Headlines
Again, Lagos Assembly Invites Ambode, Lists His Five ‘Deadly Sins’
The Lagos State House of Assembly has listed five ‘sins’ allegedly committed by a former governor of the state, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.
The ‘sins’ include alleged unauthorised discounting of promissory note and purchase of 820 buses without due authorisation.
The Assembly, therefore, asked the former governor to appear before it by 1pm on Wednesday.
This made it the second time the governor was summoned.
He was first summoned about two weeks ago alongside former government officials, including the former commissioners for Finance, Economic Planning, Justice and Attorney General, and Permanent Secretary, Economic Planning.
The House had set up an ad hoc committee to investigate some financial misappropriation during the Ambode administration.
However, according to a statement by the House, Ambode and the former government officials refused to appear before the House committee.
The House has now issued another invite to the former governor, as contained in an advert in some national dailies, including Sunday PUNCH.
The invite was titled, ‘Notice of summons: Mr Akinwunmi Ambode (the former Governor of Lagos State),’ and signed by the Clerk of the House, Mr A. A. Sanni.
In the new summon, the former governor was reminded of the importance of appearing before the House to shed light on a five-point infraction raised by the Assembly.
The fresh notice stated, “The Lagos State House of Assembly, pursuant to Section 129 (1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) hereby summons His Excellency, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, the former Governor of Lagos State (May, 2015 – May, 2019) to appear before the Committee of the House on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium, Assembly Complex, Alausa, Ikeja by 1 pm.”
Ambode was asked to appear to clarify the following: (1) Unauthorised discounting of promissory note; (2) Purchase of 820 buses by his administration without due authorisation; (3) Misappropriation of Special Expenditure Funds; (4) Improper implementation of the Appropriation Law; and (5) Non-adherence to the Financial Regulations of the state.
The notice urged the former governor to provide the Assembly’s committee with documents to justify that the above transactions did not violate constitutional provisions.
It read, “You are kindly requested to furnish the committee with 15 copies each of all relevant document(s) relating to the issues raised through the Office of the Clerk of the House on or before Tuesday, October 29, 2019.
“It is pertinent to state that your presence at the proposed meeting would give you the opportunity to shed light on issues that are material to the investigation.”
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had in August raided the Epe country home and Parkview Ikoyi residence of the former governor.
He had also denied that certain accounts said to have been frozen by the EFCC were linked to him, adding that no account of his contained N9.9bn as the said accounts belonged to the state government.
The state Assembly had set up a committee to investigate the purchase of 820 buses out of the 5,000 buses proposed by the embattled former governor because the lawmakers had originally objected to the idea.
In a motion titled, ‘Lagos State House of Assembly Motion Number 2,’ the member representing Eti Osa 2, Gbolahan Yishawu, stated that the then administration proposed to spend N17bn to purchase the buses in the 2017 budget, which was not approved by the Assembly.
Meanwhile, efforts to speak with the media aide to the former governor, Mr Habib Aruna, proved abortive as he had not picked calls or responded to a text message sent to his mobile telephone number as of the time of filing this report.
The Punch
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
