INEC staff to testify for Atiku, Lai Mohammed accused of fraud and much more from last week
INEC presiding officers to testify for Atiku that results were transmitted electronically; Documents show how Lai Mohammed fraudulently approved 2.5 billion Naira; Dogara replies Tinubu accuses him of ‘wayward lust for power’ and much more.
A question about whether or not results were forwarded to a central database of the commission has been amongst the top grounds for contesting the presidential election results by Atiku Abubakar and his opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The witnesses comprise seven presiding officers and five assistant presiding officers. They were six each from Borno and Yobe, and swore they were adequately recruited and trained by the commission ahead of the election.
2. EXCLUSIVE: Documents show how Lai Mohammed approved N2.5 billion ‘fraudulent payment’
A newly-obtained batch of documents has further exposed how information minister Lai Mohammed was instrumental to the release of N2.5 billion in questionable payments to a private digital broadcast signal provider.
PREMIUM TIMES reported last week that Mr Mohammed, as the minister supervising NBC, approved the payment to Pinnacle, a private digital broadcast signal carrier. The minister was also involved in several negotiations and foreign trips that preceded the payment.
3. SPECIAL REPORT: How Buhari is suppressing own govt’s anti-corruption war
The president’s failure to sign the bill into law is at variance with his avowed fight against corruption.
Passed by the National Assembly in July 2018, the Federal Audit Service Bill seeks to empower the country’s auditor-general to penalise government agencies and officials who refuse to submit their financial statement for audit.
For instance, the bill empowers the auditor-general to withhold the emoluments of defaulting officials. It even recommends jail terms for erring officials.
Whilst the president’s disinterest towards the bill may be extending the lifeline enjoyed by unscrupulous officials, it is also a slap on the country’s constitution.
4. Sexual Abuse: What really happened at Abuja School for the Deaf? Here’s what we found
The seven-year-old had spent just one academic term at his new school in Abuja when he told his mother he would not be returning to the institution, a special facility for children with disability.
Using sign language, the boy, born with speech and hearing impairment, said he feared he might be killed.
“They will kill me if I return to that school,” Hannatu Usman recalled her son saying.
5. Dogara replies Tinubu, accuses him of ‘wayward lust for power’
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has replied the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, over his comments accusing the two presiding officers of the National Assembly of budget impropriety.
Mr Dogara accused the APC leader of having a “wayward lust for power” and promoting a “fascist agenda.”
Mr Tinubu had alleged that Mr Dogara and Senate President Bukola Saraki have been padding Nigeria’s budget since 2015.
Senate President Bukola Saraki on Monday replied Mr Tinubu. He said it is “unfortunate” that after 22 months in the legislature, Mr Tinubu does “not have a better understanding of how the legislature works”.
