Tag: denial

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NEWS & LIFE

Niger Delta Minister denies working for PDP


Sen. Usani Usani, Minister of Niger Delta, has dismissed claims of working for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as cheap blackmail aimed at tarnishing his reputation by desperate politicians afraid of his rising political profile.

The Minister said while speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja that the allegation was baseless and being peddled by his political opponents.

Usani wondered what would attract him to the PDP now that he was a minister having declined all offers made to join the party in the 16 years it held sway in country.

The minister stressed that the people of Cross River, his home state, could attest to his character and credibility.

“In 2012 when i contested against PDP candidate, offers were made to me and i declined, if you talk to the people of Cross River, they know us by character.

“If i did not accept overtures from the PDP before now, what will attract me now as Minister, if for 16 years i declined everything they offered to me.

“Now as minister, what do i want to gain from them, is it that if i support them i will become President’’, he wondered.

Usani said he won his ward in the just concluded Presidential election for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and could therefore not be working for the opposition PDP.

He maintained that those peddling the fake news were afraid of his growing political relevance and how that has exposed their weaknesses and irrelevance.

According to him, some of those dishing out the mischief had mismanaged public resources and are now afraid that the anti corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari would catch up with them.

The Minister alleged that some of them were awarded contracts but failed to execute them after getting paid.

Usani expressed concern that the APC has derailed from its original vision, stressing that it was only the integrity of President Buhari that is keeping the party as one.

“The president’s image is what keep standing as if there is a form of a party, otherwise by conduct, we have lost every value of initial concept that brought honor to our party’’, he said.

The minister added that the allegation that he was supporting Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the APC immediate past National Chairman, was a ploy to create bad blood between him and Adams Oshiomhole,the party’s current National chairman.

“I wonder what that meant, Odigie-Oyegun contested no election and so, even if somebody was supporting him, of what amount of value would that support be’’, he asked.

He, however, added that his suspension on March 1, by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) alongside Governors Rochas Okorocha and Ibekunle Amosun of Imo and Ogun states, would not stand.

Usani said he had been silent for a while over the issues because as a minister, he recognised where rule and order prevails.

“My silence for a while is because anybody worth the salt of a public office occupation should be able to recognise where rule and order is to prevail.

“I am however, speaking out because further silence in the face of the falsehood in the market, will suggest that am guilty and that’s the reason i can afford to talk on these issues now’’, he said.(NAN)

Categories
NEWS & LIFE

El-Rufai denies ordering sacking of more workers

El-Rufai
El-Rufai
El-Rufai

Gov. Nasir El-Rufa’i on Tuesday denied issuing fresh orders for the rationalisation of more civil servants under the Kaduna State Government.

The governor who had sacked thousands of civil servants since assuming office in 2015, said the document in circulation that he directed the State Head of Service to rationalise the work force and convert some of them to casual staff, was entirely fake and did not emanate from him.

The governor, in a statement by his media aide, Samuel Aruwan, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna, alleged that the document was being circulated by the opposition to score cheap political goals ahead of Saturday governorship election.

He stressed that it was sheer mischief by the opposition who have sensed clear defeat in the forthcoming election.

“Our attention has been drawn to a document suggesting rationalization and conversation of civil servants to casual staff by the Kaduna State Government.

“To set the record straight, the document in question is fake, forged and never emanated from the Governor.

“It emanated from the opposition who have no selling points, instead have outrightly resort to mundane and gutter politics ahead of Saturday election…

“It is on this note, that we wish to disassociate the Governor and Government of Kaduna State from this criminally minded document by the drowning opposition.

“By this notice, we wish to inform our work force and citizens to disregard the entire contents of the fraudulent document.

“We also wish to alert members of the general public to be vigilant of this nefarious activity of drowning political mongers .”

Categories
BUSINESS

CBN denies manipulating foreign exchange

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday denied involvement in foreign exchange manipulation as alleged in one of the national dailies.

The bank’s Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN, Mr Issac Okorafor made the denial on its Website.

The regulator noted that the story by BusinessDay Newspaper titled, “Exposed The Sleazy Face of N306/$1, inside Nigeria’s racket where faceless agents pocket over N32bn annually” was unfounded and untrue.

It therefore, challenged the BusinessDay Newspaper to provide the names of agents involved, and also verifiable evidence of collusion.

The CBN said: “The management of the CBN wishes to react to the report wherein BusinessDay Newspaper alleges that faceless agents in Nigeria are exploiting the country’s multiple exchange rates to devastating effects and allegedly with the backing of regulators.

“The CBN wishes to state unequivocally that this report is unfounded and untrue and challenges BusinessDay to provide the names and also verifiable evidence of collusion between these faceless agents and officials of the CBN, who are working to perpetuate these so called Forex (Fx) racket schemes.

“We would also urge the management of BusinessDay to contact the CBN prior to making such spurious allegations, as we were denied the benefit of responding to this article.

“The CBN wishes to remind BusinessDay, as most financial observers have noted, that the Fx rates across various markets governed and regulated by the CBN have been converging, leaving no room for arbitrage opportunities in Nigeria’s Fx market.

“For avoidance of doubt, the CBN will continue to act in the best interest of Nigeria and shall ensure it remains focused on its core mandate of sustaining the stability in the Fx market.”

(NAN)

Categories
NEWS & LIFE

ASUU Strike: NANS denies being bribed by the presidency

Buhari

The leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has distance itself from the purported allegations by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) claiming it received N150 million from the presidency.
The students Union body disclosed this in a statement signed by Mr Adeyemi Amoo, it’s National Public Relations Officer (PRO), and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.
Amoo called on Nigerian students to discountenance the allegations by ASUU, saying that the association was ready to protect the interest of all the students.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari, who is a known person in character and style to virtually all Nigerians, would never dole out such amount of money for any reason, which would not be of any national benefits or developments.
NAN reports that President Buhari on January 3, met with the leadership of the Nigerian Students to resolve issues with ASUU.

The meeting centred on ways to smoothen unresolved issues that led to the industrial action.
“Our attention has been drawn to the purported and sponsored allegation, that NANS had been bribed by President Muhammadu Buhari with a whooping sum of N150million to protest against ASUU.
“We commend the well meaning, intellectual and genuine civil society groups for not falling cheap for this blackmail, as we’ve gotten informed and reliably that they’ve also been lobbied by ASUU to join them in pushing such blackmail.
“We are not surprised that this blackmail isn’t flying beyond the pseudo groups they’ve been able to arrange and mobilise with cash.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, is a known person in character and style to virtually all Nigerians, even the oppositions knows that Buhari will never give out such amount of money for any reason(s) that is not of national benefits or developments.
” No doubt this propaganda might have seen the acceptance of the masses if it wasn’t targeted towards Buhari himself.”
Amoo explained that NANS had earlier declared November 17, 2018 as a nationwide day of mass action tagged: “SAVE EDUCATION RALLY ” held simultaneously across the states of the federation, to protest the incessant strikes across universities, polytechnics and colleges of Education.
He added that in October 2018, NANS national leadership, met with the Minister for Education, to fine-tune ways of putting a long term end to the regular carnival of strikes in the educational sector.
“We thereby demanded as the major stakeholders in the sectors, to always have representatives at the meeting of ASUU with Federal Government, as this was targeted towards adding to the strength and voice of ASUU, so as to make government yield to there demands in time.
“The Federal Government on her own side sees the request of been an observer at the negotiation table with ASUU as a welcome development.
“NANS was invited twice to the meeting of Federal Government with ASUU, ably represented by the NANS national president, Danielson Akpan, but was walked out twice by the ASUU leadership, insisting that such negotiations must not be done in the presence of younger ones.
“NANS leadership begins to wonder what reasons might be behind the blind insistence of ASUU that NANS must not observe the meeting, when the Federal Government has wholeheartedly approved our attendance at such meetings.”
Amoo said the NANS leadership, ordinarily would have informed the students and the general public on this actions by ASUU, but decided not to give room for the government, to see the actions as an advantage to blackmail the ASUU.
He added that NANS after exhausting all means, resolved to issue an ultimatum to the Federal Government and ASUU to return to negotiation table to urgently safe students from getting involved or addicted to various forms of social vices.
According to him, NANS, in the course of getting things resolved urgently, sorted an audience with president Muhammadu Buhari, which was granted and held on January 3 at the presidential villa.
“At the meeting, NANS appealed to president Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency resolve the ASUU strike, for him not to loose the support of over 20million Nigerian students.
“This was the statement of the NANS president at the meeting as against the cheap blackmail that NANS has assured Buhari of mobilising 20million votes for him.
“NANS, therefore, uses this medium to inform Nigerian students and Nigerians at large, that its leadership will not, has not and will not for any reason sell the interest and integrity of our dear organisation.
“Conclusively, we want to tell ASUU that NANS is not for sell, we have not and will not turn our struggles to source of empowerment,” he said. (NAN)