NEWS
Ibadan Fire Incident Victims Ask Makinde To Investigate N10m Palliative
Traders who suffered loses in the Apata ,Ibadan fire incident have cried out over what they described as intimidation and cheating by touts who allegedly hijacked the N10million palliative donated to them by Governor Seyi Makinde last week.
The victims who stormed the premises of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ) on Thursday appealed to the donor, Governor Makinde to assist them by investigating how the money was distributed.
Recall that a petrol tanker recently lost control and caught fire at Apata.
It was gathered that some houses and shops were burnt during the 15th December 2022 fire incident at Apata, Ibadan.
It was learnt that Governor Seyi Makinde who visited the area some hours after the incident announced a sum of N10m as palliative for the affected traders.
The affected people during a protest on Thursday alleged that the wrong people collected the money, calling on Gov Makinde to come to their aid.
The victims stormed the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, secretariat at Iyaganku in Ibadan on Thursday bearing placards with various inscriptions. They asserted that they were sidelined while others claimed they were given insignificant share of the money.
According to them, 45 beneficiaries were listed but after the money was released, the list grew to more than 70.
They also claimed that the beneficiaries list was later doctored to accommodate those who were not affected, while the four representatives apportioned to themselves the lion share of the money.
One of the victims, Adunni Olasunkanmi, said that the house she lived in and stored her goods was burnt but she was only given a sum of one hundred thousand naira.
She alleged that many people who were not affected were given huge sums of money.
She said: “My name is Olasunkanmi Adunni, a bread and essential goods seller affected by the fire. The first day that the governor visited the scene of the accident, he promised to give us N10m as a relief fund, and later, his representatives brought the cash to us.
“There were 45 names on the list but unfortunately, that list increased with those who were not affected. We don’t know the new beneficiaries. The house I lived in and stored my goods was burnt and I was only lucky to escape with my four children.
” Initially, the sum of N500,000 was penciled as the amount I was to collect but I was only given N100,000. Aminat Bamidele, who did not lose anything to the fire because she was not among the traders affected got N300,000. Someone who claimed to be a shoemaker got N200,000. I lost over N12m worth of property to the fire”.
Another protester, Temilade Makinde, whose store was burnt in the fire, said she was promised N500,000 but got N60,000.
She urged Gov Makinde to investigate the disbursement of the money.
“A day before the fire incident, I stocked the store with N1.3m worth of foodstuff but everything is gone including the building housing the store. In the list, N500,000 was estimated as compensation for me but after the list was doctored, I was given N60,000. We appeal to the governor to investigate the disbursement of the money and retrieve victims’ money from imposters, ” she said.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe was on Wednesday inducted into the Fellowship of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).
Biztellers reports that the investiture was performed by the President/Chair-in-Council of the NSE, Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, FNSE at a ceremony in Abuja.
Oguntala congratulated the 63 new inductees and urged them to uphold the values of their new position in their field of engineering. She highlighted that engineers have been at the forefront of driving progress and development across various sectors of the economy, notably in the oil and gas industry.
She particularly lauded the ES of NCDMB for his excellent leadership and expertise through the strategic development of local content and in-country value retention, which is a testament to his brilliance in the field of engineering.
Oguntala also applauded the strategic partnership between the NSE, the NCDMB and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.
Similarly, the chairman Board of Fellows/College of Fellows, Engr. Kamila Maliki, FNSE, commended the new inductees for their resilience, dedication, and contribution to the field of engineering.
He added that it was not a small feat to be chosen for the investiture due to the rigorous and thorough nature of the selection process.
The ES later was joined by the Managing Director of Setraco Nigeria Limited, Engr. Ziad Mouannes and Senator Patrick Ndubueze for the unveiling of the very first edition of the 2024 NSE Quarterly Magazine.
Some senior officials of the Board who accompanied the ES to the event included the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Abdulmalik Halilu, Director, Project Certification and Authorization, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, and the General Manager, Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, Esueme Dan Kikile, Esq.
Before he was appointed the ES of NCDMB, Engr. Ogbe had nearly 30 years top-level career in the field of engineering in the employment of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), before retiring voluntarily to set up his private firm.
His last position at Chevron Nigeria was Construction Services Group Superintendent, and he oversaw 200 personnel, including Nigerian nationals and expatriates.
Other notable positions he held at the company included Offshore Projects Manager, Construction Manager (Lagos, Escravos -Warri), Construction Engineer (San Ramon) in California, United States of America.
On Saturday evening, armed soldiers shut down the popular Banex Plaza in the Wuse 2 district of Abuja after a clash between traders and three soldiers over a phone sale dispute.
According to eyewitness Okechukwu Daniel, the incident began on Saturday afternoon when a young military man returned to a phone shop, claiming a phone he bought about a month ago was faulty.
Daniel, also a trader at Banex Plaza, stated that the seller refused to accept the phone back due to the lengthy period that had passed since the sale.
He said “When the phone seller refused to collect the phone back, the young guy threatened him that he will shut down his shop for refusing to collect the phone, and the seller told him to do his worse.
“That was when he got angry and went to one of the barracks close by and brought two soldiers to come and harass the phone seller for him to collect the phone back.
“When the two soldiers got to the phone shop to threaten the seller, he still refused to collect the phone. The soldiers got angry and wanted to use force on him, that was when other traders came to the rescue of the phone seller and beat up the two soldiers.”
Daniel added that after the soldiers were assaulted, they went back to the barracks to gather reinforcements.
When they returned to Banex Plaza to confront the phone seller and other traders, the traders had already fled from their shops.
He added “When over 50 soldiers who were visibly angry got to the plaza, they could not find the traders that beat up their colleagues, so they decided to shut down the plaza by asking everyone to leave. Anyone found around the plaza was asked to do frog jump and other punishment,”
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed the transfer of $22,000, recovered from a convicted internet fraudster, Hakeem Olanrewaju, to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
Dele Oyewale, the commission’s spokesperson disclosed on Saturday that the handover took place in Lagos State on Friday.
Acting Director of EFCC Lagos Zonal Command, Michael Wetkas, expressed appreciation for the collaboration and assured of EFCC’s continued efforts in combating financial crimes.
During the event, FBI’s Legal Attaché Charles Smith praised the EFCC for its action.
He said “The EFCC and FBI work collaboratively together, and it is thanks to the EFCC that we can recover funds of this nature, especially from Business email Compromise, BEC.
“This type of crime cripples businesses in the US, and for them to recover the money within one to two years gives hope to the affected companies and brings some level of justice, even if not all subjects have been identified.
“We hope our relationship continues and fosters a more cohesive partnership between the two agencies. If there’s anything the FBI can do to support this investigation, we will do so. We appreciate this on behalf of the FBI and thank the EFCC.”
On August 15, 2023, Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, mandated that the funds retrieved from Olanrewaju, serving a two-year prison term for identity theft and impersonation, be returned to his victim in the US.
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