Anticraft War - ICPC

The Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, Mr. Ekpo Nta, says the commission has seized 62 houses from a female public officer. According to him, the matter is in the court and the property will be confiscated by the Federal Government after litigation.

The ICPC chairman revealed this while fielding questions from journalists at the Akwa Ibom Anti-Corruption Summit in Uyo on Tuesday.

He said, “How would the commission address unexplained wealth by public officers? The commission has a mandate to ask anybody to explain the source of his or her wealth. The commission has the power to issue an interim seizure order to any public officer to explain the source of their wealth.

“Through that order, the commission has seized 62 houses from one female officer, the matter is still in court and the property will be confiscated by the FG after litigation.”

Nta, who spoke on the theme, “Transparency and Accountability: A Panacea for Good Governance and Sustainable Development,” said the anti-corruption war had yielded good results in the country. He cautioned public office holders not to live above their incomes. Nta said, “There are many facets of corruption in Nigeria. The commission will stop at nothing to bring anyone found to have contravened the anti-corruption crusade to book.”

He noted that the commission had retrieved 40 vehicles that were stolen by some retired directors of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and warned against trivialising the anti-graft war.

Nta explained that the commission was prosecuting over 400 corruption cases in different courts in the country, noting that those found guilty at the end of the trial would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

He added that the commission had taken a step further by launching the anti-corruption campaign in institutions of higher learning and among the members of the National Youth Service Corps.

He said that an anti-corruption module had long been introduced into the curriculum of the University of Calabar, maintaining that such a measure would go a long way in entrenching moral values in students.

Nta explained that the ICPC had inaugurated anti-corruption clubs in orientation camps, noting that such measures had assisted the commission in detecting and arresting about 42 fake corps members at orientation camps recently.

The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, lamented that corruption had eaten deep into the fabrics of the Nigerian society.

Emmanuel advised all and sundry to be in the vanguard of curbing the menace of corruption if the country must move forward.

“We must change our mindsets about the way we do things in the country,” Emmanuel said.

The governor frowned on what he described as illicit cash running into over $157bn leaving the shores of Nigeria through fraudulent practices.

He identified corruption as the greatest enemy of development, noting that the repatriation of illicit funds across Nigeria’s borders to developed nations was regrettable.

He said if such funds were used within the shore of the country, the socio-economic life of Nigeria would have been positively impacted.

The governor enjoined all well-meaning Nigerians to join the ongoing crusade to rid the system of corruption and other economic crimes plaguing the country.


SOURCE: http://punchng.com/icpc-seizes-62-houses-female-officer/

Contradiction in Statements: President Buhari's Health Condition

Contradiction in Statements: Buhari Alive or Dead

As reports continue to arise about the condition of President M. Buhari, here are contradictory statement by the SSA Mr Garba Shehu and SA to President, Mr Femi Adesina, read on:

Garba Shehu

February 6 at 5:02am · 

I spoke to the president’s personal doctor last night, and he told me President Buhari is not in any serious condition to worry about. He is not in hospital. He is in the residence at the Nigerian High Commission.

He and his delegation were ready to come home yesterday but for the delayed test result which came in yesterday necessitated that he delays his return.

There is nothing to worry about as far as his condition is concerned.

Courtsey - Garba Shehu Facebook Account

Buhari didn’t give us date of his return —Senate

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The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the receipt of a letter from President Muhammadu Buhari, informing the legislature of his intention to extend his medical vacation in the United Kingdom.


The upper chamber of the National Assembly however failed to provide details of the letter.

Earlier on Sunday, the Presidency had announced that Buhari’s 10-day vacation to the UK had been extended.

The extension was contained in a three-paragraph statement made available to journalists by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.

 Adesina said the extension was necessary to allow the President complete a series of tests recommended by his doctors and get the results before he could return to Nigeria.

Although he said Buhari had already dispatched a letter to the National Assembly on the extension, he did not specify the duration of the extension.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Sabi Abdullahi, while briefing journalists on the letter,  said, “ …You will recall that we received, before we suspended plenary, a letter from Mr. President which was dated 18th January, 2017, where he informed the distinguished senators that he was proceeding on his vacation for 10 days and this is to meet the constitutional provisions…

“In this second letter, he is informing the Senate that he is extending his vacation because in the cause of that routine medical check-up, there were still some tests his doctors still want to run further and so, because of that, he is extending his stay.  This is a constitutional provision and let me say it is within his prerogative to do so and we are in receipt of that letter accordingly.”

The spokesman said the Senate was waiting for the safe return of the President.

When asked if the date of Buhari’s return was stated in the letter or it was indefinite, Abdullahi stated that the letter did not say indefinite “because indefinite is taking the matter out of context.”

He added, “But, then, he said he’s extending (his vacation); that is, beyond the 10 days he had asked for and because the tests that are going to be run are not in his hands (to be determined by him) – it is in the hands of the doctors – he is not giving us a date. But, definitely, he’s extending (his vacation) and I think that is what is important.”

When asked for how many days the legislature would permit the President to remain on vacation, the Senate’s spokesperson said he was not sure if the constitution had a specific duration for a President’s absence from duty.

Abdullahi was also asked whether it was compulsory for the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to reconvene the lawmakers and read the content of the letter at the plenary on the floor of the chamber.

Abdullahi said, “I am here to speak on behalf of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are in receipt of that letter and we are telling you because Nigerians have been asking. Whatever is reported through whatever medium is not my own business. Our business is what we do here and that is what I know. Now that we have the letter, I am here to say we have the letter and that is what is important.”

When asked to react to the opinion of a lawyer that Buhari’s letter remained invalid until it had been read to the lawmakers, the Senate spokesperson stated that the lawyer was not a senator.

Abdullahi also could not be categorical on the date the letter was received by Saraki.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, had, penultimate week, in an interview with CNBC Africa, monitored in Abuja insisted that Buhari was not ill.

Adesina had insisted that Buhari was only in London on vacation and was not in any hospital.

Meanwhile, Adesina has said the circumstances surrounding the health status of President Muhammadu Buhari could not be compared with what obtained with the late President Umar Yar’Adua in 2009.

Adesina said this on Tuesday in an interview with BBC Focus on Africa Today, monitored by one of our correspondents, while reacting to a question that the government had been silent on updates on the President’s health.

The SA had been asked, “The Action Congress in 2009 renewed its call on the Federal Government to give Nigerians a daily update on the health of President Umaru Yar’Adua to stem the growing rumours surrounding his state of health. Now, why are you guys not doing the same thing that was suggested eight years ago?”

Adesina said, “The circumstances are not exactly the same. I think we are talking about two ‘incommensurates’ here. Because with President Yar’Aduua in 2009, one, he left the country, nobody knew where he was going. With President Buhari, we knew where he was going, with President Yar’Adua, we didn’t know when he was coming back, with President Buhari, a date was given.

“President Yar’Adua left without transmitting power to the Vice-President, President Buhari didn’t leave until he had transferred power to his deputy, the Vice-President who is now the deputy president. So, you can see that the two circumstances are not exactly the same.”

courtsey - http://www.nigerianeye.com/2017/02/buhari-didnt-give-us-date-of-his-return.html

#EndFGM

#EndFGM

"The Sustainable Development Goals contain a specific target calling for an end to FGM. When this practice is fully abandoned, positive effects will reverberate across societies as girls and women reclaim their health, human rights and vast potential." — UN Secretary-General‎

Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women and girls. The practice also violates their rights to health, security and physical integrity, their right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and their right to life when the procedure results in death.

Key Facts:

·  Globally, it is estimated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM.

·  If current trends continue, 15 million additional girls between ages 15 and 19 be subjected to it by 2030.

·  Girls 14 and younger represent 44 million of those who have been cut, with the highest prevalence of FGM among this age in Gambia at 56 per cent, Mauritania 54 per cent and Indonesia where around half of girls aged 11 and younger have undergone the practice.

·  Countries with the highest prevalence among girls and women aged 15 to 49 are Somalia 98 per cent, Guinea 97 per cent and Djibouti 93 per cent.

·  FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15.

·  FGM cause severe bleeding and health issues including cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth increased risk of newborn deaths.

·  FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

Coordinated by - Morah Emmanuel (Founder Decisive Entrepreneurial Empowerment Drive DEED & GMD, Begroup Professionals)