Grass-cutting contract: Osinbajo panel grills Babachir Lawal overnight ON MAY 2, 2017.
BY ALAO JAMES UMAKAFE
ABUJA— For the second time within a week, the Presidential Investigative Panel, headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, last night grilled the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, David Babachir Lawal, over the controversial N220 million grass-cutting contract awarded last year. Munguno, Osinbajo and Malami A competent source confirmed to Vanguard that the embattled SGF appeared in the night shortly after the Vice President returned from an official engagement in Lagos to Abuja. Lawal, who had earlier been questioned by the three-man panel, last week, was summoned last night to answer crucial questions on whether the contract was captured in the 2016 federal budget and if, indeed, the award was scrutinised and approved by the Presidential Initiative for the North-East, PINE, and whether it was advertised in accordance with extant procurement laws. The embattled SGF, according to a source, was also asked to justify why the clearing of wild grass in Yobe State became a priority programme of the PINE, when the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, had not been adequately addressed. Besides that, Lawal was given another chance last night to clear the air on why the company he claimed he had resigned from, Rholavision Technologies Limited, was awarded the N220 million grass-cutting job. “He was also given the ample opportunity to defend why the cash from the contract sum was immediately transferred to his ‘former’ company, when in reality records from the Corporate Affairs Commission proved otherwise,” the source said. It was learned that the committee was keen on establishing from the CAC whether, indeed, the suspended SGF resigned from the company on August 18, 2015, shortly after assuming office as the government scribe. Documents obtained from the CAC are said to have punctured his claim. According to the CAC document, the SGF only resigned from the firm on September 16, 2016, when he relinquished his shares from the firm via a letter to the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC. In the letter signed by himself, Babachir Lawal said: “Having resigned my appointment as a director of Rholavision Engineering Limited, I hereby relinquish my shares totalling N1,500,000.00 Ordinary Shares back to the company. “Based on his resignation, Rholavision Technologies Limited, met on October 5, 2016, and reappointed two directors for the company: Hamidu D. Lawal and Patience Midala Ephraim via resolutions reached at the meeting.” The Presidential panel is likely to wind up its operations this week and submit its report to President Muhammadu Buhari. Feelers indicate that based on the facts emerging from the panel so far, it would be difficult for the Presidency to continue to harbour Babachir Lawal and the NIA boss, Ayo Oke. But the two officials have insisted they did no wrong.
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Tuesday, 2 May 2017
Photos: Man nabbed in Ghana for attempting to smuggle Indian hemp to Nigeria
Briefing journalists in Accra, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mrs Effia Tenge, said the police had a tip-off about some people trying to smuggle Indian hemp to Nigeria and proceeded to the scene at Darkuman junction in Accra.
According to Mrs Tenge, the police counted 154 parcels of compressed dried leaves concealed in second-hand clothing which was packed in "Ghana must go" bags.
Upon interrogation, Ogbananya allegedly admitted the offence and told the police that the parcels belonged to a man he named only as Goodman, who is currently on the run.
Source: Ghana News Online
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
It will be an honor to meet Kim Jong-un - Donald Trump says
The U.S has deployed it's Navy warships to the Korean peninsula while Trump also last week said he'll be sending another warship armed with Tomahawk missiles following North Korea's failure last week in a nuclear missile test, but Trump aware that a war could break out any moment between both countries says he's still open to a diplomatic solution.
"Under the right circumstances," Trump saidMonday, in a Bloomberg interview.
"If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it,"
"If it's under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that."
The White House, responding to Trump's statements said even though Trump said he'll like to meet Kim under the 'right circumstances', those circumstances/conditions do not exist at the moment and Kim must end all his nuclear ambitions if he wants diplomacy with the U.S.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said "those circumstances do not exist now." 'There would have to be significant change for a meeting between President Trump and Kim to be a possibility.
When a reporter questioned Spicer on why Trump would consider it an honor to meet with the North Korean leader, the press secretary said
'Kim is still a head of state."
'Trump is doing everything diplomatically, economically and militarily to stave off the nuclear threat that North Korea poses to the United States.''
In an interview with CBS on Sunday, Trump said he had "no idea" whether Mr Kim was sane.
President Trump, asked what he made of the North Korean leader, told CBS: "People are saying: 'Is he sane?' I have no idea... but he was a young man of 26 or 27... when his father died. He's dealing with obviously very tough people, in particular the generals and others.
"And at a very young age, he was able to assume power. A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie."
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
Photos: Klitschko makes first public appearance with his fiance after losing heavyweight bout to Joshua
Tuesday, 2 May 2017
Serena Williams, her baby bump and fiance, Alexis Ohanian step out at the 2017 MET Gala
The Olympic athlete was accompanied by her fiance, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, to the fashion gathering. See more photos after the cut.
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