NEWS
Bello Mourns Ex-AGF, Abdullahi Ibrahim
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has described the death of a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abdullahi Ibrahim (SAN) as a colossal loss to the nation and the state in particular.
Abdullahi, an Igala man from the Eastern flank of Kogi State, was until his death on Sunday, the first SAN from the whole of Northern Nigeria and had served as the Attorney General of the Federation between 1997 and 1999.
Bello in a condolence message issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed, said that the late Abdullahi was an accomplished legal practitioner and administrator, who has put so much into the service of the nation in different capacities.
He said the sterling contributions of the late legal icon to legal profession right from when he was called to the English Bar in 1963 until he reached the pinnacle of his career as the first SAN from Northern Nigeria remain remarkable and landmark feat he would continue to be remembered for.
Bello while commiserating with the immediate members of his family and members of the Bar and Bench over the sad loss, prayed the Almighty Allah to grant his soul Aljannah firdaus.
Abdullahi until his demise was the Managing Partner of Abdullahi Ibrahim and company, a legal firm. He was called to the English Bar in 1963 after which he practiced in chambers in England before returning to Nigeria, where he was called to the Bar in 1964.
He served at various times as Legal Adviser and Senior State Counsel in the defunct Northern Nigeria. He has been in private practice since 1973.
Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim has held various board appointments in several public and private bodies.
He has also served the nation at various times; he was Legal Adviser and later Chairman of New Nigeria Development Company Limited (NNDC).
He has previously served the nation at different times as Federal Minister of Education; Federal Minister of Science and Technology and Minister for Transport and Aviation.
He was also the nation’s Chief Legal Officer, as Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria between 1997 and May 1999.
His wealth of experience and knowledge had been of immense advantage to the various tribunals and panels of inquiry that he had served.
He is a life member of the Body of Benchers of the legal profession, and was its Chairman until 2001. He is a member of Commissioner International and a member of National Boundary Commission, among others.
Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim was the agent and later co-agent in the dispute between the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Republic of Cameroon at the International Court of Juctice at The Hague.
Having put so much into the nation, the Federal Government acknowledged his contributions and conferred on him the national honours of, Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), and recently, Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
NEWS
Kogi Govt Gives 14-day Ultimatum to Illegal Occupants of Confluence Stadium to Quit
The state Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Mr Monday Anyebe, gave the directive when he led a team to assess the extent of vandalism in the stadium in Lokoja.
Anyebe said the team was in the stadium to assess the extent of vandalism by criminal elements who had carted away some equipment at the stadium.
He expressed concern over the level of vandalism, describing it as ‘worrisome’ and vowed that government would do everything possible to bring perpetrators of the heinous crime to book.
The commissioner, therefore ordered all the illegal occupants to vacate the premises within 14 days, after which they would be forcefully evicted and arrested for prosecution.
He also warned that the government would not allow miscreants to turn the stadium complex into harbouring criminal elements and vandalizing the sports facilities.
“All illegal occupants within the premises and the immediate perimeter fence of the stadium should heed the directive to vacate the premises within 14 days.
“Gov. Ahmed Ododo will not condone any act of criminality in the state; anyone caught will face the full wrath of the law,” Anyebe warned.
Anyebe further disclosed that plans were ongoing to renovate the stadium to a world standard for easy sporting activities in the state.
He, therefore implored the perpetrators to desist from causing set back for the government in its quest to develop the state.
The commissioner stressed that adequate measures were being put in place to safeguard the sports facilities.
Reports says that after assessing the stadium, the commissioner visited the State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
He intimated the NSCDC Command of the development and stressed the need for collaboration with the ministry towards providing adequate security for the stadium.
Anyebe appealed to the Command to work collectively with his office in ensuring that personnel of the Corps were posted to the facility to avoid recurrent vandalisation.
In his remarks, the Deputy Commandant, Bala Bodinga, on behalf of the state’s NSCDC Commandant, Paul Igwebuike, commended the commissioner and his encourage for the visit.
He described the visit as timely and assured the commissioner of the NSCDC collaboration to ensure the safety of facilities at the Stadium complex. (NAN)
NEWS
MPC: Ex-CBN Director Predicts Increase in lending Rate
Dr Titus Okunronmu, former Director of Research Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has predicted an increase in the lending rate from its current 24.75 by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Okunronmu gave the prediction in an interview on Monday in Ota, Ogun.
Reports says that financial expert spoke against the backdrop of the MPC meeting scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.
He stated that the lending rate would be raised by MPC, as CBN might not want to force it down, adding that until the inflation rate came down, the lending rate would continue to go up.
“It is at the same level of inflation that CBN will net or fix the lending rate,” he said.
According to the former CBN director, the higher the inflation rate, the less profit commercial banks will record. (NAN)
Foreign News
Iran to Hold Memorial Services for Raisi on Tuesday
Memorial ceremonies for President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian are planned in Iran for Tuesday.
Raisi, Amirabdollahian and seven senior Iranian officials died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Local media reported that a ceremony is being planned in the provincial capital of Tabriz in the morning, followed by a ceremony in the religious stronghold and pilgrimage city of Qom.
The date for the funerals of the two statesmen has not yet been announced.
Raisi is to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad.
The helicopter crashed in dense fog on the mountains over East Azerbaijan Province while the deceased were travelling back from a meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
(dpa/NAN)