Category: News

We will assist PDP lose election – Wike

The Rivers State Governor has threatened to assist the Peoples Democratic Party lose the 2023 presidential election.

The governor issued the chance on the commissioning of the inner avenue in Omerelu network in Ikwerre neighborhood authorities location of Rivers on Thursday.

The governor who turned into responding to latest feedback with the aid of using the National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu stated the chairman is showing arrogance.

He stated “Doctor Ayu stated we’re youngsters. Yes, the kids introduced you from the gutter to make you chairman.

“Now we’ve visible which you don’t need the celebration to win election, we are able to assist you.

“These youngsters you stated we’re, that introduced you from nothing.

“Ayu, you stated you based this birthday birthday celebration, however you left the birthday birthday celebration in 2007. You based a organisation, you left the enterprise, humans stood and taken out the organization to what it’s far today, you don’t have any ethical proper to nevertheless come and declare which you based that business enterprise, you left together along with your shares.

“You need to reveal integrity, you need to expose a celebration to Nigeria that we need to take over, you have to persuade Nigerians that we’ve got the integrity.

“You are the motive force so as to force the automobile to bring us to head our destination. That is the victory we’re searching for.

“If the motive force has no integrity and can’t display honesty, how do you persuade Nigerians?

“If you inform Nigerians some thing and can’t do it, is it while you input into strength that you may do it?

“Nigerians have visible how ungrateful a number of you could be, and that’s why Nigerians additionally need to be careful, if we supply those human beings energy, are you positive they may additionally be thankful to Nigerians”.

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo.

Oluomo was arrested Thursday morning at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and taken to the office of the agency at Ikoyi, Lagos for questioning.

It was learnt that the Speaker failed to honour invitations.

Efforts to reach the spokesperson for the agency, Wilson Uwajaren on the phone for further details were not successful.

In January 2022, EFCC invited Oluomo for questioning over alleged Financial Misappropriation, Forgery And Money Laundering.

EFCC had earlier in a letter dated December 9, 2021, with a reference No: CR:3000/EFCC/LS/CMU/OG1/VOL.3/165, asked Oluomo to report to its Lagos office but the Speaker had claimed he was working “on the 2022 budget presented by Governor Dapo Abiodun.”

However, in another letter dated January 05, 2022, with reference No: CR:3000/EFCC/LS/CMU/OG1/VOL.1/004, and obtained by newsmen, the EFCC asked the Speaker to report to its office along with the Accountant and Director of Finance and Account for questioning.

The letter read, “The commission’s letter with reference number CR, 3000/EFCC/LS/CMU/OG1/VOL.3/165 dated 9th December 2021 and your response of 13th December 2021 on the above subject, refer.

“In view of the above, you are kindly requested to report along with the accountant and Director of Finance and Account for the pending interview with the undersigned through the Head, Chairman’s monitoring Unit as follows.”

It had been reported that the Speaker was being investigated by the anti-graft agency along with the Assembly Clerk and some former members of the House.

In another letter obtained then by newsmen, the EFCC had asked the clerk to provide it with information on all budget appropriations and allocations of the House from May 30, 2015, to date.

“The Speaker and others are under probe for different allegations. First one is financial misappropriation. About N85,000,000 monthly for running cost of the Assembly cannot be accounted for since June 2019 till date by Mr Speaker and Clerk, the approving officer and accounting officer respectively,” a lawmaker had told newsmen.

“This led to a rift between the Speaker and the recently impeached Deputy Speaker after the latter demanded accountability and transparency.

Even doing Covid-19 lockdown, running costs such as local/international travel, cost for fuelling the generator were diverted to private accounts.

“Diversion of constituency allowance funds (each member of the 8th Assembly collected N20,000,000 twice between 2015-2019.

Most of the retired receipts were forged and fictitious pictures of purported ghost projects were filed by members.

The current Speaker and 3 other current members were part of the 8th Assembly under investigation. A current Special Adviser to the Governor of Ogun state who also has a school certificate scandal case over him was part of the 8th Assembly under the EFCC radar.

“Forgery of Financial Bills (i-The House passed a resolution to approve only N75 billion Bond for the State Government sometime in June 2020, but the Speaker secretly falsified the content of the resolution letter in favour of the Executive, changed it to N200 billion after members had already passed and signed resolution for just N75 billion on the floor of the House before the camera.

“Speaker falsified some contents {S.7(4)} of Ogun State Legislative Funds Management Bill, after passage, for personal/selfish grounds.

After the passage on the floor of the House, he falsified the contents in his favour before sending a clean copy to the Government for assent.

“Speaker in connivance with Mr Clerk, also falsified the current Standing Order of the House before the commencement of the 9th Assembly, to favour his election as the Speaker and disqualified others to contest, amongst other contents.”

A lawmaker in late 2021 told newsmen that the Speaker had been bragging that “nothing would come out of the EFCC investigation.”

He added that the documents Oluomo in collaboration with the House Clerk submitted to the anti-graft agency were fake.

“Things have been quiet from the side of EFCC and the Speaker has been bragging that nothing will come out of it,” the lawmaker had told SaharaReporters.

“Kindly check these documents he and the Clerk of the House submitted to EFCC to cover up how they embezzled N95million monthly allocation, these documents contained fake signatures of principal officers.

“There are still more documents also containing forged signatures of all honorable members. Most of the Honourable members and principal officers are yet to know that monies are been signed out in their names.

“In addition, hundreds of fictitious hotel invoices and gas station invoices were part of the retired receipt they submitted to EFCC. You can even see that the signatures on the two documents don’t even match. Yet, none of them is the true signatures of these honorable members.”

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyiochia Ayu, has taken a swipe at Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike and others calling for his resignation, saying they were children when the party turned into commenced in 1999.

He said this in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa service on Wednesday, adding that he has no plan to resign as the chairman of the party.

According to him, “When we started the PDP, all those ones were children, they were not there. We will not allow one person to become a spoiler. This is our country. So, all that is expected of us is to fix the country and provide security and dividends of democracy when we take over power in 2023.

“All that he is doing does not affect me because I know I am fixing the party, I am doing my work diligently, I have not committed any offence, I have not stolen any money, so there is no reason for my resignation.”

He added that “I stood for election and I won the election and I am fixing the party, I have not stolen anything, I have not committed any offence, we will not allow one person to come and spoil the party for us with frivolous calls and conditions.

“I was elected as PDP national chairman for a four-year term and I have spent up to one year, so the call for my resignation is uncalled for.”

He noted further that the presidential ambition of Abubakar Atiku under the party cannot affect his position as the national chairman, even if Atiku comes from Benue State.

Commenting on the return of former Kano State governor, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, to PDP remarked that Shekarau’s return to the party is a welcome development.

“Ibrahim Shekarau’s return to PDP is a welcome development, he is a straightforward person, he left his party to come to our party because he knows PDP is the one that will fix the country. Both Senator Shekarau that have returned and his men will be accommodated in the party’s activities in the State accordingly because they are all PDP men and women now,” he said.