UN condemns FG over poor power supply

The United Nations has criticised the Federal Government for failing to provide improved power supply to millions of Nigerians.

It also condemned the government’s inability to offer effective electricity metering system.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Ms. Magdalena Carmona, and the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination, Ms. Raquel Rolnik, signed a petition in which they criticised the government.

A statement from the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project on Sunday said the two rapporteurs blamed the government of President Goodluck Jonathan “over the impact of the Multi-Year Tariff Order II and its potential detrimental impact on the realisation of human rights of people living in extreme poverty in Nigeria.”

A check on UN website confirmed the petition.

Sanusi to Jonathan: Allegations against me baseless

The suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, has described the allegations of financial recklessness levelled against him by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria as a malicious and calculated attempt to mislead President Goodluck Jonathan into believing that the management of the bank is guilty of misconduct and recklessness.

In what can be described as his first official response to the allegations, Sanusi, in a letter to Jonathan, said that contrary to the claims by the Presidency that he was asked to respond to issues raised in the FRCN report, he only saw the “Briefing Note” of the council for the first time when it was attached to his suspension letter.

In the letter, sent to the President on March 10, a copy of which was made available to journalists on Sunday, the suspended governor said at no time were the allegations in the report sent to the CBN either by the President or the FRCN for comments or explanations.

He said, “On Wednesday March 10, 2014, I submitted a memorandum to His Excellency, Mr. President, with supporting documentation, effectively addressing all the allegations contained in the FRCN Briefing Note, the letter of suspension and the Akingbola petition.

Tension in Kaduna as death toll hits 114

Tension rose in  Kaduna town and environs on Sunday, following the killing  of no fewer than 100 people in  three  villages in Kaduna State on Friday night.

There was a  heavy security presence at all churches in the state capital and environs where  the Christian faithful had converged to worship.

Our correspondent observed the movement of combat-ready policemen and other security agents in trucks at the Sabo Tasha and Refinery areas of the city to maintain law and order as people spread rumours that all was not well in those parts of the state capital.

The victims of the massacre were said to have been buried in mass graves on Sunday.

The umbrella body of the Southern Kaduna people in the state, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union,  on Sunday put the  death toll from the attacks at  114.

It said over 40 attacks had been recorded so far in the Southern Kaduna communities since 2011. The group also accused Fulani herdsmen as being behind the attacks.

Nigerians to own houses with N1.5m – FHA

Low and middle income earners who are interested in having their own homes can now do so with N1.5m, the Federal Housing Authority has said.

According to the agency, interested Nigerians can have homes delivered to them based on their financial capabilities.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, FHA, Mr. Terver Gemade, explained that the development was aimed at bridging the 17 million housing units’ gap in Nigeria.

He spoke on the sidelines of the handing over of the affairs of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi in Abuja on Monday.

Gemade said, “We are targeting the middle income earners this time around and we want to ensure that even low income earners can own their homes.  We are going to be specific in our target to ensure that the homes are affordable, decent, durable and sustainable.

“Of course, home ownership will be assured by biometrics. We will ensure that we get your biodata and it will be one thumb-print to one house. Since we are encouraging home ownership, it does not matter whether a big man brings his villagers to come and thumb print because at the end, the villagers will own homes.

“We will make the houses as low as N1.5m, N2m, N3m, N4m and upwards. The N1.5m is for the studio house; what you call the self-contained; and I can assure you that I can give you that for N1.5m.”

Driver raped student for 21 days, say police

The State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, has arraigned a 28-year-old man, Gbenga Asaye, before a Lagos State Magistrate’s Court for allegedly abducting and raping a student of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Ijanikin.

The police said the incident happened at the Agege area of the state.

It was learnt that the 18-year-old victim had left her mother’s shop on January 21, 2014 for school, but had transportation challenge due to lack of money.

She reportedly met Asaye, a family friend, on the road. He promised to assist her with money and take her back to school in his vehicle.

The Ogun State indigene was said to have, however, taken the student to his house in Agege where he forcefully had carnal knowledge of the victim, who was a virgin before the encounter.

The victim was said to have been abducted by the defendant for 21 days that the sexual assault lasted.

It was learnt that the victim did not escape because she could not muster the courage of telling her parents she had been deflowered.

I tried to trace missing $20bn –Sanusi

The suspended Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, said he had begun a process to trace the missing $20bn oil money before his suspension by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Sanusi, in an interview published in New York Times on Monday, said he had a semi-monthly meeting with bank chiefs on February 11, where he “threatened to open the books of the bankers, to trace the money.”

According to him, he suspected some were laundering stolen oil money.

“Some of them were not giving information about their accounts,” Sanusi stated, adding, “I told them I would order a special examination.”

According to   the New York Times’ report, one of the bankers at the meeting said, “He (Sanusi) made it clear to them that the CBN would need to unravel what was going on, and they should cooperate.”

Panicked, several of the bankers went straight to the government, Sanusi said.

Two of the bankers — he would not identify them — “went and reported to the petroleum minister,” the suspended CBN chief added.

“The strategy of the government was to discredit the messenger,” he said.

Sanusi added, The President “doesn’t want me to bring out any more information that would get them into trouble.”

However, President’s spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, said Sanusi’s account was “untrue.”

“Sanusi has been making all kinds of claims to project himself as a victim,” Abati, said in an email, accusing the suspended central bank chief of “financial recklessness, abuse of mandate, incompetence and criminal acts of negligence.”

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Saraki, others may become ministers

Barring last minute changes, President Goodluck Jonathan may send a fresh list of ministerial nominees to the Senate for consideration and approval.

Those being touted as possible nominees include, a former  Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau,  his counterpart in Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, and Senator Gbemi Saraki from Kwara State.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the Presidency,  in its bid to boost home support for the Peoples Democratic Party in some states, took the decision to pick the politicians as ministers.

It was further learnt that the Senate  deferred the screening of  Hajia Jamila Salik from Kano State last month following a directive from the Presidency that the woman had been dropped to pave the way for Kwakwanso.

The Presidency was also said to be considering the nomination of Bafarawa to check the growing popularity of the All Progressives Congress in the state and the rumoured ambition of the Speaker,  House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to contest the governorship election in 2015.

In the same vein,  our correspondent gathered that Saraki, the daughter of the late strongman of Kwara politics, Senator Olusola Saraki, would be a comfortable bridge-builder and accessible rallying point to deliver the state from the APC being led by her elder brother,  Bukola.

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