Reps uncover 169 ghost companies on N1trn rail contracts

The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Failed Rail Contracts, yesterday, unearthed 169 ghost companies that registered as contractors with the Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, for projects valued at N1 trillion.

The ad hoc committee raised the alarm during the investigative hearing at the National Assembly, that none of the 169 companies invited by the committee had shown up.

Chairman of the committee, Johnson Agbonnayinman, (Ikpoba/Okha federal constituency), said the need to invite the contractors was important, but lamented that efforts to reach them had so far proven fruitless.

He added that so far, only the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC, responded to the committee’s letter.

He said: “You are duty bound to produce the contractors. They are nowhere to be found; they are not faceless but yet they cannot be reached.

“You gave them the job, so you should produce them; we are holding you responsible.”

The committee also asked the corporation’s MD, Mr. Adeseyi Sijuwade, to make available the agency’s record of Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, between 2010 and 2014, and was also asked to tell the committee what the IGR was used for.

In response, the MD said the IGR was used to augment the agency’s overhead budget.

Drama, however, started when the committee, acting on documents before it, asked the MD to explain all he knew and reason behind his request to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for a return of N2 billion or 20 percent of the corporation’s pension fund to the corporation in December 2014.

Responding, Sijuwade, who was reminded of being on oath, denied making such request to either the Accountant-General or Minister of Finance.

“I never at any time made any request to the AGF to return N2 billion pension fund to the corporation,” he said.

Insistent on getting to the root of the matter, the committee asked the Director of Finance, Felix Njoku, to take an oath in order to take questions regarding the issue.

Njoku did and insisted that there was never any correspondence from his office to the Accountant-General’s on return of the said money.

Not satisfied, the committee veered into what the organisation did with N2 billion that was in the corporation’s coffers around the period under review.

The Finance Director explained that the money was not related to pension and was used to fund ongoing contracts at the time.

He was asked to list the contracts. He promised to make available the records.

The committee also faulted the award of rail contract to Costain Construction Company, claiming that it had no competence in railway projects.

Sijuwade replied that Costain went through due process and was found competent by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, adding that it successfully completed its project.

Chairman of the committee adjourned the hearing and stressed justice and fairness, stating that the probe was not a witch-hunt.

With Vanguard

Obama says what Muslims 'don’t hear often'

US President Barack Obama has made his first visit to a mosque to denounce the anti-Islam rhetoric promoted by GOPers in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, telling Muslims outside Baltimore that Christians "have to understand: An attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths."

Obama attended Wednesday at the Islamic Society of Baltimore in Windsor Mill, Maryland, where he spoke against "hugely distorted impression" of Muslims in the country.

Anti-Muslim discourse was intensified by the Republican candidates, with billionaire Donald Trump in the vanguard, after terrorist bombings by Takfiri affiliates of Daesh in Paris and San Bernardo, California.

“You’ve seen, too often, people conflating the horrific acts of terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith,” Obama said tacitly touching on the discourse, calling the rhetoric an “inexcusable” one with “no place” in the country.

“We have to reject a politics that seeks to manipulate prejudice or bias and targets people because of religion. We’ve got to make sure that hate crimes are punished and that the civil rights of all Americans are upheld.”

The US president, who had taken off his shoes as Muslims do to respect the place of worship, said he was “grateful” for the efforts that the Muslim community has made “to keep us as one American family.”

With PressTV

Minister says Artists' Village here to stay, promises to encourage Artists

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Monday paid an unscheduled visit to the Artists' Village at the National Theatre in Lagos, and promised that everything will be done to provide a conducive environment for Artists to thrive.

''The Artists' Village is here to stay,'' the Minister told the hordes of Artists who welcomed him to the village, which has been in the news in recent times after it was affected by the demolition of shanties within the National Theatre complex.

''We'll do everything to encourage the Arts. Within our little resources, we'll make sure that arts thrive,'' he said, while assuring that this will be a new era of better rapport between Artists and the Ministry of Information and Culture, as well as with the management of the National Theatre.

Alhaji Mohammed, who toured the village to see the damage done to the work of some of the Artists during the demolition exercise, promised to assist those affected as soon as he received their report detailing the losses they incurred during the demolition, and after studying the report he personally commissioned into the incident.

He said the village, which houses Arts and Dance Studios, among others, was under-developed and that the government will do more to develop and promote the village.

''We will build more on what we met here. Out of the ruins of this village will emerge a befitting Artists Village that will comprise standard studios, dance theatres and stands where artists can exhibit and even sell their works.

''Arts and Culture have placed Nigeria on the world map, perhaps second only to sports. Nigeria's work of arts are being celebrated globally. It is the responsibility of the government to promote them,'' the Minister said.

He urged the Artists to take advantage of the 500-billion-Naira Intervention Fund which the government has set aside in the 2016 budget, with a view to accessing the funds they need to expand the scope of their work.

Alhaji Mohammed also met with Mr. Smart Owie, the artist who was allegedly shot in the leg during the demolition exercise, and secured the assurances of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to ensure that he is provided with the necessary police report to facilitate his treatment.

The Minister urged the artists to eschew bitterness and refrain from aggravating the situation, while the government awaits their report on the situation.

It was the second time since the incident occurred that the Minister had visited the Artists' Village.

British woman dies after developing blood clot caused by taking contraceptive pill

A British woman was killed by brain damage caused by a blood clot she developed after taking a contraceptive pill.

Charlotte Foster, 23, is thought to have died after suffering from a blood clot in her chest, a rare side effect of the medication.

The business executive died in the hospital in Telford, Shropshire, on Jan. 25,reported Mirror Online.

Her heartbroken parents Stephen and Cecilia described their daughter as extremely popular and said that she would be sorely missed.

“We are devastated at the sudden and unexpected loss of a very much-loved daughter, sister and granddaughter,” they said in a statement.

“Charlotte was a lively, intelligent, beautiful and caring young lady who will be deeply missed by her family, friends and work colleagues.”

Staff at Shrewsbury High School, where Foster studied, also paid tribute.

“Charlotte was always a very bubbly, happy and immensely caring girl who proudly went on to study at Liverpool University,” said headmaster Michael Getty.

“Charlotte still retained many friendships with her former high school classmates, who were also devastated to hear of her death.”

A preliminary inquest heard she had been prescribed the birth control pill Dianette by her doctor and her cause of death was recorded as “hypoxic brain damage as a result of a pulmonary embolism,” caused by the oral contraceptive pill.

British vicar installs locked gates to stop couples having sex on church steps

He’s praying for them to cool off a little.

A British vicar has installed iron gates at the steps of his church to prevent amorous couples from having sex on holy ground.

Rev. Tom Honey has been forced to put locked gates at the entrance to St. David’s Church in Exeter, Devon, after couples were caught on camera getting intimate at a side entrance.

Honey said local authorities were doing little to prevent the rowdy behavior being repeated, according to Mirror Online.

“Installing the gates is a positive step for the church, it will protect the property, its staff, volunteers and visitors from the anti-social behavior which the opening was being used for,” he said.

The cash for the gates came as part of a restoration project at the church.