NEWS
FG Awards Multi-Million Naira Security Contract To Alleged Terrorism Financier
By Paul Eso
Reports have shown that owner of one of the two security companies awarded Multi-million Naira contract to secure Abuja rail tracks and stations, has alleged links to terrorism financing.
The Federal Government, FG, through the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mohammed Bello, on Wednesday announced the award of the N718 million contract to Messers Al-Ahali Security Guards Limited and Messers Seaguard Security and Protective Company Limited.
The contract was in response to the terrorist attack on the rail line between Abuja and Kaduna, which forced the government to suspend the service.
Terrorists had used explosives placed along the tracks to derail a Kaduna-bound train with hundreds of passengers on March 28, 2022.
According to the Minister, the contract was awarded to two security service providers namely Messrs Al-Ahli Security Guards Ltd, at the cost of N407, 214, 000 million, covering a distance of 27.245 kilometers and comprising of eight rail stations and Messrs Segad Security Protective Company Ltd, at the cost of N310, 979, 250 million, covering a distance of 18 kilometers, comprising of four stations.
The scope of the contract, which will last for a period of two years, includes protection of the rail tracks, Communication and Control Centre infrastructure as well as electrical and signaling equipment.
However, Al-Ahli Security Guards Ltd is owned by the National Chairman, Jama’atu Izalatul Bidi’ah wa Ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS), Abbdullahi Bala-Lau.
Jama’atu Izalatul Bidi’ah wa Ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS), the Islamic group headed by Bala-Lau has at different times been linked to terrorism financing in the country.
An investigation done by Nigerian investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, revealed that Messers Al-Ahli Security Guards Limited is owned by the leader of the radical Izala movement.
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A check on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) showed that Al-Ahali which has its head office in Yola, capital city of Adamawa is owned by Alhaji Bala-Lau.
In 2021, an investigative report by Hundeyin revealed how the late NASCO Group’s multimillionaire founder, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin and Yakubu Musa Kafanchan, also known as Sheikh Yakubu Musa Katsina, an ally of Nigeria’s terror-linked Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, funded Islamic terror cells in 2002.
Yakubu Musa Katsina also known as Yakubu Musa Hassan is a renowned Islamic scholar and a member of the founding leaders of one of the largest Islamic organizations in West Africa JIBWIS, where he still serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
According to the report published on West Africa Weekly, Hassan is a founding member of the Izala Movement (JIBWIS) and the Chairman of the Katsina State JIBWIS chapter.
They were alleged to have funded the activities of people like Kabiru Sokoto, the mastermind of the Christmas Day bombing of the St. Theresa Roman Catholic Church on December 25, 2011 in Madalla, Niger State which killed 37 Christians.
NEWS
Adeleke Approves Adeyemi’s Appointment As Chairman, Governing Council, Osun State College of Education
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has approved the appointment of Akinyele Sarafa Adeyemi, as the new Chairman of the Governing Council of the Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun.
This was detailed in a statement in Osogbo on Friday by Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed.
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According to Rasheed, Adeyemi replaces Dr Peter Babalola who resigned his appointment after a controversial tenure at the College of Education.
He stated that “Adeyemi who holds a first and Masters degrees in Education from the University of Ibadan is a retired principal of the Federal Girls College, Ipetumodu.”
It was gathered that the swearing in ceremony for the new Council Chairman holds by 10am on Monday at the EXCO lounge.
The Committee on Consequential Adjustments in Salaries for Civil Servants has confirmed that the newly approved minimum wage will be implemented starting July 29, 2024.
This was disclosed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) issued at the conclusion of the committee’s meeting in Abuja on Friday.
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The MoU reads, “The National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC) will prepare and release the necessary salary templates for other consolidated salary structures. The implementation date for the new wage will take effect from July 29, 2024.”
The committee, comprising 16 members, was set up to oversee the execution of the National Minimum Wage Act of 2024. This legislation raised the country’s minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.
Among its key responsibilities, the committee is tasked with negotiating salary adjustments across various sectors and developing a template for implementing the newly approved wage structure.
With the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popular in the streets as petrol, hovering around approximately N1000-N1300 per litre, concerns are mounting about the viability of fuel subsidies in Nigeria.
Energy policy analyst, Adeyemi Adeoye, has underscored the critical role of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) in this issue, shedding light on who bears the subsidy costs.
He shared his views on TVC News on Friday.
Biztellers reports that the pump price of petrol has risen from below N200/litre at at May 29, 2023 to around N1300/litre as at September 20, 2024, with little variations depending the part of Nigeria, consumers are buying from.
Read More: Fuel Pricing Should Serve Public Interest, Not Profit — Yemi Adeoye
He stated, “Only the NNPC can engage in negotiations of this nature. Their partnership with the Dangote Refinery gives them leverage to negotiate from a position of strength.”
Adeoye highlighted that while the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and other marketers lack significant influence over prices, the Dangote Refinery prioritizes profitability.
According to him, this makes the NNPC’s negotiations vital, as they are legally required by the Petroleum Industry Act to ensure fuel availability across the country and prevent long queues at gas stations.
Adeoye said, “It is only NNPC that could have gone into that type of negotiation because NNPC is coming to the table from a position of strength because they have a partnership with the Dangote Refinery, and they have other businesses they are supplying crude to, so they can come and say, ‘Look, this has to be this way.’
“The IPMAN and the other marketers cannot do that because Dangote is a profit-making organization; it is not a charity organization. So, the only thing that is important to the Dangote Refinery is to make a profit, which is the same thing that is important to any business.
“So, the NNPC went into these negotiations because it also understands that it is the last resort. In terms of fuel distribution in the country, NNPC is mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act to make sure that there are no queues in the country. So, even if they don’t want to do it, the law mandates NNPC as the supplier, the last resort, to make sure that there is petroleum product across Nigeria.
“That negotiation is such that NNPC took all the calculations in and said, ‘This is a fair pricing that we know we can withstand.’
“Because what NNPC was paying out, which you might call a subsidy or under-recovery, NNPC was paying the difference on behalf of the government, which is under the directive of the president, who has also said he wants to see this situation totally resolved.
“That was why he directed the NNPC to make sure that crude oil to the Dangote Refinery is sold in Naira, because NNPC produces the crude in dollars, and it has to be sold to the Dangote Refinery in Naira, which is good faith.” he added
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