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INEC Rejects N40bn Budgetary Allocation

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected the N40 billion budget allocated to it, deeming the amount insufficient for its operations.

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu presented INEC’s proposed budget of N89 billion during a Senate Committee meeting chaired by Alli Sharafadeen Abiodun on Thursday.

Prof Yakubu clarified in the meeting that the N40bn would only suffice for the commission’s personnel costs,  and would be inadequate for the financial requirements of the commission in 2024, which supports over 15,000 employees.

The INEC boss highlighted that due to the Federal Government’s 40 percent peculiar allowance and increased Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) for its staff nationwide, the commission’s wage bill reached N36.5 billion.

Subtracting this from the allocated N40 billion would leave almost no funds for capital, electoral expenses, and overhead costs.

He cautioned that this shortfall might endanger the 2024 off-season governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, as well as the National Assembly bye-elections in Ebonyi South and Yobe East senatorial districts.

The INEC boss also pointed out that other constituency elections at risk of being affected include Akoko North East/Akoko North West Federal Constituency in Ondo State; Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency in Kebbi State; Isa/Sabon Birni Federal Constituency in Sokoto State, and Khana II State Constituency in Rivers State.

Mahmood said: “Our first priority is staff welfare; it goes beyond that, but it is a matter of human rights. But associated with the payment of salaries are the social contributions, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), group life insurance, employees compensation scheme and so on. When we pay salaries and social contributions, there is nothing for any other activity again, including the forthcoming governorship elections coming up next year in Edo and Ondo states.

“We also do electoral activities in February next year in which parties will commence the primaries for the governorship elections, and we have to be there to monitor the primaries. We have to do continuous voter registration, and make the cards available long before the elections, and there’s no provision for that. The Ondo primary will begin in April, and there’s no provision for that.

“By the time you talk about the DTA as provided by circular and you convert it to Naira and kobo, it crashes, given the exchange rate.

“So, under the overhead, we pay for all these, including issues like diesel for our generators because sometimes, we are almost always on generator not only in our conferences but also in our ICT server room.

“As a substitute to the inadequate N40 billion, the INEC chairman submitted another expenditure proposal of N89 billion, which was tagged as the actual need of the commission.

“We have submitted proposal C, which shows that we actually need N89 billion. So as I said, our budget for 2023 is practically N68 billion, so the difference actually is N21 billion, not N49 billion, and we have given a breakdown on how we intend to spend the money.” he added

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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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EFCC Returns $22k Recovered From Fraudster To FBI

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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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