Beyonce,Chris Brown,Nicki Minaj win big at BET awards 2015

The 2015 BET Awards was all and more of what was expected. From Memorable moments and performances (especially the Bad Boy Reunion) to special tributes and honors, Sunday night's show at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles was one for the history books for the 15th-anniversary airing.

Although she was absent, Beyonce was the night's biggest winner. The international superstar won three awards including Video of the Year for "7/11," Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, and Video Director of the Year.

Chris Brown won Best Male R&B/Pop Artist and his usual Fandemonium Award while Nicki Minaj won Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, again, and the Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award, which featured Brown.

Check out the full winners list below:

Ultimate Icon, Music Dance Visual Award: Janet Jackson

Humanitarian Award: Tom Joyner
Best New Artist: Sam Smith
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist: Kendrick Lamar
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist: Beyoncé
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist: Chris Brown
Best International Act UK: Stormzy
Best International Act Africa: Stonebwoy
Best Group: Rae Sremmurd
Best Collaboration: Common & John Legend, "Glory"
Best Actress: Taraji P. Henson
Best Actor: Terrence Howard

Youngstars Award: Mo'ne Davis
Best Movie: Selma
Best Gospel Artist: Lecrae
Video of the Year: Beyoncé, "7/11"
Video Director of the Year: Beyoncé, Ed Burke & Todd Tourso
Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams
Sportsman of the Year: Stephen Curry
Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award: Nicki Minaj f/ Drake, Lil' Wayne & Chris Brown, "Only"
Centric Award: The Weeknd, "Earned It"
Fandemonium Award: Chris Brown

Okonjo-iweala defends $2.1billion ECA spending.

Former Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has denied  spending $2.1 billion Excess Crude Account cash “without authorisation” and has offered to face any enquiry over the allegation.

The National Economic Council (NEC) made the allegation on Monday after its meeting in Abuja.  Paul Nwabuikwu, Media Adviser to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, said ”the allegation by some governors is false, malicious and totally without foundation.”

Nwabuikwu, in a statement yesterday, said there was “no unauthorised expenditure from the ECA made under Okonjo-Iweala’s watch in the Finance Ministry. Decisions on such expenditure were discussed at meetings of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) attended by Finance commissioners from the 36 states.”

Against this background, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala maintained that the idea that she “spent $2.1 billion ‘without authorisation’ is simply not credible given that details of government receipts and expenditure are public knowledge”.

The former minister asked how “some governors who fought Federal Government’s  efforts to leave robust savings in the ECA and even took the Federal Government to court over the matter turned around to make such unfounded allegations?”

The statement said: “It is curious that in their desperation to use the esteemed National Economic Council for political and personal vendetta, the persons behind these allegations acted as if the constitutionally- recognised FAAC, a potent expression of Nigeria’s fiscal federalism, does not exist. Nigerians know that collective revenues, allocations and expenditures of the three tiers of government are the concern of the monthly FAAC meetings.

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said she acknowledged “the efforts of governors who are working hard to overcome the current revenue challenges facing their states without resorting to character assassination and blame games”.

However, the former minister said she “is ready and willing to respond to legitimate enquiries about issues under her purview as Finance Minister. But it is clear that this is the latest chapter of a political witch-hunt by elements who are attempting to use the respected National Economic Council for ignoble purposes having failed abysmally in their previous attempts to the Okonjo-Iweala name.”

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala and her team lamented that “one of such attempts took place in May when some of these governors, hiding under the auspices of the Nigerian Governors Forum asked Okonjo-Iweala to explain $20 billion alleged to be missing from the same ECA”.

The Finance ministry, she said, subsequently issued a news release and published an advertorial in national newspapers on May 25, 2015, giving details of what the Federal Government and states received from the ECA in the last four years. It also provided details of the use of the funds for payment of petrol subsidies for the Nigerian public and SURE-P allocations to the three tiers for development purposes.

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said she “pioneered the practice of publishing monthly updates of all allocations to different tiers of government in order to empower Nigerians with information and knowledge of government revenues and expenditure. This enabled the Nigerian public to ask questions about the utilisation of these resources. Of course, many elected and appointed public officials were not happy with this development.”

She said she continued this practice when she returned in 2011 and even added periodic updates on the Excess Crude Account, subsidy payments for verified claims by oil marketers for fuel imports as 

well as SURE-P payments to the three tiers of government.

In the advertorial published in some newspapers on May 25, Dr. Okonjo Iweala explained that between 2011 and 2014, the Federal Government collected N3.29 trillion from the ECA while the states shared N2.92 trillion.

She said subsidy and SURE-P payments were also made from the ECA.

The ex-minister said in the advertorial:

“The figures show that they received N966.6 billion in 2011, N816.3 billion in 2012, N859.4 billion in 2013 and N282.8 in 2014. The low figure for 2014 reflects the steep decline in revenues due to the impact of the crash in global oil prices which began in the middle of the year.

“The summary of the inflows and outflows from the Account shows that the opening balance was $4.56billion in 2011 and reached a peak the following year at $8.7 billion before declining to $2.3billion in 2013. The balance as at May 2015 is $2.07 billion.

“Subsidy and SURE-P payments are also made from the Excess Crude Account.

“FG’s share from the ECA during the period was N3.29 trillion.

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PDP thugs beat up APC witnesses at Ekiti tribunal.

National Chairman, All Progressives Congress, John Odigie Oyegun

Thugs suspected to be loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State on Tuesday beat up witnesses who testified for the All Progressives Congress before the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal.

The tribunal is hearing a petition filed by the APC senatorial candidate for Ekiti Central, Gbenga Olofin, against the return of Senator Fatimat Rasaki of the PDP.

Olofin on Tuesday closed his case at the tribunal after calling eight witnesses while his opponent, Rasaki, opened her defence by being the first witness to testify in support of her election.

The Tribunal Chairman, Justice A. N. Erabor, admitted the voter register in evidence after listening to a counter-argument between the petitioner’s counsel, Yemi George; and respondent’s lawyer, Jude Ogodi.

But the hoodlums, who had waited outside the courtroom during proceedings, unleashed terror on the petitioner’s witnesses and supporters as they came out of the courtroom.

The thugs also laid ambush at the gate of the court complex for the APC members and supporters, most of whom fled in different directions immediately they spotted the hoodlums.

The riot policemen attached to the tribunal had to smuggle the witnesses out of the premises in a Golf car to an unknown location.

Justice Erabor expressed shock at the violence and warned parties to the case before the tribunal that he would no longer tolerate such in the future.

Olofin however said he was happy about the admissibility of the voter register and other documents, saying that would serve the cause of justice but described the attack on his witnesses and supporters as “barbaric.”

He said the violence could scare other witnesses from giving evidence at the tribunal.

The spokesperson for Olofin, Akogun Tai Oguntayo, said the victims of the attack had been receiving treatment in a private hospital in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

One of the victims, one Lateef Subairu, received a deep cut in the eye. An independent broadcaster from Lagos (name witheld) was also beaten to a pulp.

Another APC supporter, Igbalajobi Olaiya, was beaten and rendered naked by the thugs who tore his clothes.

“It is becoming worrisome. If they have nothing to hide, they should allow justice to take its natural cause. We believe it was because of the admissibility of the documents tendered on Tuesday by the tribunal that made them to be jittery,” Oguntayo said.

But the PDP denied that the attackers were known to the party. It advised the APC to check for enemies within its fold for the attack on its members.

The PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Jackson Adebayo, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, denied that the PDP members carried out the attack.

Adebayo described the allegation that the party was behind the attack as “malicious.”

He said, “It is laughable and malicious for the APC to allege that members of our party beat up their members. It is known to everybody within and outside Ekiti that the APC’s house is divided.

“They should check within and trace the attack to one of the splinter groups in their party. For them to blame the PDP for their woe is an attempt to promote falsehood and malicious agenda of the party.”

The three-man panel headed by Justice A.N. Erabor, with Justices A.T. Lamina and P.A. Obayi as members, had on May 11 appealed to security agencies to provide security for the judges, lawyers, politicians and other members of the public.

In his opening remarks, Justice Erabor had described the panel’s assignment as critical and crucial and that it must be diligently prosecuted. He said the tribunal would handle all matters dispassionately within 180 days, in line with Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution.

He said, “If you notice any infraction in the course of the proceedings, just call our attention to it. We don’t want any frivolous allegation against any of the members of this tribunal.

“Nobody has monopoly of knowledge. I expect everybody to play his role professionally so that all the issues can be handled firmly and fairly.

“The Supreme Court has set a time frame of 180 days in line with Section 285 subsections 6 and 7 of the 1999 Constitution. This law is sacrosanct because of the sui generic nature of the Election Petitions Tribunal and it is on this basis that we have to avoid unnecessary distraction.

“We are appealing to the security agencies to provide security for the judges, lawyers, politicians and other members of the public.”

The APC candidate for the Ekiti South Senatorial District, Senator Tony Adeniji is also challenging the victory of Mrs. Biodun Olujimi of the PDP before the tribunal.

The APC is equally challenging the victories recorded by the candidates of the PDP in Ado I, Ise Orun, Ekiti South West I and Oye I State constituencies in the election.

CBN extends BVN deadline till October 31

The Central Bank of Nigeria has extended the deadline for the Bank Verification Number exercise till October 31.

A statement by the CBN said the decision to extend the BVN registration was due to passionate appeals from the public for the extension of the exercise after the expiration of the earlier deadline on Tuesday.

The apex bank said it noticed with satisfaction the level of compliance among the banking public and also acknowledged the difficulties which the people have gone through in the last few days in the quest to beat the registration timeline.

It added that arrangements are being made to enroll bank customers in Diaspora in the next few days.

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President Buhari appoint Mrs Amina Bala zakari acting INEC chairman as Professor Jega bows out of office.

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Mrs Amina Bala Zakari as the Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the exit of Prof. Attahiru Jega.

Jega’s five-year tenure ended on Tuesday.

In a statement signed by the Director Communication, Haruna Imrana, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation Danladi Kifasi stated that Zakari’s appointment takes effect from 30th June pending the appointment of a substantive Chairman.

Zakari is presently a National Electoral Commissioner at INEC.

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Governor Aregbesola pays workers December salary.

Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola

The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Osun State, Mr. Jacob Adekomi,  said on Tuesday, that Governor Rauf Aregbesola has approved the payment of December, 2014 salary for workers in the state.

Adekomi, who said this at a press conference he addressed after a meeting with the government delegation led by Chief of Staff, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, added that the governor also approved the payment of the 30 per cent balance

of November salaries of some workers who were yet to be paid in full.

The NLC boss, however, said workers would not suspend their strike despite the payment of their one month salary out of seven months.

The Head of Service, Mr. Sunday Owoeye, also confirmed that workers had started receiving alerts for balance of November and December 2014 salaries.

He said this in response to an inquiry earlier sent to him by our corespondent through text message.

Owoeye’s text read, ” They are already receiving alerts for balance of November, and part of December, 2014. A journey of 1000km starts with one step.  The man who removes a mountain starts by carrying stones away.”

But Adekomi explained that most workers would not get anything from the one month salary paid because their banks would use the meager money for loan repayment and interest.

According to Adekomi, most workers will not have anything left to feed themselves let alone transport themselves to their places of work and because of this, he stressed that the strike would continue.

The NLC chairman said, ” We appreciate the efforts of the government to see that salary and pension arrears are settled without further delay . Our negation with government is that out of eight months owed us, the minimum we can take is give months to resume work.

“As it  is now, the strike continues while negotiations also continue. I appeal to all workers in the state to continue to stay at home until further notice.

“This payment is as good as no payment, because all deductions must have been made by our various banks. Because of this , there won’t be money for us to transport ourselves to work and feed our families.

“Until we have enough money to feed and for our transportation to work, we will not resume work. The strike continues.”

The governor had on June 14 promised to pay workers salaries  in a statement made available to our correspondent by his media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon.

Most workers were  being owed seven months salaries but the statement was silent on whether the governor would pay all outstanding salaries  or he would pay part.

The statement read in part, Before  the end of June, workers would be paid their salaries.”

The governor stated that he had a great dream for the state and that was why he was in a hurry to begin many programmes which had earned him applause even outside the country.

He said further,  “The dream has not gone awry and it is a clear vision that Osun must be on its feet, self-reliant and be a reference point in Nigeria. The race to ensure development within the first term of Aregbesola was informed by the fear of what is happening now.

“Aregbesola wanted an Osun that is self-reliant. That Osun, almost two decades after its creation, could not boast of tax-paying companies speaks volume about the magnitude of the works that awaited the Aregbesola administration.

“But he did not shy away from this task of industrialisation. Within his first term, his government had caused investors to bring up companies such as the Omoluabi Garment Factory, Osogbo, Adulawo/RLG Technology company in Ilesa.”

NNPC spent N3.7trilion without approval - Adams Oshiomole

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the last three years withheld and spent N3.7 trillion oil revenue without budgetary provision and approval.

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, disclosed this to State House correspondent after the National Economic Council meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to him, a total of N8.1 trillion generated from the oil sales during the period ought to have been remitted to the Federation account.

But instead, the governor said only N4.3 trillion was remitted to the Federation Account.

He also disclosed that the former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spent $2 billion from the Excess Crude Account between November last year and May this year without approval.

He said: “This is the first time we had a National Economic Council meeting in which under the instructions of the President, NNPC and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation was compelled to provide information in black and white on issues as it relates to the total sales of Nigeria crude from 2012 to May 2015. This never happened before.

“What we saw from those numbers, which I believe Nigerians are entitled to know, is that whereas the NNPC claimed to have earned about N8.1 trillion, what NNPC paid into the Federation Account between 2012 and May 2015 was N4.3 trillion and NNPC withheld and spent N3.7 trillion.

“The cost of running NNPC is much more than running the Federal Government.”

He said that $4.1 billion was in Excess Crude Account as at November 2014 while the Accountant General’s Office reported that the balance as at today was $2.1 billion.

To this end, he said that Okonjo-Iweala spent $2 billion from the account without any approval by NEC.

Four state governors have been selected into a committee to probe the accounts.

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Senator shehu Sani knocks PDP for anti-Buhari remarks.

Shehu Sanni

A Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, said on Monday that it was morally wrong for the Peoples Democratic Party to say that President Muhammadu Buhari was too slow in just one month into his four-year administration.

He said the PDP antic was to rush President Buhari into the ‘landmines’ it had set for the administration after its painful defeat at the March 28 presidential election.

According to him, the PDP government had destroyed Nigeria and its economy as well as impoverished Nigerians in the last 16 years of ruling the country.

Sani spoke to newsmen shortly after his visit to the National Library, Kaduna.

Sani, a pro-democracy activist, said President Buhari was too experienced to fall into the ‘devilish’ tricks of the PDP, noting that the President’s current pace was deliberate and calculated to work in the best interest of Nigerians.

The former president of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria added that the Jonathan administration laid a lot of land mines, snares and traps for President Buhari.

Sani said, “President Muhammadu Buhari’s pace is not deliberate, but a calculated and deliberate acts to ensure that the steps he takes are in the best interest of Nigeria and in the best interest of our people.

“The Jonathan administration had laid a lot of landmines, snares and traps. You can’t rush President Muhammadu Buhari into such landmines, snares and traps. His critics want him to fall into such traps.

“Those who are criticising Mr. President are the agents of the past. However, despite the challenges of the APC, Nigeria cannot go back to the PDP. The PDP represents evil and we are paying the price of allowing the PDP to rule Nigeria for 16 years.

”It is only people that are shameless that will be critical of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari, after piling such enormous debt for our country; after looting the treasury of our country; after allowing blood to flow in all parts of Nigeria. Now, you are talking about the government being slow. I think they are very unfair.”

Okonjo-iweala spent $2.1bilion without approval, says FG

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The National Economic Council, chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday accused a former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, of spending $2.1bn from the Excess Crude Account without authorisation.

“We looked at the numbers for the Excess Crude Account. The last time the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, reported to the council, and it is in the minutes, she reported by November 2014 that we had $4.1 bn.

“Today, the Accountant-General Office reported we have $2.0bn. Which means the honourable minister spent $2.1bn without authority of the NEC and that money was not distributed to states, it was not paid to the three tiers of government,” Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole told State House correspondents after the NEC’s 58th meeting in Abuja.

The ‘unauthorised’ spending, according to the economic council, is among the several anomalies discovered in the management of the nation’s economy between 2012 and May 2015.

Within the period, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was said to have earned a total of N8.1 tn but remitted only N4.3tn.

Consequently, the Federal Government has constituted Oshiomhole, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai; Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel; and Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, into a panel to probe the NNPC and the ECA between 2012 and May, 2015.

Oshiomhole, el-Rufai, Emmanuel and the Zamfara State Governor, Abdulazeez Yari, jointly briefed journalists at the end of the meeting.

Yari told the journalists, through the Director of Funds, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. M.K. Dikwa, that council members received the report of the ECA and unremitted funds by the NNPC.

He said, “On that line, a four-man committee consisting of the governors of Edo, Gombe, Kaduna and Akwa Ibom states was constituted to go through the books of the NNPC and Excess Crude as well as the Federation Account.

”The four-man committee will check the books of the NNPC, most especially the issue of excess crude and what is not remitted into the Federation Account.

“The Federal Government, in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria, will look inwards to see how to support and how much they will give to states, especially on the issue of outstanding salaries owed by the states and even the Federal Government.”

Shedding new light on what transpired at the NEC meeting, Oshiomhole said the NNPC and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were compelled for the first time to provide information on the total sales of Nigeria’s crude from 2012 to May 2015.

The Edo governor said, “We are talking about transparency; we are talking about change. And what we saw from those numbers, which I believe that Nigerians are entitled to know, is that whereas the NNPC claimed to have earned N8.1tn, what NNPC paid into the Federation Account from 2012 to May 2015 was N4.3tn.

“What it means is that the NNPC withheld and spent N3.8 tn.

“The major revelation here is that the entire federation, that is the Federal Government, the states and all the 774 local governments, the amount the NNPC paid into the Federation Account for distribution to these three tiers of government came to N4.3 tn and the NNPC alone took and spent N3.8tn.

“This means that the cost of running the NNPC is much more than the cost of running the Federal Government. That tells you how much is missing, what is mismanaged and what is stolen. There are huge figures.”

Oshiomhole said the only lawful way decreed by the Constitution was that if the NNPC needed to spend money, it needed to prepare its budget like every other business enterprise, get it scrutinised by the executive and then forward same to the National Assembly for appropriation.

He added, “If the Federal Government cannot spend without appropriation, why should any agency spend without appropriation.

“This is what the Constitution provided for and this is what President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to do; henceforth all money must go to the Federation Account.

“If you were doing that, you would not have a situation where the NNPC alone will spend N3.8trn and remit to the federal, states and local governments N4.3trn, which means NNPC is taking about 47 per cent and that explains all the leakages you are talking about.”

El-Rufai recalled that he was part of the decision to put in place the ECA during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo between 2004 and 2005 as an administrative arrangement to save for a rainy day.

He said the account was set up in order to be accountable such that every state and local government would know what they had in the account though they could not spend it.

He said, “The Excess Crude Account is 52 per cent owned by the Federal Government and 48 per cent owned by the states and the local governments.

“So the decision of the NEC is to set up this committee of four to look at the operations of the Excess Crude Account and make recommendations to council on its future.

“The other thing the committee will do is to look at the operations of the Federation Account, particularly the shortfall and again come back to council with very clear recommendations as to what to do.

“We have not been given a time frame but as you can imagine state governments are under pressure, many of our state governments are unable to pay salaries on time without recourse to borrowing, so this is very important to us.

“This is an all-governors’ committee; we wear the shoes and we know where they pinch. So we are going to do this as quickly as possible.

“The next meeting of the council is on July 23; we hope to complete our work and be in a position to report to council on that day. So within the next one month, we will be done by God’s grace.”

Oil barons didn't sponsor us,Saraki,Dogara reply Akande.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki

The Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Monday described as baseless a claim by the former All Progressives Congress Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, that their elections on June 9 were sponsored by oil barons.

Saraki and Dogara stated this in separate statements by their aides in Abuja on Monday.

Akande, in a widely publicised statement on Sunday, had alleged that oil barons who never liked President Muhammadu Buhari`s anti-corruption stance, sponsored the elections of Saraki and Dogara in a bid to stifle the new government.

Akande also alleged that some splinter groups within the APC were aligning with old and new Peoples Democratic Party forces to launch a platform for the 2019 polls.

Dogara, in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, challenged Akande to name the oil barons.

The speaker said he expected Akande, an elder statesman, to play his fatherly role at a period of disputes within the APC’s family by seeking ways to reconcile the factions, rather than attacking his person.

Dogara said that the allegations existed only in Akande’s “imagination”, adding that he won his election based on the support of his colleagues, his competence and capacity to preside over the House as the Speaker.

The speaker recalled that the first investigative motion passed by the House after his election was to probe the alleged crude oil swap contracts awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

He noted that it did not make sense for him to back the probe of the same oil sector’s stakeholders Akande alleged to have sponsored his election.

Part of the statement read, “It is baseless and lacking in substance and merit and can best be described as figment of Chief Akande`s imagination.

“We challenge Chief Akande to name the so-called oil barons whom he alleged sponsored the election of the speaker.

“In case Chief Akande does not know, the first investigative motion adopted by the 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of the Speaker was to investigate the allegation of fraud in the oil-swap contract awarded by the NNPC.

“A resolution for investigation into the allegation was passed to constitute an ad-hoc committee to investigate the NNPC as well as its subsidiary, Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, over the swap contracts.

“How then can the House, under the leadership of Mr. Speaker, order investigation into activities of those who allegedly sponsored its election?”
The speaker claimed that his anti-corruption stance was not in doubt as the Legislative Agenda of the 8th House of Representatives adequately captured it.

“Mr. Speaker has on different occasions reiterated his resolve to compliment President Buhari`s anti-

corruption stance and insists that the present crop of leaders don’t have any excuse to give to Nigerians on the change promised them before and during the election that brought the APC into power”, he said.

Also, the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, described the allegations as mischievous and totally false.

Okocha, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said Akande’s claim gave a negative and dirty impression that the emergence of the senate president was aimed at sabotaging the anti-corruption posture of Buhari’s government and the ‘Change agenda’ of the APC.

He said, “Ordinarily, we would have ignored the report, but for the sole reason that some undiscerning readers might mistake the fiction for the facts.

“We also wish to state unequivocally that it was wrong and mischievous for the statement by Chief Akande to link what happened on the floor of both chambers to some unnamed oil barons.

“We dare say that the entire story was the figment of the imagination of the author.”

Okocha added that Saraki, as the chairman of an ad hoc committee in the 7th Senate, exposed the fraud and mismanagement in the oil sector.

He said, “Until Saraki raised his motion on the floor of the Senate, no one was in the picture of the rot in the sector or took any action.”

“Senator Saraki will be the last person the oil baron will want to see as Senate President. No doubt, we make bold to state that Saraki is the last person to be so sponsored by the oil barons or cabals.

“In that position, Saraki did not only lead his colleagues in exposing the rot in the scheme, but made very strong recommendations on how the system could be reformed and made corruption- free.”

Okocha said that it was on records that after Saraki’s motion on the floor of the Senate, the House of Representatives followed it up with the oil subsidy probe.

He recalled that the ministers of Finance and Petroleum were summoned and, at least, over N500bn was saved.

Okocha said, “During the Senate hearing on the missing $20bn, for those who attended the public hearing, Senator Saraki led the onslaught of difficult questions to the Minister of Finance, Minister of Petroleum and other federal agencies, despite being in the ruling party then.

“To this effect, Senator Saraki refused to sign the final copy of the committee’s report but rather, put forward a minority report with a press statement that followed suit.”

He added that Saraki opposed the inclusion of kerosene subsidy in the 2015 budget, adding that the senate president rejected the Petroleum Swap deal by the NNPC.

Okocha stated, “Let it be known, therefore, that the Senate Presidency of Dr. Bukola Saraki would not in any way be a stumbling block against President Buhari’s posture against anti- corruption.

“Rather, the 8th Senate under him as the president would give all necessary legislative support to the administration to fight and reduce corruption as his previous actions and bold steps taken against the so called oil barons indicate that Saraki is committed to anti-corruption.”

He said that Saraki was elected unopposed as the Senate President, adding that it was a lie that his election was sponsored by oil barons.

“Senator Bukola Saraki is determined and focused to achieve for the Senate targeted legislative agenda and he is committed to support President Buhari to deliver on his promises to the people of Nigeria,” Okocha said.

APC insists on Ekweremadu's removal.

Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu

The battle for the control of the National Assembly may be long drawn as the leadership of the All Progressives Congress on Monday insisted on removing the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, of the minority Peoples Democratic Party.

One of our correspondents learnt on Monday that the ruling APC was still miffed that Ekweremadu emerged as the deputy senate president and had vowed never to allow “a senator from a minority party take over the duties statutorily assigned for the majority party.”

A leader of the APC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that Ekweremadu as deputy senate president would hamper the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

The APC leader said, “As deputy senate leader, Ekweremadu is automatically the Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment. This is a sensitive position that, statutorily, should not be held by the minority.

“Ekweremadu and his PDP co-travellers will hamper the policies of the Buhari government. By the virtue of Senate rules, a member of the minority is not supposed to be the deputy senate leader; so, he is occupying the post illegally.

“We know the body language of some of these elements to anti-corruption. Nigerians know the stance of Buhari on corruption and insecurity. These elements occupying positions in the National Assembly must be removed. Otherwise, this administration is dead on arrival.”

He said the President was in support of the candidacy of Senator Ahmed Lawan for the senate presidency and had told Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to support APC’s candidates for the principal posts.

“The President has refused to see Saraki and Dogara since they emerged as senate president and speaker respectively. Both Saraki and Dogara have done everything possible to see the President but he has shunned them because he is not happy about their conduct. You can see that the President has seen the Lawan group; this shows where his support lies,” the source added.

Meanwhile, barring any last minute changes, the National Executive Committee meeting of the APC will now hold on Friday.

National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, confirmed this to one of our correspondents in a text message on Monday.

In response to an inquiry from The inner room as to whether the party’s NEC would meet in Abuja on Tuesday, Odigie-Oyegun replied, “Necessarily on Friday.”

Inner room had earlier learnt that some party leaders at various levels had impressed it upon the party hierarchy to convene the high level meeting in order to find an amicable solution to the crisis threatening the party’s survival.

Members of the 48-member NEC are due to arrive in Abuja on Thursday, our correspondent learnt.

A national caucus meeting said to have been scheduled to hold on Monday was cancelled.

One of our correspondents, who visited both the party’s national secretariat and the residence of Odigie-Oyegun, reported that there was no sign that any meeting would hold at either of the venues as of 8.05pm on Monday.

The APC has been in crisis since the inauguration of the National Assembly on June 9 following the emergence of Bukola Saraki and Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.

The party had announced Senator Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as its sole candidates for the two positions.

Matters were made worse when the Senate President ignored a party directive that the remaining four leadership positions in both chambers of the National Assembly should be conceded to those who “lost out” during the inauguration.

New National economic council sets up committee to probe NNPC missing Funds

The National Economic Council chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday set up a four-member committee to scrutinise the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Excess Crude Account managed by the last administration. 

The probe was meant to unravel N3.8trillion not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC between 2012 and May 2015 as well as $2.1bn said to have been deducted from the ECA without approval.

Zamfara State Governor, Abdulazeez Yari; Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State; Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; and Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State briefed State House correspondents at the end of the 58th meeting of the council held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. 

Yari said through a briefing by the Director of Funds, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. M.K. Dikwa, council members got the report of the ECA and unremitted funds by NNPC.

He said, “On that line, a four-man committee consisting of the governors of Edo, Gombe, Kaduna and Akwa Ibom State was constituted to go through the books of ‎NNPC and Excess Crude as well as the Federation Account.

‎”The four-man committee will check the books of NNPC, most especially the issue of excess crude and what is not remitted into the Federation Account.

“The FG, in conjunction with the CBN, will look inwards to see how to support, how much they will give to states especially on the issue of outstanding salaries owed by the states and even the Federal Government.”

Explaining further, Oshiomhole said the meeting was the first time that the NNPC and the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were compelled to provide information on issues concerning the total sales of Niger‎ia’s crude from 2012 to May 2015, saying that has never happened before. 

He said presentations revealed that although NNPC claimed it earned N8.1trillion between 2012 and May 2015, the corporation only paid N4.3trillion into the Federation Account.

The governor said, “We are talking about transparency; we are talking about change. And what we saw from those numbers which ‎I believe that Nigerians are entitled to know, is that whereas the NNPC claimed to have earned N8.1 trillion, what NNPC paid into the Federation Account from 2012 to May 2015 was N4.3 trillion.

“What it means is that NNPC withheld and spent N3.8 trillion.

“The major revelation here is that the entire federation, that is the Federal Government, the states and all the 774 local governments, the amount the NNPC paid into the Federation Account for distribution to these three tiers of government came to N4.3 trillion and NNPC alone took and spent N3.8 trillion. 

“This means that the cost of running NNPC is much more than the cost of running the Federal Government. That tells you how much is missing, what is mismanaged and what is stolen. There are huge figures.”

The governor said the basic law was that one does not sell and spend. 

He said there was no enterprise manager who goes to the market, sells and just begin to spend, otherwise nobody needs to budget. ‎

Oshiomhole said the only lawful way decreed by the Constitution was that if NNPC needed to spend money, it is obliged to prepare its budget like every other business enterprise, get it scrutinised by the executive and then forwarded to the National Assembly which will appropriate on it accordingly. 

He wondered that if the Federal Government could not spend without appropriation, why should any agency of government do that.

Nicki Minaj shows off her mum for the first time at the BET awards.

Rapper, Nicki Minaj who won best female Hip hop artist at the BET award showed off her beautiful Mum to the entire world. She looks so much like her Mum.