Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has commended Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s years of dedicated public service.

He made the commendation while hosting her to a rousing welcome for the launching of Alternative High Schools for Girls in Osun State, on Tuesday.

Addressing the dignitaries at the turning of sod at Oke Dio, Ayepe, Osogbo, Governor Adeleke affirmed his happiness hosting “a woman of virtue, an Amazon who is a political pillar of our dear President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Your antecedents and your passion for public service are known to some of us. We have worked with you at close quarters and I can confirm that you are one of the best of sisterhood in the country.

“As your colleague in the Senate in those days, I can affirm your deep love for Nigeria, your commitment to national human development and your particular interest in the welfare of under-privileged Nigerians. I am therefore not surprised when you assumed office and you unveiled several initiatives in support of girl children and the poor.

“In your passion for the growth of the nation, you are also known for focusing on fairness and justice. For us in Osun State, we are here today because we are a beneficiary of your sense of justice. During the raffle for the citing of this school you picked Osun, you did not shift the goal post. We commend you for granting Osun this rare opportunity of hosting this very important school.”

While assuring the First Lady that his administration will follow up and provide needed support to ensure a robust operation upon completion of the school, Senator Adeleke assured that his administration is also committed to supporting girl child education.

“We have introduced a series of programmes which strengthen the capacity of families to provide basic needs. Hence, we emphasize workers’ welfare as a critical first line item in our five-point agenda.

“We also focus on stopping the crisis of sexual violence against women. To that end, Osun is the first state to implement the resolution of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Action Against sexual violence. We have met the Ministry of Women Affairs and resolved to set up mobile courts to try domestic sexual violence matters. Additionally, we are compiling a list of unfairly jailed girls and women to get them released. This is in addition to an agenda of empowering the womenfolk through the Cooperative lawn scheme.

“Osun State is undergoing total transformation with women at the heart of our agenda. We assure you of our support for the Renewed Hope Agenda, especially our deep partnership to ensure the success of federal policies for a better Nigeria. We appreciate current policies of the Federal Government, and we are daily interfacing with federal agencies for successful outcomes”, the state Governor posited.

The First Lady of Nigeria in her address commended the warm reception accorded her by government and people of Osun state even as she narrated her decade long passion for special schools for young girls, restating her commitment to ensure full implementation of the project across the country.

The First Lady who was full of praise for the First Lady of Osun State, Mrs Titilola Adeleke said the Alternative High Schools for Girls was her response to the yawning gap in girls’ education, decrying the high number of out of school children in the country.

Senator Tinubu who earlier met traditional rulers led by Ooni of Ife, HRM, Enitan Ogunwusi, said Osun is selected for the girls’ school and adopted with full expectation that the state government will expand the model and deepen girl child education in the state.

The Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education, Dr Ahmed Bobboi in his speech hailed the contributions of the Adeleke administration to the growth and development of universal basic education in the state.

According to him, the administration’s records enhances the confidence of UBEC and the Office of the First Lady that the new school will realise its targets and even surpass it.

The First Lady was accompanied by eleven states’ first ladies, the wife of the Vice President, the wife of the Senate President, the wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Wife of the Chief of Staff to Mr President and other top women leaders from across the country.

Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, is set to face arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged involvement in approving the printing of N684.5 million notes valued at N18.96 billion.

The EFCC has filed four fresh charges against Emefiele, accusing him of violating the law during the implementation of the naira swap policy and unlawfully approving the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Emefiele’s arraignment is scheduled before Justice Maryann Anenih of the FCT High Court, Abuja, on April 30th.

The pending arraignment will mark the third set of charges against the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele.

BIZTELLERS recalls that on November 17, 2023, Emefiele faced arraignment before Justice Hamza Muazu on a six-count charge of procurement fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty.

He was accused of abusing his office by approving a contract for the acquisition of 43 vehicles totaling N1.2 billion from 2018 to 2020.

Subsequently, on April 8, 2024, the EFCC arraigned the former banker alongside Henry Omoile before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, for an alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud. Emefiele also pleaded not guilty to these charges.

The latest charge, dated April 2, 2024, was filed by the EFCC prosecutor, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rotimi Oyedepo, accompanied by eight other lawyers representing the Attorney General of the Federation.

COUNTS ONE: “STATEMENT OF OFFENCE: Public Servant disobeying direction of law with intent to cause injury to the public contrary to and punishable under Section 123 of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 89 Laws of the Federation, 1990.

“PARTICULARS OF THE OFFENCE: That you GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE between the 19th day of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of N375,520,000.00 pieces of colour swapped N1, 000, at the total cost of N11,052, 068,062 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.”

COUNT 2: “That you, GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE, between the 19th of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, by approving the printing of 172,000,000 pieces of colour swapped N500 (Five Hundred Naira) Notes, at the total cost of N4, 471,066,040 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.

COUNT 3: “That you GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE between the 19th day of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of 137,070,000 pieces of colour swapped N200 (Two Hundred Naira) Note, at the total cost of N3, 441, 005, 280 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.”

COUNT 4: “That you, GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE, on or about the 7th day of October 2020, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 80 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), by approving the withdrawal of the total sum of N124, 860, 227, 865.16 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation in a manner not prescribed by the National Assembly, which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.”

The Kogi State House of Assembly has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to remove the ‘wanted’ status it placed on the former Governor of the state, Yahaya Bello.

This resolution was reached during the House’s plenary session on Tuesday.

The decision came after a member representing Ajaokuta State Constituency, Jibrin Abu, raised a motion titled ‘A call to end all false smear campaigns against former Governor Yahaya Bello.’ Abu alleged that the EFCC has been unfairly targeting Bello with baseless accusations.

He said “Kogi State, by allocation standard, is not rich so much so that N80.4b will be missing that the State will not be shaken to its foundation. This claim by the EFCC should be sanctioned and taken as laughable.

“Innocent Nigerians and Kogi State citizens that bought into the lies should by their personal volition withdraw their support.”

Former Deputy Speaker of the House, Enema Paul, emphasized the necessity for the anti-graft agency to uphold the rule of law.

Speaker Aliyu Yusuf, in his statement, urged the agency to operate within the confines of the nation’s legal framework.

He stated “This House is not against the EFCC doing their job but they should do it within the ambit of the law and not in a Gestapo way. The country belongs to all of us, so we must respect the law and work with it,”