Folarin Kehinde

The planned arraignment of Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi State on alleged N82 billion fraud charges took a dangerous dimension on Wednesday when two senior advocates engaged in a war of words during the proceedings.

The two lawyers are Abdulwahab Mohammed, standing for Bello, SAN, and Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, standing for the federal government.

Trouble started when Mohammed announced his appearance for the former governor and left out his colleague, Adeola Adedipe, SAN.

However, the federal government counsel opposed the exclusion on the grounds that Adedipe should be included in the proceedings until discharged by the court.

Adedipe interrupted the argument of the federal government lawyer, insisting that he was not prepared to be part of the proceedings.

At this stage, Mohammed interjected and announced that Adedipe had filed a notice of withdrawal from the proceedings.

As Justice Emeka Nwite was about to deliver a ruling on the contentious appearance matter, Bello’s lawyer stood up and requested to be allowed to stay outside the proceedings if the court proceeded with the ruling.

Fuming with anger, Mohammed openly called Pinheiro, SAN, a rough lawyer who takes delight in misleading the court.

His attempt to make further abusive remarks about the federal government lawyer was aborted, but Mohammed refused to apologise, insisting that he would leave the court should the judge go ahead with the ruling.

When tempers rose beyond control, Justice Emeka Nwite, out of anger, abruptly brought the proceedings to an end by walking straight into his chamber.

At the time of this report, tension was still high in the courtroom.

The federal government has reportedly acquired a luxury Airbus A330 for presidential use.

Leading Reporters reports that news of the government’s plan to purchase a new presidential jet had sparked outrage from Nigerians who are currently battling with various levels of hardships caused by some policies of the Bola Tinubu administration.

The House of Representatives and top government officials had defended the move, saying acquiring a new jet was more cost effective than maintaining the old ones.

According to Empowered Newswire on Monday evening , the aircraft is currently in France and has been spotted at an advanced stage of preparation.

The plane has been assigned a tail registration that features the seal of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It was reportedly ready for delivery.

The aircraft in question is an ACJ330-200, VP-CAC (msn 1053), registered as 5N-FGA.

It features a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom at the front, followed by an office and a conference and dining room. It also has an airline-style first-class and economy seating at the rear.

The report noted that informed sources from international aviation firms and news sites also indicate that as of early afternoon Nigerian time on July 15, 2024, the plane has been flown from Germany to an airport in Saint Louis, France.

The Airbus 330 is now wearing the tail registration of the Nigerian presidential jet 5N-FGA and also adorned with the Nigerian Presidential Seal.

The A330 combines new-generation engines, aerodynamic and other improvements to deliver even more comfort and efficiency. Designed for highly-demanding VIP and private markets, the aircraft delivers top-end luxury, comfort and range.

President Bola Tinubu has appointed new Director-General into different agencies in Nigeria.

Special Adviser to Tinubu on media and publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale made this known in a recent press release.

Detail of the new appointee are listed below:

1 Umar Ibrahim Mohammed Director-General of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA).

2, Ms. Omolola Bridget Oloworaran as the new Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

3, Dr. Olufemi Adekanmbi Project Coordinator for the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP)

4, Ex Nassarawa Deputy Gov Silas Agara As DG National Directorate of Employment (NDE)

5, Tosin Adeyanju Executive Secretary of the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF).

6, Mr. Jobson Ewalefoh Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

7, Idris Ajimobi as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Livestock Development.

8, Senator Bashir Lado Mohammed Special Adviser on Senate Matters.

9, Cornelius Oluwasegun Adebayo Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA).

10, Dr. Mainasara Umar Kogo Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT)

The Federal Government has secured an agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), granting Nigerian passport holders access to visas for travel to the UAE effective July 15, 2024.

Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, announced this development on Monday while addressing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

More to follow…

A planned nationwide protest across the country has put the police on high alert and caused anxiety among government officials.

The protest scheduled for August 1-10, 2024 is organized by Nigerian youths. It aims to draw attention to the country’s worsening hardship and pressure the government to reverse policies blamed for the hardship.

The police have issued a memo urging officers to prevent the protest.

A leaked memo said, “Some groups are mobilizing for mass protest nationwide beginning from 1 to 10 2024”.

The memo, dated July 8 and copied to zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, urged the operatives to be proactive and “mobilize well-kitted and equipped personnel” ahead of the protest.

“INGENPOL directs you to be proactive, mobilize well-kitted and equipped personnel, synergize with other sister agencies and the military, takeover all strategic points in your AOR, deploy undercover for intelligent gathering, disperse unlawful gatherings, be in heart-to-heart conversation with community stakeholders, no form of protest must be allowed during the period,” it said.

The planned protest has instilled fear in Nigerian public officer holders, especially lawmakers who are fidgeting over possible attacks on them. The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday engaged in a panic debate, expressing fear of attacks by angry Nigerians who are deep in prevailing hardship.

The protest is a response to the government’s policies, which have led to fuel price hikes, high cost of living, and food insecurity.

Organizers are demanding an end to the subsidy scam, reversal of fuel prices to below N300 per litre, reduction of tertiary education fees, restoration of electricity tariffs to affordable levels, reduction of import duties, disclosure and reduction of senators’ and house members’ salaries and allowances, and EFCC reform.

The Lagos State government has insisted that there is no going back on its plan to ban all unregulated commercial bus operations, such as Danfos and Koropes, along the Lekki-Epe corridor, from October 1, 2024.

The special adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on transportation, Sola Giwa, told The Vanguard that the reminder on the planned ban, which is in line with the Lagos State Strategic Transportation Master Plan (STMP), was to dismiss rumours that the move had been suspended.

Ahead of the state government’s restructuring plans to improve the commuting experience in the area, they sought the collaboration of public transport bus operators, including Korope/Danfo bus drivers.

Mr Giwa stated that a stakeholders’ meeting was held with bus operators and union leaders on their need to comply before October 1 to successfully regulate and integrate the informal transport sector into the State’s Bus Reform Initiative using the corridor as a pilot test.

Expressing his dissatisfaction with the current state of bus operations on the corridor, Mr Giwa explained that the Ministry of Transportation and Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) has already inspected the corridor to identify limitations of seamless traffic flow along the expressway and adjourning roads as well as mapped out a systematic framework to address possible challenges.

Mr Giwa identified some planned solutions as the restructuring of the existing unregulated public transport bus operations on the Lekki Epe corridor, the deployment of high-capacity buses on the corridor as stated in the Lagos Transport Policy and the Bus Route Network, re-allocation and relocation of Korope/mini buses to inner route, and re-registration, and recertification of all buses.

Others are the introduction of an e-ticketing system, provision of transport infrastructure (Layby, terminal, among others), regulation and standardisation of bus operations, and improved transportation services, that is, safety and passenger comfort and promote the security of lives and properties along the Lekki-Epe corridor.

Stating that the implementation of the restructuring plan would be in phases, Mr Giwa urged transport operators who want to key into the restructuring programme to register with the transport ministry within two weeks.

He added that the registered operators will be allotted routes to ensure strict compliance with the strategy.

Mr Giwa, however, warned that operators who contravene the regulations will be fined, and will be made to forfeit their vehicles if they ignore the notice of their fines, as the state government would not tolerate wilful disregard of its existing Transport Sector Reform Law.