Headlines
I’m Not Aware that Peterside Has Been Sacked, Replaced, Says Amaechi
A former Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi has said he is unaware of the reported removal of the Director-General (DG) of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside.
Although, no official statement from the government is backing the claims, there are reports that Peterside, whose tenure expires in a few days, has been sacked and replaced by Bashir Jamoh as the new DG of the agency.
Jamoh is currently the Executive Director of Administration and Finance in NIMASA.
Speaking in an interview with AIT on Thursday, the Minister of Transportation reacted to the news of the sack, saying he was not aware of it.
The former Governor said, “I am not aware. As of yesterday when I spoke to the DG of NIMASA, he was in the office, and they had a board meeting, and he was present at the meeting.
“I am not aware that he has been removed. I spoke to him at about 3pm to 4pm. I should know if he has been sacked. If I am the minister of transportation, I should know.
“Maybe we need to call him (Peterside) this morning to know whether he is in the office but the government does not take an arbitrary decision.
“If he were to be sacked, the minister of transportation would be told to formally intimate the DG of his sack, and I am not aware that the president has directed me to intimate anybody of his sack.
“His tenure expires on the 10th of this month. When it expires, you can then approach the president to either reappoint him or replace him.
“The president has the appointing authority. All the minister has by law is the recommendation authority.”
There are unconfirmed claims that Dakuku’s sack might be due to the failure of the agency to audit its account for six years.
On this, Amaechi said, “I am not aware that could be the reason. He has been DG for only four years because he came into office in 2016 and they cannot be punishing him for the offence committed by previous DGs.
“I don’t think that those speculations are right. I just think they are mere speculations, and we should wait until Tuesday next week when his tenure will officially expire. The president has the right to appoint whoever he wants to appoint and if he wants to extend his tenure, he will extend his tenure.”
Speaking on Dakuku’s alleged refusal to attend National Assembly summons, the Minister added, “I attend National assembly summons because they have the authority to summon a minister or the head of parastatals.
“I would be surprised if Peterside does not honour summons because he was once a member of the House of Representatives.”
Daily Post
The Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated Egypt 4-2 on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 third-place playoff on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali proved the hero of the night with two crucial saves during the shootout, including one from Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.
Ademola Lookman then calmly converted the decisive penalty to secure the bronze medal —Nigeria’s ninth third-place finish in AFCON history.
With neither side able to break the deadlock in a cagey second half, the game ended 0-0, sending the contest directly to penalties.
Despite Fisayo Dele-Bashiru missing Nigeria’s first kick, Nwabali’s immediate saved from Egypt’s first two attempts shifted the momentum.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of the son of a former Jigawa State governor, challenging the decision of the trial court, which convicted him for failing to declare $40,000 at Kano airport.
In a unanimous decision, the apex court panel dismissed the appeal of Aminu Sule Lamido, the son of former governor Sule Lamido, for lack of merit.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Aminu on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution said Aminu declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), but was found with an additional $40,000, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
The EFCC charged him before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count offence of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
On July 12, 2015, the court convicted Aminu and ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the Federal government.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal in Kaduna to overturn the conviction and set aside the forfeiture order.
In a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, however, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered that the trial of former governor Lamido, his two sons, and others, over alleged N1.35billion fraud, should continue before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A five-member panel of the apex court issued the directive in two unanimous judgments, in the two appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the trial court, which dismissed the no-case submission filed by the Lamidos and held that the defendants had a case to answer.
Both appeals were against the July 25, 2023, judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which upheld the no-case submission made by Lamido and others and struck out the 37-count charge on which they were being prosecuted, on the grounds that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the lead judgments of the Supreme Court, Justice Abubakar Umar set aside the July 25, 2023 judgments of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier decision by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which overruled the no-case submissions by Lamido and others and ordered them to enter their defence.
The EFCC, in the 37-count charge, among others, accused Lamido of abusing his position as a governor between 2007 and 2015, allegedly laundering sums of money received as kickbacks from companies that were awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government under his leadership.
The other defendants charged alongside Lamido are his two sons – Aminu and Mustapha; Aminu Wada Abubakar and their companies – Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
