Matthew Iduoriyekemwen Wins Pro-Sheriff Edo PDP Governorship Primary

A former member of the Edo ‎State House of Assembly, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, has won the Peoples Democratic Party gubernatorial primary organised by the Ali-Modu Sheriff faction of the party at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin.

Iduoriyekemwen, who represented Edo in the Niger Delta Development Commission, and a member representing Egor and Ikpoba-Okha constituency in the House of Representatives, Johnson Agbonayima, had been cleared to contest the ticket of the party.‎

Voting commenced at 4:24pm, with the accredited delegates casting their ballot papers according to their respective local government areas.

However, the chairman of the electoral committee, Ahmed Gulak, said Iduoriyekemwen won with a total of 481 valid votes after his opponent, Johnson Agbonayima, voluntarily stepped down.

Gulak declared the former Majority Leader as the winner of the exercise at about 5:20pm on Wednesday.

He explained that out of a total of 677 accredited delegates who participated in the election, 502 votes were cast while 21 votes were rendered invalid.

No official from the Independent National Electoral Commission was, however, present to monitor the exercise.

In his address, the ex-political adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan ‎noted that Iduoriyekemwen would fly the flag of the opposition party in the September 10 governorship polls and be returned as Governor.

‘Authentic primary’

The National Vice Chairman of the party under Ali-Modu Sheriff group, Mr. Cairo Ojougboh, said that ‎Sheriff remained the authentic National Chairman of the PDP.

Ojougboh also described Wednesday’s exercise as the only authentic gubernatorial primary ‎of the party.

‎ “I want to state for the benefit of Nigerians that this primary (election) today is the only authentic primary for Edo State. If you are in doubt, go to INEC and find our whether I have lied or not; I am a man of integrity and I don’t lie,” he said.
“I want to also state that the only chairman of PDP recognised by law in Nigeria is Ali-Modu Sheriff and his National Working Committee.” 

http://punchng.com/iduoriyekemwen-wins-pro-sheriff-edo-pdp-guber-primary/

Microsoft reveals update to Windows 10

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It's almost a year since Microsoft launched Windows 10 - which means two things.

Firstly, there's an Anniversary Update on the way. With that, some enhancements to Cortana and the web browser, Edge - as well as an attempt to reinvent the stylus.

Secondly, there's only one month left before the Windows 10 free upgrade offer ends. After that date, it will cost $119 (£89).

In a phone call with the BBC, head of Windows Yusuf Mehdi said more than 350 million devices were now being powered by Windows 10.

It has undoubtedly been a strong first year. Aside from the backlash from some users who felt Windows 10 was being forced upon them, the operating system is generally regarded as a welcome return to form for the company that still powers the vast majority of the world's desktop and laptop computers.

"Customer satisfaction is at an all time high," Mr Mehdi told me.

"We've had over 135 billion hours of usage since the launch."

Satya's gamble

When Windows 10 was launched, the big news was that it would be made available as a free upgrade for Windows 7 or 8 users, on any device with hardware capable of running it.

At a time when Microsoft was well and truly left behind by the smartphone boom, the Windows 10 strategy, put into action by the then-new chief executive Satya Nadella, was certainly a bold move.

A year on, we're starting to be able to look at whether Mr Nadella made the right call.

"Despite progress towards the one billion goal, Microsoft faces the reality that consumer engagement is far greater on mobile than PC or tablet and this continues to be a significant disadvantage," said Geoff Blaber from CCS Insight.

Mr Blaber suggests Microsoft is already well down a path that has it placed as a company now almost entirely focused on businesses rather than general consumers.

"Over 300 million devices is solid progress for Windows 10 and Microsoft has successfully turned the tide of public opinion in the wake of Windows 8," he said.

"Nonetheless, Microsoft's future is moving towards a far greater focus on enterprise than consumer.

"Microsoft is successfully transforming Windows into a service and creating the platform for a future that's likely to be more about enterprise services, cloud and artificial intelligence than consumer computing."

When I interviewed Mr Nadella last year, I put it to him that people had historicallyonly used Windows begrudgingly. It was the operating system at school, at work, and on the only computer you could afford.

It was the only comment that had the usually ice-cool Mr Nadella a little riled.

With Windows 10, he insisted, people would come to not just need Windows, but want it. Perhaps even love it. The usage statistics show Microsoft has done well in getting people on Windows 10.

But to what end? The company is still well behind when it comes to powering devices that live in our pockets, rather than on our desks.

Tempting updates

The Anniversary Update, which will be released on 2 August, includes a hefty number of new features.

As has been a big trend across the tech industry this entire year, Microsoft's voice-activated assistant Cortana is becoming an even more integral part of the operating system.

On Windows 10-powered devices, Cortana will soon sit above the lock screen. That means you won't have to sign in to your device in order to interact with Cortana. It's a nice time saver - although the idea is already in place on Android and iOS.

Also in the time-saving pile is Windows Ink. The company has shared some infoon Windows Ink already, but the Anniversary Update will be when it makes its full public debut.

"In this release you're going to see the pen become a first-class method of input," promised Mr Mehdi, explaining how the pen - a stylus, in other words - could now be used to scribble notes quickly on to the screen.

Like Cortana, much of Windows Ink's appeal will be that you don't need to unlock the device in order to use it. You just click the pen and begin writing on the screen.

Also in the update: more uses for Windows Hello. For a while, Hello has been able to log you into a Windows 10 device just by recognising your face (or fingerprint).

Now Microsoft hopes to expand that capability to websites. Mr Mehdi envisions a time when you can sign in to your favourite websites using your face rather than a password - an obvious improvement at a time when security experts are questioning the long-term suitability of passwords.

The function works within the Edge browser. Web developers only have to add a small amount of code, Mr Mehdi says, in order to enable Hello log-ins on their site.

Don't expect many of them just yet, mind. Microsoft couldn't give me any examples of websites that were planning to incorporate log-ins via Hello.

The company pointed out that Windows 10 apps made by iHeartRadio and Dropbox already supported the function - though that had been the case for months, and did not include those firms' websites. A long way to go on that idea, then.

You could say this example alone underlines Microsoft's challenge at the moment.

It isn't having any trouble coming up with new and interesting ideas. But where Microsoft's Windows team still appears to struggle is in getting others - be they users or developers - to be as excited about Windows 10 as they are.

Return ‘stolen’ Gbaramatu symbol of authority, Tompolo tells military

Former Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo

WANTED former Niger Delta militant kingpin, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, on Tuesday made a passionate appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the Nigerian Army to return the golden sword, which was allegedly seized by the military during the invasion of the area last month.

The ‘golden sword’, which is also referred to as the traditional symbol of authority, according to Tompolo, belongs to Gbaramatu Kingdom and was allegedly removed from the ‘Egbesu Shrine’ during soldiers’ invasion of Oporoza, headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom, in Warri South-West of Delta State.

The embattled former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta stated this in an open letter he addressed to President Buhari on Tuesday. In the letter, Tompolo explained that the ‘symbol of authority’ was seized while the military was searching for him over his alleged involvement in recent series of attacks on oil facilities, which he had consistently denied.

The Ibe-Ebidouwei of Ijaw Nation, who also described himself as the Chief Priest of the Egbesu Shrine, alleged that other property worth several millions of naira belonging to Gbaramtu indigenes were still missing.

He said, “Your military has not returned the golden sword (symbol of authority) and the innocent students as well as the palace staff picked up at Oporoza town, on Saturday, May 28, 2016, to Gbaramatu Kingdom.

“Today is exactly 31 days after the invasion of the traditional headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Oporoza town, by your military, led by Brig.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya of the 4th Brigade, Benin City, in search of me, with the allegation that I am the one behind the bombing and destruction of crude oil facilities in the Niger Delta region, and the incident happened in my absence.

“But I was informed that the army was on the loose, and committed so much abomination in the community. Imagine, the traditional ruler of the kingdom was literally placed on house arrest for one week.

“As I said in my previous publications, the military made away with the Symbol of Authority of the Gbaramatu people from the Egbesu Shrine, which I am the Chief Priest. They also made away with other valuables, worth several millions of naira from the community. The most annoying one is the purported arrest of 10 young promising men, most of whom are orphans, who are secondary school students sitting for the West African Senior Secondary School Examinations, and other palace staff, and labelled them as members of the Niger Delta Avengers.”

Tompolo, who is wanted by the EFCC for money laundering, added, “As I write you now, these innocent young promising men are still with your military for no reason. This is truly man’s inhumanity to man in our own country. We are presently being treated like conquered ones because of crude oil.

“This was how they arrested Chevron Nigeria Limited staff (employees) on routine duty in Kokodiagbene community of Gbaramatu Kingdom, and labelled them members of the Niger Delta Avengers. It took spirited efforts by the leaders of the kingdom and other well-meaning Nigerians to convince the military that the arrested men were not involved in pipeline destruction.”

Presidency kicks as Saraki says cabal has hijacked Buhari govt

The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Monday, alleged that a powerful cabal within the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government had hijacked power from the retired general.

But the Presidency said Saraki’s claim was not only ridiculous but also preposterous since it was not backed by facts and detailed information. Saraki, in a statement signed by him in Abuja, however, reiterated his innocence in the charges preferred against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal and at the FCT High Court.

He also vowed to use all legal means available to resist any attempt by forces within the Buhari’s government to persecute him for upholding his fundamental rights.

The Senate President expressed his willingness to go to jail instead of succumbing to the agenda of the cabal in the Buhari’s government.

He said, “What has become clear is that there is now a government within the government of President Buhari, who have seized the apparatus of executive powers to pursue their nefarious agenda.

“This latest onslaught on the legislature represents a clear and present danger to the democracy Nigerians fought hard to win and preserve.

“The suit filed on behalf of the Federal Government suggests that perhaps some forces in the Federal Republic have not fully embraced the fact that the Senate’s rules and procedures govern how the legislative body adjudicates and resolves its own disputes.

“Let it be abundantly clear, both as a citizen and as a foremost legislator, I will continue to rise above all the persecution and distraction that have been visited on me.

“Without doubt, the highest of those responsibilities is the steadfast refusal to surrender to the subversion of our democracy and the desecration of the Senate. This is a cross I am prepared to carry.

“If  (my not) yielding to the nefarious agenda of a few individuals, who are bent on undermining our democracy and destabilising the Federal Government to satisfy their selfish interests is the alternative to losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest.

“In the words of Martin Luther King Junior, ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at a time of challenge and controversy’.”

In the Presidency’s reaction, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Monday, said Saraki’s claim would have been more worthwhile if he had backed it up with more information.He said the President of the Senate would have taken the matter beyond the realm of fiction if he had proceeded to identify those who he claimed had constituted a government within the government. The presidential aide said without that proof, Saraki’s allegation was not worth the paper on which it was written as anybody could wake from a troubled sleep and say anything.

The statement read, “But as it stands, the allegation is not even worth the paper on which it was written, as anybody can wake from a troubled sleep and say anything.

The Attorney General of the Federation is the Chief Law Officer of the country.  It is within his constitutional powers to determine who has infringed upon the law and who has not.

“Pretending to carry an imaginary cross is mere obfuscation, if indeed, a criminal act has been committed.  But we leave the courts to judge.

“To claim that President Muhammadu Buhari is anybody’s stooge is not only ridiculous but also preposterous. It is not in the character of our President.”

Saraki insisted that the Senate leadership, being led by him, was innocent of the charges filed by the AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami, at the FCT High Court on the allegations of forgery of the Senate Standing Rules document.

He said, “In our view, the charges filed by the Attorney General represent a violation of the principle of the Separation of Powers between the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch as enshrined in our Constitution.

“Furthermore, it is farcical to allege that a criminal act occurred during Senate’s procedural actions and the mere suggestion demonstrates a desperate overreach by the office of the Attorney General.

“These trump-up charges are only another phase in the relentless persecution of the leadership of the Senate. This misguided action by the Attorney General begs the question, how does this promote the public interest and benefit the nation?”

He lamented that the current distractions were happening at a time when both the legislature and the executive arm of government should be working together to meet Nigeria’s many challenges.

Saraki said, “We are once again distracted by the Executive Branch’s inability to move beyond a leadership election among Senate peers.”

“It was not an election of Senate peers and Executive Branch participants. Over the past year, the Senate has worked to foster good relations with the Executive Branch.  It is in all of our collective interests to put aside divisions and get on with the nation’s business.”

Saraki expressed the fears that the current All Progressives Congress government in the country  risked alienating and losing the support of the very people who had trusted their national leaders to seek new and creative ways to promote a secure and prosperous Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who was arraigned with Saraki on Monday for alleged forgery of the Senate Order, alleged that the leadership of the Senate were being prosecuted by senior officials of Buhari’s government based on mere rumour.

Ekweremadu, in a statement signed by him in Abuja, said that vindictiveness and arrogance should not find a place in the nation’s democracy.

He said, “It is deeply troubling to note that people in high places, who swore to uphold the law, have dwindled into purveyors of falsehood and rumour, who seek to smear and tarnish the reputation of law-abiding and responsible citizens as well as cripple the hallowed institutions of democracy.”

The DSP said he decided to present himself to the FCT High Court on Monday as an ordinary citizen to plead “not guilty” to charges he  did not commit.

He said, “It is all the more disheartening that people, who should know better, use the colour of their office to pursue private vendetta against people they disagree with.

“This grotesque display of vindictiveness, arrogance and mindless targeting of innocent citizens should find no sanctuary in our democracy.

“Using the machinery of justice to create disorder is a dangerous and an invidious scheme that ultimately will lead Nigeria down the road to perdition.

“It is Senator Bukola Saraki and Senator Ike Ekweremadu today. Who knows whose turn it will be next?”

SCHOOL LIFE

Pope asks Roman Catholics to apologise to gays

June 28, 2016

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Pope Francis

Pope Francis has asked the Roman Catholic Church to apologise to gays for the way they are being treated, saying they deserve to be respected.

The pontiff said the Church had no right to judge homosexuals and should not be discriminated against.

The Pope, who spoke to reporters on his plane on his way from Armenia, also demanded the Church to seek forgiveness from other people it had marginalised, including women, the poor, and children forced into labour.

BBC reports that the Pope has been hailed by many in the gay community for his positive attitude towards homosexuals while some conservative Catholics have criticised him for making comments they described as ambiguous about sexual morality.

Pope said, “I will repeat what the catechism of the (Roman Catholic) Church says, that they (homosexuals) should not be discriminated against, that they should be respected, accompanied pastorally.

“I think that the (Roman Catholic) Church not only should apologise to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologise to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by (being forced to) work. It must apologise for having blessed so many weapons.”

In 2013, Pope Francis reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church’s position that homosexual acts were sinful, but homosexual orientation was not.

 “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” he had said.

Meanwhile the Anglican Communinion Church of Nigeria and the Redeemed Christian Church of God have condemned the Pope’s tacit support for homosexuality, saying his call for apology was unfounded.

The Anglican Bishop of Remo, Rt. Rev. Michael Fape, said Pope’s call contradicted the Biblical stand on homosexuality and urged that the act should not be explained away in the guise of human rights.

He said, “Homosexuality is a biblical issue and it is abominable. It is one of the sins that God clearly enjoins children of Israel not to indulge in. So if anybody is into homosexuality, such a person is doing what is ungodly, unbiblical and what is against the mind of God.

“Pope as a Roman Catholic has a right to his opinion. The fact that somebody is a Pope does not make him God. God is the only one who is infallible on this issue. He is not saying the minds of those who are orthodox Christians and that does not make his stand the God  standard. There is no word that one can use to describe it in the guise of human rights. What is wrong is wrong.”

“Whatever is good (as punishment) for an adulterer, for a robber, a sorcerer, or a murderer is good for a homosexual. They are all in the same pedestal. God specifically says that a homosexual should be removed from the camp of those who are children of God. The punishment for homosexuals as far as the Anglican Church is concerned is having nothing to do with them by means of fellowship. If they repent, they should come back to the fellowship and confess that they have erred.”

The Head of Media and Public Relations of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Segun Adegbiji, urged Christians to discard the Pope’s comments, saying the position of God should prevail whenever there were disagreements on scriptural issues.

 “The RCCG is on the side of the Bible. Whatever the Bible wants the children of God to do is what we do. Anything that is ungodly and unscriptural, the RCCG will never support it. The apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ said when there is confrontational or conflict between what somebody in power is saying and what the Lord is saying, you go on the side of the Lord. We are not on the side of any apology,” Adegbiji said.

Ekiti NULGE rejects strike suspension, pulls out of NLC

A crisis of confidence has hit the Ekiti State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress as the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees on Monday suspended its affiliation indefinitely.

Rising from an emergency State Executive Council meeting in Ado Ekiti, the NULGE directed its members in Efon Alaye Local Government to continue with the strike until the harassment and assaults on workers by political thugs stopped.

The union said, henceforth, it would not be part of all the programmes and activities of the NLC.

The union in a communique signed by its state Chairman, Mr. Bunmi Ajimoko, and Secretary, Mr. Muyiwa Cole, said it was forced to take the hard decision after reviewing “the process leading to the abrupt and controversial suspension of the popular workers’ action.”

The NLC had on Friday suspended the 30-day-old strike after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government.

A member of NULGE told our correspondent that the labour leaders that signed the agreement departed from the generally agreed conditions by the labour unions in the state.

The union expressed shock, dissatisfaction and utter disappointment about the way the strike ended which it said contradicted the resolution of the affiliate unions in the NLC, including NULGE.

NULGE insisted on the payment of two months’ salaries and 2014 leave bonus in order to pacify its members.

“NULGE observed that government has jettisoned the implementation of the agreement it signed on the deployed local government workers of primary and secondary schools.

“Government is hereby advised to abide with the implementation of the agreement it willingly entered into in order to sustain industrial harmony.

“NULGE rejects in its entirety the apology of the NLC chairman, Mr. Ade Adesanmi, sent through the NULGE state chairman as belated as his roles and actions concerning the strike are premeditated.

“NULGE hereby suspends indefinitely its affiliation to the NLC in Ekiti State and dissociates itself from all its programmes and activities.”

Meanwhile, only few workers resumed work on Monday despite the suspension of the strike by the NLC.

Public Primary school pupils were seen returning to their various homes barely one and half hours after getting to their schools as the teachers failed to resume

But the state chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Samuel Akosile, in an interview with our correspondent, said the union would comply with the decision to suspend the strike.

“Since the NLC has suspended the strike, all teachers must comply with it because it was not the NUT that called for the strike in the first place,” he said.

No benefit in naira devaluation, Buhari insists

Naira notes

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said he did not see any benefit that the country could derive from the devaluation of the naira.

This is despite the implementation of the flexible exchange rate policy, which has somehow led to the devaluation of the nation’s currency.

Buhari spoke during the breaking of the Ramadan fast with members of the business community at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The President said he was not comfortable with the reports he was getting from the Central Bank of Nigeria for the devaluation of the currency.

He said the rate of the naira to the dollar had increased astronomically between August 1985 and now.

The President said, “What do we derive from that? How much benefit can we derive from this ruthless devaluation of the naira? I am not an economist, neither a businessman. I fail to appreciate what is the economic explanation.

“What has happened to us now is that we have maneuvered ourselves into a mono economy, which led to the collapse we are seeing now.

“A lot of responsibilities now fall on your (business community’s) shoulders now. You have a lot of investments, a lot of people you employ.”

Buhari also said 13 states had been identified as capable of producing rice that could feed the nation in 18 months.

The Chairman of Unilever Plc, Chief Kola Jamodu, on behalf of the business community, promised their support for the present administration in its efforts to revamp the economy.

Jamodu said the support was necessary because the private sector could not thrive if the economy was in disarray.

He also lauded the government’s move to diversify the economy, adding, “We are with you as you strive to reposition the Nigerian economy. We are very much in support of your move to diversify the economy.

“I have the mandate of the group to tell you that we will give you all the support, because if the economy is in disarray, the private sector cannot survive.”

Others, who attended the event, included Chief Femi Otedola, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr. Tony Elumelu, Mr. Wale Tinubu and Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija.

Naira falls to 351/dollar at black market

The naira fell to 351 to the United States dollar at the parallel market and slightly to 282 at the new interbank market on Monday.

Following the floating of the naira and the adoption of a single structure through the interbank/autonomous window, the currency closed last week at 281 to the greenback at the official market.

The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, in an interview with our correspondent, said the naira dropped to 351 at the parallel market from between 346 and 348 due to persistent liquidity issue.

He said, “Lack of liquidity in both the interbank and parallel markets is what is affecting the naira exchange rate to the dollar.

“Right now, the only thing that the market is scavenging for is the export proceeds. There is a liquidity crisis.”

Asked if demands have shifted away from the parallel market as a result of the new forex policy, Gwadabe said, “How can demand shift away from the parallel market when you have about 41 items that cannot obtain forex from the official market? You cannot completely kill the black market, you can only formalise it.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria, which has been intervening in the interbank market since it abandoned its peg of N197-199 to the dollar, asked for bid-offer quotes from currency traders on Monday as it sold dollars at the interbank market to boost liquidity, Reuters quoted traders to have said.

After abandoning the naira’s 16-month old exchange rate peg a week ago, the central bank sold dollars at an auction to clear a backlog of demand and keep markets active.

It sold an undisclosed amount of dollars on Monday. However, the interbank market traded a total volume of $32m just before the market closed, which traders attributed to the central bank’s intervention.

The interbank market opened at 8am with no activity for more than three hours.

“Liquidity is still relatively thin,” one trader said, adding that clients were waiting to see where the naira settled eventually before they would begin to participate in the market.

Currency traders on Monday said they had tightened the differential between bids and offers to N0.5 from one naira set when the currency was floated last week to try to boost trading and attract liquidity.

Prior to the old exchange rate peg, the currency market traded on N0.5 spreads, they said.

Nigeria’s interbank market has traded for six days after the central bank forex reforms. Traders are expecting substantial currency flows from oil companies and exporters to start to trickle in from this week, they said.

EFCC arrests Fayose’s ‘best friend’ over N4.7bn fraud

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a man, whom it described as the best friend of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State.

The suspect, Mr. Abiodun Agbele, it was learnt, allegedly helped Fayose to handle over N1.219bn during the Ekiti State governorship election in 2014.

The money was said to have been part of the N4.7bn that was siphoned from the imprest account of the Office of the National Security Adviser and deposited into the bank account of a company belonging to the sons of a former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro.

The PUNCH had reported last week that the EFCC alleged that Obanikoro conveyed about N1.219bn on an aircraft and handed it over to Agbele for onward delivery to Zenith Bank.

Agbele was said to have collected the money on behalf of Fayose and paid the money into the account of Fayose, who was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party at the time.

According to five Zenith Bank deposit slips made available to our correspondent, Agbele made deposits of over N900m into his own company account and Fayose’s own.

On June 26, 2014, Agbele made a deposit of N137m into a Zenith Bank account, with Account Number 1003126654, belonging to Ayodele Fayose with teller number 0556814.

On June 17, 2014, Agbele also deposited N100m into Account Number 1010170969 belonging to Spotless Investment Limited, a company owned by Fayose and his wife, Feyisetan.

On June 18, 2014, Agbele also made a deposit of N219, 490, 000 into the account of De Privateer Limited with Account Number 1013835889 and teller number 0505890. The company allegedly belongs to Agbele. On June 19, 2014, he also made  a deposit of N300m into the same account while a third deposit of N200m was made into the same account on June 23, 2014.

“Agbele is an associate of Fayose. We are currently looking for him because he has a lot of explanations to make. He held some of the money in trust for Fayose,” the EFCC source said.

 In his reaction, Fayose admitted that Agbele was a trusted friend who paid money into his account.

He, however, maintained that the money came from the management of Zenith Bank and private donations.

He said, “The management of Zenith Bank, which majorly funded my election, called me to a meeting where I was assured that the fund would be provided for my election.  I was asked to nominate a trusted ally to be related with and I nominated Mr. Abiodun Agbele.

“All the payments into Abiodun Agbele’s account domiciled in Zenith Bank were directly from Zenith Bank. In actual fact, the account was opened by Zenith Bank hurriedly at that time and Abiodun Agbele’s identity card, which ought to have been collected before the account, was opened, was only collected last week in the bank’s desperation to perfect the account obviously after submitting to the intimidation and harassment of the EFCC.

“Most of the funds posted into Agbele’s account were through the Ibadan, Akure and Lagos branches of the Zenith Bank and sometimes, they brought cash.”

Agbele’s account with Zenith Bank has since been frozen by the EFCC as well as those of Fayose and his company.

In a statement on Monday by Fayose’s Special Adviser, Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, the governor condemned the arrest of his friend.

Fayose maintained that his campaign was funded by Zenith Bank and not the ONSA.

The statement read in part, “Our attention has been drawn to the arrest of Mr. Abiodun Agbele by the EFCC and we wish to say that we encourage the EFCC to carry out its investigations without politics, as it is being done now.

“It must be pointed out that at no time was Mr. Abiodun Agbele invited by the EFCC, and if he had been invited, he would have honoured the invitation. Therefore, there is nothing to celebrate in his arrest if it is not political.

“As already pointed out, Governor Ayodele Fayose does not have anything to do with any fund from the ONSA. He has stated how his election was funded and Zenith Bank that he said funded his election has not denied doing so.

“Also, the person said to have been arrested is an adult and will defend himself when the time comes. Subjecting him to media trial, as the EFCC has been doing since the inception of this government, will only give our adversaries momentary sense of joy.

“We await reports of the EFCC investigations and we hope that the anti-corruption agency will be civil enough to allow an open and transparent trial in a competent court of law and not media trial just to get at Governor Fayose because of his uncompromising stance against the misrule of the All Progressives Congress/Buhari-led Federal Government.”

UK jails Nigerian pastor nine years

Samuel Kayode. 

A Nigerian accountant and part-time pastor in the United Kingdom, Samuel Kayode, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for stealing £4.1million.

Kayode was sentenced on Friday by Woolwich Crown Court in South London for defrauding Haberdashers’ Aske’s state schools in the UK.

The part-time pastor, who earned £57, 000 per annum, was convicted after being found guilty of £150,000 theft and £3.95million fraud.

Out of the £4.1million, only £800, 000 was recovered from him.

Described as “dishonest” and “greedy”, the court heard how Kayode lavished the stolen money on four women, his wife, Grace; a second ‘wife’ in Nigeria, Olubunmi Halima; and two other women in the UK.

British prosecutor, James Thacker, said he also bought luxury cars including a Mercedes, an Audi TT sports car and an Infiniti car with the money.

The court also heard how for seven years the convict looted the accounts of Haberdashers. He was said to be secretive, locking himself in his office to work late, “after arriving in a Mercedes, wearing £500 Gucci shoes and carrying a Louis Vuitton briefcase.”

Thacker said the father of four from Ilford, East London, was too arrogant to admit his guilt even after he was caught red-handed in 2012.

Kayode tried to blame the crime on his late wife and a junior colleague, saying that they conspired to tarnish his image by transferring the money to his account in revenge for his adultery.

His crime was exposed when a school cleaner stumbled across some of Kayode’s documents. The cleaner was said to make an anonymous call to the schools’ Chief Finance Officer, Yvonne Smithers.

The accounts manager started work at Haberdashers’ – which has links with the public schools of the same name – in 1997.

According to the prosecutor, Kayode started using the BACS money transfer system (a system in the UK for making payments directly from one bank account to another)  in 2006, to put “tens of thousands at a time directly into a joint account held with wife Grace. He then spent up to £98,000 a month.”

Apart from spending money on his wife’s health care until her death in 2013, Kayode also signed documents showing he was making investments with Halima, and renting flats in Kent for ‘partners’ Toyin Lawal and Yetunde Turtak.