Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has appeared before the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over his alleged role in the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), an agency the Federal Government says never existed.

Gbajabiamila honoured the commission’s invitation on Monday as part of an investigation ordered by President Tinubu into the activities of the purported council and those connected with it.

His lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, confirmed in a statement that the Chief of Staff appeared before the ICPC at about 3:00 p.m., cooperated fully with investigators, answered questions relating to the ongoing probe, and subsequently returned to his official duties.

The investigation follows President Tinubu’s directive that the ICPC conduct a comprehensive probe into the fake agency and submit its findings within 30 days.

According to the Presidency, the PFIPC was never created by the Federal Government and had no legal backing, presidential approval, executive instrument, or lawful basis for operation.

The investigation centres on allegations that one Adeniyi Adeyemi Mathew falsely presented himself as Director-General of the council using forged appointment letters and official government documents.

The ICPC is also probing claims that the suspect used the alleged presidential appointment to obtain official recognition, diplomatic support, visa facilitation, and to open multiple bank accounts in the names of purported government agencies.

Beyond the principal suspect, the anti-corruption agency has been directed to investigate the roles of any public officials, private individuals, financial institutions, intermediaries, or other entities that may have facilitated or benefited from the alleged scheme.

The probe will also examine how the fictitious body acquired an appearance of legitimacy and the source and movement of any funds linked to its operations.

…Approves extra 4,698 teachers for Smart Green Schools

…Activates all isolation centres over Congo Ebola outbreak

The Enugu State Government will on Tuesday distribute farm inputs to 63,000 smallholder farmers across the state to boost agricultural production this farming season.

The government also approved the employment of 4,698 additional teachers for its Smart Green Schools, while also directing the activation of all its isolation centres following the outbreak of the Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and parts of Uganda, saying it did not want to be caught unawares.

These were made known to Government House correspondents after a meeting of the State Executive Council in Enugu at the weekend.

Briefing newsmen, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Malachy Agbo; Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr. Patrick Ubru; Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ndubueze Mbah; and Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, said the Mbah Administration would continue to deliver optimal governance even during the campaign period, insisting that it has a mandate and vision to deliver.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation said, “Last year, about 40,000 farmers benefited. This year, it is even bigger and better, as the state has now approved for 63,000 farmers to receive free agricultural inputs as intervention, ranging from fertilisers to agrochemicals, free rice seeds, free maize seeds, and free pepper and tomato seeds.

“It is targeted at reducing the cost of agricultural production and ensuring that our smallholder farmers increase their income and improve their livelihoods.

“The Exco also directed that the beneficiaries of these farm inputs must be duly registered smallholder farmers who are identifiable, whose farms are captured, and can be monitored.

“So, on Tuesday, 21st July, the governor will flag off the distribution of farm inputs. Thereafter, the 260 wards will receive theirs under strict monitoring to ensure that only those identifiable as farmers benefit from the scheme to better their lives,” Ubru explained.

On his part, Prof. Mbah said the additional 4,698 teachers were to ensure that the standard for the 267 Smart Green Schools, as modelled at the Owo Campus, is fully and uniformly achieved across the state.

“Enugu State Government has further expanded and intensified its efforts to completely equip and operationalise the Centre for Experiential Learning and Innovation (CELI), which is situated within the Enugu State College of Education (Technical).

“This is a guaranteed strategy to institutionalise and ensure the sustainability of the Enugu education project, especially as it relates to the Smart Green Schools.

“This is a way to ensure that no teacher is left behind. It is also to ensure that every teacher in our Smart Green Schools passes through a thorough training programme at the centre and that they can effectively implement the type of education where our children acquire skills, not only memorise.

“CELI is also a way to support our young Enugu people who have talents, innovative skills, or who have come up with patentable ideas and solutions so that they get support to commercialise them,” Ndubueze stated.

The Commissioner for Health told newsmen that the state was taking proactive steps following the outbreak of Ebola in East Africa.

“Because countries are now regarded as a global village and considering the fact that Enugu is now a gateway state receiving direct international flights, the state government has now directed that all the isolation centres established during the time of COVID-19 should be immediately reactivated and made ready for service so that we will not have a situation we did not prepare for. This is a proactive measure for a better state of response,” he said.

He added that Exco also discussed and approved that all the expansion works going on in the state hospitals should be expedited and completed before the end of the year.

“For example, the new high-rise buildings at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital – Park Lane, the teaching hospital at the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) at Igbo-Eno, among others, are now to receive extra attention, while the Enugu International Hospital will be commissioned in a matter of a few weeks,” he concluded.

Also at the press briefing were the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dame Ugochi Madueke, and her Works and Infrastructure counterpart, Engr. Ben Osy Okoh.

A civil society organisation (CSO), the Kwechiri Unity Forum, has filed a lawsuit against Minister of Works, David Umahi and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, alongside others, over Mary Habila’s death.

Ms Habila, a female nurse attached to Mr Umahi, was reportedly brought dead to the David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, Uburu, Ebonyi State, on 27 June.

Aside from the IGP and Mr Umahi, others listed as defendants are the Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi State, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and Tanko Habila, father of the late Ms Habila.

The CSO filed the suit through its legal team, led by Eziafa Enwedo, before the Federal High Court in Abuja on 17 July, according to the court document.

The group asked the court to compel the IGP and the Nigeria Police Force to investigate Ms Habila’s death and conduct a formal autopsy on her body.

It appealed to the court to declare that public authorities have a duty to protect evidence that may aid an investigation into unexplained deaths.

The group asked the court that Ms Habila’s death ought to be investigated impartially, irrespective of the status or office of the person who possesses relevant information.

The CSO prayed the court to grant an interim injunction, restraining the respondents from “releasing, burying, interring, cremating or otherwise disposing of the body of the late Mary Habila pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”

The group also asked the court to order the respondents to preserve all available evidence relating to Ms Habila’s death pending the conclusion of the investigation into her death.

It further asked the court to order the respondents to comply “with recognised forensic and investigative standards where appropriate.”

The CSO said the suit was filed on the grounds that it is a public interest organisation and that credible media publications have generated substantial public concern about the incident.

It argued that the Nigerian Constitution imposes a “positive obligation” upon the government to protect and ensure effective investigations into suspicious deaths.

On 27 June, Mary Habila was said to have died under controversial circumstances at the residence of Mr Umahi, a former governor of Ebonyi State.

Ms Habila was part of the medical team attached to the minister and had accompanied him to his hometown in Uburu, where she reportedly died in a room within his residence.

In July, the works minister denied covering up the nurse’s death, insisting that the incident had been reported to the police for investigation.

He subsequently asked the police to conduct an autopsy on the body of the 26-year-old nurse to determine the actual cause of death.

The family opposed the autopsy and fixed the burial date for 17 July, but the police insisted on going ahead with the autopsy.

Police spokesperson in Ebonyi State, Joshua Ukandu, said in a statement on Wednesday that the police command was awaiting the presence of the family or their representative, as required before the autopsy could be carried out.

Mr Ukandu, a superintendent of police, assured that the investigation would be “thorough, transparent, and impartial” and that the command would provide updates as the case progresses.

Mr Umahi, on his part, has denied having any hand in the death of the late nurse, insisting that her boyfriend had confessed she was ill before coming to Ebonyi.

The minister further appealed to Ms Habila’s family to reconsider their insistence on shunning an autopsy on the late nurse’s body, stressing that the post-mortem examination would help establish the actual cause of her death amid mounting allegations of foul play.

But the family subsequently wrote to the IGP, demanding the immediate release of Ms Habila’s body for burial. (Premium Times)