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BREAKING: President Tinubu Suspends Minister Betta Edu

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President Bola Tinubu has taken swift action by suspending Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, from her office.

The suspension was announced by Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale on Monday afternoon.

This move follows controversy surrounding Edu’s alleged approval of a substantial sum of N585,198,500.00 intended to be disbursed into a personal account.

The statement reads, “In line with his avowed commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in the management of the commonwealth of Nigerians, President Bola Tinubu suspends the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, from office with immediate effect.

“The President further directs the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to conduct a thorough investigation into all aspects of the financial transactions involving the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, as well as one or more agencies thereunder.

“The suspended Minister is hereby directed to hand over to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and she is further directed by the President to fully cooperate with the investigating authorities as they conduct their investigation.

“Furthermore, the President has tasked a panel that is headed by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance to, among other functions, conduct a comprehensive diagnostic on the financial architecture and framework of the social investment programmes with a view to conclusively reforming the relevant institutions and programmes in a determined bid to eliminate all institutional frailties for the exclusive benefit of disadvantaged households and win back lost public confidence in the initiative.

“These directives of the President take immediate effect.” it added

According to a letter purportedly signed by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, she directed the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer a sum of money to the account of Oniyelu Bridget for grants targeting vulnerable groups in four states.

However, Madein clarified that while her office did receive a payment request from the humanitarian ministry, they did not execute the transfer.

At 37 years old, Edu, the youngest member of the President’s cabinet before her suspension, responded by stating that there were attempts to damage her reputation, asserting her commitment against misappropriating government funds.

Coincidentally, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently investigating Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Farouq, regarding alleged laundering of N37.1 billion during her tenure as a minister in the previous administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

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Gov Soludo Dismisses All 21 Anambra Transition Committee Heads

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Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has dismissed all transition committee chairmen in the state’s 21 local government areas.

This decision was detailed in a letter titled “Expiration of Tenure and Handover to Heads of Local Government Administrations (HLGAs),” dated May 17, 2024, and signed by Collins Nwabunwanne, the state Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Community Affairs.

According to the letter, the directive will be effective starting Monday, May 20, 2024.

The letter read, “Following the expiration of your tenure as Transition Committee Chairman, you are hereby directed to handover the affairs of your Local Government Council to the Head of Local Government Administration (HLGA), in your respective Local Government Councils.

“This directive takes effect from Monday, 20th day of May, 2024. Thank you for your service to the state. All replies to be addressed to the Honourable Commissioner.”

 

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NCDMB’s Exec Sec, Ogbe Bags NSE’s Fellowship

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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.

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Soldiers Shut Down Banex Plaza After Clash With Traders [Video]

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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,”

See videos below:

 

 

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