Friday, 27 April 2012
Thursday, 26 April 2012
FUEL SUBSIDY SCAM LATEST: FALANA OFFERS FREE LEGAL SERVICE TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AGAINST MULTIPLE LITIGATIONS FROM "POWERFUL COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS" ACCUSED IN REPORT -
Lagos lawyer and human
rights campaigner, Mr. Femi Falana, says he is throwing himself in the
ring to defend the House of Representatives that is currently facing
threats of multiple litigation from companies and individuals indicted in the fuel subsidy investigations. The services will be free, he says.
“In view of the threat of some of the indicted companies and individuals to sue the House over the report on the fuel subsidy fraud our law firm has decided to defend the House pro bono publico” Mr. Falana said late yesterday in a statement, adding that “the decision to render our services free …was informed by the resolve of the House to discharge its constitutional duty without fear or favour and in the national interest.”
Mr. Falana’s statement reads in full that:
“Since the Farouk Lawn-led Committee on the mismanagement of fuel subsidy fund submitted its report to the House of Representatives last week an orchestrated campaign of calumny has been launched against the leadership of the Committee and the House. It was even alleged that the House Speaker would be impeached in a desperate bid to cover up the monumental fraud. Some of the indicted companies have gone to the extent of threatening to challenge the powers of the House to probe them and pray the court to annul the report of the Farouk Lawan Committee .
“As a concerned Nigerian i submitted a memorandum to the House Committee. In my oral testimony before the Committee i dwelt, in extenso, on the reckless looting of the fuel subsidy fund by the cartel of public officers and fuel importers. Before then the Federal Government held a town hall meeting in Lagos in December 2011 at the instance of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria where I called for an investigation into the subsidygate. Although the Executive ignored the call, the House of Representatives under the leadership of of Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal took it up.
“In the wake of the popular protests against the removal of fuel subsidy the Presidency directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate and prosecute the culprits. I am also collaborating with the EFCC with respect to the investigation.
“Having read the 210- page report of the House Committee I wish to commend the chairman and the members for their courage, patriotism and commitment to accountability and transparency. By rejecting the tempting offers of the cartel of fuel importers the members of the Committee have demonstrated that there are still some public officers who will not sacrifice the interest of the country for personal enrichment.” Source - Premiun Times 26.04.2012
“In view of the threat of some of the indicted companies and individuals to sue the House over the report on the fuel subsidy fraud our law firm has decided to defend the House pro bono publico” Mr. Falana said late yesterday in a statement, adding that “the decision to render our services free …was informed by the resolve of the House to discharge its constitutional duty without fear or favour and in the national interest.”
Mr. Falana’s statement reads in full that:
“Since the Farouk Lawn-led Committee on the mismanagement of fuel subsidy fund submitted its report to the House of Representatives last week an orchestrated campaign of calumny has been launched against the leadership of the Committee and the House. It was even alleged that the House Speaker would be impeached in a desperate bid to cover up the monumental fraud. Some of the indicted companies have gone to the extent of threatening to challenge the powers of the House to probe them and pray the court to annul the report of the Farouk Lawan Committee .
“As a concerned Nigerian i submitted a memorandum to the House Committee. In my oral testimony before the Committee i dwelt, in extenso, on the reckless looting of the fuel subsidy fund by the cartel of public officers and fuel importers. Before then the Federal Government held a town hall meeting in Lagos in December 2011 at the instance of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria where I called for an investigation into the subsidygate. Although the Executive ignored the call, the House of Representatives under the leadership of of Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal took it up.
“In the wake of the popular protests against the removal of fuel subsidy the Presidency directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate and prosecute the culprits. I am also collaborating with the EFCC with respect to the investigation.
“Having read the 210- page report of the House Committee I wish to commend the chairman and the members for their courage, patriotism and commitment to accountability and transparency. By rejecting the tempting offers of the cartel of fuel importers the members of the Committee have demonstrated that there are still some public officers who will not sacrifice the interest of the country for personal enrichment.” Source - Premiun Times 26.04.2012
REPS WANT OKONJO-IWEALA, AGANGA, MUHTAR PROSECUTED OVER SUBSIDY SCAM -
If
the Federal Government fully implements the recommendations of the House
Ad Hoc Committee on Subsidy Probe, the Minister of Finance, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, and her immediate predecessors, Olusegun Aganga and
Mansur Muhtar, might face prosecution for their roles in escalating
government's fuel subsidy spending between 2009 and 2011.
The House of Representatives said Wednesday in its final approval of the subsidy report that the ministers are culpable as much as heads of some indicted agencies in the mismanagement of the subsidy funds.
Subsidy cost soared mostly between the three years, reaching a high of N2.58 trillion in 2011 against budgeted figure of about N250billion.
The House of Representatives said Wednesday in its final approval of the subsidy report that the ministers are culpable as much as heads of some indicted agencies in the mismanagement of the subsidy funds.
Subsidy cost soared mostly between the three years, reaching a high of N2.58 trillion in 2011 against budgeted figure of about N250billion.
TRADITIONAL RULER BAGS 3-MONTH JAIL FOR MARRYING A WOMAN HE KNEW WAS ALREADY MARRIED - For his inability to control his urge, a traditional ruler in Benue State, Zaki Toryila Nyitse, has bagged a three-month imprisonment from an upper Area High Court sitting in Buruku, headquarters of Buruku Local Government Area of the state.
The convict is a district head of Mbalaagh, in Buruku Local Government Area, who was said to have taken another man’s wife.
The court asked him to pay a sum of N20,000, failure of which he would also be jailed for 12 months.
Delivering judgment in the case filed by one Tortiv Torkula against the accused, the presiding acting sole judge, Mrs Kpadoo Chia, averred that there was enough evidence to prove that Zaki Nyitse knew that the woman he married was already married, while the union had produced four children. Source Tribune 26.04.2012
SENATE PRESIDENT DAVID MARK RETURNS FROM MEDICAL TRIP OUTSIDE NIGERIA - Senate President, David Mark, returned to Abuja on Wednesday, after a two-week medical trip abroad.
Mark, who returned to Abuja from Tel Aviv, Israel, where he underwent a medical treatment, was received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by his relations and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal; Ministers of Interior, Abba Moro; Water Resources, Serah Ochekpe and Minister of State, Trade and Investment, Dr Samuel Ortom.
Others, according to the statement, included Senators Smart Adeyemi, Ahmed Lawan, Suleiman Adoke, Abatemi Usman, Joshua Dariye, Tunde Ogbeha, as well as members of House of Representatives, including Samson Okwu, Salem Hassan, Ezekiel Adaji and Adamu Entonu, with the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Moshe Ram, among others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)