so we can still meet the 31 December–January deadline so the president can assent to the budget.

“The strategy is perfect, and we are ready. We mostly discussed that.

We will now have joint Senate-House sittings, with some committees working from the Senate and others from the House. The timeline is still achievable.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee has received the 2024 annual budget after second reading.