23112022

36 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2022
KUJE PRISON ATTACK: Why FG can’t
make report public - MINISTER
By Soni Daniel,
Northern Region
Editor
ABUJA-Months after
a brutal onslaught on
Kuje Prison by terrorists,
the Federal Government
has now completed investigation
into the attack.
However, the government
does not intend to
make the report public due
to its sensitive nature.
The Minister of Interior,
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,
who disclosed this
while giving a scorecard of
his ministry at a media
briefing in Abuja yesterday,
however, said some of the
escapees from the facility
had been recaptured, while
many others were still at
large.
The attacks by the insurgents
group led to the escape
of over 600 inmates,
including members of the
terror group, Boko Haram.
Aregbesola, who was
flanked by the Minister of
Information and Cultural,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed and
the Permanent Secretary of
his Ministry, Dr Shuaib
Belgore, said the greatest
legacy of the Buhari
administration was the government’s
ability to push
•Plans passport processing centres
in Daura, others
Boko Haram insurgents
out of all the local governments
they hitherto occupied
before the advent of
the government.
The minister said, “In
2015 Boko Haram members
were holding territories
in local governments
in Adamawa, Borno and
Yobe States, but today they
have been dislodged. Yes,
there are challenges here
and there, but there is no
nation without challenges”.
Aregbesola maintained
that challenges relating to
the delay in issuance of
international passports
were being addressed,
adding that the procedures
leading to data capturing
are responsible for
the delay.
He said: “We don’t have
enough processing and
data-capturing centres
across the country. This is
the major challenge.
“For instance, we have
only three centres in the
whole of Lagos, but I can
assure you that before this
administration leaves by
May 29, next year, Lagos
will have 20 processing
centres.
“We will open processing
centres in Daura, Oyo,
Zaria, Alimosho, Defence
Headquarters, Head of
Service Office, and one in
the Ministry of Interior,”
Aregbesola asserted.
Earlier, the Minister of
Information, Lai Muhammed,
had regretted
the increasing resort to fake
news by a section of the
media, which he noted
had become a threat to
President Muhammadu
Buhari’s achievements in
office.
Mohammed noted: “Attack
on INEC offices across
the country has become a
threat to 2023 elections,”
citing case of recent INEC
fake latter against APC
Presidential candidate,
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which
went viral in some mainstream
media.
The minister cautioned
media outlets to avoid being
used for such nefarious
activities, adding that
fake news had done serious
damage on elections in
other climes and warned
that the government would
not allow the purveyors
to have an upper hand.
Oil theft: Nigeria lost over $2bn in
8 months - SENATE
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA- THE Senate
has vehemently refused
to indict any individual
or organisations involved
in crude oil theft in
the country, saying Nigeria
lost over $2 billion to the
phenomenon between
January and August 2022.
This, according to the
Senate, contributed to loss
in revenue that would
have supported Nigeria's
fiscal deficits and budget
implementation.
It also said that between
April and September 2022,
security interventions had
led to the seizure and arrest
of 11 crude oil vessels,
30 speed boats, 179 wooden
boats, 37 trucks as well
as arrest of 122 suspects for
crude oil theft.
According to the Upper
Chamber, 959 metal tanks,
737 Ovens, 452 dugout
Pits, 342 Reservoirs, and
355 Cooking Pots were destroyed,
just as 207 pumping
machines, 12 sophisti-
...Summons Finance, Trade
Ministers, others over
N500bn disbursement
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA- THE Senate
has begun probe
into the alleged un-even
disbursement of loans to
Small and Medium
Scale Enterprises,
MSMEs, in the six geopolitical
regions by
Development Bank of
Nigeria, DBN, to the
tune of N500billion.
To carry out the
investigation, the
Senator Sani Musa
(APC, Niger East), led
Senate Ad- hoc
Committee on Un-even
disbursement of
N500billion, has
summoned the Minister
of Finance, Budget and
National Planning, Mrs.
Zainab Ahmed to
appear before it to clarify
the issues raised.
Also summoned were
the Minister of Trade
and Investment, Niyi
Adebayo; DBN;
MSMEs Agency,
SMEDAN; Bank of
Industry, BOI and Bank
of Agriculture.
The Senate had last
week constituted an adhoc
committee, which
has Senator Musa,
asChairman, with
Senators Ibrahim
Danbaba, Patrick
Akinyelure, Matthew
Urhoghide, Ali Ndume,
Uche Ekwunife, and
Sadiq Umar.
cated Welding Machines,
6 power Generators and 2
Automatic Filling Machines
were recovered.
Resolutions of the Senate
yesterday were sequel to
the presentation and adoption
of the Report of Ad- hoc
Committee to investigate
Oil Lifting, Theft and the
Impact on Petroleum Production
and Oil Revenues
by Senator Albert Bassey
Akpan, Young Progressives
Party, YPP, Akwa
Ibom North East.
The Senate said: "The
country has lost over $2 billion
to oil theft between
January and August 2022,
which lost revenue that ordinarily
would have supported
the country's fiscal
deficits and budget implementation.
"Between April and September
2022, security interventions
has led to the seizure
and arrest of 11 crude
oil Vessels, 30 speed boats,
179 wooden boats, 37
trucks as well as 122 arrested
suspects of crude oil
theft.
"Also 959 metal tanks,
737 Ovens, 452 dugout
Pits, 342 Reservoirs, and
355 Cooking Pots were destroyed.
Also 207 pumping
machines, 12 sophisticated
Welding Machines, 6 power
Generators and 2 Automatic
Filling Machines
were recovered.
"NNPC in collaboration
with both industry regulators,
other partners and
government security agencies
has deployed security
architecture.”
:Vanguard :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES:
2023: Nigerians in hunger over $40bn APC govt
foreign debts —Oborevwori
... urges Nigerians to collect PVCs, vote out
APC
S APEPLE—THE
humongous debt profile
of the federal government of
Nigeria under the regime of
the All Progressives
Congress, APC, joint led by
President Muhammadu
Buhari has been described as
"life threatening" by the
governorship candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, in Delta State, Sheriff
Oborevwori.
Oborevwori while
addressing a crowd of party
faithful and supporters in
Sapele, in continuation of his
Ward-to-Ward campaigns,
disclosed that the hardship,
hunger, joblessness, poverty
and constant devaluation of
the Naira currency, was as a
result of the $40 billion foreign
debts and other loans
needlessly obtained from
multilateral sources by the
Buhari-led APC national
government.
The PDP guber candidate
and incumbent Speaker of
Delta State House of
Assembly, further posited
that the vexed
mismanagement of the
nation's economy is at
variance with the
electioneering promises
made to Nigerians by the
ruling APC national
government in 2015 and
2019, adding that Nigerians
will no longer fall for APC
campaign lies that brought
hunger, poverty, acute
insecurity, mismanaged
health and education
sectors, among others.
According to him, "It is
common knowledge that the
N40 billion debt was
obtained from multilateral
sources such as; the World
Bank, African Development
Bank, International
Monetary Fund, China, et al.
Today, the nation's economy
is in comatose. No thanks to
President Mohmmadu
Buhari and APC national
government."
Oborevwori said 2023
provides another ample
opportunity for all
impoverished, jobless and
hungry Nigerians, as well as
University students who were
denied access to classrooms
for over eight months by
President Buhari, to take up
their PVCs on election days to
vote PDP, it's Presidential
Candidate, Atiku Abubakar
and his running mate, Senator
Ifeanyi Okowa, adding that
Atiku-Okowa has the
solutions for the wrecked and
bleeding Nigeria economy.
On his M.O.R.E agenda,
Oborevwori assured the good
people of Delta State that he
would expand the scope of
overall development of the
three senstorial districts and
ensure a sustained equitable
distribution of state resources
for the wellbeing and
prosperity of all Deltans
without discrimination, and
devoid of nepotism and undue
favouritism.
Police unveil Anti-Cult Volunteer Corps in Delta
By Festus Ahon
ASABA— AS part of its
efforts to curb crime,
Delta State Police
Command, has unveiled
new kits, identity cards and
aprons for the Anti-Cult
Volunteer Corps, AVC, in the
state.
The Commissioner of
Police in the State, Mr Ari
Muhammed Ali who spoke
during the ceremony,
restated the commitment of
the command to partner
with sister security
agencies, the vigilante, Anti-
Cult Volunteers and other
groups to tackle all forms of
security challenges across
the state.
Underscoring the
importance of community
policing, Ali said the anti
Cult Volunteer Corps had
played key roles in
partnering with the Police to
address serious security
challenges in communities
across the state.
He explained that the Corps
is basically a humanitarian
service, and appreciated the
By Akinroye
Abdulazeez
FORMER Chairman of Ika
South Local Government
Council and a chieftain of the
People’s Democratic Party, PDP,
in Ika South Local Government
Area, LGA, of Delta State,
Andrew Obiazi, has said the
humility of the PDP
governorship candidate in the
state, Sheriff Oborevwori has
endeared him to members of the
party and most Deltans.
Obiazi who spoke in Agbor, the
headquarters of Ika South LGA,
said Oborevwori is humility
personified. God has divinely
ordained him to succeed
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on May
29, after the 2023 general
elections in the country. The
emergence of the PDP
gubernatorial candidate in the
state at a transparent primaries
organised by the national
efforts of AVC in combating
the menace of cultism in the
state, stressing that the idea of
community policing is about
crime fighting as the Police can
not do it alone.
He said: “the issue of
security is everybody's
business. The Police can not do
it alone”, adding that all over
the world crime fighting is a
collective one hence the need
for inter agency cooperation
and collaboration.
Ali noted that no country in
the world has zero crime rate
even the developed ones,
noting that it can only be
brought down astronomically
particularly with the
collaboration of stakeholders
such as Anti Cult Volunteer
Corps, vigilante and other
sister security agencies
playing their roles effectively.
While commending the Anti-
Cult Volunteer Corps for it's
commitment to stamp out
cultism and other social vices
from communities, the Police
Commissioner advised the
leadership not to condone any
bad egg among it's fold who
secretariat of the party, coupled
with his Supreme Court
victory, are clear attestation to
the fact that Oborevwori’s
candidature is clearly a divine
project.
“Of all the contenders of the
governorship position in Delta
State, Oborevwori is the most
qualified person to lead the
state comes May 29, 2023,
judging by his humane
conduct and patriotic
disposition towards the
promotion of sustainable
development in the state.
“I want to appeal to Deltans to
rally round the PDP
gubernatorial candidate and
other candidates of the party to
enable them consolidate the
Okowa’s legacies of good
governance, infrastructural
transformation and human
capital development.
“Oborevwori is humble, calm
and unassuming. He is humility
would want to use the Corps as
a cover to engage in criminality,
adding that such should be fished
and shown the way out.
“I enjoin all of you members of
the Anti-Cult Volunteer Corps to
be professional in discharge of
your duties and desist from acts
against the tenets of formation of
AVC. As crime fighters, you must
smoke out moles from within who
sell out intelligence to their
criminal cohorts. We should not
allow saboteurs to be in our
midst", he said.
The Officer in Charge of the
Anti-Cult Unit in the Delta State
Police
Command,
Superintendent of Police Chris
Igbaji, urged the anti cult
Volunteer Corps to carry out their
duties within the ambit of the law
and should be exemplary in the
conduct.
The President, Anti Cult
Volunteer Corps, Delta State,
Ambassador Uche Nwahandi
implored his members to operate
in line with the laid down rules
and be good ambassadors in the
various zones and communities
PDP gov candidate's humility endears him to
most Deltans —Obiazi
personified and has the intellect and
managerial skills needed to expand
the frontiers of development where
the achievements recorded by the
Senator Okowa led administration
would be consolidated,” he said.
While applauding Governor
Okowa for his great
accomplishments, the PDP stalwart
expressed hope that the party was
going to coast to victory, considering
what he (Okowa) had done in the
25 local government areas of the
state vis-a-vis the delivery of the
dividends of democracy to residents
of the state.
“With what governor Okowa has
done for Deltans, I am very
optimistic that our party (PDP) will
have an overwhelming electoral
outing in the 2023 polls. By the
grace of God and with the support
of Deltans, all the PDP candidates
would be delivered.”