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Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has presented the state’s 2016 budget of N 111.5 billion to the state House of Assembly for approval. Tagged “Budget of Finishing Well” the 2016 budget is 12.6% lower than the 2015 budget which was revised downward to N127.01 billion due to economic realities. While presenting the budget, Governor said the “reduction is in line with current economic realities, especially developments in the international oil market and the dwindling inflows from the Federation Account.” He said the policy focus of the Year 2016 Budget is the completion or near completion of on-going road construction/rehabilitation projects across the State. Noting that  roads at various stages of completion will be accorded priority. Capital expenditure will take N 58.9 billion representing 52.84% of the total budget, while the proposed recurrent expenditure is N 52.6 billion representing 47.16% of the budget. A breakdown of the budget shows that Education and Health s

By Dele Cole RECENTLY two Ijawcitizens have come under the light of the agents charged with corruption – Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madukwe, and Chief D. S. P Alamieyesiegha. One was arrested in London plushest address at 1 Park Lane, another one was being sought out by the British police to answer charges of money laundering. This piece in no way condones their alleged corrupt practices and no one should read it as such. For the benefit of doubt Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke was charged for corruption; the NNPC over which she presided was the Sodom and Gomorrah of corruption and the stories about how allegedly corrupt NNPC was a legion. As for Governor DSP Alamieyesiegha, he ran away from Nigeria to undergo a tummy tuck operation in Germany, when the warrant for his arrest was issued in Dubai, he ran to London where he was thoroughly watched by the Secret Services of Britain. He left London, according to some sources, with the active connivance of the British authorities

on December 16, 2015   Former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, has denied reports that a former Minister of State for Finance, Mr Bashir Yuguda, gave him N100 million out of the money collected from the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd). In a statement yesterday, Dr Odili said he never had any dealings with the former National Security Adviser or Mr Yuguda, so the issue of collecting N100 million does not arise. He explained: “As part of preparations towards the 2015 election, the PDP set up contact and mobilisation committees across the six geo- political zones and I was appointed the Chairman of the South-South mobilisation committee. “Consequent upon this, the party, not the former NSA or Yuguda, gave the South-South Committee, through me,  the sum of N100 million along with other zonal Chairmen, at the house of the National Chairman, Dr. Adamu Mu’azu, for the assignment. This amount was subsequently disbursed to the re

Following Wednesday’s ruling by the three-man Court of Appeal panel sitting in Abuja, which struck out the appeal filed by Governor Nyesom Wike, seeking a dismissal of the judgment of the Rivers election petition tribunal which sacked him as governor of the state, Wike has called on all his supporters and the people of Rivers State to remain calm, even as he has instructed his lawyers to appeal the judgement at the Supreme Court. Wike In a 110-page ruling delivered by Justice M.B. Dongban-Mensem, the Court ruled that the election of Nyesom Wike did not conform with the electoral act. The Court ordered a rerun in 90 days. Delivering a final ruling, the Court of Appeal decided all the seven issues raised by Governor Wike in favour of Dakuku Peterside and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). In a statement issued today, by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media, Governor Wike stated that he disagrees with th

By Our Correspondent Lawmaker representing Andoni-Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency and son of Madam Mabel Dagomie Abiante, Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante, has pleaded with the abductors of his mother, kidnapped at Ngo Town, Andoni local government, Rivers State, three weeks ago, to release her unconditionally owing to her deteriorating health condition. Ma Abiante was kidnapped on Saturday, November 28, 2015 at about 8:30pm from her residence, at Ngo town headquarters of Andoni local Government area of Rivers state. Awaji-Inombek Abiante Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante whose his seat at national assembly was nullified by the Appeal Court made the passionate appeal to the kidnappers today in Port Harcourt. The abductors have turned down all entreaties by the family of 78-year old woman, insisting that a ransom of N50 Million be paid or she would be killed even as her health worsens. Before she was kidnapped, the septuagenarian was recuperating from a major surgical ope

Report by Eranga Isaac Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State says Nigeria must return to its strict tax policy which was applicable before the oil boom of the seventies as a way of getting out of the present crisis caused by a crash in the price of crude oil. The Governor who was a former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said nobody is above taxation as even the President and Governors pay their taxes, said states and Federal Government must deepen their Internally generated Revenue base as this is what obtains in developed countries of the world. Speaking during a visit to his office by Course 24 participants of the National Defence College, on a study tour of Edo State, on Friday, Oshiomhole said, “central to every debate to every country with mature democracy is the issue of tax payment. We have to find the courage to be firm and just and we have to give commensurate service. “When I was growing up, the only thing we had was the Local Government Auth

A 35-year old man, Nelson Oamen, who allegedly stabbed his father to death, removing his heart afterwards, was Monday, remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons by an Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos. It will be recalled that Oamen, who reports claimed was suspected to be a drug addict, allegedly stabbed his septuagenarian father, an indigene of Edo State to death. He reportedly escaped from his father’s apartment at Block 272, Abesan Estate in Ipaja after the incident. He had also reportedly removed his father’s heart and took it away, covering his corpse with a blanket, before sneaking out of the house. Meanwhile, Oamen, on Tuesday, September 29 turned himself in at the Ipaja Police Division and was reportedly transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation (SCID), Yaba, for further investigation. According to our reporter, Nelson was said to have walked into the police station to report himself, during which he allegedly confessed to the crime. Conf

Confederation of African Football president Issa Hayatou will lead FIFA in the absence of provisionally suspended president Sepp Blatter but will not stand to be his permanent successor. On Thursday, FIFA's Ethics Committee provisionally banned Blatter, Michel Platini and Jerome Valcke for 90 days in the wake of a Swiss criminal investigation. Blatter and UEFA president Platini will now not be involved in any football activity for the next three months while investigations continue. The 90-day suspension can also be extended by a further 45 days. During the Swiss' absence, Hayatou will serve as acting president due to him being the longest-serving vice president on its Executive Committee he will not, however, stand for the permanent post in February's election.

Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has prematurely called time on his international career after a row with coach Sunday Oliseh. Enyeama, earlier said on Wednesday that he was considering his international future and might have to "step aside" in the interest of the team and country. On Thursday morning, he took to Instagram to announce that he would no longer be available for selection after 13 years and 101 appearances. Oliseh stripped Enyeama of the captaincy for reporting late to camp following the funeral of his mother, leading to an exchange of words between both men during a team meeting at the Nigeria training camp in Belgium.

Patrick J. Buchanan   Since China devalued its currency 3 percent, global markets have gone into a tailspin. Why should this be? After all, 3 percent devaluation in China could be countered by a U.S. tariff of 3 percent on all goods made in China, and the tariff revenue used to cut U.S. corporate taxes.   The crisis in world markets seems related not only to a sinking Chinese economy, but also to what Beijing is saying to the world; i.e., China will save herself first even if it means throwing others out of the life boat. Disbelievers in New World Order mythology have long recognized that this new China is fiercely nationalistic. Indeed, with Marxism-Leninism dead, nationalism is the Communist Party’s fallback faith. China has thus kept her currency cheap to hold down imports and keep exports surging. She has run $300 billion trade surpluses at the expense of the Americans. She has demanded technology transfers from firms investing in China and engaged in technology th

A Zimbabwean wildlife official says five people are in police custody and being questioned over the killing of 11 elephants poisoned by cyanide at Hwange National Park in the west of the country. In addition to the elephants killed at Hwange park, three others were poisoned by cyanide near Kariba in northern Zimbabwe in the past two weeks. National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokeswoman Caroline Washaya Moyo on Wednesday said in a statement all five suspects in the Hwange killings were resident in the national park's main camp. Moyo told The Associated Press by telephone that the suspects are not park employees but were staying with relatives. She said no-one had been arrested for the poisoning of the three elephants near Kariba. Culled from AP

Jonathan Eze   Former National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, Chief Audu Ogbe, and the former Anambra State governor, Senator Chris Ngige amongst others were on Thursday sighted at the Police Force Headquarters for biometric profiling. The first set of the ministerial nominees who arrived in batches was received and led to the ICT profiling Center by the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase at about  12.15 pm  and left at about  12.35pm . Other ministerial nominees arrived the Force headquarters  between 1pm and 1.45 pm  and similarly carried out their own finger-printing and profiling at the 7th floor office of the Force Headquarters ICT profiling room. The profiling of the ministerial nominees, complete with their finger prints and other biometrics at Force headquarters, which is the first of its kind in the    appointment of ministers in the present democratic dispensation, was seen by observers as a way of collecting current data of the ministerial

Emmanuel Osifo University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, has quarantined ten persons following the death of a patient in the hospital on Wednesday with symptoms suspected to be Ebola virus. Dr. Queeneth Kalu, Chairman of    Medical Advisory Committee of the hospital who made the revelation on Thursday in Calabar while addressing the media said blood samples had been sent to the Ebola Diagnosing Centre in Benin, Edo State. “On Wednesday, 7th October, 2015, we managed a patient who presented symptoms mimicking viral hemorrhage (Ebola Virus) and have decided to take the necessary measures”. Dr. Kalu stated that those quarantined are principally nurses who attended to the patient and those who    came in contact with him before his death. ‘”The following have been informed: National Centre for Disease Control, Federal Ministry of Health,    The Cross River State Government, Calabar Municipality, and the Department of State Security Services, DSS” She said further

Report by Eranga Isaac 9 October, 2015 Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has clarified his position on the Pension fund, saying he never accused PENCOM of diverting N3.5 trillion pension fund because it has nothing to do directly with pension money in the first place. He said, rather, his position is about how pension funds operators invest hard-earned workers’ money in FGN Bonds and Treasury Bills, which in turn was grossly mismanaged through funding consumption.       In a statement personally signed by him, Oshiomhole said: “recently, a section of news media attributed comments to me regarding the way and manner in which pension funds to the tune of 3.5 trillion Naira were drawn down to support recurrent expenditure and not infrastructure development. In the said reports, the impression created was that I had accused the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) of colluding with the Federal Ministry of Finance to divert the said amount.   “Considering the manner

Report by Eranga Isaac Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiombole has praised President Muhammadu Buhari for nominating quality hands as Ministers, saying the nominees will truly drive the desired change needed for the country to move forward. Speaking yesterday at the launch of an autobiography “This Is My Life; the Journey So Far”, by Professor Emmanuel Emovon, Oshiomhole said: “the book is being presented at a time we are having a new President, who is determined to, and is already inspiring all of us by the quality of Ministers he has assembled. People may have political issues but in terms of the quality of those people, I haven’t seen any of them that anybody van dismiss as not worthy of his nomination and so, we are going to have a Presidency and a Federal Executive Council manned by men and women that are determined to lead the path of change and all of us can contribute to make that change happen. “The future that I see and the future that President Buhari is d

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015   : PUNCH   3 COMMENTS Chief Olu Falae | credits: Sunday Aborisade According to a report on Channels Television, a former secretary to the government of the federation, Chief Olu Falae, has been kidnapped in his farm in Ondo State. Details later. .