JUDICIARY
Niger Assembly Committee Interfaces with Ex-chairmen Over Alleged Misuse of Contract Financing Loan
The Niger state House of Assembly Ad hoc Committee investigating contract financing loan given to the 25 local government areas, has begun an interface with former local government chairmen over alleged mismanagement of contract financing loan.
Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee, Mr Ahmed Bello (PDP) and member representing Agwara Constituency, said during the interface in Minna on Thursday that the committee was constituted based on a report from the office of Auditor General.
He disclosed that in the report, presented before the house by its Committee on Public Account, indicted nine local government areas for misuse of contract financing loan with no meaningful project executed.
“The house thereafter, constitued an ad hoc committee to investigate how the loan was expended by former local government chairmen.
“We are not using our position to witch-hunt anybody but to investigate the issue that has to do with tax payers resources and to correct some mistakes so that the new councils will not repeat the same mistakes.
“We have seen on many occasions where local government chairmen are not doing things the right way, they are fond of syphoning tax payers resources through some projects that have no direct bearing,” he said.
Bello explained that the report received from the office of Auditor General showed that some of the forner local governments did not utilise the tax payers resources judiciously and did not execute meaningful projects with the loan.
He noted that some former local government chairmen were indicted for mismanagement of the loan meant to provide dividends of democracy to the people, based on the report from the office of auditor general.
Interacting with newsmen shortly after the interface, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry for Local Government, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, said that audit was done to ensure that things were in order as well as to see if there were errors and short comings to be corrected.
He expressed hope that the new chairmen would learn from the mistakes of the former chairmen by working in line with financial regulations and advised them to rather take a bank bond instead of the insurance bond for prudence.
The local government areas indicted by the office of auditor General included Agwara, Shiroro, Suleja, Katcha, Wushishi, Tafa, Borgu, Rijau and Bosso. (NAN)
Three men, were on Tuesday, arraigned before an Ikorodu Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for allegedly stealing an electricity transformer valued N50 million.
The defendants, Kehinde Akinkugbe, Tope Salisu, and Isiaka Amusa, whose addresses were not given, are being charged with conspiracy, stealing and malicious damage.
The defendants, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The Prosecutor, ASP Aminu Isaac, told the court that Akinkugbe, Salisu and Amusa, committed the offences at about 2.
30a.m on Aug. 22, at Ajeri Street, Ijede, Ikorodu, Lagos.Isaac said that the defendants maliciously damaged an electricity transformer, belonging to the Federal Government.
The prosecutor said that the defendants were apprehended by residents of the area, who later reported the matter to the police.
He said that the offences contravened Sections 411, 287 and 339 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs A.B. Olagbegi-Adelabu, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N1 million each, with two sureties in like sum.
Olagbegi-Adelabu, ordered that one of the sureties must own a landed property, and should present evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
The Magistrate adjourned the case until Oct. 10 for mention.(NAN)
President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Justice KudiratKekere-Ekun as the 23rd and second female Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), in acting capacity pending confirmation by the Senate.She takes over from Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who retired on Aug. 22 at the age of 70.(NAN)
A Jos Magistrates’ Court on Friday, sentenced a 28-year old labourer , Naanswan Daboer to 18 months imprisonment for attempting to steal from a church premises.The Magistrate, Mr Shawomi Bokkos, summarily tried and sentenced Daboer after he pleaded guilty to the crime.The magistrate , however, gave the convict a fine of N100,000.
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel,Ibrahim Gokwat told the court that the case was reported on July 9, at the “C” Division Police Station by Yohanna Nanjul and Musa John, the complaints. The prosecutor said that the convict trespassed in to the church premises and switched off their security lights but was caught.The offence, according to him, is punishable under the Plateau Penal Code Law. (NAN)
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