My greatest regret as Rivers governor is..... - Amaechi

      
Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi says his greatest regret as governor of Rivers State for eight years is that the people of the state have failed to recognize his contribution towards the progress of the state.

Amaechi, who spoke at the Annual Lagos Traffic Radio Lecture Series in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos also accused the incumbent Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, of driving away investors from the state due to growing insecurity and crime.

“The problem with Nigerians is that they forget so soon what someone had done for them. And that was one of my greatest regrets as the Governor of River State for eight years. I served my people but they did not recognise my contribution,” he lamented.

According to Amaechi, there was no way one would be encouraged to do more for his people if they did not appreciate what such person had done in the past.

The former governor, however, accused Wike of driving away investors from Rivers as he had not been able to tackle rising wave of insecurity in the area, which had led to the plunging of the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, from N8 billion to N4 billion.

“Do you know that people are now migrating away from Port Harcourt? When I was the Governor of Rivers State, nothing like that happened. The crime rate in the state has now increased and the IGR dropped. As the governor, the IGR of the state was at N8 billion. And that was why I have often advised Nigerian public office holders not to play with figures.

“I was accused of owing 12 months’ salary but when I left office, I had paid up to 40 percent of the workforce. I believe that all public officers must tell the public the truth always. During my tenure, when my IGR begins to fall, I invite the Commissioner of Police and other security operatives in the state to bring the statistics of crime in the state.

“Due to the crime rate in the state, people have started migrating away from the state and the IGR has dropped to N4 billion. The state governor (Wike) now moves like chairman of a council, asking traders and others if they had paid their taxes. But when I was the governor, I don’t engage in that,” he said.

According to Amaechi, “Migration is either voluntary or involuntary. But in the case of Rivers State, it is involuntary. They are forced to relocate from the state. The man complained that I am corrupt but I have asked him to go to court but until today, he is yet to bring evidence forward to buttress his claims.”

Amaechi also said that the reason Lagos often experience gridlock was due to lack of roads in the state, saying, “How many times do you see traffic in Abuja? And the reason was that it had nexus of roads. There is need for the construction of more connecting bridges across the state.”
The minister, in his paper, said as far as mass transportation was concerned, there is evidence to show that inadequacy in transport infrastructure and services had contributed significantly to the prevalence of poverty across various Nigerian communities in both urban and rural areas.

He said the problems of Nigerian transport system had varied across various sub-sectors including air, water, rail and road transport in particular.

“The challenges confronting transportation in Nigeria are numerous but its greatest failure is attributable to poor governance which several Nigerians have identified, including a former Minister of Transport, Dr . Abiye Sekibo, who noted that “transportation occupies a central position in the socio-economic and political development of any nation” but “successive Nigerian governments have left the transport sector comatose as a result of total neglect”.

He listed excessive government monopoly, grounded rail system with inefficient, obsolete and deficient transport policy, under-developed inland waterways, ports and port services, as well as corruption, as being major problems of the sector,” he said.

“In achieving our mission of establishing a safe, efficient, affordable and seamless intermodal transport system, we will ensure that we achieve internationally acceptable standards and deploy the available resources in the private sector through public private partnership to build a sustainable transportation system. This goal is realizable and the advantage we have is the political will and incorruptible nature of our Team Leader –President Muhamadu Buhari. I therefore urge all Nigerians to give us their support and prayers,” he added.

Supreme Court affirms five-year jail term for rapist

      
The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the five-year jail term with hard labour passed on Afor Lucky for raping a minor.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the option of N300, 000 fine was also upheld by the apex court.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta held that it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that the convict had forceful carnal knowledge of the minor.

“The convict has successfully killed something in the psyche of the victim, leaving the poor girl devastated and with a permanent scar for life.

“The principle of inviolability of a sentence not appealed against, which I am duty bound to apply herein most regrettable and painfully appears to give credence to the saying that the law is an ass.

“Maybe the asinine attribute is not inherent in the law but in the application of its provision as amply demonstrated in this case.

“The provision has provided for 14 years maximum jail term for rape but the trial judge decided to give Lucky five.

“In conclusion, having resolved the five issues, except one, against the convict, I therefore dismiss the appeal for want of merit.

“The judgment of the Court below which affirmed the judgment of the trial Court is hereby affirmed,’’ Ngwuta held.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convict was charged with rape, punishable under Section 358 of the Criminal Code Cap C21 Vol.1 Laws of Delta State of Nigeria, 2006.

The particulars of offence held that Lucky, on or about April 7, 2007 at Ole in Delta State, had carnal knowledge of the five-year-old girl.

Lucky was tried and convicted as charged in the High Court of Delta State.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, the convict approached the Court of Appeal, Benin City, which dismissed his appeal on Nov.17, 2014.

Further dissatisfied with the outcome of his appeal, Lucky sought the intervention of the apex court on six grounds of appeal.

The convict had asked the court to decide whether the Court of Appeal was right to have held that his counsel conceded that rape was committed.

He had also asked the court to say whether the Court of Appeal did not speculate when held that he (convict) had sexual intercourse with the minor.

The convict further asked that court to decide whether in the circumstances of the case, the Court of Appeal was right in holding that the defence of alibi was not open to him.

He also wanted the apex court to decide whether the evidence of the medical doctor, in the circumstances of the case, amounted to corroboration.

And finally, the convict had asked the most superior court to decide whether allocution amounts to admission of guilt.

An allocution or allocutus is a formal statement made to the court by the defendant who has been found guilty, prior to being sentenced.

Father turns daughter to sex slave in Lagos state

   
A Lagos high court sitting in Ikeja has heard how a father defiled his 10-year old daughter

The commercial driver named Ajayi Gbadegesin reportedly had sex with his daughter for 18-months

The suspect admitted to the crime, claiming that it was the work of the devil

Led in evidence by the state prosecutor, Mr Babatunde Oguntemowo, an importer of laboratory and scientific equipment, Babatope Adamolekun, told a Lagos state High Court sitting in Ikeja that: “On May 12, 2014, at about 8a.m, on my way to work at Bello Bus Stop, Iju, Lagos, I saw a 10-year-old girl (name withheld) begging a woman for money.

“I asked her why she was not in school and the victim narrated to me that she lost her mother, was staying with her step-mother in Agege, a suburb of Lagos and needed money to go back. buses-today.

“She added that her father had been having sex with her for more than one and half years and that she almost died from the previous night’s experience, as her father had sex with her more than three times.”

Justice Kudirat Jose of Lagos state High Court sitting in Ikeja was told on Thursday, June 9, how Gbadegesin, 40, had sexual intercourse with his daughter for 18 months.

The witness further told the court that when he asked the girl of her father’s whereabouts, she told him that her father’s commercial bus was parked a few meters away from the bus stop and that he had gone to get fuel.

Adamolekun told the court that with the help of four other people, they forced the victim’s father to the police station in a tricycle.

He added:

“On getting to Red House Police Station at Iju Ishaga in Agege, I told the police what happened and they assigned a female officer to take the girl to hospital for test and treatment.

“I assisted them with N7,500 that evening when I was showed the result from the hospital that confirmed that her father had sex with her. The DPO, Ajimote, directed them to charge the matter to court immediately after seeing the report.”

Vanguard reports that the next morning, Gbadegesin admitted having sex with his daughter, saying it was the devil’s work.

The witness continued:

“Then we chartered a vehicle to Abule-Egba Magistrate’s Court, where I was called as a witness, and the Magistrate ordered that the girl be taken to Idi-Araba for rehabilitation, while her father was remanded in Kirikiri Prison.”

The matter was adjourned for continuation of trial on Thursday, October 6, by Justice Jose.

Banker jailed 39 years for stealing N30 million from dead customer

       
A Lagos State High Court on Thursday sentenced a banker, Mr. Olawale Garuba, to 39 years imprisonment for stealing from the dead. He will, however, spend only three years in jail.

The convict was arraigned before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye alongside six others in July 2015 for conspiring among themselves to steal over N30m from the bank account of a deceased customer of a bank where the convict works.

The fraud was uncovered by the bank when they discovered that some of their employees, including the convict had connived with proxies to steal from a dormant account of one of the bank’s customers.

Upon the discovery of the fraud, the bank apprehended the employees and handed them over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for investigation and prosecution.

Upon their arraignment, they pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of fraud. Subsequently, Justice Ipaye refused their bail application and remanded them in prison custody.

However, on June 2, 2016, the convict changed his plea from ‘not guilty’ to ‘guilty’. He was immediately convicted by Justice Ipaye, who adjourned the case till Wednesday for sentencing. Counsel representing the convict, Olanrewaju Ajanaku, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing his client. He told the court that his client was a remorseful first time offender with a young wife and two little children.

However, prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, urged the court to consider the three-way traffic while tampering justice with mercy. That is the interests of the court, the victim and the convict.

After listening to the prayers of counsel, Justice Ipaye said despite the remorse shown by the convict, she has no sympathy for him as he compromised his position as a banker to steal from a deceased customer whose money would have been used by the family she left behind.

She added that the convict allowed his greed to overcome him and risk losing the job that thousands of job seekers were craving. She found the convict guilty on 13 of the 18 counts, and sentenced him to three years imprisonment on each count. The sentences are to run concurrently from the date of his first detention, which is July 24, 2015.

INEC employs blind former NYSC member who lost his sight during 2011 elections

     
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has employed an ex-youth Corps member, Daniel Oluwatobi, who lost his sight while serving as INEC ad hoc staff in Yobe State for the 2011 elections.

Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who led a team of INEC’s National Commissioners, Secretaries and Directors to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) headquarters for the presentation ceremony, praised Corps members for their patriotism, dedication and commitment to election duties.

He described them as part of “our most committed, patriotic and non-partisan election duty staff. There is no way we can have a successful election without this crop of dedicated staff.”

Yakubu recalled that he promised to employ Oluwatobi when he visited the NYSC headquarters to condole with the Director-General, Brig. Gen Sule Kazaure on the death of a youth Corps member, Samuel Okonta.

“Today, we are fulfilling that promise. Oluwatobi has requested to be posted to Ogun State, and to Ogun State he has been posted,” he said.

He then presented the appointment letter to Brig. Gen Kazaure, who in turn handed it over to Oluwatobi.

Kazaure thanked the INEC Chair for the gesture. He stressed the need for a review of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between INEC and NYSC, in the areas of security, transportation, allowances and insurance cover for corp members.

Oluwatobi gave a salute and a shout to acknowledge the gesture.

“Avoid moi-moi cooked in nylon” – Ogbeh

   
Important warning for all moi-moi enthusiasts like me.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Chief Audu Ogbeh, has cautioned against the preparation of moi-moi in cellophane.

The minister disclosed this at a one-day public hearing on Food security Bill in Abuja on Thursday. He explained that cooking moi-moi in cellophane can be dangerous and poisonous to health as the nylon contains a large dosage of dioxins.

He gave leaves or plates as a safer substitute to cellophane, stating that these options do not contain the poisonous dioxins. He also revealed that high level of insecticides used by farmers to preserve grains has killed a lot of Nigerians without them knowing.

In the same vein, Ogbeh counseled consumers of sachet water (pure water) exposed to sun at over 28 degree Celsius; he said it’s harmful to health and is the major reason for kidney and liver failure among Nigerians.

Meat not properly cooked could also cause tuberculosis. But he commended Nigerians in this case, saying that their habit of over-boiling meat had helped to prevent tuberculosis infection.

“Many of the cows being moved from one place to the other by herdsmen are already infected with tuberculosis.

“But our practice of boiling meat very well here has been the saving grace of people being infected with the deadly disease’’,

he said.

The minister further disclosed that smuggled frozen chicken preserved with formalin, a chemical commonly used in the preservation of corpses, posed a serious health challenge.

See Also: The colour of your urine and what it says about your health

“The wrong application of fertiliser by farmers has also led to consumption of poisonous foods. “Unknown to many farmers, there is specific fertiliser for specific crops in specific states in line with soil texture’’, he said.

The one-day programme was organized by the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development to expose causes of some major health challenges.

Mourinho set to axe Manchester United star |

   
Just 12 months after arriving at Manchester United, Matteo Darmian could reportedly be on his way out of Old Trafford this summer.

The Italian international was signed by Louis van Gaal last year, and although he suffered from injury setbacks, he was still able to make 39 appearances for the Red Devils.

However, it seemingly wasn’t enough to impress new boss Mourinho, who is looking to offload him in the coming weeks with a view of strengthening his squad further, according to Tuttosport.

It is claimed that Juventus are leading the race to sign the 26-year-old, although a move to Turin would come with the warning of competition for places.

The Bianconeri signed Patrice Evra to an extension this month, while Dani Alves is expected to join the club from Barcelona ahead of next season.

In turn, the addition of Darmian would give Massimiliano Allegri another versatile option as he looks to compete on all fronts moving forward.

Darmian’s more immediate focus though will be on helping the Azzurri during the European Championship in France this summer, with his last act for United potentially being securing the FA Cup last month.

A married man living in Port Harcourt, Rivers state has revealed a bombshell.

   
In a mail written to Joro Olumofin, a Nigerian psychologist, the unidentified married man complained about how his wife unconsciously screams the name of the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, whenever he makes love to her. According to him, the wife sees him as Buhari during sex and shouts ‘oh Buhari’ while in action.

When he decided to confront her about the issue, she denied it. See the mail below:

This sounds more like an unbelievable thingy. What advice will you give this man?

Indian man invites kenyan lady to have s*x with his dog for money

      
A Kenyan lady has come out to expose an Indian man who was allegedly inviting her to his house to have sex with his German Shepherd dog. From the conversation (screenshots) the lady is trying to plead with the Muhindi guy to send her money first but he refuses telling her to go have sex with his dog first.

The brave lady tells him that she has never had sex with a dog but he insists that he loves his wife so much and cannot sleep with her. He further tells her that he will have sex without protection which scares the lady who later pulls out of the conversation.

Ladies, would you do that if given money in exchange of you engaging in bestiality? Even when you know it is a sin forbidden in the Bible? And outlawed in Kenya?.

When we called the Muhindi guy for a comment, he denied the allegations saying that he is not aware about any of those claims. But how comes? Yet the number on the screenshot was the exact number we called?

Federal High Court judge Steven Evoh Chukwu passes away

     
The Nation reports about the death of Justice Steven Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja. According to a media outlet resources in the court, the judge have passed away at hospital in Garki, Abuja, on early Wednesday.

He had been reportedly fighting with an unknown disease for about a month before loosing his battle. The court’s management is yet to issue a formal statement confirming or refuting the judge’s death.

Justice Chukwu was involved in major cases against former Adamawa state governor, Murtala Nyako and his two children; the trial of former officials of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Sani Lulu, Taiwo Ogunjobi and others.

The judge was also in charge of the case initiated by five senators contesting the latest election that produced Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as the Senate president and deputy president respectively.

What you need to know about Justice Chukwu

Born on August 24, 1964 in Afikpo North Local Government Area, Ebonyi state, Justice Chukwu was appointed a judge of the Federal High Court on January 3, 2008.

Before then, he did his one year National Youth Service at Chief Omoniyepe Chambers, 27 Hospital Road Akure, Ondo State between September 18,1988  – September 17, 1989.

He was Legal Adviser-Karisto Industrial Systems, Km Aba/Enugu Express Road Aba; Associates Counsel, Prince Chika C. Ezerioha and Associates, Orulu Chambers. 118 Ikot Ekpene Road, Aba (between  1982 – 1992) and Principal Solicitor in  Mezie Ehugbo Chambers, 100 Jubilee Road Aba (between 1992 -2006).

The late judge attended Ehugbo Central School, Ekoli Edda, Afikpo South First School Leaving Certificate (1971 -1977) and Government Secondary School, Okposi Ohaozara L.G.A Ebonyi State (WASC) 1977 – 1982. He attended Imo State University where he studied Law between (1983 and 1987) and the Nigerian Law School between 1987 -1988.