Anger as Oduah takes credit for BASA

Embattled Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, broke her seven-day silence on social media on Tuesday, amidst backlash over the N255m bulletproof cars bought for her by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

In a post on Twitter and Facebook, Oduah took credit for the signing of the much-publicised Bilateral Air Services Agreement with Israel.

Oduah, who was a member of the President’s entourage to Israel for this year’s Christian pilgrimage, had been prevented at the last-minute from signing the Bilateral Air Services Agreement with Israel.  In her stead, Minister of State I, Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, signed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government.

But Oduah said the BASA signing was ahuge endorsement and product of the reforms which she championed in line with the Goodluck Jonathan administration’s Transformation Agenda.

The message on her Facebook wall read,  “BASA between Nigeria and the State of Israel had been problematic for decades, with several aviation ministers and successive governments failing in attempts at putting pen to paper.

“The signing is a significant feat for the present administration and a huge endorsement of the Transformation Agenda of the present government as represented in the reforms championed by Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, in the sector.”

But the message sparked off some angry reactions from Nigerians who have been calling for her resignation or outright sacking by the President over allegations of corruption, abuse of office and financial recklessness in the N255m car scandal.

Some Nigerians who wrote on her Twitter and Facebook pages on Tuesday asked her to hurriedly return home to answer for the allegations levelled against her, with a view to setting the records straight.

According to them, Oduah was wrong to be frolicking around and taking credit for an agreement in the circumstance where she has yet to clear her name in the car scandal.

Writing on the minister’s Facebook wall, a particular follower of hers, David Letam, described Oduah’s statement as another “frivolous jamboree” and stated that she should have been worried about the accusations against her.

“I want to congratulate the minister on this landmark achievement in signing the BASA with Israel. However, the honourable minister should come home to clear her name in this N255m car scam. The safety of Nigerians on the air is paramount than this frivolous jamboree,” Letam wrote.

An angry Twitter user, Donan Joshua, asked, “Na you sign am? See as she de talk am as if na she sign am! Madam, come back home and tell us about the money and the N255m bulletproof cars bought for you.”

One Sam Aremu said on Facebook that it was disappointing that the minister still had the guts to be commenting on national issues in spite of the facts in the public domain about the scandal rocking her ministry.

Aremu said, “If Aviation workers are protesting against Oduah’s N225m bulletproof cars, surely Nigerians are not happy about the whole thing. On her return, President Jonathan should call Oduah into his office, look straight into her beautiful blue eye and say to her romantically – ‘You are fired.’

Another respondent on her Facebook wall, with the name Tg Ibhaze, described Oduah as a bad example of womanhood and urged her to lead a good life.  Ibhaze stated, “So shameful that Nigeria celebrates people like this madam in the first place. I really love you and the good work you started in reconstructing our airport.

 “But by now you should have overlooked some things and be a good example. But as a princess and the daughter of a traditional ruler, you should know better to be a good example. Madam, please change.”

Also, one Kevin Jephthah-Ibennah  observed that the car scandal amounted to extravagance in office and noted that she should have tendered an apology to Nigerians rather than taking glory for the BASA.

Jephthah-Ibennah  said, “Why did you spend so much money on purchasing such cars? Don’t you know it’s extravagance?  If  I were your son, I would have advised you to return the money or better still sell and return the money with the sales proceeds as well as apologise to Nigerians because what you have done amounts to stealing.”

Oduah in another car scandal, faces Reps panel today

The embattled Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, has been linked to    another car purchase scandal.

This time, Oduah is said to have also approved the procurement  of two Lexus Limousine cars and two Toyota Prado jeeps.

The minister  is expected to appear before the House Committee on Aviation which is investigating the purchase of two  BMW bulletproof  cars for her by the Nigerian Civil  Aviation Authority at N255m.

 But during the sitting by the Senate Committee on Aviation which is probing the crisis in the Aviation industry, the   Managing  Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria , Mr. George Uriesi,  said the  Lexus Limousine cars and Toyota Prado jeeps were in the custody of a bank.

Uriesi, who   said the limousines were bought  for  N60m each , added that  he did not have details of the cost of the Prado jeeps.

He explained that the bank whose name he did not give,    funded the purchase of the four vehicles.

The FAAN  chief told the six-member committee that  while Oduah gave the approval, somebody whose  name  he failed to mention, signed on his (Uriesi) behalf.

An obviously enraged Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Mr. Hope Uzodinma, lambasted  him  for receiving approval from the minister instead of the Federal Executive Council.

 He was therefore ordered to  appear again before the committee on Monday with details of the transactions.

Uriesi, who was  said to have   sweated  in the air-conditioned room while the session lasted, was   also asked to bring along with him,  details of other vehicles   bought for  the agency’s  directors.

The  Senate  panel also resolved to  inspect the N255m bulletproof cars parked at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation are set to  quiz  Oduah on Wednesday(today) over the controversial bulletproof  cars.

The minister, who  was  summoned  by the committee to appear before it on Tuesday, had written ,  explaining that she had travelled to Israel to sign the Bilateral Air Service Agreement between Nigeria  and Israel.

On Monday, the committee  headed by Mrs.  Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, said Oduah would  now appear on Wednesday and not  Tuesday as ealier scheduled.

It claimed that  the decision was to give all stakeholders the opportunity to prepare their documents.

But the   committee    warned that it would not hesitate to take necessary actions against Oduah if she failed to turn up today (Wednesday).

As of  10pm on Tuesday, it was unclear if Oduah, who was on Monday accused by  the  House Committee on Public Procurement of shunning similar invitations 12 times, had returned from Israel.

As part of its preparations for the hearing,  a five-member sub-committee of the Onyejeocha-led Aviation panel  on Tuesday discreetly inspected the controversial bulletproof  cars at   the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

 A source privy to the visit, informed  that the aim was to “truly establish that the cars were bought.”

 The source added, “This is an investigation and you do not leave anything to chance.

 “The idea of the inspection team was to go to the location and physically see the cars.

 “All these will form part of the final report to the House.”

 When   contacted, Onyejeocha    confirmed that a team visited the airport to inspect the cars.

 She, however, parried questions on the details of what the team saw.

 The committee chairman  said, “Yes, it is true that we set up a committee to go and inspect the cars.

 “The committee went to the airport but they have not reported back to us.

 “If you are interested, come to the hearing tomorrow, please, PUNCH.”

 A senior official of the NCAA, who accompanied the sub-committee to the airport  said the lawmakers “saw the two bulletproof cars .”

The source added, “They   were satisfied. Some of them even stated that people were beginning to insinuate that  there were no cars. So, I think people can now ask the House members whether there are cars or not.”

Asked if  the committee members  were also shown the limousines parked at the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria site at the airport, the official said, “I don’t like joining issues, because people are beginning to write what they like.

“The cars we are talking about here are the bulletproof cars and not limousines.”

The House spokesman, Zakari Mohammed, said sanctions that could be imposed on Oduah if she failed to appear before the Aviation committee included issuing a bench warrant to facilitate her arrest.

He said, “What the committee will do is to apply to the Speaker (Mr. Aminu Tambuwal) for a bench warrant to be issued for her arrest.

“Once that is done and the speaker approves it, the Inspector-General of Police will be directed to arrest her and bring her before the committee.”

ECOWAS Urges Strong Media Support Against Human Trafficking, Child Abuse

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called on media organisations and journalists in the region to support its efforts at eradicating human trafficking and strengthening child protection measures.

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Humanitarian Development and Gender, Dr. Adrienne Diop, gave the charge, on Monday in Abuja, at the opening of a workshop for the development of a Media and Communication Network and Strategy for Combating Trafficking in Persons and Child Protection.

The statement was made available on Tuesday.

The commissioner, who was represented by the Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs, Dr. Daniel Eklu, gave the roles of the media as agenda setting, holding public officers accountable, advocacy, mobilisation of the society and promoting alliances to achieve the desired results in these important areas.

She underlined the leadership role the media could play in articulating a common vision “for our children and other vulnerable persons and mobilising the state and society towards securing improvements in the quality of life of our citizens.”

She said the decision of the Commission to organise the workshop “illustrates the critical importance of the Press as the Fourth Estate of the Realm in dealing with development issues and moving our region forward into an age of development, peace and prosperity.”

The Commissioner noted that children in West Africa were exposed to various evils, ranging from “sexual abuse and exploitation to violence in other forms, conflicts, disability, neglect, HIV/AIDS, child labour and child trafficking to mention a few,” adding that child protection situation in the region has a direct bearing on the trafficking problem.

The vulnerabilities that result in child trafficking, she said, “are also incidented for other types of child protection concerns,” noting that “the vulnerable child more often than not becomes a vulnerable young adult.”

The Commissioner enumerated the initiatives taken by the Commission in dealing with human trafficking and child protection over the years, through various instruments involving Member States as well as a 2006 Joint Action Plan between ECOWAS and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and the Multilateral Cooperation Agreement on the Combat of Human Trafficking between West and Central Africa.

“ECOWAS has also a Child Policy dealing with child protection, while child protection elements have been integrated into the regional Employment Policy with a Child Labour Regional Action Plan under implementation.

“In 2010, the Commission also adopted a policy on Protection and Assistance to Victims of Human Trafficking and Guidelines for Protection, as well as for Support and Assistance to Witnesses in the same year,”  she added.

The Commissioner urged participants at the three-day workshop to come up with suggestions or recommendations that would enrich and strengthen these regional initiatives.

In his opening remarks, the Acting Director of Communications, Mr. Sunny Ugoh, referred to the recent report, which put the figure of persons under slavery across the world at some 30 million and the socio-economic burden on West Africa.

He also mentioned the hundreds of people reportedly dying in desperate attempts to migrate to Europe, including from West Africa, and solicited the strong support of the media in fighting the dual scourges of human trafficking and child abuse in the region.

Mr. Ugoh specifically urged the workshop participants to support the development of an effective media and communication strategy as well as the establishment of a functional network that can be used to address the issue of human trafficking and child protection in the region.

Police arrest 27-year-old man for extorting N3.5m from 50 job seekers

Officials of the Cross River State Police Command, on Monday, confirmed the arrest of one Okon Ntiedo, 27, for allegedly duping 50 unemployed persons of about N3.5 million.

Ntiedo was said to have told the unsuspecting victims, who hailed from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, that he was an informant for the Directorate of State Security (DSS) and conned them into believing that he could secure federal appointments for them.

Hogan Bassey, the command’s spokesperson who confirmed the incident, told journalists that the suspect is in custody.

“The information is correct and there is no attempt to release him from detention because investigations are continuing,” he said. “The suspect is not on the staff of the DSS, we have confirmed that. His so called residential address is still in doubt.”

Bassey said that Ntiedo, who was arrested on October 24 in a drinking bar at Afokang, Calabar South, was being detained at Mbukpa Police Station.

According to him, the suspect promised to secure jobs for the victims in the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Prisons Service and other federal agencies.

The spokesman said the suspect collected between N100,000 and N250,000 from the victims under the pretext that the money would enable him to process their forms and lobby officials.

Ntiedo confirmed to journalists that he collected various sums as deposit from the victims.

He said the total money he collected was N2 million and not N3.5 million as the police claimed.

The suspect revealed that he was working in collaboration with a medical officer in the Nigeria Air Force in Kaduna and a personal assistant in the ministry of Interior.

Ntiedo said he was willing to refund the money to the victims but that his accomplices would have to bring what he had transferred to them through their accounts.

Police Officers Who Were involved in Badagry lynching get bail

According to new reports, the police officers indicted in the lynching of two innocent young men (Ifechukwudi Nwanikpor, 25, and Kazeem Onayemi, 26) in Ajara, Badagry, have been granted bail.
Accordint to Today's TelegraphThe officers were arrested due to their alleged involvement in the mob action that led to the brutal killing of the two young men as captured by various video clips which later went viral on the internet.

According to source, Inspector Adefemi Ashogbon, Sergeant John Sanayon and seven other police officers were granted bail due to their deteriorating health in detention and were allowed to seek medical attention pending the outcome of the investigation and date of their trial.
A video recording by some bystanders exposed Inspector Adefemi Ashogbon and Sergeant John Sanayon, who were attached to the Badagry Police station, at the scene of lynching while seven others police officers were detained for allegedly planting guns on the victims and labelling them armed robbers.
Several calls were made to the Lagos state police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, in a bid to ascertain the grant of bail. However, they went unanswered.

Islamic extremists and army troops battle in the capital of Yobe state leaves 128 dead

A 5-hour battle between Islamic extremists and army troops in the capital of Yobe state killed at least 127 people, all but two combatants, according to reports from army and police officers that raise doubts about military claims that they have the upper hand in Nigeria's fight to halt an Islamic uprising in the northeast.

The stench of rotting corpses from the morgue hung over Damaturu Specialist Hospital on Tuesday, where a reporter counted 31 bodies identified as those of extremists.

Details still are trickling in about the attack, which militants began at dusk Thursday on an army barracks 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside Damaturu, the capital, where they overpowered the soldiers, seized an armored car, looted the armory and set the barracks ablaze with improvised explosive devices.

The reports were given to Yobe state Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam by military officers as he toured the destroyed sites with a heavily armed escort on Monday. Journalists accompanying the tour heard the reports.

The attackers then moved down the main road into the city where they rammed the armored car through the gates to the headquarters of the Police Anti-Terrorist Squad. There, they burned down three buildings.

While some of the extremists exchanged fire with the police, the armored car and others in all-terrain pickup trucks and on foot went on to shoot up and set fire to the police Criminal Investigation Department offices and four other police offices scattered across the city until they arrived at the Mobile Police Base, where the armored car caught fire and was abandoned.

The militants went to the hospital where they looted drugs and bandages as the medical staff fled in terror, according to doctors at the hospital.

This account differs from the official version of events that extremists attacked an army checkpoint along the road from Damaturu to Benisheikh — where militants have killed hundreds of civilians in recent weeks — at around 3 a.m. on Friday. A "firefight ensued and the insurgents were effectively neutralized," according to a statement Monday from the army spokesman in Damaturu, Ibrahim Attahiru.

He said 70 militants were killed there.

"Fleeing insurgents" then "regrouped to carry out attacks on Damaturu town," Attahiru said. Security forces killed another 25 insurgents in the city, he said.

Col. A. O. Abdullahi told the governor that 22 soldiers were killed in the attacks.

A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the incident said eight police officers were killed in the shootout at the mobile base. A reporter who visited the hospital mortuary on Sunday saw 17 bodies in police uniform.

On Monday, the morgue held only the bodies of 31 suspected insurgents. Nigeria's military regularly inflates the numbers of militants killed and downplays its own toll.

The number of civilians caught up in the fighting also is uncertain, with local newspapers reporting that dozens of travelers were caught in crossfire. A civil servant was shot Saturday by soldiers who accused him of breaking the hastily announced curfew. He died in the hospital on Monday, according to witnesses. Another man whose car broke down at the side of the road was shot and killed, apparently by the insurgents, according to reporters who knew him.

The Damaturu attack — on a city that had been free from assault for months — overshadowed a military success in neighboring Borno state.

Aerial bombardments and a ground assault on two "terrorist camps" killed 74 insurgents and wounded several others who fled, according to spokesman Lt. Col. Muhammed Dole. He said two soldiers were wounded in the attacks.

Photos Of Wizkid Son, Boluwatife Looking Cute

Wizkid's 2 year old boy poses for his mum, Shola Ogudugu who shared the pics on her instagram page. more photos after the cut

"Stop Abusing Women During Auditions," So That They Will Not Be Scared To Come For Audition-Nollywood Actor Van Vicker Speak Out

 Ghanaian movie actor Van Vicker has lamented that he hopes in the future, movie makers will stop taking advantage of women who want to act so it will not discourage women from coming forward for auditions.
He made this revelation at a time he was addressing the media on his 7th movie production.
  He said  that he is preparing to shoot his 7th self-produced/Directed movie which will star, Regina Anne–Dei Van Helvert, 1st Runner-Up of Miss Malaika 2012 pageant who was recently named face of new cosmetic range #Gm1623, and Nasara of Ghana Most beautiful.

He added that he will be using most of the upcoming stars from his movie school, and upcoming discovery talents. Van Vicker who was recently a judge on Miss Malaika 2014, stated that lots of women who go for beauty pageant are very talented and can be good movie stars but the reasons why they are not being discovered is the fact that though they really want to act, they don't show much interest in it by going for auditions.

He noted that these ladies who are scared to come for auditions because the directors and producers will take advantage of them, can also try and do one on one approach and if they are good materials for movies, he will make use of them.

“The advice I have for them is that they shouldn't feel too big to come out for auditions. Anne–Dei Van Helvert, 1st Runner-Up of Miss Malaika 2012 shown interest that she wants to act and after an audition she got a role to play,” he said.

Talking about his new movie, he said that is basically about slave trade and its effects.

Celebrities' Halloween 2013 Costumes Pictures

Michael Jackson’s doctor released from jail

Conrad Murray has been released from jail two years after being convicted of causing Michael Jackson’s death, 

The doctor, 60, left a jail in central Los Angeles shortly after midnight local time, the sheriff’s office said.

“He was elated to be out of there,” Murray’s lawyer, Valerie Wass said.

Wass said he plans to spend time with his girlfriend and children and to readjust to life outside prison.

Murray was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter in respect of 50-year-old Jackson’s death in June 2009.

The pop superstar died after receiving a lethal dose of the anaesthetic Propofol, which Murray was giving him as a sleeping aid.

Murray was given a four-year sentence, but a change in California law to ease chronic overcrowding in the state’s jails allowed him to be freed early.

Murray’s medical licences have been suspended or revoked in three states where he had previously practised medicine.

It has been reported he is seeking to hire a publicist and also have his medical licences reinstated.

News of his release is likely to upset Jackson’s family and the star’s multitude of fans around the world. Some of them waited at the prison but the doctor managed to elude them.

 US Correspondent Greg Milam said: “The prospect of him practising again is one of the things that has really annoyed those very devoted Michael Jackson fans.

Media not immune to corruption –EFCC

The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, has said the Nigerian media is not immune to corruption.

Lamorde, who was represented by the EFCC’s Director of Operations, Mr. Olaolu Adegbite, said this on Monday during a workshop on economic crimes reporting, organised by the commission for journalists in Lagos.

He said, “Without a doubt, the media is a critical stakeholder in the anti-graft war. With your pen, you can make or mar the fight against economic crimes and corruption. So far, the media has been helpful.

“There are issues in the media profiling of the EFCC that are less than desirable. The notion that only those who have fallen out of favour with the powers that be are touched by the commission, is unfortunately a creation of the media.

“This is sad; corruption threatens all sectors, including the media. It is not immune. If an individual can attempt to bribe investigators with $15m, is it possible that he can bribe the media? Yes.

“Is it possible that such a person will attempt to bribe the judiciary? The media should lend its investigative skills to helping the EFCC fight corruption and not allow itself become a pawn in the hands of the corrupt.”

The EFCC boss commended the efforts of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mrs. Aloma Mukhtar, in the ongoing reform in the judiciary, especially in the move to accelerate hearing in the cases of corruption, oil bunkering, terrorism and human trafficking.

He also denied reports that the commission was broke, adding that the Central Bank of Nigeria only assisted the agency technically and otherwise in cases involving bank fraud.

Lamorde said, “If the CBN pays the legal fees of our lawyers, that is because they are the complainants and this only happens in cases of bank fraud. There is no question of EFCC employees being corrupt; such reports are being sponsored by persons whom we have prosecuted. We have got a strong internal affairs department where employees are subjected to polygraph test.”

The workshop, attended by over 30 journalists, drawn from both the print and broadcast industries in the country, drew several resource persons from the media industry.

These included the Group Managing Director, Leadership Newspapers, Mr. Azubuike Ishiekwene; Chairman of Premium Times, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi; and a former Editor of ThisDay, Mr. Simon Kolawole.

ASUU: FG rejects intervention by Shagari, Obasanjo, others

The Federal Government has rejected the suggestion to involve past Presidents/Heads of States, governors and traditional rulers in its current faceoff with the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

National President of Nigerian Union of Teachers, Michael Olukoya, had after a palliative meeting with the Minister of Education, Nyeson Wike; and the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, in Abuja offered the suggestion.

The suggestion came to the heels of recent treats by the NUT to embark on sympathy strike with ASUU, if government failed to resolve the crisis.

Although Wike told journalists that the advice will be looked into but investigations by our correspondent revealed that the government’s team had not considered heeding the advice almost four weeks after it was given.

Our correspondent also learnt on Monday that the NUT had been taking submission from its state executives on the modalities and strategies to adopt in their sympathy strike with ASUU.

A government source who spoke to our correspondent in confidence said, “The Federal Government team is strong enough to broker peace with ASUU. There is no need in involving other persons not in government in the discussion when we are already achieving progress”.

Asked why the government made commitment to the NUT when it was suggested, the source reply, “There was no commitment anywhere. It was a meeting where stakeholders express their desire to move the sector forward. So it was out of mutual respect that both parties spoke.”

When contacted on whether the government has taken steps to involve the past leaders as promised, especial assistance (Media) to Wike, Simeon Nwakaudu said, “ I don’t understand what u mean by promise. All I can say is that government is desirous to find a lasting solution. And it is working towards that.”

Olukoya had suggested that given the inability of some committees earlier set up to settle the crisis, the Federal Government should seek the intervention of past presidents, governors, traditional rulers and serving Senators.

He said, “With the way this strike has lingered on for three months, we believe should explore all modalities to end it. Government should invites past heads of states, speakers, senators , ministers of labour and education and every other stakeholder in the sector to resolve this urgly situation.

“Call powerful voices like traditional leaders to intervene in this strike because our concern as teachers is that as these undergraduates stay at home, they are prone to negative vices and in in turn these are the same people that will lead the society in future.”

APC to Jonathan: You are shielding Oduah

The All Progressives Congress has said that the Goodluck Jonathan administration may end up as the most corrupt in Nigeria’s history. The party, in its first official reaction to the the  N255m bulletproof car scandal involving the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah, said it was appalled at the manner Jonathan was handling  the  matter.

  “We now understand why corruption has grown wings under the Jonathan Presidency, and why the administration may well go down as the most corrupt in the country’s history,” it said in a statement by its
Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Sunday.

The statement was made available to journalists just as the  Nigerian  Civil Aviation Authority  said it had no  documents relating to the purchase of   the controversial   cars.

The APC    said it reached  its conclusion on the Jonathan Presidency   after juxtaposing the evidence that  had so far  come out of the car scandal with  the actions so far taken by the President.

 It pointed out that the handling of the scandal  was a test case  for the  Jonathan  government’s  anti-corruption war.

 The statement   warned that  Jonathan might be considered   an accessory to  the scandal  if he continued  to shield Oduah from facing the consequences of  her alleged indiscretion.

The statement reads in part,“It has now emerged that the money spent on  the  cars was not appropriated, which is a violation of the Nigerian constitution; that due process was not followed in buying the cars, as the Bureau of Public Procurement has testified, and that the minister, who was said to have approved the purchase , violated the law by approving an expenditure over the N100m limit.

“These revelations make the Oduahgate a straightforward case that should have been summarily dealt with by the President. Instead, he has engaged himself in rigmarole by setting up a diversionary administrative panel in what is now looking like an orchestrated ploy to buy time, hoping this issue will die down and the minister will escape being sanctioned.

“Unfortunately for Mr. President, Oduahgate is not just another scandal, but a referendum on his administration’s fight against corruption, and on the legacy he intends to leave in this critical area.”

APC also accused Jonathan of “thumbing his nose at Nigerians,” who have expressed outrage at the action of the minister, by approving her trip to travel to Israel as part of his entourage.

According to the party, no one believes the ‘dummy’ being sold to the public, that Oduah  was denied access to the President in Israel.

It added that “the egregious act of putting the minister on his(Jonathan) entourage, at a time she is at the centre of a terrible scandal, calls to question the President’s sense of propriety and his commitment to the war against corruption.”

The opposition party further observed that the body language of the President over the matter was sending a signal to ministers that it was alright to be corrupt.

It also  wondered whether the President was aware of the joke going the rounds that   five “super ministers  that  he can neither sanction nor remove, irrespective of their actions,”   were  ferreting out fundsfor his 2015 war chest.

But   the  Peoples Democratic Party, said the opposition, especially the  APC, was in not in a  position to accuse the Jonathan administration of corruption.

It described the APC as a party peopled by  those  whose main business is corruption

 “The APC lacks the moral right to accuse our dear President and our great party of corruption. Most of the opposition  leaders ought to be behind bars.

“We are happy  the   President   has set up a committee and has ordered for an investigation into the  issue. This shows  that he  has respect for the law, “the PDP  through its  Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Abubakr  Jalo, told one of our correspondents.

It therefore advised the APC  “ to remove the log in its  eyes before removing the speck from the eyes of others.”

Our grouse with Jonathan – Rebel govs

The seven governors of the Peoples Democratic Party  on Monday opened up on the cause of their dispute with President Goodluck Jonathan and the leadership of the PDP.

They said the President had refused to act on the issues they raised during their meetings with him and some leaders of the party on how to restore the crisis rocking the party.

They added that the President had refused to act on issues discussed with the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo-led Elders Committee and the reports presented to him.

Rather than act, they said President Jonathan and his supporters bluntly turned down the report.

The governors stated this in the communique issued after the meeting, which they held in Abuja on Sunday night.

The communique was signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the New PDP, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze.

The governors are Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Aliyu Babangida (Niger); Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano).

Apart from the governors, others in their group are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and some former governors – Bukola Saraki (Kwara), Shaba Lafiagi (Kwara), Danjuma Goje (Gombe) and Abdulahi Adamu (Nasarawa).

Others include a former Acting National Secretary of the party,who is now leading the New PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje; Deputy Chairman Sam Sam Jaja; a former National Secretary of the party, who is occupying the same position in the faction, Prince  Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and Vice-Chairman, North-West of the PDP,  Ibrahim Kazuare.

Eze said the Sunday meeting reviewed all the peace meetings so far held with President Jonathan and the Dr. Bamanga Tukur-led PDP and commended the aggrieved governors for the maturity they have exhibited  since the beginning of the crisis.

He said, “Some of the demands presented by our governors  include the need to reverse the impunity in Rivers State, where a sitting governor was suspended from the party against the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the PDP Constitution, and refusing to uphold the result of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum election that saw Amaechi winning 19 votes as Jonah Jang’s 16.

“Others include our request for the removal of  Tukur as our party National Chairman knowing his flawed election as our party Chairman, and ending the impunity in Adamawa State, among other demands that will put PDP in a strong position as a political party but for reasons not too clear to some of us failed to receive the blessing of Mr. President.

“To us, we see all these as attempts by the Tukur’s faction to destroy the party seeing that they (those in Tukur’s group) have no stake in the party anymore.”

The meeting mandated its mobilisation/contact committee to explore other options available to the members of the faction  should the dialogue with President Jonathan fails to yield any positive result for its future political activity.

Eze added that the committee was expected also to liaise with the new five other PDP governors and other leaders, who he said had indicated interest to join the group and to submit their report during the next meeting of the caucus that will hold in a week’s time.

On the deployment of Police to the vicinity of the Sokoto Governor’s Lodge, Abuja to scuttle the caucus meeting on Sunday evening, Eze said it was unfortunate that the police who were unable to find a solution to the menace of Boko Haram, kidnapping and other security challenges of the country could be cheaply used to harass innocent and unarmed civilians.

While reacting to the allegation against him, Tukur said he did not set up any parallel state executive in any state, adding that the party appointed caretaker committees in states where the tenure of their substantive officers had expired.

Tukur, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Oliver Okpala, said the aggrieved governors were not aware that the executives that were removed in the affected states wrote to the national headquarters of the party to inform it that their tenure had expired.

Another plane crash averted in Abuja

Another air disaster was averted at the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport, Abuja on Monday as a Med-View Airlines aircraft from Lagos suddenly took to the air again at the point of landing in Abuja.

The pilot told the passengers that he took to the air again to avoid a collision with another aircraft on the tarmac.

The airline Flight VL2104 took off from the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos at noon and was scheduled to land in Abuja at about 1.05pm.

The pilot had already announced final descent into Abuja and asked all passengers and cabin crew to fasten their seat belts but the pilot suddenly took off to the air again with barely 30 seconds to touch ground.

The plane had 150 passengers on board. A correspondent of The PUNCH was one of the passengers.

After about three minutes of gaining altitude, the pilot announced that he decided to take off again to avoid colliding with an aircraft that was on ground.

He said that after he had been granted clearance to land, it was later discovered that the other aircraft was not fast enough, hence his decision to take off.

The aircraft hovered for another 20 minutes in the air before finally landing at about 1.30pm.

While the drama lasted, the passengers were panic-stricken, especially when the plane entered into turbulent weather on air.

 correspondent said that among the passengers were five different complete families.

One of the passengers, a nursing mother, who was breastfeeding her son at the time the pilot took off again reportedly withdrew the breast from the boy’s mouth and started praying profusely while the baby’s cry rented the air.

When the plane finally landed, the passengers struggled to disembark.

“Are you still sitting down? Let me rush down in case it will suddenly take off again,” a middle-aged man was heard teasing one of his co-passengers.

The incident came less than a month after an Embraer aircraft operated by Associated Airlines with registration number SCD 361, conveying the corpse of a former Governor of Ondo State, Chief Olusegun Agagu, from Lagos to Akure for burial, crashed on October 3 shortly after take-off at Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos.

Thirteen passengers in the crashed plane were killed, including a commissioner in Ondo State, Deji Falae.

N255m car scandal: Finally, Jonathan moves against Stella Oduah

President Goodluck Jonathan may have finally succumbed to public pressure to  move against the embattled Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah, who is currently being probed over the N255m  bulletproof cars bought for her by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

The development came to the fore with the last-minute decision to stop Oduah from signing the much-publicised Bilateral Air Services Agreement with Israel.

The ceremony was given by Presidency officials as the  main purpose of her inclusion in the President’s entourage to Israel for this year’s Christian pilgrimage.

In her stead, Minister of State I, Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, signed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government while the Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister, Mr. Zeer Elkin, signed on behalf of the Israeli government.

Presidential spokesman,  Dr. Reuben Abati, after releasing a photograph on Monday on the signing ceremony, issued a statement in which he confirmed  that Onwuliri signed on behalf of the government.

Abati did not however explain  why Oduah was not allowed to sign the agreement despite the fact that the photograph released by her aides  showed that she was present at the event.

The President had come under criticisms for allowing the  minister to be on his entourage at a time he set up a three-member   panel to investigate the purchase of the cars.

A top Presidency source on the entourage of the President in Israel told our correspondent on the telephone that the decision to stop Oduah from signing the agreement   was taken shortly after Jonathan arrived in Israel.

That same reason, he added, informed the decision of the President’s aides  to keep the minister away from the President since their arrival in the country.

The Special Adviser on Media to Oduah, Mr. Joe Obi, had on October 22 said in statement that the minister travelled to Israel to sign the pact. Two days after, the Ministry’s  Permanent Secretary, Mr. George Ossi, told the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation that Oduah could not appear before it because she “was leading the Nigerian delegation to Israel to sign the BASA.”

 A former Minister of Aviation, Mr.Femi Fani-Kayode,  who shed light on the development, said Jonathan must have prevented her from signing the BASA because of the situation she  was  in.

He said, “BASA is supposed to be signed by the aviation minister or she could delegate it to the  permanent secretary in the ministry. The agreement has nothing to do with the Foreign Affairs Ministry.  I signed quite a few during my tenure.”

• Oduah, NCAA chiefs risk five years in jail

 Before Abati’s statement,  the House Committee on Public Procurement had   said in Abuja   that  Oduah, and officials of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority risked five-year jail term if  found   guilty of breaching procurement regulations in the purchase of the  bulletproof cars.

The committee  Chairman, Ms Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, who accused the minister of shunning 12 invitations previously extended to her by the committee,  explained that    the Public Procurement Act clearly spelt out the penalty for any breach.

Section 58 (5) of the Act states, “Any persons, who, while carrying out his duties as an officer of the Bureau or any procuring entity who contravenes any provision of this Act, commits an offence and is liable to a conviction of cumulative punishment of (a) a term of imprisonment of not less than five calendar years without any option of fines and (b) summary dismissal from government services.

Okoya-Thomas dismissed the explanation by the NCAA that the cars were procured through a lease agreement and pointed out that no government official or agency could claim to be ignorant of the provisions of the Act.

According to her, what is important is that since  public money was involved, its spending  must  follow  legal procedure.

She added, “Argument about lease purchase does not hold  as long as they are going to pay with public funds and to say that  the NCAA is within the threshold makes it look like splitting the budget, which is another case on its own under the Procurement law.

“Our committee has the responsibility to oversight BPP and since the core objective of public procurement is to ascertain value for money, we have been having issues with the Ministry of Aviation and agencies under it for sometime now.

“It may interest you to know that we have issued out not less than 12 invitations to the Minister of Aviation, but she has not deemed it fit to respond even for once.

“She has always been giving us one excuse or the other.  Apart from  the fact that there are issues on the rehabilitation of airports around the country over issues of value for money, which Nigerians are not getting, if she had taken her time to honour our invitation, maybe she would  have been able to avoid this issue of threshold.

“What these heads of agencies don’t realise is that when we send out letters like that, it is not   to intimidate   them but to rub minds and enlighten them on the nitty-gritty of the provisions of procurement laws.

“If she had been honouring our invitations, by now a lot of things would have been known to her and she would not have  found  herself in this situation.”

• Minister now  to appear before Reps Wednesday

 Earlier on Monday, the    House Committee on Aviation, which is investigating the car scandal,   said the minister would no longer appear before it on Tuesday (today) as earlier scheduled.

The committee ,   headed by Mrs. Nkiruka Onyejeocha,  abruptly put off the hearing through a statement on Monday, claiming that it was to give all the stakeholders the opportunity to prepare their documents.

The panel had adjourned hearing on Thursday last week till today.

 However, findings indicated that the committee came under pressure to postpone the hearing after Oduah reportedly made “a passionate appeal” to be allowed to appear on Wednesday.

She was said to have explained that she was still in Israel where   she had gone to   sign  the BASA  with Israel.

Sources close to the committee confided in The PUNCH  that a representative of the embattled minister “begged  for  her to be allowed to appear on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.”

One of the sources  added,  “What we hear is that she made appeals.

“She is still in Israel and it is not clear what time the agreement will be signed today (Monday) for her to fly down to Nigeria on Tuesday to attend the hearing.

“Since her appearance is the main issue left before the committee, the members also considered that it was wise to give her till Wednesday to appear.”

The new twist is  different from the tough stance the committee took on Thursday when Onyejeocha ruled that “the minister must appear unfailingly on Tuesday;  wether she is in Nigeria or not.”

The committee, through its Clerk, Mr. Abubakar Chana, said the postponement was to give all stakeholders the opportunity to put their documents in order and make detailed presentations.

Part of the statement reads, “This is to notify all stakeholders and the general public that the Public Hearing of the House Committee on Aviation on the purchase of two BMW cars by the NCAA earlier slated for Tuesday, October 29,  2013 has been postponed to Wednesday,  October 30,  2013.

“This is to allow ample time for the invited agencies to put their documents together…”

The  committee wrote a separate letter to Oduah on Monday, which confirmed that the postponement of the hearing was to give her some grace.

The letter by Chana  indicated that the committee received a letter from the minister on Monday explaining why she was unable to attend the hearing.

The committee complained that her non-appearance was delaying the investigation, adding that it was forced to reschedule the hearing till Wednesday.

It warned that failure to attend tomorrow’ session would leave the committee with no option but “to enforce the appropriate laws and apply necessary sanctions.”

The letter reads in part, “I am further directed to inform you that your inability to appear before the committee has become a serious constraint to the committee, as the House of Representatives has mandated the committee to submit its report within one week.

“More so, the committee has been utterly gracious for postponing the hearing to Wednesday,   October 30, 2013.

“It is the directive of the House that you should appear on the rescheduled date.”

• We didn’t appropriate funds for controversial cars

Also in Abuja, the   Senate   said  it  did not appropriate funds to the NCAA  for the purchace of bulletproof vehicles for   Oduah.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodima, made the clarification at a public hearing where the managements of  the NCAA  and  the National Aviation Management Authority   defended   their roles in  the Associated Airlines plane crash   in Lagos on October 3.

Uzodima  noted that findings by the committee indicated that the NCAA appeared to have lost its freedom to the Ministry of Aviation.

He also  expressed  surprise  when the NCAA Director-General,  Captain Fola Akinkuotu,  could not justify the purchase of the bulletproof  cars  on the grounds that  the transaction was concluded before he assumed office.

• Quit, S’East,  S’South professionals tell minister

Earlier on Monday,  the South-East and South-South Professionals Forum  had called  on   Oduah to step aside in the face of mounting protests over her role in the  purchase of the bulletproof cars.

It expressed disappointment over the scandal rocking the Aviation industry which is under Oduah’s   watch.

The forum’s    President , Emeka Ugwu-Oju,  spoke at a stakeholders’ meeting organised to marshal their  position on the national dialogue in Benin, Edo State.

Ugwu-Oju   said,  “We are not saying she is guilty but for what has happened in the ministry under her watch, it is clear the ministry   could afford such money for some frivolous purposes. It is a wrong thing to do and  somebody has to take responsibility.

“We are of the view that the current minister of aviation should go.  She is going not because she is found culpable but we are looking at the overall picture of values.

 “The honourable thing for her to do is to step aside and go.”

• NDF says probe panel   a ruse

 In Minna, Niger State, a pro-democracy group, the  National Democratic Forum, said the committee            set up by Jonathan    to probe the scandal lacked the  courage to carry out the assignment.

The group described the  committee as a ploy  to shield and provide a safe landing for the Aviation minister.

Its position was contained in a statement by its National Co-ordinator, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa, and Secretary, Eze   Kalu.

In the statement  issued after its 47th Congress in Minna, the group said it believed that the     committee would not do a  thorough investigation   because of  fear of ridiculing the Executive arm of government.

The forum, which  wants    an independent panel to probe the  purchase of the cars,   advised that the  minister and the  Principal Officers of the NCAA be suspended immediately.

The  statement added,  “ We doubt if the Presidency has the courage to really probe Oduah.

“It is on record that the so-much touted fight against corruption by this administration is a ruse. Its penchant to cover the ‘sins’ of some sacred cows is legendary. If this administration could pardon Diepreye   Alamieyeseigha, and sweep the House of Representatives bribery scam under the carpet, one should not expect anything positive from the latest  panel.

To All Women In Their Desperate Search For Mr Right- Someone Has a World For You

Nollywood Actress, Omoni Oboli And Husband Celebrate 13th Wedding Anniversary

After over 12-years of a successful marriage that has produced three handsome boys, Nollywood actress Omoni Oboli and her husband Nnamdi are celebrating their wedding anniversary today, Monday October 28th 2013.

Below is Omoni Oboli’s special anniversary tribute to her hubby on their special day:

“Celebrating 13 years of love. Counting my blessings… I might not have what others have but I have the most amazing man! Yes I said it! The most AMAZING!!! A girl could not have asked for a better man.

 My best friend, my lover, my champion, my biggest fan, my voltron, my baby daddy, the wind beneath my wings!!! I love you with all my being. I have a blessed marriage, Jesus is in my marriage, I wanna shout it from the roof top…I’m at work though but all is good, we are celebrating tonight.#13thanniversary.”

Congrations to them!

Mark’s comment ridicules Onosode – ASUU

                                                     Deacon Gamaliel Onosode

The Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, University of Ibadan chapter, has condemned the statement of Senate President David Mark on the competence of those who negotiated the 2009 agreement with ASUU on behalf of the Federal Government.

The union said the Senate President’s remarks ridiculed the leader of the Federal Government’s team, Deacon Gamaliel Onosode.

It therefore demanded an apology for Onosode.

Mark had last Wednesday derided the government’s negotiators, saying ASUU took advantage of their ignorance.

“They (ASUU) found that those who were sent there (government negotiating team led by Onosode) simply didn’t know their right from their left,” the Senate President had said when the strike by ASUU came up for debate on the floor of the senate.

At the end of a congress held at UI on Friday, the chapter chairman of ASUU, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye, asked Mark to tender an apology to Onosode, saying the elder statesman deserved respect from Nigerians.

He said, “Onosode is a man of proven integrity, and impeccable character. He deserves better than the colour painted of him by the Senate President. The Congress respects the personality of Onosode, an alumnus of the University College Ibadan, who has served as the Chairman of governing councils of UI and University of Lagos and a successful businessman who has served the country in various intervention capacities.

“The congress condemns these disparaging comments and demands that the Senate President apologises to this elder statesman. Can we actually trust these characters to midwife any intervention with a bias and myopic construction myth makes right? Where else in the world are senators earning bogus allowances as we have in the National Assembly? We challenge the Revenue Allocation, Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission to publish salaries and allowance of the senate president for Nigerians to see how patriotic he is to the true state of the economy.”

Ajiboye also asked the upper legislative house to be alive and sensitive to national issues, saying President Goodluck Jonathan, who was then the Vice President when the agreement with ASUU was signed, instructed the government team to sign the agreement.

He also said that Mark’s statement smirked of disbelief about his knowledge of national issues as he was already the head of the senate when the agreement was signed.

Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has sent a petition against the Federal Government to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights over the ongoing strike by university lecturers.

The petition was sent to the committee through the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay, on October 25, 2013 and signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni.

SERAP in the petition described the inability of the government to honour its agreement with ASUU as a fundamental breach.

It said that though the government in 2009 agreed with ASUU to improve the governance structures and funding for the operation of universities across the country but that conditions of service for members of the country’s universities remained poor.

The group asked the UN Committee to “demand that the Nigerian government should urgently and fully implement its agreement with ASUU and ensure sufficient funding of universities across the country.”

It added, “The Committee should put pressure on the government to promote, protect and fulfil the right to education for the sake of millions of Nigerian children that continue to be denied this fundamental human right.

“As the UN Committee has stated, states must take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps as clearly as possible towards meeting the obligations recognised in the covenant. But the persistent refusal by the government to sufficiently fund the country’s universities, and honour its own agreement to ASUU is a deliberate retrogressive measure, and shows lack of good faith.”

We don’t have armoured cars purchase documents – NCAA

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has denied having any documents relating to the  two BMW bulletproof cars it bought for the Minister of Aviation, Ms Stella Oduah.

The denial came two days after Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), gave seven days ultimatum to NCAA to supply his law firm with the information.

Falana’s request, dated October 21, 2013, was made on the strength of the provisions of the Freedom of information Act.

But a copy of the reply to the request dated October 23, 2013 by the NCAA Director-General, Mr. Fola Akinkuotu, was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday.

In his reply through the NCAA Legal Adviser, Mr. E.K Chukwuma, Akinkuotu also claimed not to have in the possession of the NCAA any documents relating to previous purchase of such cars.

The reply read, “I am directed to your letter dated October 21, 2013 on the above matter (Request for information on N255m armoured cars for Aviation Minister, Ms Stella Oduah) and to inform you that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority is not in possession of any document relating to the purchase of the armoured cars for the Aviation Minister, Ms Stella Oduah.

“With regard to your request for records of previous purchase of armoured cars by the Aviation Ministry or NCAA, I am to inform you that the  Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority does not have such records.”

But Falana, in a telephone chat with our correspondent on Sunday, said he was going to request the Attorney-General of the Federation to prosecute the NCAA DG.

He said, “Since copies of the documents on the Oduahgate are available the DG has wilfully violated the provisions of the FoI Act, I am sending a request to the Attorney-General of the Federation to prosecute him without any delay.

“Since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has commenced investigation pursuant to my petition, I am also forwarding the DG’s letter to the Commission for necessary action.”

Falana, had in his letter, written on his behalf by a lawyer in his law firm, Mr. Adedotun Isola-Osobu, asked Akinkuotu to supply his chamber with detailed information on the vehicles.

The SAN had  predicated his request on the claim by Akinkuotu during a press conference on October 18, 2013, that the NCAA indeed bought the cars for the minister.

In his letter to the NCAA, Falana had asked Akinkuotu to supply records of previous purchase of such cars if indeed it was customary for the NCAA to purchase such cars for the aviation minister and visiting foreign dignitaries.

The letter read, “In your press conference at Abuja held on Friday, October 18, 2013 you did admit that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority actually bought the controversial armoured cars and that ‘it is customary to convey the minister and visiting dignitaries in security vehicles whenever they are in Nigeria.’

“In the light of your claim at the said press conference we are compelled to request you to make available to us certified true copies of the documents relating to the purchase of the cars, including budgetary approval and due process for the entire transaction.

“Since you claimed that it is customary to purchase such cars for aviation minister and visiting foreign dignitaries you are also requested to provide the records of previous purchase of armoured cars by the aviation ministry or the NCAA.

“Take notice that you are mandatorily required to supply the requested information within seven days of the receipt of this letter by virtue of the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.”

The NCAA had admitted to have spent   a whopping $1.6m (N255m) on the two cars. The purchase of the cars had since ignited calls for the removal of the aviation minister.

NCAA DG, others earn N4.2bn yearly

NCAA Director-General, Mr. Fola Akinkuotu

The Director-General of the troubled Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, nine directors of the agency and 956 other members of staff earn N4.2bn as salaries and allowances annually.

This personnel cost represents 27.92 per cent of the annual budget of the NCAA, which stood at N15.3bn this January.

The “Certification” page of the NCAA’s 2013 budget, which our correspondent obtained in Abuja on Sunday, read, “The management of the NCAA, under the supervision of the Minister of Aviation, is hereby authorised to spend the sum specified in the schedule outlined here from the funds of NCAA during the year ending 31st December, 2013, not exceeding N15,316,850,000.”

A copy of the document was also lodged with the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation investigating the N255m bullet-proof cars the NCAA bought for the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.

The agency has nine directors on its payroll, taking home N164.07m yearly. This is broken down into N18.6m (basic salary) and N142.4m (allowance).

The DG earns a total pay package of N22.6m, sub-divided into N2.9m (basic salary) and N19.9m (allowance).

The DG and nine top directors earn a combined annual pay of N186.7m every year.

The NCAA has 699 of its workers on salary GLs 7-13, who earn a combined salary of N1.9bn yearly.

This is broken down into N426.6m (basic) and N1.4bn (allowance).

There are 95 workers on GL 7; 168 on GL 8; 139 on GL 9; 76 on GL 10; 141 on GL 12; and 80 on GL 12.

Similarly, 200 senior officers on GLs 14-17, earn a combined sum of N1.7bn annually.

The break down indicates N245.7m as basic salary and N1.4bn as allowance.

The NCAA also has 67 members of staff on GL 14; 62 on GL 15; 52 on GL 16; and 19 on GL 17.

At the lowest rung of the ladder are 56 workers on GLs 4-6, collecting a total of N68.7m as a pay per annum.

This group’s basic salary is N13.1m, while the allowance is N53.6m per year.

A further breakdown indicates that the 67 members of staff on GL 14 earn a combined pay of N315.6m, while the 62 on GL 15, earn N597.6m and the 52 on GL 16, take home N584.1m.

The 19 senior officers on GL 17 earn a total of N282.4m, bringing the total pay package for this category (GLs 14-17) to N1.7bn per year.

The same applies to the 95 workers on GL 7, who earn a total of N171.7m, while the 168 members of staff on GL 8 take home N363.2m and the 139 on GL 9 collect N347.08m.

The 76 members of staff on GL 10 earn N222.1m, while the 141 members of staff on GL 12 take home N548.5m and another 80 employees on GL 13, earn N331.09m per annum, bringing the overall total for this category (GLs 7-13) to N1.9bn.

As for the 12 employees on GL 4, they earn N12.7m, while the 22 on GL 5, earn N26.06m and the 22 on GL 6, take home N29.9m, bringing the total for the category (4-6) to N68.7m per annum.