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EFCC Files Fresh Charges Against Elumelu, Others
Justice Salisu Garba of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, Abuja, has adjourned till December 15, taking of pleas in the 229 amended charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the suspended chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Ransome Owan and six commissioners of the agency.
The commissioners are Mallam Abdurahman Ado, Professor Onwuamaeze Iloeje, Dr. Abdurazaq Alimi, Mr. Mohammed Bunu, Mr. Abimbola Odubiyi and Dr. Grace Eyoma.
Counsel to the EFCC, Godwin Obla, said the amended charges were as a result of fresh evidence available to the commission.
But when the matter came up on Thursday, counsel to the fourth accused person, Mr. O. Owa, argued that his client could not take his plea because he was only served the amended charges that morning.
“We were served the amended charge this morning, and when there is a dispute as to issue of service, it cannot be resolved by conflicting words of counsel, it must be resolved by production of proof of service,” Owa told the court.
After listening to the submission of both the prosecuting and defence counsels on the matter, Justice Garba adjourned the case to December 15, to enable the 5th accused person study the amended charge before taking his plea.
Dr. Owan and the six commissioners were first arraigned by the EFCC on April 22, 2009, before the FCT High Court, Abuja, on a 196-count charge. The accused persons are alleged to have committed an offence contrary to sections 97, 315,122, 309, 123, 289 of the Criminal Procedure Code, all bordering on criminal conspiracy, dishonest conversion of public funds, criminal appropriation, theft and disobedience to law.
They were said to have allegedly converted billions of naira belonging to NERC for personal use.
The accused persons were later granted bail in the sum of N100 million each, two sureties for each of the accused persons with like sum; the two sureties must be prominent Nigerians with properties in either Maitama, Garki, Asokoro or Wuse, all in Abuja.
The accused persons were also barred from travelling and are to report to the EFCC head office first and last Mondays of every month.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday, preferred a fresh 130-count charge against a member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Godwin Elumelu; a Senator, Nicholas Ugbane and seven others at the FCT High Court, Abuja, for defrauding the government to the tune of over N5.2 billion in the Rural Electrification Agency project.
The nine accused persons have also been separated in the fresh charges.
The three lawmakers are jointly facing a 62-count charge, while the other six accused are jointly facing a 68-count charge.
The three lawmakers are: Mr. Godwin Elumelu, House of Representatives committee Chairman on Power, Mr. Nicholas Yahaya Ugbane, Senate Committee Chairman on Power and Mr. Jibo Mohammed.
The other accused are Mr. Samuel Ibi Gekpe, Mr. Abdullahi Aliyu, Simon Kirdi Nanle, Mr. Lawrence Kayode Orekoya, Abdulsamad Garba Jahun and Mr. Kayode Oyedeji.
Count three and four, being charges against the lawmakers, state that while the duo of Ugbane and Elumelu were serving as the committee chairmen on Power in the Senate and the House respectively in 2008, alongside Mr. Jibo Mohammed, who is Elumelu’s deputy, they conspired among themselves to the commission of offences, to wit: criminal breach of trust by public servants in the purported award of Grid Extension and Solar Electrification contracts from the Amended Budget 2008 of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), and, thereby, committed an offence punishable under section 97(1) of the penal Code Act Cap 532 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, Abuja, 1990.
In one of the charges preferred against the other six of the nine accused persons, Mr. Samuel Ibi Gekpe, Mr. Abdullahi Aliyu, Simon Kirdi Nanle, Mr. Lawrence Kayode Orekoya, Abdulsamad Garba Jahun and Mr Kayode Oyedeji, all senior officials of Rural Electrification Agency, they were alleged to have, some time, in December 2008.
The Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) has unveiled measures to enthrone ease of doing business and win back the confidence of the business community.
The Director-General of the Agency, Dr Chamberlain Peterside, unveiled the plans at the Breakout Session of RSIPA at the ongoing 18th Port Harcourt International Trade Fair, at the Obi Wali International Cultural Centre, in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Peterside said the agency was poised to free the state from accumulation of wrong narratives that branded it over the years as unsafe for business.
He, however, admitted that many things had gone wrong in the past where regulators joined to make the business environment difficult for investors.
He announced that the agency was rather focused on actions, solutions, and results as adopted in the mission statement of the Board.
“Our task is no mean feat. We are dealing with the perception risk that over several years branded the state as unsafe. We are also faced with the challenges of dealing with the lack of cohesion amongst MDAs, policy inconsistencies, multiple taxation, incessant harassment by miscreants, red tape and delays in obtaining operating permits, high cost of operations and opaque public sector,” he said.
“It is about listening to the investors in the field and ensuring that MDAs are carried along, hence the imperative for the setting up of our One-Stop-Center”, he added.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, who represented the state governor, said the Fubara administration was ready to listen to the business community to see ways of reducing impediments to investments.
He listed the stages of actions being undertaken by the governor as outlined in his 37-page blue print to revive the economy of Rivers State.
The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, who was presented at the event as a star investor and promoter of Rivers State reputation, said for the plans of the investment promotion agency to materialize, an enabling law should replace the Executive Order that established the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency.
He said this would insulate the agency from political instability and remove fear in the minds of investors about its sustainability.
According to him, protection precedes promotion and Local Direct Investment (LDIs) is what attracts and promotes Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs).
“It is the rat at home that reveals to the one in the bush that there is fish in the kitchen”, he added.
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?The Mayor of Housing who is also the CEO of the Alesa Highlands Sustainable Green Smart City said that Port Harcourt is like a business empire under lock and key because it is not protecting its own and also not promoting its own enough for investors to come in.
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?In the area of land documentation and inventory, China urged Rivers State Government to borrow a leaf from Abuja and adopt the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in dealing with land and property registration and documentation for ease of doing business.
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?He said Lagos understood the power of business information, adding “this creates the impression that if you are not doing it in Lagos, you are not doing it in Africa.
“We need to shout louder than Lagos, because we need more investments than Lagos and the structural integrity of Abuja. When you marry both, Rivers State would be wonderful and become green with investments,” he said.
In her speech, the President of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Dr. Chinyere Nwoga, called on the state government to look into the menace of parked trucks now turning Trans-Amadi into a risk zone.
She outlined the activities of the PHCCIMA and invited investors and businesses to the Port Harcourt economic hub, saying peace has returned.
The Director, Investors Relations of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Mrs Lovina Kayode, urged Rivers State to make haste and catch up on Ease of Doing Business, saying the Council has come to help businesses in the state.
Mrs Kayode, who represented the Executive Secretary/CEO of NIPC, Aisha Rimi, commended the Mayor of Housing and his counterpart, Mr. Oliver Biedima of Rainbow Heritage Group, for their decision to invest in Rivers State, saying it is a proof that Rivers State is safe for investors and their investments.
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In his remarks, Oliver Biedemi of Rainbow Heritage Group urged government to give the private investors chance to develop the economy, saying ordinarily government does not have the funds to develop the economy.
Happy Birthday Chief Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON
Honourable Minister Federal Capital Territory
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We’ll Drive Tinubu’s Vision in Rivers With Vigour – Fubara …Inaugurates Dualized Ahoada/Omoku Road ….Debunks Rift With RSHA
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that he will lead Rivers people to galvanize support for President Bola Tinubu to drive the vision and objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda in the State with vigour.
The governor, who joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, explained that his decision to join the APC was not for personal interest but for the overall benefit of Rivers State.
Fubara disclosed these while inaugurating the extension of the dualized Ahoada/ Omoku Express road in Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
He commended the contracting firm, Julius Berger, for timely delivery of the project, saying the project is a campaign promise fulfilled which will bring economic benefits to the people and tackle issues of insecurity associated with the route.
He said his administration has remained focused in delivering democratic dividends in the state despite facing glaring challenges.
The governor thanked the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas for their continuous support, and urged his supporters to remain steadfast and also support President Tinubu who he said, has demonstrated love to Rivers State as a father.
Fubara denied having rift with the Rivers State House of Assembly, stating that his meeting with the lawmakers was stalled as a result of delay in the agreed meeting to be convened by former Governor Nyesom Wike and other stakeholders for him to meet with the state lawmakers.
“I have made every effort to meet with the Assembly members, but it is not within my leadership to initiate the meeting process.
“The arrangement was for my leader, Wike, and the elders led by Anabraba to call for a meeting with the the lawmakers.
“I’m a gentleman and principled. I can’t go behind to call them when we’ve already agreed. Whoever that tell them that I don’t want to meet with them, or I rejected proposal meant for them isn’t saying the truth,” Fubara said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry Works, Mr Austin Ezekiel-Hart, who gave the project description, said the delivery of the project was a fulfillment of long time dream by the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas.
He said the road was previously a single lane and has now been dualised to 14.6 meters wide, complete with solar-powered streetlights with drainages.
He said the road significantly would reduce travel time between Ahoada and Omoku while improving economic activity in the region.
In his welcome address, Chairman of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area, Hon. Chuku Shedrack Ogbogu, described the road as a symbol of unity, oneness, and development, thanking the governor for fulfilling his campaign promises.
On his part, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Engr. Peer Lusbash, said the project was awarded to his company in 2023 with a completion period of 18 months which was achieved in best quality.
He added that Julius Berger enjoyed a good support from the Fubara administration, and assured to complete all ongoing projects being handled by Julius Berger on specification, especially the Ring Road project which is a legacy project.
