Chief Whip of the Senate and former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, on Monday said that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has not paid the contractors who built the roads he facilitated. A former Governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, also denied ever soliciting or getting any contract from the NDDC. Kalu was reacting to the communique written by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, where he reportedly mentioned ex-governors Emmanuel Uduaghan, James Ibori, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and others to have benefited from several contracts awarded by the NDDC.…
Author: YemieFash
Immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has debunked allegations that he was awarded contracts worth N429 million from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In a statement released by his media aide, Monoyo Edon, Uduaghan disclosed that he had never sought for jobs from the interventionist agency. A national daily had Monday, reported the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to have listed the ex-governor, alongside his predecessor, Chief James Ibori, as among those awarded contracts by the commission in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In the said publication, it…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the appointment of Barrister Amos Isaac Azi as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer for the Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST). Azi, before this appointment was a staff of the Securities & Exchange Commission. A statement from the IST said “his appointment is for an initial period of Five (5) years in accordance with the provisions of Sections 275(2) and 277(1) of the Investments & Securities Act (ISA), 2007. The appointment is with effect from 17th July, 2020.” Similarly, President Buhari has approved the reappointment of Barr. Nosa Osemwengie as full time member of the Investments and…
The Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Daniel Pondei, has accused the Senate and House of Representative Ad-hoc Committees of plotting to scuttle the forensic audit of the Commission by discrediting it in its final report. Pondei, who was reacting to a newspaper report credited to the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee that he and members of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) were collecting 30% of total contract amount from contractors before paying them, said “it is surprising and disappointing that the Senate Committee can be attributed with unproven allegations as their final report.” The NDDC boss however…
The organised labour in Ekiti State on Monday called off the three-day warning strike embarked upon in the state public service over welfare and other issues. The organised labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress and Joint Negotiating Council, had on Sunday ordered the commencement of the strike on Monday following the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum it earlier issued to the state government. In the resolutions at the end of meeting between the state government and organised labour made available to journalists on Monday, it was stated that the strike had been called off “immediately”. The document,…
A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to apologise to Nigerians for collecting ‘humongous’ loans. Atiku said the government should make an admittance of guilt for taking the country through the “throes of subjugation to another country.” But the APC said Atiku failed Nigerians as vice president, adding that he had no moral right to make such demand. Atiku has for long advocated for a more robust engagement of the private sector and promotion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as sustainable alternatives through which government can fund infrastructure development. Atiku…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has announced a new target date of mid 2023 to get the country’s refineries functional. Nigeria’s refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna have been dormant for several years. In a television programme monitored by our correspondent on Sunday night in Abuja, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, also stated that it was currently impractical to float the refineries commercially and beneficially. Kyari spoke alongside the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Syla, in a virtual dialogue during the programme. The NNPC boss said private investors would work with the corporation to…
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Okitipupa local government area, Akinrinlola Olumide has warned of the imminent defeat of the party at the October governorship polls over the choice of a running mate for the party. The Ondo PDP has been locked in a cold war over whom its governorship candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, would pick as his running mate. There is pressure on Jegede to pick his deputy outside his political camp from Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State and the elders of the party have advised the candidate of the PDP to pick one of…
South African Company, Shoprite Holdings Limited, says it will auction off its outlets in Nigeria, YemieFash has learnt. The megastore company with presence in virtually all states in Nigeria hinged this decision on the coronavirus pandemic which has disrupted major businesses globally. This was contained in the company’s “Operational and Voluntary Trading Update (52 Weeks Ended 28 June 2020)” released on Monday. The update partly read, “Following approaches from various potential investors, and in line with our re-evaluation of the Group’s operating model in Nigeria, the Board has decided to initiate a formal process to consider the potential sale of all,…
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has linked two former governors of Delta State, Messrs James Ibori and Emmanuel Uduaghan, to the various contracts awarded by the Niger Delta Development Commission. Others on the lists submitted to the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on July 23 by Akpabio are the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, and Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, among others. The letter, which was also copied to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation/Minister of Justice, was addressed to the Clerk to the House, Mr Patrick Giwa, with Reference…