Friday 23rd December 2016

Page 1

Buhari Asks States to Clear Workers’ Outstanding Salaries with Paris Club Debt Refund Tobi Soniyi in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has called on state governors to use at least 25 per cent of the refunds made to them from excess deductions for external debt service of Nigeria’s Paris Club debt to clear outstanding

workers’ entitlements. A statement by his media aide, Mr. Garba Shehu revealed that the president approved N552.74bn to be paid in batches to all the states, which were entitled to the refund. They are, however, expected to get 25 per cent of their

approved sums in the first instance before this week ends. About 33 states are affected. Shehu said that the refunds arose from claims by the states that they had been overcharged in deductions for external debt service between 1995 and 2002.

He said, in a directive through the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, the president said the issue of workers’ benefits, particularly salaries and pensions, must not be allowed to continue and should be handled with urgency.

The statement read: “When he assumed office last year, the president declared an emergency on unpaid salaries, following the discovery that 27 out of the 36 states had fallen behind in payments to their workers, in some cases for up to a year.

“Following this, a bailout loan was issued to the states twice, with a first batch of about N300 billion given to them in 2015 in the form of soft loans. “The administration also got

FG, World Bank to Launch Power Sector Recovery Plan...

Continued on page 8

Page 13

Friday 23 December, 2016 Vol 21. No 7918. Price: N250

www.thisdaylive.com TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

DSS Accuses Wike of Sponsoring Protests in Abuja State govt describes allegation as irresponsible scaremongering Saraki says he won’t condone aide breaking the law Ernest Chinwo in Port and Harcourt Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

USHERING IN THE YULETIDE SEASON...

L-R Wife of the General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Mrs. Folu Adeboye; General Overseer, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Foluso Amosun; Ogun State Governor, Mr. Ibikunle Amosun; and wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Bola, at the Ogun State 2016 carol night, held in Abeokuta...yesterday

The Department of State Services (DSS) said yesterday that it had uncovered a sinister plot by the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Continued on page 8

Ibori, UK Prosecutors Heading for Stalemate

Ex-gov wants appeal quashing conviction determined before asset confiscation case Aide: Ibori not under surveillance, does not have to report to police Delta Govt expresses joy over his release Agha Ibiam in London with agency report Should the legal team of former Delta State governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, choose to toe the same path as Ibori’s associate, Mr. Bhandresh Gohil, by appealing the former governor’s conviction for money laundering, his team and that of the British

prosecution that successfully jailed him from more than five years, could hit a stalemate. Ever since Ibori’s conviction in April 2012 for laundering an estimated £50 million that earned him a prison sentence of 13 years in the United Kingdom, the former governor’s case has been immersed in a vortex of criminal investigations that

found that the London police which investigated him took bribes and the prosecutors covered it up. Ibori, who was released from a British prison on Wednesday, is nonetheless still facing two obstacles before he can return to Nigeria. According to AFP, he must face a deportation hearing and then also pay £18 million to

the UK government as the “proceeds of crime”. The unresolved issues almost elongated Ibori’s incarceration, until a British high court judge gave an order that he should be released and that attempts to detain him were “quite extraordinary.” Ordering Ibori to be immediately freed from prison, Mrs. Justice May said: “You

don’t hold someone just because it is convenient to do so and without plans to deport them.” A Home Office application that Ibori be electronically tagged and subjected to strict curfew conditions was also rejected. The judge accepted arguments that the home secretary was attempting to

misuse her immigration and deportation powers. Ibori, a former London store cashier, was jailed for fraud totalling nearly £50 million in April 2012. He evaded capture in Nigeria after a mob of supporters attacked the police in his hometown Oghara, but Continued on page 8


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Friday 23rd December 2016 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd - Issuu