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Comrade Grace Ike new Executive chairman of NUJ Abuja chapel with his Secretary of the union Comrede Jide taking oath of office after after declare the winner of NUJ Election on 4th Dec 2024 at NUJ HQ Abuja.
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President The Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Margaret Aina OGUNTALA FNSE and H. E Engr. Prof BABAGANA Umara Zulum FNSE, executive governor of Borno state during the Dinner organised by Borno state government to host the President of NSE and Executive committee members during their Retreat in Maiduguri.
R-L … Engr. Abubakar Baware Permanent Secretary. Ministry of Works and Housing, SA to Borno State Governor on Works, Engr Kori Shettima; President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers( NSE) Engr. Margaret Aina OGUNTALA FNSE, Deputy President of NSE, Engr. A. Rabiu FNSE, MFR; Commissioner of Works, Engr. Mustapha Gubio FNSE, and ACEN president Engr. Kamselem Burkar was present during the visit to the West End flyover construction site by the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers in Maiduguri.
President The Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Margaret Aina OGUNTALA FNSE, H. E Engr. Prof BABAGANA Umara Zulum FNSE, executive governor of Borno state and Immediate past president NSE during the Dinner organised by the Borno state government to host the President of NSE Engr. Tasiu Saad Gidari- Wudil FNSE and Executive Committee members during their Retreat in Maiduguri.
L-R…Commissioner of Works Borno state, Engr. Mustapha Gubio FNSE; President of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr. Margaret Aina OGUNTALA FNSE; SA to Borno State Governor on Works Engr Kori Shettima FNSE and President of ACEN Engr. Kamsalem Burkar FNSE during the West end flyover construction site by the President of Nigerian Society of Engineers in Maiduguri, Borno State.
L-R…Engr Mohammed Habib- Director of works and physical planning and development, Borno State University Teaching Hospital; President Nigerian Society of Engineers Engr. Margaret Aina OGUNTALA FNSE; Vice President of COREN Engr. Olu Ogunduyile FNSE and Deputy President Nigerian Society of Engineers Engr. Ali Rabiu FNSE, MFR during the Borno State University Teaching Hospital site visit in Maiduguri.
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Shehu Hadi Ahmad, the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, has been suspended indefinitely.
A statement issued by Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, confirmed the suspension on Thursday.
Olayinka said the suspension of Ahmad was with immediate effect.
He was directed to hand over his duties to the Director of Engineering Services.
As of the time of filing this report, the reason for his suspension was not stated.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NDCMB, has said it is funding research and innovation in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector with its $50 million Research and Development Fund.
The Research and Development Fund was established in 2020, and is one of the facilities the NDCMB leverages on to promote local content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Ogbe disclosed this on Wednesday at the opening session of the SciBiz 2024 annual conference, themed: ‘Integrating Research, Innovation, and Policy: Triple Helix Pathway to Research Commercialisation’.
Ogbe, who was represented by the General Manager of Research and Development, Silas Ajimijaye, stressed the NDCMB’s commitment to transforming research works into new products and services.
He also spoke of the need to create an ecosystem where researchers, investors and the government can interact. According to the NDCMB boss, “Research and innovation represent the lifeblood of the Nigerian oil industry”.
According to him, such partnerships can enhance local efforts and enable Nigeria to become a key player in global innovation.
He further explained that the $50 million Research and Development Fund was established in 2000 to ensure sustainability in research and innovation.
“So, we have the $50 million Nigeria Content Research and Development Fund, created by the Board in 2020. It is designed to provide the much-needed research funding within the oil and gas research and development space.”
The NDCMB is currently sponsoring about 14 applied research projects, which are at various stages of completion, Ogbe further disclosed.
“We intend to onboard more impactful research projects in the coming months,” the Executive Secretary added.
Also speaking at the event, the President of Triple Helix Nigeria, Abdulmalik Halilu, noted that the organization is committed to promoting research and innovation efforts in Nigeria and across Africa.
Halilu, who is equally the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at NCDMB, stressed that every human progress is a product of innovation.
According to him, universities and other academic institutions should play a critical role in the commercialisation of research.
“Research should transcend the boundaries of laboratories and classrooms to solving real life problems,” Halilu said.
Citing data from the World Intellectual Property Organisation, he noted that Nigeria has made progress in the area of research and innovation with annual patent applications rising from less than 100 in 2016 to over 400 in 2023.
“Nigeria has the potential to transform universities to solution-based entrepreneurial centres of excellence,” he noted.
“In this era of continuous consolidation, the vision of the university has fundamentally shifted. The role of universities is no longer confined to educating minds or advancing theoretical knowledge.
“We now recognise that universities play a central role in the commercialisation of research, turning knowledge into tangible progress that drives economic growth.
“The transition from educational research to commercialisation stems from an evolving frontier where academia, industry, and government collaborate under the Triple Helix model to ensure research transcends the boundaries of laboratories and classrooms, solving real-world problems and fostering economic prosperity.
“Our universities must not only produce quality academic qualifications but also turn research outcomes into products that create new businesses and generate returns for the university,” Halilu observed.
He further explained that the purpose of the conference is to ensure that research is translated into practical innovations that solve real-world problems.
The federal government has withdrawn the money laundering charges filed against an executive of Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan.
DAILY POST recalls that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC had in April this year, arraigned Binance, a cryptocurrency firm, and Gambaryan over alleged money laundering.
Mr Gambaryan, a United States citizen, has been in detention since February following the clampdown on the cryptocurrency firm over alleged manipulation of naira.
A lawyer representing the EFCC announced the withdrawal of the charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday.
Announcing the development, the lawyer said Mr Gambaryan was merely an employee of Binance, whose activities he was being prosecuted for.
More details soon…
Famous Nigerian music executive, Don Jazzy, has challenged content creator turned singer, Oluwadolarz, over his recent claims.
DAILY POST reports that Oluwadolarz, in an Instagram post on Sunday, disclosed that an unnamed gay music executive requested sex from him as a condition to promote his songs.
“You will promote my songs. Endorse my music. Help me top the chart. But make I first bend over make you enter my Yansh,” Oluwadolarz wrote in pidgin.
However, reacting to the singer’s allegation under the comment section of a blog post, Don Jazzy dared Oluwadolarz to mention the entertainer’s name.
He wrote, “Tag the person or it’s a lie sir.”
Nigerian singer and content creator, Oluwadolarz, has revealed the bizarre request he got from a gay music executive as a condition to promote his songs.
The comedian-turned-singer alleged that a gay music executive demanded sex from him before he could promote his song but he refused.
He disclosed this via his Instagram account on Sunday when he wrote, “You will promote my songs. Endorse my music
Help me top chart. But make I first bend over make you enter my y*nsh. E.n.k.r sir”
DAILY POST recalls that a few months ago, Oluwadolarz lamented about the lack of support from some of his colleagues.
He particularly mentioned that Sydney Talker and Lord Lamba, who lived with him in the past, also didn’t support his music career.
There was mild drama at a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday as the detained Binance Holdings Limited executive, Tigran Gambaryan, was conspicuously absent for his trial.
Justice Emeka Nwite had, on Oct. 11, fixed today for the continuation of the trial in the alleged money laundering charge preferred against Binance Ltd and its country representative, Gambaryan, by the EFCC.
The development followed the rejection of Gambaryan’s second bail application by Justice Nwite.
However, NAN reports that when the matter was called on Friday, all the counsel to the parties in the case were in court except the second defendant, Gambaryan.
The judge then asked Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi, SAN, about the whereabouts of his client.
Mordi said he did not know why his client was not in court. Also, the EFCC’s lawyer, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, said he was surprised Gambaryan was not in court.
Iheanacho therefore sought a stand-down to enable them to inquire from the management of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) on what went wrong.
Counsel to Binance, Tonye Krukrubo, SAN, equally expressed worry over the absence of Gambaryan in court.
He said the EFCC should be able to tell why he was not in court.
“He is in their custody. It is funny they are saying they do not know his whereabouts,” he said.
“Was he not taken to the correctional centre on the day the matter was adjourned?” the judge asked. Justice Nwite then asked the NCoS officer who was in court why Gambaryan was not produced for his trial.
“Yes, my lord, he was taken to our custody,” the officer said in open court.
“Did you not know his whereabouts?” Justice Nwite further asked.
“He is in our custody,” the officer insisted.
The judge, who asked him who was in charge of the Kuje Correctional Centre, directed the officer to put a telephone call to him.
“Call him and tell him the court is worried about his whereabouts,” the judge added.
Justice Nwite then stood down the matter.
Meanwhile, when the court reconvened, Justice Nwite asked the NCoS officer about his findings.
The officer said he had been able to get in touch with his boss. “I was told that he (Gambaryan) is very sick and that is why he could not be produced in court,” he responded.
Mordi, who appeared for Gambaryan, prayed the court for an adjournment.
“I urge for a date next week if only to report on the second defendant’s state of health.
“This will allow parties to take necessary steps to ensure that the defendant is given the medical care required,” he said.
Iheanacho did not oppose Mordi’s oral application.
The lawyer said though he would have wanted the matter to proceed since their witness was in court, “we are also concerned about the defendant’s health status.”
“We are very concerned about the issues of health.”
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until Oct. 25 for a report about Gambaryan’s health.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Head of the Legal Services Department of the apex bank to appear before it with specific documents on Monday, September 2, the new date fixed for the continuation of the trial in the money laundering case brought against Binance Holdings Limited and its executives.
At the previous court sitting, the presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, had adjourned the matter to October 11, but the defence counsel had approached the court for a date change, which the court granted by bringing the trial forward a month early.
Binance USA’s Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Tigan Gambaryan, and the exchange’s British-Kenyan regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, are facing money laundering charges to the tune of $35m brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were initially both detained in the custody of the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Anjarwalla, however, fled lawful custody on March 22, 2024, while his counterpart, Gambaryan, was moved from ONSA custody to EFCC custody and afterwards to Kuje Correctional Facility, where he is currently detained.
In the document titled Subpoena Duces Tecum, with charge number: FHC/ABCR/138/2024, between the Federal Republic of Nigeria versus Binance Holdings Limited and Tigran Gambaryan, the court asked the apex bank’s heads to appear before it or delegate someone to do so.
It read, “The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria Plot 33, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Way, Central Business District, Abuja – FCT.
“You or any other officer you may delegate are commanded in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to attend before the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, presided over by the Honourable Justice E. Nwite, on the 2nd day of September 2024 at 9 o’clock in the forenoon, and from day to day until the above cause is tried, to bring with you and produce at the time and place mentioned the following documents.
“Certified True Copy of the excel spreadsheet captioned ‘Export Exchange Rate Results’ published on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website for the period from 1 June 2024 to 16 August 2024.”
In a separate document but with similar wording, the court summons, “The Head, Legal Services Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Plot 33, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Way, Central Business District, Abuja – FCT.
“You or any other officer you may delegate are commanded in the name of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to attend before the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, presided over by the Honourable Justice E. Nwite, on the 2nd day of September 2024 at the hour of 9 o’clock in the forenoon, and from day to day until the above cause is tried, to bring with you and produce at the time and place mentioned the following documents,” part of the subpoena read.
The Lagos State Police Command has detained an Executive Director at ARM Pension Managers (PFA) Limited (name withheld) following allegations of sexual assault levelled against him by a colleague.
The female colleague (name also withheld) reported to the police that the incident occurred on the night of July 18, 2024.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, told PUNCH Online, on Friday, that the accused is in custody.
“The said director at ARM Pension Managers is in our custody. His case has been referred to the Gender Desk, Lagos State Police Command,” Hundeyin said in a phone chat.
According to the victim, the assault took place after an office party hosted by ARM Pension.
She said she was abducted and raped at a popular hotel on Chevron Drive, Lagos.
The victim disclosed this in a statement obtained by our correspondent where she alleged that the accused had “penetrative sexual intercourse” with her after her drink was “spiked.”
She recalled that she consumed a small amount of Jameson Whiskey mixed with Coke and one cocktail at the party.
She added that her last memory was around 7.30pm to 8pm, after which she experienced a blackout, only to wake up undressed in the hotel room around 3am.
“I checked the time, it was around 3am, and my private parts were sore and felt like someone had invaded me.
“I walked out of the room and looked around for a clue of the name of the hotel to even have a sense of where I was, I saw the name XYZ Hotel (name withheld). I googled it, and I found that it is on Chevron Drive. I asked the receptionist and security man to help me get a taxi so I could go home,” she said.
Meanwhile, the company in a Wednesday statement addressed the assault allegation, stating that the accused executive had been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation.
The statement read, “ARM Pension Managers (PFA) Ltd is aware of a serious allegation of assault involving our employees. We are deeply disturbed by this and are committed to addressing the situation with the utmost seriousness and sensitivity.
“First and foremost, our thoughts are with our colleague who has come forward. We want to express our deepest concern and support for her during this tough time. Sexual assault is a grave matter that has no place in our organisation and society at large, and we stand firmly against all forms of harassment or violence.
“This incident reportedly took place outside the office premises on the night of July 18, 2024, after an office team bonding event and involved two of our colleagues. We have initiated a thorough and independent investigation into the allegation, and we are fully cooperating with the law enforcement authorities to ensure that the investigation is comprehensive and impartial.
“The accused employee, an executive in the company, has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome. Additionally, we are offering support services to the complainant who has come forward, including counselling and any other resources she may need during this time.”
The statement concluded by emphasising the company’s commitment to creating a safe and respectful workplace for all employees, pledging to support the investigation, and ensuring transparency throughout the process.
“We understand the gravity of this situation and the impact it has on all involved. Hence, we will handle this situation with the highest level of integrity and transparency,” it read.
Rape is a heinous crime that violates the dignity and humanity of individuals, leaving deep scars that persist long after the act itself.
In Nigeria and many other parts of the world, this abhorrent act has become a disturbing endemic, undermining the fundamental rights and safety of countless people.
PUNCH Online reported that the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, was suspended by the Office of the Head of Service over a sexual harassment allegation in June.
The Head of Service, Folashade Yemi-Esan, said the permanent secretary would be on suspension pending the outcome of a probe into the allegation against him.
“The permanent secretary has been suspended pending the outcome of the probe by the committee set up, “ a senior director in the OHCSF told our correspondent in Abuja.
The complainant, one Simisola Ajayi, accused Lamuwa of serial sexual harassment.
Ajayi, in the petition filed by her lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), outlined alleged instances of harassment.
In 2020, the International human rights organisation, Amnesty International, called on the then-President, Muhammadu Buhari, to declare rape as a national crisis in the country.
Amnesty International said that it joined its voice to other civil societies demanding justice over the incident of rape and murder of a 22-year-old student of the University of Benin, Uwavera Omozuwa, as well as 18-year-old Barakat Bello in Ibadan, Oyo State.
A fresh trouble has hit the Labour Party (LP) as the 2014 executive members of the party regrouped with a call for the implementation of a consent judgement entered into in 2018.
The consent judgement, if enforced, will render the leadership of Julius Abure illegal.
During a press conference held in Abuja on Friday, Callistus Uju Okafor, the 2014 acting national chairman and Mamman Bukar, the acting national secretary, stated that the 2014 national executive had the legal right to conduct a convention that would address all irregularities in the party.
According to Okafor, he was elected as the deputy chairman in 2014 and became the acting national chairman in 2017 after Abdulsalam Abdukadir was removed from the position due to an alleged financial embezzlement. However, Okafor claims that Julius Abure, who was at the national secretariat, made himself the chairman.
Okafor revealed court documents to support his claims and emphasised that the implementation of the consent judgement is crucial for the resolution of their long-standing legal battle for the party’s soul.
He explained that prior to the National Convention, the Nigeria Labour Congress requested 10 million membership cards from the LP leadership for its members nationwide. However, the LP national chairman, Barr. Dan Nwayanwu, refused and asked the NLC members to join the party at their respective wards. This disagreement continued until the 2014 convention in Akure, Ondo State.
During the convention which took place on October 11, 2014 presided over by Barr. Dan Nwayanwu, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress led by Comrade Abdulwaheed Umar, boycotted the event.
Okafor then discussed a National Working Committee meeting that took place on December 7, 2015 in Lokoja, Kogi state.
During the meeting, three items were discussed: Ali Abacha’s third term in office, Kayode Ajulo’s abuse of office, and Clement Ojukwu defrauding three members of the National Working Committee.
Ali Abacha and Kayode Ajulo both left the party, and a committee was formed to investigate Clement Ojukwu’s fraudulent activities. Ojukwu was found guilty, and the National Executive Council ratified the disciplinary committee’s decision to suspend him indefinitely.
Okafor went on to explain that on October 3rd, 2017, a Special Convention was held in Abuja, during which Alhaji. A. A. Salam was constitutionally removed from the position of National Chairman for embezzlement of party funds. The convention was presided over by Chief Callistus U. Okafor as the Deputy National Chairman and Barr. Julius Abure as the acting National Secretary.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has told the National Assembly to stop enabling the recklessness of the executive arm of government, following the Senate’s sacking of Senator Ali Ndume as Majority Whip for criticising President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
Atiku, who also cited Senator Abdul Ningi’s suspension earlier this year over claims of budget padding, said the health of Nigeria’s democracy is being compromised by the unholy alliance between the executive and the legislature which portends to a dictatorship.
Recall that Ndume from Borno South Senatorial district was replaced with Senator Mohammed Monguno from Borno North as the Senate Majority Whip.
This decision was conveyed through a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, signed by the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, and the national secretary, Ajibola Bashiru.
The letter, titled “Complaints Against the Unbecoming Utterances of Sen. Ali Ndume,” was read by Akpabio during the plenary session.
Atiku, while reacting to Ndume’s ordeal, said it is uncharitable for senators, on the floor of the red chamber, to be immediately reprimanded for performing their statutory duty of calling the executive to order.
He said in the evolution of systems of government, the legislative arm of government was conceived as a means of protecting the people from the authoritarian tendencies of wielders of state powers by ensuring the executive does not go overboard in the application of its powers.
The 2023 presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said, “Regrettably, however, the democracy in Nigeria in the current administration of President Bola Tinubu has become an anathema to that general principle of democracy as providing primary protection for the people against executive excesses.
“This ugly tendency is being manifested by the steady posturing of our National Assembly, especially the Senate, of taking a reverse course in its core function and becoming a puppet in the hands of the President.
“It is uncharitable that whenever members of the Senate stand on the floor of the red chamber to perform their statutory duty of calling the executive to order, they are immediately reprimanded for doing so.
“When Senator Abdul Ningi called attention of the country to the incident of budget padding in the 2024 Appropriation bill, rather than calling for a thorough investigation into the observation, the reaction of the Senate was to hand him a suspension.”
He added that Nigerians became victims of an ambiguous budget framework upon which appropriations for the current fiscal year are hinged in the face of multiplicity of appropriations.
“Only yesterday, Senator Ali Ndume called for the President to wake up to his responsibilities and provide succour to address the biting hunger and poverty in the country. Ironically, the response of the @NGRSenate to his patriotic warning is to relieve him of his principal office as the Chief Whip of the Senate.”
Atiku said despite persistent solicitations for government to put its priorities on canceling the excruciating hardship in the land and suspend plans of spending scarce resources on the purchase of new aircraft for the presidential fleet, “the Senate took a stand against the people and ignored the voices of altruism by decorating the President with controversial purchases of an aircraft and a yacht amidst the worst material conditions of the average citizen in the history of our country.”
The former Vice President added, “We are, therefore, beginning to see a pattern in which the National Assembly has become an enabler of executive recklessness, and the concerns of the people stand in the nadir of priority list of the legislature.
“This emerging reality must stop. The health of our democracy is being compromised by this unholy alliance between the executive and the legislature and portends a dictatorship that will worsen the lot of the people,” Atiku said.
The South-South Zonal Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Blessing Agbomhere Esq., has warned the Executive Vice President (Upstream) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Dr. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, to desist from actions capable of frustrating President Bola Tinubu’s developmental agenda for the Niger Delta region.
Agbomhere, who gave the warning in a statement in Abuja, said it has come to his knowledge that Dr. Eyesan was allegedly using her position as a top executive of the NNPCL to play tribal politics with the issue of pipeline security contract, which did not favour her preferred bidders from her ethnic group.
Agbomhere said: “It has come to my knowledge that she apparently wanted a group from her tribe to be in charge of pipeline security, but since that did not happen, she has been using her position to frustrate the company presently in charge of pipeline security in the region and to stoke issues that can lead to a breach of national security.
“My advice to her is that she should not allow herself to be used to promote tribal interests because that is going to undermine President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s agenda for the South-South and Niger Delta.
“As the South-South Zonal Organizing Secretary of the APC, we are happy about the peace we are enjoying presently in the Niger Delta region and we’re also happy that the President has an agenda to ensure unity and peace in the region, develop our resources and ensure that they are applied to the betterment of our people.
“Therefore anybody who’s bringing the issue of tribe and trying to undermine the job that is being done to ensure peace in the region is against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s agenda for the South-South zone and any action capable of undermining national security will not be tolerated.
“So I am advising her to focus on her job as the Executive Vice President of the NNPCL (Upstream) in order to achieve the aims and objectives of the NNPCL rather than trying to play one tribe against another in the region on the issue of pipeline security contract.
“We don’t want anything that would destabilize the Niger Delta region.
“So she must tread cautiously so as not to ignite hostilities in the region which will be against the interest of the APC and Asiwaju in the region in a bid to achieve her selfie motives,” the top official of the ruling APC stated.
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