General
October Sanitation Holds Saturday In Lagos
By Dipo Olowookere
The monthly environmental sanitation in Lagos State will hold this Saturday, October 29, 2016, the state government has declared.
A statement issued by the Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare, explained that the exercise would be observed, as usual, between the hours of 7am to 10am.
Mr Adejare further disclosed that this month’s sanitation would be dedicated to vector control, adding that the move towards vector control in the state had commenced with automated fumigation of all markets in Lagos, starting with Obalende Market.
He said this is aimed at eliminating rodents and preventing the disease they might cause.
The Commissioner urged residents to turn out en-masse and participate actively in the forthcoming sanitation exercise by cleaning their homes and drains, warning that the period of environmental sanitation should not be used for any social engagement or sporting activities, but for cleaning and sanitation exercises.
Mr Adejare noted that apart from this state organized event, daily cleaning of the environment should be an everyday affair because environment is the superstructure on which everything rests. He appealed to residents to desist from acts that could lead to flooding, such as indiscriminate dumping of waste into drains and canals and other acts that might result in environmental degradation.
According to him, “The state government is committed to achieving a flood-free Lagos. Citizens on their part will do well to ensure that canals and channels in their areas are cleaned at all times, in addition to the regular de-silting, dredging and maintenance of drainage channels and canals by government.”
“As we are all aware, Lagos is a coastal State that has high water table and prone to flash-floods, we must therefore imbibe positive attitude which will reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of flooding, which has so far been contained in the State” he added.
The Commissioner warned residents who still patronize cart pushers to desist from the illegal act as the coverage of the PSP Operators has been widened to effectively accommodate more residents of the state.
He reminded Lagosians that government’s zero tolerance programme to environmental infractions and nuisances was still very much on course and as such the people should refrain from degrading the environment in any form to avoid the negative consequences of environmental pollution and the full weight of the compliance measures of government.
In order to attain total compliance of the restriction order and ensure full participation of Lagosians in the sanitation exercise, Mr Adejare implored interstate bus operators, the state transport owners and road transport workers association to comply with the restriction of vehicular movement order between 7am-10am as any vehicle caught violating this order will be dealt with appropriately, while passengers in such vehicles will also be prosecuted according to the State Environmental Sanitation Laws.
He further assured that law enforcement agencies including the Nigeria Police and officials from LAWMA, LASTMA and KAI have been fully mobilized to enforce the restriction.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three suspects in the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State to life imprisonment.
According to the court, the sentencing of Mr Abdulrazak Umar, known under the alias Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid; Mr Yunusa Musa, alias Yunusa Bin Musa; and Mr Shamsu Adamu Sani, alias Abu Itisar, will start from the date of their arrest.
Before the sentencing by Justice Salim Ibrahim, counsel for the defendants pleaded with the court to sentence them on liberal terms, adding that they were first-time offenders and had pleaded guilty.
Justice Ibrahim pointed out that this showed that they were remorseful of their actions, and all the counts they were charged with are not related to the kidnapping.
He added that the convicts were married men who have children and have aged parents who are dependent on them. He pleaded with the court to give them a second chance at life and sentence them on liberal terms.
Counsel for the prosecution, however, pointed out that the convicts were aware of the people on the battlefield, and as true Nigerians, they should have reported it to the authorities.
After the charges were read to them, they pleaded guilty to membership of a proscribed terrorist group.
At their arraignment on alleged terrorism at the Federal High Court, Abuja, the three defendants also pleaded guilty to concealing information on the planning and execution of the abduction.
However, only the first accused person, Abdulrazak Umar, alias Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid, pleaded guilty to counts 7, 8, 9 and 10, which bordered on training and passing instructions and inciting terror group members on a particular religious ideology.
The three accused persons were on trial by DSS on a 10-count charge bordering on kidnapping, concealment of information, and terrorism-related offences.
According to the charges, the defendants, all from Niger State, are accused of knowingly withholding information about individuals linked to terrorist activities, participating in kidnapping, and using a messaging platform to facilitate terrorist training.
The federal government had, last week, charged the suspects for the recent kidnapping of children and teachers of a school in the Oriire Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State. The 10-count charges filed before the Abuja court bordered on terrorism, kidnapping, concealment, incitement and illegal mining.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pathway Advisors Limited (PAL) and Pivot Integrated Energy Services Limited have launched a N100 billion Series 1 Commercial Paper (CP) issuance under Pivot’s N300 billion Commercial Paper Programme, opening a new funding window aimed at strengthening the downstream energy company’s working capital.
The offer, for which Pathway Advisors is serving as Lead Arranger and Issuing House, is now open for subscription and will close on July 31, 2026.
The transaction underscores Pathway Advisors’ role in facilitating capital market access for Nigerian corporates while supporting the expansion plans of one of the country’s indigenous downstream energy companies.
Under the transaction, Pivot is seeking to raise up to N100 billion through three tranches with varying tenors and returns. Series 1 Tranche A has a tenor of 180 days, offering a discount rate of 17.5 per cent and a yield of 19.15 per cent. Tranche B has a tenor of 270 days, with a 19.5 per cent discount rate and a yield of 22.79 per cent, while Tranche C has a 364-day tenor, carrying a 19.69 per cent discount rate and a yield of 24.50 per cent.
The minimum subscription is N5 million, representing 5,000 units at N1,000 per unit, with additional subscriptions accepted in multiples of N1,000 thereafter.
The commercial paper programme has received investment-grade short-term ratings from leading rating agencies, earning an A3 rating from Agusto & Co., an A3 rating from Global Credit Ratings (GCR), and an A1 rating from DataPro Limited.
According to the transaction details, proceeds from the issuance will be deployed towards working capital financing to support Pivot’s operations in the importation, trading, storage, distribution and supply of refined petroleum products across Nigeria and selected African markets.
The company said the offer presents investors with an opportunity to participate in the growth of a leading indigenous downstream energy company supported by strong revenue growth, robust off-take arrangements and improving profitability.
Pivot Integrated Energy Services Limited is an indigenous integrated downstream energy company engaged in the importation, trading, storage, distribution and supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK).
The company serves a broad customer base that includes bulk buyers, distributors, industrial users, logistics operators, manufacturers and retail-linked channels across key commercial centres such as Lagos, Calabar and Port Harcourt.
It is also one of the 20 approved off-takers under the Dangote Refinery PMS Consortium, with an allocated target volume of 300 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit per quarter, positioning it among the key distributors in Nigeria’s evolving downstream petroleum market.
For Pathway Advisors Limited, the transaction further reinforces its position in Nigeria’s debt capital market as a financial advisory and capital-raising firm. Registered and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the firm provides transaction advisory, capital raising, project finance, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and strategic financial solutions to corporate and institutional clients.
The firm said it remains committed to facilitating access to capital for businesses while supporting sustainable economic growth across key sectors of the Nigerian economy through innovative financing solutions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered 908 suspected ghost workers across 50 federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), recovering about N942 million allegedly paid as fraudulent salaries during a nationwide payroll verification exercise.
ICPC Chairman, Mr Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), disclosed the findings while speaking on the commission’s ongoing investigation into payroll fraud in federal government institutions.
The anti-graft agency said the exercise exposed widespread payroll irregularities, with the Nigeria Police Force accounting for the highest number of suspected ghost workers.
“For this operation, we identified 570 people whom we suspect are among the fake workers collecting salaries without working,” Mr Aliyu said.
Beyond the police, several MDAs were also found to have significant payroll discrepancies. The National Water Resources Authority recorded 80 suspected ghost workers.
“For this agency, we identified 80 names of people collecting salaries even though they are not workers of the agency,” the ICPC chairman stated.
The Federal Ministry of Works recorded 56 suspected ghost workers, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had 24. The Ministry of Defence was found to have 19 suspected fake workers.
“For the Ministry of Defence, we identified 19 people acting as fake workers,” Mr Aliyu added.
The Federal Ministry of Power and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment each recorded 17 suspected ghost workers, while the Federal Ministry of Health had 15. The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation recorded 12 suspected fake workers.
The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Interior were also listed among the institutions affected by the payroll fraud, although the ICPC did not disclose the number of suspected ghost workers identified in the two organisations.
Explaining the scheme, Mr Aliyu said ghost workers are fictitious names inserted into government payrolls to fraudulently receive salaries.
“In some cases, officials add the names of their relatives or associates to the payroll even though they are not employees, and they continue collecting the salaries,” he said.
He cited one case uncovered during the investigation, revealing that, “We found a case where one person put the names of his wife, son and mother-in-law on the payroll while also collecting the salaries of 12 workers.”
He said the payroll verification exercise forms part of the commission’s broader efforts to eliminate leakages in the public service, improve accountability in MDAs and ensure that government salaries are paid only to legitimate employees.
