RayTec Trust Nigeria

A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted interim forfeiture order to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in respect of two properties belonging to wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Justice Nnamdi Dimgba on Monday ordered that the order is for an initial 45 days within which EFCC is to conclude their investigation in the matter. The EFCC, through its counsel, Benjamin Mangi, had filed an ex-parte application seeking the forfeiture of the houses at: Plot No.1758, Cadastral Zone, B06 Mabushi; and Plot No.1350, Cadastral Zone, A00 Central Business District, Abuja pending the conclusion of its investigation. However, Patience Jonathan’s lawyer Mike Ozekhome (SAN), brought an application seeking to stop the forfeiture on the grounds that the properties were subject matter of another suit filed by EFCC before same Federal High Court in Abuja. He said the ground being relied on by the EFCC for the forfeiture of the houses belonging to Ariwaba Aruera Reachout...

The move to recall Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly has failed as the Saturday's signature verification exercise failed to meet the constitutional requirement to proceed with the exercise.  The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the results released at the INEC office, Lokoja, in the early hours of Sunday said only 5.34% signatures of the petitioners was verified as against the 50% plus 1 as required by the Electoral Act.  According to the result announced in Lokoja by INEC's Resident Electoral Commissioner in charge of Benue State,  Professor Ukertor Gabriel Moti, said total numbers of registered voters in Kogi West was 351, 140. The Commissioner added that the total number of petitioners' signatures collated for recall was 189, 870, while only 20, 868 signatory were present for accreditation. He however said only 18,743 number of the signatures were verified at the end of the exercise.  Ac...

The signatures verification exercise for the recall process of Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly has commenced on Saturday with low turnout of petitioners at some of the polling units visited.  At the Lokoja Club polling unit 016 in Ward A of Lokoja LGA, only two out of the 875 petitioners that signed for the recall in that polling unit had turned out for verification as at 10 am. In the same vein, at the Ukwo Okoriko Compound polling unit 003 in Kogi/Kotonkarfe LGA, only 18 petitioners out of the 440 petitioners that appended signatures for the had been verified as at 11 am. At Ohagabi Polling Unit 003 in Kogi/Kotonkarfe LGA, only 43 out of 500 petitioners who appended signatures for the recall had turned out for the verification as at 11.33am. A check at Oworo Ward E Polling Unit 012 in Lokoja LGA, only 40 out of the 500 petitioners that signed the recall document had been verified as at 12 noon.  At Felele Polling U...

The National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC) in charge of Kogi, Kwara and Nasarawa, Mohammed Haruna on Saturday assured that the electoral umpire would be transparent and fair in ongoing recall process of Senator Dino Melaye. Mohammed who spoke after monitoring the exercise in Lokoja said the Commission as an umpire was only carrying out its mandate required by the Electoral Act and has no special interest whatsoever in whoever loses or wins at the end of the day.  He said he was impressed with the peaceful conduct of the exercise so far.

Some years ago, when Boko Haram insurgency was at its peak in North East Nigeria, sacking villages, detonating bombs in markets, mosques and churches, killing children, women and elderly and forcefully conscripting innocent youths into its fold, many of our fellow citizens in the other parts of the country were feeling so unconcerned. The reason for their lack of concern is very clear; they thought the violence is a northern affair that would never get to their parts. These people made it clear to all that they do not care about the innocent lives being lost in North East. It doesn’t matter if more than 20,000 people are gruesomely killed and over 2million are displaced, they just didn’t care, they said. During the same period and in the most disheartening manner, people who showed serious concern about the suffering of the people of North East were blackmailed and shamed. People like Madam Oby Ezekwesili and others like her, who are known defenders of human dignity, are co...

The Special Adviser to Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto on Media and Publicity, Malam Imam Imam is dead. Imam died around 3.am at the Nziamye Turkish Hospital Abuja after a brief illness on Friday. His younger brother, Abubakar Imam and his friend Muhammad Isa, confirmed that the deceased would be buried at Wuse 2 after Jumuat Prayers. The burial would be held at the Al-Nur Mosque in Abuja. The Sokoto state government has yet to release a statement on the death of the governor’s spokesman.

Three persons were feared dead in a ghastly multiple accident on Wednesday at the Banex Junction, near Tippers’ Garage in Abuja. The multiple accident which involved three cars and a tipper, also left six others injured. A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who visited the scene, reported that the victims were all taken to different hospitals in Abuja. A witness, Mr Emmanuel Ade, told NAN that there was an initial minor accident involving a Toyota Hillux and a taxi cab at the  scene before the fatal crash. According to him, the major accident happened when the police were trying to control the traffic on the expressway. Another witness, Mr Musa James, also said that the major accident occurred when the tipper appeared to have lost control while approaching the scene. “The driver of the tipper was trying to manoeuvre his way when he noticed he could not control the vehicle. The police were on the road stopping the tipper,’’ James said. Mr Jafaru Wakili, another witness, said th...

Kayode Fayemi The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi is one of the serving ministers eyeing the governorship seat in Ekiti State. He is the first minister to openly declare, probably because the Ekiti election would hold on July 14, this year. Fayemi, a former governor of the state, between October 16, 2010 and October 15, 2014, lost his re-election bid to Ayodele Fayose, the then candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He is from Isan Ekiti, in Ekiti North senatorial district of the state. His billboards are erected at strategic places, especially Ado Ekiti, the state capital. At the declaration, which attracted a large crowd of party supporters and admirers, Fayemi vowed that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), would do everything legally possible to wrest power from the PDP in Ekiti. The former governor is the 37th aspirant to collect nomination form; hence he will face other contenders during the party’s primary election on Ma...

Senator Shehu Sani has called on President Muhamadu Buhari to apologise to Nigerian youths over the comments credited to him that the Nigerian youths, “do nothing” and want everything for “free”. The senator representing Kaduna Central in a Facebook post on Friday also asked President Buhari to withdraw the statement. He added that the president should tell the youths what he had done for them and what he would do for them in future. Read post below: ”The President should simply withdraw the statement on the youths and apologize; and tell them what he will do for them in addition to what he had done for them.The President spin doctors are trying to spray fragrances on the feces and lace the dung with olive oil, it’s absurd.The President is a human being, he can gaffe and should be forgiven and should not be sent to the political guillotine. “As for the Youths, the challenge is to pick the baton and lead and stop holding the Alsatian Dogs of the political elite.The President echoes the ...

Jose Mourinho has defended Paul Pogba after the Manchester United star was branded “disrespectful” by Paul Scholes. United legend Scholes claimed Pogba’s lacklustre display in Sunday’s shock defeat against lowly West Bromwich Albion showed a lack of respect for Mourinho. Scholes’ criticism came amid growing speculation that Mourinho is ready to sell Pogba following the France midfielder’s inconsistent form over the last two seasons. But Pogba produced one of his better performances in United’s 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Wednesday as he set up Romelu Lukaku for the second goal at Dean Court. Asked to comment on Scholes’ criticism of Pogba, Mourinho said: “I don’t agree. I agree that it wasn’t a good performance at all (against West Brom); with that I agree.” Mourinho made seven changes from the West Brom loss as he axed some of his under-performing players and rested others for Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal against Tottenham. His decision to keep Pogba in the starting line-up raised ques...

The Presidency has described as mischievous and unconscionable, reports quoting President Muhammadu Buhari as saying all Nigerian youths as lazy. Presidential spokesman Mr Femi Adesina, in a statement yesterday, clarified that Buhari, while responding to a question at the Commonwealth Business Forum in London on Wednesday, said a lot of Nigerian youths, not all, have not gone to school but want to get everything. Adesina said in responding to a question, Buhari talked about some Nigerian youths thus: “We have a very young population; our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 million.  “More than 60 per cent of the population is below the age of 30. A lot of them have not been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria has been an oil producing country, therefore they should sit and do nothing and get housing, healthcare and education free.” Adesina said typical of ‘their stock in trade,’ ‘manipulators’ and ‘twisters’ of Buhari’s statements “Who lie in wait to make mischief...

The founder of Daar Communications PLC, Raymond Dokpesi has protested the inclusion of his name among the Federal Government's recently released "list of looters". In a letter dated April 4, 2018 addressed to the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed by his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Dokpesi said the publication by the minister is defamatory. Dokpesi is currently facing allegations of receiving the sum of N2.1 billion in several tranches from the former National Security Adviser (NSA) in 2015 before a Federal High Court in Abuja. But the case has suffered many adjournment without conviction. Ozekhome said the publication has damaged his client's "hard-earned reputation" leading to his suffering riducule, psychological trauma and business losses. "Take note that unless you carry out the above minimal demands immediately to redress the incalculable damage done to our client's hard-earned image and reputation consequent upon your defamatory and ...

We as human beings are driven by the environment we exist in. Our opinions and thoughts are all reflections of our immediate society, and the feeling of dissatisfaction is what keeps us moving. It is also true that a dose of healthy discontentment is necessary to go on with our lives. The problem starts when we enter a blind race for money, power and/or status symbol. When these things decide how you live your life, there is a high chance you would keep going and not really be able to pause to smell the roses. This is because there would either be that next high you want to reach or that upstart who you feel is trying to dethrone you. You need to find a balance that would allow you chase your dreams and still be able to appreciate the good things; to take a breather. Being content is not about not wanting. No. Want but also appreciate that which you have while you still do. Create your Kodak moments. Below are some tips on how. 1. Be positive: Life is as it is, and while there i...

The Kano State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the recent calls by ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida on President Muhammadu Buhari to forget about seeking re-election in 2019 as “mere envy of his eight-year rolling plan.” This was contained in a press statement signed by the Kano State Deputy Chairman of the party, Hon. Shehu Maigari. The APC said the failure of the past leaders and their unsuccessful attempts to remain in power longer than necessary were the main reasons why they were agitating that the incumbent president should not seek re-election in 2019. Speaking on IBB, the Kano APC said, “Nigerians will never forget the devaluation of the naira and high cost of living that began in 1986, the Kafanchan and Zangon Kataf crises that spread to many parts of Kaduna State which led to loss of hundreds of lives and destruction of property worth hundreds of millions of naira. They would never escape our memori...

Since the Kaduna Inland Dry Port was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in January, government agencies responsible for full operations of the facility have been busy putting in place all the requirements to ensure that it competes with other Inland Container Depots (ICDs) across the globe. In this interview, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Barrister Hassan Bello sheds more light on what his council, which is the implementing agency for the port is doing, among other issues. Excerpts: Daily Trust: The commissioning of the Kaduna Inland Dry Port by President Muhammadu Buhari was greeted with excitement by residents, who are the immediate beneficiaries. What are some of the post-commissioning developments? Hassan Bello: As you already know, it is the first among the seven Inland Container Depots (ICDs) to qualify to be so commissioned, having fulfilled the basic requirements of a modern Inland Dry Port. Since then, Govern...

The National Rescue Movement (NRM) has urged Nigerians; especially leaders, not to overheat the polity and aggravate the current security challenges. The party in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said the prevailing tension in the land due to economic down turn, unemployment, poverty and armed banditry posed a serious challenge. The spokesman of the party, Prince Chinedu Obi, said in the statement that the recent outburst credited to Gen. TY Danjuma calling on Nigerians to defend themselves was uncalled for because it was capable of aggravating the security situation. “Although it is reaction to frustration over failure of government to adequately protect lives and property of Nigerians as enshrined in the constitution, Gen. Danjuma’s statement is not necessarily meant to incite the people to carry arms and defend themselves, but a call for people to be vigilant and the military to see the need to change strategy in dealing with the security situation where people don...

The political drama in Kogi State involving Governor Yahaya Bello, Senator Dino Melaye and the police assumed an uglier dimension of accusations and counter accusations last week, making the state look like the theatre of the absurd. The drama climaxed when some suspects that had named Senator Dino Melaye as the man who supplied them with arms and money, sensationally escaped from police custody the night before they were to appear in court. According to Nigeria Police spokesman ACP Jimoh Moshood, the suspects Kabiru Seidu and Nuhu Salisu indicted Senator Melaye and Mohammed Audu in a case of conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms already filed at the Federal High Court, Lokoja. Six suspects escaped including these two. The escape saga was preceded by others such as the attempt to recall Senator Melaye, said to be orchestrated by the governor and the attack on Melaye in his constituency where he said assassins were to kill him. Then the police recently said he gave f...

If ever there was a recent case of unguarded utterance by an elder statesman in Nigeria, it was the one made by Lt General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma at the maiden convocation of Taraba State University in Wukari eight days ago. The former Army Chief and former Defence Minister said three things that a statesman should never say, if the meaning of statesman as we know it still holds true. Danjuma said, “There is an attempt at ethnic cleansing in the state and of course, in some riverine and rural states in Nigeria. We must resist it. We must stop it. Every one of us must rise up.” This unfortunate statement fed into the mischievous narrative that herdsmen are on a mission to either wage a Jihad or to wipe out some communities for no reason. Like all Nigerians we frown at the spate of killings by criminals, bandits and killers in many states. These stem from economic conflicts between farmers and herders and while all hands should be on deck to address these conflicts, referr...