El-Rufai published state security budget, not his security vote – Reps

The House of Representatives on Tuesday said Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State published the security budget of the state, not his own security vote.
The Chairman of the Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Rep. Abdulrazak Namdas, stated this at a news briefing in Abuja.
Namdas said el-Rufai was undermining and distracting the National Assembly by his claims that the N115 billion in the legislature’s 2016 budget was for the 469 members.
According to him, the budget covers among others salaries, allowances, expenditure and running cost of 469 members.
He said this will also cover salaries and allowances of about 3,000 legislative aides and salaries, allowances, equipment and maintenance of about 5,000 staff in the bureaucracy of the National Assembly.
He urged the governor to concentrate on governing Kaduna State, particularly addressing security issues facing the state.
Namdas said: “As a senior citizen, el-Rufai should not overheat the polity with tendentious and unfounded outbursts.
“We note that what Mallam el-Rufai published was the security budget of Kaduna State and not his security vote expenditure.
“We wish to advice the Kaduna State governor to concentrate on his efforts in governing Kaduna State and stop undermining and distracting the National Assembly in playing its constitutionally assigned role in nation building.
“He launched an attack on the National Assembly on Friday, April 7, 2017 and continued on Monday, April 10, 2017.
“We are aware that there are serious security issues he should be grappling with in southern Kaduna and other governmental issues facing him.”
According to Namdas, the National Assembly is not opaque and since the Constitution was amended in 2010, the legislature was put in a first line charge.
He said: “Its budget became part of statutory transfers, together with the Judiciary, Independent National Electoral Commission and others.
“You cannot find details of the Budget of the Judiciary and INEC in the national budget.
“It exists elsewhere.
“Of course from 1999 to 2010, the details of the National Assembly budget was contained in the national budget.”
Namdas said the Clerk to the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, was directed to start publishing the budget from 2017.
He said: “To continue to repeat the same call made three days earlier smacks of propaganda and cheap blackmail.
“The Kaduna State governor chose to give headings of its budget on security related matters.
“Maybe, he will give further details of actual security expenditures at the appropriate time.
“It is most uncharitable to ignore the fact that the National Assembly is an arm of government, not a department in the executive branch.
The budget of so many agencies in the executive is higher than that of the National Assembly, an arm of government.
“Such agencies are Nigerian Communications Commission, N102 billion; Central Bank of Nigeria, N421 billion; and the Nigerian Ports Authority, N250 billion.
“Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, N100 billion; Federal Inland Revenue Service, N146 billion; Nigerian Customs Services, N81 billion; and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, whose budget runs into trillions.
“Indeed, the National Assembly Budget is about two per cent of the national budget.”
Namdas added that the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, had directed that his six months’ pay slip, from October, 2016 to March, 2017, be published.

APC inaugurates committees to intervene in Kogi, Bauchi crisis

The All Progressives Congress (APC), has inaugurated two fact-finding and reconciliation committees to look into the crisis rocking its chapters in Bauchi and Kogi States ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The Bauchi committee is headed by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Sen. Chris Ngige, while Chief Tony Momoh heads that of Kogi.
The APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, while inaugurating the committees on Wednesday in Abuja, said its members were carefully selected.
He described members of the committees as some of the best elites of the party, adding that its leadership was confident that they would deliver on their mandate.
He charged the committee members to carry on their personal prestige and integrity and undertake the assignment without fear or favour.
“You have a very simple assignment, which is fact-finding and reconciliation, without necessarily apportioning blames.
“I know that once the facts are established, it will be very simple to deal with’’, the chairman said.
Oyegun admitted that there were issues to contend with in most of its state chapters, and that the crisis in Kogi was challenging because it had a political history.
He added that the circumstances that led to the emergence of Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi and the manner of transition were complex issues that required competent men to address.
Responding, Momoh, chairman of the Kogi committee, attributed some of the problems in the party`s state chapters to lack of effective communication.
Momoh, former National Chairman of the dissolved Congress for Progressive Change, said party members should be encouraged to communicate, while its leadership made efforts to resolve identified issues.
Ngige, chairman of the Bauchi committee thanked the party`s leadership for finding them fit and worthy for the assignment.
He assured that the committee members would be neutral and respectful to all sides in the states as they ensure true reconciliation among aggrieved party members.
He added that they would always use the party`s constitution as guide to carry out their assignments while making efforts; ‘to smoothen all rough edges.’’
He, however, attributed the problems in the two state chapters and some of its other chapters as bruises resulting from power struggle.
Newsmen, report that the committees have two weeks to complete the assignment.

The Anambra law on burial rites

“It is imperative to draw the line between mourning the dead and a fiesta”. This was the submission of Mr. Charles Ezeani, Chairman, Information, Tourism and Culture Committee of the Anambra State House of Assembly while buttressing the need for a proposed law to regulate burial ceremonies in the state in order to curb excessive spending.
Indeed, such a law is overdue not least in this era of recession when we are witnessing galloping inflation and low purchasing power, yet people are still mandated to keep up with traditional burial rites that leave many families indebted, just to give their dead relatives a “befitting burial”; a so-called befitting burial that is absolutely of no benefit to the one who has passed on but only massages the ego of organisers, the surviving relatives. According to Ezeani, the sponsor of the bill, it “seeks to curtail outrageous demands on the families of the deceased by traditions and customs enforced by elders without any consideration for financial capability”, noting that the trend had led to “unhealthy competition among families and friends, each trying by every means to out- shine the other”.
You may have noticed that people from this part of the country do not undertake funeral rites of their departed ones soonest. Rather the corpse is kept in a mortuary pending when they are ready for it. This may take as long as one year. Meanwhile, relatives have to pay for every single day the corpse spends in the cold room. Private mortuaries thrive here. For the poor who cannot afford mortuary costs, the remains of their departed are ‘put underneath the earth’. As the phrase indicates, this is not recognised as a burial by the community. In fact, the literary translation of this is that the deceased is in the “underground refrigerator”. The deceased person is regarded as having been formally buried when all funeral rites are completed. Until then, the wife of the departed one is forbidden from going to the market (buying and selling) and attending meetings, associating with the community more or less. Ditto the direct relations of any deceased persons. Preparations for the funeral ceremonies begin with gathering enough money which more often than not, involves borrowing because of the huge amount to be expended. Among the things required, are renovating the house or compound of the departed, giving it a new look; or building a house where there is no ‘befitting’ one; buying uniform cloth for the deceased’s family and extended family members (uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, children, etc.); killing a cow ‘in honour of the dead’, hiring a live band to entertain guests, including traditional dancers and of course, food for all and sundry.
The burial ceremony lasts for at least a week, beginning from a Thursday. Thursday is a wake-keep, Friday official requiem mass and dust to dust ceremony by the church af- ter which the community’s folks commence their own ‘mourning’ rites, comprising of women’s groups, age-grade groups and other community societies/associations. Saturday is for friends, associates, in-laws and other extended family members.
Sunday is for church thanksgiving by the deceased’s family. As I indicated earlier, the ceremony may last for a month as the family of the departed one continues to receive ‘mourners’ of all genres every other day –various groups, associations and personalities. These sympathisers have to indicate in advance when they would come calling so the family can prepare adequately for them in terms of dances, food and meat. As a mark of a ‘befitting’ burial or better said, to show off, the bereaved family usually kills cows for the many groups that come to sympathise with them. A portion of the cow meat is given to each group/association as a memento. Also, at the thanksgiving mass, the family often presents numerous food gifts and a cow to the church during offertory in order to be highly regarded.
The more the number of cows slaughtered for the burial obsequies, the more esteemed the bereaved family is in the eyes of the community. Indeed, a funeral ceremony in this part of the country has been turned not into an occasion for ‘mourning’ but to a festival of sorts. It is often bandied about that in this part of our country, it is more expensive to bury a departed one than to take care of him/her whilst alive. Although many of the sympathisers, groups and associations do give the bereaved some money, it is often not enough to recoup money spent for the burial ceremonies.
As a matter of fact, most bereaved families would say they are not mourning the departed but celebrating his/her life while on earth. But the burial ceremonies are the same for the one who passed on at the “ripe age of 80” with numerous children and one that departed at an ‘untimely’ time of 40 years, leaving behind one child and wife. Meanwhile, amidst the pervasive jubilation and jollification, the wife may be grieving inwardly with a passive countenance. The question is, to what benefit are these festivities to the departed. We are told that they are meant to bid the departed spirit bye-bye. These celebrations are of little or no value to the departed. Those of us left behind are simply having fun and enjoying ourselves with these celebrations.
By the way, we usually burst out into loud cries at the death of a loved one, relative, etc. Some people even hire professional mourners to do the crying for a fee. Death is a solemn event and there should thus be quietness in the death chamber. What the departed needs from all ‘sympathisers’, ‘mourners’ or ‘celebrants’ is not loud lamentations or unending celebrations but heartfelt fervent payers to the Almighty creator that he/she be guided by His servants in his/ her journey to the luminous realm of joyful activity and eternal peace.
Thus, the funeral rites can be classed into two, namely, the spiritual and social aspect. The spiritual aspect consisting mainly of prayers for the departed is what is of value to the human spirit while the social side is mainly for those of us still living on earth. I believe it is this aspect that the proposed law on burials seeks to regulate. The church had introduced some reforms in the funeral rites of its members by, for example, banning allnight wake-keep.
It also outlawed sumptuous entertainment of its officiating officials at funeral ceremonies, including the choir group, stating that they should only be given drinks (non alcoholic). It can go further by disallowing presentation of cows and other expensive gifts at the thanksgiving services for the departed.

Drake’s ‘One Dance’ featuring Wizkid nominated for Billboard Music Awards

Drake’s “One Dance” featuring Wizkid, has been nominated as one of the Top hot 100 songs for the 2017 Billboard awards scheduled to hold in Las Vegas on May 21.
Drake, Twenty One Pilots and Rihanna dominate the nominations in four categories for the 2017 Billboard Music Awards as announced exclusively by Billboard on Monday.
Billboard stated: “The Top R&B Song category is a tight one, with Rihanna doubling down thanks to “Needed Me” and her collabo with Drake on “Work”.
“Drizzy is also on the board with his Wizkid & Kyla smash “One Dance,” while Bruno Mars checks in with “24K Magic” and The Weeknd’s hook up with Daft Punk, “Starboy,” rounds out the category.”
Also, the Top Billboard 200 Artist list has all the heavy hitters you would expect, led by Beyoncé and Drake, as well as late rock icon Prince, Twenty One Pilots and The Weeknd.
See Top 5 of Top Hot 100 Songs:
The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey – Closer
The Chainsmokers feat. Daya – Don’t Let Me Down
Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla – One Dance
Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling
Twenty One Pilots – Heathens.

What fits me is president, not governor – Okorocha

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State says he finds himself better placed as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria than being a governor.
Okorocha told journalists in Owerri yesterday, that as much as he has made up his mind not to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2019 presidential poll, he would offer himself for the position after the end of Buhari’s tenure.
His words: ”Governor does not fit me. What fits me is president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I will not contest against Buhari ‘ Meanwhile, the state government has declared May 6, as Freedom Day.
Okorocha urged Imo people to attend the special forum where they would be entitled to express their minds

Skeleton of Nigerian beautiful woman found one year after disappearance in America

A skeleton found in a bush in Dedham, Boston, USA has been identified as the remains of a Nigerian woman, Susan Anyanwu-Corbin who went missing in February 2016.
She was 22 years old when she went missing.
The police were able to identify the remains after some of the deceased’s personal effects were released to the public for identification.
The medical examiner in Boston was able to confirm the identity of the deceased with dental record after one member of the public pointed out that the jewelry found at the scene belonged to Anyanwu-Corbin, reported Fox25Boston.
The authorities further revealed that Anyanwu-Corbin was a resident of Boston and likely lived in Hyde Park, according to investigators.
Investigators said they are now looking into how she disappeared and are asking people who may have seen her during that time to help them piece together what happened to her

Photos: $38m uncovered by EFCC in Lagos home

An unbelievable large sum of money in dollars was discovered in a Lagos Home by EFCC.
Photos Below:

Melaye’s certificate: CSNAC petitions SFU, alleges fraud, forgery

The Civil Society Network Against Corruption has urged the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit to commence investigation into an alleged forgery and fraud in the scandal relating to Senator Dino Melaye’s graduation from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
In a petition forwarded to the SFU with a copy made available to the media, CSNAC’s Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, said if the scandal is not thoroughly investigated, it is capable of sending bad impression about the efficiency of the nation’s institutions.
The petition reads: “Following a publication from SaharaReporters, an online based newspaper, the media has been rife with issues of accusations and denials with respect to the fact that Mr. Dino Melaye, a senator in the National Assembly representing Kogi West did not graduate from ABU as he has always alleged and severally submitted to INEC under oath for the purpose of elections.
“The Nigerian Senate Ethics Committee invited the said University’s Vice Chancellor; Prof. Ibrahim Garba to appear before it to give clarifications on the issue.
“During his appearance, he made representations to the effect that from the university’s ‘available records’ Mr. Melaye had graduated from the university in the year 2000.
“This is inspite of academic records available to the public showing that some Professors at the Geography department manipulated and forged school records to help Mr. Melaye ‘graduate’.
“A report by the said Sahara Reporters dated the 27th day of March, 2017 however revealed that whistle blowers from ABU; a combination of exam officers and Librarians have repudiated the claims by the university’s Vice Chancellor that Mr. Melaye graduated from the university.
“The reports further stated that more documents including the Joint Convocation Brochure have been seen to prove that Mr. Melaye did not graduate as opposed to the representations of the Vice Chancellor, based on the fact that the senator’s name was clearly absent from the document and also absent from the Alumni directory of ABU amidst other critical facts.”
The coalition stated that it is alleged that Melaye having not passed Geography 307 (Long Field Trip), a compulsory course required for graduation, nothing short of a crime of forgery would have resulted in his alleged graduation.
It said: “One Prof. D.O Ogbonna (Late) was singled out with respect to the alleged forgery, following claims that he added two course units to Mr. Melaye’s Total Earned Course Units without recourse to the teacher, Dr. A.L Bello, who was the supervisor of the course.
“It was also reported that after a major academic scandal broke out in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mr. Ogbonna was quietly eased out of ABU by allowing him to retire along with some other Professors who had engaged in grade inflation.
“In addition to the above, there are also reports that Mr. Melaye’s classmates who reached out to SaharaReporters after the scandal broke out said he spent at least 7-8 years studying at ABU before he left under questionable circumstances unable to fulfil his course work.
“On the basis of the above conflicting reports, we hereby urge and request your office to conduct an independent, fair and unbiased investigation in the interest of public confidence and in a bid to uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s federal institutions, so as not to make a continuous mockery of the caliber and integrity of persons representing the people in public offices.
“We are of the view that if this scandal is not thoroughly investigated, it is capable of leading watching international media and institutions into a justifiable conclusion as to the corrupt, inefficient and fraudulent nature of Nigerian educational institutions, the supposedly revered Nigerian senate and the country as a whole.
“The requested investigation has become a necessity in the face of the current administration’s commitment to eroding corruption from our public institutions.”

Trump to sell attack planes to Nigeria for Boko Haram fight

The Trump administration will move forward with the sale of high-tech aircraft to Nigeria for its campaign against Boko Haram Islamic extremists despite concerns over abuses committed by the African nation’s security forces, according to US officials.
Congress is expected to receive formal notification within weeks, setting in motion a deal with Nigeria that the Obama administration had planned to approve at the very end of Barack Obama’s presidency.
The arrangement will call for Nigeria to purchase up to 12 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano aircraft with sophisticated targeting gear for nearly $600 million, one of the officials said.
The officials were not authorized to discuss the terms of the sale publicly and requested anonymity to speak about internal diplomatic conversations.
Though President Donald Trump has made clear his intention to approve the sale of the aircraft, the National Security Council is still working on the issue.
Military sales to several other countries are also expected to be approved but are caught up in an ongoing White House review.
Nigeria has been trying to buy the aircraft since 2015.
The Nigerian air force has been accused of bombing civilian targets at least three times in recent years.
In the worst incident, a fighter jet on January 17 repeatedly bombed a camp at Rann, near the border with Cameroon, where civilians had fled from Boko Haram.
Between 100 and 236 civilians and aid workers were killed, according to official and community leaders’ counts.
That bombing occurred on the same day the Obama administration intended to officially notify Congress the sale would go forward. Instead, it was abruptly put on hold, according to an individual who worked on the issue during Obama’s presidency. Days later, Trump was inaugurated.
Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee, said this past week that he supported the A-29 deal to Nigeria as well as the sale of US-made fighter jets to Bahrain that had been stripped of human rights caveats imposed by the Obama administration.
Under Obama, the US said Bahrain failed to make promised political and human rights reforms after its Sunni-ruled government crushed Arab Spring protests five years ago.
“We need to deal with human rights issues, but not on weapons sales,” Corker said.
The State Department said in a 2016 report that the Nigerian government has taken “few steps to investigate or prosecute officials who committed violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government, and impunity remained widespread at all levels of government.”
Amnesty International has accused Nigeria’s military of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the extrajudicial killings of an estimated 8 000 Boko Haram suspects.
President Muhammadu Buhari promised to investigate the alleged abuses after he won office in March 2015, but no soldier has been prosecuted and thousands of people remain in illegal military detention. Nigeria’s military has denied the allegations.
The A-29 sale would improve the US relationship with Nigeria, Africa’s largest consumer market of 170 million people, the continent’s biggest economy and its second-largest oil producer.
Nigeria also is strategically located on the edge of the Sahel, the largely lawless semi-desert region bridging north and sub-Saharan Africa where experts warn Islamic extremists like the Nigeria-based Boko Haram may expand their reach.
The aircraft deal also would satisfy Trump’s priorities to support nations fighting Islamic uprisings, boost US manufacturing and create high-wage jobs at home.
The A-29 aircraft, which allow pilots to pinpoint targets at night, are assembled in Jacksonville, Florida.
“It’s hard to argue that any country in Africa is more important than Nigeria for the geopolitical and other strategic interests of the US,” said J. Peter Pham, vice president of the Atlantic Council in Washington and head of its Africa Center.
Once Congress is officially notified of the sale, lawmakers who want to derail it have 30 days to pass veto-proof legislation. That’s a high hurdle given Corker’s support. Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., chairperson of the Armed Services Committee, also said he backs the sale.
“We’ve really got to try to do what we can to contain them,” McCain said of Boko Haram.
In Trump’s first phone call with Buhari in February, he “assured the Nigerian president of US readiness to cut a new deal in helping Nigeria in terms of military weapons to combat terrorism,” according to Buhari’s office.
A February 15 White House statement that provided a summary of the call said “President Trump expressed support for the sale of aircraft from the United States to support Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram.”
Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said in mid-February he was “leery” of the sale because of the Nigerian military’s impunity. Cardin said this week he’s not trying to block the deal.
“Ultimately we hope that the sale goes forward,” he said. “But there is progress that needs to be made in protecting the civilian population.”

City People Awards for Excellence 2017; Hon. Teejay Yusuf awarded House of Rep Member of the Year

Hon

. Teejay Yusuf, member representing Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency at National Assembly has be awarded the best Honorable member of theyear in the much talked about  20th City People Award for Excellence which held on Sunday, April 2, 2017, at the prestigious Airport Hotel Ikeja, LagosThe event which was one of its kinds as celebrities from all walks of life graced the event.City People Magazine honored selected few who have made tangible impacts in various areas and influenced people to success in the cause of the year from politics, society, entertainment, and sports and so on.

Hon, Teejay Yusuf was described as the best Honorable member in the house.

This is evident in the numerous constituency projects seen across the Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency where he currently represents. 

Worthy of note is also his vibrancy and intellectual contribution on the floor of the house.